Dead Heads by Ross Young ✓ author

Augustan Blunt is a washed out cop with a bad attitude, a drinking problem and a troubled past, oh, he's also dead but that's okay so is everyone else. Other than that things are just peachy. Someone has stolen the Grim Reaper's head and Blunt has been told to find it. In a new city where the rules of the living don't apply Blunt's up to his neck in the brown stuff and he's never been much of a swimmer. With the aid of a woman who keeps turning involuntarily invisible, a journalist who hasn't written an article since she died, and a bureaucrat who can't say no to anyone, Blunt's got to stop whoever is stealing the heads of the city's elite. As he begins his investigations he finds things aren't all they seem. Who are the Gloomwood Youth Order? What do you call the murder of someone already dead? Why are people having their heads chopped off? And what is in the hot dogs? With time slipping away he needs to learn what makes the city tick before there's no city left.

Tall Tales by Tim McLaughlin ✓ author

An amateur paranormal investigator immune to magic draws the attention of a goddess. A witch seeks to understand the nature of magic. A priest hunts a deadly cult. A biologist finds herself thrust into the world of magic. Along with an unnamed narrator, they face the dangers of meddling in the affairs of spirits as they move toward a shared fate. Updates weekdays as blogs.

All the Lines to Cross by Ashish Rastogi ✓ author

A sports star and a doctor. A jock and a nerd. Stop that eye roll. We know it is a trope washed threadbare on romance readers’ hands. But these two might be the ones to shred it to pieces. At least Sharon will, after meeting Jon. He is a flirt, has an OCD about his football career, and an ego stuffed to the brim in a 6’4” frame. She is no damsel in distress, an accomplished surgeon and the one holding the scalpel to get him back on the field. Stuck between their dance is Nate, playing cupid. Not a simple task when you are seven-years-old and the only adult amongst two petulant grownups. Stubborn brats! For Sharon and Jon, falling in love is the cheesy part, but staying in love? Well, that’s a story for a separate page on the playbook. Hey, wait. Don’t walk away. We need all the help to knock the nonsense out of these two. Membership to their @meddlesomefriends group is open. #meetcute #sportsromance.

The Broken Code by Ashish Rastogi ✓ author

Dr. Alisha Venkatesh faces death every day. She is an intensivist working in the ICU. However, this does not prepare her for the near-death situations of the two dearest people in her life. For Alisha, technology is like her second hobby. The first being medicine. She advocates for using tech to solve the world's health puzzle, a problem created by the system being broken at multiple places and in various ways. She also knows the dangers that technology presents. Alisha must use all her life's learnings to deal with an enemy who works right beside her—using her medical and IT knowledge to track and decipher patterns that the dark side has camouflaged. Despite having to deal with her own emotions, Alisha works with the two New York detectives Nick & his friend Miguel amidst a series of murders to stop a cyberwar.

Black Moon: The Chronicles of Tucker Littlefield by Tegon Maus ✓ author

"Well?" She asked after a few moments. "Well what?" I returned. "I don't see him anymore. Maybe you should go see if he's alright." "I beg your pardon?" "Don't give me that. What if something happened to him. You're the husband. Go see if it's safe," She admonished, striking me in the chest with the back of her hand. "And if it's not? Then what?" "Well, the sensible thing to do is throw yourself in front of whatever it is that's trying to eat you and give me time to get away of course," she said matter-of-factly. "Trying to eat me? Why the hell would you say that?" "I don't know, it just came to me," She shrugged. "How is it that I'm the one being eaten?" "You're the husband. People would talk if something happened to me and not to you." "In the future, let them talk," I grumbled.

Fall by Maxime Jaz ✓ author

When you think you have everything, one small step twists your life around. Golden-boy and medical student Jake has everything laid out for him: wealth, studies, and a brilliant girlfriend. A life people could only dream of. Until one morning, he trips during his morning run and is helped up by a kind stranger. This should be it, but Jake can’t get those green eyes out of his mind. There’s only one tiny problem: they belong to a man. This encounter triggers a series of ripple effects which will haul their lives over and lead them down unknown paths. An all-consuming burning love with heights and lows, and a pit of suffering, will shatter Jake’s world of lies, and shed light on truths he is terrified of embracing. Will Jake take that step into the unknown void he’s facing? Will Doug be there to catch him? As both of them plummet to depths unknown, will their love be strong enough to bridge the gaps between their worlds, and make them overcome the obstacles put in their paths?

Love Still Bites by Barbara Avon ✓ author

Satisfy your craving for fiction in a bite-sized morsel, or indulge all at once. This is my second collection of flash fiction that spans various genres. Primarily, though, love still bites.

Love Bites by Barbara Avon ✓ author

Sometimes, the greatest expressions need only a very few words. This collection of short fiction includes comedy, loss, love, horror and every bit in between. Enjoy in bite-sized portions or devour all at once.

The Christmas Miracle by Barbara Avon ✓ author

Peter Travis is a handsome older man in his 60s. He left his heart in Niagara Falls when his first love was senselessly killed by a drunk driver. A year later, he opened Briana's Bistro in her honour. Peter found love again, with a woman twenty years his junior. They have twin boys, and he finally has found the peace that he has always longed for. At Christmastime, 2007, Peter hires a boy, Terry, who is down on his luck. During a wicked snowstorm, the bistro closes early. When the bistro goes up in flames, with his wife, Laura, locked in the staff room, Peter blames God. His life is once again turned upside down. The authorities suspect arson. Laura is in a coma, and even the doctors don't know if she will wake. Will she survive? Will Peter ever know who set the blaze? Triggered, he turns to the bottle, and is visited by the ghost of his first love, Briana. In this suspenseful Christmas tale, read about the power of true love, and find yourself believing that maybe, just maybe, miracles do happen.

The Christmas Ornament by Barbara Avon ✓ author

"The truth is, a man's success is measured not by what he has or what he can do but by who loves him. Until he is loved and feels love unconditionally, he is a ghost among us simply existing. I was sick of being a ghost." Christmas will not mean the same for Peter Travis this year. He and his wife have just suffered a devastating loss and he now fears that she is retreating into the arms of another man. Peter befriends a homeless man. A decorated war hero and finds comfort in the man's words. A published author, Michael describes his time in the war in his novel Home, Now and it is within the pages of his memoir that Peter finds out the truth about real and ever lasting love. Peter's wife is devastated and her heart can not mend after the loss her and her husband have suffered. To make matters worse, a man has come into her life that threatens her marriage and even her safety. Although she trusts her husband, she is unable to confide in him. The man threatening her is sinister and is known to Peter. She is now left to fend for herself and attempt to save her marriage and sets out to protect Peter the only way she knows how - by deceiving him. Set in 2006 with 1980's flashbacks. Will Peter Travis find the happy ending that he seeks?

Briana's Bistro by Barbara Avon ✓ author

“I harbor secrets and they weigh heavily on me. Not even Carl knows what I do every night after the day’s duties are done. I feel ashamed and yet I cannot stop.” The year is 2003. It's been three years since that fateful night when Peter Travis' world was turned upside down. In an effort to forget his pain, he has sold his house in the country where he once lived in solitude to open Briana's Bistro in downtown Ottawa. On the night of the grand opening, Peter meets a stunning blond woman and he can't get her off of his mind. Love has abandoned him and yet she stirs emotions in him that have long lied dormant. He is torn between guilt and passion and finally relinquishes his heart. However, the woman is not who she says she is, thrusting Peter into a rage that he can not overcome. What secret does the woman harbor that causes Peter so much anguish? What forces will lead him back? Will love prevail? At a time when all obstacles seem insurmountable, ask yourself, is love enough?

Michael's Choice by Barbara Avon ✓ author

Michael Rossi is back! After the death of Ottawa's first serial killer, things in the city are just getting back to normal. The city's imposed curfew has been lifted, the nervous energy in the air has started to dissipate and demolition has begun on Hayden's Amusement Park. After suffering at the hand of Stevie Phelps, and putting the pieces of their lives back together, Michael and Nicole Rossi are living the dream. Business at Michael's Place is booming, their daughter, Maria, is just learning to walk and the newlyweds are more in love than ever. Without warning, the dream is shattered. A brutal murder takes place and everyone deems it the work of a copy-cat killer. Just like Stevie Phelps, known as "The Carousel Killer", had done with his victims, the killer removed the victim's eyes. Nicole panics and slowly retreats into herself until Michael starts to believe she is seeking comfort in the arms of another man. Then, one night, he overhears a conversation in his restaurant that makes his blood run cold. Phelps continues to haunt the Rossi family, forcing Michael to make a choice. A choice that will change everything and help them emerge from the nightmare that has become their life. Making the wrong choice, Michael soon realizes, is truly the only way out.

The Gift by Barbara Avon ✓ author

Brooding, sexy, restaurant owner, Michael Rossi is determined to unravel the mystery behind the lady in the red coat. One secret can speak a thousand truths. Michael Rossi has an extraordinary talent. Every day, he sets out with his grandfather's camera to capture incredible images like the ones his Nonno used to take in Italy. His girlfriend recently left him with a broken heart and he's grateful for the distraction. One day, he sees through his lens, a beautiful woman kneeling at a headstone. He quietly snaps her picture and retreats to his two-bedroom home in the city, developing the film in his dark room. He returns to the cemetery daily and every day, the woman is also there. Finally, one day, Michael gathers the courage to approach her. It doesn't take them long to fall in love. Nicole harbors a secret, however. A secret that she is ashamed of and that has changed her in ways she can't describe. If spoken, it would threaten the love she shares with Michael. Ultimately, Michael becomes aware that something isn't right. The words unspoken between them, become the most powerful of all.

Promise Me by Barbara Avon ✓ author

When Daniel Walker's wife, Amy, died in a freak accident, he gave up on love. He bought Joe's Grocery & Deli, and transformed it into "The Christmas Store" to honour her, and her love of Christmas. One snowy night, a woman knocks on the door. Daniel is immediately taken with the dark-haired beauty. Bianca is in possession of a key. She traveled from Toronto to Ottawa to unravel the mystery behind the magic relic. She didn't think she would fall in love along the way. When she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, what choices will she make to preserve their love? Is Daniel her future or will she leave him in the past? Does magic have limitations? Set between 1980 and 1990, "Promise Me" is "a most unusual love story, and one you won't soon forget."

Timepiece by Barbara Avon ✓ author

Matthew Winters is in trouble. Everything he's worked so hard to achieve, is gone. One snowy Christmas Eve in 1932, he's offered a second chance. He meets Henry, the proprietor of a thrift store. It isn't your typical thrift store. The wares Henry purveys are magical. He returns home to confess everything to his beautiful wife, Anna. He convinces her that they can start anew, and use the timepiece Henry gives him to travel through time. "Don't ever let it stop ticking," Henry warns. In this mystical tale that marries time travel, romance and psychological horror, journey with the Winters across many decades to see what happens when you let love lead the way. A grotesquely beautiful love story that will test the hands of time.