The Merged Worlds Series

Hunter's Magic is the sixth book of The Merged Worlds. Stacey Bowen, vampire and leader of the current Daggerwomen is having a crisis of identity. The key to the effectiveness of the Daggers has always been in their secrecy, the fact that those who are helped keep their secret and those they oppose are dead. Historically vampires were the enemies of the Daggermen but times have changed and Stacey, being a Dagger, is proof of that. There are more enemies than only vampires in these days and not all vampires are enemies. With camera crews and paparazzi hunting her she needs an identity makeover. Angie has always worn a mask and Nicki, as a werewolf, has talent enough to alter her appearance at need. Stacey needs the help of Nash, the shadow wizard, and a talented new associate, since werewolves and vampires can scent her difference. As if that's not a large enough issue for the busy vampire she has a visit from a special friend who has a request that will change their lives forever. The Daggers must go hunting. It's a must do and Stacey agrees. To take on this hunt, Angie sets up a training mission with her Huntsman friend, Arthur, and the Daggers go to Hell to learn new weapons and tactics. Then it’s a simple matter of magic-less Angie infiltrating their target for the intell that can't be found by any other means. They must create specialty ammo. Their tactics must be polished and perfect for the extreme length of the mission and the fact that failure is not an option. They would be stirring up a wasp's nest and turning the opinion of the worlds against them... win or lose. With her new identity, though, Stacey picks up new problems with more potential for danger. Even Angie at that point must do a makeover as well, opening up new levels of understanding for the pair of friends. For the Daggers nothing will be the same...

In Too Much Magic, Pepper Paull, a good witch, lives alone with her familiar, an owl named Whittlesbee, and runs a small magic book shop. Most of her business is from other witches or those curious about magic and magicals. In Baltimore, as in most other cities, there is a full range of people, humans and magicals. Magicals include werewolves, witches, vampires, elves and many others. Pepper is the last of the Hesperus witches, a powerful family of good witches out of the Hidden. With many attempts on her life, illegal retribution, she’s grown used to uncertainty and danger. So she lives quietly, drawing no attention to herself while helping those who cross her path. Her one passion and pursuit is the learning of magic. Then a mysterious cloaked figure sends Pepper to a secret auction to buy an infamous book that had once been deliberately lost in the sea. There are others who want the book and others who want the book along with the witch who can interpret and use the magic within. This one book propels Pepper onto a path she might have preferred avoiding. Pepper is not one to turn from a challenge, but can she maintain the integrity that is a fundamental of her life, while fighting for her freedom? Is it destiny that rips her from her quiet life or something more random? As the last of her line is she the jewel her forebears hope for? The ghosts who have trained her from childhood now hint at Purpose. When a young werewolf girl comes into her life, needing her help, she is caught up in the conflict. With them is a Lawyer, a Huntsman from Hell and a guy named Mike... Pepper’s life will never be the same. This is Book 1 of The Merged Worlds series

In Vampire’s Magic Stacey Bowen leaves life as a waitress/party girl in a dark alley near her apartment when a rogue vampire drains her of life. The shadow-wizard, Nash, finds her in time to prevent her complete death, but she isn’t really alive, either. Using his magic he saves her into the undead life of a vampire. The potion that he uses in place of blood meets her needs even though she desires human blood. As she gets used to being a vampire she takes up her life, resuming work at Dawn’s as a waitress, connecting with her best friend Beverly and beginning to make new friends as a magical. Nash, though, had some very specific goals in mind for her when he saved her; he is a wizard, after all. He didn’t save her out of the goodness of his heart. Stacey’s sense of obligation compels her to work as his experiment. Soon Nash has her hunting rogue vampires and feeding off of them, not for their blood, that’s too disgusting for her, but for their magic. When she starts dating the head of security from Dawn’s, a werewolf named Everett her new life takes an even more surprising turn when she finds that the old Daggermen television show she loved as a teen was based on true life, an ancient tale of a small village fighting against a vampire clan. He gives her a pair of the original, real, daggers and she finds out that the magic is still active in them... and they were waiting for her. It isn’t all fun and dating for the young vampire when she and Nash realized they stirred an anthill as they cut down the rogue vampires. After they’re attacked they go on the offensive, taking out a chain of vampires aiming at the head of those after them. But then Nash disappears and Stacey is left on her own. Unable to brew her own potion she turns to Pepper Paull, a good witch, for help. As she searches for Nash, refusing to believe he is dead, she continues her mission of killing rogue vamps. Stacey’s life has ended but her new one leads her into more of an adventure than she’d believed could happen. She has new friends now and when a demon vortex opens... even though she knows it’s a trap, she goes in, hopefully on Nash's trail, but she doesn’t go alone...

Artificial Magic is Stacey Bowen’s second adventure as a Vampire and Daggerwoman in The Merged Worlds series. While anonymity would be her primary protection, when a dangerous situation develops at Dawn’s, where she works as a server, she takes action to protect her friends and co-workers from out of control magic. Using her daggers she’s able to break a spell where a group of college boys use some very strange magic to take control of the room and those within it. Stacey gains a new ally just when she needs one. With the police getting involved it doesn't take long for the detective in charge of the case to learn of her involvement and realize her identity. As similar incidents crop up throughout the city, in public and private venues, the police detective asks Stacey’s help. Police witches and wizards have not been able to break the spell as easily as the Daggerwoman. Helping the police, Stacey has Nash move her through the shadows to cut to the heart of the incidents as they crop up throughout the city. Stacey's friend, Pepper Paull, a very knowledgeable witch can't identify the magic. All she can say is that it does not conform to the normal frequencies of magic. The daggers are still the only thing to break the spell. When helping the police raid one of the distributors she runs into a little more than she can handle and Angie has to don her own mask to help out. The police find the case moving from the city of Baltimore and even beyond the borders of the Consolidated States... Stacey believes that she has to take them down but she doesn’t go alone. During this time Stacey’s relationship with Nash undergoes some subtle changes. Angie goes through some very serious changes and some very important characters move into Stacey’s life. Even though the compound of those behind the Artificial magic is destroyed it doesn't mean they're all gone. Someone comes seeking retribution. Can Stacey stand against a nearly invisible enemy? Will her new gifts and allies be enough to carry the day? Are there really conspiracies on every side or is the vampire being a pessimist?

This is book 7 of The Merged Worlds - Magic story arc. For five years the small coven has had relative peace. Carol Grayson's studies have allowed her to control her magic as a wolf-witch. Amelia Rutledge finally bows to destiny, taking up the key of time. Pepper Paull-Charteris has grown as wife to Mike and mother to the little witch, Celeste. Pepper has never been more happy or more challenged. With the worlds on the brink of war, the coven can't rest. Carol must prepare the weres of every breed for war. Amelia comes to own the key, but learns that's only the first step. She needs every moment to work in and out of time, organizing the fight. Pepper has the most difficult task, taking up the books she'd avoided. For the first time in her long and violent life, Pepper knows fear... it isn't from Dragon's, Vampires or the coming War. This fear strikes closer to her heart...

In Pepper’s Magic, the good witch, Pepper Paull, is not the only person dealing with magic books. Carol, the young wolf-witch, is still hitting the books to get a better grip on her own brand of magic. Taking a little vacation for Carol to test her magical control, Pepper encounters Zymnos, an entity that gives her a gift she can't refuse, even when she finds its deadly potential. But life goes on and Pepper opens a new book store to replace the one that got trashed by the bad guys. When Pepper is abducted by a mysterious unnamed man in an attempt to get the witch's help with his book, Amelia has to get a grip on her own special ability to help her friend. Along the way Amelia finds a book that only she can read. When it turns out that Amelia's stalker ex-boyfriend is an elf she decides it's time to find out why he's bothering her. They can't trust a word the elf says but some of it resonates in Amelia's heart in a way she can't deny. It gives her more questions than answers and none of them like that. The trio finds that even the bad guys are collecting magic books and that can’t be good. It’s not just books complicating the lives of Pepper, Amelia and Carol... Pepper struggles to figure out how this friendship thing works, Carol still needs to control her magic just to stay alive and Amelia... well, is she really turning into an elf or is Pepper pulling her leg? There are also men in black and the usual assortment of ancient vampires, demons, Servants, Watchers and wizards. And then there’s that nasty sorceress, Felicia, and... Mike. Does Pepper make a mistake there, misled by unfamiliar emotions?

Unexpected Magic is the fifth book of The Merged Worlds. Pepper Paull, the good witch, and her small coven of three are weary from dealing with those they rescued from magical captivity, though they have yet to break all the magical containments. Carol Grayson, the wolf-witch, and Amelia Rutledge, lawyer, coven sisters, agree that a little vacation is just what they need. They don't count on Zymnos, dragon-in-disguise, showing up with an alternate destination and traveling plans. He asks the coven to pick up a package he had set aside a thousand year ago. Why doesn't he do it himself? Ah, he won't really say. Why just now? Well, it's a safe time to fetch it. Things don't go as easily as the coven would like and surprises abound. How did Mike get pulled into the trip? Pepper doesn't mind, as she realizes a few things about the newly freed witch. Is it love? Seems like. But why is the Quetzalcoatl jealous? They find new friends, new enemies and deal again with some old ones. Ryan, Amelia's stalker elf, is still around and they don't know why. Even the Unnamed Man shows up with needs. In the midst of conspiracies and planning for a coming war, Pepper and Mike realize that what they have is love and a wedding transforms the mansion for a few days. Carol and Amelia continue with business as usual, while the honeymooners head to the islands. Life gets even more interesting when Pepper realizes she's pregnant. That doesn't mean that the bad guys are giving up... someone they mostly forgot about sends a wedding gift that changes the game and no one likes what comes of it.

Dragon's Magic is bk9 of the 9bk Magic arc in The Merged Worlds alternate history urban fantasy series. Pepper Paull, Witch, and her small coven take the lead in setting up defenses and exposing the conspiracies of Dragons in their preparations of war again the 4 Realms, opposing the Law. Pepper must learn dragon magic from the ancient books she has collected. It has been a long education for her. Amelia, lawyer, with an Elven spirit within, must use the Key of time in order to both spy on the enemy, learning their plans, and work to undermine their efforts. Carol, the Wolf-Witch, must learn to command the magical powers of both were and witch to organize and lead the weres of the region in defense of the city. While Pepper's Coven works in preparation and defense, it is up to Stacey and the Daggers to take to the field first, fighting the ground troops the Dragons have long been developing. While they have previously destroyed the main force of special vampires, they are still in for a long and tough fight. The dragons will use every trick and troop they own in order to win this war, in heaven, hell, the hidden, and upon the main battlefield on earth. They want to own all of the worlds, control all people, and control all Magic, as they once did. While Pepper intends facing the enemy head on, there is a much wider battlefront as the dragons attack with the night line as it circles the earth.

Needful Magic is the eighth book in the Magic story arc in The Merged Worlds series of fantasy books. Stacey Bowen, Vampire and Daggerwoman, in disguise as Marion Blackwood, member of the Baltimore Vampire Council, along with her companion, Angela Mack, Daggerwoman, disguised as Wren, attend a regular meeting of the Baltimore Vampire Council. Marion is meant to warn members of the Vampire community of the impending War. This war is meant to rip aside the Law that has held the relative peace between the Earth, the Hidden, Hell and Heavenly realms. The war is meant to rip that law aside. The Vampire Council will stand for the Law. Even as Marion/Stacey is speaking the meeting is disrupted by an attack. Wren must protect her vampire. As preparations for the war continue, the Daggers are warned of a building army of vampires. In order to forestall these creatures from entering the war, they plan to deal with it. As they do, they find a former enemy has resurfaced, watching them from the shadows. Secrets are exposed and new allies are found. Angie/Wren makes a new friend, or is he more than a friend? The Daggers go into action.

In The Merged Worlds it has been ten years since the terrible war of the dragons, when those creatures and their armies attempted to take control of all the realms, seeking once again to own all magic. Once upon a time, in the age before myths began, the dragons ruled an empire that owned all magic. After their defeat and the destruction of their empire, they long sought to reclaim the worlds. Because of the witch, Pepper Paull, they failed in this final attempt. Dragons were destroyed along with their armies. This story starts in the aftermath of that war, ten years later, when the person who becomes known as Alice begins. During the last day of the Dragon war, those creatures tried to blast aside the defenses of the world by pouring raw, untamed, unrefined, unregulated magic on the earth. Protections were thrown up in the same instant but could not save everyone. The terrible power killed those who were defenseless, weakened others, and crippled many more. Many people were struck by this magic. Their minds were affected so they now lived in a phantom realm, moving in the real world but not fully aware of it. When she first comes forward, hoping to assist the victim of a monster-like killing, the police believe she is one of these magic-blasted. This killing is one more of a series of brutal killings the police have been dealing with for nearly a year. While the attacks appear to be of a vicious werewolf, or another similar creature, there is no trace of magic. This is not the kind of creature the police normally deal with. With her testimony along with finding the victim so quickly, the police believe they have a hand up on this killing. Complications immediately become apparent. This woman has no idea of her own name, or any real details of where she came from. On top of this, she has the unique ability to indwell those around her. Indwelling is her own term for how she relates to the world around her... she hears thoughts... yet, not only thoughts but the tastes, smells, movements, sight, and hearing of those around her. Indwelling includes all senses of the people/creatures around her. This ability is not limited to one or two people, but all the people in range around her. While she first encounters Matthew Starr, he is fascinated by her eyes. It is to Detective Samuel Clive Galios that she is directed, who realizes she had telepathy. Her appearance and behavior is that of the magic-blasted street people, so he hardly believes she can help the investigation. Yet she is their only witness. She calls him Clive and he names her Alice. She helps him with the investigation, finding other witnesses and tracking the perp/creature. He helps her as though she was a street person. In the meantime, Alice has a mission of her own, helping those who she lives among, guiding those who need food, clothing, and shelter. More importantly, she is called to help those who are dying and alone. Mostly she helps them pass over, or calls help to them. Alice has several missions besides helping the police. She needs to restore her memories. As she continues helping the police, while investigating her own mysteries, she becomes even more involved, yet each deadly encounter she goes through stirs up memories, guiding her understanding of who she is and what she's capable of. Most of those memories are provided by her sword, Storm. There's much more to the story, of course. Alice encounters other characters from previous Merged Worlds stories. This one takes the tales in a different direction. While much of the action is grittier, it maintains the same entertaining tone as the previous stories.