Eight months ago, Cecht Angrove was abducted from his farm and forced to study under a wizard lord. Unable to stand it any longer, he's asked to fight in the arena for his freedom. Can he beat Saccius Venning, the wizard lords other apprentice, and regain his freedom?Despite the freedom and luxuries he's showered with, Cecht Angrove resents the Master, a wizard lord of Caldea who abducted him eight months ago to be his successor.Orphaned at a young age and taken in under the Master's care, Saccius Venning is grateful to the Master for saving his life. But can he ever understand why Cecht resents the Master?Today Cecht and Saccius conflicting views are thrown into the arena as Cecht seeks to regain his freedom and shocks everyone with his performance.

Lena has managed to carve out an almost idyllic life for herself in the small seaside town of Monterey until the unexpected and illogically explained death of her best friend pulls her out of the life she has painstakingly built and thrusts her into a topsy-turvy world of characters and situations that teaches her more about human nature than she could imagine or expected.Award Winning Author I. A. Watson, one of the most prolific voices in New Pulp, takes readers into a world of history of fantasy, one marred with magic, monsters, and mystery in his exclusive original Pro Se Single Shot Signatures Series Byzantium.In a world where Christianity never arose to sweep away the old magics, where sorcerer-guilds and necromancer-kings rule amidst the Roman ruins, Kirkgrim the Wanderer joins a caravan train across war-torn wasteland to the world's most corrupt city. The reluctant hero finds himself trapped with travelers, refugee orphans, deserter soldiers, a beautiful hunted sorceress, and one mad viking, amidst civil war, religious zealots, brutal reavers, and a growing zombie army - guarding a secret that could bring the last vestiges of civilization crashing down in flames.In Byzantium Book One: Dead Men’s Road, a beautiful woman tasked with delivering a sealed package to the Invisible College in Byzantium is pursued by merciless bandits, relentless undead, and a charming scoundrel who has nothing to lose.

The Great War has been stuck in stalemate on the Western Front for forty-seven years since 1914. Jimmy is a lonely private at the front, forced to battle from the enormous deathly wall that faces the Germans across no-man's land. Esme is the factory girl he met in Brighton. The girl he dreams of...The Great War has been stuck in stalemate on the Western Front for forty-seven years since 1914. Jimmy is a lonely private at the front, forced to battle from the enormous deathly wall that faces the Germans across no-man's land. Esme is the factory girl he met in Brighton. The girl he dreams of... Separated by the enormity of the war machine that surrounds them they write to each other, sharing their hopes and dreams of a better time... An epistolary novel set in an alternate history.

Once more we join Wonka, the ninth in the series, and thanks to him Owner has pressed on with her goals, all set out in that Life Plan. Hurtling towards them with Wonka's fair but firm advice, surely all is going well? Even Shakespeare could have turned this tragedy into a comic turn, but what of Wonka, all alone now and without beloved Baba not to mention Golly? Join in the fun and find out!Just Wonka finds us in early Summer 2013 and Owner is making all those steps forward that the Life Plan envisaged! She is tackling the drama of her life with Wonka urging her on, and surely the Bard Shakespeare would have turned it all into a play, invented new words, plucking a story from her jumbled up hopes and dreams ..a tragedy or comedy perhaps, whittling it all down to the fates...but hang on, Wonka is now without beloved Baba not to mention Golly, and may need a companion. But will he? It is a full time job advising Owner and goodness knows who is lurking out back. What with checking on Owner's state of mind and the dreaded finances, Wonka is pretty busy and could a holiday be on the cards........ take some time out with the ninth Wonka, and you too could be heading for the funny side of it...

In the year 3777, the human race are at war with an alien race called the Romosean - and they are losing. Desperate to regain the upper hand, the human government created a secret weapon which could end the 77 year-long war. The secret weapon was called Lizard-Alien. Will Lizard-Alien really be the human race's saviour or will he have his own agenda? Read on and find out now!In the year 3777, the human race are at war with an alien race called the Romosean - and they are losing. Desperate to regain the upper hand, the human government created a secret weapon which could end the 77 year-long war. The secret weapon was called Lizard-Alien. Will Lizard-Alien really be the human race's saviour or will he have his own agenda? Will he really be hell-bent on destruction? Will he succeed in his plans? What ARE his plans?? What fate awaits the human race?Read on and find out now!

Caroline, Michael, Timothy, Alice, Molly, Thomas, Sarah, William, Harrison, Warwick.'We hate our own families. We’re made to feel like garbage. Collection, Excess. That’s what they label us. Rubbish that needs to be disposed of.'Abandoned by their families and dumped in the desert to die, ten teenagers struggle to fight against the sand, the heat and their fates.The Petun nation has been destroyed by the Iroquois and the Huron and their Algonquian allies are nervous. Etienne, Sieur de Berignac, and his young cousin and protégé Pierre, have tools, kettles and blankets to trade, but it is the guns that are the most sought-after. A little brandy and some diplomacy will take them a long ways, but as Pierre discovers, the language barrier is a killer. A short story of Canada’s colourful and romantic past.

The true story of Beowulf as told by an old man who was there. At least that is what Grimm is telling 21st Century London schoolboy Jamie.When South London schoolboy Jamie goes to Wimbledon to photocopy some pictures for his school project on the Old English poem 'Beowulf', he little thinks that his life will never quite be the same again. Deciding to exchange his bus fare home for a hamburger, Jamie somehow ends up in the company of a very weird old man for whom everything seems to have stopped in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. After being thrown out of the hamburger bar for creating a disturbance, the pair heads for Wimbledon Common.In between 'gathering tributes' of what seem to be other people's unattended food and drinks Grimm, the old man, tells Jamie what he claims to be an eye witness account of the story of Beowulf and the hero's battles with the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother in the damp of a Danish bog. Although Grimm's version is not quite the same as that told in the poem he claims that it is all true, well almost true.

We all have a story, don't we?Tayo takes us on a journey to his childhood with stories about his growing on a story island.Experience ita girl. who has been a normal girl most of her life, but everything turns for the worst when she makes choice between a man or a people who will keep her safe. fan-fiction including the beginning of team fortress series in my setting. Amia will go through cruelty and death to see what will become of her and her future.

Silence is a book that opens up our definitions of self-realization. In many ways, we are treated to an almost cinematic rendering of this search. With the beautiful and, often, desolate landscape of Florida’s orange grove country, Munnis reconceives a past that often blurs memory, truth, perception, and awareness.Silence is a book that opens up our definitions of self-realization. In many ways, we are treated to an almost cinematic rendering of this search. With the beautiful and, often, desolate landscape of Florida’s orange grove country, Munnis reconceives a past that often blurs memory, truth, perception, and awareness. As the narrator, Brian, pushes through his past, his discoveries illuminate the roles each of us play in a family. And when Brian journeys through his past, we are face to face with the surreal and sensory imagery of this family’s life. The cattails, dead birds, and diesel fuel smells surrounding a boy’s life in Titusville make an impressionistic effect while the clear and unadorned realizations of Munnis’ narrator take us to a place of understanding: hatred wrapped in love, misunderstanding and shame masked in silence, love and tenderness in small kindnesses. Complicating this cinematic cycle of poems is the pressure of a family negotiating a life of power, money, and violent tendencies. As dramatic tensions rise in many sections of these poems, the awareness of what these tensions mean rises alongside the pivotal events where race, memory, sex, love, and loss merge. We cannot look away. If we need a word for this inevitability and its power to draw us in, it would be destiny. And in these poems as we travel with narrator, we meet his destiny and the inevitable pursuit and renegotiation of the past.—Wynn Yarbrough, Ph.D, teaches Creative Writing at the University of the District of Columbia. He is also the author of A Boy’s Life (Pessoa Press, 2011) and a critical work, Masculinity in Children’s Animal Stories, 1888-1928: A Critical Study of Anthropomorphic Tales by Wilde, Kipling, Potter, Grahame, and Milne (McFraland Press, 2011).

A novel half "Outsiders", half "Power of Now", "Danny’s Mind" chronicles the rise of Danny Perkins, a victimized nerd who catapults to charismatic high school prophet, transforming the student body through genuine spiritual powers…but also fueling the backlash from peers and adults determined to destroy him. Only his neighborhood buddy, tough kid, Joe Maddy can save him from the gathering storm.If you enjoyed the Outsiders and the Power of Now, get ready to combine your reading passions—because in the corridors and classrooms of Payton High School, something strange is happening: a prophet is rising, and a new power grows…Meet Danny Perkins—The sixteen-year-old bookworm who catapults from victimized school nerd to charismatic playground prophet. The high school mystic who opens up the dimension of real heaven on earth, unleashing a mystical power which transforms the student body…and fuels a fiery backlash from threatened peers and adults determined to destroy him.Meet Joe Maddy—The biggest bully in school, and Danny’s best friend. The wrong-side-of-town tough-kid, who daydreams of Conan the Barbarian and loves the “razor” feeling of a good fight. He alone sees the menace gathering, preparing to strike. Is his wild strength enough to stop the violence?Meet Michelle Connelly—The quintessential IT Girl, head cheerleader, top-flight student, and queen of the “activities” crowd. She recognizes the transformative nature of Danny’s power and intends to spread him to the world like a teenage Eckhart Tolle…if she can live that long.Meet Tim Hanson—Mr. Cool, Mr. Glam, the guy every young male wants to be. Star athlete, rich family, handsome, and dating the IT Girl. A born leader the students look to. But for which side? And as the arch rival of Joe Maddy for top tough kid in school, like two gunslingers from an old western, both boys are on a path to bloody destiny.Get ready to enter the dimension of Danny’s Mind.

What if mankind could travel to Mars? Would you want to go? What would life be like for those left behind? What would you want to know? What if mankind was already on Mars? What if you had no choice but to join them? What it your loved ones suddenly disappeared? What if your government didn't want you to know about It? Mars Encounter is that storyA collection of short stories set in the Mars Encounter universe by J. J. Wright. Can be read either by those new to the Mars Encounter stories or those that have already read the Mars Encounter novel.Humans are living and working on Mars, only it must be kept secret from the Earth bound population. Those with special skills are taken by a secret organisation and are put to work on Mars. This collection is their stories.A total of seven short stories are included here. Six were released in the build up to the Mars Encounter novel coming out with the other one a special bonus story written just for this edition. Also included is a series of essays by the author of his love of science fiction.

Deep in a shadowy castle dwells timeless evil and gruesome creepiness. Can Ergo save the universe again or will these dire threats prove too devastatingly terrible and leave our unfortunate hero… drained?Ergo is a misunderstood human-puppet hybrid wanting little more than to fit in at his pharmaceutically-driven indoctrination center (public school), when his day is suddenly turned upside-down by a bizarre series of events leading him to a mysterious thrift shop, an abrupt flight with unexpected allies to a secretive village in Transylvania, and ultimately deep into a shadowy castle rife with timeless evil and gruesome creepiness. Can Ergo save the universe again or will these dire threats prove too devastatingly terrible and leave our unfortunate hero… drained?

Previously published in* Eternal Lover *Seduction is Georgina Kincaid’s weapon—and elixir—of choice. The Seattle-based shape-shifting succubus is used to getting what she wants, when she wants. Until she falls for a mere mortal… Georgina is finally, irrevocably in love, and she doesn’t care who knows it. There’s just one problem. If she and her boyfriend, Seth Mortensen, succumb to their all-consuming desire, the consequences will be dire: Seth will be destroyed. Of course, no one cares about their struggle to keep their hands to themselves, especially not Georgina’s archdemon boss, who is sending her to L.A. to sit on a demon-run tribunal. An immortal has been murdered—and the high court is determined to find the killer and set an example… Bribery, corruption, murder—the three demons on trial will stop at nothing to avoid a guilty verdict. But all the dark magic zipping through the atmosphere must be going to Georgina’s head, because suddenly she suspects that Seth is up to no good. Now she can’t help but wonder how far she’d be willing to go to make sure she doesn’t lose the love of her immortal life…

The world is changing-the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now kids are disappearing. For fifteen-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside-down when they are hauled out of bed one night, separated from their parents, and thrown into a secret compound for no reason they can comprehend. The new government is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. Imprisoned together and condemned to death, Wisty and Whit begin exhibiting strange abilities and powers they never dreamed of. Maybe there is a reason they were singled out. Can this newly discovered witch and a wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents-and maybe the world?

Billionaire Caleb Blackstone lives in the glamorous world of wealth and success, with every material luxury. But the moment he sees Brooke Casterley, none of that matters. Caleb is filled with a raw, undeniable need that he can’t ignore…for a girl who is so completely different from everything and everyone he’s ever known. Only Brooke isn’t looking for love. She knows all too well just how much damage the wrong guy can do. Still, what sane, broke British girl can resist the charms of an incredibly sexy, chivalrous billionaire? What starts as flirtation quickly turns into all-consuming passion. Nothing could have prepared her for the searing heat of Caleb’s touch—or just how much she craves him. Their whirlwind romance is the stuff of high-society fantasy—but for every moment of pleasure, there is a cost. Past mistakes and tragedy shadow them both…and falling for him might be the kind of trouble she can’t afford.

"The Grail Brotherhood has built the most powerful, sophisticated simulation network imaginable. At the same time, they have manipulated ad injured the minds of thousands of children." This proclamation from the mysterious Mr. Sellars confirmed what Renie Sulaweyo had feared to be true when she first broke into the Otherland network in a desperate search for the cause of her brother Stephen's deathlike coma. Now Renie, the Bushman !Xabbu, and their companions find themselves navigating a treacherous and ever-changing course―from a strangely unfinished land, ro a seemingly endless labyrinthine House―pursuing a sociopathic killer who has stolen one of their group. To Renie's despair she is no closer to uncovering the secrets which could help save Stephen's life, and now it appears that something may be very wrong with the Otherland network itself. As Paul Jonas, Orlando, Renie and the rest strive to reach Priam's Walls, in the heart of Troy, they know that their quest is running perilously short of time. For the Grail Brotherhood has finally set the date for the Ceremony when they will make their bid for the immortality, and thereby seal the fate of Earth's children forever. But before Renie and her allies can hope to stop the Brotherhood, they must first solve the mysteries of Otherland itself, and confront its darkest secret―an enitity known only at the Other.

A digital-only short story set in the STARTERS world, told from Briona's pov. STARTERS received rave reviews, including this from the Los Angeles Times: “The only thing better than a terrific concept is one that is as well executed as Starters. Readers who have been waiting for a worthy successor to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games will find it here. Dystopian sci-fi at its best, Starters is a terrific series kickoff with a didn't-see-that-coming conclusion that will leave readers on the edges of their seats . . .” Includes a sneak peek at the sequel to STARTERS, Lissa Price’s ENDERS, where Callie is ready to fight for the truth—even if it kills her.

It is a bitter winter and civil war now ravages Kurald Galain, as Urusander's Legion prepares to march upon the city of Kharkanas.The rebels' only opposition lies scattered, bereft of a leader since Anomander's departure in search of his estranged brother, Andarist. The last brother remaining, Silchas Ruin, rules in Anomander's stead. He seeks to gather the Houseblades of the Highborn Noble families and resurrect the Hust Legion in the southlands, but is fast running out of time. The officers and leaders of Urusander's Legion, led by Hunn Raal, want the Consort, Draconus, cast aside and Vatha Urusander wedded to Mother Dark, taking his place on a throne at the side of the Living Goddess. But this union will be far more than political, as a sorcerous power has claimed those opposing Mother Dark - given form by the exiled High Priestess Syntara, the Cult of Light rises in answer to Mother Dark and her Children. Far to the west, an unlikely army has gathered, seeking an enemy without form, in a place none can find, and commanded by a Jaghut driven mad with grief. Hood's call has been heard, and the long-abandoned city of Omtose Phellack is now home to a rabble of new arrivals. From the south have come Dog-Runners and Jheck warriors. From the Western Sea strange ships have grounded upon the harsh shore, with blue-skinned strangers arriving to offer Hood their swords. And from the North, down from mountain fastnesses and isolated valleys, Toblakai arrive, day and night, to pledge themselves to Hood's impossible war. Soon, all will set forth - or not at all - under the banners of the living. Soon, weapons will be drawn, with Death itself the enemy. Beneath the chaos of such events, and spanning the realm and those countless other realms hidden behind its veil, magic now bleeds into the world. Unconstrained, mysterious and savage, the power that is the lifeblood of the Azathanai, K'rul, runs loose and wild. Following its scent, seeking the places of wounding where the sorcery rushes forth, entities both new and ancient are gathering. And they are eager to feed. Comprehending the terrible risk of his gift of blood, a weakened, dying K'rul sets out, in the company of a lone guardian, to bring order to this newborn sorcery - alas, his choice of potential allies is suspect. In the name of order, K'rul seeks its greatest avowed enemy.

From the writer of the cult sensation John Dies at the End comes another terrifying and hilarious tale of almost Armageddon at the hands of two hopeless heroes. WARNING: You may have a huge, invisible spider living in your skull. THIS IS NOT A METAPHOR. You will dismiss this as ridiculous fearmongering. Dismissing things as ridiculous fearmongering is, in fact, the first symptom of parasitic spider infection-the creature secretes a chemical into the brain to stimulate skepticism, in order to prevent you from seeking a cure. That's just as well, since the "cure" involves learning what a chain saw tastes like. You can't feel the spider, because it controls your nerve endings. You can't see it, because it decides what you see. You won't even feel it when it breeds. And it will breed. So what happens when your family, friends, and neighbors get mind-controlling skull spiders? We're all about to find out. Just stay calm, and remember that telling you about the spider situation is not the same as having caused it. I'm just the messenger. Even if I did sort of cause it. Either way, I won't hold it against you if you're upset. I know that's just the spider talking.

Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action. Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton? As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.

Pain and pleasure, ecstasy and horror fuse in this splendid array of worldly parables from the pen of a master. What if you were a double amputee, singing for joy on the streets of New York . . . or a man who has actually held the earth in his hands? What if you were both the god and goddess in one of the most exalted erotic experiences in the universe . . . or the artist Correggio in the bitterness of his most sublime work . . . or a serving maid dreaming of love and luxury in a palace of death . . . or a man on a fatal mission, treading a battlefield ruled by a dying god? If you have the spirit and the longing to imagine, come along on a journey to the heart of passion—where love and hate are mirror images, where the alternating pulse beats of craving and denial define desire. Only William Kotzwinkle's extraordinary talent could chart such a course, could send his vision soaring through so many forms of fancy. In Jewel of the Moon, he transcends even his own marvelous powers of invention to create a cosmology of constant surprise—and irresistible enchantment.