Nastia was just a peasant girl with an unusual talent until the Master of Seers took an interest in her. Learning from him was the best gift that she had ever received. Unfortunately, she had not reckoned on the cost.

Bereft of their elders in magic, hired out to strangers to feed their families. Survival was a constant battle for the Russian Witches. Despised by other witches for their rigid focus on contracts, they were without a moral compass, honorless. That was not good enough for some. For the young witch, Zhanna, life was not worth living without honor – or her magic. Could she find both in her homeland? Would her desire and drive be enough to locate her shade of honor?

Power - to Heal and to control. The Imperial society is full of eddies of power, both political and financial. On the world of Barkin Prime, the powerful Watern family has a long tradition of supplying some of the most powerful Healers in the Imperium. Corda is a child on the brink of turning 9. A significant threshold, that milestone marks the point at which her training as a Healer begins. She is excited, ready to learn. Brimming with anticipation, she looks forward to attending the same Academy program in a few years that her beloved brother has just completed. What starts as a graduation celebration, quickly morphs into an explosion of greed and anger. As conflict sweeps the house, Corda is overwhelmed and frightened. Will love be enough to shield this child from damage? How will her life change from exposure to such crippling manipulation? Will a Seer’s vision see any future for her in the cards?

Even in the Badger Hold Bar, the gift of fashion is more than a shallow expression of regard. “How you feel about your place in the world and who you are is picked up immediately by others. Comfort in your clothing presents the persona that is important to you!” so said the Clothier to her newest client. Moving at her usual whirlwind pace, Genevieve is about to perform an Earth-shaking makeover!

Talents Together. The Vorcians spread their philosophy and messages through the galaxy as they reached out into the stars. Holding technology and magic, intellect and physical capability as equal, their alliance has created a stable and powerful force. The Vorcian Imperium has grown from a single star system to more than a hundred worlds. As it has expanded, those of exceptional talent have found their place on the galactic stage. Meet some of these exceptional individuals, Mage, sharpshooter, cook, or soldier. Welcome to the Vorcian Imperial Chronicles. Welcome to the Cadre Files.

Mary did not know what to expect when she walked into a new grief support group but fully acknowledged that her burning sense of loss and emptiness was not going away without help. The grieving widow never would have thought that finding others bearing their own burden of pain would have resulted in a textile tour of Afghanistan, but that is precisely what she found herself doing! Even though the tour company promised them that they would not be going through a war zone, Mary and her six friends soon found themselves in an environment so different than the US that they were forced to dig deep to survive. Each of the women found their own form of transformation in the crucible of the breathtaking scenery and vibrant life that fills the rocky conflict-torn country. Each of them found their own particular time of gifting.

Pain and confusion. Where am I? How did I get here? A man wakes in an empty room, injured and unclothed. At first, he is just a moving animal, trying to find warmth and food. The drive to survive heats up and his mind rouses, engaging higher levels of thought and strategy. Food. Healing. Clothing. Even when the basics are found, the man is still reeling, disoriented and unsure of what to do or where to go. Driven to search for what he does not know, he moves and explores. If nothing else, he needs to know who he is. Even if his name is lost.

What does a woman have to do to get a break? Ruth Cavanaugh has survived slavers and a traumatic transformation into a Mage. Now she finds herself on an alien planet, connected to one of the high nobles. It was a pretty slick trick for a woman who never believed in magic, aliens, or many of the things that she has now seen. The new Mage needs quiet time and a chance to make sense of the battles she has been through. The damage from her trauma is not healed, and it hampers her at every step of the way. But she keeps pushing forward. As new enemies rise around her, attacks both political and physical increase. The Mage is trying to learn how to control her magic as quickly as she can, but the difference between the violent battlefield and a society that is more concerned with niceties leaves her vulnerable and hurting. She has her Anchor but also needs to find her own feet. Preferably without the flashbacks. So what can this woman do to make sense out of her new life and prosper? Ruth knows that when times are tough you need to dig deeper and just go. If you are the Unfettered Mage, that means shopping.

Bolormaa's life has changed, once again. Forced to flee from the home that she had known for most of her life, the elderly Seer found herself living on a different planet, but in a land that reminded every day of the home that she had lost. With her granddaughter now taking steps to establish her own life, what will one woman do to fill her time and her heart? Can she find a place to make a difference without becoming someone unrecognizable? Or will she be forced to sacrifice even more of who she has been? Come taste the vibrant, earthy dishes from Baba’s heritage and the bounty of foodstuffs that grow and are available in the Russian cuisine and the comforting kitchen of Baba Bolormaa, grandmother to the Russian Witch, Zhanna. Enjoy the different dishes, conveniently offered in a range of difficulties and complexities for everyone from beginning cooks to those with extensive experience. Readers enter the world of a writer, immersing themselves in the descriptions of sight and sound, feeling and thought. The more comprehensive the immersion, the more encompassing the experience. The combination of stories and the recipes that would be appropriate for the characters in those tales are designed to make this cookbook an experience unlike most others. The tales in this cookbook form part of a serialized story that continues in subsequent cookbooks and books. As the world increases in richness, so will the recipes, as we build an exciting palette of culinary adventures.

Traveling back to recover people and familiars left in Paris

Safe. Haunted. Full of regret. How would you feel if you managed to escape from a deadly situation but knew that others that you loved were still trapped? TT and her Uncle Jack are headed back to Earth. The two Persian cats are joined in their journey by a pair of Russian Mercenaries that also are being torn apart by thoughts of comrades who were left behind. They are all determined to make one last attempt to rescue as many as they can from the predations of the Blood Mages, but they must make this journey on their own. Their friends promise to help, even if they are unable to go themselves. After all, anything that helps would be good, right? Or is it possible to have too much help? When determination and sacrifice joins hands with love and hope, whatever results can only be spectacular!

Chaos and confusion. The tidal wave of tension before release. The Badger Hole Bar is having its Grand Opening. Madrik and his new team have been frantic. Trying to get everything ready in time is hard enough, but there are problems. Of course, it might help if the BHB would stop rearranging the architecture, or no new emergencies came up. Since that would be an impossible situation, they will just have to do what they can and leave the rest to fate, luck, or whatever. That just leaves one main worry... What if no one comes?

Expected to be a Healer. Destined to be something else. All of the Waterns of Barkin Prime have been Master Healers, a legacy that runs back hundreds of years. Corda, the eldest daughter of the house, does not expect to break that pattern, but the universe has different plans for her. The events that help shape the woman that will become an essential part of the Vorcian Imperium are powerful. Just like the adult that she is destined to be. This is the second story in the Vorcian Imperial Chronicles about Corda, the eldest girl in the Watern family of Barkin Prime. We first met Corda in the book In the Cards, where her coming of age 10th birthday was celebrated by a visit from her maternal grandmother, the Imperial Seer. The story picks up when Corda is barely 13 and is starting at the Barkin Prime Academy of Magic.

Desolation and grief can leave you floating, unable to find a new shape to your existence. Who knew that it was possible to be shocked out of the morass of sorrow by a well-timed push?! Madrik was reeling from the loss of his family and unable to find his way in the new reality. Then something happened that sent him further than he ever thought to travel. A new life, in a new dimension! This is a place where problems are solved and life is constantly changing. Come in, put your feet up, and join the crew that Madrik is collecting in this shared universe. Be amused and challenged, touched and enthralled. Welcome to the Badger Hole Bar!