Books in Star-Crossed Tales series

Beauty Mara Duport has always dreamed of home, a place where she belongs. She knows that she has one, but ever since she was a kid, her dad’s been keeping the secret of her origin locked away, refusing to give her any information. Dad’s been keeping more than one secret. He’s in debt — a lot of debt — and the ruthless pirates he borrowed the money from are coming to collect. The pirate captain is renowned the galaxy over for his brutishness and cruelty — but when Mara sees his stoic face, her heart races, her mouth goes dry… and she offers herself as payment. Space Beast Torak of Basniel has a fierce, uncaring, ruthless reputation to live up to. So when a beautiful, innocent woman offers herself up to him on a platter, Torak doesn’t think twice. What does he care about stealing away this man’s precious daughter? But Torak gets a more than he’s bargained for. Mara’s more than just innocent — she’s also intelligent, skilled, beautiful — and she can see right through him, past the thorny exterior, down to the heart he thought died long ago. Being vulnerable was never part of the plan. Love was never part of the plan. Torak knows he’s an irredeemable monster, but with Mara he feels different. He sees the opportunity to be more than what’s always been expected. Mara knows that there’s something beautiful and redeemable inside Torak, and she won’t leave him until he finds it. Not until she can tame the beast.

When wishing on a star isn't enough, sometimes you have to fight for your dreams. Clipped wings… Stella wants nothing more than to be a pilot like her mother, who died on a mission years ago. However, she doesn’t want to be like the arrogant “Aces” at Starforge Academy, especially that show-off Dax. But the Aces aren’t her biggest problem. Her father — the Commandant of Starforge Academy — and stepmother won’t even let her enroll. Stella has to sneak into the flight simulators late at night, when no one’s around, to get close to her dream. Reluctant royalty… Dax is like the prince of Starforge — not only the best pilot at the Academy, but the son of a famous general. No one knows his secret: Dax hates his superstar status, and he doesn’t want to go fight on the front lines when he graduates. The pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps has taken all the joy out of flying. When he discovers that someone at the school is beating all his scores on the simulators — and then hiding the evidence — he’s determined to find out who it is. Though he’s unable to discover his mysterious competitor’s identity, he learns enough to suspect that she just might be the girl of his dreams. Soaring ambitions... Stella learns that the Academy is holding a school-wide exhibition of flying talent, with the winner allowed to fast-track their pilot’s license. She has to find a way to enter, and show her father what she's capable of. But that will mean outing herself to the school — and the ever-more-intriguing Dax. Will her stepmother ruin everything, or can Stella and Dax finally meet outside the simulators… and achieve their heart’s desires?

"Cleverly written, intriguing, and heart-wrenching." – New York Times bestselling author Jodi Meadows “An unusual focus on food only improves this intriguing coming-of-age story.” - Kirkus ReviewsPrincess Vela's people are starving.Stranded on a planet that lacks food, Vela makes the ultimate sacrifice and becomes an Aegis for her people. Accepting a genetic modification that takes sixty years off her life, she can feed her colony via nutrition pills. But her best friend is still getting worse. And she's not the only one.Now the king is dying, too.When the boy she's had a crush on since childhood volunteers to give his life for her father's, Vela realizes her people need more than pills to survive. As tensions rise between Aegis and colonists, secrets and sabotage begin to threaten the future of the colony itself. Unless Vela is brave enough to save them all…

Dust and daydreams... Celine Velmann’s never seen the sky. Her entire life, she’s lived in the Wastelands, where brutal dust storms that fill the sky are a way of life. She’s always dreamed of the stars that she’s only seen in pictures, but even her infallible robotic arm can’t craft the technology to get into orbit, so she’s stuck on the ground. A Pampered Prince... Ben’s never been good at anything but flying, but in the air, he’s the best there ever was. When the King — Ben’s father — orders all flights in the city grounded, he’s left stir-crazy and starved for action. Crazy enough to steal a ship and volunteer for a desperate, doomed, last-resort mission straight into the gaping maw of the Wasteland. Two Worlds Collide... When she sees a ship crash, Celine’s drawn toward it like a magnet — maybe this is the chance she’s always hoped for, the chance to escape her dusty life for something more. But when the hatch opens to reveal a half-dead but handsome human, she thinks twice. After all, her father’s warned her that humans are dangerous. That, if they could, they’d kill every last one of Celine’s kind. A day later Ben wakes up in a hospital bed, broken and bruised. The only thing he can remember about the Wasteland is a beautiful woman with vivid eyes, a soothing voice... and a mechanical arm. Everyone knows cyborgs are just a legend, something parents tell their kids about to keep them in line. But when a strange, familiar woman shows up in the City, Ben finds her very intriguing. Things go off the rails quickly when Ben’s city is exposed to the punishing dust and Celine realizes her family is in the cross-hairs of a vengeful alien. Can Ben and Celine overcome age-old prejudice to discover happiness together and save the planet, or will fear and suspicion get the best of them and doom them all?

Tevye is an immigrant young man of thirteen. Yes, he's the same Tevye who appears at the end of his parent's struggle in their own story, "Star Crossed". This is part of his story. Born in a Displaced Person's Camp in Germany right after the war, his family has been brought to the Bronx by a distant relative. His mother and father, Leib and Raizle have worked very hard from the day they arrived nine years ago to build a new life for their family in the Bronx. So far there is nothing unusual about their daily struggle. Except for the Native Americans and the Black slaves brought to her in chains it is America's story, and it has been told many times over. Then why tell it once again? The answer is a simple one. Each of us is unique and if we take the time to listen to our stories we are better people for it. So it is now your choice to continue reading or to put this book down. Either way, God Bless You, your family and this great country of ours. Tevye, Teddy as he is now called, is a young man who doesn't quite fit among his neighbors. There is something on the inside that keeps him on the outside despite the fact he shares a Jewish background and religion with his friends. Teddy enjoys his life but he's also scared a lot of the time. You see, there are a lot of bullies around the neighborhood who find his differences to be an attractive reason for him to be picked on. But he's not alone. On a day he's being picked on for going to the library he meets a young black man about his own age. Through some odd and sometimes painful circumstances a unique friendship is formed. But true friendships aren't real until they are tested. You see, this young black man, Wilson "Sweets" Short isn't a perfect fit in his neighborhood either. He's loved by some, ignored by others and feared by a few. Wilson is his own man but he's being held back by his own insecurities and lack of opportunities. This strange but interesting pair of friends are drawn together by their desire to explore each others cultures. They set off on their path to finding out who they are and what the world has to offer. But it will not always be an easy road. There will be violence because the Bronx has always had some "mean streets" that had to be walked and crossed. There will be problems with parents and peers because they always want what they think is best for you...or them. There will be blood and tears because that's one of the hard ways that lives progress. Growing up is not easy! Growing Up BX is probably a little harder. Ask Wilson and Teddy! They must pay the price that their world, the south Bronx in the fifties places on friendship and the beginning seeds of wisdom. Enjoy their journey! Hopefully, it will make yours a little easier! Tevye

Having been accepted into the summer writing camp in Monterey, CA, Logan worked so hard for inAries Rising, she is on her way to becoming a real published author! She needs to impress the camp's instructor, Henry Jaffa, a renowned journalist, paranormal investigator, and fellow Aquarian, whom she hopes will see the promise in her writing and become her mentor.But when Logan is stuck writing about an obscure folk singer Sean Baylor, whose spirit is rumored to be haunting the quaint seaside town, she is not sure that she will be able to complete her assignment. Will Logan be able to utilize her knowledge of the planets to impress Henry Jaffa, work through her romantic tug-of-war with the camp brooding bad boy Jeremy, solve the mystery of Sean Baylor's death, all while competing with the overachieving writers for the coveted spots in the camp's anthology