First published in the first edition of Coterie, May Day 1919.

Kiss of the Black Angel explores one man’s grief as it plunges him into the realm of the vampire. Here, Stefan encounters Miquel, who is destined to become his maker. But the price of immortality is high and the vampire warns, “Through my blood you will learn a secret which will compel you to live forever, yet a secret so profane it will haunt you for all eternity." The secret will haunt you, too.Kiss of the Black Angelan erotic vampire novella byDella Van Hise_____________________Kiss of the Black Angel was originally published in the prestigious TOMORROW MAGAZINE. It was released as a limited print first edition in 1997, as Ragged Angels.There is now a novel-length version of this book entitled Sons of Neverland."The virtuosity shown here is only the beginning of a pyrotechnic talent unfolding into the hidden dimensions of the human and nonhuman spirit." -Jacqueline Lichtenberg___________"Sensual! Sexy! Surreal!"-North County Times____________"A literary triumph where the undead have more heart & soul than the living." -The Readers First published in 1997 as a limited first edition under the title of Ragged Angels, this was the last fiction novel by Della Van Hise before she turned her attentions to non-fiction and metaphysical pursuits. Ms. Van Hise is the author of the controversial STAR TREK novel, KILLING TIME, as well as many underground novels under a variety of pseudonyms.Now, by popular demand, SONS OF NEVERLAND has been re-packaged and re-edited, bringing it into the 21st Century with the style and literary emphasis it truly deserves. The novella (Kiss of the Black Angel) is offered free on Smashwords - and we hope you will enjoy the novella enough to order the full-length novel!________________One Amazon Reviewer said..."What Sons of Neverland resembled to me was the creative hagiographies of Nikos Kazantzakis, where a few stylized characters deliver a message that goes way beyond the parameter of the characters themselves. And much like Kazantzakis, this book zones on the question of immortality. However, this is not just the decadent historical immortality of the long-lived vampire, it is immortality as a change in one's perception. This is the story behind the story, delivered by characters that are hyper-real - each one loaded with symbolism. Sons of Neverland will have you filled, even brimming over with the sense of Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans. Go there for a full helping of the numinous."____________________Set against a backdrop of contemporary culture, SONS OF NEVERLAND explores the universal questions of life & death, sex & love - the most crucial challenges every human being faces - through the eyes of the immortal vampire. _______________We hope you will give SONS OF NEVERLAND the opportunity to not only entertain you with its erotic and sensual descriptions, but to also challenge YOUR mind in the way any controversial work of "fiction" may well be a mildly disguised look at the absurd reality in which we all live...Readers have compared SONS OF NEVERLAND to the works of Anne Rice, Carlos Castaneda, and Anais Nin. One reader summed it up as follows: "SONS OF NEVERLAND is one of the most erotic books I've ever read. It made me believe in the power of the human heart and gave me a real glimmer of hope that maybe we CAN live forever if we can get past the idea that tells us we can't. I found it totally uplifting regardless of the gritty story In the end, it made me realize that light can't exist without darkness. Thank you for a truly exceptional read!" (Charlene J.)_______________Told in the poetic voice of myth, SONS OF NEVERLAND is the tale of one man's search for immortality and love.

Poems deal with writing, death and immortality, literature, city life, illness, war, and the past.

A local radio station is holding the Great Detective Race, and the Boxcar Children have entered the contest! They solve riddles and search all over town for clues leading to the grand prize. But when some of the clues turn out to be fake, it’s clear that someone is playing unfairly! Who could be trying to ruin the race—and why?

Ellie Simmons lost the love of her life, her husband Daniel. And now, two years later, baby Daniel is born -- a clone of the man she lost.But human cloning is illegal, and Ellie must be very, very careful. . . .Logan woke up with a big problem.He’s extremely dead.No one from his former life seems able to see or hear him, making his afterlife little more than a miserable nightmare. That is, until the day of his funeral, when the bitterly sarcastic Zoe, a friend from his childhood, starts calling him out at his own wake. Now his only chance at moving on means dealing with his sordid past—and the girl he never really got over.

Luna Stone's life is far from normal. She's working two jobs as a barista and dances at a night club. A old friend from her past show's back up and she's about to start a internship at a law firm. The work wasn't hard. But what was hard was trying not to fall in love with her new over-achieving, young, polar opposite boss Mr.Ian Hanson.At first glance, Luna Stone seems to have a normal nineteen year old girl’s life. She goes to college, studying for psychology. Works at a coffeehouse. But Luna’s life is far from normal. In addition to her coffeehouse job, she also works nights at a strip club. Dancing and waitressing to keep up with her mother’s hospital bills. More recently, a old friend of Luna’s decides to pop up and beg for forgiveness. And to top it all off, her teacher recently offered her a internship at a law firm. Which is a opportunity she could not pass up.Twelve weeks, personal assistant, no pay, but a good recommendation. Seemed easy enough. But what Luna didn’t know was the job wasn’t going to be the hard part. The hard part wasn’t even her new over-achieving, young, polar opposite boss Mr. Ian Hanson. The hard part, was not falling in love with him.In the first book of the Live by the Sun, Love by the Moon Trilogy, we meet Luna at a time in her life when her world gets turned upside down and seems to be falling apart. But it isn't her world she's worried about breaking, it’s her heart.

In a little storefront on a side Manhattan street, a nameless old man keeps a shop. His customers don't pay him for the dusty, battered items on his shelves, but for the wonders he can do with them...not all of which are good. Into his shop wanders widower and corrupt retail inspector Carl Harris, wearing a wedding ring the shopkeeper will surely covet for the power stored within it...when 15 year old ali al-amin’s parents are killed by an al-qaeda bomb in baghdad, he is recruited by arab intelligence to spy on a syrian school for suicide-bombers. there ali is turned into a human bomb, a dead boy walking, and sent to blow up a wedding reception as prelude to the most dreadful terror-attack ever devised, the release of two litres of sarin from saddam hussein’s missing wmd stockpile into the audience at the jerash arts festival in jordan. with 3 days to stop the plot, ali must grow up fast and face his destiny as the lone wolf defending islam from the extremists who would destroy it.for readers 15+ who enjoy action thrillers, this spy series for young adults and adults sits somewhere between alex rider, james bond and homeland.

Can interspecies diplomacy begin in the womb? After seventy years on Tofarn, the human colonists still know almost nothing about the native Tofa. Misunderstandings breed conflict, and the conflicts are escalating. Scientist Mara Cadell’s radical proposal: that host mothers carry fraternal twins, one human and one Tofa, who might understand each other better. (The sequel, REACH, now available!)Humans have lived on Tofarn, planet of creeks and rivers, for seventy years, but they still don't understand the Tofa. The Tofa are an enigma, from their featureless faces to the four arms that sometimes seem to be five. They take arbitrary umbrage at the simplest human activities, while annoying their human neighbors in seemingly pointless ways. The next infuriating, inexplicable incident may explode into war.Scientist Mara Cadell's radical proposal: that host mothers carry fraternal twins, human and Tofa, in the hope that the bond between twins can bridge the gap between species. Mara knows about the bond between twins: her own twin, Levi, died in utero, but she has secretly kept him alive in her mind as companion and collaborator.Mara succeeds in obtaining governmental backing for her project – but both the human and Tofa establishments have their own agendas. Mara must shepherd the Twin-Bred through dangers she anticipated and others that even the canny Levi could not foresee. Will the Twin-Bred bring peace, war, or something else entirely?... This revised edition removes some unnecessary minor character names, relocates a few scenes into more logical places, and divides chapters that lacked focus as originally organized.*Now available -- Reach: a Twin-Bred novel (the sequel)!*

Samantha is holed up in her apartment, trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. During a trip into town for supplies, she is chased through the city by vicious Warriors, men that kill zombies and make women wish they were dead. After being trapped on a roof at gunpoint, she is saved by the brothers Ryder and Reese, and she decides they might be her best chance for surival. Recommended for ages 15+Samantha is holed up all alone in her apartment, trying to outlast the zombie apocalypse. During a routine trip into town for supplies, she is chased through the city by vicious Warriors, men that kill zombies, and make women wish they were dead. After being trapped on a roof at gunpoint, she is saved by the brothers Ryder and Reese, and she decides they might be her best chance for surival.They set out from her apartment in search of a place that they can fortify and have a semi-normal life. Along the way, Samantha helps battle zombies, other survivors, and her growing feelings for both brothers. When they finally reach the island, the group settles in, trying to make the place as livable as possible. However, trouble quickly arrises in the form of the Warriors.They've tracked the group of four down to their new home, and are out for revenge. Warriors, bullets, and fire separate the four survivors from each other, but Samantha can't give up. She has not only herself to think about now, but another group of young girls that need her help. Can Samantha survive the Warriors and reunite her group?

In a land ravaged by the zombie apocalypse, how will three little pigs cope in their newly built homes?Are they ready for all the evils that this world has to offer?Imagine living in a world where everything you do is controlled. In the distant future the United States has been split into two regions separated by a barren wasteland; this is the country of Dystopia. Here the individual is discouraged, freedom is an illusion, food is rationed, and everything you do is tracked by a chip implanted in your arm. This is Dana Ginary’s world.At age seventeen, people receive their career assignments chosen for them by a government body. Forced to work at the Waste Management Plant because she was declared too individualistic, Dana finds herself surrounded by death and brutality. Knowing her days are numbered, she looks for a way to leave the plant before she, too, becomes one of its causalities. It is then she meets a man named George and soon finds herself caught up in a cat and mouse game between the resistance and the Dystopian government. Dana finds herself faced with an agonizing choice of whom she will betray and whom she will save: her friend George, her parents, or herself. The eyes are always watching.

Sherrill Cameron's wedding ends with another bride walking down the aisle...and a mysterious stranger walking into her life. But for better or for worse?

Three trees stood in a forest: one was rushed through his life, forced to play the roll he didn't want. The other was scarred, abused, and stained always living with the memory. Finally, their was the youngest who was insulted and never given the chance to be someone. All three represent some part of us--rushed, abused, insulted, yet who we are is never determined by our circumstance, but by JesusNot all of us are scarred, abused, and stained, but some of us, because of a decision we made early in life, are destined to play a part of life we do not wish to play. Then again we might be living a life of contradiction. A life that we live only because we were never given a chance. We were called names and told we would never amount to anything. We were told this so often that we finally believed it was true and have given in to the lie. Then there is the life that shows the marks of anger, bitterness, and rage. This life does not diminish the other two lives, this life simply shows the scars, the battle wounds, and the ugliness of life. All three lives are scarred and abused. All three carry with them the hurt and anger of years. All three touch each of us in some way. But it need not end there.

The winter solstice 2012 won't be the end of the world. It will be the beginning of the end....Naomi has a pretty sweet life. Respected as a skilled mediator, she has an almost uncanny knack for getting people on both sides of a dispute to agree. And her handsome boyfriend Brock has just proposed to her. But a white buffalo calf is bowing to her in her dreams. And who is the Native American man who has been following her around?Naomi doesn’t know it, but things are about to change....

The winter issue of Writer's Muse Magazine. The Writer's Muse Page is a group started by Richard Cotton where writers can share with and support one another. Any writers are welcome to join this group. The Writer's Group Smashwords Account was set up by Sumiko Saulson for the group to create a place to publish the quarterly free periodicals by the members of the Facebook Group.The winter issue of Writer's Muse Magazine. The Writer's Muse Page is a group started by Richard Cotton where writers can share with and support one another. Any writers are welcome to join this group. The Writer's Group Smashwords Account was set up by Sumiko Saulson for the group to create a place to publish the quarterly free periodicals by the members of the Facebook Group. There are over 800 writers on the Writer's Muse page. Individual writers whose work appears in the Writer’s Muse Group publication retain all individual rights to their works and have agreed to allow Writer’s Muse Magazine to publish their works at no charge.Discover other issues of Writer’s Muse Magazine at Smashwords.com:Writer’s Muse Group https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/writersmuseCover Photography by Kathleen ChambersInterior Photography by Kathleen Chambers(except where noted and author photos)Layout: Sumiko SaulsonEditing and Proofreading: Sumiko SaulsonFounder of Writer’s Muse Group: Richard Cotton

Wow, it's already Volume 3 of TIW shorts! The third collection of totally pointless exactly 500 Challenge and exactly 200 Weekend Quickie word nonsense (plus a few collaborations and extra TIW things) to entertain you while doing whatever you do when reading.Wow, it's already Volume 3 of TIW shorts! The third collection of totally pointless exactly 500 Challenge and exactly 200 Weekend Quickie word nonsense (plus a few collaborations and extra TIW things) to entertain you while doing whatever you do when reading. For myself, it was a long and exciting half year in The Iron Writer. It has become a part of my life now, this TIW phenomenon, every week waiting for the next group of elements to hit the site and dwelling on the story which could link them all together in the style of my choice. It's thanks to this challenge that I can say I never suffer from writer's block - touch wood. In this third volume, I have also included some collaborations and TIW ‘experiments’, such as the Genre Mash Up from Miranda Hawley and impromptu relays which mainly involve a new and highly talented young TIW writer, Mathew W. Weaver , complete in a suit of armour – he is the Iron Writer Protection Program, his identity is a secret. Other writers include Neal Sayatovich, Jordan Bel , and Tony Jaeger. I'd like to thank these writers for writing their words and allowing me to publish them.In mentioning, I also cut the 10 worder 4 element challenge story "He tutted as she stood there in a mini skirt." (Challenge 45) down to a 'zhong', a form made famous by Ernest Hemingway, "He tutted as she smiled, naked."To finish, in Volume 2, I separated the Weekly Challenges from the Weekend Quickies though now I see that some continuity of ideas was lost and so everything in Volume 3 is in chronological order to show the development…if there was one.I hope you enjoy these short snippets just as much as I enjoyed writing them, and thanks again to Brian and all the other Iron Writers for allowing me into their community…I wouldn’t. If you are 'up to the Challenge', then go to...The Iron Writer dot com

The title reveals a tight association with painting, and one must refer to Rothko to see what is truly going on. Reading the chapbook proves helpful as well.John Marchant and Pavel Tomeckova, first introduced in contemporary thriller Viennese Waltz, take centre stage to tell stories of their own.In Scorpion Dance John describes little job in which, for once, he upstages his flamboyant partner, whilst in Hook in the Heart Pavel has another opportunity to explain, as he once explained to Kathryn Blake, how a certain raw recruit first came to the attention of his arm of the service.

Goodman Asher has marred his face to show humility. He has sewn shut his mouth. He has broken his nose and cut notches into his ears. Such hurts reward him by summoning a Fay Regent to his mirror. Goodman Asher smiles, for it is rumored that treasure follows the Regent. Only, Goodman Asher misreads the Regent's intention, and Asher's sewn mouth fails to correct the terrible misunderstanding.The magistrates rush to Goodman Asher's cabin. For Asher's daughter has warned her village that her father's obsession with the mirror tempts wicked magic. Rumors and fables have lured Goodman Asher off of the good path, and so the magistrates rush towards their neighbor's cabin to plead with Goodman Asher to relent from his folly. They will give Goodman Asher a choice, an opportunity, before putting that cabin and its master to flame.

Jeep Muldoon, 'the boy who finds things', reveals his most dangerous adventures ever. And,he warns - Don't Try This At Home!"Do not fire a Civil War cannon. Do not build and pilot your own rocket bike. Do not fly cluster balloons into the stratosphere. And do not ever under any circumstances ever face down the legendary Wampus Cat!"Jeep Muldoon, 'the boy who finds things', reveals his most dangerous adventures ever. And,he warns - Don't Try This At Home!"Do not fire a Civil War cannon. Do not build and pilot your own rocket bike. Do not fly cluster balloons into the stratosphere. And do not ever under any circumstances ever face down the legendary Wampus Cat!"When a fortune in Civil War gold is located, a rocket powered bicycle outruns the Sheriff's cruiser, Santa Clause takes over the Christmas parade and flys off without reindeer and the legendary Wampus Cat is captured by a band of middle schoolers - you will know that Jeep Muldoon and the Gang are at it again!

Thirteen year old fashionista Coco Franks has finally made it into the popular group when her dad decides to move the whole family to the country so they can 'bond'. Social death is looming, her shoes are covered in mud and all Coco wants to do is get herself back to her Sydney friends. After all, things can't get any worse, right?Thirteen year old fashionista Coco Franks has finally made it into the popular group when her dad decides to move the whole family to the country so they can 'bond'. Social death is looming, her shoes are covered in mud and all Coco wants to do is get herself back to her city friends. After all, things can't get any worse, right? It'll take a boy with no dress sense and totally hick boots, and a contrary horse called Cupcake to bring Coco to her senses. But it might just be too little, too late. Love and Muddy Puddles is humorous realistic fiction aimed at children aged 10-12 and horse lovers everywhere. Set in Australia, this clean teen romance is a funny and inspiring story of how a horse, a listening ear and a hefty dose of mud can change a young person's life. Love and Muddy Puddles is the third novel by Australian writer Cecily Anne Paterson. Her first novel 'Invisible', also a clean, realistic story for girls and teenagers, was called an 'exquisitely written story' by Publisher's Weekly reviewer of teenage fiction, and was a semifinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2014.

Frankenstein.com is the sequel to Resident Fear. Two years on from arresting the serial killer involved, a new challenge faces D.C.I. Renton. The story is once again set in the Northeast of England, but this case appears to be more complicated than expected, compared with the stepwise murders of a serial killer. Several victims have apparently been simultaneously selected for a common purpose.Frankenstein.com is the sequel to Resident Fear. Two years on from arresting the serial killer involved, a new challenge faces D.C.I. Renton. The story is once again set in the Northeast of England, but this case appears to be more complicated than expected, compared with the stepwise murders of a serial killer. Several victims have apparently been simultaneously selected for a common purpose, and the perpetrator invites attention from the internet. Renton is in new territory again, and initially struggles to handle this window of the world into his department.