Christiana Miller

(The 2016 e-book version of Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead includes a Q & A with the Author). A little magic can go a long way -- to really screwing up a girl's life! Mara is having the worst month of her life. At least, that's what her cards tell her and they've never been wrong. She's evicted from her apartment, loses her job and is banned from Beverly Hills. So when the tarot cards predict her imminent demise, she uses a little magic to make her world right. Suddenly, an aunt she's never met dies, leaving Mara as her sole heir. But when Mara moves into her inherited home, she discovers Aunt Tillie never moved out. She's still one pissed-off old lady, even post-mortem, and she blames Mara's magical meddling for her death. When Mara accidentally releases a demon and awakens the spirit of the most powerful witch in history, Tillie's ready to kill her -- literally. It's the only way she can think of to save the girl from herself. The witch and the demon, however, have other plans for Mara's body!

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead

Mike and Maddie, a young couple with a new baby, are rushing home to prepare for their first New Year’s Eve party as a family. When they arrive, however, they’re shocked to find their condo has been burgled. Even worse, the burglar is still there—passed out on their bed! But New Year’s Eve in Chicago means they’re on a wait list for the cops. With Maddie’s anti-city, pro-suburb Greek family due to arrive at any minute, they decide to take matters into their own hands. Which means this night is about to go from wacky to worse. This is a farcical New Year’s Eve romp, told in alternating first person, between Maddie and her best friend, Rio

A New Year's Eve Romp

The Thief Who Stole Midnight

Mara’s in hell! Neither one of the guys in her life is talking to her. Paul, her ex-boyfriend, is afraid she’s going to give birth to a baby demon—complete with horns and hooves. He wants proof that he’s actually the father. And her best friend, Gus, is so obsessed with his new boyfriend and his plans for the late, great, Lord Grundleshanks the Poisonous Toad, he has no time for anyone else. After Gus flips the seasons and manages to bring summer into winter, everything starts going weirdly wrong. Summer refuses to leave. Household electronics start going haywire. When J.J., a local boy, vanishes from Mara's car, Mara begins to suspect he's been turned into a rat. But it’s such a crazy idea, who could she possibly talk to abut it? Then, her dead Aunt Tillie shows up to warn her that Gus is in trouble—big trouble—and it’s up to Mara to save him. Before Mara can stop him, Gus opens up a portal to Hell and the Devil comes calling. Now, she’s got her hands full, trying to find out what happened to J.J., assure Paul she’s not going to give birth to a mythological creature, and broker a truce between Gus and the Devil before Gus becomes Hell’s newest resident.

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're In Trouble!

The Devil's after Mara and Paul's got the hots for Gus? What the heck is going on?!Mara's and Gus's love lives get turned upside down when Cupid shows up with a vendetta to settle--and decides to use Gus and Mara as his tools.Eros (aka Cupid, aka the God of Love and Lust) underestimates Gus's resourcefulness though, and when Mara comes home, she finds Eros trapped in a cage, in their living room.But Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and with Gus absolutely refusing to let Eros (aka the Love Assassin) go, Aphrodite comes calling, to collect her son. (This novella includes a Q&A with the author in the Author Notes, as well as the original short story that the novella is based on).Series Order:Book One: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's DeadBook Two: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're In TroubleBook Three: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're Kidnapping CupidBook Four: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're Canning Demons

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're Kidnapping Cupid

When Gina and Bobby wake up at midnight on Christmas Eve, they catch Santa in the middle of his present deliveries—but he’s unlike any Santa they’ve ever imagined. He’s short-tempered, rude and wouldn’t know jolly if it ran him over with a sleigh. It turns out that Santa has been cursed. Gina and Bobby don’t figure out a way to save Santa, he’ll turn into the demonic Krampus, (Hell’s official Punisher and Tormentor of Naughty Children), forever. This short story was originally published in the holiday anthology Naughty or Nice.

KrampusKlaus

Mara is having the worst month of her life. She's evicted from her apartment, loses her job and is banned from Beverly Hills. When the tarot cards predict her imminent demise, she uses a little magic to make her world right. Suddenly, an aunt she's never met dies, leaving Mara her home; but when Mara moves into the inherited home, she discovers Aunt Tillie never moved out. She blames Mara's magical meddling for her death. When Mara accidentally releases a demon and awakens the spirit of the most powerful witch in history, Tillie's ready to kill her. It's the only way she can think of to save the girl from herself. The witch and the demon, however, have other plans for Mara's body!

Barbra Annino

When a mysterious stranger invades Amethyst, IL, stealing souls to feed a demon and generally ruining Halloween for the local kids, three witches join forces to take him on. This short novelette reunites Mara, Gus, Aunt Tillie and Grundleshanks the Toad (from the Toadwitch paranormal series) with Stacy Justice, the Geraghty Girls and Thor, the Great Dane, (from the Stacy Justice paranormal mystery series). As Gus, Mara and Stacy band together, they're bossed around by the cantankerous ghost of Mara's Aunt Tillie, tripped up by the spirit of Lord Grundleshanks the Poisonous Toad, backed up by Stacy's grandmother's coven, and given assistance by a local hoodoo master -- in-between episodes of Antiques Road Show, that is -- but they're still in for the Samhain of their lives. If they don't stop the stranger's nefarious plan, the only thing they can count on is that all three of their souls will be at risk! This is a quirky, paranormal adventure that combines thrills and chills with all-out spooky fun. It's a fun, fast-paced read, meant to tide readers over until Miller's and Annino's next full-length novels are released. However, it also works as a stand-alone to introduce new readers to the quirky paranormal world of the main characters. It includes short excerpts from the paranormal novels "Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead" and "Opal Fire."

A Toad Witch & Stacy Justice Mystery Short Story

A Tale of 3 Witches

Towards the end of her pregnancy, Mara and Gus get a call for help, from Mama Lua. Mama Lua has to go to New Orleans for a family emergency, but her store is under attack and she can’t leave it unattended. She asks Mara and Gus if they can fill in for her while she’s gone, deal with the assorted, eccentric customers, and figure out who’s trying to shut her down. When Mara and Gus arrive in Los Angeles, they have their hands full and Mama Lua is nowhere to be found. Aunt Tillie, who insisted on accompanying them, has her own reasons for wanting to be in Los Angeles, and isn’t being very forthcoming. Mara and Gus soon find themselves knee-deep in paranormal weirdness. Not only does Mara catch a wannabe vampire feeding on the customers, there’s a flesh-eating demon on the loose, working its way up the food chain, and now someone’s called up a homunculus. It’s up to Mara and Gus to sort everything out and can that demon before it claims any more victims on its homicidal snacking binge. But they need to get things under control fast, before Mara goes into labor and her unusual baby makes its long-awaited appearance in their world.

Christiana Miller

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