Direct Descendant

In the town of Lake Argen in Northern Ontario, the cell signal is always strong, families stay close, and local businesses flourish, from the tacky guest house to Cassidy Prewitt's specialty bakery. It's quiet. Few tourists, and fewer newcomers-those who leave seem never to think of the town again. It's Cassie's job to keep it that way, since she became the conduit for Lake Argen's friendly ancestral agreement with the Dark. Usually her duties mean attending community meetings and tracking the odd escaped eldritch horror. Sometimes horror-sitting for the cuter ones. The disappearance of a trust-fund city boy doesn't worry her, much. She was very convincing when she told the cops he'd just wandered into the woods. But when Melanie Solvich arrives to inquire further, Cassie's on the case. Melanie's curious, funny, a great listener, and a honey-blond ex-teacher with elbow dimples. Getting closer to her perfect woman beats dealing with the Dark any day. Except... city boy didn't wander off. He drove a rune-inscribed knife through his foot and vanished into the earth. Not the sort of thing the Dark can ignore. Lake Argen's in danger and Cassie has to choose: her hometown or Melanie. Surely an army of unearthly monsters won't stand in the way of true love?

Tanya Huff lives in rural Ontario with her wife Fiona Patton, five cats, and an increasing number of fish. Her 32 novels and 83 short stories include horror, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, comedy, and space opera. Her BLOOD series was turned into the 22-episode Blood Ties and writing episode nine allowed her to finally use her degree in Radio & Television Arts. Many of her short stories are available as eCollections. She's on Twitter at @TanyaHuff and Facebook as Tanya Huff. She has never used her Instagram account and isn't sure why she has it.