Having barely escaped the fiendish clutches of vampire vixen Alegria Pérez, teenage hemophiliac, half-vampire Joshua Puig and his high school cohorts grapple to survive the final 24-hour period of life-altering events thrust upon them by the cyclical--and deadly--arrival of the cobalt moon. Joshua and his passive band of half-vampires struggle to stay one step ahead of the revenge-consumed Alegría and the opposing, blood-lusting sect of half-vampires, who require the "Docile" blood strain in order to become full vampires. Intent on fulfilling their humanity-embracing ways, Joshua and his fellow half-vampires flee their home base of Miami in 1968 to a secret hiding locale in northern Florida. But with ulterior designs on facilitating the bloody rite of passage for her son, Raúl, and other "Hostile" half-vampire underlings, Alegría defies the supernatural underworld's highest authority and does everything in her power to hunt down the escaping teens, forcing a final, climactic showdown.

In The Curse of the Cobalt Moon, teenage hemophiliac, Joshua Puig discovers that he is a half-vampire. He has his life turned upside down when he is confronted with the existence of two types of half-vampires--a non-aggressive group, and another, infused with a much more combative and deadly blood stock. Joshua reluctantly accepts that he belongs to the group with the 'passive' supernatural strains. A cycle of seven blue moons completes the transformation for Joshua and all like him. Now, aged 16, a foster child living in Miami during the late 1960s, he is rapidly nearing this life changing event. Leading up to the "cobalt moon reckoning" Joshua, his fellow half-vampire, Milagros, and friends are thrust into their own life and death battle against the vengeance-seeking vampire vixen, Alegría Pérez.

A professional baseball prospect given little chance of making the big time, Octavio "Cookie" Rojas nevertheless flourished at the sport's top level during a 16-year major league career. Never breaking ties with the profession he loved, after leaving the field as a player Rojas continued well into his 70s in the varied roles of coach, scout, manager, and broadcaster. Rojas broke into the big leagues in the early 1960s, a bygone era when there were only ten teams in each major league and the World Series was exclusively performed under the autumn sun. A native of Cuba, Rojas had to leave behind his country following the Cuban Revolution in order to pursue his ultimate baseball dreams. His side story of cultural assimilation, like those of his many ball-playing compatriots of the time, is a unique account of perseverance and dedication and a desire to succeed for himself and his family.

Anybody who wanted to escape death could, by paying a very simple price--denial of life!Excerpt"Effie! What the devil are you up to?"Her husband's voice, chopping through her mood of terrified rapture, made her heart jump like a startled cat, yet by some miracle of feminine self-control her body did not show a tremor.Dear God, she thought, he mustn't see it. It's so beautiful, and he always kills beauty."I'm just looking at the Moon," she said listlessly. "It's green."Mustn't, mustn't see it. And now, with luck, he wouldn't. For the face, as if it also heard and sensed the menace in the voice, was moving back from the window's glow into the outside dark, but slowly, reluctantly, and still faunlike, pleading, cajoling, tempting, and incredibly beautiful."Close the shutters at once, you little fool, and come away from the window!""Green as a beer bottle," she went on dreamily, "green as emeralds, green as leaves with sunshine striking through them and green grass to lie on." She couldn't help saying those last words. They were her token to the face, even though it couldn't hear."Effie!"She knew what that last tone meant. Wearily she swung shut the ponderous lead inner shutters and drove home the heavy bolts. That hurt her fingers; it always did, but he mustn't know that."You know that those shutters are not to be touched! Not for five more years at least!""I only wanted to look at the Moon," she said, turning around, and then it was all gone--the face, the night, the Moon, the magic--and she was back in the grubby, stale little hole, facing an angry, stale little man. It was then that the eternal thud of the air-conditioning fans and the crackle of the electrostatic precipitators that sieved out the dust reached her consciousness again like the bite of a dentist's drill."Only wanted to look at the Moon!" he mimicked her in falsetto. "Only wanted to die like a little fool and make me that much more ashamed of you!" Then his voice went gruff and professional. "Here, count yourself."She silently took the Geiger counter he held at arm's length, waited until it settled down to a steady ticking slower than a clock--due only to cosmic rays and indicating nothing dangerous--and then began to comb her body with the instrument. First her head and shoulders, then out along her arms and back along their under side. There was something oddly voluptuous about her movements, although her features were gray and sagging.The ticking did not change its tempo until she came to her waist. Then it suddenly spurted, clicking faster and faster. Her husband gave an excited grunt, took a quick step forward, froze. She goggled for a moment in fear, then grinned foolishly, dug in the pocket of her grimy apron and guiltily pulled out a wristwatch.He grabbed it as it dangled from her fingers, saw that it had a radium dial, cursed, heaved it up as if to smash it on the floor, but instead put it carefully on the table."You imbecile, you incredible imbecile," he softly chanted to himself through clenched teeth, with eyes half closed.She shrugged faintly, put the Geiger counter on the table, and stood there slumped.He waited until the chanting had soothed his anger, before speaking again. He said quietly, "I do suppose you still realize the sort of world you're living in?"

Chained by duty, tortured by fear. Can they find liberty in love? The mage Kali has uncovered the secret of the thralls: the unseen foes possessing the Aredian people. But Kali must pay a high price for this discovery – her own humanity. Her sentinel lover, Stonewall, is desperate to flee Whitewater City with Kali, but his commanding officer has other plans for him. Meanwhile, a grieving Eris plans to free the final few mages trapped in the Whitewater City bastion, but first she must gather her allies and fortify her spirit to face the coming storm. Fans of T. Kingfisher, Sharon Shinn, Anne McCaffrey, Tamora Pierce, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Robin McKinley will love this engrossing, award-winning series. If you long for your next binge-read, but are weary of the grimdark trend, Catalyst Moon will transport you to a world of hope, love, and forgiveness, a world where magic, adventure, shape-shifters, and compelling characters await. Legions of readers have fallen in love with Catalyst Moon. It's your turn! Click or tap "BUY NOW" to start your journey. THE CATALYST MOON SERIES: Incursion (Book 1) Breach (Book 2) Storm (Book 3) Surrender (Book 4) Sacrifice (Book 5)

Shattered hope. Monstrous thralls continue their relentless assault on Aredia, demolishing cities and twisting innocent people into demons. Mages, blamed for the thralls, are more feared than ever – even more so after the destruction of the hematite mine, which has crippled the sentinel order. Hearts in crisis. Bereft and blamed for the mine’s loss, Kali is brought to the capital to account for her crimes. There, she learns that to stop the thrall crisis, she must balance their strange magic with her own – at any cost. Trapped in the otherworldly realm of the mysterious Fata, Stonewall must make a pact with those he has sworn to destroy so he can return to the world—and the woman—he loves. Freedom on a dagger’s edge. The paths of fate bring together mages and sentinels, rebels and royals, love and fear. Only by working together can they heal their fractured world for good. Opposing worlds collide in the final book of the CATALYST MOON saga. THE CATALYST MOON SERIES: Incursion (Book 1) Breach (Book 2) Storm (Book 3) Surrender (Book 4) Sacrifice (Book 5)

DAWN OF THE APOCALYPSE gathers the pinnacle of speculative fiction to explore end times across diverse landscapes, from the desolate to the dystopian. It stitches a rich tapestry of literary approaches, ranging from the classic gothic horror of Edgar Allan Poe to the socio-political dystopias envisioned by Ayn Rand and H.G. Wells, and the unique utopian perspective of Edward Bellamy. The anthology thrives on its variety, not just in the cataclysmic events it portrays but also in the myriad ways these events are perceived and interpreted by its characters. Key pieces within this collection stand as milestones in the science fiction genre, framing apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives as lenses through which we critique and comprehend contemporary societal fears. The authors, both pioneers, and craftsmen of their time, come from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, each contributing to the anthology's overarching theme with their unique flavor of apocalypse. These writers are not just storytellers but visionaries who collectively paint a multifaceted picture of humanity at the brink. They belonged to and were influenced by a range of historical, cultural, and literary movements, from the romanticism and transcendentalism of the 19th century to the early 20th century's modernism and the budding science fiction genre. Their combined works offer a historical capsule of societal anxieties and hopes, reflecting on themes of human resilience, the abuse of technology, and the moral dilemmas of progress. DAWN OF THE APOCALYPSE is an essential collection for readers eager to dive into the depths of human imagination faced with its own end. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to traverse the vast landscapes of apocalyptic fiction through the eyes of some of the most influential authors in literary history. This anthology not only serves as an academic goldmine for those studying the evolution of speculative fiction and its impact on society but also provides a timeless reflection on humanity's perennial concerns with its own survival and legacy. Readers are invited to witness the end of worlds not just as an exercise in literary exploration but as a mirror to our collective psyche across generations.