Emma and her dog, Sophie, find a mysterious balloon in the woods which leads to lost love and a reunited family.caution: to anyone who is about to read this novel, you must be warned. this novel will change you're life. you will never see the world the same way again. everything you know and believe will be called into question, including your religion.where did mankind come from? what are our true origins?everything you have been told throughout your life about the creation of man is a lie. creationism or evolution: there both wrong. you must now decide: walk away and continue to live "the lie" or read on and see the truth of the origins of mankind, even if it means calling into question the very core of where you came from and who you "truly" are. what would you do if you knew something horrifying was going to happen that’ll lead to devastating consequences for billions of people and no one will believe a word you say when you try and warn them? 4 young, awkward shy boys from the small town of springbrook gardens will face that impossible question. it is the weekend of the biggest event of the year, the annual variety talent show and the kids are hoping to win first prize to gain the respect they desperately crave. for the last year they have been known around town as the cry wolves’ gang because of the constant practical jokes they have played. It’s to a point where no one would believe them even if they said the sky were blue. the weather is perfect. music group sensation “fly by night” is booked for the weekend, a fireworks show is set to go, and a military platoon lead by the “the general” has arrived for a meet and greet, everyone is happy. from a distance everything looks perfect, nothing could possible go wrong. …until the kids stumble across the true reasons of the military presences in their small town. a friendly meet and greet is the farthest thing from the general’s mind. on the friday night the kids are in the woods and to their amazement they witness a ufo landing. they discover to their horror aliens are planning an attack on their town and will move out like a virus to destroy the world. as if it couldn’t get any worse, the military secretly plans on do anything it takes to stop them to save the planet, even if it means sacrificing the entire town by crashing the massive mother ship down on top of it. the kids are in a panic, they need to warn everyone, but who would believe the cry wolves’ gang? a group infamous for their lies. now the four boys have only 24 hours to find a way to stop the battle between alien and the military to save their town, even if it means sacrificing themselves to do it. aliens vs. the military: whoever wins, the town loses. will they save their town in time? will the aliens succeed in attacking and what will the boys discover along the way about the origins of mankind that will astonish themselves and soon shock the world?

Unpredictable, chaotic, and not be tampered with casually, magic always has consequences. In these ten stunning short stories, boys and girls take turns-usually unawares-learning firsthand just what magic spells, enchantments, and curses really can do.

When a tick gets infected by werewolf blood, things get a bit scary and more than a bit weird for Ryan and his little sister Carrie.A 3000 word short story by award-winning fantasy humor author Norm Cowie.Every housewife needs an alias. Donna Stone has one--and it happens to be government-sanctioned.Oh sure, you need to be ruthless to take on Russian mafia bosses, rogue dictators, and terrorists set on destroying the world. But it takes real killer instincts to survive suburbia. Try juggling the fifth grade phone tree during a shootout with skinhead arms dealers, or driving carpool while being chased by Chinese double agents.Donna’s life wasn’t always this complicated. Five years earlier she was just another woman with two preschoolers, a baby bump, and an adoring husband: Carl, with whom she lived happily ever after in a McMansion in the Orange County, California community of Hilldale. But Donna’s life was changed forever the night she delivered her baby: Carl’s car blew up on the way to the hospital.Turns out Carl was a “hard man”—an assassin—for the black ops organization known as Acme Industries. The hit on Carl was carried out by the Quorum, a terrorist cell he was tracking. The Quorum’s motto: “Show me the money.” Governments and corporations do as they’re told—or suffer bloody consequences.Carl left something behind that the Quorum wants badly. To protect herself and avenge Carl’s death, Donna joined Acme. Whereas her hostessing skills rival Martha Stewart’s, her marksmanship is second to none.A good thing, too, because the Quorum has planted a sleeper cell in Hilldale. For Donna, that’s too close for comfort. Will she be able to save her family before the Quorum blows up Los Angeles?Acme’s way of flushing out the Quorum is by “bringing Carl back from the dead.” But terrorism makes strange bedfellows--and brings new meaning to that old adage “Honey, I’m home…”*Not her real name."Adorable is not usually the word that comes to mind with a title like The Housewife Assassin’s Handbook, but it was just what I needed to pull me out of my reading doldrums. From the handy little homemaker/assassin tips at the beginning of each chapter to the thankless job of being a single parent with catty neighbors, this book hits all the right notes. Donna works for the good guys, Acme Industries, undercover by taking down drug lords and terrorists with a matter-0f-fact attitude while worrying about making it to her carpooling duties.Granted, the book ended with a hook that made me want to immediately get the next one, which is always a smart move and I was excited to see that there are actually 11 books in the series (including a prequel). I now want a week at the beach to read them all. Think Alias meets Desperate Housewives meets The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Live a little, add some spice to your life, give this little book a try and give yourself a reason to smile. I know I did and now I’m completely smitten." -- Barbara Vey, BarbaraVey.com

Welcome to my love fest. After writing about crimes and horrors and intergalactic nasties, I thought I'd show my more romantic side. Hence, in this collection of Flash Fiction you'll find a delicious double-decker cream cake of human interaction, stuffed with a selection of Mini Novels (1,500 words tales so full they think they're bigger). But be warned - it is romance with bite.One-sided love online is a story of one girl who fell in love with another girl who she met on a dating site turned rp site. This girl, Jaz, is a happy person turned anti-social/depressed due to bullying. She turned her focus and attention not into the real world but into a virtual one where she met this girl, Vae, who captured her heart eventually. The two became bestfriends and soon, Jaz fell in love with Vae who has someone else in mind and heart.

Work Shadowing - the clue's in the name. Harley finds the premise downright creepy. Worst of all, she's not sure she'll even be able to find someone who'll let her walk to heel, going through the motions of business. Adding into all of her stress, her brothers are at war again - and this time it's "serious". How long can she hold out without picking a side?What's worse than three days out of school in the world of grown ups? It turns out, three days *in* school in the *shoes* of a grown up. Harley's struggle to identify a career goal has brought up the inevitable question of teaching.How can she ever hope to supervise a class, when she can barely keep tabs on her troublesome younger sister? Her brothers are at breaking point, and Zak has vowed to end the conflict once and for all.What if this time, there really is no arguing with him?

A collection of 14 pieces of Crime/Noir Short/Flash Fiction (previously released anonymously as part of the "Out of Bullets, Throw the Gun: Round One" competition.Pablo D'Stair is the author of "they say the owl was a baker's daughter: four existential noirs", "bleed the ghost empty", and "Trevor English"https://m.facebook.com/TheBarnNovel/On a narrow stretch of desolate beach hundreds of kilometres away from the closest civilization stands an enormous, ancient, wooden barn. Inside, sixteen people of varying ages and backgrounds struggle through icy cold winters, stifling hot summers, and a feast or famine supply of the basic necessities of life, waiting to be chosen. From every surface, surveillance cameras record every moment.There is only one rule to life in the Barn: No one can ever leave. Not willingly.Ash, the youngest of the inhabitants, has never known a life outside of the Barn. He, like most of the others, has been trapped here for as long as he can remember. Alongside his best friend Michael, Ash leads a relatively comfortable and privileged life compared to the others. As he ages however, Ash slowly begins to realize that life in the barn isn’t at all what it seems to be.When the unthinkable happens, Ash is left with a tough choice: to either continue to lay low and stay quiet as others are taken from the barn instead of him, or to step up and volunteer himself to visit the infamous Mr. Irvine, potentially subjecting himself to a life more captive and horrific than anything he could have imagined.Contains some coarse language and inferences of sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing

The unique Native American Two-Spirit hero from Memoir of a Reluctant Shaman is back in a stand alone tale. He’s in the Big City to visit his old friend Otter as they start to explore sexuality. Otter has discovered attending a monthly safe-sex workshop is the best place to find a date who is already interested in “love with a glove.”The unique Native American Two-Spirit hero from Memoir of a Reluctant Shaman is back in a stand alone tale. He’s in the Big City to visit his old friend Otter as they start to explore sexuality. Otter has discovered attending a monthly safe-sex workshop is the best place to find a date who is already interested in “love with a glove.” They’ll have a chance to hear new legends—like the Dancing Deer Woman and more about Coyote than our Reluctant Shaman would ever want to know—from the Workshop leader, Professor Comesflying.Warning: this story uses explicit language and is sexually graphic. But it also might tell you a few things you didn't know. This free tale is part of The Real Story Safe Sex Project dedicated to using entertainment and popular culture to spread the word about HIV/AIDS and safe sex to gay and bi male teens and twentysomethings.Excerpt:“Have some potato juice,” Otter said, handing me an old silver thermos.“What's potato juice?” I took the battered thing and shook it. Liquids sound pretty much alike.“It's what we Kiowas call vodka, 'cause it's traditionally made from potatoes.”“Nah,” I said, handing it back. “I don't drink.”“Wussie-pussy,” he laughed, opening it up and taking a mouthful. His eyes squinted from the sensation and the sharp stink of cheap liquor hit my nose.“It's not that—I found if I try to drink, dead people start talking to me and that always creeps me out. Scorpio is the one who's supposed to deal with the Dead, not me.” Otter's grandfather is a medicine man, so I didn't have to worry about explaining anything. He nodded and put the top back on his thermos. “Bummer, bro. That would really freak me out. What do the Dead want to talk about?”I hesitated. I had been dumped on my Uncle Feeney's pig farm by my family for sort of, kind of abusing the whole “spiritually gifted” thing by seducing a new student. How was I to know what I had done would turn him into a zombie sex slave? Whoops. And such a waste of my time. Turns out he would have wanted to date me anyway. All I really ended up doing was speeding up his Coming Out process. Go me. During my formal initiation the real chatty-cathy Dead was my brother Scorpio, and he kept nagging me to resurrect his ass. Whatever. And I thought I had gotten in trouble for the sex slave stuff...Aloud I answered, “If they're on this side of the Doorway, they're usually begging you to help them do something. Then there was this real perv one who kept trying to sex up sleepers. My Aunt Pork called him an ‘Incubus wannabe’ and used some Ghost Medicine to get rid of him.” I glanced over at Otter's “potato juice” and added, “I get enough of the Living expecting me to do stuff without the Dead trying to ride my ass.” I shuddered from certain memories and tried to focus on my friend. Otter and I had fooled around some after my first official lover went home to Italy. But then his father got hired for a new job and his family had to move to Portland. We kept in touch and now I was spending a few days with him. He had cut his hair off and looked a little taller since I had last seen him. Life in the Big City.

Patrick Coyne feels like he’s safe from the drug authorities as a patient in a mental hospital during the late 1980s. He even calms down an angry young girl and thinks his love life is about to improve. Will legally prescribed drugs end his paranoia? And why won’t the staff let him have a girlfriend?Patrick Coyne is sure that the drug authorities are out to get him. His psychiatrist calls it paranoia but Patrick isn’t so sure. Yet as a patient on a voluntary mental ward in during the late-1980s War on Drugs, he begins to feel oddly safe. Around him are other patients as well as staff members, each with their own concerns. When Patrick calms down the angry young Justine, he thinks his love life is about to improve. But there is a reason why she’s also in the hospital. Will legally prescribed drugs bring Patrick back to reality? And why won’t the staff let him have a girlfriend?

As winter falls on the forest, all the young critters of Sapsward Village gather around Elder Burkus to hear the tale of Durbin and Morro's battle with the mighty owl Da Hoot. This companion story to the epic Magefable Saga takes place between book I - Magefable and book II - Talonridge.《格斗士的抉择》是马沫克的第一部作品，完成那年他只有11岁。小说的灵感部分根植于他3岁那年（2001年）的意大利之旅，宏伟壮观的罗马斗兽场给他留下了深刻的印象，接下来的几年里，他一直在想象斗兽场内外发生的故事。10岁的时候，马沫克在Deerfield小学图书馆里查询了相关背景资料后，一气呵地成完成了《格斗士的抉择〉。小说最早付印于2010年。

An unconscious man found at their mother’s graveside - could this really be the twin brother that Daniel had thought was long dead? Determined to nurse him back to health, Daniel takes the man in, only to find the invalid’s behaviour becoming ever more threatening. As tensions escalate, the tiny cramped flat becomes a powder keg that is set to explode with catastrophic and profound consequences.Ever since the day his twin brother Alex was swept out to sea as a child, Daniel George has been on a downward spiral. He can’t make friends, he can’t hold down a relationship and he can’t begin to grieve.Life is turned on its head when on the twenty-fourth anniversary of the tragedy, while visiting his local church, Daniel discovers an unconscious man slumped against his mother’s gravestone. A young nurse, Gulnaz Rahmani, herself paying her respects to a deceased relative, finds evidence of head injuries that indicate a mugging. Before the paramedics can carry him away, Daniel takes another look at the man, and through the cuts and bruises and the drawn, white skin he suddenly recognises the face of his long lost twin.For weeks, Alex languishes comatose in hospital, only to wake finally, mute and paralysed. Notwithstanding, if Gulnaz will agree to help him, Daniel will undertake to bring the prodigal, miracle-twin home and nurse him back to health.But is this man truly Daniel's twin brother? Wouldn’t a twin have tried to make contact years sooner? And why does he now so flatly refuse to play ball? As the invalid’s behaviour becomes increasingly threatening, and as the escalating pressures on Daniel sabotage his fragile new relationship with Gulnaz, so the tiny, cramped flat becomes a powder keg that sooner or later must explode. When the final spark comes, the consequences for everyone are catastrophic and profound.

A sci-fi short story. When scientists finally discovered the secret of consciousness – the C particle – they also discovered what the mystics had known all along: everything is conscious (in its own way). At least, those things that interact with the C particle. That includes pretty much all matter, anyway. And, in theory noted by but a few, all dark matter...A sci-fi short story. When scientists finally discovered the secret of consciousness – the C particle – they also discovered what the mystics had known all along: everything is conscious (in its own way). At least, those things that interact with the C particle. That includes pretty much all matter, anyway. And indeed, anti-matter, but that is of no importance, there being hardly any of the stuff around this part of the Universe. And, in theory noted by but a few, all dark matter..."Spider" McCool was a psychic investigator. But when he read about dark matter in a science magazine one day, he had an epiphany. Ghosts? No! Aliens! Or, better, both! At last, a scientific explanation for ghosts that didn't involve self-delusion.

3 distinct series. 7 books. 7 chapters. In the spirit of try before you buy, this sampler pack will give you just that. A sample of Jill Cooper's writing.3 distinct series. 7 books. 7 chapters. In the spirit of try before you buy, this sampler pack will give you just that. A sample of Jill Cooper's writing. The Dream Slayer Series: Paranormal adventures with heartache, laughter, triumph, showcasing the spirit of it's young heroines. 15 Minutes: A time travel thriller whirlwind adventure with romance, suspense, and more twists than a water park. Glistening Haven: A scifi dystopian political thriller with a splash of paranormal. It'll suck you in before Leave it to Beaver can say Gosh Darn it! Devour: A stand alone horror romance that is sure to curl your toes with desire, and make your hair stand on end in terror.

Ralph Tucker is dating a woman who favors Orvis, genuine hornback crocodile belts. The dainty accessories retails for just under six hundred dollars. If Ralph’s romance blossoms, he’s going to need a second job.‘Beam Me Back to Venus’ is a light-hearted collection of humorous poetry based around the joys and challenges of parenting children from birth through the teenage years. Written from a mother’s point of view, many will relate to the frustrations of juggling paid work with the daily taxi run, housework and the dramas of bringing up a busy family. Families everywhere face the same dilemma of the last minute homework project, how to be four places at once and where do all those odd socks go?Despite all the child rearing books, we who produce offspring will always stumble on as best we can to raise the little ones into the finest people we can and have a lot of joy, laughter and tears along the way. If only they came with a manual.

Frederick Bastiat was a French economist living in the early and mid-1800's, but his economic and political insight is timeless. Here, in this small e-booklet, Catherine shares many of his key points, along with a limited amount of commentary. If you are a conservative and have never read Bastiat's Essays, this is a great way to be introduced to them!So what does a radio DJ's salad and Schrodinger's cat have in common? Absolutely nothing, unless you consider if one of them decides to go on vacation, the salad that is, then all you have is a cat all alone with nothing to do except ponder its existence. So what about the salad? Legend of the Salad Traveler is a lighthearted story of a salad that weighed 5.5 ounces, and it decides to go on vacation; a man unexpectedly ends up in your shower and tells you he knows how to find it. Just make sure you keep enough rocks in your pocket. That's explained later, and it has something to do with moving from universe to universe as this is a story of epic proportions - well not epic, maybe whimsical proportions and fun nonetheless.

What if demons aren't evil as we've been lead to believe from infancy? What if they're just like you and me: capable of making mistakes and having regrets? Maybe they're sorry for the wrong they've done and maybe we should forgive them. After all, isn't that what Maker is all about, forgiveness of sins?And who wouldn't resurrect the one they loved, for the life of someone they'd never met?What if demons aren't evil as we've been lead to believe from infancy? What if they're just like you and me: capable of making mistakes and having regrets? Maybe they're sorry for the wrong they've done and maybe we should forgive them. After all, isn't that what Maker is all about, forgiveness of sins?They found the demon child crying on their doorstep. He was cold, precariously balanced on the edge of death. They were kind people. Unable to ignore his suffering, they took him into their home and cared for him as if he were their own. But he was not their own, and the day came when he committed an unforgivable sin, in raising his mother from the dead.Have you ever imagined what it must be like for someone to love you . . . the real you? Can you imagine what such an embrace might feel like? No . . . of course not. I'm being silly. You're just a little bird. No one would ever love you.

On a frozen mountain range, Elwood and Rodeena adopt disguises to try and scare away a bunch of workers from constructing an oil pipeline.Dylan Blake has never had a home before and he isn't expecting to find one in New Elphame, Michigan. But his new town is nothing like he expected. Between the foster parents who don't seem quite sure what to make of him and the kids at school who act a little afraid of him, Dylan is pretty sure that he's not going to stick around too long. But then someone tells his a crazy story about another new kid at Seelie High and the mysterious door she opened. It's all a little hard to accept, but Dylan might start believing when he steps through the door himself.Find out what life is like on the other side of the door in this third installment in the Tales from Seelie High collection. Whether you have been keeping up with the series or this is your first introduction to the students of Seelie High School, you will find yourself drawn into the mystery of New Elphame's strange, and possibly magical, past and the exciting adventure of its future. This edition also includes two mini-stories involving the students of Seelie High—a collection of interviews conducted by the intrepid Greer Douglas, student reporter for the Daily Chronicles, and a personal account of one student’s discovery of a magical heritage.

Rumors of a runaway carnival act lure three kids into the woods on a search for adventure. What they find there will change the destiny of all three and launch tomboy, Samantha, on a lifelong journey of empowerment, heartbreak, and femininity.Samantha’s getting tired of being mistaken for one of the guys, yet she can’t resist when her crush, Jimmy, invites her to help hunt down a sideshow freak that escaped from a local carnival. It doesn't turn out like she’d hoped, though, and their ill-fated adventure leaves her feeling distant and alone.Only she’s not alone.She soon notices the presence of a strange and mythical creature that seems to follow her around and threaten her friends. She links the creature’s presence to the mutilation of local pets and livestock and, eventually, to the mysterious death of one of her friends.In the end, she must confront the creature along with her own shortcomings in order to save herself, her friends, and her future family.

A book for parents to read to their children. It gives them joy to know how other children have fun doing the things that they do themselves.Melody and Duncan are best friends who spend every summer vacationing at their families’ lake houses in the Northwoods of Minnesota. Their plan for this summer is to have as much fun in the sun as they can before they head off for their first year of college at the U in the fall. Everything changes when Duncan’s father announces he’s been promoted and the family will be moving to Florida. Secretly, both Mel and Duncan are harboring feelings for each other, but both are holding back. With only one week before the life-long friends are separated by two thousand miles, can the budding romance find a way to blossom? The Summer We Believed is told in alternating points of view and the first installment of Denim Days, a friends-to-lovers series by Shel Delisle.

When the only form of justice that counts is your own. What should be a straightforward murder investigation for London DCI Nick Severance turns into something far more sinister. How far can he be pushed before he compromises his principles?What should be a straightforward murder investigation for London DCI Nick Severance turns into something far more sinister. How far can he be pushed before he compromises his principles? Why would an archaeological researcher just back from India be gunned down on a London street? That’s the question facing DCI Nick Severance as he investigates his latest murder case. When the answers threaten to destroy everything he cares about, he makes a choice that will change his life forever. But is there life after terror?

Nine short stories set in the 19th, 20th and 21st century, from Professor Kurtz and his paper on "human de-evolvement," to giant sea turtles appearing in neighborhood swimming pools. How can we be certain of anything?These short stories are about what we may think we see and feel as much as they are about any reality we are living in. From the well known Professor Kurtz and his groundbreaking paper on "human de-evolvement," to giant sea turtles suddenly appearing in neighborhood swimming pools, to state governments desperately searching for novel ways to raise money in dire economic times, and to hope in unusual places. We all continue to look for resolution of some kind. Do we not?