She'd always heard Hollywood was full of monsters. She didn't know they meant actual monsters.All of Hollywood is talking about Calypso Production's new top-secret action movie, and Joanna is tapped to be the Production Designer. There's just one big issue: the lead actors are monsters. Literally.Bound by tradition and discipline, Tokaki's clan of shapeshifers has maintained the old ways even as they've retreated from the human race. When members of another clan come up with a plan to expose and explain their hidden existence, he agrees to help. As the warrior who trains all others, he knows how to inflict both the maximum, and minimum, amount of damage. Because of this experience he's asked to become something they call a "stunt coordinator".When Joanna and Tokaki meet it's electric, and not just because Joanna watches him shift from a massive white tiger into a handsome, naked man. Tokaki is fascinated by the outside world, especially Joanna, who's...

With my eyes closed and Alex's core friends all around me, it was like I'd become my big sister, or something just as good. And so who cared if they were calling it Alex's party? One thing I knew: it would be remembered as mine.Alex has it all--brains, beauty, popularity, and a dangerously hot boyfriend. Her little sister Thea wants it all, and she's stepped up her game to get it. Even if it means spinning the truth to win the attention she deserves. Even if it means uncovering a shocking secret her older sister never wanted to share. Even if it means crying wolf.Told in the alternating voices of Alex and Thea, Adele Griffin's mesmerizing new novel is the story of a sibling rivalry on speed.

When Cuddle the kitten comes to play, magic is never far away!When Cuddle the cutest kitten appears, Olivia and Grace are in for a big adventure! With a sparkle of kitten magic, the girls find themselves in an enchanted school. The littlest unicorn at the school is lonely. Can Cuddle and the girls help him to make new friends?

Two time Edgar Award winning-author Lori Roy returns with her latest suspense, a dark tale about a small present-day Southern town where girls disappear and boys run away.When Lane Fielding fled north Florida after high school for the anonymity of New York City, she never thought she'd return. But twenty years later, this time leaving behind her cheating husband, that's exactly what she and her two daughters have done. Now Lane is tending bar, living under her parents' roof on the historic Fielding Plantation, and planning how to escape the crimes of her father—crimes that date back to his role as the director of a local boys' reform school. A role that some claim turned sinister. Things take a turn when just six months after moving back to Florida, Lane's older daughter disappears. Lane initially fears a serial killer—like the one who traumatized north Florida in the 1970s—has again set his sights on her small town. Ten days earlier, a Florida...

This anthology contains fourteen intriguing stories by active research scientists and other writers trained in science. Science is at the heart of real science fiction, which is more than just westerns with ray guns or fantasy with spaceships. The people who do science and love science best are scientists. Scientists like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Fred Hoyle wrote some of the legendary tales of golden age science fiction.  Today there is a new generation of scientists writing science fiction informed with the expertise of their fields, from astrophysics to computer science, biochemistry to rocket science, quantum physics to genetics, speculating about what is possible in our universe. Here lies the sense of wonder only science can deliver. All the stories in this volume are supplemented by afterwords commenting on the science underlying each story.**From the AuthorWhen I originally got involved with Springer's exciting and innovative "Science and Fiction" line, I expected to see some books featuring scientists writing science fiction, and there have been a number of novels and story collections produced.  What I didn't see was a broad spectrum showcasing science fiction short stories by working scientists and writers significantly trained in, or retired from, science.  I decided to take on that project myself in an effort to highlight the current generation of scientist science fiction writers.  Many astronomers, physicists, and biologists answered the call.  I also wanted to include people in fields like computer science and "rocket science," as well as SETI, and successfully acquired a number of intriguing stories.  I was less successful with some fields, like geology and chemistry, but perhaps for a future volume.  We also decided to do something a little different for this anthology, and include essays by each contributor discussing the science of the story.  I found that these often enhanced the stories, deepening my appreciation, and believe they will make them more accessible to those for whom the parent discipline is less familiar.  The stories cover quantum physics, cutting-edge biology, extreme astrophysics, artificial intelligence, astronautics and the International Space Station, alien environments, and even a scientific take on zombies.  We also have a story about detecting an alien signal with SETI by the engineer running the Allen Telescope Array who would be the one to actually do it in real life, which was totally fascinating.I hope you will enjoy our efforts.From the Back CoverThis anthology contains fourteen intriguing short stories by active research scientists and other writers trained in science.  Science is at the heart of real science fiction, which is more than just westerns with ray guns or fantasy with spaceships. The people who do science and love science best are scientists. Scientists like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Fred Hoyle wrote some of the legendary tales of golden age science fiction.  Today there is a new generation of scientists writing science fiction informed with the expertise of their fields, from astrophysics to computer science, biochemistry to rocket science, quantum physics to genetics, speculating about what is possible in our universe. Here lies the sense of wonder only science can deliver. All the stories in this volume are supplemented by afterwords commenting on the science underlying each story.

The Black Sheep Knitters -- Maggie, Lucy, Dana, Suzanne, and Phoebe -- meet once a week without fail, sharing the varied and colorful skeins of their lives as much as knitting tips, recipes, and small-town gossip, and creating an intricate, durable pattern of friendship. Now a shocking murder has peaceful Plum Harbor, Massachusetts, in knots -- and the Black Sheep women must herd together to protect one of their own from a scandalous frame-up.