Flannery O'connor Short Fiction Award

before all man can remember, monsters roam our lands, special group of people named keepers has known the history of how monsters were vanquished and removed from our world. all monsters are now fiction, can be read in books and heard in legends, however, another group of people seeks chaos and want to free these monsters known only from our books and legends.

Vendetta is fearless, brave and a well trained CIA officer. She complete her missions smoothly and leave no mistake. "Son of a bastard"She punch the new criminal she caught recently at the query room before walking out leaving the rest to her co-workers. Everything was smooth until her new mission which was the most shocking news to her. "I can't win over them"She tried to explain. Her mission is to get the Cruello de Vil gang member, where plotting someone's assaination is a normal daily duty and no stand against them ever in Las Vegas. But do you think she can actually do it when the new boss of the gang is no other than Rainal O' Brien whose father was murdered by an unknown and he had no choice but to take charge of the gang now. Rainal O'Brien is a rare name everyone feared. He is a monster, cruel and powerful that lurked in all of your worst nightmare and patiently waiting for you to cross his dangerous path. But the gate of hell swing open and hell let loose when they both cross paths and Vendetta was only pretending to be his lover while finding is weakness. Can Vendetta really fight again Rainal? What chemistry can they have? Can she fight over the one she might start to have feelings for?. There is only one way to find out..........

A bond mysteriously formed. Or was it tampered with? After a promise of a new mate to Connor, he suddenly felt like he was sharing the bond of the pack with someone but he did not pay attention to it as he did not want to have high hopes after the pain he went through for losing his mate, Anna. But then a strange lady comes to his pack, claiming him as her mate. He was uncertain about accepting her. One thing he did not know is that he had just opened his pack to vipers. They slowly crawled their way in and a predestined lady who was promised and destined to fight for them comes to light. How does the trail of Pain and sorrow drive in between Connor's fate for a mate?

Rose Harper will do anything to protect her younger sister, Willow. When they are sold by their rogue father to Alpha Lewis of the Red Riding pack, the Alpha threatens to send Willow to a brothel unless the twenty-one-year-old consents to spy on his enemy. Lycan Adam is planning to make war on the werewolf clans. Arrogant and powerful, he no longer believes in love and despises the mate bond. But the Moon Goddess is not done with him yet. Will Rose remain loyal to Alpha Lewis or side with her unexpected fated mate if Lycan Adam promises to rescue Willow? Much may depend on the Alpha's Beta, Connor, who believes himself to be in love with Rose and is planning a rebellion of his own.

Sophie thought she had it all planned out. She'd broken free from her dead-end job and stagnant relationship and was off to see the world. She craved adventure and independence. Romance was the last thing on her mind—Until she met Callum, the handsome Scot who threatened to turn all her plans upside down. But, Sophie did say she wanted an adventure. And Callum looked like an adventure.

My boyfriend, Christopher Linden, was short of 20 thousand dollars for his medical treatment. To get the money as soon as possible, I participated in a rich man's game onboard a lavish cruise. I didn't bat an eye as I jumped into the ocean to search for a bracelet one of their female companions had dropped in the water. As I choked on the ocean water, I heard the man in the lead mock me, saying, "I've seen plenty of the dirty things people are willing to do for money, but you take the cake. You're even willing to give up your life for it." Someone teased, "Your girlfriend doesn't like money and is willing to forgo everything to care for you. Do you love her?" He snorted. "She's just a peasant from the countryside; I'm only fooling around with her. You have no idea how coarse her hands are—they disgust me whenever she touches me. How could I possibly fall for her?" I turned ashen at his words. He was Christopher, who was supposed to be wheelchair-bound. He was also supposed to be too broke for surgery. The peasant from the countryside he was talking about was me.

Edith Sherwood is an orphan girl who is strict and idealistic. She ran for chairman of the student committee at her school. Her path to victory is cut short when Edith discovers that she is nine months pregnant. How did that happen? Edith was the only ordinary human being, as she knew herself. She went to a special school for werewolves. Edith hasn't gone through puberty for the past 5 years and thinks she's fine. Who would have thought that a one-night stand with Seth Tinley McKirby, a popular bad boy at her school, would lead to her anomalous pregnancy? --- "For what? I don't want to deal with you anymore, Seth! So go and leave me alone, and then just assume that nothing has ever happened between us!" Edith snapped. "I will be responsible. You are pregnant, and the child in your womb is my child." "I really hate you, Seth!" Seth felt awry. "I want to set something straight. Edith, I love you, and I will wait until you give all of your heart to me," Seth insisted. --- The anomalous pregnancy leads Edith to the truth about her identity. Her past and supernatural abilities are slowly revealed, leading Edith to her destiny with Seth and their baby. How can she improve her destiny?

Raúl is a rising footballer who dreams of seeing his name make a name for himself with Spain's biggest club and national team. Tattooed, seductive, true to his feelings and hopelessly in love with Alana, who sees him only as a friend. Alana is a journalism student, has two dreams in her life, to be a writer and to win over Dani, her stepfather's son, who sees her only as his younger sister. Raúl wants to conquer Alana, and within the four lines of football, the function of a defender is to mark the attackers and defend the goalkeeper's area, but to reach the heart of the woman he loves, he will have to make a close marking, and something that defenders do not, go on the attack and reach the goal. Raúl will put Alana's feelings for Dani to the test, breaking down the solid defense she created, in addition to making her emotions and her body vibrate with every touch, or word spoken, especially when he calls her “Mi Cariño”. Their relationship begins after a lot of 0-0, a lot of seduction on the part of Raúl, but in addition to gradually conquering his space in Real Desportivo de Madrid, he also conquers once and for all the heart of Alana, who finds herself hopelessly in love with defender, but afraid that he will discover his secret, and everything goes very well between them until Raúl is summoned to compete in the World Cup, a lot changes, problems arise, and people from the past reappear to disturb the couple. A love as hot as the nights in Madrid, and enveloping as a good tactic in a football match, it remains to be seen what will get in the way of this couple, and how does this game?

In the darkness of the night, a 26-year-old fashion designer counters the murder of an innocent woman in the city of love. She is confronted with the most horrific scenario by the biggest mafia in France, which gets her in trouble. Daniel Richman, 28, is MI6 agent assigned to find the head of French mafia gang leader Tiago Pablo. However, he is backstabbed by someone he must investigate, he meets a mysterious woman named Rania. She doubts him yet at the same time is attracted to the English man and cannot stop thinking about him. Daniel is drawn to the lady and he finds himself drawn to her within these short hours, and before he knows it, he's in love with her. What will happen when the night is over? Will they stay together or will they part ways like strangers do?

"Part One: TakenJessie Coford had a plan: work hard, save money, open her own restaurant. She sacrificed her relationship with the man of her dreams to get it. Then, in the blink of an eye, she lost her job and her apartment and her life crashed around her. Until a letter taking her to Fort Mavis, Texas, and an unexpected windfall.Part Two: TamedShea Prescott was astonished when million Cruz Castillo chose her to design his new home on his ranch. They hardly traveled in the same circles. But Cruz had been hot for Shea since he first saw her and at their first meeting the chemistry between them ignited. Cruz coaxed her deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of erotic sex, awakening latent sexual desires and bringing her orgasms beyond her wildest imaginings. Her body screamed yes at his every touch, but will she say yes to the most important question?USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.Taken by Surprise is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author."