by Jae
She works as a psychologist. When she’s not writing, she likes to spend her time reading, indulging her ice cream and office supply addiction, and watching way too many crime shows.
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Excerpt from Manhattan Moon
by Jae
Shelby Carson hip-checked the car door closed and crossed the psych ER’s parking lot. She breathed in the crisp fall air, preparing her sensitive nose for the smells that would hit her as soon as she entered Bayard Medical Center.
When she glanced up at the dark sky, she realized a full moon was shining down on her. “Oh, wonderful,” she murmured. “A full moon on Halloween. Just what I need.”
Contrary to popular belief, the moon had no effect on her fellow shape-shifters, but humans seemed to go crazy during a full moon.
The automatic doors of the back entrance whooshed open. Shelby strode down the hallway and had to unlock two sets of double doors before she reached the attending’s on-call room. Wrinkling her nose at the smell of chips, stuffy air, and disinfectant, she squeezed past the desk and the narrow bed. With practiced movements, she slipped out of her street clothes and into a set of scrubs. She clipped her ID badge to the scrub shirt and the beeper to her waistband, then shoved a pen into the chest pocket, feeling like a knight getting ready for battle.
As she left the on-call room, the sounds and smells of the psych ER engulfed her. In one of the isolation rooms, someone shouted and banged on the door, and in the next room, an off-key voice sang Broadway musicals. Sneakers squeaked on the linoleum as one of the nurses rushed down the corridor.
She straightened her shoulders and walked toward the triage area, weaving her way around gurneys and wheelchairs lined up in the corridor. The stench of sweat, cleaning agents, and metabolized alcohol made her wish for the stunted sense of smell her human colleagues possessed. Then she picked up the subtle scent of jasmine.
Shelby grinned. She would recognize that scent anywhere. Nyla.
Just inside the front door, Nyla Rozakis sat behind the triage desk.
Shelby paused and drank in the sight of her.
In the midst of the typhoon that was the triage area, Nyla was an island of peace. She brushed back a midnight-black strand of hair that had escaped her French braid as she stood and rounded the desk. Her eyes, almost as dark as her hair, didn’t seem to register the psych techs and security guards, who were wrestling to restrain a screaming man. She was focused solely on her own patient.
Nyla stooped down a little to address her patient, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and asked, “Do you know where you are?”
“In hell,” the patient grumbled.
Wrong answer, buddy. Shelby suppressed a grin. A psych ER is not a good place for sarcasm if you don’t want to appear psychotic.
“Can you tell me today’s date?” Nyla asked.
The patient told her, and Nyla made a quick note in his chart without taking her gaze off the patient for more than a second.
“Do you have any weapons on you? Any sharp objects?”
The patient shook his head, but his hands went to his coat pockets.
Shelby tensed, ready to step in should he pull out a weapon.
But Nyla didn’t need her help.
“Ben.” After a wave from Nyla, one of the security guards helped her search the patient’s pockets. They laid the contents of his pockets onto the triage desk: a lighter, a glass pipe, and—Shelby squinted—a pair of vampire fangs.
Humans. She grimaced.
When another nurse led the patient into an interview room, Nyla looked up. A welcoming smile dimpled her cheeks. “Hi, Dr. Carson.”
“Hello, Nyla.”
“I didn’t think you’d be working tonight,” Nyla said and went back to filling out the intake sheet. “I thought you volunteered to work Thanksgiving and Christmas?”
She knows my on-call schedule? Shelby held back a delighted grin. “I don’t mind covering the ER on holidays,” she said. “It isn’t worse than any other day.” Wrasa didn’t celebrate human holidays anyway, so she’d volunteered to work the night shift on Halloween when she’d seen that Nyla would also be on duty.
“Famous last words, Doctor.”
“Busy night, huh?” Shelby asked.
“Full moon on Halloween in New York City—if that’s not a recipe for madness, I don’t know what is. We have fifteen new admissions and eight still in triage. All isolation rooms are in use, and EMS keeps bringing in new patients.”
Before Shelby could think of a way to ask Nyla out for coffee later, loud grunts and moans from the waiting area interrupted them.
Shelby whirled around and took in the crowded waiting area. On one of the blue plastic chairs bolted to the wall sat a young woman clutching her belly. “Has she been cleared by the medical ER?” Shelby asked.
“Oh, yeah. Nothing physically wrong with her. She just thinks she’s giving birth.” Nyla stepped next to Shelby. Shoulder to shoulder, they gazed at the moaning patient.
Shelby wanted to moan too as she breathed in the intoxicating scent of jasmine. She tried to keep her voice light and professional. “Another baby Jesus?”
“No, this one thinks she’s giving birth to the child of a vampire slayer.”
“Vampire slayer?” Shelby arched her brows. Every time she thought she’d seen it all, a new patient surprised her. The psych ER patients weren’t short on creativity. “Didn’t anyone tell her that Buffy is a woman and can’t get her pregnant?”
Nyla’s dimples deepened. “Welcome to the twenty-first century, Dr. Carson. There are plenty of options for a lesbian who wants to get her partner pregnant.”
Shelby marveled at the casual remark. Does she know I’m gay? Is she? She had asked herself that question for months now, but her diagnostic skills failed when it came to figuring out Nyla’s sexual orientation.
When silence grew between them, Shelby finally said, “I better get to work. See you later. And please keep her,” she pointed at the grunting patient in the waiting area, “away from Mr. Fangs.” She peered up at the board that listed patients still waiting to be seen, then grabbed a chart from the rack and went to see her first patient of the night.
* * *
The novella Manhattan Moon is available at many online bookstores as a DRM-free e-book.
Other Books from Ylva Publishing
http://www.ylva-publishing.com
Second Nature
(revised edition)
Jae
ISBN: 978-3-95533-031-6 (epub)
978-3-95533-032-3 (mobi)
Length: 143,000 words
Novelist Jorie Price doesn’t believe in the existence of shape-shifting creatures or true love. She leads a solitary life, and the paranormal romances she writes are pure fiction for her.
Griffin Westmore knows better—at least about one of these two things. She doesn’t believe in love either, but she’s one of the not-so-fictional shape-shifters. She’s also a Saru, an elite soldier with the mission to protect the shape-shifters’ secret existence at any cost.
When Jorie gets too close to the truth in her latest shape-shifter romance, Griffin is sent to investigate—and if necessary to destroy the manuscript before it’s published and to kill the writer.
Natural Family Disasters
Jae
ISBN: 978-3-95533-073-6 (epub)
978-3-95533-072-9 (mobi)
Length: 25,000 words
Five short stories that give us glimpses into the lives of Griffin, Jorie, and the other characters from Second Nature.
Bonding Time: Griffin has been looking forward to a little feline bonding time with a special lady. Leave it to her sister Leigh to interrupt.
Coming to Dinner: Jorie and Griffin are having second thoughts about their decision to invite Griffin’s shape-shifter relatives and Jorie’s mother for dinner on Christmas Day. What could be more nerve-racking than eight cat-shifters who don’t believe in Christmas celebrating with a human woman, allergic to cats, who doesn’t believe in the existence of shape-shifters? Will it end with peace on earth, or will fur fly?
Babysitter Material: It’s Rufus and Kylin’s anniversary—and no babysitter for the triplets in sight. Kylin has a desperate idea, but is her gruff father Brian, ruler of the pride, really babysitter material?
When the Cat’s Away: When a mouse takes up residence in Griffin and Jorie’s house, Griffin calls her fathers over. With three cat-shifters on the hunt, the house will be a rodent-free zone in no time. Or so she thinks.
Plus One: Griffin accepts Jorie’s invitation to be her “plus one” at Jorie’s high school reunion, eager to find out more about her lover’s past. But the food at the buffet has an unexpected effect on Griffin.
Manhattan Moon
Jae
ISBN: 978-3-95533-012-5 (epub)
978-3-95533-013-2 (mobi)
Length: 28,500 words (novella)
Nothing in Shelby Carson’s life is ordinary. Not only is she an attending psychiatrist in a hectic ER, but she’s also a Wrasa, a shape-shifter who leads a secret existence.
To make things even more complicated, she has feelings for Nyla Rozakis, a human nurse.
Even though the Wrasa forbid relationships with humans, Shelby is determined to pursue Nyla. Things seem pretty hopeless for them, but on Halloween, during a full moon, anything can happen...
Yak
Lois Cloarec Hart
ISBN: 978-3-95533-114-6 (epub)
978-3-95533-113-9 (mobi)
Length: about 17,635 words
Leni, a small-town, blue-collar lesbian, despairs of ever finding true love—or even just a Friday night date.
Pickings are slim, but romantic woes aside, she’s happy living in the place she was born and raised.
Then Leni gets a new job as a nightshift cook at The Jester’s Court, a bustling roadside truck stop, where she encounters an enigmatic colleague nicknamed Yak. Finding herself fascinated with the woman, Leni disregards all advice to the contrary and attempts to befriend her fellow chef. Yak proves to be a hard nut to crack, but what’s harder still is deciphering why everyone lives in fear of her.
When events spiral out of control and Leni learns the dangerous truth, she must decide if winning Yak’s heart is worth the price she might have to pay.
Walking the Labyrinth
Lois Cloarec Hart
ISBN: 978-3-95533-050-7 (epub)
978-3-95533-049-1 (mobi)
Length: 65,000 words
Is there life after loss? Lee Glenn, co-owner of a private security company, didn’t think so. Crushed by grief after the death of her wife, she uncharacteristically retreats from life.
But love doesn’t give up easily. After her friends and family stage a dramatic intervention, Lee rejoins the world of the living, resolved to regain some sense of normalcy but only half-believing that it’s possible. Her old friend and business partner convinces her to take on what appears on the surface to be a minor personal protection detail.
The assignment takes her far from home, from the darkness of her loss to the dawning of a life reborn. Along the way, Lee encounters people unlike any she’s ever met before: Wrong-Way Wally, a small-town oracle shunned by the locals for his off-putting speech and mannerisms; and Wally’s best friend, Gaëlle, a woman who not only translates the oracle’s uncanny predictions, but who also appears to have a deep personal connection to life beyond life. Lee is shocked to find herself fascinated by Gaëlle, despite dismissing the woman’s exotic beliefs as “hooey.”
But opening yourself to love also means opening yourself to the possibility of pain. Will Lee have the courage to follow that path, a path that once led to the greatest agony she’d ever experienced? Or will she run back to the cold comfort of a safer solitary life?
Coming from Ylva Publishing in Winter 2013 and Spring 2014
http://www.ylva-publishing.com
Nature of the Pack
Jae
As a submissive wolf-shifter, Kelsey Yates has always bowed to the dictates of her powerful alpha wolf parents. That changed when she met Rue, a powerful alpha in her own right, despite the fact that she is human. When Kelsey’s parents learn of the forbidden relationship, they set out to put a stop to it. For once in her life, will Kelsey push beyond the boundaries of her omega status and fight for her happiness and her human mate?
Broken Faith
(revised edition)
Lois Cloarec Hart
Emotional wounds aren’t always apparent, and those that haunt Marika and Rhiannon are deep and lasting.
On the surface, Marika appears to be a wealthy, successful lawyer, while Rhiannon is a reclusive, maladjusted loner. But Marika, in her own way, is as damaged as the younger Rhiannon. When circumstances throw them together one summer, they begin to reach out, each finding unexpected strengths in the other.
However, even as inner demons are gradually vanquished and old hurts begin to heal, evil in human form reappears. The cruelly enigmatic Cass has used and controlled Marika in the past, and she aims to do so again.
Can Marika find it within herself to break free? Can she save her young friend from Cass’ malevolent web? With the support of remarkable friends, the pair fights to break free—of their crippling pasts and the woman who will own them or kill them.
See Right Through Me
L.T. Smith
Trust, respect, and love. Three little words—that’s all. But these words are powerful, and if we ignore any one of them, then three other little words take their place: jealousy, insecurity, and heartbreak.
Schoolteacher Gemma Hughes is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Disorganised and clumsy, she soon finds herself in the capable hands of the beautiful Dr Maria Moran. Everything goes wonderfully until Gemma starts doubting Maria’s intentions and begins listening to the wrong people.
But has Maria something to hide, or is it a case of swapping trust for insecurity, respect for jealousy and finishing with a world of heartbreak and deceit? Can Gemma stop her actions before it’s too late? Or will she ruin the best thing to happen in her life?
Given her track record, anything is possible.
Crossing Bridges
Emma Weimann
As a Guardian, Tallulah has devoted her life to protecting her hometown, Edinburgh, and its inhabitants, both living and dead, against ill-natured and dangerous supernatural beings.
When Erin, a human tourist, visits Edinburgh, she makes Tallulah more nervous than the poltergeist on Greyfriars Kirkyard—and not only because Erin seems to be the sidekick of a dark witch who has her own agenda.
While Tallulah works to thwart the dark witch’s sinister plan for Edinburgh, she can’t help wondering about the mysterious Erin. Is she friend or foe?
Coming Home
(revised edition)
Lois Cloarec Hart
A triangle with a twist, Coming Home is the story of three good people caught up in an impossible situation.
Rob, a charismatic ex-fighter pilot severely disabled with MS, has been steadfastly cared for by his wife, Jan, for many years. Quite by accident one day, Terry, a young writer/postal carrier, enters their life and turns it upside down.
Injecting joy and turbulence into their quiet existence, Terry draws Rob and Jan into her lively circle of family and friends until the growing attachment between the two women begins to strain the bonds of love and loyalty, to Rob and each other.
Hidden Truths
(revised edition)
Jae
“Luke” Hamilton has been living as a husband and father for the past seventeen years. No one but her wife, Nora, knows she is not the man she appears to be. They have raised their daughter
s to become honest and hard-working young women, but even with their loving foundation, Amy and Nattie are hiding their own secrets.
Just as Luke sets out on a dangerous trip to Fort Boise, a newcomer arrives on the ranch—Rika Aaldenberg, who traveled to Oregon as a mail-order bride, hiding that she’s not the woman in the letters.
When hidden truths are revealed, will their lives and their family fall apart or will love keep them together?
True Nature
© by Jae
ISBN: 978-3-95533-036-1 (mobi)
ISBN: 978-3-95533-035-4 (epub)
Also available as paperback.
Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Owner: Astrid Ohletz
Am Kirschgarten 2
65830 Kriftel
Germany
http://www.ylva-publishing.com
First edition: October 2013
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or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage