Kristine Smith

strange magic...in 17 Fascinating tales of spells gone awryWhen it comes to magic, skipping the directions, changing the ingredients, or garbling the words of a spell can lead to unusual consequences-sometimes dire, sometimes comical. Included in these stories are just a few of the possible results: a cybermancer has her spell disk corrupted by some unexpected input; two students brewing up spells outside the curriculum forgo a critical ingredient; a young woman orders a fairy-tale life, but forgets to read the fine print. Now they're really spellbound...

Hidden deep within one of the world's most powerful organizations is a secret committee with a devastating agenda. Its members are afforded incredible protections -- considered elites, untouchables. But when four seconds of video is captured halfway around the world and anonymously transmitted to D.C., covert wheels are set in motion, and counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath is tapped to undertake the deadliest assignment of his career. What begins as a favor will evolve into a globe-spanning drama of highly personal stakes played out against a backdrop of stunning international intrigue, duplicitous political gamesmanship, and the darkest, most clandestine fears of the espionage world.

Fifteen-year-old Gray Wilton, bullied at school and ridiculed by an unfeeling father for preferring drums to hunting, goes on a shooting rampage at his high school.

After eighteen years, Captain Jani Kilian's life as a fugitive has ended. Captured by the Service, she now faces court martial. It will surely lead to her execution. But relations with the idomeni have deteriorated. Jani's knowledge of that alien race and her friendship with Nema, their ambassador, earn her a reprieve. And if she is able to help stabilize the crisis, she may be in line for a pardon. Jani knows she should grab this second chance and hang on. But as tensions between human and idomeni mount and her genetically-modified body breaks down, she finds herself locked in a struggle with an adversary who has as much to lose as she, and who will do anything to ensure their secrets remain buried.