Tricia Forney was exhausted. She'd put in a long night working at the Boston Law Library. All she wanted to do was get home, trudge up the snowy hill to her front door, feed the tiger barbs, and get some sleep. If she could just drive the few remaining miles ...Her eyes faded closed ...BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBRRR BRRR BRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRR BRRR BRRR What was that??Tricia Forney was exhausted. She'd put in a long night working at the Boston Law Library. All she wanted to do was get home, trudge up the snowy hill to her front door, feed the tiger barbs, and get some sleep. If she could just drive the few remaining miles ...Her eyes faded closed ...BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBRRR BRRR BRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRR BRRR BRRR What was that??* * *Rumble Strip is the first novelette in the Blackstone Valley Mystery series. It is 70 pages / 10,000 words long. Each story in this series ends in a cliff-hanger, building up to the grand finale. The stories are suitable for teens and up with no explicit adult language or situations. They are set in the beautiful Blackstone Valley region of central Massachusetts, carved out by the Blackstone River.All author's proceeds from this series benefit local battered women's shelters.Lisa has lived in this region for over two decades. She adores the landscapes and beauty. She's always open to feedback - drop her a line and share your thoughts!

Logan Ryvenbark and his squad of brave men and women have made it a habit of overcoming impossible situations. But after accepting an assignment from a powerful intergalactic CEO, Ryvenbark and his team learn all of their past missions may have just been a warm-up to the real threat lurking just beyond the borders of the galaxy. Experience the action and adventure of the Logan Ryvenbark's Saga.Major Logan Ryvenbark is no ordinary soldier of fortune. While he's tough as nails, deadly with all number of weapons and highly skilled in a number of areas of combat, he's also genetically engineered to be a super-soldier. When he and his men take on a contract from the powerful intergalactic CEO Belen Morganthal to scope out the planet Sandeling, a desolate and seemingly uninhabited wasteland of ice and snow, he knows that it isn't going to be your average guns-for-hire gig – but what he doesn't know is just how perilous the mission is actually going to be.After discovering that the planet is not actually uninhabited, as previously thought, Major Ryvenbark and his mercenaries uncover even more shocking revelations as they continue to investigate the secrets of Sandeling; secrets involving invasions, betrayals, wars, massacres, genocide... and time travel. In Deadly Enemy, you'll be taken on a thrilling Sci-Fi journey in an exciting tale of mystery, suspense, action and technology that will make your head spin with awe. If you're into captivating and enthralling tales of adventure that take place in galaxies and solar systems that are many light years away, Deadly Enemy will not disappoint you.

Joanna Gawn and Ron Dickerson, authors of The Lazuli Portals series, have brought together some of their shorter works in this small ebook.With stories (and a few poems) ranging from 100 - 1500 words, this collection is ideal for reading when you don’t have much time to spare.Includes: Yin and Yang; The Crystal Cave; The Day Edward Met Helene; The Haunting of Melton Grange; A Cordello Memory.Joanna Gawn and Ron Dickerson, authors of The Lazuli Portals series, have brought together some of their shorter works in this small ebook. If you’ve not read their other books, or their blog or newsletter, then this little anthology offers you the chance to get acquainted!With stories (and a few poems) ranging from 100 to 1500 words, this collection is ideal for reading during a coffee break, or when you don’t have much time to spare.Shorter stories include:Yin and YangThe Crystal CaveThe Day Edward Met HeleneSun, Sea and SphinxA Cordello MemoryThe Angel ThinksThis book also contains four longer stories of around 1000-1500 words:The Restoration of Conover House Delights of the DartSunriseThe Haunting of Melton Grange

Once upon a time, there were two bold little boys called George and Fred. They were so bold, so incredibly naughty, they made the lives of everyone they came in to contact with unbearable. Their poor, bedraggled mother did try to tame them, though, to keep her sons on the straight and narrow, but she was at nothing against two little thugs hell-bent on causing the maximum amount of mischief.Once upon a time, there were two bold little boys called George and Fred. They were so bold, so incredibly naughty, they made the lives of everyone they came in to contact with unbearable. Their poor, bedraggled mother did try to tame them, though, to keep her sons on the straight and narrow, but she was at nothing against two little thugs hell-bent on causing the maximum amount of mischief and mayhem wherever they went. This was how it was; it went on for week after week, month after month, and year after year until one dark, cold winter’s evening when a stranger came calling...

A man, tired and broken, struggles desperately to cope with the reality of his situation, to make sense of the events that torment him. A short story of fate and choice, of chains and freedom, and the struggles of man in the tempest of life.To Hood, family is everything. Raised in the darkness, she is the product of a city of sin. She and others like her, orphans of a city ruled by corruption and criminal gangs, have trained their whole lives preparing to fight back. The world is a mess, they are told, and it cannot be allowed decay much longer. The family are ready to take on the jobs that they’re given, without question, without compromise, to ensure the end goal is met. To change the world, the family is told that the worst of the gangs, the Wolves, must be declawed. Finances must be emptied, grips on people loosened, corruption brought to fairness. The world is overdue to be brought to balance and Hood, and her kind, are its heralds. The sinful just don’t know it yet. The first opportunity presents itself when three individuals within the Wolves embezzle eight million dollars. The family can offer amnesty from any repercussions, but as Hood tracks down the culprits, the Wolves are keen to ensure that traitors must be taught the harshest of lessons.

Herein lieis the tale of Iskandar, a valiant Arabian boy sent on a quest by his father to purloin from his father's enemy his most valued possession. A tale that could only transpire in a magical time and place, this Arabian fantasy follows the brave and perceptive lad as he slips among the enemy, encounters genii and crosses blades with warriors of the Nubian Desert's most powerful sheikh.An Arabian tale of a quest that could only transpire in another time and place…When Iskandar’s father came to him and said: “My son, you must go to the tents of mine enemy and bring to me his greatest treasure!” little did the lad guess what was about to befall him.Now, alone amidst the palisaded tents of his father’s rival, would he come away with the chieftest of the great sheikh’s riches? How would he know this gem among gems? Or would the boy lose his life as he attempted to wrest the most valued possession held by one of the most powerful sheikhs of all Arabia - Akram el-Amin!There is no way of knowing but it could easily be assumed there exists only a handful of individuals on the planet who have not, in some form or another, heard of the Arabian Nights, the famous oriental tales dating back centuries.Although this story is not directly derived from those tales, it was the lingering impression of those stories, and the later discovery of a delightful novel by F. Marion Crawford entitled Khaled, that gave birth to the idea to pen an Arabesque legend.Being a fan of pulp-era writing the idea was also conceived to fashion a tale that might have been submitted to Oriental Stories or Magic Carpet Magazine in the 30s. The story must be adventurous and romantic, and the hero wise and cunning for his years. The tale must be filled with the enchanting material that others who appreciate the golden era of pulp writing have come to expect, including plenty of derring-do, beautiful maidens, clashing scimitars and timeless, magical settings.Oh - speaking of magic, there had to be some of that thrown in as well.Simsalabim!

The Law Enforcement Forces went to unprecedented lengths to apprehend a wanted killer. Just how unprecedented were the methods will amaze you as you read this story. The vicious felon was captured, and that was the important thing.The Law Enforcement Forces went to unprecedented lengths to apprehend a much wanted killer. Just how unprecedented were the methods will amaze you as you read this story. The vicious criminalwas captured, and that was the important thing.

Rescuing a human child from the wreckage of a car crash is the beginning of a strange and exciting adventure for Mawei, a yeti who lives in the wilderness of Northern California. But the little human is not just in danger from the cold. Mawei finds out that there are other yetis who would stop at nothing to keep their world secret from even the smallest of humans…When a yeti named Mawei hears a car crash on a mountain road in Northern California, she decides to investigate. The wheels are still spinning on the half-crushed, upside down car at the bottom of the gorge. A man and woman have been killed in the wreck, but there is a child, alive and unharmed, hanging from a car seat in the back. Her name is Helena, she is six years old. With a snowstorm on the way, Mawei knows that the little girl won’t survive on her own. Mawei is breaking an ancient rule of yeti culture that forbids contact with humans, but she takes the child. Getting Helena back to the world of the humans turns out to be a lot harder than Mawei thought it would be, and when the wrong yetis find out what she's up to, the race is on to get the little human to safety before they can catch and kill her...

John Phillips had it all, a loving family and a successful business. But, he was about to lose everything. He is given the opportunity to evaluate his life, and a second chance at life. Will he make the right decision?This is a collection of 25 poems by James Bickle. The poetry discusses profound issues with insight, James does not shy away from brutally honest social commentary. Poems included are: The Ego, The Manager, Those who win, Seven Billion, Why does God allow suffering, Local Countryside, New Year, Cool, Escapism, You're not allowed, Social Housing, Christmas Day, The Entrepreneur, A week in the life, The Conversation, Fairground Day, Requiem, World War 2 Pilot, Resident Patient, The Garden, Winter Walk, Decisions, Inner Conflict, Earth and Heaven. Collected Poems will take you on an enjoyable spiritual and philosophical journey.

The Gonzo memoir from one of the most influential voices in American literature, Kingdom of Fear traces the course of Hunter S. Thompson’s life as a rebel—from a smart-mouthed Kentucky kid flaunting all authority to a convention-defying journalist who came to personify a wild fusion of fact, fiction, and mind-altering substances. Brilliant, provocative, outrageous, and brazen, Hunter S. Thompson's infamous rule breaking—in his journalism, in his life, and under the law—changed the shape of American letters, and the face of American icons. Call it the evolution of an outlaw. Here are the formative experiences that comprise Thompson’s legendary trajectory alongside the weird and the ugly. Whether detailing his exploits as a foreign correspondent in Rio, his job as night manager of the notorious O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, his epic run for sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Power ticket, or the sensational legal maneuvering that led to his full acquittal in the famous 99 Days trial, Thompson is at the peak of his narrative powers in Kingdom of Fear. And this boisterous, blistering ride illuminates as never before the professional and ideological risk taking of a literary genius and transgressive icon.

In the latest installment of this infinitely enjoyable and best-selling series, Precious Ramotswe is doing what she does best--helping people with their problems and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Mma Ramotswe is busy investigating her latest case: a woman who is looking for her family. The problem is, the woman doesn't know her real name of whether any members of her family are now living. Meanwhile, Phuti Radiphuti has bought Mma Makutsi a glorious new bed. Unfortunately, it will inadvertently cause her several sleepless nights. And life is no less complicated at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni--Mma Ramotswe's estimable husband--has fallen under the sway of a doctor who has promised a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to believe. But Precious Ramotswe deals with these difficulties with her usual grace and good humor, and in the end discovers that the biggest miracles in life are often the small ones.

"A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses a moment of experience from which to look ahead..." "This is a record of hate far more than of love," writes Maurice Bendrix in the opening passages of The End of the Affair, and it is a strange hate indeed that compels him to set down the retrospective account of his adulterous affair with Sarah Miles. Now, a year after Sarah's death, Bendrix seeks to exorcise the persistence of his passion by retracing its course from obsessive love to love-hate. At first, he believes he hates Sarah and her husband, Henry. Yet as he delves deeper into his emotional outlook, Bendrix's hatred shifts to the God he feels has broken his life, but whose existence at last comes to recognize.

It's just your average Friday night. Then the police show up. Your mum's been caught on CCTV, breaking into a giant chemical company. They say she's working undercover for A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E, a group against animal testing - but how is that possible? She's not a spy - is she? Now she's on the run - and only you can uncover the truth. And you've got to crack a code to do it. A gripping story from the bestselling author of Noughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman.

The final mystery starring Sammy Keyes: “the most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)” —*Midwest Children’s Book Review* Sammy doesn’t go looking for trouble, but she seems to find it everywhere. She’s forever sniffing out clues and chasing down bad guys—and driving her friends a little nuts. She’s gone up against thieves and counterfeiters and gangsters and blackmailers and murderers, and always stayed one step ahead. Until now. Last night, one of the bad guys caught up. Last night, someone followed Sammy up the fire escape and pushed her from the third story. Now she’s in the hospital, out cold. And her friends are left with the questions Sammy’s always been so good at answering: Why? How? But most of all . . . WHO? In this emotional conclusion to her beloved long-running series, Wendelin Van Draanen shows just how many lives one nosy girl can touch and pays tribute to a life well sleuthed. Praise for Sammy Keyes: “If Kinsey Millhone ever hires a junior partner, Sammy Keyes will be the first candidate on the list. She’s feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —Sue Grafton “Sammy’s brave, resourceful, observant and a loyal friend, but this girl sleuth is no well-mannered Nancy Drew. She’s endearingly hot-tempered, nosy, and not always obedient—in short, she’s someone I want to read about again.” —Margaret Maron

The Proud Tower, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Guns of August, and The Zimmermann Telegram comprise Barbara W. Tuchman’s classic histories of the First World War era   In January 1917, the war in Europe was, at best, a tragic standoff. Britain knew that all was lost unless the United States joined the war, but President Wilson was unshakable in his neutrality. At just this moment, a crack team of British decoders in a quiet office known as Room 40 intercepted a document that would change history. The Zimmermann telegram was a top-secret message to the president of Mexico, inviting him to join Germany and Japan in an invasion of the United States. How Britain managed to inform the American government without revealing that the German codes had been broken makes for an incredible story of espionage and intrigue as only Barbara W. Tuchman could tell it. Praise for The Zimmermann Telegram “A true, lucid thriller . . . a tremendous tale of hushed and unhushed uproars in the linked fields of war and diplomacy . . . Tuchman makes the most of it with a creative writer’s sense of drama and a scholar’s obeisance to the evidence.”—The New York Times   “The tale has most of the ingredients of an Eric Ambler spy thriller.”—Saturday Review**

Can be read as a STANDALONE Rex Toberman is obnoxious and pretentious. So what if he’s the star quarterback? So what if my father is dating his mother? I can’t wait until he’s out of my life for good. The day our parents announce their impending wedding becomes the worst day of my existence. Not only has Rex cemented himself in my social circle, but he’s about to cement himself into my family. I don’t trust his mother. And I don’t want anything to do with her egotistical, womanizing son, but deep down the only way to get rid of them both is to do something unimaginable with Rex himself. I’m playing with fire, dancing in the flames of his wicked grin, and soon enough I’m melting. The last thing I want is to become another victim of Rex Toberman’s egotistical, womanizing ways. But there’s something about those bedroom eyes, that lewd smile, that body made of steel I cannot resist. Yes, getting rid of my soon-to-be stepbrother is tougher than I ever imagined—especially now that I never want him to leave.

"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her. She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own. In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined. Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, THE ROOK is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.

Don’t love your enemy. Declare war on him. Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds, gotten four streaks of purple in her hair, and moved to Buttcrack-of-Nowhere, Ohio, to help her mom escape a bad relationship. All the girls in her new school want one thing—Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. Hot as an Armani ad, smart enough to get into Yale, and colder than the Arctic, Jack Hunter's never gone out with anyone. Sure, people have seen him downtown with beautiful women, but he's never given high school girls the time of day. Until Isis punches him in the face. Jack’s met his match. Suddenly everything is a game. The goal: Make the other beg for mercy. The game board: East Summit High. The reward: Something neither of them expected.

Originally published in Portuguese in 1943 as Terras do sem fim by Livraria Martins Editoria, Brazil. In this short novel, the aristocratic Badaros family is pitted against the middle-class planter Colonel Horacio Silveira in a struggle to obtain a crucial piece of land for the growing of cacao. Amado's true subject—and one he frequently comes back to—is the effect of the Bahia region's vast cacao plantations on the local citizens and the communities in which they live.

Widely considered one of the great dramatic creations of the modern stage, "Mother Courage and Her Children" is Bertolt Brecht's most passionate and profound statement against war. Set in the seventeenth century, the play follows Anna Fierling -- "Mother Courage" -- an itinerant trader, as she pulls her wagon of wares and her children through the blood and carnage of Europe's religious wars. Battered by hardships, brutality, and the degradation and death of her children, she ultimately finds herself alone with the one thing in which she truly believes -- her ramshackle wagon with its tattered flag and freight of boots and brandy. Fitting herself in its harness, the old woman manages, with the last of her strength, to drag it onward to the next battle. In the enduring figure of Mother Courage, Bertolt Brecht has created one of the most extraordinary characters in the literature of drama.

This is a plus length novel--133,000 words. A warrior with a scarred heart who doesn’t know how to love. And the woman who must teach him how before it’s too late… The son of the evil AllFather, Xairn is filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he has finally gained his freedom and cut the ties that bound him to his race and the sadistic male who is his father. But doing so has unleashed feelings in him Xairn would rather keep buried. Desires that he prayed would never manifest now rage through him and they are centered on one woman alone… Lauren Jakes is the long lost cousin Liv and Sophie never knew they had. Abducted by the Scourge, she formed a connection with Xairn more meaningful than any other in his life. But though Lauren thinks she knows him, there is more to the huge Scourge warrior than she comprehends. A nightmare childhood and a cruel father have scarred Xairn’s heart almost past the point of healing. But that is nothing to the secret inside him—the forbidden desires coded into his very DNA itself, which urge him to commit unspeakable acts in order to sate his newly awakened hunger. Now a conflict is brewing—both in Xairn’s soul, and aboard the Fathership where the twisted AllFather has hatched a new, malicious plot to bring his estranged son home. Can Xairn resist the brutal lust growing within him? Can he fight against his very nature which urges him to dominate and control any female he mates? Can Lauren heal his heart before the AllFather’s trap closes on both of them? And can she teach him how to love before it’s too late?