When the invincibility of youth collides with the unexpected during a sunny wake-boarding Saturday morning, a family is catapulted into the grief of a bedside vigil, willing their son and brother back to the living.A perfect day for wake-boarding on the lake turns into a nightmare for four friends and one family when Justin miscalculates during an adventurous manoeuvre. His grief-stricken family keeps a bedside vigil, waiting anxiously for Justin to regain consciousness. His mother, who refuses to leave his bedside, recounts for him, the big and small moments of his life, those special events, the funny and sad, that have formed him into the fun-loving, optimistic young man that he has become. She is convinced that this is what it will take to bring him back to her - a mother's love.

At some point in the continuum of life comes the realization that one is indeed mortal. The phrase, “today is the first day of the rest of your life”, slowly becomes more poignant. Finally, the concept of one’s days being numbered becomes a constant companion. This story relates an experience of a man caught up in the end-game.At some point in the continuum of life comes the realization that one is indeed mortal. The phrase, “today is the first day of the rest of your life”, slowly becomes more poignant. Finally, the concept of one’s days being numbered becomes a constant companion. This story relates an experience of a man caught up in the end-game. Present day demographics would suggest that a number of readers would have more than a passing interest.William Gardner is proving himself to be a wordsmith of some note. THE QUESTIONER is an easy read with bountiful and beautifully manicured dialogue. He is also the author of the well-received fictional novella, A TALE OF TWO LEGACIES. It too is available on Smashwords.

"Mr. Jacobson sniffs little girls' bicycle seats," Benjamin Carter announced cavalierly as though the topic made for polite dinner conversation.The family had just sat down to the evening meal. Grace Carter poured some gravy on her mash potatoes, cleared her throat and asked, "Where exactly did you learn this?"Adrian is still mourning his wife, whom had chose the life of her future son to hers. A son who is innocently unaware of the way he was brought into this world. A son he has to love completely, although he is constantly reminded of his departed wife, because of their resemblance, and their ability to love unconditionally, without question. This is a story about breaking barriers between father and son.

Bread to the Wise is Book I of The Libertine trilogy. Robert Gattling falls in love with Mary Clare Morrison, but won’t woo her because he’s lost his mojo after accidentally killing a man. Mary Clare, on her way up from the pit of despair, decides to woo him. But she is used to the good life provided by sugar daddy V. M. Meany. Meany goes after Gattling. Gattling fights back. Who will win?Bread to the Wise is Book I of The Libertine trilogy. In 1964 Robert Gattling is an assistant vice-president at a prestigious university, a wunderkind. By 1972 he’s a janitor. Bad things end a life-long lucky streak. He begins recovering his mojo when a mentor, Jake Pritchett, urges him to woo beautiful, classy Mary Clare Morrison. Obstacles impede the way to true love. He’s used to easy conquests of women who attract him. He has lost the self-confidence to approach a serious relationship with someone like Mary Clare. She too has a mentor, real estate tycoon and political king-maker V. M. Meany, who rescued her from drugs and a degrading relationship and now keeps her in a penthouse apartment. Gattling and Meany battle it out. Jake gets involved and ends up shot by a Meany hired thug. When Meany threatens to rip Gattling’s face off, Mary Clare shoots him. Jake dies, Meany survives. It’s like the bad things that interrupted Gattling’s lucky streak come back to haunt him. Is ardent love enough to bring him back from the depths? It has worked magic on Mary Clare, but will she wait patiently for her lover to lay his ghosts and face life in a loving relationship? Tune in.

Mayenta has once again returned to the land with no recollection of where she had gone. All she knew was, every time she returned to the vale, she returned lying in the same spot underneath a dogwood tree growing high upon Honor Mountain--and, as usual, she returned naked. What did it mean that she left Paigorya without warning? Where did she go? WHY did she go? And, most importantly, who was she?Mayenta has returned once again to the land with no recollection of where she had gone. All she knew was, every time she returned to the vale, she returned lying in the same spot underneath a dogwood tree growing high upon Honor Mountain--and, as usual, she returned naked. What did it mean that she left Paigorya without warning? Where did she go? WHY did she go? And, most importantly, who was she?The Dogwood Tree eBook short story includes a free excerpt from Laurie Y. Elrod's novel, Blackridge-Book One of the So'ladiun.

A hilarious adventure tale about one boy’s determination to conquer the biggest computer game contest at school and the hilarious disasters and obstacles he encounters, while learning a few important life lessons along the way.Game on Boys" is a hilarious adventure story for boys and girls that will get you laughing hysterically until your guts explode. Just make sure your Mom doesn't have to clean it up and keep the dog away. It follows the adventures of 10 year old cool gamer Ryan and his cool school, cool teacher and very uncool sister 'Loom Band Lisa' who does everything in her pink power to ruin his fun. It's all about boys that love computer games,pea shoot in class, catch flies in their mouth and make fart sounds under their arms. It's also about playing computer games at school. When the teacher with the unfortunate name (Mr Higginbottom) introduces a Play Station competition at school, everyone goes into a crazy frenzy as they battle their way to win the prize. With Ryan's cool gaming record he's sure to win until something disastrously ugly happens to cause his plans of victory to come tumbling to the ground faster than super sonic radar doing a bungee jump with a triple somersault back flip on the way. SPLAT! Will it all end badly, and will Ryan's reputation change from being the coolest gamer to the biggest loser wearing splatted egg on his face or can super dooper good things come out of really horrid bad things? With heaps of school yard humor and funny illustrations, this book is sure to get you away from your consoles for awhile.

A love-starved young woman slips away every night to adventure with dragons, mermaids and even aliens but then she wakes up.A love-starved young woman slips away every night to adventure with dragons, mermaids and even aliens but then she wakes up. In this unusual, Christian sci fi fantasy novel, Cara Peirce wants to help people. She wants love but making connections in real life just isn't something she's good at. Through an unsettling turn of events, Cara finds herself a mostly-willing participant in a bizarre life in which she only feels truly alive in her dreams. Her surreal adventures in other realms seem important, somehow. And, almost every night, she dreams of the same guy - Blaze Saxon. In the end, only whispers remain. But the end is only the beginning. This is the story of a faded dreamer.

A short story prequel to the 'Lena's Friends' crime novels. Lena sells herself, she is a high class 'escort', a prostitute. At a bike rally, Lena meets up with Tony, someone she had previously met in a ‘professional’ way... Despite initial worries that her business and private lives should be kept separate, it soon becomes obvious that Tony was definitely going to be one of ‘Lena's Friends’...A short story prequel to Chris Graham's, the 'Lena's Friends' crime novels. The year is 2004. You are about to meet Lena Fox for the very first time. Lena sells herself. She works as a high class escort. In essence, she is a prostitute. A very good one, a very successful one, she enjoys her work immensely and has done very well from it. Lena's real passion though, is not one that reflects the Champagne lifestyle of her wealthy clientèle. Lena's passion has wheels. Lena prefers to wear well worn jeans, Doc Marten boots, and an old black leather jacket that had once belonged to her late father. Her father had given her the passion for riding motorcycles. At a bike rally, Lena gets involved with helping the victim of a crime and also meets up with Tony, someone she had previously met in a ‘professional’ way... Despite initial worries that her business and private lives should be kept separate, it soon becomes obvious that Tony was definitely going to be one of ‘Lena's Friends’...

Jenna's Journey is a brief but exciting tale about a young mother and her two children who are sent halfway across the country on a journey to a new life by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Through her journey you will see demonstrated the power of faith, prayer, and the hand of God in the midst of the seemingly everyday events of our lives.A healer’s duty is to sustain life, not take it. It seems a fact irrefutable. But when a dark prophecy seems ripe to unfold, She will become His Instrument of Death.After the Wrongful Execution of her father, the Healer takes the young girl in, intent on Raising her in Five Virtues, Squelching thoughts of Revenge, Training her to take her place among the Elite Guard that protects him from the Tyrannical King who has sworn to rid the world of Magic, but when that King brutally murders one of the healer's own and a Dark Prophecy seems ripe to unfold, he will go from forbidding revenge to laying the way for her. His Sanctuary of Healing will birth an Assassin.

Catriona, ex-librarian, dumped by her boyfriend, is just trying to restart her life when she gets sucked into and carried off by a blue pottery bowl. Suddenly thrown into a world where she can't move for mysteries, how is this modern town girl going to cope alone in the woods with a comatose man and a muddy baby? And there's that hint of something sinister...Cat was ordinary—until the day a blue bowl whirled her off to another world...Catriona, ex-librarian, dumped by her boyfriend, is just trying to restart her life when she looks into a blue pottery bowl in a museum, and suddenly finds herself whirled off to a magical medieval world. Who is the injured man flung across the forest path? How is Cat going to cope with that muddy baby watching him? And what do either of them have to do with the disappearance of the town's most powerful figure, the seventh son of the seventh son? Something is not right in the forest of Ruph... Will Cat solve the mystery? Can she make her way back to twenty-first-century America - and what is more, will she want to?Book One of THE SEPTIMUS SERIES.

Issue #37, Neon's first issue of 2014, features the work of Paul Bavister, Shanalee Smith, Noel Williams, Christopher Owen, Tracey S Rosenberg, Erric Emerson, Meg Eden, and Joe Evans. The cover image is by Timur Cetintas. In its pages you will find guns and knives, nightmarish exam days, a story about Facebook friends and some excellent concrete poetry.Bullies, the bullied, and the bystander can all learn from this modern day fable about flying insects who bully crawling bugs.Bullies Bee Buggin’! is an anti-bullying children's book series written to teach children that no one and no thing is here by accident, that everyone has something uniquely important to offer the world, and we all deserve respect based on that alone.The characters in this three part series symbolize three groups found in every schoolyard, in every neighborhood, in every country. They are: The Flyers, who represent the bullies;The Crawlers, who represent the bullied; andThe Hoppers, who represent the bystanders (Introduced in Book Three).Through the Flyers, the Crawlers, and the Hoppers, children will learn how to interact effectively with the people in the world around them.

When Nazis from space launch an attack on New York City, Kent, a newsman with wartime experience, and an unlikely army has to fight to save the world. Not everything is as it seems in this two fisted tale of heart stopping, pulp style adventure.What starts as a beautiful day for Kent and his girlfriend, Sally, becomes a nightmare when the Nazi menace returns to Earth. Their plan is domination and New York City is only their first stop on the world tour of destruction. It’s up to Kent, Sally, and a slapped together group to save the planet from its attackers. In the midst of the attack, many questions must be asked. How did the Nazis get their powerful weapons? Who is the mysterious stranger with alien weaponry and is he friend or foe? What dark secrets are held in the top floors of the Empire State Building? Can the Nazis be stopped? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Attack of the Space Nazis from Mars.

Sixteen year old Wendy never knew the world before the Starvation. When the Skinnies attack her compound, she is the lone survivor. Injured and near death, Wendy is rescued by a mysterious man named Mike. His people take her in, but Wendy soon discovers evidence that these people might be the ones who killed everyone she knows.Sixteen year old Wendy never knew the world before the Starvation. She’s learned to put her trust in her knives, and her confidence in her fighting ability. When the Skinnies attack her compound, she's the lone survivor. Injured and near death, Wendy is rescued and nursed back to health by mysterious strangers. Her saviors offer her a place among them, but trust has never been one of Wendy's strengths, and suspicion soon leads to evidence that these people might be the group who killed her family. The decision to get her revenge, and take the settlement down from the inside out is easy. Keeping her distance from those she must befriend in order to make it happen proves to be much more difficult.

Meet Braenyn, elf, thief, magic-user. He lives a rogue's life with his lover, the shape-shifter, Tarrow. Together they try to survive and better their situation in a mad world filled with warlords, cut-throats, supernatural horrors, trows, gibbelins and ogres. Following his own path, Braenyn undertakes dangerous quests and missions seeking wealth and treasure each time taking bigger risks.Meet Braenyn, elf, thief, magic-user. He lives a rogue's life with his lover, the shape-shifter, Tarrow. Together they try to survive and better their situation in a mad world filled with warlords, cut-throats, supernatural horrors, trows, gibbelins and ogres. Following his own path, Braenyn undertakes dangerous quests and missions seeking wealth and treasure each time taking bigger risks. When he gets wind of the fabled scepter of King Namiss, he sets out on a search that will change everything. Braenyn's resolve is about to be tested and his world shattered when he gets more than a priceless artifact studded with precious gemstones. Secrets that should have remained buried rise up to haunt the elf forever.Join the continuing adventures of Braenyn the elf thief and a world filled with magic, mystery, and adventure in the tradition of dungeons and dragons and the pulp fiction of old.Book 1 of the Books of Braenyn. Each tale is a self-contained story but they will all connect in an over-arching story line.

There’s a new Monarchy on the world stage, and it’s also one of the oldest.In a history where King Edward VIII never abdicated the throne, the British Royal Family turned out differently.King Alfred reigns.Frustrated by the lack of real power of the modern monarchy, the King seizes back the power once wielded by his ancient ancestors.But the world does not want to let him keep it...BREXIT’s got nothing on the British New Order! The Age of Kings is back with a vengeance.Alfred II, the good-hearted but iron-willed King of England, seizes the power once wielded by his ancient ancestors in a quest to reshape the world.But ruling a modern nation as absolute monarch has unforeseen perils.Prince Adrian, a wastrel accustomed to a life of ease and decadence, dislikes the responsibility of heir to the New Order, descending into depression.The ambitious Princess Frances envies Adrian’s birthright and plots to gain power herself.The King’s long-time friend, the traditionalist Archbishop Youngblood, turns against and seeks to destroy the Royal Family.Civil war looms as factions rise up, resurrecting a centuries-old conspiracy against the Monarchy.Worst of all, the US President takes issue with the renewed autocracy, threatening war against its former ally.Can one man stand against his family, his country, and the world?A truly modern thriller with a dramatic link to the past, bringing the intrigues, powerplays, and skullduggery of the Age of Kings into modern times!

EMPTY INSIDE is a collection of flash fiction and short stories of the drama genre. Here you will find the human existence magnified. Details delve into the pain and misery of life.EMPTY INSIDE is a collection of flash fiction and short stories of the drama genre. Here you will find the human existence magnified. Details delve into the pain and misery of life.Some parenting mistakes are permanent. A father analyzes his in “Torment of Guilt”.“Vanilla Dr. Pepper” is the favorite beverage of a middle-aged couple trying to determine their future.Every high school has that one person that everyone makes fun of. We all know “That Poor Girl.”

In this adventurous installment of James Patterson's bestselling Middle School series, everyone's favorite underdog hero Rafe Khatchadorian is headed to the dangerous wilds of Australia! Rafe isn't exactly considered a winner in Hills Village Middle School to say the least, but everything's about to change: he's won a school-wide art competition, and the fabulous prize is getting to jet off to Australia for a whirlwind adventure! But Rafe soon finds that living in the Land Down Under is harder than he could've ever imagined: his host-siblings are anything but welcoming, the burning temperatures are torturous, and poisonous critters are ready to sting or eat him at every step. So with the help of some new misfit friends, Rafe sets out to show everyone what he does best: create utter mayhem!

A troubling revelation puts Blake’s newfound career in jeopardy and Erin’s impending graduation at risk. The couple forge ahead, determined that love conquers all. They find a new depth to their respect for one another and new heights for their sensual play, but secrets and shadows lay in wait along the path. Broken Beauty is a novella in the Beauty serial. Don’t miss the first two installments, Beauty Touched the Beast and Beneath the Beauty, available now.

Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting. There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping Ansel safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers' magic once and for all. And then there's deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is. In this remarkable final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, international bestselling author Andrea Cremer crafts a dynamic novel with twists and turns that will keep you breathless until its final pages.

It's just another day in the life of an average kid. If you're Alex Rider, that is. A con artist has realized there is big money in charity: the bigger the disaster, the greater the money flow! So that is what he will produce: the biggest disaster known to man, all thanks to genetically modified corn that can release a virus so potent it can knock out an entire country in one windy day. But Alex Rider will face whatever it takes - gunfire, explosions, hand-to-hand combat with mercenaries - to bring down his most dangerous adversary yet. Often imitated, never equaled, the series that triggered a reading phenomenon is back, exhilarating and addictive as ever.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Ache comes a blistering new novel filled with danger, secrecy, and a desire that can’t be sated… Foreign war correspondent Tanner Thomas is addicted to living on the edge. Needing the adrenaline rush of his job to help him cope with a personal loss, he throws himself back into the game, concentrating all his energy on getting the next big story. But when he meets his new photojournalist, Beaux Croslyn, he can’t help but feel like he’s losing his focus—and maybe risking more… With secrets she won’t address, Beaux is far from your ordinary woman. Determined to keep her distance, she’s willing to pull Tanner in closer and hide behind the sparks flying between them. But as Beaux’s past begins to put their relationship—and their lives—at risk, Tanner’s determination to find the truth puts them both in jeopardy. He's ready to chase her to the ends of the earth to find out if what they had was real, or if the danger surrounding them was just an exquisite heat fated to burn out…