It was now quiet on the Orbitor. Jake sat on his collapsible chair at the far end of the East Coast Main Line. FIDO stood next to him. Then an elf suddenly appeared! An elf! Walking straight down the railway.The elf glowed, even through the bright fluorescent lights. He stopped briefly to examine his surroundings. Smoke blackened tunnel walls smelling of coal dust, smoke and steam.It was now quiet on the Orbitor. Jake sat on his collapsible chair at the far end of the East Coast Main Line. FIDO stood next to him. Then an elf suddenly appeared! An elf! Walking straight down the railway.The elf glowed, even through the bright fluorescent lights. He stopped briefly to examine his surroundings. Smoke blackened tunnel walls smelling of coal dust, smoke and steam. Computer CLEO had explained that she had teleported the track up to the Orbitor. Trains were now diverted into the Orbitor but crews and passengers had no idea this happened! Getting an operating section of the ECML onto a satellite was an engineering feat of the first magnitude! Astonishing, even for a modest superstar like CLEO herself.”The elf continued walking towards the two train spotters.

It was flying. Where was it? What is it? It was just flying. Nobody knew about it. Nobody ever saw it. I just soared through the air, undetected. There were old myths about it. 'Nobody has ever seen it. It must be because the ones that have, are dead.' Everyone doubted the myths. They thought the idea was ludicrous. But I know the truth. It was just a normal evening. Until it came.It was flying. Where was it? What is it? It was just flying. Nobody knew about it. Nobody ever saw it. I just soared through the air, undetected. There were old myths about it. 'Nobody has ever seen it. It must be because the ones that have, are dead.' Everyone doubted the myths. They thought the idea was ludicrous. But I know the truth. It was just a normal evening. Until it came.Don't let the orb get you.Don't wonder into the woods at night. Don't get caught.

A man of nature searching for wonders. A land of magic and splendour. A tale of love and hope and sorrow. The Grey Elk recounts the wondrous tale of the magical guardian of the woods.Naran Jasar travels to a distant land where he encounters an enchanted land with wondrous people. Untold adventures and hardships await him that will test his courage, resolve, and kindness. Prepare for a tale of love and hope and sorrow. The Grey Elk recounts the wondrous tale of the magical guardian of the woods.The Grey Elk is a 3,000 word fantasy short story that honors the time old tradition of bardic tales and fables.

Snapper Jack was rescued from Swamp Island. He meets Sizzer the Crocodile that sees two of everything. Lazy Susie who goes around in circles and a Bob tailed Lizard that thinks Jack is his dad!A northerner by birth, Willow moves south when she inherits her grandfather’s ice cream shop. From the slow southern dialect to the crazy drivers, Willow finds herself at odds with what most call “southern charm.” She becomes obsessed with cook-offs and bake-offs, wanting those trophies for her mantle. With the chili cook-off just around the corner, Willow manages to provoke one of the judges to a fit of road rage. When that judge ends up face down, dead, in a bowl of Willow’s chili, police chief Grice looks to the newest town resident as his number one suspect. Willow must find out who wanted Ms. Delonda Posey dead before the good citizens of Turtle, OK run her Yankee bottom out of town.

Sometimes life takes unexpected turns. Josh Franklin, a struggling jazz pianist in the 1950s, is about to learn just what sort of mystical turns life can take when you impress a vampire.Love at Thanksgiving – A financial thriller, suspenseful, terrifying, and truly entertaining Stephanie Bell planned on living large and loving larger. Her work for a global investment firm led her into the world of international finance and power players, and while her professional success allowed her a life of luxury, she was still searching for the man who would claim her heart. But it all comes tumbling down when Stephanie is accused of stealing millions from her company, and no one believes in her innocence.Until Jack. A man of experience, in life and love, Jack Hughes offers to use his expertise as a private investigator to clear Stephanie’s name. As they work together to unravel the mysterious disappearance of millions of dollars, the raw physical attraction can’t be ignored. It’s the perfect mix of “who done it”, fast-paced action, and a strong female lead.The first of four parts, Love at Thanksgiving, will keep you guessing and wanting more. It’s an emotional and highly enjoyable read—full of suspense and surprises.

A loyal subject does not bite the hand that feeds her...without understanding the terrible price that will most certainly be extracted.But a high-ranking, middle-aged Admin of the ruling regime in Washington has had a pang of conscience. She decides to finally reveal the truth behind the elite pogrom, begun generations earlier, which essentially killed Liberty and Justice for the American male.Behind secure, blast-proof walls in Washington, D.C., a regime minion is burning the midnight oil...literally. This night, she’ll risk everything, to complete a task she suddenly sees could be the only honest contribution of her entire life.Trained throughout that female-privileged life to distrust men, she'll ride out from certain safety and into certain death. If wild animals outside the Protected Zone don’t get her, she’s pretty sure wild men will. After all, she’s meeting one of the most notorious outlaws in the region. She’ll deliver a Truth only she has had the wherewithal to record; does she have the stomach to face the consequences that’d be most fitting?

Members of the Assassins' Guild can be as honorable as anyone. They might be trained to kill, but they're just people with loved ones to protect and avenge.This short story is also included in "Saif&Kilig" and in the free anthology with various authors "Wyrd Worlds 2"‘The Scribe’ is a collection of twelve letters included in ‘The Archivist’ and is part of 'The Lost Spells of Egypt' series.Sepedet, a would be scribe, has kept secrets from her son, Ahmose. Now that he has been summoned to the temple of Amun in Thebes to begin his studies, she decides to tell him about the tragic events of the past, including the demise of her father, an archivist. She writes Ahmose a letter, one for every month of his absence. Sepedet believes that her letters will help her son find his rightful place in Thebes, but what she does not know, is that she is sending him into danger.

Behold, dear readers, my magnum opus. Girthir Norsethrust: The Trial of the Sex is an epic, rousing adventure tale set during the era of Beowulf, featuring brave warriors, mighty monsters and much sex. Girthir Norsethrust, mightiest hero in all of the Norselands, sets out to defeat monsters three. He must defeat them, not with the sword…But with the sex.Behold, dear readers, my magnum opus. Girthir Norsethrust: The Trial of the Sex is an epic, rousing adventure tale set during the era of Beowulf, featuring brave warriors, mighty monsters and much sex. Girthir Norsethrust, mightiest hero in all of the Norselands, sets out to defeat monsters three. To prove himself the greatest and manliest hero of them all he must defeat these beasts, not with the sword…But with the sex.As well as being a barnstorming adventure tale in its own right, Girthir Norsethrust: The Trial of the Sex is also a subversive, multi-layered deconstruction of masculinity, and an exploration of what it means to be a manly man in the modern day.

When Judge Rosswell Carew makes the gruesome discovery of two corpses on a river bank in the Missouri Ozarks, he's plunged into a storm of deadly secrets that threaten both him and his fiancee, Tina Parkmore. Unsatisfied with the way the authorities are conducting the investigation, Rosswell, who's always nurtured a secret desire to be a detective, teams up with an ex-con, Ollie Groton, to solve tWhen Judge Rosswell Carew makes the gruesome discovery of two corpses on a river bank in the Missouri Ozarks, he's plunged into a storm of deadly secrets that threaten both him and his fiancee, Tina Parkmore. Unsatisfied with the way the authorities are conducting the investigation, Rosswell, who's always nurtured a secret desire to be a detective, teams up with an ex-con, Ollie Groton, to solve the case before the killer can murder again. Rosswell uncovers a maze of crimes so tangled that he must fight his way to a solution or die trying

They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.Only those with strong nerves would survive.Refugees, a part of David Dalglish’s 2010 anthology A Land of Ash under the author’s former pseudonym, is now complete with its original opening as well as foreword from Dalglish.

What is the meaning of this strange time we live in? Does the American Dream still exist? poems and songs exploring these thoughts.Once Upon A Falling star, is a book consisting of five fairytales echoing the magic of the Brothers Grimm, with a modern twist. Based on the adventure and stories of Princess Sara, and Prince Khalid. The stories read easily, with underlying philosophies of good over coming evil, the importance of dreams, wishes and kindness. A delightful, entertaining read targeted at young children. Can be considered the third volume in the collection of "Once Upon A" fairytales.

Angus MacDonald loves his garden, but not the cats who dig holes in it. Who will win this territorial battle, Angus or the descendants of the great cat Ra?Angus MacDonald loves his garden, but not the cats that dig holes in it. In the process of devising deterrents for cats, his wife tells him the facts about and history of the feline race. Who will win this territorial battle -- Angus or a cat that might indeed be a descendant of the Great Cat Ra?

Star Warriors - Spaceboy Mars is a Sci-Fi adventure book that explores space in 3050AD and the rescue of a boy from a far away Solar System. Who is the boy and where has he come from?Read the full instalment of the novel in these gripping ebooks:Book 1 - Spaceboy MarsBook 2 - Space Recall Book 3 - Space RefugeesBook 4 - New WorldBook 5 - The UprisingStar Warriors - Spaceboy Mars is a Sci-Fi adventure book that explores space in 3050AD, a boys rescue from a far away Solar System. Who is the boy and where has he come from?Read the full instalment of the novel in these gripping ebooks:Book 1 - Spaceboy MarsBook 2 - Space Recall Book 3 - Space RefugeesBook 4 - New WorldBook 5 - The Uprising

First published to critical acclaim by Houghton Mifflin, Tim O’Brien’s celebrated classic In the Lake of the Woods now returns to the house in a gorgeous new Mariner paperback edition. This riveting novel of love and mystery from the author of The Things They Carried examines the lasting impact of the twentieth century’s legacy of violence and warfare, both at home and abroad. When long-hidden secrets about the atrocities he committed in Vietnam come to light, a candidate for the U.S. Senate retreats with his wife to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota. Within days of their arrival, his wife mysteriously vanishes into the watery wilderness. **Amazon.com Review Tim O'Brien has been writing about Vietnam in one way or another ever since he served there as an infantryman in the late 1960s. His earliest work on the subject, If I Die in a Combat Zone, was an intensely personal memoir of his own tour of duty; his books since then have featured many of the same elements of fear, boredom, and moral ambiguity but in a fictional setting. In 1994 O'Brien wrote In the Lake of the Woods, a novel that, while imbued with the troubled spirit of Vietnam, takes place entirely after the war and in the United States. The main character, John Wade, is a man in crisis: after spending years building a successful political career, he finds his future derailed during a bid for the U.S. Senate by revelations about his past as a soldier in Vietnam. The election lost by a landslide, John and his wife, Kathy, retreat to a small cabin on the shores of a Minnesota lake--from which Kathy mysteriously disappears. Was she murdered? Did she run away? Instead of answering these questions, O'Brien raises even more as he slowly reveals past lives and long-hidden secrets. Included in this third-person narrative are "interviews" with the couple's friends and family as well as footnoted excerpts from a mix of fictionalized newspaper reports on the case and real reports pertaining to historical events--a mélange that lends the novel an eerie sense of verisimilitude. If Kathy's disappearance is at the heart of this work, then John's involvement in a My Lai-type massacre in Vietnam is its core, and O'Brien uses it to demonstrate how wars don't necessarily end when governments say they do. In the Lake of the Woods may not be true, but it feels true--and for Tim O'Brien, that's true enough. --Alix Wilber From Publishers Weekly A politician's career is ruined overnight by revelations of his wartime participation in a village massacre in Vietnam while his personal life is undone by the sudden dissappearance of his wife. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Laird of an ancient Scottish clan, Duncan Macrae also possesses the secret powers of the Guardians--humans with mystical abilities to control nature's forces and see into the hearts of others. Duncan has sworn to use his abilities for the greater good, but duty is eclipsed when he meets the dazzling, independent English widow Gwyneth Owens. Though Gwynne's father was a Guardian, she believes that she has inherited only her mother's beauty, not her father's power. Then one kiss from the dangerously alluring Duncan ignites a passion that shakes her to the soul--and reveals a looming catastrophe that threatens both their nations. Only by becoming Duncan's wife, and ultimately betraying the man she loves, can she avert disaster. As fate casts them onto opposing sides, Gwynne and Duncan must push their powers and passions beyond the most forbidden limits if they are to save their love--and secure the future.

Kethlun Warder was a gifted glassmaker until his world was shattered in a freak accident. Now his remaining glass-magic is mixed with lightning, and Tris must teach him to control it (if she can teach him to control his temper first). But there's more at stake than Keth's education. With his strange magic, he creates glass balls which reflect the immediate past and expose the work of a murderer. If he can harness his power properly, he'll be able to see the crimes as they take place. Keth and Tris race against time and the local authorities to identify a killer who's living in plain sight. Tris and her mage-student, a young man whose glassmaking magic has been amplified and mixed with lightning, team up to track a killer who may be nearer than they suspect.

She will not give up… Three months ago, governess Serena Barton was let go from her position. Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake. He cannot give in… Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…

Ash Turner has waited a lifetime to seek revenge on the man who ruined his family - and now the time for justice has arrived. At Parford Manor, he intends to take his place as the rightful heir to the dukedom and settle an old score with the current duke once and for all. But instead he finds himself drawn to a tempting beauty who has the power to undo all his dreams of vengeance…. Lady Margaret knows she should despise the man who's stolen her fortune and her father's legacy - the man she's been ordered to spy on in the guise of a nurse. Yet the more she learns about the new duke, the less she can resist his smoldering appeal. Soon Margaret and Ash find themselves torn between old loyalties - and the tantalizing promise of passion….

Hailed as “America’s finest realistic novelist” by the Boston Globe, Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road, garnered rare critical acclaim for his bracing, unsentimental portraits of middle-class American life. Disturbing the Peace is no exception. Haunting, troubling, and mesmerizing, it shines a brilliant, unwavering light into the darkest recesses of a man’s psyche. To all appearances, John Wilder has all the trappings of success, circa 1960: a promising career in advertising, a loving family, a beautiful apartment, even a country home. John’s evenings are spent with associates at quiet Manhattan lounges and his weekends with friends at glittering cocktail parties. But something deep within this seemingly perfect life has long since gone wrong. Something has disturbed John’s fragile peace, and he can no longer find solace in fleeting affairs or alcohol. The anger, the drinking, and the recklessness are building to a crescendo—and they’re about to take down John’s career and his family. What happens next will send John on a long, strange journey—at once tragic and inevitable.

"Could you choose between a superpower and a friend? "The evil treasure hunter Damien Black needs some quick cash-so he robs the local bank. But Damien Blackdidn't figure Dave Sanchez into his plan. Dave's been itching to try out the Invisibility Ingot in his magical wrist band, and here's the perfect opportunity to make like a superhero So Daveand Sticky set off after the robber, determined to retrieve the bank's money. The Black mansion is a house of hysterical horrors, but somehow he and Sticky manage to navigate the maze and escape with the cash."Asombroso "Dave thinks he's home free, but Damien Black isn't one to give up easily-more than the cash, he wants Dave's wrist band, and he's got adastardly devious plan that even an invisible boy won't be able to slip out of. "From the Hardcover edition."