Rebecca M Senese

Providing security at a child's birthday party, not the most glamourous assignment for private detective Noel Kringle. But good food and laughter make up for it. Until a disturbing call from his friend, police detective Stan Mallory. A murder. The suspect: Noel's mother A simple phone call flips Noel's life upside down. How can he save his mother? Mystery with a dash of contemporary fantasy, Noel Kringle mixes Christmas, and sleuthing in a tale of magic and suspense.

After celebrating a successful case, Noel Kringle wakes to a familiar scene. Bright sunshine, white walls, red trim, lampshade decorated with Santa on his sleigh... Wait, what? Instead of his apartment in Toronto, Noel finds himself in his bedroom at home. At the North Pole. Just how much had he drunk? Joining his mother for breakfast, Noel notices something strange in the family photos. Then he realizes none of the pictures include his older brother Kris Junior. KJ, the heir to Santa Claus. But no one remembers KJ. Not his mother. Not his father. Not the Christmas Elves. Worse yet, that means the position of heir falls to... Noel. His life turned upside down, Noel must find his missing-forgotten-brother or take up the mantle of Santa Claus. To disastrous effect Mystery with a dash of contemporary fantasy, Noel Kringle mixes Christmas, and sleuthing in a tale of magic and suspense.

After the destruction of the first vampire's sacred book and the implosion of the vampire clans, Sebastian Lockhart finds his new-found power growing. But as his family back home is targeted by a vampire bent on vengeance, Sebastian finds himself tested by visions of the dead and the instability of his new abilities. Struggling to maintain control, Sebastian races to save his family before the vampire can destroy them. Before Sebastian loses his mind. And his soul.

Bitten by a vampire, Sebastian Lockhart remains stuck between human and vampire, an In-Between, unable to live in either world. But even the other In-Between view Sebastian as a freak. After a raid on a vampire nest ends in disaster, the remaining In-Between turn on him, accusing him of working in concert with the vampires. Now hunted by the In-Between and the vampire clans, Sebastian races to find the legendary book of the first vampire, rumoured to provide mastery over the human race. Will he survive long enough to destroy it? Or will it destroy him?

College student Sebastian Lockhart lives a normal life of college classes, friends, and dreaming of the lovely Alexa Hammond. But a vampire attack interrupts his regular life. Now the sunlight give him searing headaches. His revulsion for blood turns to craving. But he's not a full vampire yet. Stuck between vampire and human, he struggles to stop the horror from taking over. Can he ever be fully human again?

More short stories about vampires mingling in the pages of this anthology. Vampire Apocalypse vs. Last Vampire Survivor. Vampires with hemophobia or Asperger Syndrome. Vampires in the past and in the future, walking through the centuries because they can. Undead but immortal unless you manage to kill them. Merciless killers or merciful death givers - and even a little, shapeshifting vampire who doesn't feed on blood. THE STORIESThe Blood is on the Wall by Felicia FredlundBloody Aversion by Rebecca M. SeneseChuck the Cross by Ezekiel James BostonJesslyn by Joleene NaylorIn the Shade of the Slowboat Man by Dean Wesley SmithLegacy of the Hunted by Russ CrossleyThe Raven by Barbara G. TarnShe-devil of the Spanish Main by David MillerSo Many Nights, So Many Sins by A. L. ButcherThe Aswang Who Ate Stardust by Kate Pavelle

Clothes shopping isn't the way Tiffany wants to celebrate making detective on the drug squad. But neither is taking down a crazed man chewing on a woman's arm. When he dies in custody, full of a strange, new drug called "Fairy Dust," Tiffany finds herself caught between saving a girl and her brother and a territorial drug gang.