It's 1995. When famous author Barron Docksteder moves to the Carolina foothills, the locals don’t know what to make of it. Why did this hotshot writer, whose works have been made into Hollywood films, move to the middle of nowhere? Despite living in North Carolina, Docksteder regularly drives across the border to South Carolina for a late breakfast at a comfortable small-town café. The young café owner, who is a frustrated writer, is befriended by Docksteder, and the two initiate a mentor-mentee relationship that extends well beyond the page.

Harry Booth started stealing at nine to keep a roof over his ailing mother’s head, slipping into luxurious, empty homes at night to find items he could trade for precious cash. When his mother finally succumbed to cancer, he left Chicago—but kept up his nightwork, developing into a master thief with a code of honor and an expertise in not attracting attention—or getting attached.

After a violent coup in the United States overthrows the Constitution and ushers in a new government regime, the Republic of Gilead imposes subservient roles on all women. Offred, now a Handmaid tasked with the singular role of procreation in the childless household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost everything, even her own name.

Todd Jordan was a successful businessman, who had once lost it all, and now he had just lost his best friend and business partner. But, then she came into town broken and scared, and for the first time in a long time he was looking forward to his future. Breaking down Megan's barriers would take patience and strength, and he would need that strength to keep what he loves safe.

Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted - and obsessed - with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Faith Daniels has had a hard time fitting in all her life, from the time she was left on the steps of a firehouse to her recent divorce. The only time she feels connected is when she rehabs old houses. Often she wishes she could have experienced life in a simpler time. Her current project, a 1900 Galveston mansion, is all she ever wished for and more.

Jennifer Chaise is proud of her life. Coming from nothing, she's used her beauty to her advantage and is swept up in a glamorous world of wealth and privilege as the mistress of a high-flying businessman. But when she walks in on a violent scene in their Las Vegas hotel room, Jennifer knows she can no longer ignore the truth about her boyfriend, and she flees. Desperate to escape the men searching for her, she invents a whole new persona - with a new look and a new name - as she hides out in a small Nevada town.

For a fee so big he can't turn it down, Simeon Grist is hired to watchdog the kind of guy he'd usually prefer to throw through the nearest window. Toby Vane is the golden boy of prime-time television, whose gee-whiz smile and chiseled features mask a dark secret that would take the shine off for his millions of adoring female fans: every now and then he beats up a woman, and almost any woman will do.

Junior Bender is a Los Angeles burglar with a magic touch. Since he first started breaking into houses at age fourteen, he's never once been caught. But now, after twenty-two years building an exemplary career, Junior has been blackmailed by Trey Annunziato, one of the most powerful crime bosses in LA, into acting as a private investigator on the set of Trey's porn venture, which someone keeps sabotaging.

Samantha Weller, a forensic scientist turned paranormal novelist, owes her life and writing career to a crow that saved her from certain death. When she buys an old bookend that looks like her avian muse, her world begins to resemble the plots of her novels. Determined to find the mate to her bookend, Samantha and her antiquarian sidekick, Liz, go on a search leading them to the beautiful and wealthy Gwen Laraway. Samantha is instantly smitten, but the age difference has Gwen second-guessing Samantha’s interest.

All Cara Parker wants is to be swept off her feet...but the way her life is going, that's not happening anytime soon. She's got a humdrum office job and a self-centered boyfriend, but those things are stable and safe. All that changes with the arrival of Ellery Chandler, a silver-haired corporate superstar and the "most eligible lesbian in the business world". Cara's encounter with this powerful, captivating woman starts off a series of events that challenge everything Cara thought she knew about herself, her life...and her desires.

"Got a gun?" With those words, David Allen Crockett, a retired police officer who simply wanted to be left alone, finds his seclusion shattered by his friend, therapist Ruby LaCost. At Ruby's request, Crockett agrees to teach one of her clients, Rachael Moore, how to defend herself with a handgun. During the course of those lessons, Crockett and Rachael begin an intimate relationship. When Rachael is found dead from an apparent suicide, Crockett is devastated and tries to slink back into his self-imposed seclusion.

The girl everybody loves to hate has returned to the town she'd sworn to leave behind forever. As the rich, spoiled princess of Parrish, Mississippi, Sugar Beth Carey had broken hearts, ruined friendships, and destroyed reputations. But 15 years have passed, and now she's come home - broke, desperate, and too proud to show it. The people of Parrish don't believe in forgive and forget. But none of them have reckoned on the unexpected strength of a woman who's learned survival the hard way.

My dog once took a bullet that was intended for me. A bullet that ripped through his chest, narrowly missing his heart, and exited through his shoulder blade. This left him unconscious on the floor of my home. Amazingly, this bullet did not kill him. Ten years ago, I adopted Blue after I broke up with my boyfriend one hot, early summer night with the windows open and the neighborhood listening. The next morning I went straight to the pound in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Articles on buying your first dog tell you never to buy a dog on impulse.

What is it about men anyway? Bad cars, bad jobs, even bad teeth - nothing convinces them that they can't snare a size-two babe with a D-cup chest. And after way too many Internet dates with men named "luvstick" and "bigdaddy182", Lucy Rothschild should know. But sitting across from her now is "hardluvnman", and he seems different - sensitive, honest, and hot! He says he's a plumber while Lucy claims she's a nurse. She's really a mystery writer, dating online while researching her next book.