Into the drought-weary California town of Valle Rosa comes a stranger who promises he can make it rain. All he asks for is a place to stay and complete privacy. But he is too charismatic to maintain a low profile . . . and the adobe cottage he's given to live in is owned by an investigative TV reporter struggling to revive her career. Fire and Rain is a love story filled with mystery and heart.

A descendant of a medieval paladin gets approached in an alley by a talking horse. It’s Christmas time and he’s drunk, so he doesn’t take it seriously. But he ends up being dragged across Ireland on a magical quest to find a sword; a sword that is needed by a fairy princess.INSIDE — Special Issue: 2011’s Entertainers of the Year! Susan Lucci! Trevor St. John! Roger Howarth! JR Martinez! DAYS' New Head Writers! Agnes Nixon! Lorraine Broderick! The Cast of Dirty Soap (Mama Bjorlin, too)! Rebecca Herbst! Michael Muhney! Melody Thomas Scott! Catherine Hickland! Chandler Massey! And The Number One Winner; Plus More Sweet Surprises! Exclusive Interview: One Life’s Andrea Evans on the Comeback of the Year, The Infamous Wig, Her Victory Over Breast Cancer, Little David Vickers, Brian Frons, Prospect Park, Tina’s Growth, and Returning to B&B! 2011’s Hall of Shame! Will Crystal Chappell Join GH? Shocker: Y&R’s Victor marries Sharon! Sean Kanan, Jeff Branson out! Ilene Kristen books Law & Order! Hillary B. Smith’s ABC Punishment! GH’s Lulu and Dante wed! Plus: Finola Hughes Returns! More One Life Comebacks: Barbara Rhoades and Lea De Laria! Ellen Holly Pulls a Victoria Rowell! Next Week’s Preview Cheat Sheet! And every week: Unbelievable Blind Items!

Pevan pursues escaped thief Van Raighan into the edges of the treacherous North Wilds. She risks everything to get her man, but there are human as well as Second-Realm dangers in the Wilds. As fatigue slowly gets the better of Pevan, she may find herself having to rely on her quarry to get her back to safety.Gregory Chalmers was safe inside, nothing could get him in there. But what was outside isn't all he has to worry about.It's what's on the inside that counts. A short story on the depravity of man.

In this short story prequel to Waning Moon, Lily’s thirteen-year-old brother Zephron deals with the emotional turmoil of living with the genetically-induced ability to take life with just a touch. In this first person account of Zeph’s struggles with being an adolescent with such a destructive and powerful “gift,” Zeph must face his lack of control and discover whether he has a place in his world.What's it like to be a teenager in the year 2057? Life is hard enough when three quarters of the population has been wiped out by a viral plague and a polar shift threatens to drive humanity to extinction. Adding a genetic modification that gives you the power to take life with a touch only makes being a thirteen year-old boy that much more challenging--especially if he can't control his growing ability.Zephron Carmichael would like nothing more than to have a normal life. But hiding out in the Northeast Hills trying to escape capture by the Industry--a rogue division of the New Government who want to exploit Zeph's gift--is hardly the way to go about it. Life is okay on the small woodland farm he shares with his Uncle, but he's tired of living under the shadow of his annoyingly perfect and bossy big sister, Lily, whose ability to heal makes her well respected and loved in the community. It also makes her another perfect target for the Industry. As Zeph struggles to control the awesome and terrible power that's growing inside him, he must find a way to protect his sister, find a place in the world, and make amends for a terrible wrong.

The year is now 878TE and eight thousand Light-years from Earth, on the arid Planet Keden, is a wealth of untapped resources and power. But one man, with a twisted vision, sets in motion a plan that can change the fate of the Galaxy forever and caught in the crossfire, our heroes of Iron Five, Captain Richard Gant and his crew, must overcome the challenges of Love, Grief and Betrayal.To give a traditional description of my book would be the acceptable thing to do, however, I tend to do things my way every-so-often and so, in light of my excitement to share my world with you...here is what I know. According to history, mankind came across Sol-technology in the year 2035 AD. A scientist by the name of Doctor Lorenz Olivius created the first ever successful, miniature replica of the sun. The applications were, as one can imagine, limitless. Within fifteen years of its dawn, the Sol Combustion engine had allowed mankind to go beyond their limitations and finally reach for the stars. This breakthrough had then led to one hundred years of galactic searching and mapping and development. Then in 2150 AD, our ancestors left Earth in massive Starship fleets for new homes and in doing so, a new era was born; the era of, The Exodus.Now as far as I remember, Kedenians were among the first to leave for the stars. Originally, settling on Nema; a Goldilocks planet in a system five light years from Earth. But after fifty years of disputes now known as The Splinter Wars, Earthfront expelled the rogue clan, known then as, Keden Industries. Their leader, Amir Kedeni and his supporters were banished and forced to search for a non-hostile world in unknown space and it wasn’t long before they stumbled across a rich, desert planet now named Keden. Shortly after...a few decades to be precise...mankind colonized many systems in the Milky Way and large Corporations, Governments and various organizations rose to govern it all. Earthfront, the leading authority in most of our Galactic Domain, is the largest governing body in existence but even as peace reigns throughout known space, Keden, it seems, would forever be a hostile world toward them.And so here we are. The year is now 878TE and eight thousand Light-years from Earth, on the arid Planet Keden, is a wealth of untapped resources and power. But one man, with a twisted vision, sets in motion a plan that can change the fate of the Galaxy forever and caught in the crossfire, our heroes of Iron Five, Captain Richard Gant and his crew, must overcome the challenges of Love, Grief and Betrayal, and strap themselves into the cockpits of Next Generation war machines as they are thrown headlong into the heart of a conflict, the likes of which has never been recorded. I hope you enjoySincerely – Seon O. Stronghold

A well-season interstellar traveler has written a somewhat tongue-in-cheek guide for those that have not traveled off world. It covers some of the unusual conditions that a tourist may encounter on other planets such a different gravities, weather, atmospheres, fauna and flora, diurnal and yearly cycles, and light. A must read for planetary travelers.A person that has been to many worlds during his travels in the export/import business has written a tongue-in-cheek guide for those people who may be wanting to travel to another world. He describes some of the conditions a traveler from Earth can encounter on a different planet. These include such things as a difference in gravity, weather, atmosphere, fauna, and flora, geology, daily and yearly cycles, and sunlight. He takes a somewhat humorous approach to his subject and doesn’t show much sympathy for what he refers to as “moles” or those who have not been off world. Still it should be required reading for those planning a trip to another planetary system.

Nothing in Rome can be done without an augury. A magistrate is elected, a law is made, a marriage is arranged; the augur reads the signs in the heavens - the flight of birds, or the roar of thunder. It is, in many ways, a formality; but sometimes the gods seem to speak more directly, and a man's sanity could easily be threatened.It was the summer of '72 and Jason Helsing was born into a world that was supposed to embrace him, but only left him alone on this big planet to figure things out on his own. After his birth Jason was whisked off to foster home after foster home without knowing what it was like to be brought up in a happy home. Jason had been teased all through his school years about how slow he was, and couldn't keep up with the other classmates on any subject he took. Jason didn't have nice clothes like other students had. All he wanted was to be accepted, but all he got was heartaches. As the years peeled away, and Jason became more resentful towards his classmates, and his foster parents, the anger that was bottled up inside was about to explode, and the classmates that tormented him all those years were about to have their innocence destroyed by the hands of someone that just wanted to be loved, but instead got his heart crushed.One night when Jason was lying in his bed trying to get a good night’s sleep he started having flashbacks when one of his foster father's was choking his wife, but didn't kill her. When Jason entered their room he asked what was going on and his foster father said, "Come in boy and watch a real man in action." All Jason wanted to do was run and hide, but his foster father grabbed him by the arm, and told him to place his hands around her neck, and squeeze. Jason was scared, but knew if he didn't do what his foster father told him to do, he would be beaten.So as her tears poured out from her sad frightened eyes, Jason turned his head, and squeezed, and squeezed. Then his foster father said, "Don't be scared it's only a game, turn and look at her."She removed Jason's hands from her neck and laughed. Jason said, "I don't find that very funny."His foster father slapped him in the back of the head and said, "Why don't you go play?"Jason ran out of the room confused at what just happened.

Part 2 of the Last Enemy, where the team that has vowed to keep secret Telomerax, the ultimate anti-aging drug, is eventually detected by the secret services of Israel and the US. Louis Picard and his friends engage with very dangerous allies to bring the drug to the public in the safest possible way, but will they succeed?“The last enemy to be destroyed shall be death”, wrote St. Paul in his letters. But what if someone has already managed to defeat it? Thirty-four years have gone by since an ingenious biochemist, named Louis Picard, invented the ultimate anti-aging drug in 1981, that is known as Telomerax. Louis was obliged to form a selected group of technology entrepreneurs, finance mavens, and secret service professionals to help strategically spread knowledge of the drug. The discovery of Telomerax carried obvious dangers with it, eventually leading to the collapse of society and the near-extinction of mankind, in the ruthless war that broke out. Survivors set out to design a new society, specially designed for the half-gods that individuals were becoming. An action-packed and thrilling apocalyptic novel, “The Last Enemy”, brings to light many issues that we face today, from the clash between the power of the state and the right of citizens, to respecting our limits and controlling the human drive to push ourselves beyond those very limits.

Psychic Greg searches New York City's projects for people in need of help and finds a young woman who wants to break free from the life she has.When you've opened your mind so often, allowed it to journey on the other side of reality's mirror frequently, it changes. Small things, gaps left visible, a wafer thin barrier is all that separates the sides. Visions living in your head, memories pulled up from the past and acted out with clarity, past confusions solved painfully in dreams. Reality splitting. By remembering you reopen, old cuts bleed afresh. Welcome to madness.Based upon journal entries and notes written at the time, "The Mushroom Diaries" catalogue six of the trips the author and his boyfriend experienced as they allowed their mushroom induced visions to lead them through the streets and subways of London."The Mushroom Diaries" is the story of two people, a twisted romance coloured in glorious Technicolor.

Oculus has lost contact. It's unknown if communications have ceased due to technological failure, or something worse. Micro Grocer pilot Dick Shannon and his harvest bot HN-R3 are sent in to investigate. Can they solve the mystery of the Robot Bluff? Or will Oculus's secrets sink into the sand?Beware the Scent of Tuberose and the Maniacal Music of the Keys!At six years old, Lissette attends a concert by the handsome and dazzling concert pianist, Armand Guy de Rais. She is instantly infatuated. Ten years later, their lives destroyed by the French Revolution, Lissette's mother marries her off to a wealthy aristocrat living on a Caribbean island. Could Lissette's childhood fantasy be coming true? Or is there more than a whiff of decay in the flowers, in the house, in the music of the keys?This is a Gothic Faery Tale of about 6,000 words.

What happens when the citizens of a small Western town awaken to find a mountain next to them that wasn't there the night before - and what happens when it leaves again?In this collection of stories author Gregory Miles Thomas delves into our relationship with the unknown. "The Mountain that Slept Around" chronicles what happens when the citizens of a small Western town awaken to find a mountain next to them that wasn't there the night before before - and what happens when it leaves again. The remaining group of "Ghost Stories" captures the struggles of ghosts as they wean themselves from earthly attachments.

Stephen Sharp finds himself in a game of Russian Roulette with a motley crew of associates including Franklin Bletch (a greedy corporate executive), the beautiful Carly Wilson (who hides a deadly secret) and elderly Judith Scruth who has her reasons for being there. There can be only one winner.Stephen Sharp finds himself in a game of Russian Roulette with a motley crew of associates including Franklin Bletch (a greedy corporate executive), the beautiful Carly Wilson (who hides a deadly secret) and elderly Judith Scruth who has her reasons for being there. Run by two ex-military commandoes, the game takes place amidst a night of debauchery and excess.Will Stephen and Carly forge a bond too hard to break? Or will their time together be cut short by the lone bullet in the chamber?There can be only one winner.

A fractured fairytale that twists the story of Cinderella into a dark and sinister retelling.I'm not who they think I am. A docile girl who meekly obeys her stepmother and stepsisters. Some kind of sick angel who cheerfully bears their mistreatment. That's what I WANT them to think. Because then they won't suspect what I'm really up to.The ball, the prince - it's all part of my plan to come out on top. Stepmother and her demented daughters will pay for every floor I have scoured, every sneer I have borne. They don't know about the white magic, how I use it to enhance myself. They can't see that my heart is black as midnight, rotten as a poisoned apple.They're about to find out.Book Description•Length: Novella (about 100 pages)•Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale•Mood: Dark / Humorous•Content: Moderate violence. A few mild sexual references. No sex scenes or erotica.•Audience: Teens and Adults

The Princess of Parody, Chantaboute Hallshire, takes on La Belle Époque in this scrumptious tale of a 19th century Parisian girl whose mission is to find a wealthy wife for a man so that the girl, herself, can then become his properly kept mistress.The Princess of Parody, Chantaboute Hallshire, takes on La Belle Époque in this scrumptious tale of a 19th century Parisian girl whose mission is to find a wealthy wife for a man so that the girl, herself, can then become his properly kept mistress.Didi has been trained to follow in the family tradition of being a wealthy married man’s “kept woman.” As her mother explains, it’s all the benefits of being romanced without the drudgery of keeping house.Unfortunately, Fulbert is the man she truly loves, and he’s neither rich nor married. Her solution: get him married to a well-to-do woman so he’ll have the means to keep Didi as his mistress. Thus begin the comic adventures of matchmaking in the City of Love.

100 Not Out is a collection of some of Edinburgh author Gordon Lawrie's best 100-word flash fiction stories. Published initially over the last few years in Friday Flash Fiction, they explore every genre – including science fiction, crime, romance, historical fiction and, above all, humour.100 Not Out is a collection of some of Edinburgh author Gordon Lawrie's best 100-word flash fiction stories. Published initially over the last few years in Friday Flash Fiction, they explore every genre – including science fiction, crime, romance, historical fiction and, above all, humour. They're intended as a diversion, to be read on a bus or train journey, perhaps, occasionally thought-provoking but never challenging, and the flash fiction format ensures that the reader is never bored. This is risk-free reading.Divided into sections on crime, history, art and literature, love and romance, science, horror, sport and leisure, Christmas and a general catch-all Miscellaneous category, Lawrie provides 100 stories of exactly 100 words in length.

*Rosshalde *is the classic story of a man torn between obligations to his family and his longing for a spiritual fulfillment that can only be found outside the confines of conventional society. Johann Veraguth, a wealthy, successful artist, is estranged from his wife and stifled by the unhappy union. Veraguth’s love for his young son and his fear of drifting rootlessly keep him bound within the walls of his opulent estate, Rosshalde. Yet, when he is shaken by an unexpected tragedy, Veraguth finally finds the courage to leave the desolate safety of Rosshalde and travels to India to discover himself anew.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Charles Frazier, the acclaimed author of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons, returns with a dazzling novel set in small-town North Carolina in the early 1960s. With his brilliant portrait of Luce, a young woman who inherits her murdered sister’s troubled twins, Frazier has created his most memorable heroine. Before the children, Luce was content with the reimbursements of the rich Appalachian landscape, choosing to live apart from the small community around her. But the coming of the children changes everything, cracking open her solitary life in difficult, hopeful, dangerous ways. In a lean, tight narrative, Nightwoods resonates with the timelessness of a great work of art. “Impossible to shake.”*—Entertainment Weekly  * “Fantastic.”—The Washington Post *  “Astute and compassionate.”*—The Boston Globe

The final, haunting novel in the extraordinary story that has enthralled millions! The horror began with Flowers in the Attic, the terrifying tale of four innocent children locked away from the world by a cruel mother. The shocking fury continued with Petals on the Wind and If There Be Thorns. Now V.C. Andrews has created the last dark chapter in the strange, chilling tale of passion and peril that has captivated millions of readers around the world. Cathy and Chris, entwined with the evil that haunts their children, living with the fearful spectre of Foxworth Hall, are awaiting the final, shuddering climax... prisoners of a past they cannot escape.

The price of power... After Cheyenne Martin's death, everyone at Easton Academy is struggling to recover from yet another tragedy--especially the girls of Billings Hall. With Cheyenne gone, they need to elect a new leader. And who better than Reed Brennan, the ultimate Billings Girls? As the new Billings president, Reed suddenly has access to power she never imagined. Gossip is reported to her immediately, she has first dibs on everything from dining tables to dorm rooms, and Billings's most powerful alumnae are at her beck and call. So when Easton's students discover they're the only prep school on the East Coast not invited to this year's all-inclusive Legacy party, everyone turns to Reed to get them back on the list. Reed is the most powerful girl at Easton. She revels in her newfound status, but knows better than anyone that the Bilings leaders have a tainted legacy: Ariana was institutionalized, Noelle was expelled, and Cheyenne just died. History has a way of repeating itself at Easton, and now that Reed has everything she's ever wanted, she has everything to lose.

He saved her life... When Annalise Hadley is tossed over the side of her honeymoon barge, the newly-minted duchess knows she's been left for dead -- for her husband's only interest is in her vast dowry, not her muddied lineage. However, she didn't count on a savior. Especially not an honorable, sinfully intriguing earl who will tempt her to risk everything—again. Now he will seduce her heart and soul A man with his own demons, Owen Crawford, the reclusive Earl of McDowell, is enchanted by the mysterious, courageous woman he rescued. He will help her heal, teach her to protect herself, and then send her away—so that she’ll never see he’s far from the hero she believes him to be. But days and nights alone prove that some secrets are meant to be discovered...some desires are too powerful to resist…and some wounds can only be healed by love.

After years of comparative peace, darkness has fallen upon Ulster. Trouble is brewing and even those in the heart of the forest are not safe. Niamh, elder daughter of Sorcha, is required to make a strategic marriage, while her sister Liadan, who has the gift of Sight and her mother’s talent for healing, finds herself drawn into the shadowy world of the Painted Man and his warrior band. There Liadan begins a journey that is to transform her life.