The Old Man of the Sea

      W. W. Jacobs
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"What I want you to do," said Mr. George Wright, as he leaned towards the old sailor, "is to be an uncle to me." "Aye, aye," said the mystified Mr. Kemp, pausing with a mug of beer midway to his lips. "A rich uncle," continued the young man, lowering his voice to prevent any keen ears in the next bar from acquiring useless knowledge. "An uncle from New Zealand, who is going to leave me all 'is money."

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    Rainbow Briefs

      Kira Harp
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A collection of fifteen stories, inspired by images from the Young Adult LGBT Books group. In these romantic, fantasy, and contemporary short stories, you'll find LGBTQ teenagers living their lives - experiencing first encounters, and long relationships, coming out, staying closeted, questioning, loving, having adventures, dealing with family, with prejudice, or with magic.Have you ever looked at a picture, perhaps a photo of two guys in a tight hug, or two girls holding hands, and wondered, "What happened before that moment? What will they do next?"These fifteen stories were inspired by images from the Young Adult LGBT Books Group. In these pages you'll find LGBTQ teenagers living their lives - experiencing first encounters, and long relationships, coming out, staying closeted, questioning, loving, having adventures, dealing with family, with prejudice, with magic. Author Kira Harp provides this collection of Young Adult romantic, fantasy, and contemporary short stories.

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    Worlds Enough and Time

      Joe Haldeman
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With the Worlds trilogy, Haldeman has created one of the most vivid and commanding speculations in the arena of hard science-fiction. The trilogy is nothing less than a parable of Earth's destruction and humanity's subsequent doomed flight from it, as revealed by the journey of an intrepid band of colonists. 3 maps.

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    Desperado

      Sandra Hill
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When Major Helen Prescott and Rafe Santiago, the man she secretly desires, are transported back to 1850 after a skydiving mission goes horribly wrong, they are mistaken for a legendary bandit and his seductive mistress, and now, on the wrong side of the law, they succumb to undeniable passion.

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    Longing

      Karen Kingsbury
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Longing, book three in the Bailey Flanigan Series, picks up where Learning ended. After a long and lonely silence from Cody Coleman, Bailey Flanigan becomes closer to her one-time Hollywood co-star, Brandon Paul. Nights on the town in New York City and long talks on the balcony of Brandon's Malibu Beach home make Bailey dizzy with new feelings and cause her to wonder if her days with Cody are over forever.

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    The Productions of Time

      John Brunner
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Une troupe d'acteurs est réunie par un metteur en scène dans une étrange demeure, sous prétexte de monter une pièce de théâtre. Mais chacun d'eux est amené à incarner son propre rôle dans la vie : alcoolique, dépressif, homosexuel... Devant quels spectateurs pervers venus du futur exposent-ils ainsi l'image de leurs faiblesses ?

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    Cassandra

      Nicola Shill
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Cassandra’s dark mood is interrupted when she is kidnapped by a community of fairies – not the sweet creatures of her imagination, but a powerful, intelligent species who view humans as dishonest mercenaries. As she struggles to find a way to return to the mediocrity of her human world, she is changed by her experiences and the relationships she forms until she is no longer sure where she belongs.If you could view humanity through the eyes of another intelligent species, would you like what you see?Cassandra’s fate is sealed when she accidentally discovers a village of fairies in the bush behind her boatshed. To prevent her from divulging the secret of their existence, the fairies – or fae, as they prefer to be called – shrink her and hold her captive. Although she is adopted into a fae family with a mother who wants only to make her happy, Cassandra refuses to accept her new life. Her one source of joy is the blossoming relationship with her adopted brother, but what hope does a human-fae relationship have when humans are hated by the fae as destructive idiots whose extinction would be a relief to every other species on the planet?Attempting to escape only serves to teach Cassandra that she has insufficient knowledge and skills for surviving in the natural environment, especially when she is less than ten centimetres tall. Acceptance of her situation and taking responsibility for her own happiness seems to be the only way forward, but it is difficult to do when she feels like an ungainly misfit amongst the beautiful and talented fae.As time passes, Cassandra finds happiness and a sense of purpose that causes her to question her place in the world.Will Cassandra be able to prove herself worthy to be returned to the human world, and if that time comes, will she even want to?The Fae of Gillwillan is set in Australia, on the idyllic Mornington Peninsula. It is the story of the search for purpose and belonging.

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    Mythical

      William Petersen
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NOT a typical fantasy... - At the top of the world, two unlikely participants are drawn into an ancient conflict that will ultimately determine the future of mankind... --Marcus is venturing out of his permanent shelter to check the day's traps and possibly hunt seals on the ice, when he discovers a nearly dead, young female whale researcher out on the ice alone and unconscious. After bringing her back from the frozen brink, she reveals some disturbing details of an armed takeover of her research facility, sounding like the earmarks of a terrorist attack, though nothing in the area is of any strategic or political value. Upon inspecting the scene for himself, Marcus uncovers an ongoing struggle that has lasted for thousands of years, much worse than any terror plot, holding mankind's future in the balance. With time running out, limited resources and only a frozen stranger to help, he must stop a terrible bloodline of ancient tyrants and evil men bent on world domination and total destruction, before they kill the last magical creatures on Earth.-

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    Blown Away (Whispering Winds: 1)

      Havan Fellows
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Rowen Smithe doesn't do friends. They are too much trouble and he'd prefer to focus his attentions elsewhere, like the unusual lights in the west or smoke patterns in the east. Mick Rutger is a happy-go-lucky type that in fascinated by Rowen's interesting personality, and would very much like to be his friend...Rowen Smithe doesn't do friends. They require time and effort, both better spent protecting the woods surrounding his Mountain Shadows home. Lights in the west, smoke patterns in the east, and now a shiny glint deep in the forest. Someone needed to do something.Mick Rutger rarely met a challenge he wouldn't chase, but the drop-dead gorgeous man next door gives a whole new meaning to crazy when he spends hours in a tree just...watching? When his charming words have no effect, Mick has no choice if he wants to crack this nut. He follows the mysterious Rowe on a middle of the night hike, only to be caught before the chase can even begin.

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    Deus ex Machina Publicum

      J-L Heylen
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When AI specialist Charlie Parish lands a dream job getting paid to develop a computer program capable of learning from mistakes, there’s just one problem. The program goes rogue, and everything starts to go right.Charlie Parish is a damned clever scientist with a promising career in Artificial Intelligence ahead of her. She lands a dream job getting paid to develop a computer program capable of gathering knowledge, reasoning solutions, and learning from mistakes. There’s just one problem. When Charlie lets her creation loose on the world, it does exactly what it is designed to do ...... and that’s when everything starts to go right.This is the latest stand-alone short story from the pen of J-L Heylen. It was first published on J-L's blog as a 9 part serialised story, but has now been integrated and edited into novella form. There is a bonus, previously unpublished, epilogue.Like most of J-L's work, there is some strong language and adult themes. There is no sex in this one though.

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    Deviation, Breaking the Pattern #1

      P.D. Workman
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Everyone knew that he was a good guy; geeky, responsible, hard-working. Henry has had a lot to deal with in the past. Now, as he should be focusing on his schooling and preparing himself for the future, he is hindered by abuse, the challenge of raising his baby brother while dealing with his mother’s deep depressions, and the return of a ghost from the past Henry has tried his best to forget.“You’re a good kid, Henry.”Everyone knew that he was a good guy; geeky, responsible, hard-working. Henry has had a lot to deal with in the past. Now, as he should be focusing on his schooling and preparing himself for the future, he is hindered by abuse, the challenge of raising his baby brother while dealing with his mother’s deep depressions, and the return of a ghost from the past Henry has tried his best to forget. But it seems that Henry can’t avoid the nastiness of life. As hard as he tries, it’s one more disaster after another as his life spirals out of control. Can Henry escape the darkness, or is he doomed to be consumed by it?'I was caught up in the twists and turns of the plot from the beginning of Deviation and was still surprised at the end.''This book could actually happen. That is what makes it so scary! I am really looking forward to the next book in the series. I am thoroughly intrigued and want to see what happens next.''“Deviation” will play on your emotions and feed your doubts as you follow Henry though his many troubles and trials.'

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    Vandal Eyes

      Sean Sandulak
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You've seen them everywhere. Those little plastic googly eyes that turn everyday objects into adorable faces. Maybe you've seen them stuck to a poster, turning a regular photograph into an amusing parody of itself, but all this time, I bet you never suspected the sinister history of this simple folk art stable. Now the true story can be told. It's a tale of friendship, crafting supplies…and murderWhen Anne Wheaton and Bonnie Burton stumble upon a murdered man in a back alley, the police suspect them of committing the crime. Now they must work together to clear their names. Follow the adventures of Anne and Bonnie as they get into trouble on the mean streets of San Francisco. For the uninitiated, VandalEyes refers to the act of adorning everyday objects with those little plastic googly eyes you find in craft stores. The practice first came to my attention in early 2012 when Bonnie, along with Kiala Kazebee, Veronica Belmont, and Felicia Day, began the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club. As a consequence of those Hangouts, I started following Bonnie's Twitter feed, and later found Anne's account and the #VandalEyes hashtag. The random nonsense there eventually spawned its own website, vandaleyes.net, to which I may have submitted a few pictures. When Anne Wheaton and Bonnie Burton posed for Cupcake Quarterly Magazine in May of 2013, they made the mistake of posting pictures of themselves in retro hairstyles on their Twitter accounts. I immediately photoshopped those pictures to look like a noir book cover and sent it in to the VandalEyes tumblr. Later, when I looked at that picture again, I thought that it ought to have a story to go with it. This is that story.

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    Tamehana Tito

      Doug Ashby
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12 year old triplet brothers live in rural New Zealand where forest parks and coastal waters are their playground. They have wild adventures that test their survival skills. In story four, the ghost of a mysterious old character is believed to roam the Waitai valley, waiting for someone to find his murderer. The triplet brothers decide to investigate the cold case and find two vital clues.Stay in a world where mythology starts to become the reality. Ancient creatures and powerful beings do come again to an Ambros that hangs, even more, in the balance.It’s the young of Melas, daughter of an Archmage, who are now the instruments of that balance. It’s these children who are still scattered across Ambros as they struggle to survive in a now unrecognisable and torn apart world. A Warlord, and a rogue mage, Malekim, thrive in the chaos.So much faces these children, their paths hard, yet not all is dark in their lives as they are protected by others who offer strength and friendship.

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    Thanksgiving

      Robert C. Waggoner
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Fiction based upon truth. In any story told there is some truth woven in the tale. I heard this story from an English teacher whom I met in South Korea a few years ago. At the time I thought it tear jerking, but when she’d finished, a warm ending made my old heart glow. So, all of you out there intending on enjoying a turkey dinner, perhaps a reminder of who really to be thankful for back in 1621.Have you ever wondered what could happen after a kid's parents die? About the dangers of taking important mission? How about losing yourself in a place you can't remember, and then ending it all?FInd out a rough outline of what Alexandr Trintear thinks about them in these three short stories.

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    Circle of Dreams: Prequel - The Herbmaster

      Linda McNabb
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Zaine's world is one of drudgery and work. Dumped on a farm as a baby, it will take him years to pay off the jar of silver that his 'aunt' claims that he owes them.One day he meets a mysterious old man, the herbmaster, and it changes his life forever!This is a SHORT STORY prequel for the CIRCLE OF DREAMS trilogy.Roam the streets of Ottawa with Charlie, a third year university student bent on recapturing the essence of his first love, all the while doing everything he can to destroy his relationship with his current girlfriend, Natasha. Explore the seedy underworld of Ottawa as Charlie's increasingly manic quest for self-validation quickly leads him down dark and dangerous roads. In his attempts to prove his own morality, Charlie will finally see just how dark the inner-self has become in an increasingly apathetic and superficial world.

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    The Meek

      Brian S. Wheeler
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Braving the lethal elements and buzzkills, four crawl out from the shelter of their hovel to push an invention towards the legendary tower the fatcats built before the world fell into ruin. They hope their machine will discover where the fatcats sleep, so that, finally, those who were left behind to languish in the wastes can take revenge by filling the fatcats' dreams with nightmares.Old man Sparker has built a powerful drill in the hovel, driven by a hissing engine of steam. Hoping the drill will help those who must call the wastes home find where the fatcats have retreated, Sparker’s daughter Sweet Tea leads a group that pushes her father's machine towards the tall tower rumored to be the fatcats’ home. There’s the giant Crotch, whose legs give the group so much strength. There’s Shiv, whose skills with the wicked razor may prove useful upon encountering any enemy. And there is Bug, the most resilient man to call the hovel home, a man who refuses to be squashed beneath any adversary’s heel. Together, they grunt and push Sparker’s contraption through the wastes, motivated by the desire to wrench the hated fatcats out from their pleasant dreams.

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    Intolerable Love

      Sean Eddings
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How long can a man endure danger to the woman he loves more than life itself?Sassy Abigail Andrews is a phlebotomist who has terminal leukemia. The good news is that her Dr. Jakob Farkas might be able to heal her, since he claims to be a vampire. But there's one small hitch, tired of his lonely existence, Farkas has not fed in over 100 years and needs to be brought back to health before he can help Abigail, with whom he has fallen in love.Abigail doesn't believe the crazy doctor's story, but she doesn't have much else going on at the moment besides dying. So she leaves her boring life behind in order to join Jakob Farkas on his travels around the world in search of a mystical cure.As they await the arrival of the Spring Equinox in the legendary caves in Lascaux France, Abigail wonders if she can overcome the greatest obstacle to her cure: her mortality.

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    The Fishing Trip

      C. F. Sheeler
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Ted, David, Bob and Jimmy thought they had found the ideal fishing spot. It was a place that no one ever visited on South Lake. But two girls show up that are not what they seem.A memorable collection of epitaphs and obituaries for the age of digital confession. Artists, athletes, activists, entertainers, evil-doers, rich widows, philosophers. . .40 poems from eight years in a lesbian novelist's on-line diary salute the famous dead—and tackle onslaughts of the ambition, desire, daydreaming, self-berating, fear of aging, loneliness and faithless women common to contemporary America. Sharply observed, often humorous, Dug for Victory also offers an anti-war record of existence in Brooklyn, New York during the days and years following the attacks on nearby Lower Manhattan.

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