The violent world of smuggling is seen through the eyes of Julia, a spirited young woman who leaves the court of George III to live with her great-uncle in the country town of Winchelsea. How many people are hiding secrets? Can she risk losing her heart to the dashing Mr Hamilton who she suspects of leading a double life? In dangerous encounters she learns the truth about those she trusted.In the first of Evan Andrew’s Regency romances, the violent world of smuggling is revealed through the eyes of Julia, a spirited young woman who leaves the Court of George III to start a new life with her great-uncle in the country town of Winchelsea. What secrets does her reclusive great-uncle hold? What are the strange noises that she hears at the dead of night? Is the sullen manservant all he seems? And what of the dashing bold-eyed Mr Hamilton who, Julia learns to her distress, leads a double life? Can she risk losing her heart to such a man?

The setting is the Georgia wilderness, where the states most remote white-water river awaits. In the thundering froth of that river, in its echoing stone canyons, four men on a canoe trip discover a freedom and exhilaration beyond compare. And then, in a moment of horror, the adventure turns into a struggle for survival as one man becomes a human hunter who is offered his own harrowing deliverance. From the Trade Paperback edition.

15 dark short stories by Nicolas Wilson in a variety of genres.Selected Short Stories Featuring Analog Memory collects fifteen of Nicolas Wilson's earlier short stories. These stories are dark, brooding, and entirely too intimate.Analog Memory contains:Uncanny Valley: A man forced to be a luddite in a robotic world, by medical necessity, ponders whether his new fling is human.Censlus: A census worker is murdered while doing his job.Seed: An old woman meets a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.Faith Emmanuel: After a carjacking, a student finds himself financially at the mercy of a corrupt medical system.Family Business: A marital fight ensues after a husband involves his kids in a life of crime.Brickmouth: A buried vampire awakens.Laborious Love: A robotic engineer builds the perfect girlfriend, and the perfect relationship.Jesus Loves Me (Just Not That Way): A man wrestles with his sexuality.Unlucky At Math: An intellectual ruminates on his relationship.Fighting Mad: A soldier considers the toll that the military takes on Muslim soldiers.Cowgirl Up: A memorial for a stubborn woman's fight with cancer, and love of smoking.The Courage of Our Convictions: An old soldier examines the leavings of genocide.Medicine: A friend falls back into addiction.The Cost of Being Me: Some ruminations on the possibility of heaven, while dying.Randomly Accessed Memory: A head injury causes a man to lose his memory, throwing his life into chaos as he regresses to his last known lifestyles.Analog Memory: A former CIA operative has his memory reset in an unorthodox way, and deals with the glitches of the new technology.

Ken Dahlgren watched the economy tumble. He knows the end is near. He and his wife plan for an economic cataclysm and stock their lake home with necessities. What Ken lacks are the guns to protect himself and Patty from the unknown. The search costs him dearly. The second story is about the rich Peterson clan, the moment after they realize they stayed in the city too long. Death is at their door.Listen to the Light and learn the power of revelations in your own soul. Take a magical journey through mythical places to discover inner truths

All Hardin has ever known is the inside of a bomb shelter. His people hid there over one hundred years ago when a war tore apart the world outside. They send hunters out to look for food, but they are hunted by the enemy to this day. As conditions grow worse inside it is up to Hardin to make a plan to journey outside and confront the enemy once and for all.All Hardin has ever known is the inside of a bomb shelter. His people hid there during a nuclear war, and were too scared to ever leave. When the food began to run out they saw no other way and so opened the doors to the outside to find it destroyed. Hunters have searched in vain for years and chance getting killed by the enemy over one hundred years after the world was destroyed. Hardin finds that his people's ways are only leading to the end of them all. Hardin gets a team together and leaves the shelter hoping to make peace with the enemy and save his home. What he discovers is greater and stranger than he ever thought possible.

Medb hErenn and her companions Morgiana the Thief and Mephitis the Apothecary are trying to get out off the Plateau of Leng, but the only way is across a deep chasm bridged by a web spun by a Leng Spider. Rumor has it that the spider offers safe passage to anyone who pays its toll, but will eat those who cannot. So the problem becomes, can they pay its price? This is a short story.The Plateau of Leng in the Northern Lands of the Dreamworld is a most dangerous place. Few people dare to travel its interior except as part of large, well-armed caravans, but one exception is Medb hErenn. As such, people will hire her to escort them across the Plateau, or to act in their stead on some mission of personal importance.Mephitis the Apothecary of Ulthar needs ingredients for her concoctions that can only be obtained from the Plateau and the surrounding mountains. She hired Medb to act as bodyguard and guide, and their mutual friend, Morgiana the Master Thief, to help her gather what she needs. In return, she will pay them a large remuneration, and they can raid the abandoned tombs and forgotten ruins to their hearts' content.Their expedition has been successful, but a migration of the gargantuan Leng Spiders has cut off the usual routes out of the Plateau. In desperation, they make for a rumored pass bisected by a deep chasm, over which a Spider has spun a bridge. Supposedly, it allows travelers to use it, but they must pay a toll, and the gossip claims that it will eat whoever cannot.They have no other choice, but the question is, can they pay its price? And if not, can they avoid the rumored fate?

The most dangerous secret in Amy and Dan's past is unveiled in Book 7 of the #1 New York Times bestselling series. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO JOIN THE HUNT! It's no longer a game. The body count is rising. Shaken by recent events, Amy an

New-Yorker Jordan Amador was just a waitress before she accidentally shot and killed a Seer--someone who can see and hear ghosts, angels, and demons. As penance, God gives her two years to help 100 souls with unfinished business cross over to the afterlife or her soul is bound for hell. At the end of her deadline, Jordan meets Michael the poltergeist. And her life gets ten times worse.Jordan Amador. 21. New Yorker. Waitress. Mild alcoholic. Murderer.Two years ago, Jordan accidentally shot and killed a Seer: a person who can see, hear, and talk to ghosts with unfinished business. Her crime came with a hefty price, too. She has two years to help a hundred souls cross over to the afterlife or her soul is bound for hell. Tough break. As if that weren’t bad enough, two days before her deadline a handsome pain-in-the-ass poltergeist named Michael strolls into her life. His soul is the key to her salvation, but the cost just might be more than she can handle. Solving his death puts her right in the crosshairs of Belial: a vain, bloodthirsty archdemon who won’t rest until she’s his slave. Can she rescue Michael and save her own soul, or will they both be dragged down into the clutches of the eternal black parade?

Life in the Frontier Worlds can be brutal and cruel, but humanity presses on in the endless need to survive. In these Archives you will find snapshots of the people that make up the universe of the Avarice Dynasty. Few of them are champions and even fewer heroes; they are simply men and women trying to make a living anyway they can. Contains: Siitral Speedster, Endgame, Vagabonds and Torch AngelsWelcome to the Frontier Worlds! On the far side of the Milky Way Galaxy a super-cluster of stars proved capable of supporting the Journeymen who escaped Old Earth. The Barons are in control here but they leave the majority of ruling to the Alpha Cartels, who in turn leave day-to-day governing to the sector and planetary governor-generals. Life can be brutal and cruel, but humanity presses on in the endless need to survive. Here and there champions arise to brighten the darkness, whether through art, science, or simple good deeds.In these Archives you will find snapshots of the people that make up the universe of the Avarice Dynasty. Few of them are champions and even fewer heroes; they are simply men and women trying to make a living anyway they can.These are their stories.Series One contains the following short stories: Siitral Speedster, Endgame, Vagabonds and Torch Angels. Each is a self-contained story that adds flavor and depth to the Avarice Dynasty universe.

The Argoss III is derelict, abandoned; a ghost ship. A salvage team is sent aboard. But something is watching them with malice and hatred. Something that has no love for Humanity. Salvage is the terrifying reality of first contact a long way from Earth.After the fall, the diaspora began. Great arcs carrying the best of Humanity streaked towards new homes in the heavens. Distant stars with the potential for hosting life were the final destination of the many giant biospheres.Centuries later, two great arcs arrived at the Palsenz system, only to discover a third Arc, long believed to have been destroyed, waiting for them, derelict. A ghost ship. The crew of the shuttle Heimdall are tasked to deliver a group of engineers and technicians to the Argoss. Stephanie Chu, co-pilot on the shuttle ensures the salvage team gain access. Everything is by the book, no mistakes are made.But not everything is as it seems. There is no crew, the Argoss is indeed a ghost ship. Or is it?

Delaney Bixby owns and runs his own barber shop, The Dapper Gentleman, which prides itself on offering an upscale grooming experience to a very select clientele in New York City. When Delaney is closing up shop one night, a special customer drops in for an after-hours shave that leads to slow dancing and professions of love.Siphewe Fasala idolised his father, but everything changed for Siphewe the day he died. Turning to a life of crime was his way of showing that he did not care.With Siphewe a member of The Paperboys, life is never again the same in Site Five. Struggling to be the most powerful gang in the township, the only way they can drive out The Seven-Ups is if The Paperboys and The Juvies join forces.Although this is the talk between the two teenage gangs, this is something Siphewe doesn’t care about. He wants to put fear in the residents of Site Five, and this he accomplishes by taking on another name. Over the years, ‘Ampie’ reminded grown men of what fear tastes like, but, even in a township where you are faceless, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

A man with a hump on his back awakens from a coma only to find that the hump is missing ... and so is his wife.Madison Tierney’s a writer, whose husband, Thomas suddenly left her after 10 years; she is destroyed and now recently alone and divorced. She picks herself up slowly trying to restore her lost confidence and ability to love again. She follows her writing passion and ventures to follow a local band - Rolling Isaac’s and write about them, raw and real and how they follow their dreams. Her book is titled ROCK NOTES.Her ex-husband wants to come back into her life, and she is torn with what she had for ten years with him which was safe,comforting and a committed relationship, and yet she is falling hard for the band singer Max Rand (which Madison calls him Rand). He is several years younger than her and every moment with him is intense and unpredictable. Rand has tragically lost love in his life. He has no love left to give. He fills his time with many groupies and late nights. The story travels you to various concert venues, from a sexy piercing party to a New Years rocking eve. There are many interruptions and assumptions for this couple along their journey. While Madison is writing ROCK NOTES, somewhere along the way she begins to write LOVE NOTES, which are personal secret love letters for Rand. Also Rand is always writing music with the hope of creating his first solo album. Both Madison and Rand appear to be able to write their feelings on paper effortlessly but have a hard time conveying them to one another. This story is about being so broken after having your heart ripped apart and then trying to rebuild trust, follow your dreams and hopefully find love. Will there be a new beginning for Madison and Rand? Or will the passion that ignites between them fade away after the concert lights dim?

Welcome to my second collection of short stories. Here you will meet children playing dressing up, a single mother meeting the father of her son, a Canadian who has unexpectedly inherited a large English house and farm, a concert pianist who must decide if it is time to stay home a little more, and others whose lives have come to decision points.Welcome to my second collection of short stories. Why have I called it Similar Differences? Because… well, we’re all similar, and we’re all different. As they say, we are all unique, just like everyone else. Our base personalities are moulded and refined by our circumstances and the people we meet, leading to very different life journeys. With every decision we make the path forks anew.Here you will meet children playing dressing up, a single mother meeting the father of her son, a Canadian who has unexpectedly inherited a large English house and farm, a concert pianist who must decide if it is time to stay home a little more, and others whose lives have come to decision points.

An office worker in Purgatory seeks consolation and hope by sending himself postcards and email messages from an imaginary holiday destination. When discovered, he is sent there.An office worker in Purgatory seeks consolation and hope by sending himself postcards and email messages from an imaginary holiday destination. When discovered, he is sent there.… When he got home that evening there was a beautiful sunlit holiday postcard in his letterbox, addressed to him and signed Williby. It was a breathless and ecstatic message describing unimaginable tropical delights and so looking forward to seeing him soon. It brought tears of longing to his eyes so sharp that they glittered like crystals on his cheek. They cracked and shattered when he wiped them away, but the promise shone within him like stars.Williby sighed and closed his eyes but when he opened them again he was still there…Sorrow is a free story from The World Is Round, available now.A great philosopher's masterwork is unravelled by a duck, an influential talk show host begins executing his guests, and a baby enchants a murderous African dictator in this collection of seventeen short stories. A work of poignant satire and extraordinary imagination, The World Is Round is always weird, sometimes bleak, and frequently hilarious.

"The line across her eyebrows and tapering along her jaw was right. He'd left out a lot, but that didn't matter. If what was there was true enough, you knew the rest---like a Michelangelo shoulder emerging from stone." Maine, Seattle, Hawaii, and India are the settings for these beautiful stories of late awakenings, integrity, and persistence.A retired CIA officer is confronted by his troubled son. A middle aged woman falls in love with a younger neighbor. An adolescent girl ventures outside her family and discovers injustice. An accomplished grandfather finds love for the first time. A radical environmentalist carries out a final mission. A solitary waitress finds her father. The stories range across the human and the physical landscape. Two lonely people connect on a dirt road in the Himalayas, dancing to Bob Marley. A financial manager in Seattle finds himself stalking a blind Christian street singer. A Chicago graphics designer leaves his job and begins a new life painting in Hawaii. Many of the stories take place on the coast of Maine.The author has published four novels and four collections of poetry. These short stories combine the compression and lyrical phrasing of his poems with the character development and the humor of his novels. Each story is its own exploration, original and vivid. This is a book to be savored and enjoyed.

Maddy had escaped from Big Momma only to find herself all alone in the cold and begging for food in Eastern Canada. While she's trying to return to her home in Seattle, the Wilizy have their own problems. Everybody in the family is intent on bringing the judge to justice for what he did to Lucas. It would have been so easy for them to rescue Maddy, but they didn't know anything about her.Robson had dreamed about nothing else but to become just like the lawyers he watched on television growing up. It wasn't until one fateful night that his dream came crashing down on him. Desperately trying to make it as an attorney Robson is all but washed up, just a couple of drinks away from living in a permanent drunken stupor. The only thing keeping him afloat and slightly sober is his friend and old college buddy, Derek. But one stormy night could change that forever...

Part five. The fight is on! The conclusion to the serial. You do NOT want to miss this!Lucas Thissel has something he fears: an alien species of palm-sized glass fairies. They are Lucent Sylphs. They started arriving recently, in the middle of the United Statues, from a parallel, metaphysical dimension, and they indenture themselves, as slaves to human beings, in exchange for gold.A Lucent Sylph does not eat or sleep, but is fueled on human emotion. Her insides are made up of a single giant heart that captures and feeds off of the strong feelings around her. Too much neglect or unkindness, and a Lucent Sylph will cloud over and disintegrate. Too much love and attachment, and the heart will be overcome and burst.The first one Lucas saw in person was owned by his friend. She had a name.Nissa.His friend, who owned her, had no self-control. She would die.

It was just a game, one of those quaint text adventures from the 1980s: quests, dwarves and silly fun...Until the dwarf showed up at your door.He's got a big axe.What if he couldn’t control it?, What if he didn’t want to?Alfie Diamond, flat on his back, chilled to the bone in the freezing unforgiving snow.Shocked, dumbfounded but even so secretly excited, still tingling from the thrill, if that was the correct word to use, from his near death experience but then again maybe it was just the mind altering effects of hyperthermia, who knew?The images that had flashed before him during his “first” mind blowing Awakening were alien to him, jumbled, superfast messed up glimpses of things to come and things off the past but whose past, certainly not his, he would remember surely wouldn’t he?The faces didn’t register, the language fell on deaf ears and yet he inexplicably felt connected, suddenly his life gained a sense of direction, no more bobbing about like a cork in the open ocean.Purpose and motivation were coming his way that much he had acutely be made aware off as the nerve endings of his brain cells fizzed with adrenaline infused blood.He was on a precipice, he could lay there and continue to stare up at the descending snowflakes, let the raw biting cold take him or he could grab this adventure with both hands steam rolling into a new unknown future, a future born of a secret so far back so distant into the past it would surely send him to hell and back.Evil would seek to destroy him, Good would look to him as a saviour, him a naive curly haired East End boy, youngest of six children, average school grades, slight misfit on the outer edges of the obligatory social groups, not fit enough to be considered a “Jock”, not clever enough for the nerds and certainly not fashionable in his tatty t-shirt, shorts and scruffy trainers to be one of the “beautiful people”, a square peg in a round hole, well this square peg had been enlightened, today Alfie Diamond was re-born and if he ever got up onto his feet again, his first steps would be into a dangerous new world, a world he hoped included the beautiful stranger whose silken long hair trailed across his face as she hovered over him as he slipped in and out of consciousness, a world he hoped would not chew him up and spit him out.

Otho has a job guarding a cave for a wizard. Working for a wizard can be a scary thing, but that doesn't mean that you won't ever get bored doing your job. Just when he starts thinking he needs a career change, a visitor arrives.Wizards live a long time and collect a lot of stuff. They're the hoarders of fantasy literature. However, that doesn't mean that they just collect junk. Due to reasons explained later, they don't always keep their valuable possessions where they actually live. This is the story of Otho who is employed to guard a cave where a wizard's valuable objects are kept. Otho has been guarding the same cave for many years, and has become bored as no one has ever tried to enter. This changes when Prince Landon arrives on a quest to retrieve what is inside the cave. This is also the first of my short stories that feature Prince Landon.

A collection of short stories that takes our reader, through a roller coaster of emotions. From the up lifting to the lows of human feelings.A collection of short stories and poems, that delve into the lowest abyss and the highest high of emotions. Come take the journey and feel where the heart takes you.