Forged in Darkfire

      Katerina Martinez
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Before Amber, there was Natalie Damien Colt came from a dark place. Growing up in a Compound of twisted Witches, secluded from the world, was a harrowing experience for Damien and his sister Lily. But they escaped, and they made their new life in San Francisco, away from the strangling hands that would make them accomplices to their evil. Together, Damien and Lily carved out their very own uncomplicated life. That is, of course, until Natalie showed up. Natalie, the witch of honey and cinnamon. The pair had been getting close ever since her introduction into the Coven, but Damien forced himself to bury his emerging feelings for the witch for the good of the Coven; and because he didn't want to tell her the truth. Now his hand has been forced. When a memory returns, the truth must be revealed. And at the end, Damien has to make the decision whether to give up a part of himself, or allow an entity known only as the Dark Fire to consume the soul of an innocent woman.

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    Nightshifted

      Cassie Alexander
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From debut author Cassie Alexander comes a spectacular new urban fantasy series where working the nightshift can be a real nightmare. Nothing compares to being Nightshifted. Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine-from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond... Edie's just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her watch, all hell breaks loose. Now she's haunted by the man's dying words-Save Anna-and before she knows it, she's on a mission to rescue some poor girl from the undead. Which involves crashing a vampire den, falling for a zombie, and fighting for her soul. Grey's Anatomy was never like this..."Cassie Alexander's first book about Nurse Edie Spence is dark and energetic. You'll really enjoy it; I'm looking forward to reading the others in the series."-Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Vampire Mysteries

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    Hopeless Magic

      Rachel Higginson
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After returning home from Romania, and successfully saving her best friend Lilly, Eden Matthews must now come to terms with her future as an Immortal. She is in love with the Crowned Prince, but he is betrothed to someone else. Her family desperately wants her to join their rebellion, but that would mean fighting against her one, true love, Kiran Kendrick. She must fight off assassins that want her dead, an Immortal rite of passage that takes her to India and a deadly disease that no one has thus far survived. Danger seems to lurk around every corner as Eden Matthews struggles to keep her true identity a secret and protect those that she loves. Eden must find a way to be with Kiran, or turn her back on him forever and fight to save her people. Hopeless Magic is the second installment of the Star-Crossed series.

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    The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat

      Thornton W. Burgess
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CHAPTER I: Jerry Muskrat Has A Fright What was it Mother Muskrat had said about Farmer Brown's boy and his traps? Jerry Muskrat sat on the edge of the Big Rock and kicked his heels while he tried to remember. The fact is, Jerry had not half heeded. He had been thinking of other things. Besides, it seemed to him that Mother Muskrat was altogether foolish about a great many things. "Pooh!" said Jerry, throwing out his chest, "I guess I can take care of myself without being tied to my mother's apron strings! What if Farmer Brown's boy is setting traps around the Smiling Pool? I guess he can't fool your Uncle Jerry. He isn't so smart as he thinks he is; I can fool him any day." Jerry chuckled. He was thinking of how he had once fooled Farmer Brown's boy into thinking a big trout was on his hook. Slowly Jerry slid into the Smiling Pool and swam over towards his favorite log. Peter Rabbit stuck his head over the edge of the bank. "Hi, Jerry," he shouted, "last night I saw Farmer Brown's boy coming over this way with a lot of traps. Better watch out!" "Go chase yourself, Peter Rabbit. I guess I can look out for myself," replied Jerry, just a little crossly. Peter made a wry face and started for the sweet clover patch. Hardly was he out of sight when Billy Mink and Bobby Coon came down the Laughing Brook together. They seemed very much excited. When they saw Jerry Muskrat, they beckoned for him to come over where they were, and when he got there, they both talked at once, and it was all about Farmer Brown's boy and his traps. "You'd better watch out, Jerry," warned Billy Mink, who is a great traveler and has had wide experience. "Oh, I guess I'm able to take care of myself," said Jerry airily, and once more started for his favorite log. And what do you suppose he was thinking about as he swam along? He was wishing that he knew what a trap looked like, for despite his boasting he didn't even know what he was to look out for. As he drew near his favorite log, something tickled his nose. He stopped swimming to sniff and sniff. My, how good it did smell! And it seemed to come right straight from the old log. Jerry began to swim as fast as he could. In a few minutes he scrambled out on the old log. Then Jerry rubbed his eyes three times to be sure that he saw aright. There were luscious pieces of carrot lying right in front of him. Now there is nothing that Jerry Muskrat likes better than carrot. So he didn't stop to wonder how it got there. He just reached out for the nearest piece and ate it. Then he reached for the next piece and ate it. Then he did a funny little dance just for joy. When he was quite out of breath, he sat down to rest. Snap! Something had Jerry Muskrat by the tail! Jerry squealed with fright and pain. Oh, how it did hurt! He twisted and turned, but he was held fast and could not see what had him. Then he pulled and pulled, until it seemed as if his tail would pull off. But it didn't. So he kept pulling, and pretty soon the thing let go so suddenly that Jerry tumbled head first into the water....

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    The Light Sleeper

      Phil Morgan
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Science fiction meets fantasy with just a dash of biblical threats for flavor!Allen Crowley is the greatest assassin in the Shadow and he has some very powerful friends. He will need them, all the power at his disposal, and a lot of luck when he is tasked with stopping an immortal monster.

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    Lightning Strikes

      Trinity Hart
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After a storm, a major power outage leaves two at-odds neighbors dependent on each other. Forced to unite, will their animosity for each other crash like thunder or will they discover love as lightning strikes?Mujar do not use their powers for good or evil, they simply exist, immortal and apparently purposeless. The mounted warriors are known as the Black Riders, but no one knows where they come from or why they seem bent on exterminating every man, woman and child. Talsy uses her father’s knowledge to trap the Mujar with gold, which has an odd effect on them. Her father intends to throw him in a Pit, from which he will be unable to escape.Talsy does not believe the Mujar deserves such a fate, so she frees him and begs him to take her with him on his journey. He agrees, and they set off across Shamarese, continuing his quest to find an old hermit’s lost son. There is far more at stake than Talsy realises, however, and she has innocently stumbled upon the last free Mujar, who has the power to decide the fate of her race…

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    Dream of Fair to Middling Women

      Samuel Beckett
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Now published for the first time--Samuel Beckett's first novel, written in the Hotel Trianon in Paris in the summer of 1932 when the author was 26. Recognized as one of the great writers of the 20th-century, Beckett's Waiting for Godot revolutionized contemporary theater and his fiction is ranked by many with that of Joyce and Proust.

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    Workplace Ecology: A Case Study in Project Management

      Robert Perrine
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In this fictionalized case study, Robert Perrine describes what a typical project looks like within information technology. The project begins with the idealistic goals of formalizing best practices for project management. Towards the end the project is just a mad scramble to avoid disaster.In this fictionalized case study, Robert Perrine describes what a typical project looks like within information technology. The project begins with the idealistic goals of formalizing best practices for project management. Towards the end the project is just a mad scramble to avoid disaster.The key lesson learned is to study the communications requirements more deeply and delve into the limitations imposed by the "way things are done around here" thinking patterns.

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    The Watch

      Dave McGee
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1939 and war looms between Britain and Germany. An elderly Scottish politician boards a night sleeper train at Euston, London but this will be like no other journey he's made!All his life elderly bachelor Sir Archie has served his country well and put aside his own feelings. But over the last couple of years he's got to know a young man Ronnie Wilson who serves aboard the night train. What brought these two men together is a force beyond reckoning, but what eventually separates them is something altogether different.

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    An Addendum to the Affair of the Dog That Did Not Bark.

      Philip van Wulven
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Some revelations by Dr Watson of hitherto undisclosed details in the resolution of this interesting case.Night Kings:Humans own the day and yet it’s the supernatural that lay claim to the night. Vampires, the oldest of night’s children, have at last found a home in Salem and it’s a home they’re unwilling to part from. Their mortal enemies, the werewolves, lurk not just in the vast forests that surround the city, but inside the very fabric of the community. Salem has always been able to weather the storm that brew between both factions, but they’re about to learn that they aren’t the only creatures that go bump in the night.The Lady in Red:The city of Salem has long held dark secrets within its ancient walls. Those secrets emerge into the daylight when the death of a reaper puts a whole city under the microscope. No one is going to be safe when the search heats up and forces vampires, werewolves, and witches alike to come out of hiding and take a side in the war to come.Please Note: Night Kings is a YA collection of episodic short stories based in the city of Salem. It is not intended to be read as a novel and should be noted before purchase that a single episode won’t take longer than a few hours to complete.Warning: This eBook contains graphic imagery and coarse language.

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    Into My Heart

      Rosalie Ferdinand
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Determined to put the fear of God into the racist homophobe who messed up her best friend, mild-mannered Jane Hazelton resorts to hiring a thug to do the job. Trouble is, said thug isn’t interested in money, he’s interested in her.This book, in the form of a diary, is a complement to the Tillian 5 Trilogy. The diary starts out as a prequel to “Tillian 5 - A New Beginning.” It continues on the same time line as “Tillian 5 - A New Beginning” but on Earth with no knowledge of the events unfolding on Tillian 5. The diary then merges with the beginning of “Tillian 5 - Return to Earth.” It covers a period of time when Earth's population is decimated by a natural event well beyond the control any human or android to stop.

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    The She-Wolf

      Maurice Druon
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“This is the original Game of Thrones.” George R.R. Martin. Charles IV is now king of France and his sister is Edward II of England’s Queen. Having been imprisoned by Edward as leader of the rebellious English barons, Roger Mortimer escapes to France, where he joins the war against the English Aquitaine. But it is his love affair with Isabella, the ‘She-Wolf of France’, who has come seemingly to negotiate a treaty of peace that seals his fate…

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    The Perfect Match

      E. D. Baker
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When former tooth-fairy-in-training Cory Feathering was stripped of her fairy skills, she discovered that, as the descendent of a cupid, she was born to be a matchmaker, and now her latest job is to find the perfect match for Goldilocks--the only trouble is that he is getting married to someone else.

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    Santa's Claws

      MJ Ware
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Includes two free additional short stories.Santa's Claws – When troublemaker Ryan concocts a plan to get into Santa's magic sack, things don't work out quite as he expected. Recipe for death – Sam learns an important lesson about ticking off the lunch lady.Monitor Mayhem – There's something strange about the new baby monitor, but will Stephanie figure it out before it's too late?Includes two free additional short stories.Santa's Claws – When troublemaker Ryan concocts a plan to get into Santa's magic sack, things don't work out quite as he expected. Recipe for death – Sam learns an important lesson about ticking off the lunch lady.Monitor Mayhem – There's something strange about the new baby monitor, but will Stephanie figure it out before it's too late?Intended for younger readers; however, some scenes may be too intense for readers under 8.

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    Web of the Spider Queen

      John Grover
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Combining elements of horror and sword and sorcery, John Grover weaves an epic fantasy tale full of action, mystery and suspense.A long vanquished evil has returned to the beautiful and peaceful realm of Orum. An evil that will stop at nothing to plunder and enslave all of the realm’s people and lay waste to its lands.Combining elements of horror and sword and sorcery, John Grover weaves an epic fantasy tale full of action, mystery and suspense.A long vanquished evil has returned to the beautiful and peaceful realm of Orum. An evil that will stop at nothing to plunder and enslave all of the realm’s people and lay waste to its lands. An evil that refuses to die, that has ravaged every realm it has touched. Its name is Sinnia, the Spider Queen and she has set her eyes back on the one world that eludes her grasp.The leadership races must come together and harness the old power of their ancestors, sing their song of lore as one people and defeat this horror once and for all. These races will come to discover a long lost secret about their own ancestry, their connection to each other and the realm itself, a secret that will change their world…forever.Novella. 20,000 words.

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    Wagon Master

      Rex Sumner
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Chad is a wagon master and he thinks he is a coward. He still manages to deliver supplies to the frontline, rescue wounded, befriend the young Princess Asmara and inspire respect in his enemies. A story from Harrhein, set five hundred years ago in a fictional world, of a different sort of soldier.Chad is a soldier - but not your normal soldier who is good with weapons and kills enemies. Chad is one of the 80% of soldiers that we ignore, part of the support staff who keeps men on the front line. He is a transport soldier, getting supplies to the soldiers at the front. His weapon is his wagon and horses, and his wars still take him to the frontline. He thinks he is a coward, yet he exhibits incredible bravery by simply doing his job in the face of enemy action. This is the story of his life, little chapters of it, from resupplying a fort to rescuing wounded. A man who can inspire respect in his enemies without fighting. He is a different soldier, and though this story is fantasy set in Harrhein, it equates to a time in our world perhaps five hundred years ago. I was inspired to write it by a friend of mine, whose uncle died and he discovered the uncle had been in the Royal Corps of Transport yet he knew nothing about his life. I do not pretend that Chad's life in any way reflects that of the real Chad, nor that Paul is as uncaring as Nephew Paul, but I hope I have managed to show the very different courage of the unsung heroes of an army. I was a soldier, and I remember how we looked down on the comfortable life of the truck drivers, secretly envious, and I could never show the type of courage they showed so frequently. Keeping on doing your job in highly dangerous situations. Leaving your personal defence to others. That last is the key to why I cannot comprehend their courage. Gentlemen and scoundrels of the Transport Corps of All Armies, I salute you.

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    Retirement Projects

      Charles Hibbard
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Adrift in his new world of leisure and searching desperately for Enlightenment, a recently retired school teacher finds his life turned inside out by some new acquaintances, including his wife of 25 years, a crusty and menacing ex-cop, a coven of knitters, the Girl Upstairs, and a hyperactive canine.It was chilly in the room despite the heat of the rest of the house. I took my finger and traced it along the cold slab of cement. I inhaled deeply, to see if a recognized the smell in there. Nothing. I walked in circles around the room several times, then I turned to London with sadness.“I don’t remember anything. Are you sure this is where I lived for years?”London nodded.“It’s not doing a thing for me. I really thought it would.” I noticed the room had a mustard yellow aura. A shiver went down my back. I did not like the way the aura made me feel.London came over to me and put her thick arm around my shoulders. “I am so sorry, Alora. Maybe it is for the best.”I couldn’t believe that. Even if they had tortured me there, didn’t I deserve to know it? I tried to stop the tears, but they came anyways. I was so disappointed.“How about we forget this place and go get ice cream?” London said.I wasn’t ready to leave. I desperately wanted answers and had expected to find them there. Glum, I sat on the floor. I would stay there until my memories returned. Unsure of what to do, London lowered her large body onto the ground next to me. She pulled me into her and held me for over an hour. Her warmness softened my sorrow, but not by much. My bottom eventually got sore from the hard cement, but I wanted my memories.Finally, London said, “Alora, please. Let’s go. There is a bad spirit in this home. I can feel it. I am ready to leave, and you should be too.”She was right. I could sense something dark and negative there. I let her pull me up. I was upset I had failed to retrieve my memories. I had been convinced I would find them there. We walked out of the house, and I could feel the negativity melt off my shoulders.“Let’s get ice cream,” London said as she held my hand and led me across the street to her waiting car.I didn’t want ice cream. I didn’t want anything. I was so disappointed I hadn’t figured out who I was. The house was the only clue to my past. No one else knew a thing about me. If I couldn’t find my past at the house, then I concluded I would never know who I was.

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    Artifact

      Josh Busch
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Andrew Dickson, a retiring space pirate, stumbles across an old friend – one who ran off with a five million dollar prize she swiped from his crew some years back. What started out as a farewell party turns into a dangerous chase to retrieve the long-lost artifact that she pilfered from them.Frozen- Enter the future with Verick Cedar, a 16 year old boy who will be “Trick or Treating” for the first time. The world as we know it has come to the end, with the invasion of The Xecerptavode, an alien race that infused the land, drained all the fresh water, and forced the humans to live in destitute conditions. Join Verick on what could be his first and last All Hallows Eve.A Grim Tale- Over eight centuries the burden of reaping the dead has become routine for Cyrene. Tonight, the grim reaper sheds a little light into the world of the undead. As she goes about her normal collection, find out what the history books aren’t telling you.The Rabbit Hole-Trick or Treating and costume parties are for the weak hearted. At least Cam and Matt think so. Enduring a haunted house on Halloween should be a walk in the park. Perhaps they should think again. As the boys trudge deeper into The Rabbit Hole, they realize this may not be the excitement they bargained for.Come and become a part of the main attraction. You’ll never leave.

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    Tulipwood

      Barry Rachin
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Kendra Ryder just gave fifteen year old Frankie Dexter a slab of fresh-cut tulipwood along with the advice, "When you’re feeling bad, just scuff the wood with 120-grit sandpaper, grab a whiff and you're guaranteed to feel a whole lot better!”When journalist Kevin Lee first meets retired academic Frank Peters and hears about an intelligent alien virus that has invaded the Earth, he is naturally very skeptical. However, when Peters is murdered, his skepticism soon turns to a real concern for the future of the planet and the survival of mankind. Kevin joins a group of liked-minded people in Edinburgh dedicated to eradicating the virus. Returning to London, he rescues his colleague Sandi from a London hospital. Finding himself a wanted man, he seeks refuge with members of the group on a remote Scottish island. There he gains a new understanding of Frank Peters – who turns out to be much more than he first appeared. Together, the group make a final bid to eradicate the virus from humanity – and from the Universe.

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