Books published by Connie Suttle

"I'll pay you $10,000 just to listen to my offer of employment, Mr. Gifford."Private investigator Ren Gifford is hired by an eccentric billionaire to locate Glen Moreland, an employee who has disappeared. Everything about the case is strange, from the initial meeting with the client to the constant meddling by the client's front man. Glen had deliberately gone off the grid to avoid dire consequences he knew he would face when his employment contract ended.As Ren delves deeper into the case, he learns how and why Glen fled. Shocked by the grisly details, Ren wonders how Glen was able to continue working for his employer for almost five years. Ren deduces Glen's location, but faces a moral dilemma; whether to honor his commitment to his client and give him Glen's whereabouts or help Glen escape.Deciding on the latter would incur his client's wrath and possibly deadly vengeance.

I should be dead. All the fire demons who were betrayed and sacrificed before me had certainly died. Will, the wizard who attempted to destroy me, said it was the only way to kill the enemy known as Black Myth.Of all the fire demons led unknowingly to their deaths, how had I survived-and why?-Cassie King-Worth

"What can go awry usually does." --Liffel's proverb Quin is kept busy placing planet-saving spheres on poisoned worlds. A Device has been created on an isolated world, which can hide anyone or anything from even the most powerful, including the gods. Quin The spheres The Device Vardil Cayetes wants all these things. Who can stop him, now that he is back and stronger than ever?

Toff's life is in danger - someone from the Green Fae village wants him dead. In fact, the entire Fae community has begun to grumble as Kifirin's judgment looms. With only a few exceptions, the Fae focus their anger (and the blame) on Toff, who fails to understand why everyone now seems to be against him.

Radomir handled the meeting, because Gavin wanted to kill Norian Keef. Norian sat inside Gavin's office at the palace, nervously tapping a foot. That in itself irritated Gavin to the point of red-eyed, lengthy-fanged murder. Radomir worked to calm Norian while Gavin looked on, mentally considering the many, painful ways Norian might meet his end.

Death has come to Le-Ath Veronis. A would-be assassin, aiming at Lissa, manages to kill someone close to her instead.

Other Worldly Holidays is a collection of three short stories; GSW, Or How I Met My Mother, Queen's Holiday and Rose of the Peaks. These stories have many of your favorite characters and provide some wonderful background into their lives-all centered around the holidays.

Aedan always knew when something was wrong. Adele sat at the kitchen island, staring at her hands. Ashe had never seen her so defeated. "What is it?" Aedan sighed as he took a seat beside Adele."This." Adele pulled the letter from the drawer and handed it to Aedan. Aedan hesitated, as if he could hold off the news and keep his life as it was for a few moments longer. Finally, his fingers grasped the envelope. Ashe watched as the weight of it settled onto his father's shoulders. Slitting the envelope open with a slightly extended claw, Aedan pulled the folded paper out and opened it.In an effort to lay claim to Ashe, the vampires roll the dice. As a result, Ashe's life spins out of control - in ways even he couldn't imagine. Friends betray him. Those closest to him pull away. What he believes to be true turns out to be only a partial truth.The war between Light and Dark Elemaiya ramps up in the midst of these painful revelations, and it is up to Ashe to do something about it. If he doesn't, everything could be destroyed.

A move from Cloud Chief, Oklahoma is forced after the Dark Elemaiya locate the paranormal community. Star Cove, Texas, a coastal community, is Ashe's new home, but other enemies crop up in the form of shapeshifter-hunting, drug-running werewolf brothers Obediah and Ezekiel Tanner. Throw in a trigger-happy congressman and Ashe has his hands full!

Wylend Arden, Fifth-level warlock and King of Karathia for more than twenty-thousand years, had quite a story to tell."It began like this," he said, his smile slightly crooked as he lifted his cup of wine to me. "I had an older brother, born to one of my father's legitimate mates. His name was Wellend and he was heir to the Karathian throne. On his sixteenth birthday, my father gifted him with the Heir's Ring, as was proper." After thousands of years, Wylend's niece and nephew are making a bid for the Karathian throne. All they need, it seems, is a book and a ring to prove their inheritance. It matters not to Deris and Daris Arden whom they murder or which worlds they destroy in their quest to wrestle the throne from seemingly legitimate heirs. If they conquer the Karathian King and take the throne, their greed will demand that the Alliances be next...

Of the hundreds of half Bright Elemaiyan children born to human parents, only seven remain. Six of those have been relocated, but the Dark Elemaiya are closing in to destroy them. The seventh, Ashe Evans, resides in Cloud Chief, Oklahoma. Government authorities, in an effort to save the relocated six, approach the residents of Cloud Chief seeking shelter for the children and their human families. Ashe must find a way to keep them safe as murders begin to pile up outside Cloud Chief's protected boundaries.

Quin finds herself at the center of a maelstom, as Siriaa is threatened by an unidentifiable poison and a coup envelopes Kondar. Lives hang in the balance across the universe, as samples of the poison stolen from Siriaa are offered for sale to the highest bidders.Quin feels obligated to help those she can, but it will require powerful help.Does such a thing exist?If so, will it answer her call?

"Those who currently call themselves King and Queen of the Elemaiya can't read those medallions and never knew how to use them properly. I should go." Griffin unfolded his tall frame from the deck chair and stretched. "Be careful." Griffin disappeared. "Yeah. Sure. Easy for you to say." Ashe lifted the sleeve covering his left arm and gingerly touched the eight gold medallions circling his biceps. At least they weren't as tender against his skin as they'd first been. When they'd first appeared, he could barely stand to touch them, and it was worse if someone else tried. "Am I supposed to read these things, now, to get back what I lost?" Ashe shook his head in bewilderment. "This just gets worse as it goes along." Ashe is faced with a weakness in his genetic makeup as he learns of a greater force that is determined to eliminate him or turn him away from his chosen path. Will those around him fall while he makes the choice?

"He wants to talk to you again," the girl winced. "I want to bust his nose," I muttered, making the girl laugh. I hefted the tray up and carried it to his table. "I had to wait two clicks to get in here." "I told you to call ahead," I said, settling the tray on a stand and handing off his noodle bowl, followed by the plate of ox-roast. "I thought you were making that up." "I never lie about food," I said. "Is there anything else?" I swept the tray off the stand. "Ex-ASD?" "That's what the Director said. And he's not high on my list, unless it's the list of people I never want to see again." "What's the problem with Director Keef?" "Where do you want me to start?" "Start with the most recent." "My dead daughter," I snapped and walked away. After Reah's brush with death, she is understandably distrustful of most of her mates. Striking out on her own, she is determined to investigate a rash of child disappearances across the universes, in and outside the Alliances. The evil she discovers in the course of her investigations could bring all worlds to their knees if Reah doesn't find a way to destroy it.

"I guess this isn't a good time." Lendill folded into the kitchen."Here. It has bourbon in it." I pushed my cup of tea toward him and rose from my seat to make another."Land and sky, Reah, this is strong." Lendill took a sip from my cup."Yeah. Sit down," I said. "What do you want?""Is that any way to treat a mate you haven't seen in months?""You only show up when you want something," I said. "So what is it?""Bel has disappeared," Lendill swallowed more tea, grimaced and then swallowed more."Wizard Bel?" I hadn't seen Bel for years, yet I knew he still worked for the ASD."Yes. I sent him to investigate a problem on Surnath, and he vanished. We can't find him.""What kind of problem?" I asked, sitting down with my freshly poured and spiked tea. I didn't even ask Teeg if he wanted any. I was still pissed at him."A worker in an electronics factory went crazy and killed twenty of his coworkers after getting his hands on a laser pistol somehow. And then, two weeks later, a secretary at a legal firm kills six people there. The governor of the Realm on Surnath asked us to investigate. We thought it was just a copy crime. Bel was in so he volunteered. Was there for three days before he came up missing.""That's terrible," I said. "And you tried mindspeech and everything?""Yes. No answer. Bel isn't one to fall easily into a trap. So we're all concerned.""Me, too," I nodded. I'd known Bel when I was a conscript in the Regular Alliance Army."Norian and I are willing to pay top credit if you'll work a special assignment on this."Wizard Bel is missing, after investigating two crimes on Surnath. Reah agrees to work this special assignment for the ASD, and discovers that Bel's disappearance is linked to far deeper and much darker crimes. The criminals behind these crimes hold the survival of both Alliances in their grip and it is up to Reah to expose them before their final plans become a reality.

"Dad! When did you get here?" Kevis looked up from his comp-vid-he was completing notes on a patient. He entered the last bit of information and stood to greet his father."Kev, I have a patient I'd like to put in your clinic," Karzac said, walking in to sit beside his son's beautifully polished wood desk. Kevis, a physician for the past thirty years, ran a private clinic for patients with difficult mental problems."Dad, surely not one of the Saa Thalarr," Kevis sat down again and hit an electronic key on his deskcomp. Kevis looked very much like his father-nearly six feet tall with light-brown hair and green-gold eyes. He'd opened his private clinic twenty years earlier on Refizan, his father helping financially. Kevis was doing very well for himself."No. Not one of those. And I think when we get her, the Larentii will have already made a great deal of progress in her treatment. What we really need for her, I think, is peace and quiet, where there isn't anyone troubling her with something that needs to be done. She hasn't had a vacation in years, has been attacked and made very ill recently and there are other circumstances that have affected her. She almost killed herself three days ago.""Is there anything unusual about her?" Kevis lifted an eyebrow at his father. He suspected that the prospective patient might not be completely human."She's High Demon, son, and hasn't been treated well for a very long time." * * *Reah's mental health is compromised, new enemies appear and Teeg's control of the Campiaan Alliance is threatened. While Reah struggles to regain her health, her mates work to redeem themselves and reclaim her trust. Meanwhile, signs begin to appear-are the God Wars imminent? Only time will tell.

"Ashe, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't produce a single scale, feather, talon or patch of fur." In the paranormal community of Cloud Chief, Oklahoma, twelve-year-old Ashe Evans is a failure. Born to a shapeshifting mother and a vampire father, he should be passing his Transformational Arts classes easily. Sadly, Ashe can't seem to become anything other than himself. Principal Billings, a werewolf, is threatening to send Ashe to a human school if he doesn't transform soon. Ashe's personal troubles are soon forgotten when a seventeen-year-old werewolf is found dead behind his rural home. Someone is killing those with ties to the human world and Ashe finds himself a target. Will he solve the mystery of the murders or will he become the killer's latest victim?

Reinvention/Reincarnation. Those words describe Connie best. She has worked as a janitor, a waitress, a mower of lawns and house cleaner, a clerk, secretary, teacher, bookseller and (finally) an author. The last occupation is the best one, because she sees it as a labor of love and therefore no labor at all. Connie has lived in Oklahoma all her life, with brief forays into other states for visits. She and her husband have been married for more years than she prefers to tell and together they have one son. After earning an MFA in Film Production and Animation from the University of Oklahoma, Connie taught courses in those subjects for a few years before taking a job as a manager for Borders. When she left the company in 2007, she fully intended to find a desk job somewhere. She found the job. And the desk. At home, writing.

"Just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it can't exist," I pointed out. "You just haven't been in the right place or time before.""Being in the right place and time with Sirenali sounds crazy and scary as hell," Jayson breathed. "Why can't it be some of those short, friendly guys?""There are short, friendly guys, but they don't have any desire to invade somebody else's planet," I said, thinking of the Amterean Dwarves. The only thing they might want to invade was Earth's libraries and information systems. Information was more valuable than precious metals on Amterea."We're screwed," Jayson muttered. Opal stifled a snicker.* * *Earth has been invaded, and those who have made a difference throughout time are targeted. The enemy's goal? Change things in their favor. The General and his servants still have hopes of finding the Mighty, and luring at least one of them into a trap. Will Love, Strength and Wisdom survive, as they struggle to save those who are important to their cause? Only time will tell.

I rubbed my forehead, where the pale line showed from wearing the coronet. "People waiting on me and I have hat lines." Lissa expected her life as Queen of Le-Ath Veronis to run smoothly. At least for a little while. Reality has a way of intruding on even the most idyllic of circumstances. Complications arise in the form of creatures created by the Ra'Ak, who now seem bent on destroying the universe, one planet at a time. The former Ra'Ak and Elemaiya who were left on Kifirin are determined to rebel; vampires are clamoring for entertainment and other distractions, and family that Lissa never suspected she had show up-some of them in the most unexpected of ways. Lissa has to juggle all the difficulties in her life, all while dealing with the ugliest of betrayals.

"You think maybe Breanne is somewhere else, now, deciding whether it's worth it to come back?""It's possible," Ashe said, rubbing his forehead. He hadn't had a headache this bad in almost a decade. He'd had this one for four days."She may not want to stay here if she wakes up," Trajan sounded troubled."I know. Sometimes I want to kick my own ass over that.""I'll do it for you.""Look, you're still the better fighter, so no, thanks," Ashe held up a hand.* * *The rogue gods, sure that the Mighty Heart is dead, have stepped up their game.Bill, Hank and the others are concentrating on tracking a human known to have ties with the rogues-Vernon Clark.Vernon has manipulated many things in the past from his website. He was the first to claim that Breanne was a lie created by Rome Enterprises to destroy Joyce Christian's reputation after her death. He has many nefarious contacts, and not just with rogue gods and Sirenali.Hoping to get information and locations on the enemy from their quarry, Bill and his team travel to New Mexico, where Vernon Clark was last seen. Their search for the enemy then leads to other states, where things are beginning to heat up.Wildrif, the quarter-blood Elemaiyan seer, has become an unreliable source of information as he can't see past shields surrounding Bill's group, so Acrimus and Calhoun bring in another seer-one so dangerous even those who resurrect him fail to understand their peril.The God Wars continue.

Breanne's JournalEleven days. Eleven days it took, for me to become vampire. The beating had revived old nightmares and I only wished to die. I'd shaken my head and muttered "no" through lips so bloodied and swollen it was difficult to say the word. He'd asked me if I wanted to live. I said no. He asked me if I wanted to be strong and live forever. I said no again, with difficulty. "Wrong answer," he whispered and cut into my wrists.* * *In the beginning, the One created the Three. Only the One was more powerful than the Three. They were named Wisdom, Strength and Love. Those Three are more commonly known as the Mighty Mind, the Mighty Hand and the Mighty Heart.Others were made, then, with varying degrees of power, who served under the One and the Three. The worlds were made, both Light and Dark, and those worlds were populated with all manner of races and creatures.One day, the One and the Three discovered that a blight had infected their ranks. Some at many levels of power had banded together and turned against them, seeking to destroy what had been created. The Three were given the task of pursuing the rogues and finding a way to either turn them back to the light or eliminate them. The Three began to choose their armies carefully, as their duty was to seek out and right many wrongs in their pursuit of such pervasive evil.The God Wars have begun.

"To whom are you taking her?" Merrill asked, uncharacteristically curious. "Dragon," Griffin grinned. I stared at Griffin, my mouth surely open in surprise. Dragon? There was somebody named Dragon? That didn't sound promising. Who named their kid Dragon? Xenides has witnessed Lissa's talents first-hand and now he is desperate to find her. After all, under his compulsion, Lissa can topple governments and bring any race to its knees.

Quin: Finder, healer, student, teacher, lover, pirate- BlackWing "My life in Gungl began a moon-turn later, when I was finally able to pull myself out of bed without crushing grief slamming into me and causing me to collapse. The following day, my plan for revenge against Vardil Cayetes, the man responsible for Siriaa's destruction, began." * * *Siriaa has been destroyed at the command of an enraged criminal. The poison infecting that planet has been flung into the universe, landing upon hapless worlds in its path. The Orb has dropped Quin onto another world five years in the future, where she is compelled to seek revenge against Vardil Cayetes, the one responsible for Siriaa's destruction. From a crumbling, lawless world to one held in the tight fists of a criminal alliance, a disguised Quin searches for her enemy, whose only concern is keeping his life, no matter the cost to others. Quin and another innocent become targets when the enemy learns of the danger they represent. Will Cayetes succeed in his assassination attempts? Not even the gods can predict the outcome.

"LexsiTears of flame dripped down my cheeks--tears for Kory and me. The fire net burned my hands whenever I touched it, but I couldn't let it harm him any more than it already had. Kory's wings, with burn-holes between ribs, beat to help me get the net off him.Kory screamed as the net sunk farther into sections of his back--it was designed to burn flesh until it had completely passed through its victim. I shook my hands to rid myself of the wad of net I held and reached for the part that was burning Kory so badly."Lexsi:1. Who is behind the plot to kill us?2. What do they want?3. Where are they?4. Why me?My to-do list is overwhelming...Kordevik:1. How can I keep my Thifilathi in line, when it wants Lexsi now?2. How do I keep the werewolves, shifters, vampires and humans around me behaving in a civil manner toward each other?3. How can I protect Lexsi and the others, when the enemy wants to destroy all of us?4. How did I get myself into this mess?A Demon's Work is Never Done...

A full moon hung over the Mississippi's dark waters, meaning this was the time for hunters to arrive and take whatever they could capture. A device would be clamped to the backs of our necks and we'd never be able to shift back to human again. It was how they justified their enslavement of us; that we were only animals instead of sentient humans.The Krelk had killed more than two-thirds of the human population, too, but they made the excuse that they'd thought them animal as well, until their High Council, wherever that was, decided otherwise.When I heard the first yelp, even underground, I couldn't breathe. Was that a shifter? Few shifters could take on a Krelk and their weapons and either survive or avoid being stunned. That's how we were captured-frozen and only barely able to breathe while we were caged, tagged and hauled away from the buffer zone.Another yelp-followed quickly by a third. This was no shifter-the Krelk were the ones screaming. Terrified but still curious, I dipped into the watery entrance and slowly made my way out of my cave to peek at the river bank above my head.A dead Krelk dropped into the water nearby, making me jump and squeak in terror."An otter?" Someone leaned down to look at me.Not a Krelk-I knew their scent. This-I'd never scented someone like this before. I scrabbled backward, afraid of this newcomer, too, even if he did appear humanoid."Don't be afraid-I killed all of them."I backed all the way into the water and scrambled to swim to my cave before he could grab me. Once there, I refused to come out."I understand," he said, loud enough that I could still hear him. "Be safe. I'll patrol farther down, tonight."I listened, my heart beating so rapidly I feared it would burst while his footsteps, light as they were, faded as he walked southward.He'd killed six Krelk, and I'd never heard one of their weapons fire. Who could do that?Earth wasn't alone it its suffering. We were just another planet in a large group of suffering worlds, and help was either non-existent or difficult to come by.There'd be no Marines landing here to save us; that hope had died years ago. What we had was a handful of people with unusual talents, helping a few of us stay alive against impossible odds.--Clare Coquina

Zaria "There's a slight problem," Teeg San Gerxon announced as he appeared next to Rylend."What's that?" Vik asked.I already knew from reading it in Teeg's face. Irina's body had been found; I recognized her image in Teeg. He still didn't know her identity, but testing on her body revealed that she died of radiation poisoning, and that she was originally from Old Earth.* * *After his escape from Earth in the past, D'slay appears in the Reth Alliance-in the future.Zaria can only follow D'slay's trail of crimes; something-or someone-prevents her from finding him.Is D'slay the real villain, or is he only a distraction for other, more sinister plans?When it becomes apparent that important hub worlds are in danger, Lissa, Reah, Zaria and many others must form a Blood Alliance to combat the coming chaos.Will their efforts prove effective, or has the plot against them been laid too well?

A vampire, a werewolf and a Larentii walk into a bar... Lissa, Winkler, Zaria and Breanne are forced into the past to protect the timeline from rogue gods. What seems a simple task at first turns far more sinister and deadly, when the rogues' true goals are discovered. The rogues' objective? To reverse the outcome of the God Wars in their favor...

From Falchan to Earth to the heavens and places in between, join Devin, Dragon, Conner and others as they travel through this collection of short stories.

The Metal Library has relocated itself. Morgett Blackmantle, a powerful Ra'Ak, is seeking its new location. A scholar is hired to research potential hiding places for the library. When the scholar is killed for the information he holds, Kory, Lexsi and the scholar's son are drawn into the search for Morgett and his allies. These three, along with their friends, have to prevent Morgett from bringing death and chaos to Australia, while leaving the timeline intact and undisturbed. For committing terrible murders, Morgett has no idea that his demise may be A Demon's Due...