Most Popular Books by Nancy Baker

A fairy tale with bite—vampire-style. “Don’t hold your breath waiting for Disney to film this very adult and erotic version of Beauty and the Beast.” —Winnipeg Free Press “Will you give me your blood to drink, though you die of it?” In an unexpected twist on a fairy tale, an artist goes into the wilderness to fulfill his father’s debt and finds himself the prisoner of a dangerously beautiful inhuman monster. “A Terrible Beauty is modern Canadian Gothic . . . Nancy Baker shows her mastery of the form—the mysterious letter, the journey into the wilderness, the shadows that hide from the flickering firelight—and her real affection for a good ol’ fashioned vampire yarn.” —The Telegraph Journal (Saint John) “Baker’s narrative is seductive and compelling. Like Rice, she transcends the horror genre.” —Province Showcase (Vancouver) “A polished and enchanting tale . . . It is, in a word, breathtaking.” —Ottawa Citizen “Baker’s prose is lush and sensual . . . she has a real gift for making the fantastic seem plausible and investing the mundane with eerie significance.” —Toronto Sun “A very interesting and unique take on Beauty and the Beast.” —SFFP Romance

“Where Do You Live?” is an entertaining and educational children’s picture book about human and animal habitats. The easy-to-read, repetitive format, along with the adorable supporting illustrations, makes learning to read fun for young emergent readers. This book is rich in the use of nouns and active verbs, which is important for vocabulary enrichment.

Uncaring Fae meddle with the lives of two human women, in this psychological dark fantasy by the author of The Night Inside. Generations ago, a dying empire made a deal with the Faerie Queen for their survival. Each year, the Sidiana, the ruler of the mountain city of Lushan, must travel to the high plateau to pay her people''s tribute and maintain their safety. But one year, the price is not paid. To satisfy the debt, Teresine, a former refugee slave turned advisor to the Sidiana, is forced to serve in the Faerie Queen''s court, a treacherous realm where mortals like Teresine are mere pawns in an eternal struggle for power. Years later, Teresine''s great-niece Lilit is eager to attend the trading fair that has sprung up around the tribute. She discovers that nothing at the fair—or with the fey—is what it seems, and what began as an adventure leads to unexpected consequences. Now she must delve into the secret of her great aunt''s past in the Faerie Court . . . in order to save her own future. "A very smart fantasy that does not draw the reader into the world of the fantastic but rather makes the fantastic real. . . . Cold Hillside is sure to please fans of fantasy but I would dare anyone to pick up this book and not enjoy it." — Examiner.com

In this classic vampire thriller, a serious, staid grad student embraces her darker side to escape her abductors—and a deadly conspiracy. Toronto graduate student Ardeth Alexander lives by her schedule. There is no room for excitement in between classes, papers, and research jobs. She is known for being responsible, dependable—and perhaps a little boring. But all that changes during a routine morning walk when she is abducted by two thugs. Blindfolded and taken to an abandoned asylum, Ardeth is horrified to learn the reason behind her kidnapping: she is meant to provide sustenance for a centuries-old vampire. Dimitri Rozokov has been asleep for ninety years and now finds himself pushed to insanity from torture and his hunger for blood. Breaking past his madness, Ardeth discovers the man within, and the nightly feeding sessions become less frightening and more sensuous. But she knows there are only two ways this ordeal will end for her. Desperate to escape, eager for revenge, and tempted by immortality, she boldly descends into the darkness . . . Previously published as Kiss of the Vampire "It''s almost impossible not to finish The Night Inside in one frenzied, chocolate donut munching sitting. It''s also impossible not to root for its feisty, feminist vampiress heroine." —Charles Busch, author of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom "Terrific. . . . The unrelenting tension between the monstrous and the human propels this unique tale of gripping suspense." —Katherine Ramsland, author of The Vampire Companion "In prose studded with passages of dark luster, Baker offers a truly original scenario." — Publishers Weekly "Baker has obviously thought about what surrendering to the dark side means that lifts this book up above the vast . . . morass of romantic vampire fiction." — Quill & Quire

Becoming a vampire was easier than she had ever dreamed. Ardeth Alexander surrendered her mortal life in a night of despair and desire—initiated into a new existence by the five-hundred-year-old vampire, Dimitri Rozokov. Living as a vampire was more complicated than she had ever expected. Fleeing Toronto, Ardeth and Rozokov settle in the tourist town of Banff, Alberta. While she tests her new strength against the mountains by climbing, Rozokov returns to astronomy, the science of his youth. Together they hunt the dark reaches of the park, preying on the animals they find there, upholding an unspoken agreement not to taste human blood. Yet all their activity cannot disguise their restlessness and soon their fragile happiness is shattered by bitter conflict and inevitable betrayal. Angry and unhappy, Ardeth returns to Toronto to try to recatpure the life she believed she had left behind forever. Understanding what it means to be a vampire would prove harder than she had ever imagined. What Ardeth and Rozokov do not know is that they are being hunted. A member of the yakuza, the Japanese underworld, is on their trail, seeking the fulfillment of his most secret ambition. So is his employer, Sademori Fujiwara—a vampire whose extraordinary history is revealed to Rozokov through his diary. From the seductive nights in the imperial court of the eleventh century to the horror and tragedy of the darkest days of the twentieth, Fujiwara’s story is a tale of poetry and violence, of delight and despair. In his life, Ardeth and Rozokov see the promise of the answers to the questions of love, mortality and morality that have torn them apart. Fujiwara’s power draws them back together to face those questions again—but the price that they all have to pay for the answers will be higher than any of them expected. Blood and Chrysanthemums is a tantalizing tale of modern horror, with a twist of Japanese gothic, certain to leave an indelible mark on the imagination.

Hollywood reporter Quinn Collins finds the body of a famous producer, dead of an apparent heroin overdose. Quinn discovers he was not a drug user, so while narrowing down the suspect list, Quinn soon finds herself digging up a ten-year-old murder and cover-up.

Greed, revenge, and general mendacity leave Sheriff Brick Walls and his deputies on new and dangerous encounters in this second book of the Brick Walls series. Upon becoming sheriff of Medina County, Texas, Brick Walls begins a new phase in his life. Being an Iraqi War veteran, Brick had looked death in the eye numerous times. And now his new career as sheriff of the county, which he grew up in, once again puts him in harms way. Who is stalking Brick, and is it related to the suitcase full of money his dog, Red, found two years ago?

Young, in love, and eight months pregnant with her first child, Karin Seaton had everything she could ask for. But a tragic car accident that put Karin in a coma for weeks and left her husband and unborn baby dead brought it all to an end. Ready to give up on life, Karen suddenly discovers that her baby is alive--and has been stolen from her.

Along with bar rooms and bordellos, there has hardly been a more male-focused institution in Texas history than the Texas Legislature. Yet the eighty-six women who have served there have made a mark on the institution through the legislation they have passed, much of which addresses their concerns as citizens who have been inadequately represented by male lawmakers. This first complete record of the women of the Texas Legislature places such well-known figures as Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sissy Farenthold, Barbara Jordan, Irma Rangel, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Susan Combs, and Judith Zaffirini in the context of their times and among the women and men with whom they served. Drawing on years of primary research and interviews, Nancy Baker Jones and Ruthe Winegarten offer concise biographies and profiles of all eighty-six women who have served or currently hold office in the Texas Legislature. The biographies describe the women lawmakers'' lives, campaign strategies, and legislative successes and defeats. Four introductory essays provide historical and cultural context for the biographies, which are arranged chronologically to give a sense of the passage of time, of relationships among and between women, and of the issues of their eras.

A step-by-step planning guide to help junior and senior high school students learn better, discussing such areas as motivation, goals, study environment, classroom behavior, and special projects.

"Someone in the San Francisco Bay Area is using arson to murder new mothers in their homes, after apparently kidnapping their babies. California''s new arson czar, Susan Kim Delancey, takes on this baffling case that covers several county jurisdictions and soon finds herself warring on several fronts."--Back cover.

Minnesota nurse Ellen Merchand and her sister Claire have arranged for a house exchange with a San Francisco art dealer. What the sisters don''t know is that Herb Carmody plans to use the house exchange as an alibi for his wife''s murder. Then there is Sid Balzarian, a small-time criminal with plans to kidnap Jane Carmody.

Murder goes on the road in this anthology of four novellas from top mystery writers. Includes Betty Webb''s "Desert Deceit," Terence Faherty''s "The First Proof," Nancy Baker Jacobs''s "Star Search," and Jonathan Harrington''s "Death on the Southwest Chief." Original.

First in a dynamic new detective series that introduces Minneapolis-based Devon MacDonald, an ex-teacher who''s lost her family and is now partners with a gruff, warm-hearted, obese Sam Sherman in his detective agency. A heroine who''s gutsy but no superwoman . . . a welcome addition to the genre.--Kirkus.

Graduate student Ardeth Alexander is kidnapped, held hostage, and forced to nourish the vampire who shares her captivity, but she soon realizes that the vampire is her only hope for salvation

A well-researched, chilling novel of a mother desperately trying to save her young daughter from her abusive husband. Allison and her daughter use a labyrinthine world of underground safehouses to flee from the police and the fast-approaching spectre of the abuser in this heart-wrenching novel.