Albert Birnbaum was once one of the biggest political talk show hosts around, but these days hes watching his career enter a death spiral. A stranger offers a solution to his woes, promising to put him back on top. Its everything Birnbaum wants, but is there a catch? And does Birnbaum actually care if there is?

A Prize Winning Short Story.An elderly woman is haunted by memories of her escape from the holocaust.But how reliable are painful memories that have been kept at bay for over sixty years?And at her time of life, what exactly is she searching for?Jack Noble. Assassin for hire. Thief. Spy. Described by his associates as a man who has no feelings, passes no judgement, and feels no remorse. So why the hell did he stop to help a lost child moments before he was to meet with one of the top crime bosses on the East coast? A simple decision that now places Jack in unfamiliar territory where he has become the hunted. Noble Intentions is a thrilling and suspenseful story of underworld crime, government secrets, and heart-pounding action. This is the first episode of Noble Intentions. It is a short novella of 15,000 worrds. New novella length episodes (20,000 to 30,000 words each) will be released every two to three weeks. Season One (Episodes 1 through 5) now complete. Warning: These stories depict realistic violence with real consequences. Some scenes might be too intense for the faint of heart.

A young physicist is dispatched to a remote Scottish estate to secretly decipher the fragments of a manuscript that may hold the key to restoring the solar storm ravaged 21st century. Once there he finds whispers of a reincarnated wizard, strange forces linked to an eerie laboratory said to be a gate to the Otherworld, and a girl. A classic science fiction novel of adventure and romance.A Summer in Amber is set thirty-six years after the first of a series of powerful solar storms destroys the world's electrical grid – shorting out computers, and making radio, TV and mobile phones impossible. Within hours the world was thrust back into the 19th century. Those who survived the ensuing chaos gradually adopted to this new reality. This story takes place in an England and Scotland that have adopted to this new world using an eclectic mix of old and new technology. Steam engines pull carriages over lines once used by high speed trains. Electricity is generated locally using solar panels and windmills. The streets are filled with bicycles dodging horse drawn drays and pedestrians dressed like Victorians to protect their skin from the greatly increased ultraviolet light reaching the ground due to the solar storms' disruption of the earth's upper atmosphere. A Summer in Amber might be described as a "mirror image" steampunk novel. Instead of 21st century technology in a 19th century society, Edwardian technology had been adopted by a post-apocalyptic, late 21st century one, making for an out of the ordinary steampunk story. There are, for example, no zombies. Morlocks, yes, but no zombies, nor airships and air pirates. The story's steampunkness comes from a mix of Edwardian and 21st century technology and from its old-fashioned narrative style – a reflection of my fondness for the Scottish stories of John Buchan, and Compton Mackenzie. (And the 1959 movie remake of the 39 Steps starring Kenneth More.) Along with adventure, romance plays its part as well in A Summer in Amber. The story has been described in one review as a "Regency romance". I'm not sure what constitutes a Regency romance, but falling in love with a rather fey girl is certainly part of what makes this summer in the highlands so unforgettable for Sandy Say – a summer he hopes to keep forever preserved in the amber of memory.Current version 3.3 18 Sept 2016I have two other novels available wherever fine ebooks are sold. Some Day Days, a rather experimental romance novel set in this same never-never England, but before the storms. The Bright Black Sea, a long, sweeping, space opera of mystery and adventure set in the Nine Star Nebula.

When a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander’s life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new ‘super power’ quickly if he wants to survive.Take a deep breath before you start the now complete World Aflame Series. This action adventure series filled with cinematic science fiction action, end of the world apocalyptic events, and heart pounding thrills will leave you enthralled from beginning to end. Fans of The Maze Runner by James Dasher and I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore will love this teen fiction series. With over 400 five-star series reviews on Goodreads, this is definitely the series you should read next! Wind Warrior is the READERS FAVORITE book award winner. When a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander’s life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new ‘super power’ quickly if he wants to survive.THE EARTH GIVES WAY TO THE SEA,THE SEA BOWS BEFORE THE WIND,THE WIND FEEDS THE FLAME,THE FLAME BURNS THE WORLD OF MAN DOWN TO THE EARTH.The sleepy town of White Halls harbors a dangerous secret. On a picturesque street, two houses down from a lovely little park, in a quaint little home with a wraparound porch, lives a family that seems rather normal. Sure, their twenty-year-old son, Xander, still lives at home, but he’s going to college and dating the leader of the school’s top sorority. It’s all very… normal. However, when a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander’s life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new ‘super power’ quickly if he wants to survive. For his kind is a dying race, and when this sleepy town has a sudden influx of new, blonde, fire wielders, no one is safe, especially Xander. It doesn’t help that one of these blondes happens to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Xander can’t deny the instant connection he feels to her so, when she tries to kill him, it certainly makes things complicated. Wind Warrior is the first book in the World Aflame series by Jon Messenger. This series is complete and ready for binge reading. 

How does a starship pilot with no memory of his past save the woman he loves? When Tessa pleads with Jak to protect her from the local crime boss, there's no way he can refuse. But the trouble gets deeper when they discover a sientent bacteria that can destroy everyone on Shadriss. Can one man save them all? If it means winning Tessa, Jak will find a way.How does a starship pilot, trapped on an alien world with no memory of his past, save the woman he loves? Jak has loved Tessa for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately, the last four years are all that he can recall. When Tessa—the beautiful, clever Hired Companion—pleads with Jak to protect her from the local crime boss, there's no way he can refuse. But the trouble only gets deeper when they get mixed up with the heiress of one of the Thousand Families of Terra who's trying to discover the host body of a sientent bacteria before it destroys everyone on Shadriss. Can one man save them all? If it means winning Tessa, Jak will find a way.

Short Story. Not a children's story. The sixth in a collection about different vampires from the Amaranthine universe. The year is 1947. With her tuberculosis getting worse, Bethina's only future is to languish in a TB San. Then the mysterious family she works for offers her a full time position, one that will change her life forever. You can also find Bethina in the novel Shades of Gray.Endang's role in Guntoro's life changed when she became his emotional shelter in his time of great desperation. Although fifteen years younger than him, she was taken in by his grandparents and he respected her as an aunt. With his broken marriage and their family circumstances, Guntoro's love for her seems to be an impossible dream to him.Love can cross boundaries and overcome obstacles, and love was exactly what he felt for her. How long would he wait for her? And to what extent was he willing to go to be with her? Guntoro had no doubt about any of this. For him, she was his one true love.

Cordelia's world is turned inside out when she finds herself trapped in an elevator at the mercy of a presence who swears he's there to protect her. Forcing herself to trust a supernatural force against a life threatening situation, she must convince herself he actually exists, because he is the key to her survival.During what should have been a regular day at work, Cordelia finds herself trapped in an elevator with a presence who swears to cause her no harm, but has every intention of changing her life forever. Cordelia's world spins out of control while she struggles internally with herself over the existence of this man. Realizing the supernatural power he has over her she must learn to believe in him, for her life greatly depends on it.

The Evening Harold has been the daily publication serving the village of Harold for the last 300 years. In March 2013, to mark the internet being available in the village for the first time, we decided to release the online version, EveningHarold.com , so it can be enjoyed by not only the residents of Harold, but also those in Dunstable and by the rest of the worldThe Evening Harold has been the daily publication serving the village of Harold for the last 300 years. In March 2013, to mark the internet being available in the village for the first time, we decided to release the online version, EveningHarold.com , so it can be enjoyed by not only the residents of Harold, but also those in Dunstable and by the rest of the world. Since launching we have been viewed over one million times, gained many honorary villagers through our FaceBook page and have an unblemished record of losing every defamation case brought against us. This free E-Book is a sample of articles and features from the website over the last year

Third volume of Eddie's old shorts, from the era of grunge and flannel. Contents: The 22nd and 24th President of the United States of America - "Grover Cleveland hates my guts." Breaking Up is Hard to Do - "The trip went pretty good, at first."The 22nd & 24th POTUS: Mitch's new relationship is going great. Except that her dog hates him.Breaking Up is Hard to Do: The thing about mixing business with pleasure is that the break-ups can make your work life really awkward. Particularly when you are a bank robber.

Once, Julianna was plain Julie Ann, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who dared to love the son of the town's most powerful family. Gray loved her, too, and married her to give their unborn child a name, but sometimes love isn't enough. Ten years later they meet again. Despite their painful past, both are helpless to deny a love that never died.Former lovers are reunited as a hurricane approaches the island of Oahu.Once, Julianna was plain Julie Ann, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who dared to love the son of the town's most powerful family. Gray loved her, too, and married her to give their unborn child a name, but sometimes love isn't enough. Ten years later they meet again. She is successful, beautiful, and certain that a decade ago he betrayed her, but despite their painful past, both are helpless to deny a love that never died. As secrets are slowly revealed and new and surprising friendships develop with otherrefugees from the storm, the past and present come together in one tumultuous explosion.From Glowing Embers is the first book of a four book series set among four islands in the Pacific. Smoke Screen, Rainbow Fire and Out of the Ashes follow, featuring characters introduced here.

Everyone knows that a dog is man's (and woman's) best friend, but brothers Jake and Hank find out the hard way that they can also be their worst enemies."Oh, that's just the dog lady. Ignore her, she's harmless." This is said often about Annabelle Carson, the "Dog Lady". And most of the time it's true. Annabelle prefers the company of dogs to people, and simply wants to live out her days in peace.Even when her house is broken into by a pair of mistaken criminals, she is brutally beaten, and most of her possessions destroyed, Annabelle simply wants to be left alone.But when the intruders harm her beloved pet dog, Annabelle grows angry. And the Dog Lady has a lot of friends.(This is my first attempt at a horror story, please be gentle Hahaha, if it's deemed acceptable, I may attempt another)

...On his way out Mat switched off the hangar lights. Black! The world turned black! There was no light anywhere. Not even the stars could be seen; they too seemed to have been switched off with the same switch... He suddenly felt the weirdest sensation; he was not alone. Somewhere behind and to his left was someone or something else...Solaris. A planet like any other, rife with wars, science and love. But at the peak of its civilization, a great meteor fell, bringing long-dead souls to Solaris, souls that had been sustained by the life-force of one lone man, Ineal.At the moment of impact, these souls scattered across Solaris, giving inhuman abilities to mortals while scarring their bodies and corrupting their lives.Samuel was one such man, a man of faith who thought to use his powers to worship his God: he watched his followers, and his planet, die. Seas turned to lava and the skies darkened. And as Samuel’s heart grew weary and angry, he used his powers to manipulate the world to serve him alone.Samuel became god of a planet whose only life was the symbiotic life so like his own.Centuries later, he discovered others, threats that had not been on this planet before. A winged woman; a cyborg; a future-seer and a child. A great vengeance burned a comradery between them.They were souls that could overthrow him. Souls that he would need to destroy.An excerpt:Darkness consumed Ineal as the voices tore at his thoughts. The sole survivor of the planet Eon, he wanted to shut off his brain, to destroy his consciousness and be nothing. But the voices would not let him.The planets’ souls, he thought, encased in this meteor hurtling through space. The souls of dead planets destroyed us. I am the last. They take me for their own.He did not know when the essences of dead planets first came to Eon. Men and women bonded with them, inviting the haunting gaseous essences to their bodies and allowing the essences to become necessary symbiotes of the flesh. The symbiosis with the dead planetary souls gave his people powers and abilities beyond their dreams. But the price, the price of the flesh was great, and an ultimate death of sacrifice and pain was given in return. Ineal was the last, and the only being of Eon who had not accepted them into his flesh.But you took me, he thought as they spoke with their unintelligible voices, whispering in a constant echo through his mind. When my planet died you came to me. You took my body to keep yourselves alive. They kept him alive too, feeding him their energy as they fed off his living essence.Millennia of time passed as the meteor orbited the solar system.Ineal could take no more. Rock pressed against him, suffocating his thoughts.He closed his mind, pulling blackness from the void beyond and urging it to destroy him and the planetary souls, so that whatever planet they would go to next might be spared.His mind’s darkness came. He forgot speech. He forgot sight. He forgot love. But the essences would not release his life force and the greatness it became in their harnessing embrace. They would not allow him to forget primal sense.Then, in that rawness of life, where he was barely being at all, he sensed a planet. They had intended this new planet as their destination from the start.The essences’ telekinetic connection pulled away from him, severing the symbiosis and sending searing heat through his form.There was a moment of silence for Ineal, of freedom. Then came the violent crack of stone, as meteor met planet. A great boom consumed him. Ineal’s consciousness was lost… almost. But his essence lingered somehow in the planet’s form. The planetary essences fled their transport, consuming life and searching for prey.

Being turned into a vampire is a real bitch, but the ordeal doesn't end when you're cured. For someone like Eile, it can be just the beginning.... This is a short story.When Eile was turned into a vampire, her partner Sunny and their mentor Medb hErenn moved heaven and earth to find a cure, with the help of their nemesis, Dr. Mabuse. Unfortunately, that was not the end of her ordeal.She must now come to terms with what she did, and find a way to assuage the terrible guilt she feels concerning what she did, despite the fact that she had no control over her actions.

Twelve year old Nina changes her perspective of Christmas when she meets her next door neighbor.Stories about Ignatius Loyola, John Bunyan, Telemachus, the twelve Martyrs of Scilla, and some frustrated fisherman. They do such things as start the Jesuit order, put an end to the gladiatorial games in Rome, and die for their faith. These are mostly biographies and are all written in creative nonfiction style, which is where you take real events and add details so that they read like a novel. The stories pop to life and will challenge you. Would you do what they did?

Sand City, a town in the Pacific Northwest, where the rents are too high and the rain never stops. On the surface, it appears normal – except this city is run by General Savage, an alleged supervillain.Grateful for a second chance, Kimber Wellington ignores the city’s strange obsession with super villains. That is, until the daughter of General Savage nearly dies in his arms.Sand City, a town in the Pacific Northwest, where the rents are too high and the rain never stops. On the surface, it appears normal – except this city is run by General Savage, an alleged supervillain.Fleeing Chicago and the disastrous mistakes of his past, Doctor Kimber Wellington accepts a job at the only hospital willing to hire him. Grateful for a second chance, he ignores the city’s strange obsession with supervillains. That is, until the daughter of General Savage nearly dies in his arms. Kimber couldn’t be any more different than Reader, the self-professed supervillainess-in-training, who insists she has superpowers that just so happen not to work around him. She’s deranged, violent, abrasive – and has never known kindness from anyone else. Unfortunately, helping her places Kimber in the crosshairs of Reader’s arch-nemesis. Drawn to the part of her that’s good yet horrified by her dark, violent world, Kimber finds himself at a crossroads: stay in Sand City at the potential cost of his own life, or abandon the city, the people and the compelling supervillainess who need him.

A prequel to The Rose Throne:Available May 14, 2013Advance Praise:"Another great story from one of my favorite authors." Orson Scott CardYoung Prince Haikor faces a choice, to let his elder brother Aart who has no taweyr rule the kingdom, or to be as ruthless as his brother and take the crown for himself.Available May 14, 2013Advance Praise:"A story of two young women born to dangerous, powerful families, with little chance of choosing their own paths in life. But they each have powers of their own, and it turns out they may have choices after all. Terrible choices. Another great story from one of my favorite authors." Orson Scott Card"Not your standard-issue princess tale! Mette Harrison weaves a tale of two princesses who come from very different courts and have very different powers. Both must navigate hazardous royal politics as they learn what it feels like to fall love—and what they must sacrifice to stay alive." Sharon Shinn"YA readers will love these two strong, but very different princesses in an exciting, romantic adventure." Jen Nielsen, author of The False Prince and The Runaway King

Not long ago big data was all the rage, the trendiest concept in the world of business intelligence. Now, however, the hype appears to be fading fast, with few companies having realized the bottom-line benefits promised to them by various vendors from the undertaking of big data initiatives. This paper summarizes why velocity, variety and volume is not improving decision making and how to fix it.One of the key drivers of this gap between promise and the reality has been the shortage of effective and adequate human resources in the organizations to undertake such efforts. This vacuum has resulted in minimal actions being taken on the wealth of information big data has made available for the organizations, a core driver behind the failure of tangible impact being realized. Recent research conducted by IDG Enterprise suggests that organizations are facing numerous challenges due to this limited availability of skilled resources, with 65% indicating they are overwhelmed by the influx of data.The key to making big data initiatives a success lies within making the produced data more digestible and usable in decision making, rather than making it just ‘more,’ resulting in the creation of an environment wherein information is used to generate real impact. Put another way, the survival of Big Data is more about making the right data (not just higher volume) available to the right people (not just higher variety) at the right time (not just higher velocity).

Unable to let go of the past, an office drone seeks to escape the confines of his boring life. From the author of The Bitter End, comes a tale of two lost souls embarking on a transatlantic voyage, drawn together by a burning desire to break free from the unforgiving torment of reality.An advanced species with the ability to teleport at will seeks to claim our planet and its inhabitants for its own, but upon arriving they become hopelessly intoxicated from our atmosphere.