An unexpected tale of opportunity in the rental market. Inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Roald Dahl.Snake Eyes and Boxcars: The rolls of dice in any Atlantic City or Las Vegas casino meaning the numbers two and twelve. In this unique collection of fourteen short story/novellas, the first story “The Second Civil War” and the last story “The Music Portal” are written in the first person where the narrator tells the tale using the pronouns I, me, my, and mine, which is in stark contrast to the other twelve sci-fi/paranormal tales sandwiched in between, the dozen other stories being written in the more common third person expository style of presentation.

Agents 32 and 33 of the Psecret Psociety travel to Washington, DC for a simple passport renewal. However, a strange, meta-real adventure soon begins, and they quickly find out that they may not be the only ones moving the tokens on the game board. A 2500-word short story.Two brothers, both share a plantation where they grow seasonal crops. But one brother is sick of how the other squanders their money, with gambling and prostitutes. He finds out a secret he wasn't meant to know, so he does what he thinks needs to be done to solve the problem.

Anton risks more than his carnival when he makes a place for Bora and his magical creatures. Anton worries that Bora's monster swells too quickly within its cage, and he frets that the monster might soon escape to feed upon the world. But Anton risks that danger because he needs a unicorn's magical horn to heal his girl, and he cannot have one magical creature without the other.Ancient Bora holds his breath and feels the world balance upon his magical creatures. An empathic world would nurture the young unicorn, until that animal realized its glorious potential to wield miracles capable of healing any affliction - like the disease that grips Anton Finnegan’s daughter Marcia and prematurely ages that girl. A dark and resentful world would feed that monster of tendrils and tentacles moaning within the confines of Mr. Finnegan’s house of horrors. Such a monster’s girth would know no bounds, and such a monster’s mass would swell until it choked the land. Bora carried his creatures to the bright lights of the carnival, thinking a carousel’s song would provide a wonderful melody for a young unicorn. Yet Bora still worries that even that nation of wealth and luxury has little to provide to a unicorn.

I remember the first time I tried it, it tasted like poison. And somehow the poison burned the fear out of me. For a moment, I broke free of my past and the scary, unfamiliar world that terrified me every hour of every day. It felt like I could do anything. But then came the fall. And eventually I had to crash. This is the start of my story. The start of my addiction to drugs, to numbness, to self-destruction. It’s not pretty. It’s not romantic, at least in the beginning and middle. And most of the time, it's painful and heartbreaking. I guess it’s not just my story, though. It’s also Sage’s too. Because we sort of fell together. And of course, it’s the dead girl’s. Because without her, there might not even be a story. Approx. 20,000 words. Not a standalone.

E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on The Clocks2) "The Poirots": the complete guide to all the cases of the great Belgian detectiveSheila Webb, typist-for-hire, has arrived at 19 Wilbraham Crescent in the seaside town of Crowdean to accept a new job. What she finds is a well-dressed corpse surrounded by five clocks. Mrs. Pebmarsh, the blind owner of No. 19, denies all knowledge of ringing Sheila's secretarial agency and asking for her by name—yet someone did. Nor does she own that many clocks. And neither woman seems to know the victim. Colin Lamb, a young intelligence specialist working a case of his own at the nearby naval yard, happens to be on the scene at the time of Sheila Webb's ghastly discovery. Lamb knows of only one man who can properly investigate a crime as bizarre and baffling as what happened inside No. 19 — his friend and mentor, Hercule Poirot.

In The Crack in Space, a repairman discovers that a hole in a faulty Jifi-scuttler leads to a parallel world. Jim Briskin, campaigning to be the first black president of the United States, thinks alter-Earth is the solution to the chronic overpopulation that has seventy million people cryogenically frozen; Tito Cravelli, a shadowy private detective, wants to know why Dr Lurton Sands is hiding his mistress on the planet; billionaire mutant George Walt wants to make the empty world all his own. But when the other earth turns out to be inhabited, everything changes. Winner of both the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards for best novel, widely regarded as the premiere science fiction writer of his day, and the object of cult-like adoration from his legions of fans, Philip K. Dick has come to be seen in a literary light that defies classification in much the same way as Borges and Calvino. With breathtaking insight, he utilizes vividly unfamiliar worlds to evoke the hauntingly and hilariously familiar in our society and ourselves. From the Trade Paperback edition.

In the first book of her exciting new series, Rebecca Royce invites you to a world where the death of the Alpha Prime has left a vacuum in the power structure binding the packs together and the alphas of each werewolf pack are on the brink of war. Negotiations will take skillful handling, dominant strength, and the discovery of old bonds long forgotten. A mechanic, the Philadelphia Alpha Travis Michaels understands how to keep his pack together and running smoothly despite the upheaval caused by the death of Lucian, the Alpha Prime. To that end, he makes regular visits to a little diner in New Jersey—a neutral ground where he and the Manhattan Alpha try to negotiate a peace. But the last thing Travis expected to find in the diner was a latent werewolf and his true mate… Cursed with the worst luck when it came to men, Liliana Rouse is less than thrilled by Travis’ obvious interest even if he heats her blood and turns her inside out with lust. Her body, she’d long since learned, was not the best judge of character. But Travis awakens a longing in her she can’t deny, and when her apartment is firebombed and a second alpha sweeps her away, Liliana discovers a whole new world of danger and passion… Previously Found in the Ever After Anthology

Plagued by rumors that she poisoned her fiancé, Lucinda Bromley manages to live on the fringes of polite society, tending her beloved plants—and occasionally consulting on a murder investigation. For the notorious botanist possesses a unique talent: she can detect almost any type of poison, especially ones that have their origins in the botanical kingdom. But the death of a lord has shaken Lucinda to her core. At the murder scene, she picks up traces of a poison containing a very rare species of fern. So rare, in fact, that only one specimen exists in all of England—and it was stolen from her conservatory just last month. To keep her name out of the investigation and to find the murderer, Lucinda hires a fellow Arcane Society member. Caleb Jones runs a psychical investigation agency. A descendant of the founder of the Society, he is very good at protecting its secrets—and frighteningly good getting at the truth. Immediately, Lucinda senses both a raw power and undeniable intensity in the imposing man. But as a nearly overwhelming desire blooms between Caleb and Lucinda, they are drawn into the dark heart of a deadly conspiracy that can be traced to the early days of the Arcane Society—and to a legacy of madness that could plunge Caleb into the depths of his own tortured soul?

Determined to uncover who stole her sandalwood statue, Amanda Cavencourt - an Englishwoman living in India - is shocked to learn the culprit is a notorious rogue known as the Falcon. Why would a man renowned for his dangerous and delicate missions indulge in petty thievery? Intrigued by the mystery — and rumors of the Falcon's devilish charm and good looks—Amanda sets out on the trail of the brazen blackguard. But what she stumbles upon is a man who just may be her perfect match....

R.A. Salvatore’s New York Times best-selling tale of the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden continues immediately on the heels of Rise of the King, with an expanding war and greater danger to the finally-reunited Companions of the Hall. Bloody war rages across the Forgotten Realms world in the third book of the Companions Codex, the latest series in R.A. Salvatore’s New York Times best-selling saga of dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. In the evolving world of the Forgotten Realms setting, the Sundering has given way to months of cloud-cloaked darkness, and war rages under that oppressive sky. The orcs have broken a hard-fought treaty that's held, however tentatively, for a hundred years, and the time to settle old scores has devolved into an all-out brawl for control of the ancient realms of the North.

They are floating cities with crews of thousands. They are the linchpins of any military strategy, for they provide what has become the key to every battle fought since World War I: air superiority. The mere presence of a U.S. naval carrier in a region is an automatic display of strength that sends a message no potential enemy can ignore. Now, Tom Clancy welcomes you aboard for a detailed look at how these floating behemoths function. With his trademark style and eye for detail, Clancy brings you naval combat strategy like no one else can.Carrier includes: Takeoffs and landings: flying into the danger zone The aircraft onboard: their range, their power, their weaponry The role of the carrier in modern naval warfare Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams Plus: An interview with the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jay Johnson

Is fate pulling them apart? Toklo, Kallik, Lusa, and Yakone trek onward toward the Melting Sea, battling the elements and struggling to move quickly as the ice begins to thaw. Kallik is anxious to reunite with her brother, Taqqiq, and the rest of the bears at her old home--but Toklo and Lusa can't imagine continuing their journey without her. As they cross the Melting Sea, the foursome encounters Shila, an injured white bear who tells them that a vicious gang of bears is terrorizing others for food and land. Kallik is horrified to discover that her brother has joined these fierce bears. Can the Seeker bears convince Taqqiq to come back to the right side? The future of the close-knit team is uncertain. As the bears face separating for the first time since their quest began, they struggle with the difficult choice between returning home or remaining with the companions who have become their true family.

On an island in the Gulf of California, an intrepid young woman named Paloma carries a special legacy from her father—a deep understanding of the sea and a sixth sense about the need to protect it. Every day, Paloma paddles her tiny boat into the ocean and anchors over a seamount—a submerged volcanic peak sixty feet underwater that is clustered with spectacular sea animals and a wondrous web of marine life. It is there that an astonishing event takes place, when on one of her dives Paloma is shadowed by a manta ray—an animal so large it blocks the sun. She develops an extraordinary relationship with this luminous, gentle creature, but instinctively knows its existence is a secret she must fiercely protect. Benchley’s novel paints a poignant picture of humanity’s precarious relationship with the ocean, which unfolds alongside a heartrending story of familial bonds, often revealing that the ignorance of man is far more dangerous than the sea. Full of beauty, danger, and adventure, The Girl of the Sea of Cortez is triumphant—a novel to fall in love with.

"One of science fiction's most reliable practitioners" (San Francisco Chronicle) continues his saga of space exploration. The mysterious alien Others have prohibited humans from space travel-destroying Earth's fleet of starships in a display of unimaginable power. Now Carmen Dula, the first human to encounter Martians and then the mysterious Others, and her colleagues struggle to find a way, using nineteenthcentury technology, to reclaim the future that has been stolen from them.

Olivia and her twin brother Aidan are heading alone back to Earth following the virus that wiped out the rest of their crew, and their family, in its entirety. Nathan is part of a community heading in the opposite direction. But on their journey, Nathan’s ship is attacked and most of the community killed. Only a few survive. Their lives unexpectedly collided, Nathan and Olivia are instantly attracted to each other, deeply, head-over-heels – like nothing they have ever experienced. But not everyone is pleased. Surrounded by rumours, deception, even murder, is it possible to live out a happy ever after . . . ?

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling Marked Men series continues with this sizzling, sexy story of love, heartbreak, fate, and second chances. After the only girl he ever loved told him that he would never be enough, Rowdy St. James knocked the Texas dust off his boots and set out to live up to his nickname. A good ol’ boy looking for good times and good friends, Rowdy refuses to take anything too seriously, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Burned by love once, he isn’t going to let himself trust a woman again. But that’s before his new co-worker arrives, a ghost from the past who’s suddenly making him question every lesson he ever learned. Salem Cruz grew up in house with too many rules and too little fun—a world of unhappiness she couldn’t wait to forget. But one nice thing from childhood has stayed with her; the memory of the sweet, blue-eyed boy next door who’d been head over heels in love with her little sister. Now, fate and an old friend have brought her and Rowdy together, and Salem is determined to show him that once upon a time he picked the wrong sister. A mission that is working perfectly—until the one person that ties them together appears, threatening to tear them apart for good.

Behind closed doors, they're laying down the law. When it comes to the laws of attraction... Payton Kendall and J.D. Jameson are lawyers who know the meaning of objection. A feminist to the bone, Payton has fought hard to succeed in a profession dominated by men. Born wealthy, privileged, and cocky, J.D. has fought hard to ignore her. Face-to-face, they're perfectly civil. They have to be. For eight years they have kept a safe distance and tolerated each other as coworkers for one reason: to make partner at the firm. ...There are no rules. But all bets are off when they're asked to join forces on a major case. Though apprehensive at first, they begin to appreciate each other's dedication to the law—and the sparks between them quickly turn into attraction. But the increasingly hot connection does not last long when they discover that only one of them will be named partner. Now it's an all-out war. And the battle between the sexes is bound to make these lawyers hot under the collar...

Poor, plain spinster Bette is compelled to survive on the condescending patronage of her socially superior relatives in Paris: her beautiful, saintly cousin Adeline, the philandering Baron Hulot and their daughter Hortense. Already deeply resentful of their wealth, when Bette learns that the man she is in love with plans to marry Hortense, she becomes consumed by the desire to exact her revenge and dedicates herself to the destruction of the Hulot family, plotting their ruin with patient, silent malice. Cousin Bette is a gripping tale of violent jealousy, sexual passion and treachery, and a brilliant portrayal of the grasping, bourgeois society of 1840s Paris. The culmination of the Comedie humaine, Balzac's epic chronicle of his times, it is one of his greatest triumphs as a novelist.

Angel 6.0: Emissary, episode 5 in a space opera romance series from NYT and USA Today bestseller Travis Luedke. Born of illegal genetic cloning experiments, Angel is not quite human. She’s never known her place in the universe. Stolen by the Gran, a fierce race of warrior Cats, she survived enslavement as a concubine. Beloved by the Prince, he mated her, freed her from captivity and declared her Princess of the Gran, despite her love for the pirate Cesar. Now Angel is thrust into the center of interstellar war and forced to choose sides between humanity and her surrogate family of Cats. Facing war and the loss of her loved ones, Angel is appointed Emissary to the Emperor. The fate of both species depends on her to bridge the gap between the corrupt politicians of Earthside and greedy, war-mongering Cats.

A Wall Street Journal and Booklist Best Mystery of 2012 From the acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World, blistering gangster noir meets howling absurdist comedy as the forces of good square off against the forces of evil, and only an unassuming clockwork repairman and an octogenarian former superspy can save the world from total destruction. Joe Spork spends his days fixing antique clocks. The son of infamous London criminal Mathew “Tommy Gun” Spork, he has turned his back on his family’s mobster history and aims to live a quiet life. That orderly existence is suddenly upended when Joe activates a particularly unusual clockwork mechanism. His client, Edie Banister, is more than the kindly old lady she appears to be—she’s a retired international secret agent. And the device? It’s a 1950s doomsday machine. Having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the British government and a diabolical South Asian dictator who is also Edie’s old arch-nemesis. On the upside, Joe’s got a girl: a bold receptionist named Polly whose smarts, savvy and sex appeal may be just what he needs. With Joe’s once-quiet world suddenly overrun by mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realizes that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she abandoned years ago and pick up his father’s old gun . . .

The Drakes are rather different to your usual neighbors. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only born female vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped, Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.