This “ambitious, supernatural coming-of-age story” (The LA Times) is a sweeping tale of ghosts in the modern world, and one woman's struggle to create her own destiny. There are ghosts on the Black Isle. Ghosts that no one can see. No one...except Cassandra. Uprooted from Shanghai with her father and twin brother, young Cassandra finds the Black Isle's bustling, immigrant-filled seaport, swampy jungle, and grand rubber plantations a sharp contrast to the city of her childhood. And she soon makes another discovery: the Black Isle is swarming with ghosts. Haunted and lonely, Cassandra at first tries to ignore her ability to see the restless apparitions that drift down the street and crouch in cold corners at school. Yet despite her struggles with these spirits, Cassandra comes to love her troubled new home. And soon, she attracts the notice of a dangerously charismatic man. Even as she becomes a fearless young woman, the Isle's dark forces won't let her go. War is looming, and Cassandra wonders if her unique gift might be her beloved island's only chance for salvation . . . Taking readers from the 1920s, through the Japanese occupation during WWII, to the Isle's radical transformation into a gleaming cosmopolitan city, The Black Isle is a sweeping epic--a deeply imagined, fiercely original tale from a vibrant new voice in fiction.

Elisabeth Douglas, a modern woman, is suddenly pulled back into 1515 Scotland by an ancestral ghost. She uses her skills she learned in medical school and quickly gains renown as a great healer. When Devan Murray wrongfully blames Elisabeth for his sister's death, Elisabeth finds herself being accused of witchcraft. Original.

With death lurking at every corner, love becomes more important than ever. The fierce warriors of Black Isle are used to living with the threat of war hanging above their heads at all times. They work hard to survive and celebrate even harder. Shifters of various types must band together to defeat their numerous enemies, yet they never forget that life and love is precious and to grab happiness wherever they can find it. After all, any given day could be their last. Claimed by the King When a young human woman is offered up as a human sacrifice to the mysterious inhabitants of the Black Isles, she assumes she’ll be a slave and life as she knows it will be over. She’s half correct. Her life will change completely, but King Broc, who claims her as his mate, isn’t the brutish captor she expected him to be. The Soldier and the Siren The Merfolk are the Isles’ natural enemy; have been for generations. When General Teaq comes across a mermaid inside Black Isle territory, he knows he must capture her. But there’s something about the mysterious woman that gives him pause. Their respective peoples are at war, but hate is the last thing on their minds. A Dragon’s Treasure The Isles are on the brink of war, and newly appointed general, Rhea, knows she must summon her secret weapon. The dragon that slumbers underneath the castle is their only hope to defeat the vast numbers of enemy fighters headed to their shores. But dragons are fickle creatures. Will she be able to reason with him and convince him to support her cause? The Warlock’s Conquest Ever since Ferris’ sister was taken by the barbarians that live on the Black Isles, he’s been planning his revenge. Years later, he’s finally leading a troop of warriors to liberate her, only to discover that perhaps he’s been on the wrong side of this conflict all along.

Sam grew up in the shadow of the secret state. Her father was an undercover agent, full of tall stories about tradecraft and traitors. Then he died, killed in the line of duty. Now Sam has travelled to Hoy, in Orkney, to piece together the puzzle of her father's past. Haunted by echoes of childhood holidays, Sam is sure the truth lies buried here, somewhere. What she finds is a tiny island of dramatic skies, swooping birds, rugged sea stacks and just four hundred people. An island remote enough to shelter someone who doesn't want to be found. An island small enough to keep a secret...

"Featuring an Atria Paperback readers club guide"--P. [4] of cover.

His loss will bring him the greatest gift...Her love. Marcas Matheson's life has spiraled out of control. A fatal illness has ravaged his clan, taking not only his parents and his wife, but so many others of the clan, it's being called the curse of Black Isle. Worse, as heir to the chieftain, now Marcas must be both leader and savior to his people-but they are losing faith in him. Already there are murmurs that his poor decisions brought the curse, causing him to doubt his own ability to head the clan. But when his small daughter takes sick, Marcas has no problem making a decision: he must find a healer-one gifted enough to save his little lass's life. And he will beg, barter, or steal one if necessary When healer Brigid Ramsay is abducted in the middle of the night, she knows she just has to bide her time. Her over-protective father, a former spy and feared lethal agent for the Crown, will come for her. Her captor must be daft to kidnap the daughter of Logan Ramsay. But when Brigid realizes a child's life is in danger, she softens toward her kidnapper, and vows to help him. As they work together, Brigid can't deny the traitorous attraction she feels nor that she's falling in love. But how could Marcas ever love her when she's not the great healer he thought...? Can Brigid save Marcas' daughter's life before her own father arrives and rains hell down from the Highlands?

The open road has tempted Padraig Grant his whole life. He's not suited for life in the lists, training warriors for the battlefield. His calling is somewhere over the next hill. Or maybe it's right in front of him, in the alluring form of Gisela Matheson. If only she weren't already betrothed to Donald MacKinnie, the Scourge of Black Isle.Gisela remembers when Donald was courteous and honorable. But the man has changed, turning cruel and possessive. Even if her life hadn't been thrown into chaos by the Matheson Curse, she wouldn't want to become his bride. Padraig, on the other hand?well, he's one she can't get enough of. He brings light to her world, and she might think about marrying him, if he didn't have a wanderer's soul. Marrying another would solve her problem with Donald, though.Driven by jealousy, Donald issues an ultimatum: Either Padraig leaves Black Isle and Gisela, or innocents die. Padraig must choose between leaving his true love to save lives or stay and protect her and see more people hurt. Suddenly the distant horizon isn't quite so tempting. But staying might be worse.

The Brahan Seer is a legendary figure known throughout Scotland and the Scottish Diaspora and indeed anywhere there is an interest in looking into the future. This book traces the legend of the Seer between the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries. It considers the seer figure in relation to aspects of Scottish Highland culture and society that shaped its development during this period. These include the practice and prosecution of witchcraft, the reporting and scientific investigation of instances of second sight, and the perennial belief in and use of prophecy as a means of predicting events. In so doing the book provides a set of historicised contexts for understanding the genesis of the legend and how it changed over time through a synthesis of historical events, oral tradition, folklore and literary Romanticism. It makes a contribution to the debates not only about witchcraft, second sight and prophecy but also about the relationship between 'popular' and 'elite' culture in Scotland. By taking the Brahan Seer as a case study it argues that 'popular' culture is not antithetical to 'elite' culture but rather in constant (and complex) interaction with it.

Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, Witchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment represents the first in-depth investigation of Scottish witchcraft and witch belief post-1662, the period of supposed decline of such beliefs, an age which has been referred to as the 'long eighteenth century', coinciding with the Scottish Enlightenment. The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were undoubtedly a period of transition and redefinition of what constituted the supernatural, at the interface between folk belief and the philosophies of the learned. For the latter the eradication of such beliefs equated with progress and civilization but for others, such as the devout, witch belief was a matter of faith, such that fear and dread of witches and their craft lasted well beyond the era of the major witch-hunts. This study seeks to illuminate the distinctiveness of the Scottish experience, to assess the impact of enlightenment thought upon witch belief, and to understand how these beliefs operated across all levels of Scottish society.