Kicking It

Kicking It (Dec 2013) — Anthology

Genre and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / PNR

Theme[]

Each story involves shoes or boots footwear, sometimes with magical powers.

Description[]

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine has modern-day potions witches Holly and Andrew facing off against a firebrand politician who wears literally killer boots in a Texas-sized rodeo of trouble.

Boot-loving Cadogan vampire Lindsey must team up with off-again, on-again vampire partner Luc when a woman from her past is targeted by supernaturals in New York Times bestselling author Chloe Neill’s all-new adventure.

And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman features Trixa Iktomi from her Trickster series dealing with magical vengeance and magical footwear.

Taking kick-ass urban fantasy literally, USA Today bestselling authors Kalayna Price and Faith Hunter bring together the best of the genre to once again prove when you’re fighting supernatural forces, it helps to keep your feet on the ground.

Editor and Authors[]

Editor: Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price

Contributors: Shannon K. Butcher, Rachel Caine, Lucienne Diver, Chris Marie Green (Vampire Babylon series), Christina Henry, Faith Hunter, Chloe Neill, Kalayna Price, Rob Thurman

Supernatual Elements[]

Vampires, demons, magical boots, witches, zombies, Gorgon, gods, gargoyle, reaper, angels, ractogasts (alien race: drain human souls), Earth portal, Olympians, magic red shoes, faeries, Lucifer

List of Stories[]

Story Title	Series and Order Number	Author	Supes	Lead(s)
"Forked Tongue"	Holly & Andrew short #3—from Strange Brew to Hex Appeal to here	Rachel Caine	potions witches, demon	Holly, Andrew
"Stolen Goods"	stand alone	Shannon K. Butcher	Fractogasts (alien race: drain human souls), Earth portal, hammer	Simone Solange, Marcus Brighton
"The Girl with No Name"	Vampire Babylon	Chris Marie Green		Lilly Meratoliages
"The Devil’s Left Boot"	Jane Yellowrock	Faith Hunter	witches, vampire/witch,	twins Cia & Liz, Jane
"High Stakes"	Chicagoland Vampires #8.5	Chloe Neill	Vampires	Lindsey, Luc, Merit, Ethan
"The Parlor"	Latter-Day Olympians	Lucienne Diver	gorgon PI, Olympians	Tori
"Red Really Isn’t My Color"	Black Wings #2.5	Christina Henry	magic red shoes, gargoyle, fae, Lucifer	Madeline Black, Beezle, Sammy Blue,
"Snakeskin"	Trickster #0.5	Rob Thurman		Trixa Iktomi
"Ruby Red"	Alex Craft #4.5	Kalayna Price	witches	Briar Darque, Derrick Knight

Synopsis by Story[]

"Forked Tongue" by Rachel Caine — Holly and Andrew

Andrew and Holly face off against humans who make it nearly impossible to feel safe, and ends with a confrontation with a nasty demon.

"Stolen Goods" by Shannon K. Butcher

Simone Solange is one of the world’s best thieves. Marcus Brighton could be called a nerd in that he invents things like the books that Simone wears. Marcus hires Simone to steal back a very important hammer that an alien race known as the Fractogasts are using to build a portal for an invasion of earth. Fractogasts actually drain humans of their souls and leave them shells of their former selves. It is up to Simone and Marcus to get the hammer back, and stop the invasion.

"The Girl with No Name" by Chris Marie Green — Vampire Babylon series

Lilly Meratoliages wakes up in an unfamiliar setting with no recollection of who she is, or how she ended up in New Orleans wearing a pair of boots that apparently allows her to heal from injuries she sustained. The heroine has some major hurdles to get over with no memory but she get impressions which help her get where she needs to be.

"The Devil’s Left Boot" by Faith Hunter — Jane Yellowrock series

Involves Twin witches Cia and Liz—In the series, one of their sisters went a little off the reservation and started calling demons which lead to Jane and the Beasts intervention and a rift between Jane and her best friend Molly. —In this short, twins are asked to look into and find a missing mother who isnt known to do anything out of the ordinary. They think its going to be easy-peasy, but nothing in Jane Yellowrock's world is easy, and soon the girls find themselves trapping a wacked-out vampire/witch with a shoe fetish. Putting all the pieces together, Liz and Cia realize that they are going to have to call the one person they aren't ready to deal or confront yet—Jane. Liz and Cia are forced to deal with some truths.

"High Stakes" by Chloe Neill — Chicagoland Vampires #8.5

Lindsey's past comes home to roost when her last remaining relative Rachel is threatened, and Lindsey finds herself back in New York to face the past she thought was put to bed forever.

Lindsey gets a visit from her past life she lived during roaring 20s in the alcohol prohibition. Lindsey was a free loving flapper gal in the middle of mobster gang warfare in New York. It’s great to see some of Lindsey’s past since she is very closed mouth about her vampire youth and she is very afraid to commit to Luc, the hunky cowboy vampire of Cadogan House. ~ High Stakes | The Book Nympho

"The Parlor" by Lucienne Diver – Latter-Day Olympians

Tori Karacis is a PI with gorgon blood thanks to a drunken liaison between the God Pan and an immortal Gorgon. Tori's job is to discover if a husband is actually cheating on his wife. This leads Tori to The Parlor where men mysteriously vanish without a trace.

"Red Really Isn’t My Color" by Christina Henry — Black Wings series #2.5

Madeline Black and her ever present gargoyle Beezle go on a wild task to locate a pair of red shoes that is said to force the wearer to dance forever. The shoes are in the possession of a fae that goes by the name of Sammy Blue a member of Queen Amarantha’s court. Once again, Lucifer asks Maddy to do something she is not comfortable with, and mayhem and destruction soon follow.

"Snakeskin" by Rob Thurman — Trickster #0.5

Las Vegas bar owner Trixa Iktomi loves her shoes, and is looking for something to keep her attention.

"Ruby Red" by Kalayna Price — Alex Craft #4.5

Briar Darque is an investigator for the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau. Along with partner Derrick Knight, they look into witches who cross the line and have been known to show up a time or two in the Alex Craft series. This story revolves around a pair of sexy red shoes.

~ Sources:

Another great source not used, but should have: Fang-tastic Fiction: "Kicking It"

Cover Blurb[]

Rachel Caine has modern-day potions witches Holly and Andrew facing off against a firebrand politician who wears literally killer boots in a Texas-sized rodeo of trouble.

Boot-loving Cadogan vampire Lindsey must team up with off-again, on-again vampire partner Luc when a woman from her past is targeted by supernaturals in New York Times bestselling author Chloe Neill’s all-new adventure.

And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman features Trixa Iktomi from her Trickster series dealing with magical vengeance and magical footwear.

Taking kick-ass urban fantasy literally, USA Today bestselling authors Kalayna Price and Faith Hunter bring together the best of the genre to once again prove when you’re fighting supernatural forces, it helps to keep your feet on the ground.