Collectible First Printing Hardcover with dust jacket

Dylan first discovered the beautiful Circle of Palms near the beach when he was 6 years old. His beloved grandmother would walk with him and teach him about the seasons and years of life by referring to the 88 palm trees that encircled the park as if they were friends at different stages in life. Dylan would never forget the Circle of Palms or the joy for life his grandmother so lovingly shared.Disillusionment can be a great motivator, and when the only way out is up Jet learns that friends can be found in the most unlikely of places: that a courier service is much more than delivering parcels and that diamonds are everyone's best friends.In the Company Wars Chronicles I have a character called Alan P. Ellis. Alan is portrayed as an arrogant and self-important writer, who is the author of a series of books about Jet Black. The idea was to depict Jet Black as a kind of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers; the kind of over the top character that gets into fanciful and implausible situations. But as anyone who writes will know our characters sometimes refuse to act the way we intended them to, and it occurred to me long after I had introduced Alan that by making Jet into a far-fetched character gave me the opportunity to use a few what if situations I had at the back of my mind without taking the stories too seriously. Jet may have started as a joke, but it seems Alan has had the last laugh.

The Floyd sisters give advice to others on how to think and act like a sleuth.The Floyd sisters are Lynda, age 13, Cheri, age 11 and Sinda, age 8. They are amateur detectives who live with their mother. The girls seem to find themselves in sometimes scary situations which call for them to become sleuths. Lynda tries to be the responsible one while Cheri and Sinda bicker a bit like sisters sometimes do. They pull together when they need to or the situation calls for it. In Tips for the Beginning Detective, the Floyd sisters offer advice to others who may find themselves in scary or unknown situations. The girls also include a mini-mystery for the reader to solve using their newfound detective tips.

A gifted young woman with the ability to see and speak with spirits crosses paths with the Devil one night. A secret order known as the Gatekeepers reaches out to her, promising answers. The Gatekeepers give her a choice: go back to her 'normal' life where nobody understands her or her visions... or join the order, learn to control her gifts, and go in search of the Devil himself.April Frausini can see ghosts. When she was younger, her parents had treated her like a child with a broken brain. They took April to doctors. The doctors sent her to specialists. The specialists put her on drugs. And when the drugs failed to stop the visions, the specialists zapped her brain.After that, April told them that the ghosts had gone.She lied.Now she’s in college and trying to forge a future for herself, but a chance encounter with a dark spirit in a bar puts a bit of a hold on things.A man named Jameson Talbot reaches out to her, explaining that there are worse things than ghosts to be afraid of. The spirit she saw the other night was no mere ghost, but the Devil himself in spectral form. If she chooses, Talbot promises to teach her to control her gift of sight, so that they may help others who have been tormented by these spirits, and potentially put a stop to whatever the Devil has planned.April must choose. Go back to a life where nobody understands her or her visions? Or follow Talbot, find a purpose, and walk down a dangerous path in search of the Devil himself?

vOYAGE with prehistoric Frak, the Inquisition's Friar Otto turned geographer Frantz, through the sexual revolution of the 1960s with Frank, each with their beloved: Darlm, Dagmar and Dalores. Emerging into the ethereal Conundrum where all these lives are lived as threads in the cosmic human shawl of flesh.VOYAGE within yourself to discover the varied magnificence of you!vOYAGE with Frak in a pre-historic time as he sails the world and discovers the power and pleasure of the warrior's patriarchal world to then return home to set right his dominion over his woman, Darlm. vOYAGE with Friar Otto through the Inquisition's quest to core out the evil succubi from the flesh of women,here Dagmar. Disrobing, the friar as geographer sails the oceans as Frantz encountering the bizarre and enchanting visions that call for preparation to leave this Earth for a New World. vOYAGE with Frank as he searches with Dalores for a meaningful and passionate life in the raucous and sexually tumultuous 1906s. Finally vOYAGE with D in an ethereal realm where s/he weaves in and out of the lives of all F and Ds, challenging the Conundrum to enter flesh and so experience Magnificence. vOYAGE within yourself and outward into eternal moments as you unfold into the varied presences of who it is that vOYAGEs as you.

Explore the true anatomy of horror through these 13 tales of despair and terror written by the author of the original short story "Psychosis."Explore the true anatomy of horror through these 13 tales of despair and terror written by the author of the original short story "Psychosis."PsychosisThe BonewalkerThe Fire of the Soul"Come Closer"ScribblingsThe LodgeCorrespondenceStrangers in a GraveyardThe Lonely GraveThe BasementErosionStrange ThingsThe Seven Horsemen of the ApocalypseApproximately 32,000 words.

Coming from a poor family Toby endures victimization from the other kids in school. At only 9 years old, Toby has plans to prove these kids wrong. Toby learns that you're not the job you do, you're not how much you have in your wallet and that you're only one thing…. part of this world and that makes us all equal.Coming from a poor family Toby endures victimization from the other kids in school. At only 9 years old, Toby has plans to prove these kids wrong. Toby learns that you're not the job you do, you're not how much you have in your wallet and that you're only one thing…. part of this world and that makes us all equal. With this strong believe, Toby shows us all what he is capable of and that strength comes from your heart. “A heart-warming quick read, that you can't put down”About the AuthorGareth Parker - educated at a military boarding school, always telling stories and with a proved vivid imagination finally decided to put pen to paper to create thrilling short stories for eBook readers. Parker - now enjoying the Welsh life in Cardiff works for a blue-chip company, even though he's always on the go spends his spare time enduring creativity for others to enjoy.

By the Numbers is the first in the "A Cajun Murder Mystery Series" of short stories by Chief of Police L. Scott Silverii. This fast paced serial killer mystery takes place along the bayous of south Louisiana's Cajun Country. Sometimes murder just doesn't add up. Laissez les bons temps rouler - until somebody gets killed of course.Not being particularly bright or particularly particular, I sometimes wrote my thoughts and feelings down and have decided to release some of this treasure trove of futility for public consumption. I read some of the things I’ve written in the past and have to chuckle now. You may find other writings are sappy or immature, but to me, they still express how I feel and reading them gives me an inner peace when I realize I recaptured a fleeting moment of clarity where I could almost tangibly touch something as vague as a feeling and remind myself almost like a sixth sense of its presence and ethereal, almost spiritual existence.The following attempts at poems, songs, stories, and random thoughts I’ve written were dug up from various archives including notepads in a photo album box or old files backed up on CDs from old computers. Since 1986, I invite you, the lucky reader, to peek into a section of an arc in my life where each piece of work reveal a tone and stage of maturity which in themselves tell a story about me and who and where I was in my life perhaps in the context of the day – or maybe it’s all a bunch of random thoughts and a complete waste of your time, you decide!Hey, I read “Tale of Two Cities” and didn’t skip a word. To be honest, after I read this classic, I really wish I had skipped the entire book.For some reason, if you make it through this short book, I think you may agree I could have been a country songwriter even though I never particularly cared for country music. That reason could be simple, though. Every morning at 6:15, my Dad would listen to the local country radio station as he corralled my brother and I to get ready for school, so perhaps I associate the daily drudgery of being forced to go to school each morning with country music so echoes of my feelings of disdain still linger and resonate somewhere in my subconscious. The following early writings are not in any chronological order. When I was younger, I sometimes found myself in angry, rebellious, skeptical, and often depressing periods of introspection going head-to-head with a simple but honest sense of positive hope. If I had my mid-life crisis, I rambled through it in my own way. Maybe this will help those who are at that stage in their life now – or perhaps make them more depressed. If it will make you more depressed, because I do go into some sad and dark corners of life experiences, please do NOT read on.I don’t take much of my writing very seriously, but who knows, with over 100 attempts at poems and songs, maybe an 80s hair band staging a comeback might want to buy one?!- Aaron

Productivity is critical to your success at work. Business owners, managers and executives all want to get the most from their employees. If you’re not performing as efficiently or effectively as others, your long-term job prospects could be in trouble.Here are 25 best productivity tips, there so you get big things done.One can live for several weeks without food but only a few days without water, a fact that seventeen year old Niko is only too aware of as she struggles to provide for her two younger brothers in a post-apocalyptic landscape where the rain burns like acid, food grows scarce, and any Slither that crosses her path is laid low before it can sink its teeth into her.Then one night everything she's ever worked for, everything she's ever loved is consumed by a raging fire, leaving her with one brother dead, the other missing and herself gravely injured.She's rescued by the Rose Circle, a rogue group of Slither hunters. They sneak her into Amaryllis City, a decadent metropolis where those able to afford the exorbitant entrance fee live a life of relative ease.But for Niko, Amaryllis City is not the haven she grew up believing it would be, the deeper she delves the nastier it gets and when her unique abilities as a Slither hunter are discovered things get positively filthy.All Niko ever wanted to do was find her baby brother but that's proving to be harder than she ever would have expected.

A young man from the privileged class of genetically engineered people becomes involved in a civil war between his own people and the natural borns, discovering that he is yet a third variation of humanity.Maybe anyone could see this coming. After all, how long can a population stand its subjugation? We divided the world between those who could afford to enhance their genes and those left to push around in the mud with what they got from nature and chance. It started with subtle rebellion and ended in a guerrilla war that brought down the pillar of civilization. Then, there emerged a boy among the ranks of the privileged who bridged the spaces between different worlds. He was more surprised than anyone to find himself possessed of the duty to raise them from the ashes.

Three boys discover a frog encased in a lump of coal. It cannot be harmed by any means known to them, and its arrival foreshadows the entry to a world of limitless possibility where an embodiment of Death himself awaits and their ultimate destinies as men will be foreshadowed. This book explores human mortality in relation to quantum physics, the multiverse concept and evolution.World War III took my family - would the destruction claim my heart?Mom's bleeding in my arms. She could die any moment, but not before she's made me promise three things:Pray.Don't trust anyone.Stay alive.I promise, but I don't know if I can keep them. Not surviving World War III doesn't scare me, it's surviving it that does.And without the excitement of seeing Bodey every day, did I even want to try?If you’re looking for a great dystopia romance, this book is for youFrom the bestselling dystopian fiction author with over 2000 reviews and ratings of her dystopic books across numerous retailers.

Insects swarm. Fish swarm. Birds swarm. Even mammals move in mass migrations of complex intelligence. Professor Jankowiak believes that he can access that intelligence in humans, using computer gaming, to solve problems that threaten mankind. His success is early and profound but the more he and his protege, Ryan, try to manage the course of their games, the more likely they will lose control.Insects swarm. Fish swarm. Birds swarm. Swarms exhibit a complex intelligence wherein collective thought protects the species. Professor Jankowiak believed that he could access that intelligence, using the compelling excitement of computer gaming, to have humans solve problems that threaten mankind.From his university appointment, Jankowiak devises gaming platforms and invites the world to tackle a pharmaceutical problem. His success is early and profound--earning the highest accolades--but it also attracts unwelcome pressure from his peers, rivals, and the government. After Jankowiak takes his idea to industry, he and his successor-protege, Ryan, find themselves under continuous attack, and the more they try to manage the course of the games, the more likely that their control and destiny will be wrestled from their hands.

In this brief collection of short-shorts, Kevin Brennan (Parts Unknown) offers five case studies in bad parenting. From a father who won’t pull over to let his boy pee on the roadside to a couple who unwisely lock their twin toddlers in a closet all day while they’re at work, these parents embody the adage that it takes a village -- to save innocent kids from idiots like them!Poet Kahlil Gibran has said, Your children are not your children. In this collection of short-shorts, Kevin Brennan (Parts Unknown) turns that simple idea on its head with five case studies in bad parenting. From a father who won’t pull over to let his boy pee on the roadside to a couple who unwisely lock their twin toddlers in a closet all day while they’re at work, these parents embody the adage that it takes a village -- to save innocent kids from idiots like them!

Inspired by the horror stories of Poe, this is a tale of man dogged by the curse of a perished lighthouse keeper.What Grant Smith loses at seven is much more than his father. He loses his faith, his happiness—his identity. The years turn him into a man without reason. At eighteen he is just as lost as when he was a child. All he wants is happiness. One day it is found in the form of a girl named Chelsea. She is damaged much like him. They fall in love.Grant is a man haunted by things he has always avoided. Despite a new sense of happiness he can’t escape the darkness that was born within him. It manifests in the form of a father now transformed by his own demons.In a dream he frenetically claims happiness. But, the father with a monster attached mocks him for it. The truth he doesn’t want to face is that he is not happy. Or if he is, he fears it is only temporary.And it is…The war that started after 9/11 branches off into others; the president who promised change is reelected; a once bright future has become something bleak. The Draft is put back into effect.On a day when two explosions paint the sky in Baghdad, Grant unleashes his darkness. Every choice has a consequence. His is unimaginable.His father’s death left him a man without reason. The war leaves him a man changed for the worse. He knows of his darkness. He let it free. And now it threatens to take away everything he loves…

Caught in the middle of a war zone on the planet of the Sheromi, with three of her companions now dead, Vijaya Choudhary tries to lead her troupe of actors, along with several young Sheromi, to safety.He's dead, Vijaya. The voice in my head was Fei's. Fei, who, along with Campbell, was also now dead. Fei, who, had he been alive, would never have let the Sheromi youth run ahead of us into danger. What kind of a leader was I?But I was the only kind of leader our little troupe of Chaplins had. I needed to pull myself together and come up with a plan to get us to safety, back to our proper place performing behind the lines, not dodging mines and grenades in no man's land.

What would our world be like if superhuman heroes and villains had been real flesh-and-blood men and women who lived through the 20th century's most turbulent history? In Wild Cards 4: Aces Abroad, a fact-finding mission seeks the truth about how Wild Cards are treated in other nations. From the jungles of Haiti to the Great Wall of China and behind the Iron Curtain, the Wild Cards team investigates the fate of their fellow Aces and Jokers everywhere.

The starship Earthling, filled with thousands of hybernating colonists en route to a new world at Tau Ceti, is stranded beyond the solar system when the ship's three Organic Mental Cores, disembodied human brains that control the vessel's functions, go insane. An emergency skeleton crew sees only one chance for survival: to create an artificial consciousness in the Earthling's primary computer, which could guide them to their destination . . . or could destroy the human race. Frank Herbert's classic novel that begins the epic Pandora Sequence (written with Bill Ransom), which also includes The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ravens of Avalon follows the journey of Boudica, a Celtic princess, and Lhiannon, a priestess who is Boudica's mentor on the Druids' Isle. When the Romans conquer Britain, Lhiannon fights them while Boudica marries a king who has surrendered. Theirs is a great love story, but when he dies, the Romans brutalize Boudica and her daughters. In rage, Boudica rouses the tribes in a quest to drive the Romans from Britain - and the results will seal both her own and Lhiannon's place in history.

From New York Times and internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende, an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present-day to Poland and the United States during the Second World War.In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese Americans—are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but...

From bestselling author Kim Harrison comes this original short story (to be featured in her anthology * Into the Woods *, October 2012) where things are most definitely not as they seem. A pet shop employee’s innocent date with a customer quickly turns disturbing rather than delightful. She and her family hold a centuries-old secret, and they want him to stay with them forever . . .