Issue 34 of Neon features the work of Sam Frankl, Eliza Victoria, Lynn Hoffman, Tracey Iceton, Michael Frazer, Kate Folk, Heidi James, and Nancy Hightower. The cover photograph is by Andrew Shoemaker.Built during the sixteenth century, the majestic turreted stone clad fortress of the Montgomery's stately residence sits next to the River Dale, which meanders its way gently passed the estate as it flows slowly towards the sixteenth century church and the ancient village of Sunny Dale, in the distance. Rodney the gardener is tending the estate's award winning roses, and appears to be everything a woman could ever want in a man; tall, handsome, clean shaven, caring, helpful, charming, a good listener, friendly, witty, always immaculately dressed, but above all, exciting. Penelope thinks so, as she has agreed to marry him. So does Lady Montgomery. After all, no other gardener has taken the time to help her with her own personal pride and joy, her very own hidden garden. But Lord Montgomery is not so sure.

Luke Kolbe is a lonely Pittsburgh apartment rental agent with big ideas inspired by his love of literature and art. Guided by his desire to create, he hides his tiny handmade sculptures in public places in hopes of inspiring other dreamers in this unpretentious lighthearted novel about humble idealism and sincere intentions in the face of ingrained suspicion.This book is the complete and authentic publication of the diary of Ramirez. Someone who, as great part of us does, struggled to understand society’s conflicts and habits in order to change his own life.I found his diary wrapped in plastic bags on a gas station pay phone.I decided to publish and share his reflections since they have helped me to better understand myself.I hope that it can help you, too.Bad things happen for a good reason.

Strange things grow in dark and abandoned places. And the temple has been dark and abandoned for longer than anyone can guess. The locals make sure to stay clear, but a famous archaeologist discovered the temple’s existence. He takes his team into the jungle to uncover its secrets. The expedition is a few days in, when strange things start happening… Ssshhtt… You hear that?Strange things grow in dark and abandoned places. And the temple has been dark and abandoned for longer than anyone can guess. The locals make sure to stay clear, but a famous archaeologist discovered the temple’s existence. He takes his team into the jungle to uncover its secrets. The expedition is a few days in, when strange things start happening… Dark Temple is the opening of a new series of thrilling short genre stories. They can be anything from science fiction, to horror, high fantasy and detective noir. Most will be stand-alone stories, so you don’t have to worry about reading them in order. The description will tell you what to expect in each case, so just pick one that tickles your fancy.This is a short story. A neat, complete package of excitement and thrill that you can read in the time it takes to travel the average commute. Perfect when you’re looking for a dash of entertainment or distraction in a busy schedule. Or when you love stories and monsters in dark corners.Ssshhtt… You hear that?

Despite their many sacrifices, Tesetra’s people have been forsaken by their gods. Having accidentally come across a member of the supposedly legendary Snake People, Tesetra sets out to find where they live. At first she finds instead the survivors of many other legendary people, all who came before her own people; and all of whom were destroyed when their gods had abandoned them.I see a burger joint around the corner. I turn on that corner and I head towards the drive thru. I start to pull up to the microphone so they can take my order. I get up to the microphone and I order some hamburgers and fries and some chicken nuggets.The guy, I hear at the microphone, he tells me to pull up to the drive thru window. I slowly pull up to the drive thru window and look at that window. The window is so big someone can fit through it. I turn off my car, thinking it will be awhile. I see there are no customers in the restaurant part of the place. I start to feel weird. Just that quick, a guy grabs me out of my car and pulls me through the drive thru window. I scream and struggle, but to no use. He sets me down on a chair, inside this restaurant.He says, “I need you to save my planet. You were meant to be here. This small town doesn’t really exist.” I look at him like; he has just grown two heads. I say, “Did you have to grab me like that; you scared the crap out of me. You’re lucky, I didn’t bring a long my baseball bat. I would have hit you.”

Fin is a homeless man who lives in the tunnels under New York City. Fin explains, in this short excerpt from the novel FINDING VERITY, how he became homeless.Baumgartner P.McMasters III, is an executive business-man's caveat. Having a large office, a Condo and other riches, only one thing, he is a druggee. He'd sell his blood for a nickel bag. Then one day, he has to make a decision, when his drug-seller threatens to go public for not paying him on time. He decides to cut all ties, and leave it all behind. He shows up, a year-later in worn and tattered-clothes, and sits alone in a diner somewhere in AZ with a nap-sack full of his own old-mementos. Then, he reads.. What will become of him, and what if anything will save him.

A collection of thoughts, poems and monologues based around my life as it was.Delve into love; depression; winter and joy.The number 28 has great meaning to me and when I was going through a difficult emotional time I wrote most of the content in here. It is personal, and some of it may not be poetic so to speak, but I wanted to share these thoughts with whoever would like to read them. I have included a monologue in here that was due to be performed until I lost my nerve and I have added some photographs, all taken by me, in location such as Brighton and Greatstone. I hope you enjoy this brief look inside my emotions.

When a young artist paints the Mayor's portrait, he hangs it in City Hall. The trouble is that this is no ordinary painting. Everyone sees something different and whose account is true? The painting launches a train of strange events in a world that teeters on the edge of apocalypse. The story is told in four linked accounts woven together, ending at the same moment in time.Fifteen-year old Letty has painted the Mayor's portrait. He hangs it in City Hall for all the world to see, but the trouble is that this is no ordinary painting. Everyone sees something different and whose account is true? But Letty's painting is only one strange occurrence in a world that teeters on the edge of apocalypse. Michael, the reluctant soldier, is forced to join the General's rag-tag army. Assigned to the regiment in the capitol city, he finds his way into a company of mysterious people who are working to rescue the city's orphans from destitution. A man named Joe is the leader of this strange crew and Michael learns to trust him, even in the abyss called Belltown. Thaddaeus, the forgotten artist, stirs up the crowd of regulars at The Tower Inn with his disturbing paintings. Is he mad? Or is he a prophet? Marching to the beat of his own interior music, he never asks what the world thinks. He is too busy straining after an elusive tune, following wherever it might lead. Mayor Jared Hobic is happily corrupt: sucking up to the General, cheating on his wife, slithering like a snake into his position of power and influence. Everything is going his way until a young girl paints his portrait. Now he's plagued by a knocking sound. Is it in his head? Is he losing his mind? And who is this mysterious man named Joe who eludes his grasp? Mayor Hobic is certainly beginning to lose his grip on his carefully constructed life. The story is told in four linked accounts woven together and ending at the same moment in time. Threaded throughout the tales are images of a strange man named Joe, the paintings of Letty; and the bread lady, mysterious and serene, who is always at her table in the market square.

“Grandfather!” came a high-pitched yell.He smiled as a glint came to his blue eyes and his clean shaven face creased in delight. It never got old when the young ones called out to him with the endearment that everyone in the town called him. It was probably one of the things that kept him looking so young for his 250 years.“Grandfather!” came a high-pitched yell.He smiled as a glint came to his blue eyes and his clean shaven face creased in delight. It never got old when the young ones called out to him with the endearment that everyone in the town called him. It was probably one of the things that kept him looking so young for his 250 years.---Silliane was a half-elf who had lived, loved and adventured for a long time. He thought he was comfortably retired, until a long time friend came to visit with some news that might interest him.

Myeong has one little idea that changes everything."Little-by-little, Myeong has lost all hope. Till she bumps into Marta, who is being pursued by invisible fiends. Soon Myeong and Marta launch a startup — that might just change the world ..." Marta and the Demons is a must-own entrepreneur's bible, AKA a novelette about gamification, cryptocurrency, and how to fall in love in a rising market.

A resistance movement wants a war hero to lead their rebellion, against his better judgement.In a peaceful medieval kingdom, recently conquered by an invading tyrant, a young soldier decides to start a resistance movement. He's certain he knows the perfect figurehead - a hero of the abortive war against the despot - but convincing this man to join their struggle turns out to be nowhere near as straightforward as he expects.

When private detective John Wesley Tucker is hired to do a routine background check for an aspiring politician he finds himself stalked by evil. John Wesley Tucker is neither an ordinary detective nor an ordinary man. There is more about Tucker than meets the eye, but is he even human?Evil lurks in the shadows of our lives. John Wesley Tucker is a private investigator who risks his life in service to others. When he takes on a simple background check, for a wealthy oil man, a series of other cases complicate the investigation. While seeking to locate kidnapped children, he’ll follow the strange clues of a deranged homeless man. After he’s sent to bring home a teenage girl lost to the mean streets of Dallas, Tucker becomes the target of a professional assassin. He finds himself being followed by an unknown agency. As the disparate threads of the seemingly unconnected cases coalesce, Tucker and those around him are drawn into a trap from which few will walk away.A detective mystery, a thriller, and an exploration of current conflicting ideas and beliefs, with action, intrigue and a distinctly spiritual twist. ANGELS & IMPERFECTIONS is contemporary, suspenseful, relevant and at times violent, offering a unique cultural point of view rarely depicted.

It’s Olivia’s first day at TechCorpEx and already she finds out about an opportunity for a promotion, but her co-worker, Seth is also trying for the job. Another one of her co-workers, Ethan, is all too eager to help her. Olivia gets an opportunity to dance at a local club, but finds out what really goes on there.It’s Olivia’s first day at TechCorpEx and already she finds out about an opportunity for a promotion, but her co-worker, Seth is also trying for the job. Another one of her co-workers, Ethan, is all too eager to help her. Will she get the job and please her mother, or will she pursue her life-long passion to dance? Olivia gets an opportunity to dance at a local club, but finds out what really goes on at the Not Pizza Club.

Bring Forth the Power of the Creature in your Soul!Enter a magical world where those around you are not who they seem. Take a quest as fantasies become real, and mysteries unfold into beautiful tales and horrid betrayals. Inside these pages, you will be sucked into a realm where all that seemed impossible is anything but.Bring Forth the Power of the Creature in your Soul!Enter a magical world where those around you are not who they seem. Take a quest as fantasies become real, and mysteries unfold into beautiful tales and horrid betrayals. Inside these pages, you will be sucked into a realm where all that seemed impossible is anything but. Dragons, Bird Men, Demon Hunters, and Mermaids all await you within these stories. Litha, also known as Midsummer, is the day of the summer solstice, when the sun is at the height of its journey. It is a day filled with fire and magic before the year begins to wane. For each pagan holiday, there will be a corresponding volume in the Wheel of the Year Anthology.Stories Included-A Dragon’s Heart and Sparrow’s Soul- Cherron RiserBlood and Ashes- Ashley Nicole DavisThunder Born- Tara Ann MooreAllure of the Sea- Taylor Lexus BrownConfession- Taylor Lexus Brown

An alternate cover edition exists here. Sue Monk Kidd's phenomenal debut, The Secret Life of Bees, became a runaway bestseller that is still on the New York Times bestseller list more than two years after its paperback publication. Now, in her luminous new novel, Kidd has woven a transcendent tale that will thrill her legion of fans. Telling the story of Jessie Sullivan -- a love story between a woman and a monk, a woman and her husband, and ultimately a woman and her own soul -- Kidd charts a journey of awakening and self-discovery illuminated with a brilliance that only a writer of her ability could conjure.

A CLASSIC FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF *THE THINGS THEY CARRIED "To call Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby-Dick a novel about whales." So wrote The New York Times of Tim O'Brien's now classic novel of Vietnam. Winner of the 1979 National Book Award, Going After Cacciato captures the peculiar mixture of horror and hallucination that marked this strangest of wars. In a blend of reality and fantasy, this novel tells the story of a young soldier who one day lays down his rifle and sets off on a quixotic journey from the jungles of Indochina to the streets of Paris. In its memorable evocation of men both fleeing from and meeting the demands of battle, Going After Cacciato stands as much more than just a great war novel. Ultimately it's about the forces of fear and heroism that do battle in the hearts of us all. Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content From the Trade Paperback edition. **Amazon.com Review "In October, near the end of the month, Cacciato left the war." In Tim O'Brien's novel Going After Cacciato the theater of war becomes the theater of the absurd as a private deserts his post in Vietnam, intent on walking 8,000 miles to Paris for the peace talks. The remaining members of his squad are sent after him, but what happens then is anybody's guess: "The facts were simple: They went after Cacciato, they chased him into the mountains, they tried hard. They cornered him on a small grassy hill. They surrounded the hill. They waited through the night. And at dawn they shot the sky full of flares and then they moved in.... That was the end of it. The last known fact. What remained were possibilities." It is these possibilities that make O'Brien's National Book Award-winning novel so extraordinary. Told from the perspective of squad member Paul Berlin, the search for Cacciato soon enters the realm of the surreal as the men find themselves following an elusive trail of chocolate M&M's through the jungles of Indochina, across India, Iran, Greece, and Yugoslavia to the streets of Paris. The details of this hallucinatory journey alternate with feverish memories of the war--men maimed by landmines, killed in tunnels, engaged in casual acts of brutality that would be unthinkable anywhere else. Reminiscent of Joseph Heller's Catch-22, Going After Cacciato dishes up a brilliant mix of ferocious comedy and bleak horror that serves to illuminate both the complex psychology of men in battle and the overarching insanity of war. --Alix Wilber Review NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER "Simply put, the best novel written about the war. I do not know . . . any writer, journalist, or novelist who does not concede that position to O'Brien's Going After Cacciato." *—Miami Herald "A novel of great beauty and importance." *—Boston Globe* "Stark . . . rhapsodic. . . . It is a canvas painted vividly, hauntingly, disturbingly by Tim O'Brien." *—Los Angeles Times "As a fictional portrait of this war, Going After Cacciato is hard to fault, and will be hard to better." *—*John Updike, *The New Yorker*

Sang Sorenson is forced to suffer through another of her mother’s extreme punishments. It almost kills her. The Academy boys vow it will be the last. They're determined to keep Sang safe, especially from her own family. Their solution: complete invasion of her life. Kota, Luke, Silas, Nathan, Victor, Gabriel and North do everything within their power to show Sang what true loyalty means. It takes more than blood to make a family and they want Sang in theirs. In this third book of The Academy series Sang experiences a taste of freedom and what it’s like to truly be cared for...to be wanted. Sang learns a bit more about the boys’ broken families and the boys discover more than they could ever have bargained for about Sang’s. The Academy was the answer to their problems. Could it be hers? Sang’s actions will force her mother to reveal a startling truth. A truth that will change Sang’s life and the boys’ lives in unpredictable ways. Forever. The Academy, Allegiance

FROM DISTRESS TO DISASTER Catherine Pelliston simply would not abide by her father's wishes and marry the slovenly Lord Browdie. But her escape through the streets of London only seemed to lead her from bad to worse. First, she was robbed. And then, her supposed "rescue" by a kindly old woman stranded Catherine in a bordello -- where the handsome Viscount Rand was intent on sampling her wares! A dire predicament indeed-especially when the dashing aristocrat decided to assume full responsibility for the ravishing runaway by taking her, quite against her will, into his home. But little did Catherine know that her struggle to preserve her virtue had inflamed the debauched gadabout's heart ... and might well net her a husband worth desiring!

A Princess on her own . . . Mia has been invited to speak at a gala for Domina Rei, an elite society of powerful businesswomen. But what could she possibly have to say? Michael has broken up with her, her bff Lilly won't speak to her, and her parents are forcing her to see a therapist. Even J.P.'s efforts to cheer Mia up (he's being really sweet ) aren't helping. Just when things couldn't get worse, Mia discovers a long--forgotten diary of a teenage princess of Genovia. It could be just the inspiration Mia needs to write her speech--but what it reveals might change everything.

A wealthy Pasadena widow with a mean streak, a missing daughter-in-law with a past, and a gold coin worth a small fortune-the elements don't quite add up until Marlowe discovers evidence of murder, rape, blackmail, and the worst kind of human exploitation. "Raymond Chandler is a star of the first magnitude."-- Erle Stanley Gardner "Raymond Chandler has given us a detective who is hard-boiled enough to be convincing . . . and that is no mean achievement." -- The New York Times "From the Trade Paperback edition."

In a Pennsylvania meadow, a young fireman and an angry gambler are forced to build a wall of fifteenth-century stone. For Jim Nashe, it all started when he came into a small inheritance and left Boston in pusuit of "a life of freedom." Careening back and forth across the United States, waiting for the money to run out, Nashe met Jack Pozzi, a young man with a temper and a plan. With Nashe's last funds, they entered a poker game against two rich eccentrics, "risking everything on the single turn of a card." In Paul Auster's world of fiendish bargains and punitive whims, where chance is a shifting and powerful force, there is redemption, nonetheless, in Nashe's resolute quest for justice and his capacity for love.

First: kill Satan. Second: reorganize Hell. Sounded simple enough back then, but for Betsy Taylor, managing "down below" isn't as easy as she'd hoped - even if she is doing it with her sister, Laura, a bona-fide Antichrist. So yes, Betsy has been shirking her hellish responsibilities, but she's been just so darn busy these days. And she's not just yanking Laura's chain. There's a brand new baby drama involving a pair of uncanny (ok, terrifying) toddler twins, an upcoming birthday party that has to be planned, and, are you ready for it? Betsy's dad - once so very dead - has been spotted in downtown St. Paul. Now, despite all the chaos, Betsy's friends rally around, helping her to handle all this fire and brimstone jazz. As for Betsy's sister and dad - they have their own surprises in store for the vampire queen. And jolt by jolt, Betsy will discover that there's nothing as heartwarming as family. Yeah, like Hell.