Bart returns to his home town to await an evil he can no longer avoid. As he waits, he questions the decisions he has made that have led him to this fate, and he wonders if perhaps he has sacrificed his own happiness and the happiness of those he loves for the sake of a higher cause that may prove to be beyond him.Bart returns to his home town to await an evil he can no longer avoid. As he waits, he questions the decisions he has made that have led him to this fate, and he wonders if perhaps he has sacrificed his own happiness and the happiness of those he loves for the sake of a higher cause that may prove to be beyond him. For an ancient evil has fixed its eyes upon him, and its minions are coming to claim him.

When a rebellious youth named Donovan leaves his home in Europe for a family trip to Australia, he quickly determines another course when he takes advantage of an opportunity to seek out adventure of his own...When a rebellious youth named Donovan leaves his home in Europe for a family trip to Australia, he quickly determines another course when he takes advantage of an opportunity to seek out adventure of his own. While slipping away from the care of his guardian and sister at the airport in Darwin, he decides to take a tour bus to a Crocodile Farm, which inadvertently continues to take him hundreds of miles deeper in the outback and into Kakadu National park. His curiosity continues to get the best of him, when he sets off on foot to explore a trail to a waterfall and plunge pool. One mishap leads to another until he finds himself alone in the dark and unprepared to face the unknown that envelopes his surroundings. Once he discovers that he is lost, he continues to make his way through the bush, but not without its perils. Eventually, he befriends an Aborigine boy named Neji, who is on a journey into manhood. Together they fight against the elements and the mysteries of the dark, with beliefs and rituals as deep as the Dreamtime. All the while, a peculiar stranger continues to shadow them for unknown reasons. Pretty soon, Donovan finds himself on an unexpected course with this deliberate Swagman, with his harsh ways and cruel intentions. Without warning, Donovan is forced to use all that he has learned, in order to survive this downward spiral that seems to be leading him nowhere, with his only hope of making it back to civilization again...

The third story in the Broken Shores series. Everyone prays for help at one time or another, what happens when those prayers are answered?The world was once a place of plenty and wonders: famine and disease were largely unheard of, cities floated through the sky, everything appeared to be perfect. But it could not last. When the magic called Ve collapsed, society collapsed along with it: millions starved and the floating cities crashed to the ground. In the wreckage the byproducts of Ve use, magical beings called Amekt, went feral. This along with the ensuing wars rendered the mainland uninhabitable.In the last days of the old empire, as things began to fall apart, a small group split off an island-sized piece of rock and seeded it with a plant that would allow it to float. For nearly 500 years, the island of Ansau has drifted in isolation on the ocean currents. Life is more difficult than it was, but the Island’s inhabitants have learned to use the trickle of Ve and stability has been the rule. But things are about to change again.Induction is the second story in the Broken Shores series. On the climb back up the cliffs after harvesting mussels on the beach, Emera slips and falls. As she plummets, she prays for help and wakes up do discover that she has been spared. But the help comes at a price . . .

Written in the style of a pulp superhero tale, this short story describes the final encounter between an aging superhero trying to take care of unfinished business and his arch-nemesis who is dealing with some issues of his own.Pat has been exploring the South Sea island of Vitua when he gets a day off. He goes fishing with his girlfriend, the lovely Hinatea from another island, who is an expert at all kinds of fishing. She decides he is the perfect bait to catch a giant octopus. Pat disagrees.A short story with some of the heroes from In Search of Spice, with the Princess Asmara in charge.Culture clash is explored, not just between East and West, but between East and East. This story takes you back five hundred years to the lives and beliefs of the people who lived in the South Seas.

An agent for the Afterworld’s Bureau of Investigation, Ben Parker spent decades undercover on earth, searching for the wife he left behind when he died. Just when he decides to give up hope, and move on with his existence, he learns his soul mate was found. Now, reviewing her case file, he understands what she endured those years without him.An agent for the Afterworld’s Bureau of Investigation, Ben Parker spent decades undercover on earth, searching for the wife he left behind when he died. Just when he decides to give up hope, and move on with his existence, he learns his soul mate was found. Now, reviewing her case file, he understands what she endured those years without him. More importantly, he knows what the future has in store for her... but there’s nothing he can do to change it.

Joel Korhonen, scavenging survivor of the wrecked remains of the only home he'd known for years, an interstellar vessel once adrift in starlight. Amidst the debris on an alien world, he caught wind of a lingering hope, the fading energy of the former Ergo's signal beacon.If nothing ever scares you, then be warned, be scared of the Venetou. Unfortunately the people of New Caledonia, one of the colonies of Earth, encountered them when one of their survey ships bring them back to the colony. The alien vampire that can disappear from sight by hypnotising anyone near to it. When their people begin to die they first need to discover what is killing and feeding upon their people. Secondly they need to find a way to see the vampire, and finally they need a man who was capable of taking the fight to the Venetou.

When Leena shows up to the not-at-all-official town meeting organized by her mother to discuss the recent events that have turned New Elphame on its head, she has no idea what surprises the night will hold for her. Will she get her first kiss? Will someone dare to cross through the mysterious door to discover what really lays beyond? And what secrets lie with the gruesome Giant in the town pub?When Leena shows up to the not-at-all-official town meeting organized by her mother to discuss the recent events that have turned New Elphame on its head, she isn't thinking about magical doors or strange happenings. All she can think about is how for one night she wants to be a normal teenage girl—possibly one who gets kissed by her hunky football star boyfriend. As she stares at her reflection in a broken mirror, she decides that she can be someone different. But Leena has no idea what surprises the night will hold for her. Will she get her first kiss? Will someone dare to cross through the mysterious door to discover what really lays beyond? And what secrets lie with the gruesome Giant in the town pub?The second installment in the "Tales from Seelie High" series of short stories continues the adventure began by Kira Nichols in "New Girl." It also includes three shorter tales involving characters from New Elphame and the world beyond the door: two short scenes that depict what happened when the door was opened in "New Girl" and an interview with Leena, conducted by a Seelie High student reporter.

A week in the life of Cameron, an ordinary man with a dark secret.Jack Stone always dreamed about fitting in with the crowd, and being the most popular guy in school that girls would drool over when he walked down the halls. Jack was really smart when it came to his studies, but was frowned upon by other classmates because he only had to put little effort in making an A in class. Jack was also the guy to go to when it came to computers. He was definitely what you would call a nerd, but Jack didn't care what other classmates thought about him, he just wanted to be popular.Jack's life was about to change when he seen how everyone in the school hovered around Mark Edwards the school's most popular guy that would snap his fingers and the girls would come running. Everyday Jack would come up to Mark and ask if he could hang out with him so he could be popular with the girls, but Mark just ignored him or told him to buzz off.Then Mark finally had all he could take with Jack pestering him on a daily basis. Mark said, "Come here!" and Jack came up to him with excitement on his face thinking Mark would entertain the thought of them becoming best friends, but that wasn't going to happen.Jack could barely get any words out of his mouth when Mark grabbed him with both hands on the collar of his shirt, and spit in his face, and threw him to the floor, and said "If you bother me one more time, you'll wish you were never born. Got it! Now get lost and leave me alone you stupid little twerp."Jack got off the floor and said "You'll pay for this!"

Book one of two books, this is the story of how human life was brought to Earth, the first man Amon, who lives from the beginning of human life, through to the end of the world.It has only been two and a half months since Reginald and Gail returned from that fateful night, a strange set of circumstances, and a world neither ever thought could exist.Plains also seems different. Darker. While the Fleming Orphanage is quiet, evil still seems to be lying in wait. Reginald is also worried about Gail; she has been strangely quiet, a far cry from the outspoken young woman he's always known her to be. She seems to have lost part of herself.For months, Reginald has been planning a marriage proposal, already having received the blessing of Gail's father and even bought a ring with money saved from his job at the five and dime. On Valentine's Day, he takes her to The Florentine, and while Gail is appreciative, she remains distant. An encounter with Father Louis of St. Gregory the Great Church also leaves a slight chill in the air.In spite of everything, Reginald hopes for a future with the girl he loves.MADE IN HEAVEN is a short story/missing scene from Tiffany Apan's Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1).

How might the Olympian Gods we know from reading change if we were to allow our imaginations to see their true ages? Time changes all people — even gods — and when their day-to-day mischievous lives no longer play a role in human affairs, what then do they become? New York sculptor Minus Orth has an idea. He'll explain this all, and give our imaginations the figures to uphold."I want to read this book. I must read this book." — Amazon Breakthrough Novel AwardMinus Orth's "eccentricities ... make him the iconoclast he is intended to be."— Publishers WeeklyNoted author Mark Beyer, along with Siren & Muse Publishing, bring you a story about obsession, identity, and art. How might the Olympian Gods change if we were to allow our imaginations to see their true ages? Time changes all people — even gods — and when their day-to-day mischievous lives no longer play a role in human affairs, what then do they become? The image of shriveled skin is too apt to ignore. And, above all, what do we associate with the aging of these gods within the condition of our modern times?Minus Orth has an idea which can explain this, and give our imaginations the figures to uphold. He is sculpting the mighty figures of myth — and the not-so-mighty — in an art cycle he has titled "Mythical Gods in Their Twilight" without the least irony. And his creations have not come without a price.Noted author Mark Beyer, along with Siren & Muse Publishing, bring you a story about obsession, identity, and art.Minus Orth walks dogs for a living and sculpts for his life. He has a girlfriend, Belinda, who’s itching to get married. His friend, Peter N, has reaped artistic success that’s both inspirational and a thorn. He plays poker with a quartet of exiled aristocrats. And at Minus’s art co-op, the residents live on the fringe of society. One day Minus crosses paths with Karen Kosek, best remembered as a culture critic of the 1960s. Karen dropped out of sight years ago. Now she dresses as a bag lady — ragged clothes, a garbage smell, and bulging plastic bags she carries as if they hold the secrets to the good life. Minus orchestrates a tenuous relationship with Karen, and discovers in her a woman who has not been trampled underfoot, but is burrowed deeper in society’s crust than anyone could imagine.Thus begins an odyssey in which Minus becomes obsessed with Karen’s past and present, obsessed with creating his sculpture cycle, and with the role artists play in society’s split personality. “Do you have what it takes to make something beautiful?” is a question that comes to the minds of many characters in this story. Their answers are hilarious, confused, self-delusional, virtuous, or simply truthful, because the people who create beauty are different from those who value beauty, and far afield from the powers able to help it flourish … or destroy it.

Source seekers Eldon and Salena embark upon their first joint SS mission. In the globular star cluster Quendiem was a planet called Metrozoid 4. In the cityscape which covered the entire surface was a bloomball plant, a very special one. Inside this world within a world was a society of ibees living in caves. Their long and difficult mission was to save them from extinction.Sometimes you and I live a life that is so noisy that we can’t hear God, even if we were listening. Now, when I talk about living a “noisy” lifestyle, I’m not talking about noise you can hear with your ears. I’m talking about noise that your heart hears. Sometimes we fill our lives so full with “stuff” that we crowd out God. When we make our lives so busy that we don't take the time to just listen to God, that’s when our lives become too noisy to hear God. Samuel had to learn to "hear" God just like the rest of us. At an early age Samuel spent his time learning about God from a priest named Eli so that he would learn to hear God's voice. Samuel would need to hear the voice God as the high priest during the time of King Saul and King David.

Many of you are too young to remember the sixties, but for those of us who were there, it was a time of innocence as well a mine field for false steps. Rabbit, a seventeen-year-old student, needs to find a date for the high school PROM, which is going to be held Friday evening, four days away.Short story.Excerpts included after end of story.Many of you are too young to remember the sixties, but for those of us who were there, it was a time of innocence as well a mine field for false steps.Rabbit, a seventeen-year-old student, needs to find a date for the high school PROM, which is going to be held Friday evening, four days away.Short story.Excerpts included after end of story.

Death. A permanent end. Termination of life.Some embrace death as if reuniting with a long-missing old friend. Others fear it, try to outwit it, hide from it. And then there are those who are fascinated by it, mesmerized by it, chasing it down, taunting it, challenging it. In Ink Stains, Volume 1, eight authors explore death in all its facets in a collection of short stories.Ink Stains: A dark fiction literary anthology is a horror story collection that is sure to keep you up at night…Death. A permanent end. Termination of life. Some embrace death as if reuniting with a long-missing old friend. Others fear it, try to outwit it, hide from it. And then there are those who are fascinated by it, mesmerized by it, chasing it down, taunting it, challenging it. In Ink Stains, Volume 1, eight authors explore death in all its facets in a collection of short stories that range from fantastical to gritty to supernaturally creepy. Join them in a journey through the darker side of fiction. This dark fiction and horror anthology series is a quarterly publication featuring occult horror stories and dark and chilling fiction. Ink Stains, Volume 1 features stories by Michelle K. Bujnowski , Eddie Cantrell, John S. McFarland, Steph Minns, A. O’Neal Tamela J. Ritter, Aaron Vlek, and J. S. Watts.

In fifteenth-century England, when his father's murderer is revealed to be his guardian, seventeen-year-old Richard Shelton joins the fellowship of the Black Arrow in avenging the death, rescuing the woman he loves, and participating in the struggle between the Yorks and Lancasters in the War of the Roses.

With the candid quirkiness of Awkward Family Photos and the confessional intimacy of PostSecret, Ransom Riggs's Talking Pictures is a haunting collection of antique found photographs—with evocative inscriptions that bring these lost personal moments to life—from the author of the New York Times bestselling illustrated novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Each image in Talking Pictures reveals a singular, frozen moment in a person’s life, be it joyful, quiet, or steeped in sorrow. Yet the book’s unique depth comes from the writing accompanying each photo: as with the caption revealing how one seemingly random snapshot of a dancing couple captured the first dance of their 40-year marriage, each successive inscription shines like a flashbulb illuminating a photograph’s particular context and lighting up our connection to the past.

The first adult epic fantasy novel from multi-million copy bestselling author of Chocolat, Joanne Harris. The novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods - retold from the point of view of the world's ultimate trickster, Loki. It tells the story of Loki's recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself. Using her life-long passion for the Norse myths, Joanne Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel. Loki, that’s me. Loki, the Light-Bringer, the misunderstood, the elusive, the handsome and modest hero of this particular tissue of lies. Take it with a pinch of salt, but it’s at least as true as the official version, and, dare I say it, more entertaining. So far, history, such as it is, has cast me in a rather unflattering role. Now it’s my turn to take the stage. With his notorious reputation for trickery and deception, and an ability to cause as many problems as he solves, Loki is a Norse god like no other. Demon-born, he is viewed with deepest suspicion by his fellow gods who will never accept him as one of their own and for this he vows to take his revenge. From his recruitment by Odin from the realm of Chaos, through his years as the go-to man of Asgard, to his fall from grace in the build-up to Ragnarok, this is the unofficial history of the world’s ultimate trickster.

Wild turkeys are running loose in River Heights! Can the Clue Crew round them up before they ruin the Thanksgiving feast? River Heights Elementary School is having a Thanksgiving pageant, and Nancy, Bess, and George want to dress up as Native Americans! But when the town starts preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, the girls end up smelling a mystery instead of turkey. As Thanksgiving food around town starts to disappear, the Clue Crew realizes that someone is trying to destroy the holiday! Can the Crew catch these birdbrained bandits? Or will Thanksgiving dinner be a recipe for disaster?

A prolific author who never fails to be entertaining, Durrell brings us up to date on his Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. Ever since he was six years old, Durrell knew he wanted to have his own zoo. How he accomplished that--and became a respected naturalist in the process--will delight readers. Demonstrating a talent for presenting strong conservation issues in a humorous and captivating way, Durrell covers not only the development of his private zoo but the associated education activities as well (including a school for conservationists from foreign countries). Dedicated to the idea that zoos need not be a "sterile Victorian menagerie", he has earned the respect of colleagues worldwide in showing how zoos can be a vital force in the conservation and reintroduction of threatened species to their native environments. Readers will also enjoy such amusing incidents as a visit from Princess Anne and the chimps that came to dinner. A title to put on your reading list for a lighthearted romp through the animal kingdom.

Updated and Renamed now as If Only A heartwarming and inspirational Christmas novel in the tradition of The Christmas Box, The Gift, and The Christmas List. The New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Box and The Walk series returns with a holiday novel of hope, love, and redemption. She was my first kiss. My first love. She was a little match girl who could see the future in the flame of a candle. She was a runaway who taught me more about life than anyone has before or since. And when she was gone my innocence left with her. As I begin to write, a part of me feels as if I am awakening something best left dead and buried, or at least buried. We can bury the past, but it never really dies. The experience of that winter has grown on my soul like ivy climbing the outside of a home, growing until it begins to tear and tug at the brick and mortar. I pray I can still get the story right. My memory, like my eyesight, has waned with age. Still, there are things that become clearer to me as I grow older. This much I know: too many things were kept secret in those days. Things that never should have been hidden. And things that should have.

Whitney was amazed she finally had a boyfriend, and was prepared for a new life with him in the siren night human world. And the fact he was a lead singer in a rock band in his free time wasn’t bad, either. Too bad having a boyfriend didn’t mean she was going to see him, as his father’s punishment included separating them. Whitney is certain she can handle it, but sure enough, that isn’t the only wrench thrown into her new life. There’s a new threat in town, a scarier one than the backstabbing siren clan she’s part of now. They are night human hunters, and Whitney is an outlawed night human breed. Could her luck get any better? Quiet and peaceful would be ideal, but that’s not what she’s about to get.

A sly, witty, and beautifully orchestrated tale about the difficulty of being good Edward Baltram is overwhelmed with guilt. His nasty little prank has gone horribly wrong: he has fed his closest friend a sandwich laced with a hallucinogenic drug and the young man has fallen out of a window to his death. Consumed with guilt, Edward experiences a debilitating crisis of conscience. While Edward torments himself for not being good, his stepbrother, Stuart, a brilliant mathematics student, quits his promising scholastic career to live like a monk, devoting himself to the difficult task of becoming good. As Stuart seeks salvation, Edward searches for redemption through a reunion with his famous father, the reclusive painter Jesse Baltram. Funny and compelling, The Good Apprentice, first published in 1986*, is at once a supremely sophisticated entertainment and an inquiry into the spiritual crises that afflict the modern world. *First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin Inc. 1986