Book excerpt: Welcome to the Crossroads, where dragons, witches, shape-shifters and other magical beings are real and the paranormal is normal, in this award-winning series by Jennifer Ashley w/a Allyson James Stormalker When I’m attacked one night on the open road, an innocent bystander is killed—cousin of the local sheriff, who’s not too happy with me. I try to warn him of the continuing danger, but he’s curiously oblivious—for reasons I find out later. The attack also alerts my on-again, off-again boyfriend, Mick, the man I made myself walk away from years ago. Now he’s back, and I have to decide whether to give into my intense cravings for him or continue to fight alone. Firewalker My day bursts into chaos when a Changer charges into my hotel, attacking me with a message spell. I have to obey the message, whether I like it or not. But that’s okay, because it’s from Mick, my dragon boyfriend, guiding me to Death Valley where he’s been imprisoned by the Dragon Council. Rescuing him takes all my strength, not to mention the wild magics I inherited from my evil-goddess mom, plus Nash, the sheriff who’s impervious to magic. But once Mick is free, he tells me he’s bound to the Dragon Council to appear at a trial for breaking dragon law. He’s already been found guilty, and now they’ll sentence him, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll let him live. Forget that. I’ll do anything in my power to keep Mick safe from the sticks-up-their-dragon-tails Council, even if it means letting forth my goddess power, and challenging the likes of Coyote, all my new friends, and even Mick himself. Shadow Walker The world falls from beneath me—literally—one winter night when I’m racing down the road on my beloved motorcycle. I tumble into a huge sinkhole, followed by the sheriff, who’s doggedly chasing me. I find myself in a cavern covered with evil petroglyphs that are intent on killing me … From that harrowing situation I go to another even more dire: A hotel inspector who seems bent on putting me out of business. Add to this, my evil little sister has surfaced to tangle with me, and now Mick, my dragon boyfriend, is acting mysterious and scary. Only the magic mirror, my interfering grandmother, and my new cook seem to know what’s going on, all of them telling me that Mick has been touched by shadows.