Jennifer Murdley, a homely fifth-grader who would give anything to be beautiful, accidentally stumbles into a magic shop and purchases a very ugly toad. The toad, it turns out, can talk and ends up getting Jennifer into the worst trouble of her life. This madcap, head-spinning adventure is also a thought-provoking story about the nature of true beauty.

Bloody Rain is a short story set in the 1880s on the sailing ship, Queen Charlotte, in the Hoogly River off the Calcutta and in the Bay of Bengal - a tale of murder, madness and the monsoon.Bloody Rain is a short story set on a sailing ship in the 1880s. The Queen Charlotte was anchored fore and aft off the Calcutta wharves in the Hoogly River, waiting for cargo. She was a fine, three masted iron bark; trim, low and fast on a reach - in all respects, the perfection of the shipbuilder's art. If she had a single great flaw, it was on her quarterdeck in the man that the owners had chosen as captain.Captain John McPherson maintains absolute control over his ship and those who sail upon her. The only one that he cannot control is himself, slipping into murder and madness in the face of the relentless monsoon.

A Bethancourt & Gibbons mystery short story.Bethancourt & Gibbons mysteries are a series of traditional British cozies in a modern setting. Phillip Bethancourt is a wealthy man-about town and amateur sleuth. His best friend is Detective Sergeant Jack Gibbons, a rising star at Scotland Yard. Together they can suss out even the most complex cases.Bethancourt & Gibbons mysteries are a series of traditional British cozies in a modern setting. Phillip Bethancourt is a wealthy man-about town and amateur sleuth. His best friend is Detective Sergeant Jack Gibbons, a rising star at Scotland Yard. Together they can suss out even the most complex cases. The Dressing Table Murder is the first short story in the series, originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. There are also four novels published by St. Martin’s Minotaur.“Literate and charming mysteries.” —Booklist“An enjoyable outing into Dorothy Sayers territory.” —Publishers Weekly“The author tells a tale that is part crime story, part family drama, part buddy flick, and part love story---a combination that makes for enjoyable reading.”—School Library Journal

Graham Theakston is a journalist in East Africa just before independence. He’s a bit of a hack, a bit of a boozer, smokes too much and is bullied by both his white boss and his black wife. Despite this, he bumbles along, until a rebel leader takes offence at an article he's written for the local rag.Graham Theakston is a journalist in East Africa just before independence. He’s a bit of a hack, a bit of a boozer, smokes too much and is bullied by both his white boss and his black wife. Despite this, he bumbles along, until a rebel leader takes offence at an article he's written for the local rag.Katife is a book of often dark humour set in a time when Imperialism was going out of fashion, leaving former colonies looking for a new political identity and for new rulers. Any money I make from selling the book is being donated to the charity War Child, though I've kept the price to a minimum in the hope that readers like the book enough to make their own donations and pass the word.

This is based on the original book, we had to make up a chapter for an English assignment.The Description is, Travis married Jane, and began being abusive to her, and in this short story Travis has tied Jane to the stove with his belt for trying to escape. Jane manages to get free and Travis wants to get her back at any cost.Long ago, a woman could be convicted of witchcraft simply for breathing, it seems. MARTYR is a slightly modern take on the old, familiar witch hunt story.Story was loosely based on the similar story of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry Tudor (King Henry VIII).Appropriate for most audiences old enough to know about death.

A boy who turns into candy after shoplifting his Halloween treats. A girl who wakes up one morning to discover that her wish has come true… and it’s Halloween EVERY day! These are just some of the short, spooky stories that make up my new middle grade anthology, Creeperz: 5 Terrifying Tales. This 8,250-word middle grade short story collection is 44 pages long.A boy who turns into candy after shoplifting his Halloween treats. Another boy whose face is carved into a pumpkin after he wins the modeling gig of his dreams… or is it nightmares? A girl who wakes up one morning to discover that her wish has come true… and it’s Halloween EVERY day!These are just some of the short, spooky stories that make up my new middle grade anthology, Creeperz: 5 Terrifying Tales. Each story weighs in at about 1,500-words, making this collection of short, spooky reads just perfect for teachers to read during free time in October, librarians to read to classes during field trips, troop leaders to read to campers around a campfire, parents to read in a darkened living room or for kids to read themselves, in short, spooky doses. And while creepy, each story features a solid G-rating so everyone can feel good – if scared – about reading them all year long!This 8,250-word middle grade short story collection is 44 pages long.

It's Halloween night, the night Megan can finally see what's going on inside of that old mansion at the end of her street. But things don't turn out the way she thought they would. She returns the next morning, only to meet her fate, and--a change of weather? No. A change of her.It's Halloween night, the night Megan can finally see what's going on inside of that old mansion at the end of her street. But things don't turn out the way she thought they would. She returns the next morning, only to meet her fate, and--a change of weather? No. A change of her.--- Warning: this book is a rather fast read.. . .

With all perfect lives there are secrets. Secrets that can become a death sentence if shared with the wrong person.Reginald and Amanda are the perfect couple in Paradise Cove. Amanda is a-typical; popular and rich, she’s a daddy’s girl who gets everything she wants. Reginald is not only equally popular, he’s perfect in every way. He has dirty blonde surfer boy shaggy hair, sea blue eyes, golden tan, athletic body, and a cherry red vintage 1967 convertible Corvette. Their world is perfect in everyone’s eyes, right down to their wedding announcement last month at the Marina Bay Country Club. Nevertheless, with all perfect things, there’s always a threat. One that money could easily solve. After all, in their world, money solves everything, right? It can make any problem go away. Unless…it’s someone that money can’t buy. Someone who has proof about a missing girl that was last seen riding in a vintage red Corvette. The police of Paradise Cove ignore her attempts at helping to solve her best friend’s disappearance, but with or without their help, she will face whatever danger arises, to find her friend.

Jaime has waited his whole life for the chance to change the world. Armed with a discrete bio-weapon, he prepares to assassinate the Great Sir of the Seven Systems and free millions from industrial serfdom. But Jaime is on a one way trip, one that will force him to choose between ideology and a love powerful enough to shatter an interplanetary empire.Status updating…Time and Space breached…Data leak detected…The archives of The Numbered Entity Project have opened in this membrane of existence for the very first time. Inside the, at once both infinitesimal and infinity-spanning, data stores wait the tale of rogues, outcasts and 'others.' Those whose time was numbered but refused to 'know their place.' Those who tried, for better or worse, to change their respective worlds of swords and magic, steam and musket, or nanotechnology. The Project records all, in tribute to Time and Space.Jaime has waited his whole life for the chance to change the world. Armed with a discrete bio-weapon, he prepares to assassinate the Great Sir of the Seven Systems and free millions from industrial serfdom. But Jaime is on a one way trip, a journey that will force him to sever his ties to the one he loves most. His ideals will be tested to breaking when brought to bear against that love, a love which could tear Seven Systems apart.

Jed Namara quits a top job to hunt hidden diamonds in Polynesia and discovers pursuing Kami, a local girl, promises even more sparkle.Jed Namara quits a top job and sets out on a madcap hunt for hidden diamonds in a group of Polynesian islands untouched by time. No power, roads, cars, telephones, internet, hotels or bars. Just leaky wooden boats, bullock carts and donkeys for transport. This fast-paced hunt with bad guys on his tail allows time to pursue Kami, a local girl, too.

"Chorus" is the first chapter of Eric Robert Nolan's debut novel "The Dogs Don't Bark In Brooklyn Any " and a stand-alone short story in it's own right. This short story and sample is intended as a gateway into the universe Eric has created. If you like this, for the full story please go to our website.“There was a time, Rebecca’s father had told her, when wolves could not speak. She wished for that time.”A military unit on the front-lines facing against a deadly, terrifying enemy - super-intelligent Wolves. Wolves that have evolved, are hungry for the extinction of Man, and will stop at nothing to ensure that we are gone from this world forever.Taken from the long-form novel "The Dogs Don't Bark In Brooklyn Any More", Chorus provides a snapshot of a possible future for mankind.******Synopsis of "The Dogs Don't Bark In Brooklyn Any More" - Rebecca O’Conner is the daugh­ter of a hero, a vet­eran sol­dier of The Wolf War. Now, she her­self is a Cap­tain in the Spe­cial Ani­mal War­fare Ser­vice (SAWS), fight­ing against the super intel­li­gent wolves that have taken over the West Coast of the United States, as her father did.The Dogs Don’t Bark In Brook­lyn Any­more spans two peri­ods of Rebecca’s life; the tumul­tuous Brook­lyn child­hood that shapes her future, prepar­ing her for the sol­dier she must become, and her strug­gle to keep her­self and her squad alive as she pre­pares to meet her des­tiny. Her empir­i­cal mind rebels against the chaotic dreams that haunt her, sug­gest­ing a greater path than she can yet com­pre­hend as she seeks to find an end to the war.The enemy is smart, strong and fear­less; the odds are stacked against the human race. Is there hope for us in the war with the wolves? Will human­ity pre­vail and reclaim its place as the dom­i­nant species on Earth? Or will the great demonic hound that stalks Rebecca in her sleep close its jaws over the world and drive us to extinction?

The young blue-body-painted girls of the Portland Poets' Collective merely want to rain-dance in peace--but the CDC has other plans. Science and mysticism collide in "Sweets for the Sweet," where reiki practioners study the darker side of their craft, and big data comes CRUNCHing in with plenty of capital and firepower.Who would have thought that a night of babysitting could change her life forever?Since his little sister bit her in November, Matt Johnson has kept her alive. Only Natalie could have a hot guy climb through her bedroom window every night and have it mean absolutely nothing romantic. Natalie works hard to hide her crush on Matt because the last thing this newly-turned vampire needs to deal with is a broken heart. Her insecurities about Matt come to a head when the mothers insist on them going to the Valentine's dance together. Will this Valentine's Day suck worse than all her previous Valentine's days?******Excerpt“Thanks,” I told him. “You’re getting good at solving my problems.”“That’s me,” he said, lifting the bottle to refill our glasses. “Synthetic blood deliveryman, fashion consultant, parental advice provider…”“Good friend,” I said. I wanted more, but I couldn’t exactly say, “Slurpalicious hottie." I mean, I didn’t have the guts.******Valentine's Day Sucks is a 16,000 word novella which would be approximately 62 pages in print. Your download will include a three-chapter excerpt of Stirring Up Trouble, a young adult novel currently available at all major retailers.

Poetry is no a doubt an attempted distillation of a moment in time, an interlude. In as much as we are all present in the cosmos right now, cosmic pretty much sums up the location of the present moment in time. This collection of some 50 odd moments, distilled into anthology form, is offered up in the hopes that the whimsy contained will remind you of one or more of your own cosmic interludes.A short and possibly sweet poem about wanting to love someone so much that it overflows right out of your veins from your still beating heart—I'll admit, the poem can be a bit sappy and hopeless romantic-y, but take a quick look and see how it ends, maybe you can relate.

"My God! This can't be happening!" Andrea exclaimed, worrying less about Theo's odd behavior and more about the child's sudden disappearance. "We have to find her!"Six-year-old Rosie sees a tall, "friendly" man, but doesn't realize that she's in the pathway of an angry ghost with revenge on his mind.Six-year-old Rosie sees a tall, "friendly" man, but doesn't realize that she's in the pathway of an angry ghost with revenge on his mind.After returning home for a family visit, Mira finds herself in front of the old Ferguson house again - a place she has blatantly avoided since the entire life-altering experience of fifteen years earlier. The only thing is...there are new residents now, but not the kind she would have ever expected to see.Her six-year-old daughter, Rosie, has an incredible bond with her grandfather, but no one ever dreams that the little girl will be the bait an angry ghost uses to settle a score long overdue. She is in terrible danger and the love of her grandfather will be tested to the highest extreme.The Ferguson House: A Heart-wrenching History An Innocent Child Unlikely Inhabitants The Haunting The HUNTED!Don't be afraid. It's just...Them.

Captain Jason Brightside, commander of the Royal Space Navy's IEC Excelsior, finds himself the unwitting hero of a historical space mission. But just prior to arrival back on Earth, something mysterious happens to his crew that could jeopardize the entire mission - and the future of Earth.This short story follows Captain Jason Brightside and his crew of the Royal Space Navy, having made arguably the most significant discovery in the history of space flight, as they make the silent journey from beyond the stars back to Earth aboard the IEC Excelsior. However, all is not as it seems. Their mission potentially in jeopardy just days from its conclusion, Brightside must take matters into his own hands to ensure the safety of his ship...and his crew.

Two innocent sisters from Sinaloa, taken by human traffickers to California, are separated when one is sold to a new master in Colorado. During each sister's desperate search for the other they learn their bond is stronger than the evil men who control their lives. They learn that many possess the power to kill. But only one learns of an even greater, more elusive power. The power to live.Two innocent sisters from Sinaloa, taken by human traffickers to California, are separated when one is sold to a new master in Colorado. During each sister's desperate search for the other they learn their bond is stronger than the evil men who control their lives. They learn that many possess the power to kill. But only one learns of an even greater, more elusive power. The power to live.Characters:Lozen and Elizabeth.Sisters. During a minor skirmish in their father's drug war, they are taken as POWs. Treated as chattel, they are smuggled into California and forced into the sex slave trade. When one is sold to a new master in Colorado, they are separated. But their bond proves stronger than the evil men, on both sides of the border, who barter with their lives.Napolita. Smuggled across the border with Lozen and Elizabeth and sold to the same club in San Francisco. She grows close like a sister, but when the two blood sisters are separated and embark on separate, desperate searches for each other, Napolita is caught in the middle. She is slowly pulled apart by her circumstances until she is left on the pavement, bleeding and alone.O'Groghan.The top of a criminal empire who could snap your neck with one hand, if that's what it takes.Marcos.Club owner, crime boss, and slave master. He owns Lozen, Elizabeth, Napolita, and many other girls in his San Francisco club. He thinks he rules his little world but when he sells Lozen and Elizabeth and the transfer goes awry, he discovers how wrong he is.Richard von Broughton.Doctor. He worked as a surgeon, sometimes skillfully but oftentimes not, for decades. Upon forced retirement, his thirst for money supplants whatever thirst he had, decades previously, for compassion and humanity. Now he will cut out your eyes and your heart between martinis, avec plaisir.Nancy.A nurse who hands him the scalpel. Vestiges of her maternal instincts remain but they don't fare well in the battle raging inside of her between these instincts and her lust for money.Samantha.Kidnapped at 12 and enslaved by Marcos. All her teen years are spent in servitude. As she grows from a girl into a woman, whatever thoughts of resistance she may have once harbored recede until, by her nineteenth birthday, she is Marcos' madam and keeps the new girls in line for him. She is repaid in a way she could never imagine.Bowery. A 300-pound security chief who keeps the girls in line for Marcos. He maneuvers his bulk with dexterity and skill, but would really just like a damn pair of pants.Chase and Serio.Low level soldiers in Marcos' organization. They are responsible for the transfer of Lozen, Napolita, and Samantha to their new owner. When they bungle the job, they are sacrificed without regret.Steve.Works at his dad's roadside barbecue joint in Nevada. His vision passes through the ultraviolet ugliness that swarms around Lozen and Napolita. It is a wavelength he is not equipped to see. Instead, he sees the two girls for what they are, what they should be, and what they may become.Read how their lives all collide during Lozen's and Elizabeth's desperate search for each other. Read of the many who possess the power to kill, and the one with an even greater, more elusive power. The power to live.

With Thorogood's hallmark brilliant dialogue the plays in this collection come alive. They are entertaining enticing and laugh out loud funny. A cross between Noel Cowards* Hay Fever and the Marx Brothers* Duck Soup they are a mad romp into the surreal. A fantastic collection of truly comic plays.All the plays in this collection were successfully performed in the late 1970's early 1980's with Planet of the Cow's being presented in the fringe of the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Reviews: Tim Lloyd in the Adelaide Advertiser wrote of the play Planet of the Cows: 'Thorogood has the tremendous advantage of being able to write fresh and fluent dialogue which makes the play come alive. It is indulgent and funny with everything from terrible puns about cows to sublime comments on the behaviour of modern man.'*Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit and flamboyance. Hay Fever is a comic play written by Coward and first produced in 1925 and described as a cross between a rollicking farce and a comedy of manners.*The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. They are widely considered to be among the greatest comedians of the 20th century

BELIEVING IS DANGEROUS... Darcy Patel is afraid to believe all the hype. But it's really happening - her teen novel is getting published. Instead of heading to college, she's living in New York City, where she's welcomed into the dazzling world of YA publishing. That means book tours, parties with her favorite authors, and finding a place to live that won't leave her penniless. It means sleepless nights rewriting her first draft and struggling to find the perfect ending... all while dealing with the intoxicating, terrifying experience of falling in love - with another writer. Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, the thrilling story of Lizzie, who wills her way into the afterworld to survive a deadly terrorist attack. With survival comes the responsibility to guide the restless spirits that walk our world, including one ghost with whom she shares a surprising personal connection. But Lizzie's not alone in her new calling - she has counsel from a fellow spirit guide, a very desirable one, who is torn between wanting Lizzie and warning her that... BELIEVING IS DANGEROUS. In a brilliant high-wire act of weaving two epic narratives - and two unforgettable heroines - into one novel, Scott Westerfeld's latest work is a triumph of storytelling.

From New York Times bestselling author Kelly Elliott comes the gut-wrenching story of a love that transcends all odds—and transforms the deepest pain into the brightest hope.   Firefighter and first responder Preston Ward thought he had grown immune to the job’s emotional burns. But when he goes out on a particularly tragic call, he realizes that some scenes are too devastating to forget. And yet, if it weren’t for that terrible night, he never would have met the woman who makes him want to risk his heart. More than once, Harmony Banks has watched her perfectly ordered world torn apart by fate. Now she’s finding out that what she lost wasn’t as perfect as she thought—and it’s tearing her apart. The only thing that keeps her going is the kindness of a stranger: the firefighter who saved her life the night everything changed. Preston isn’t like the men who have come before. For one thing, he’s far more genuine. And the love Harmony feels growing between them is almost too intense for her wounded soul. But if she and Preston can push past heartbreak, they’ll find that something incredible awaits in each other’s arms. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, two souls who have long buried their passions are about to be consumed… Ever since their scorching affair ended years ago, Julian, the Nightkind King, and Melisande, daughter of the Light Fae Queen, have tried to put the past behind them—and distance between them. But when a war breaks out between Julian and Justine, a powerful Vampyre of the Nightkind council, they find themselves thrown together under treacherous circumstances… Kidnapped as leverage against Julian, Melly is convinced that her former lover won’t be rushing to her rescue. But when Julian gives himself up to save her, they both end up Justine’s captives. Armed only with their wits and their anger, Melly and Julian must work together to escape. But will they be able to ignore their complicated history, or will the fiery passion that once burned them blaze again?