One man holds the fate of the human race in his hands, all he has to do is make the right choice.One man – alone. The human race is locked in a death struggle with Aliens possessing far superior technology. He has been captured while on a mission to ferret out the enemy’s weakness. Isolated in a small cell he is told by his captors that the future of his race depends on the choice that he will make in response to a single question. If he chooses correctly the human race will survive, if he chooses wrong the human race will be eradicated. A choice must be made; will it be the right one?

Eldon, Salena and a few others are invited by the Celestions to observe a metanova, a very rare stellar event. As a result of being there, they experience 'unusual effects' that will change their lives forever.A folk tale and myth which explains the origin of the land crab found in Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, India. It is retold in a lighter vein to enhance readers' experience. The story revolves around a Jackal, a Crow and the uncommon Land Crab. This story is part of folklore and mytholology of the Khasi ethnic race which include the Khynriam, Pnar, Vaar, Bhooi, Maharam and Lyngngam ethnic groups.

Outside the church it is freezing, raining, but inside Lavonia is doing just fine. She is seated on the first pew in her widow's weeds facing the casket of her x-husband and his common-law wife in the choir. Young Betty will have her day in the seat of honor for another dead man. Then the two women face off against each other in the white limo on the way to the cemetery and all hell breaks loose.Blood CountsIn this polite place:A hand trained in the waysof death and deliverycups a pill, slides a gurney,shrink-wrapped, bubbling,through sterile chambersoverfilled with hintsof salvation servedon sheets of steel.Suffering is silent here: Purple or black fishes dartin diversionary circlesat the backs of smiling clerks,when blood countsdon't add up.

As we walk through this life, we get dirty from rubbing up against a sinful, fallen world. No matter how much we try we can’t “rub” the sin off. As we try to “rub” it off, it only gets worse. Maybe “rubbing” the sin off is trying to justify our sin or maybe just ignoring it or maybe we just call the sin a mistake. He is the only one who has the “bleach” that can remove the dirt and grime.Imagine that you were headed to church early one Sunday morning. You had set out your "church clothes" the night before so that you would wear the right clothes. You picked out a white pair of pants and cool looking shirt. You wanted to look your best at church. There was this one girl that you wanted to impress. So you spent 2 hours in the morning to spiff yourself up. You put your clothes on and brushed your teeth. You weren't even going to eat breakfast because you wanted to take the extra time fixing yourself up. You were almost done. All you had to do was gel your hair. You had this really cool hair gel that gelled your hair so good that you could go through an "F5" ("Finger of God") tornado and it would hold. Your gel had an odd name, Gorilla Snot, but it smelled good and looked good. So you wet your hair, squirted some Gorilla Snot on your palm, rubbed your palms together and then transferred the smooshed Gorilla Snot onto your hair. Your "Snot", as you called it, took about 5 minutes to set up. Once it set up, you could pretty much do anything you wanted and it would stay the way you had combed it. You had some Snot left on your hands so you smeared it on your nice white pants. You didn't care. It was colorless and no one would be able to tell you had smooshed gel on your pants. [Catch the rest of the story in the Devo]As we walk through this life, we get dirty from rubbing up against a sinful, fallen world. No matter how much we try we can’t “rub” the sin off. As we try to “rub” it off, it only gets worse. Maybe “rubbing” the sin off is trying to justify our sin or maybe just ignoring it or maybe we just call the sin a mistake, “it was only a mistake not a sin”. At the end of the day our nice clean, white, pure hearts and minds are pretty dirty and the only way to clean ourselves up is to take a spiritual shower. In order to get clean again we need to get on our knees and ask God to forgive us and to purify us. He is the only one who has the “bleach” that can remove the dirt and grime from our lives. You see, when we accept Jesus into our hearts there is a certain way that He expects us to act.

Gary has one chance - and one chance only - to ensure first contact with the humans goes as smoothly as ancient history records it to have occurred. Unfortunately, the fate of the future galactic alliance all rests on his very questionable ability to . . . boogie down.A collection of short stories, poems and 'other scribblings' by Sian Turner.Read 'Hot Under the Collar,' a tale of jealousy and its consequences, 'Poor Law,' the story of young Will Thompson's life in a 1903 Cottage Home (or workhouse for children) and what happens when he is unjustly accused of theft, 'Watching,' the story of Luke Peterson's ghostly encounter in the woods, plus other stories, poems and what the author describes as 'other scribblings.'

A chance encounter between a man and a woman who each have something to offer the other makes for a feel good story with a happy ending.Ashley Winslip is a widowed woman, pregnant with her dead husband's child. In a moment of desperation, she heads to a cabin in the hills to remove herself from this earthly plane. Fortunately, Milo Burns is already at the camp, albeit with problems of his own. He is divorced and struggling with the fact that he won't be able to have his two young daughters with him for summer vacation, that is unless he finds a proper home. A night under the stars and a sunrise in the morning give the two just-met individuals the impetus to straighten out their problems.

A mysterious warrior held for ransom. A small, brave kingdom under threat from a distant monarch. Three young people unknowingly swept up by history, whose choices could shift the course of a nation.Published serially in the 19th century style made famous by Dickens and Dumas, THE PRISONER OF WAR is a tale of adventure, romance, and political intrigue set at the height of the Viking Age.Norway, 9th century AD: In the valley of Gruntal in the kingdom of Rogaland, three young women watch the horizon for the return of their village’s longships. Each has a secret wish bound up with the return of the ships, but when they arrive, it is with an unexpected cargo: a prisoner of unknown origin – beautiful, fierce, gravely injured and unable to speak.As a distant monarch’s bloody campaign to unify Norway closes in on peaceful Gruntal, the local chieftain arranges a series of strategic marriages for his children. Fearing the loss of her freedom, his eldest daughter asks her adopted sister to teach her the ways of influencing men, and the two girls begin to meet secretly in the hut where the prisoner is recovering. One by one other young women hear of their lessons, and soon the meetings swell to an informal class. But in a society where a woman’s virtue is her most valuable asset, such gatherings carry a terrible personal risk; and their discovery could undermine the wider balance of power – with devastating consequences.Published serially in the 19th century style made famous by Dickens and Dumas, THE PRISONER OF WAR is an intricately plotted tale of adventure, romance, and political intrigue set at the height of the Viking Age.(Pilot episode: serialization begins WINTER/SPRING 2016)

After the apocalypse, what would you fight to save?Decades after the apocalypse, a heretical group of intellectuals, hell-bent preserving civilization and fighting the advance of a new dark age, inadvertently spark a war with a country in the grips of famine, and encounter supernatural forces that may destroy what remains of the Old World forever.The End cost humanity six billion lives. Almost every person on Earth vanished when the lights went out, computers turned to dust, and planes fell from the sky. Only scattered survivors remained, surrounded by a world empty and quiet. Now, forty years on, civilisation is failing. The ways of the Old World have been forgotten, and those who knew its wonders are ageing. All that stands between the British Isles and a new Dark Age is the mission of New Canterbury, desperate to save books, art, and the knowledge needed to begin again. Famine has devastated the land and refugees wander in their thousands. Anger is growing against the city and the demands of its sacred mission. In the wild lands surrounding New Canterbury, dark secrets fester, supernatural forces have awoken, and somewhere an army is on the move, hell-bent on ending the Old World forever. The End was just the beginning.

After eating radioactive snacks, a group of terriers discovers that they have powers that most dogs- and even some humans- only dream of. Which is a good thing, because when a gang of ruthless cats tries to turn the community into its own personal litter box, only the S.P.O.T.S. team can save the day.This is the first in The Magic Book series where twin sisters, Sophie and Felicity, happen across a plain, leather-bound notebook at their school, only it's far from ordinary; it holds a secret. The Book isn't the only thing that's not as it might appear to be; there's something very special about a tree that grows within the school playground too!Meanwhile, hidden from view in a parallel world call Serenia, the fairies work tirelessly to keep the balance of nature in both their world, and ours. When Serenia flourishes, Earth flourishes, if Serenia were to fall, Earth will fall too - and the unthinkable is happening!It's a race against time as Sophie and Felicity learn that they are our last hope. They will need to have great courage, conviction and most importantly - unshakable belief in fairies and magic, if they are to stand any chance of out-witting The Wicked One.But, will it prove too much for these shy, unconfident sisters? Will they be able to find the inner strength and self-belief they're going to need - before it's too late...!

Having exhausted all research, convinced of neither god, nor God, nor love, Professor Shuman decides this to be his last counsel. Apple in pocket, he plays games through the mundane session. Yet when Counsellor Jamal brings up theories of scientific musings, written to the layman or those who may yet believe, he reconsiders. Fingering his apple, he wonders if the yet unproven may explain love.Reviewing his professional life, a career wrapped in theories seeking to explain greater purpose in human good, frustrated at depth Professor Chris Shuman plays out his lecture halls role in the counselor’s office. Sticking to scientific integrity, what cannot be proven must be discarded, what has yet to be proven must be investigated, Chris repeals all theories of compassion. In spite of the eu-social, he argues final conclusions that humanity has evolved for no other purpose than animal survival. And with no proof of love, realizing he cannot truly care for even his own children, the professor falls back on a favourite medieval fairy tale allowing his meaningful escape from it all.

If you had a convenient, undetectable way to smuggle anything at all, how would you use it? Charlie will tell you. It will be dangerous.Charlie - never call him "horse"- carried drugs, documents and other goods for a fee. Encouraged by his girl friend, Aroyal, Charlie takes on a big assignment. Charlie's new employers gave him a way to be the champion smuggler of all time - undetectable, secure, even convenient. What they wanted to smuggle would change the balance of power. So how come authorities were watching for him in Riyadh? Aah, but a smuggler must be clever. Charlie was clever. Too clever for his own good. Hard science fiction with a twist you will never see coming.

**A love as bright as the stars and enduring as stone...** Katie James is unlucky in love—so unlucky she's been reduced to kissing the marble statue in her own garden. But her luck changes when the statue warms to life in her arms—and turns out to be a hunk straight out of any woman's fantasy! Well, almost...Jorlan en Sarr hails from a distant planet, and, like all the other men Katie's known, he comes with a lot of baggage. **A cursed warrior with a lover's magic touch...** Entombed in his stony skin for centuries, Jorlan has been waiting for a maiden fair to break the spell. Yet this statuesque beauty with the will of an Amazon and kisses like flame is a far cry from the obedient damsels of Imperia. And though Jorlan is tempted to abandon all for the sake of Katie, unless he can convince her to give him her heart in two weeks' time, he'll be turned back to stone. And she'll be lost to him forever.

The school year is almost over. In these last pressure cooker months of high school, some kids will make the all too common and all too dangerous mistake of drinking and driving. But Myron is determined to help keep his friends’ children safe, and so he makes two neighborhood girls promise him that if they are ever in a bind but are afraid to call their parents, they will call him. Several nights later, the call comes at two a.m. The next day, a girl is missing, and Myron is the last person who saw her. Desperate to fulfill a well-intentioned promise turned horribly wrong, Myron races to find her before she’s gone forever.

The name on the computer screen is James Barbour Matlock, college professor and Vietnam veteran. He’s Washington’s choice to stop a far-reaching conspiracy in an undercover assignment destined to put his neck against the razor’s edge of danger. But the faceless men behind the scenes don’t care if it means savaging the woman he loves or trapping him in a maze of unrelenting terror. They just care about one thing: Matlock is the perfect man for the job—and the reason why is disturbing, explosive, and extremely deadly. Praise for Robert Ludlum and *The Matlock Paper *  “A sure winner . . . fast paced, suspenseful, and bound to keep you turning the pages.”—The Denver Post  * “A 110% story all in overdrive . . . Ludlum writes better and better.”—Kirkus Reviews  * “Suspense, violence, and total readability.”—Chicago Tribune** BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Robert Ludlum’s *The Bourne Identity.*

This is a stunning collection of short stories by acclaimed fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. His distinctive genius has been championed by writers as diverse as Norman Mailer and Stephen King. With The Sandman Neil Gaiman created one of the most sophisticated, intelligent, and influential graphic novel series of our time. Now after the recent success of his latest novel Anansi Boys, Gaiman has produced Fragile Things, his second collection of short fiction. These stories will dazzle your senses, haunt your imagination, and move you to the very depths of your soul. This extraordinary compilation reveals one of the world's most gifted storytellers at the height of his powers.

Jim Braxton has always known he was different, blood-oathed to help fight back the evil that haunts the world. But he has always felt dissatisfied with his role. Heather has been haunted all her life and now a powerful ghost has targeted her. After fate brings her and Braxton together, they are thrust back into the past to spend the night in a haunted house. The ghost commands them to find his murderer or die themselves. But something in the house stokes the simmering attraction between them, and soon they are fighting their uncontrollable passion as well as the sinister forces that seek to control them.

The last days of the Civil War bring no peace for the Main and Hazard families. As the Mains’ South smolders in the ruins of defeat, the Hazards’ North pushes blindly for relentless industrial progress. Both the nation and the families’ long-standing bond hover on the brink of destruction. In the series’ epic conclusion, Jakes expertly blends personal conflict with historical events, crafting a haunting page-turner about America’s constant change and unyielding hope.

The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister’s life didn’t just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light. It went out with a bang. Goodbye normal. Hello dark and eerie. While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan’s second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren’t bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei’s dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it’s too late? http://us.macmillan.com/deathdoomandd...

Hannah Bell, the oldest of the three Bell sisters, spends most of her time in the remotest parts of the world photographing endangered animals. She is also gifted with an extraordinary sixth sense which has saved her life on more than one occasion. When she senses something has happen to her littlest sister, Tink, she will do whatever it takes to protect her. What she doesn’t know is her sister’s best friend Cosmos' new science experiment has opened a portal to another world. A world she is about to be taken to whether she wants to go or not. Borj ‘Tag Krell Manok is the calmest of his four brothers, or so he always thought. The second oldest, he has been assigned the task by his father and the counsel to bring the sister of his brother's bond mate to their world. Borj knows deep down that Hannah is destined to be his bond mate, something he has hoped for since his first mating rite ceremony. What he doesn't expect when he meets her is her resistance or her independence. When she is kidnapped by a rival clan, Borj will do anything to get her back. Hannah and Borj's escape into the vast forests of Prime draw them together in a fight not only for their lives but for a deeper understanding and trust between two vastly different worlds. Borj discovers Hannah is a fierce and cunning mate while Hannah discovers Borj is the perfect warrior to protect and love her. By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, please get a refund for this book. It is designed for the entertainment of mature readers only.

Newly widowed after a shockingly brief marriage to an elderly British lord, Jocelyn Fleming still aches with the pain of unexplored desire. And now her restless heart is leading her far from the protective bosom of polite London society to the perilous beauty of the American West . . . and to Colt Thunder. Breathlessly exciting but dangerously unpredictable, Colt is a loner whose Cheyenne blood burns hotter than the blistering Arizona sun. Jocelyn's wealth and title mean nothing to this stranger whose passion rules his actions and his heart. But neither the wild desert stallion nor the untouched English rose can deny their irresistible attraction . . . or prevent the firestorm of emotion that erupts when their vastly different worlds collide.

A big, powerful saga of men in combat, written over the course of thirty-five years by a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. Intense, powerful, and compelling, Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead and James Jones’s The Thin Red Line. It is the timeless story of a young Marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting, it turns out, are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. But when the company finds itself surrounded and outnumbered by a massive enemy regiment, the Marines are thrust into the raw and all-consuming terror of combat. The experience will change them forever. Written over the course of thirty years by a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, Matterhorn is a visceral and spellbinding novel about what it is like to be a young man at war. It is an unforgettable novel that transforms the tragedy of Vietnam into a powerful and universal story of courage, camaraderie, and sacrifice: a parable not only of the war in Vietnam but of all war, and a testament to the redemptive power of literature. A graduate of Yale University and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Karl Marlantes served as a Marine in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals for valor, two Purple Hearts, and ten air medals. This is his first novel. He lives in rural Washington State.