A year ago, Penny Berne was the star of her high school’s theater department, surrounded by a group of misfit friends and falling in love for the first time. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, her new best friend is the most popular girl in school, and her first love, Wes, ignores her. Penny is revered and hated. Then, in a flash, a near-fatal lightning strike leaves Penny with no memory of the past year—or how she went from drama nerd to queen bee. As a record number of fireflies light up her town and her life, Penny realizes she may be able to make things right again—and that even if she can’t change the past, she can learn to see the magic where she never could before.

What happens when a margrave realizes he’s fallen in love with a servant? The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble-born ladies from around the country to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character. Avelina is only responsible for two things: making sure her deception goes undetected and avoiding being selected as the margrave’s bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea. Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences. Will Avelina be able to stop the evil plot? And at what cost?

Nine years ago, the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland tore apart two young lovers, consuming their hopes and dreams and changing their lives forever. Now, in 1983, Davy McCutcheon and Fiona Kavanagh find themselves worlds apart. Davy, once a bomb-maker for the Provisional IRA, is serving a twenty-five-year sentence in a British prison. Having seen enough of death and violence, he wants nothing more to do with the struggle that cost him his freedom and his love. But old loyalties die hard and, despite himself, Davy is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy on behalf of his fellow Provos . . . . Meanwhile, Fiona has forged a new life for herself in Vancouver, British Columbia, far away from the war-torn streets of Belfast. Now a vice-principal at a local elementary school, she has a successful career, good friends, and a new man in her life. Yet she remains haunted by painful memories of her troubled homeland—and the love she left behind.Patrick Taylor's Now and in the Hour of Our Death is a moving and compelling portrait of ordinary men and women caught up in a conflict not of their making, and of the way the past holds onto us even as we try to move on into an uncertain future. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In Book One: Independence Hall, we met Q and his stepsister, Angela. We met their rocker parents, Blaze and Roger; we met the Secret Service team protecting the family; and we met the main players of the Mossad team that is following them. Book Two takes us on another thrilling caper, this time to the White House where Q and Angela continue their quest to uncover the truth behind the supposed death of Angela's real mother--a former Secret Service agent--while trying to differentiate the "good guys" from the "bad guys."

It's August, and Emily has big plans at the library. She's going to read lots of books and tack a paper fish next to her name for each one. Then Dawn Bosco says she can read more books than Emily. Not only that, both Emily and Dawn want to keep Pickle Puss, a stray cat thay found. They decide that whoever reads the most books can keep cat. When Emily adds a fish for a book she read along time ago, she has one more fish than Dawn. She knows she's cheating, but she wants to keep the cat. What a pickle she's in. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Farrah Miller and Cody “Casper” Butler have a longstanding relationship that both refuse to discuss. It isn’t romantic. It may not even be classified as a friendship. Casper’s been saving Farrah from herself for longer than he’d care to admit, watching silently as she drowned herself in alcohol. Then, when she finally got her act together, he left. He told himself he was giving her time to sort herself out. He tried to give her space. But getting shot in the chest can change a man’s perspective, and Casper’s done waiting. When he shows up on her doorstep one night, everything changes. He’s the man who’s seen her at her very worst. She’s his weakness. He runs when things get hard. She never lets anyone see below the surface and is terrified of being abandoned. He knows it’s a long shot, that there’s a good chance she’ll never drop her guard for him—but he has to try. Because a life with Farrah is exactly what he wants—even if he has to fight her for it.

Fiendishly devious and addictively readable, Peter Carey’s My Life as a Fake is a moral labyrinth constructed around the uneasy relationship between literature and lying. In steamy, fetid Kuala Lumpur in 1972, Sarah Wode-Douglass, the editor of a London poetry journal, meets a mysterious Australian named Christopher Chubb. Chubb is a despised literary hoaxer, carting around a manuscript likely filled with deceit. But in this dubious manuscript Sarah recognizes a work of real genius. But whose genius? As Sarah tries to secure the manuscript, Chubb draws her into a fantastic story of imposture, murder, kidnapping, and exile–a story that couldn’t be true unless its teller were mad. My Life as a Fake is Carey at his most audacious and entertaining. From the Trade Paperback edition.

"J.W. Keeley is a man with a score to settle. He's tracked down the one person he blames for his brother's death: Joe Pickett. And now J.W. is going to make him suffer." "Spring has finally come to Saddlestring, Wyoming, and game warden Joe Pickett is relieved that the long, harsh winter is over. However, a cloud of trouble threatens to spoil the milder weather: local ranch owner and matriarch Opal Scarlett has vanished under suspicious circumstances. Two of her sons, Hank and Arlen, are battling for control of their mother's multi-million-dollar empire, and their bitter fight threatens to tear the whole valley apart." "Everyone is so caught up in the brothers' battle that they seem to have forgotten that Opal is missing. Joe is convinced, though, that one of the brothers killed her." When a series of wicked pranks escalates into the most personal kind of violence, Joe starts to wonder whether what's happening is not connected to Opal's disappearance - but comes instead from the darkest chapters of his own past. He knows that whoever is after him has a vicious debt to collect and wants him to pay ... and pay early.

My name is Phoebe Rendon. Growing up as the only girl surrounded by the Sinful Souls MC community has never been easy. Outside of the club, I had no life because my brother and his two psycho best friends kept tabs on me. My only out was racing at Point Hellers, the largest and steepest drift mountain in Westbeach, California. Cars were my life, and eight years later, that hasn’t changed. Only now, I have the funds to support my habit. My love life’s been rocky. All I’ve known of love is twisted biker men from other MC chapters. Until I met Ryder Oakley, the lead singer and rock God from Twisted Transistor. He showed me the world in two weeks. Then one night he up and left me, without so much as a note. Now, two years later, I’ve been assigned as a fashion assistant to go on tour with Alyx Munroe, pop princess and diva queen. Only my shitty boss Maree omitted to inform me that Alyx Munroe would also be touring with Twisted Transistor. Just when I thought I’d forgotten Ryder, he comes back into my life in full force, causing me to slowly lose traction of my feelings. With my plans for building my own racing circuit underway, I finally have the footing to leave the fashion industry and concentrate on finalising my circuit. Where we can showcase some of the best and hottest girl racers from around the world. This empire is mine, but with power and money comes hate and destruction. Welcome to Westbeach.**

Twenty-five year old dhampire Isabella Denning is pissed that the world did not end on December 21, 2012 as the ancient Mayan's predicted. She is tired of battling demons, fussing with her vampire father and his people and fighting off the advances of Alesandro Roma, an eight hundred year old vampire who fancies himself in love with her. As if having a contract on her head isn't bad enough, a portal has opened between the mortal world and the Underworld and unleashed unspeakable horrors on the fair city of New Orleans. Isabella might be the only person who can save the world, but at the moment she just doesn't give a damn.

Maurice Leblanc was a 20th century French writer best known for his short stories.

*'Brave Frenchmen, will you not surrender?' Cambronne answered, 'Merde!'* A tense, dramatic account of the Battle of Waterloo - and how a rain shower changed history - from Victor Hugo's epic novel *Les Misérables*.

On his third birthday Oskar decides to stop growing. Haunted by the deaths of his parents and wielding his tin drum Oskar recounts the events of his extraordinary life; from the long nightmare of the Nazi era to his anarchic adventures in post-war Germany.

‘Can I hold your hand?’While moving towards the car Arunuday asked Deepa.‘You can hold; but before that you have to promise me that you will not leave me alone till I die.’ Deepa told thoughtfully.Arunuday holding her hand promised, ‘I shall not leave you till I die. I want to die in your arms.’This book is based on the philosophy of day to day interviews we have to face in our lives, though I started the book with a real interview for a managerial post where our protagonist Arunuday appeared. On that day he not only able to grab the coveted job but also he got his life partner.But for whom the interview was conducted? Was it a fair interview? Why a deserving candidate did not get the job? Why a candidate was happy after failing in the interview? Why a failed candidate got her job afterwards? To know all these, you have to read my short book, ‘Interview.’The whole book is based on fiction; so any similarity to a real person or to a real situation is mere coincidence only.

Willow likes her quiet routine. She edits books from her small apartment. She occasionally goes out to the local diner for a tuna melt. She enjoys living in Worcester. It's where the Worcester Lunch Car Company made diners from 1096 to 1957. And now she gets to enjoy one in all its vintage glory.But her quiet, predictable evening at the diner is disturbed when four restaurant workers come in ...Willow likes her quiet routine. She edits books from her small apartment. She occasionally goes out to the local diner for a tuna melt. She enjoys living in Worcester. It's where the Worcester Lunch Car Company made diners from 1096 to 1957. And now she gets to enjoy one in all its vintage glory.But her quiet, predictable evening at the diner is disturbed when four restaurant workers come in complaining about a theft. And her inquisitive mind soon notices something ...* * *Diner Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is the first book in the Diner Short Story Mysteries series. These short stories are about 15-20 pages each and feature authentic diners around Massachusetts. Author Lisa Shea goes to each diner personally to write up its sights, sounds, and aromas. That way you, the reader, can take a virtual vacation to these historic locations! Visit Lisa's webpages to see photos and write-ups of the diners. All of the Diner Mystery series contain no violence, no swearing, and no intimacy, so they are suitable for teens and up. You can read the books one-by-one as they are released, or you can wait for the boxed sets to be published once the series gets enough books in it. It's your choice! I try to write them right after I visit, so that's why there are sometimes gaps in the release schedule. It's not always easy to get to a diner when they're open!A portion of all proceeds benefits battered women's shelters.

Would you run? If you were the last of your kind, if you knew getting caught could thrust the universe into war, wouldn't you slip into the shadows and disappear too?Would you run? If you were the last of your kind, if you knew getting caught could thrust the universe into war, wouldn't you slip into the shadows and disappear too?Hiding is Alice’s only option. It always has been.Then he comes along. Commander John Doe, the head of a new mission into one of the most dangerous areas of space. A chance encounter thrusts them together on the barren wasteland of Orion Minor. Then the chase begins.Alice cannot allow herself to slip into the hands of the Union, but John Doe will stop at nothing to find out who she is.In Episode One of Ghost of Mind, the hunt begins.

She comes to him in fevered dreams and promises the time ships he builds will free his people and be the downfall of his masters. He will find three of her aspects and they will give him sons. They, too, will make the choice of the Gallant.SHORT STORIES:Winter DanceExpiationA View From The SanctuaryLimmenkov’s LamentFrom Beginning To BeginningRadzinsky’s LunchA House In The SuburbsBreakdownThe TenantCharlie’s Big TrickChristmas PastThe Last Christmas TreeBONUS: FIRST CHAPTERS OF NOVELS:The OtherFather EverlastingIn Hopes Of HeavenThe Luxembourg AmendmentLet Us Do EvilThe HauntForbidden FlowersThe ProjectionistA Faint Cold FearThe FanaticA River Of TimeNightangel

'The Hour of the Time' is a short story by Vincent Hobbes. It was first published in 'The Endlands' (Jan. 2011) Gunter von Strauss owns a small bookstore. He carries something for everyone’s taste. He also carefully inspects each book, making sure they are safe to read. Who knew that choosing the wrong book could carry such a consequence."The Game..." makes for strange bedfellows. Local gangster Dante (Jack Boy) knows more than anybody how dangerous and ruthless the streets can be. But against his better instincts allows himself to fall for a local female gangster named Alinna. Considered to be somewhat of a competitor to Dante because she leads her own all female crew. Alinna too, is very well aware of the dangers that come with letting feelings get in the way of business. But like Dante, decides to embrace the attraction anyway. That however proves to be a mistake. When she discovers Dante is two-timing her with a female gang unit officer. But unlike what she has with Dante, this relationship is more about lust and power. Or better yet the officers lust for it. While both get pleasure from this arrangement, she also gains intel. Which lead to major busts that fuel her quick ascension within the department. However her world is suddenly rocked when she discovers she's pregnant with Dante's child! Now they have something that binds them together forever... and something that complicates not just her job but also Dante's relationship with Alina! But with Alina being onto Dante's cheating ways, and the officer being willing to eliminate any and all threats to her burgeoning career. Not to mention the threat of the streets discovering Dante's Serpico ties. Could he end up losing everything in the end?

An astonishingly candid book from the Nobel Laureate about what has shaped his interpretation of literature and the world.