THIS 36 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Youth and the Bright Medusa, by Willa Cather. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1417917318.

Intended to be read after Clarity (Cursed #2). Approx. 50,000 words.Kali is the seventh of seventh, born with a destiny she'll risk lives to escape. Her choices will ripple dangerously into future generations.Amelia's haunted by a gypsy girl and her own lack of bravery. To make amends, she'll do whatever it takes to help her brother and best friend, even if it's something neither of them want.Intended to be read after Clarity (Cursed #2). Approx. 50,000 words.Kali is the seventh of seventh, both blessed and cursed. With a father willing to sell her, and a life already mapped out for her, she’s desperate for an escape. But her way out can only come from the most unavailable person she knows, and stealing happiness comes with a price that many generations will bear.Amelia’s haunted by disturbingly vivid dreams about a gypsy girl but ignored by everyone else in her life. She’s desperate to prove herself. To show everyone she can help. So when her brother and best friend display the influence of the curse on their free will—or lack of it—and a spirit warns of Perdita’s fast approaching death, she knows she has to do something. Yet she can’t ignore that something huge is happening to her too, and her journey leads her back to where it all began, but not everyone wants her help, after all.

Is there an evil presence lurking here or is it all in his head? "I wake up screaming. The room is dark except for a single spindle of light that stretches from the doorway of the bedroom across the hall, slicing through the darkness, taunting me. Shadows of things harmless in the daylight now seem to dance in the gloom and become stretched and contorted, almost evil."Book One in the adult epic fantasy series.When your family, your home, and the very land you stand on are destroyed, what do you do? If you are a shifter of Massa, you turn around and fight. You fight, because the blood oath will have it no other way. The idyllic lives of four elemental shifters living in the exiled land of Pyraan are shattered when a tour of legion duty gives witness to a brutal enemy invasion. Despite the heroic efforts of the shifters, the land falls to the invaders. As the only survivors, the four friends are forced to flee south into the lands from which they were banished to warn of the invasion. Heartbroken and weary, the shifters soon learn that the safe haven they hoped to find is cloaked in danger. Throughout a journey fraught with prophesy, betrayal and peril, an enduring friendship prevails, love blossoms, and a riveting saga unravels.

Antrobus, the hero of Sauve Qui Peut and Stiff Upper Lip, is featured in this novel, and represents the epitome of that most British of institutions, the Foreign Office.

A Library Journal Self-e Select titlePart-time musician Abby Ericksen needs a job. Local charter-boat magnate Duncan MacLeod needs a wife. Shortly after Abby starts working at MacLeod Tours, Duncan decides that Abby is the woman for him. How can he overcome her reservations and distrust to build a path of healing for both of them?Finding Boaz is a novel about a woman who has been hurt by betrayal but is learning to love again.Part-time musician and single mom Abby Ericksen just quit her job to escape a boss who made unwelcome advances when her deceitful ex-husband arrives demanding custody of their daughter. Another man is the last thing on her mind...when she meets the man she cannot resist.Duncan MacLeod needs a wife. The old family convenant requires that his wife-to-be ask him to marry. Covenant or not, Duncan is convinced that Abby is that woman. Can he overcome her distrust and prove that his love is real enough that she can trust him? Real enough that she will propose to him?

Gattica Province died five years ago and sparked a war between the Earth Federation and the Epsilon Alliance. Cat Anders left E-Fed service after she learned the truth about the attacks on her home, defecting to the Alliance as a fighter pilot.She thinks she's alone in the universe. She's about to find out exactly how wrong she is...Gattica Province died five years ago and sparked a war between the Earth Federation and the Epsilon Alliance. Cat Anders left E-Fed service after she learned the truth about the attacks on her home, defecting to the Alliance as a fighter pilot. She’s good at what she does, and she knows it.When she’s assigned to the Iron Vipers commando squadron as their dropship pilot, she figures that her job just got easier: no more dogfights, no more wingmen, no more personnel reassignments to destroy squadron morale and fighting trim. All she needs to do is shuttle a commando squad from point A to point B while there’s a war on. It’s a cake assignment for a fighter pilot like her, a ‘reward’ for faithful service.Life has a way of throwing curve balls when you’re not expecting them, and Cat’s about to catch one right in the stomach.She’s not the only one who survived the death of Gattica Province after all…

In wild lands of The Holdings, crime is the only thing that is really organized. Coursa, Queen of Rogues has a hand in everything. When some of her servants come upon a valuable book, they must employ the services of a crippled scribe named Joff. Now Coursa, strongest and most independent of women will come to rely on Joff, the meekest of men.In wild lands of The Holdings, crime is the only thing that is really organized. Coursa, Queen of Rogues has a hand in everything. When some of her servants come upon a valuable book, they must employ the services of a crippled scribe named Joff. Now Coursa, strongest and most independent of women will come to rely on Joff, the meekest of men.Weak as he is, Joff will prove himself adaptable and tough. Coursa will show just how wise and clever a peasant can be. Together they will reshape the lands in which they live.

Lina, a 16 year old Iranian girl, has broken the law, a capital offence:she became a Christian. She is arrested and given ONE brutal choice:renounce Christ and confess Allah and Mohammed his prophet. One ofher captors arranges a marriage contract for her to a strong Muslimman who will, “keep her from foolishness and eternal torment with theinfidels”. Will she be able to follow Christ.Lina, a 16 year old Iranian girl, has broken the law, a capital offence:she became a Christian. She is arrested and given ONE brutal choice:renounce Christ and confess Allah and Mohammed his prophet. One ofher captors arranges a marriage contract for her to a strong Muslimman who will, “keep her from foolishness and eternal torment with theinfidels”. In such a marriage there would certainly be absoluteobedience and perhaps respect, but could anyone dream that there might be romance and love? She faces extreme darkness with no apparent hope, but then there are also glimmers of brilliant light. In times of greatest stress, Lina feels the presence of her spiritual warrior (guardian angel). In dreams Adonai reveals to Lina facts that could catapult her to undesired fame. The shy girl’s desire to live a quiet life may not be realized. Can she possibly avoid sharing Adonai’s message that will turn the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim world on its head as the Last Day approaches? Her choice could cost her everything. Join Lina’s adventure as she crosses the Middle East to seek God’s Plan for her life and finds God’s next step for the world in Jerusalem.The plight of many Christians in the Middle East is tenuous at best. In many countries the simple act of sharing one’s Christian faith can prove fatal on the spot. Government persecution can be just as repressive. The accusation of Christianity could be terrifying whether true or not. There can be no illusion of “easy believe-ism” here. Under these conditions, how would you react if you were, like Lina, accused of Christianity?

A collection of 44 poems - long and short, written in various styles. The majority are free verse. I have three other published poetry books: 'Kaleidoscope' - 119 poems, written from the age of 16 until 2010; 'Life's Rhythms' - 316 haiku, composed in the traditional pattern of three lines with 5-7-5 syllables, written from 2011-12; and'Mind-spinning Rainbows' - 150 poems written since 2013.A collection of 44 poems - long and short, written in various styles. The majority are free verse. I have three other published poetry books: 'Kaleidoscope' - 119 poems, written from the age of 16 until 2010; 'Life's Rhythms' - 316 haiku, composed in the traditional pattern of three lines with 5-7-5 syllables, written from 2011-12; and'Mind-spinning Rainbows' - 150 poems written since 2013.Sample poem... Dreamers She lives among the dragons, stars and unicorns The fairytale world born in her wildest dreams Of childhood wandering on the darkest nights Beneath the chill of the star-speckled moon In the dark the dragons shine their fiery red In the light the unicorn bows its silvery head She dreams the dreams she yearns to live Ascending the high, jagged mountain reaches Descending the bleakest, deepest chasms She rides the unicorn, outpacing green forests Dead set distancing the thickset woods, screams The day, the light, the shake of morning dew Lifted on breezes the silent wails of the dreamer Spinning on tiptoes across the surface of a lake Never crack the mirrors in this lingering escape Take the dreamer in one hand, bend to fate Where she dances in a stream of starlit skies Never wandering from the bending, stony path In the dark the dragons shine their fiery red In the light the unicorn bows its silvery head Darkest eyes penetrate the watching innocence Of the dreamer floating through the skies Never falling, always flying, asleep, suspended Travelling in this mystic world so shimmering Vickie Johnstone, all rights reserved

Douglas the Dragon symbolises ‘the power of love.’ A young orphaned dragon is found and adopted by a young boy and becomes a much-loved dragon in the village. When the boy is killed by a volcano, the dragon is eventually evicted from the community. The dragon spends 50 years in exile sitting upon his volcano of hate, getting angrier and angrier until his anger explodes and he seeks revengeBy 1971, I had founded the process upon which all ‘Anger Management’ groups would thereafter follow and freely gave this knowledge to the world. Within the space of two years, ‘Anger Management’ (a phrase that I coined), had mushroomed across the English speaking world. After 25 years of researching and specialising in Anger Management, Relaxation Training, Behaviour Modification and Stress Management, I started writing children’s books. My primary purpose of writing for children was to convey to them through my books, the basic principles of ‘Anger Management.’The expression of ‘Anger’ by a child is a natural and healthy process that ought not to be discouraged by adults. When a child expresses anger, the adult is alerted to the fact that something is wrong, but the repression (non-expression) of anger by a child conceals personal hurt and a degree of emotional disturbance, which could lead to them feeling ‘unloved.’The most popular of all my children’s books have been the four stories of ‘Douglas the Dragon.’ These stories have been publicly read in thousands of Yorkshire Schools between 1990 and 2005.Numerous teachers have used them to help children come to terms with the emotional upset that moving house, changing schools, being separated from part of one’s family, bereavement of loved ones or being excluded from community activities can produce. Child Psychologists, Educational Welfare Officers and Trauma Therapists also used the stories to help abused children express their righteous anger, thereby enabling the progression of their emotional development through the facilitation of healthy expression.The central themes of the ‘Douglas the Dragon’ stories evolve around the issues of Anger, Fear, Love, Separation, Bereavement, Second Chances, the Effect of Exclusion and the unwelcome experience that Sudden Change can often produce. Indeed, the late Princess Diana once phoned me when Princes William and Harry were aged around 9 years and 7 years, and asked that I send her a copy of ‘Douglas the Dragon’ along with a copy of ‘Sleezy the Fox’ so that she may read them to her children at bedtime. There is a two-headed dragon that lives in the heart of every man, woman and child; a ‘Dragon of Anger’ and a ‘Dragon of Love.’ Both dragons compete for the control of our thoughts, feelings and actions, but only one of them can be victorious. The ‘Dragon of Anger’ will destroy you unless you evict it from your body in the form of healthy expression. We cannot get the ‘Dragon of Anger’ out of our bodies until we allow in the ‘Dragon of Love.’The ability to express the ‘Dragon of Love’ through our thoughts, words and deeds will lead us on to increased self-acceptance, greater happiness, improved health and personal freedom; bringing us closer to our true selves, our families, our friends, our neighbours and our God.

Aaron is a normal boy fascinated with music. He loves playing his flute so much he doesn't even mind lessons over summer break. When he meets a strange boy at the park who seems to be just as obsessed they spend summer days entertaining children in the parks woods. But friends often have secrets, music can be magical, and even the most innocent of children's games can be more than they appear.Product DescriptionThis is a Short Story!Ring Around the Rosie, a centuries old children's song known by all. We all remember the song and dance, people telling us it was about the Great Plague...but what if the song was really a warning for something else?Aaron is a normal boy fascinated with music. He loves playing his flute so much he doesn't even mind lessons over summer break. When he meets a strange boy at the park who seems to be just as obsessed they spend summer days entertaining children in the parks woods. But friends often have secrets, music can be magical, and even the most innocent of children's games can be more than they appear.This story contains NO violence, foul language or sex.Review"Weaving the magical into the mundane, making you rethink what you already know, and mesmerizing you from start to finish. Only three of the reasons why I love Jen Wylie's stories." - Sean Hayden, Author of the Demonkin Series."A chilling tale of friendship, music and magic." - J.A. Campbell, Author of Doc, Vampire-Hunting Dog."Chilling, thrilling and pitch perfect, will you take Jennifer Wylie's hand and be led into a supernatural game? It's not all child's-play in 'Ring Around the Rosie'." - Katy O'Dowd, Author of The Lady Astronomer.

In the kingdom of Allay, Sages are born. Powerful warriors with supernatural abilities that would rival the strength of whole armies. And there is an academy that trains such warriors. One such student is James, a self-proclaimed slacker that has just been forced into the academy by his father. And if he plans to see another day, he will have to mature...fast.In the kingdom of Allay, Sages are born. Powerful warriors with supernatural abilities that would rival the strength of whole armies. And there is an academy that trains such warriors, forging them out of young, ordinary students. Few survive, but if there is any hope for this now desolate kingdom, the tests must be given to all that enter its walls.One such student is James, a self-proclaimed slacker that has just been forced into the academy by his father. And if he plans to see another day, he will have to weather through four lessons in life: determination, maturity, trust, and love…Praise for The Sage Saga: "A warning, it is a trap. Once you start you can't put it down. I had to read it start to finish an immediately get the rest of the series." - Book Reviewer "It was a great read from start to finish. It was so captivating that I had trouble putting the book down." - Book Reviewer "I couldn't put it down. Lots of adventure and heartbreak. I loved the depth that the author takes you too in falling in love with the main characters." - Book Reviewer on The Dark Kingdom (Book 2 of the Sage Saga) "A fantastic read hard to pick which way it was going some times." - Book Reviewer on Hail to the Queen (Book 3 of the Sage Saga)

A Yule Celebration with the DeFliehr witches in Jezebel Jorge's Ring Dream series.In our modern era of vanishing morality, benchmark Christian principles seem all but forgotten. But what happens to those who honor the law of man above the Law of Christ? Does His Blood still cover them? What reason is there to put Christ's Law first? "The Bleeding Love" attempts to answers these important questions in this charming work of fiction, while at the same time coming up with a delightful and completely fictional, surprise happy ending. NOTE: This is the unedited version. It appears just as it did online, as it was being written.

Gavin Talbot is one of the best criminals the world doesn't know about. Known to the Police only as Raven, Gavin is left wondering what to do when a job gets interrupted. The obvious answer seems to be:'Find the next job'.A long dense narrative poem set in a neo-decadent future. Portrays the tempestuous love affair of a cyber-enhanced woman and her wandering paramour. Rhysling Award Finalist 2002Bruce Boston lives in Ocala, Florida, once known as the City of Trees, with his wife, writer-artist Marge Simon, and the ghosts of two cats. He is the author of fifty books and chapbooks. His poetry and fiction have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, Pedestal, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and The Nebula Awards Showcase. One of the leading genre poets for more than a quarter century, Boston has won the Bram Stoker Award for Poetry, the Asimov's Readers Award, and the Rhysling Award, each a record number of times. He is the author of the dystopian SF novel The Guardener’s Tale (available as an ebook) and the sixties-counterculture novel Stained Glass Rain (forthcoming as an ebook), and has received a Pushcart Prize for Fiction.

Amaranth Glyn's comfortable life comes to an end when the church funds disappear. Her father, the church treasurer who drew out the money, is also missing, to be followed shortly by her mother. The disgrace this brings on the family means Amaranth's marriage plans are cancelled. Amaranth is a competent artist and moves away with her young brother to try to earn a living."It seems, Miss, your father drew out that money yesterday, and took it all out in gold. The Rector happened to be in the Bank at the time, but was on his way to town, and could not stop to talk to your father just then, though he wondered to hear him say he had come to draw out everything, as treasurer of the fund." Amaranth Glyn's comfortable life comes to an end when the church funds disappear. Her father, the church treasurer who drew out the money, is also missing, to be followed shortly by her mother. The disgrace this brings on the family means Amaranth's marriage plans are cancelled. Amaranth is a competent artist and moves away with her young brother to try to earn a living. There are rumours that her parents are in France and even in Peru. Caring for her sick brother, Amaranth wants life to be as it was before the financial scandal forced her to leave her family home and the garden she loved.

Magic is a forbidden art, yet Jarrod finds himself surrounded by it. Torn between love and his fear of magic, Jarrod fights to salvage his family while striving to free the woman he loves from imprisonment. Time is against him, and he must achieve his goals before the forbidden art steals everything he holds dear.This is the second mystery in the Ghostcatcher series. This time the daughter of an old friend has gone missing and T.K. Fleming is caught up in murder again. The retired English Professor moved to Key West on his boat to find a little peace and quiet, but it never seems to work out that way. From the glitter of Miami strip clubs to the blue waters of Biscayne Bay, violence and mayhem track Fleming and his friends. The only question is will he get her before they get him.

When Keelic Travers turns an abandoned battleship simulator into his personal playground he unwittingly trains himself in the lost skills of an age of war and steps into the path of history's most hated space pirate—an unstoppable man who consumes entire worlds.Alexander Edlund, author of the iBooks epic fantasy bestseller A Woman Warrior Born, has launched a new science fiction series with Keelic and the Space Pirates.Keelic Travers always wanted to be a space pirate, until steps into the path of the galaxy’s most hated man—an unstoppable pirate who consumes entire worlds. After eleven year old Keelic is forced by his parents to move to a frontier planet, he finds that being the new kid on the planet paints a target on his back, and his face. Yet it all looks bearable after he befriends a telepathic alien and discovers an ancient battleship training simulator that he and his friend use as their own epic video game. When his new home planet is attacked he sees the sentient house that raised him destroyed, and his parents captured. To rescue his parents Keelic must use every skill he has learned—the tactical mastery of an age of war—and become the kind of warrior the simulator was built to train. ‘…it’s a sense of wonder that powers this story…’ –Kirkus Reviews

"Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system." The city of Los Angeles is a wasteland. Zack is a young man whose chosen weapon is a katana. Anna is a young woman whose chosen weapon is an axe. Two people, who lived two different lives, meet on one fated day. Together, they must fight off the real enemy: those infected during the outbreak.She’s a loner. Always has been. She’s fought to survive, tooth and nail. He’s a prince of the Arterian Royal Family – the greatest power in the galaxy.They shouldn’t meet. Their paths should never intersect. But they do.Because the Milky Way is on the verge of total war once more. Together, they can save everyone. If they are torn apart, all will fall….…A six-episode serialization, Shattered Destiny: A Galactic Adventure takes you on a break-neck journey through strange alien worlds, vast star systems, and a galaxy of secrets. Packed full of action, intrigue, and romance, it’s sure to please fans of the original Betrothed series.

As teenage student Tom Murray makes his way home in the wet and windy late night, he is looking forward to a lazy week off from his studies. But after he falls asleep on an empty tube train, the piercing screams of a young female wake him up. He stumbles into a dark tunnel towards the source of the screams. But when he finds them he cannot believe what he is seeing...As a noun, time is defined as “The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.”As an anthology, Time is the collection of work written by award winning authors who all possess the talent, determination, and passion to bring to life the jumbled ideas contained within and present them in an entertaining and professional manner.Literary Underground is once again proud to present you with an excellent sampling of what the self published and up-and-coming authors of the world have to offer.Featured Authors:D.G. TurnerMary Ann BernalWayne DePriestV.R. ChristensenMJ HeiserBill Jones Jr.Richard SuttonJ.M. LeeM.C. ArvanitisSteven NovakCarla Hapke

A shed full of macabre secrets... A wife gone crazy...A nine-year-old girl that must die.A shed full of macabre secrets... A wife gone crazy...A nine-year-old girl that must die. Jonah fights for his life while trying to stop his deranged wife from killing their daughter in the name of the Lord. Sometimes, the Devil truly is in the details. **Warning: Madeline is a short HORROR story not intended for anyone who may be offended by graphic language or scenes of violence. Please, don’t read this story if you are squeamish or easily offended.