Showing results by author "Erika M. Szabo" in All Categories

A short story collection to make you shiver. The stories we tell through chattering teeth around campfires and on Halloween nights always contain a kernel of truth, a sinister echo of something ancient and malevolent that prowls the shadowy corridors of our minds. On stormy nights, as we huddled under blankets, those aren't tree branches scraping your window.

Ilona is a doctor and is ruled by logic. When she starts to develop unusual powers, her beliefs change and she's thrown into a world of mysteries, traditions, and secrets. She doesn't know much about her heritage, besides legends and rituals, when she begins to remember her mother's instructions concealed as rhymes. The discovery of her healing power and ability to freeze time is exciting and frightening.

In Book One, Protected by the Falcon, Ilona is thrust from her easy and steady life and forced to face the unknown, which prompts her to discover ancient tribal secrets. In Book Two, she obtains unimaginable abilities to protect her sister, who bears the next leader of the clan. She can use her powers for absolute good or absolute evil; the choice is up to her. Ilona's birthright as a healer runs alongside her desires as a woman. She must sort through her own feelings about the men in her life.

Lauren tiene todo lo que siempre había deseado. Gran carrera, seguridad financiera, esposo amoroso y amigos devotos. Cuando su guía espiritual Raven le advierte del peligro inminente, ella toma el presagio en serio, pero no tiene tiempo suficiente para realizar el hechizo de protección que le enseñó su abuela.

Lauren has everything she’d ever wished for. Great career, financial security, loving husband, and devoted friends. When her Raven spirit guide warns her of impending danger, she takes the omen seriously, but she doesn’t have enough time to perform the protection spell her grandmother taught her. Someone breaks into her office and after the brutal attack and the Raven’s repeated warnings, she knows her life is in danger. Who wants her dead and why?

A powerful curse cast thousands of years ago by the Grand Vizier. Tanakhmet cursed Prince Akhmose to never enter the Field of Reeds, the heavenly paradise. Why did he want him to linger as a restless ghost among the living, forever? By reading the hieroglyphs, Layla, a young Egyptologist, inadvertently breaks the curse and frees the ghosts of both Prince Akhmose and the Grand Vizier whose thirst for revenge is stronger than ever. With Layla’s help, can Prince Akhmose finally cross into the afterlife?

When Danielle finally quits her boring accountant job and opens an antiques and stuff store, her life changes for the better. But soon, her happy life starts to spin out of control when the snobbish new owner of the couture mansion brings a seemingly worthless painting into Danielle’s shop. The ownership of the painting is questionable, and the town’s future is threatened by the plans of the ruthless, rich owner who wants to build a leather factory on the estate, too close to town.

Jayden finds a leather book in his grandmother's secret room that was written in 426 by a shaman. Emily can read the ancient runes, and they learn about their family's curse. If it remains unbroken, the curse will bring tragedy and ruin their lives as it destroyed many of their ancestors' lives for centuries. Can they find the way to break the curse? Could Emily find happiness with her long-lost friend?

Remi's chest constricted painfully as she struggled to breathe. Rushed to the hospital, she received mysterious treatment due to a medical error, which miraculously stopped the asthma attack and restored her breathing. While she felt healthier than ever before, along with this astonishing recovery came peculiar abilities and Remi couldn't shake off the sense of foreboding. This miraculous healing may have come at a cost that she wasn't prepared to pay.

Seven Cozy Stories: Bedtime Stories for Grownups. Some of the stories in this book are also available separately.

A thought-provoking, dystopian romantic novelette. Caleb lost his soulmate, Valerie. Could it be possible to find her in a parallel universe? If his father succeeds to open the portal, will he find the same person in the alternate universe or a stranger? How far is he willing to go in finding the happiness he lost? Will he find his soulmate, Valerie?

A love potion made with haste out of jealousy puts Dorian into a coma like state. A rare orchid that blooms only once a year could save his life, but the precious flowers are fiercely guarded by Liam and his werewolf pack. The acolytes of the coven are forbidden to enter the forest and the young apprentices volunteer to make the journey that will test their loyalty and courage. Will they succeed?

Short stories about life’s humorous, happy, and dark moments. Some of the stories from my years in nursing, Steve's clumsiness, and my cooking disasters might make you spit out your coffee laughing. The stories of my pets will put a warm smile on your face, and the stories about life's darker moments might make you wipe a tear or two.

It’s believed by many that crows are a symbol of bad luck and death, but by others, crows are the symbol of life, magic, and mysteries. They also symbolize intelligence, flexibility, and destiny. Grandma often told me superstitious stories and myths. Most of her perceived omens remained unexplainable myths, but she always insisted that if we didn’t pay attention, who knows what would’ve happened.

For her exceptional creative abilities, Emma is rewarded with a magic pencil by an art fairy. She can make anything she draws with the pencil turn into a colorful painting, and she can also wish her painting to become real.

Born in a brothel in Paris in the early 1700s, Madeleine's future had been decided by her courtesan mother and Madame Claudine. Her innocence at age 14 would be sold to the highest bidder. She’d be treated as a usable and disposable toy to fulfill her patron’s every perverted desire until he tires of her. Then she’d become a courtesan to entertain anyone who visits the brothel. Madeleine dreams of a better future. She runs away and finds temporary refuge in a convent, but she doesn’t have too many options when she turns 18.

On her 13th birthday, Nikki discovers she has magical powers. During a surprise attack by the giant Mutanto, his henchman, Howler, and a gang of werewolves, Wishbone, Ghoulina, and Catman arrive to save the kids and tell them about Evila the Grim Witch’s plans to conquer Creepy Hollow. Nikki also learns the truth about what happened to her parents 12 years ago. She and Jack go back to Creepy Hollow with their friends to help them defeat Evila.

Elana was born to a homeless, drug addict mother and left on the steps of St. Patrick Cathedral. Moving from one foster home to another, her life was a revolving door of shattered hopes and disappointments. As soon as she felt an emotional connection to anyone, the foster kid in her quickly pushed the feeling away. The last thing Elana wanted to do was to get close to someone she would probably never see again. The necessary emotional defense served her well throughout her unpredictable life. Until she met Luca.

Nikki and her impish cousin, Jack, find a mysterious black pumpkin in the forest on Halloween. A wise talking skeleton, Wishbone, tells them that the ghosts of the Trinity of Wishmothers are trapped inside the pumpkin and can’t be freed without their wands. The children offer their help, so the skeleton takes them on a journey to the world of Creepy Hollow to retrieve the three wands he hid long ago in Red Crow Forest, the Tower of Shadows, and the Cave of Spooks. Ghoulina, the beautiful vegetarian ghoul, and Catman, who was once a man, join them on their quest.

Bianca and her best friend, Daniel, grew up together under the watchful eyes of Peanut, Bianca's St. Bernard. The huge dog was their babysitter, playmate, and bodyguard. They were inseparable, so people started calling them the BFF Gang. When summer vacation came, Bianca and Daniel decided to go swimming in the river when they were confronted by Mark and his cronies of the Wolf Pack Gang. Find out how Peanut told Mark, in his own doggy language, how much he dislikes brute bullies.