Everyone has to live through an event which, whether they like it or not, defines who they are. This event may result in an extraordinary action or reveal an internal demon that has to be dealt with. Each story in this collection says, "this is who I really am" and asks, "what do I do now?"Runaways Jai and Ceder set sail in a boat full of holes, with a plan full of holes, searching for anything to hold onto in a world where nothing is what it seems. Never did they imagine their desperate voyage would ignite a maelstrom of primeval forces roiling to the surface at every turn, churning the fate and free will of every friend and foe they meet into a proper froth. Following a boy and girl who have never met before the night they flee a life of slavery and begin their journey across the open sea, Riverlilly is at heart a simple tale of young love struggling to stay afloat. Steered by waves they set in motion centuries past, leaving in their wake ripples that will rock their trusty boat a thousand years hence, together Jai and Ceder struggle to hold course against the tide of an inescapable truth: the farther away they try to run, the faster they will be reeled back to the beginning.Riverlilly is a YA Fantasy. Jai and Ceder's adventure takes place in a world not unlike Oz or Wonderland, with a wide cast of colorful characters that can be as startlingly wise as they are whimsical. There is an almost fairy-tale form of logic that underpins this world, and Jai and Ceder are as new to its quirks and Quixotisms as the reader, although most fantasy fans will get a fuzzy tinkling of familiarity throughout. Mind you, this is not an Epic, End-All Battle Between Good and Evil; there are no knights in white armor or damsels in distress, no wizards, no elves, no dwarves, no dragons (at least not in the traditional sense.) This is a smaller, more personal story, yet the pages are absolutely dripping with magic that drives the story forward at every turn, but as a powerful a narrative force as it can be, most often the existence and influence of the supernatural remains out of sight and out of mind, like the invisible currents below the surface of the sea that carry Jai and Ceder's little skiff from one shore to the other. Mystery, humor, and suspense abound, but at its core this is the adventure of a lifetime for two wide-eyed kids who have never so much as dipped a toe in the ocean but find themselves stranded on a boat full of holes by the end of the first chapter. Are you ready to set sail?

This is the first in a series of short stories where Lincoln Anderson shows he is a sucker for thumbs stuck out along the highway. He picks up these hitchhikers and often ends up learning as much about himself as he does about them.Today, he picks up a man claiming to be Jesus Christ. Together they drive from Rapid City to Denver and Lincoln's life is changed forever.Jen has never enjoyed the full moon. Not like her family and certainly not like her boss, Rob, whose monthly trysts leave the office in a shambles. Jen turns into a mouse on the full moon, the most disrespected form in the were-community. Her crush on Rob only makes her deep loneliness and feelings of alienation worse. When her friend steals an amulet with the power to turn were-wolf, Jen decides to try it on... only to find that being a wolf isn't all its cracked up to be.A novelette guaranteed to make you howl."When given the chance to become the “big bad wolf,” what happens is nothing short of hilarious. Ms. Raleigh drew me in and held me tight from the first word until the last, and left me wishing for more." -Bitten By Books-

Originally titled Virunga, this is the story of Dian Fossey, the mountain gorillas’ greatest champion and martyr. Based on Fossey’s personal papers and on interviews with her colleagues, friends, and enemies, Gorillas in the Mist reveals one woman’s passion for life — and the creatures who share it with us.

Gwenny June's husband is out of town for a couple of months, and she gets bored. So what does she do but steal the most famous painting in Charleston, and hang it in her livingroom. The insurance company sends their best investigator, and soon he is on her trail. Just like in the famous movie, they fall for each other, Tommy Crown alternately courting her and trying to throw her in jail.Gwenny June's husband is out of town for a couple of months, and she gets bored. So what does she do but steal the most famous painting in Charleston, and hang it in her living room. The insurance company sends their best investigator, and soon he is on her trail. Just like in the famous movie, they fall for each other, Tommy Crown alternately courting her and trying to throw her in jail. Add to that the strange phenomenon of the woman in the painting, Gwenny's ancestor Gwendolyn, coming to two dimensional life and talking from out of the painting, and you have a fun story.

Richard Weignright is a Median. A living bridge between our world and that of the dead. Sworn to guard and protect the boundary between worlds he patrols nightly, placing lost souls to rest and banishing malevolent wraiths. But now a force long forgotten threatens the fine balance kept by the Medians and Richard is forced to confront his own torments and buried secrets to preserve all he has ever.This book is for fantasy junkies. it takes the reader to a world that has just entered its Iron Age. It is a time when kings battle kings for revenge and survival, and sorcerers and alchemists pit magic against science. It tells the story of a half-goblin orphan, Trak, who is hated by both goblins and men. His world is torn by racial hatred, and Trak struggles to be accepted. When he finds love, it is taken from him by fate. It will not surprise regular fantasy readers that the half-goblin eventually overcomes his humble beginnings.Trak's destiny becomes clear when the earth is overrun by white goblins fleeing the Underworld. His magic is critical in the battle between the surface dwellers and a malevolent demigod who seeks domination of the earth. But which side does Trak support? Be warned, this tale has many twists that will keep the reader guessing as the final battle between good and evil unfolds.

First in the Movement of Crowns series.The kingdom of Diachona is on the threshold of war. As Princess Constance is coming into power, she suspects that her growing love for one Commander Alexander may be ill-timed—especially if this is the end of the kingdom as they know it...First in the Movement of Crowns series.Is it the perfect or the worst time for the kingdom to...change?The nation of Diachona rejoices as the king's daughter and heir, Constance, turns twenty. Yet, not everyone approves of Constance’s desire to sit on the National Council: a Council run solely by men.What’s more, oppressive threats from a neighboring, powerful empire are rousing the people’s fears. Amid rumors of war and personal doubts about her future, Constance suspects that her growing love for one Commander Alexander may be ill-timed. Especially if this is the end of the kingdom as they know it...

"For as long as I can remember, there was a man who lived out in the desert. Some say he is god. Others say he is a demon. There are tales of him saving villages, and myths of his ability to find water. He is a legend that, even now, is told among the children"This is a flash fiction about a girl's meeting with 'the man in the desert.' Where no one survives out there, what secrets does he hide?It should be a blissful evening for Ben Stanton. Tonight he proposes to Kinsley, the special woman in his life. He has the ring, dinner reservations at the best restaurant in the village, a box of chocolates. But things are suddenly going wrong: anonymous phone calls to Kinsley, the shrill bark of an otherwise docile dog, rainy footsteps leading from his balcony door. When the past and present collide, Ben risks losing much more than woman he loves.

Twenty-Five year old Zaid has just been released from prison and hopes to reunite with Amiah, the mother of his child. After a shocking event, Zaid's life is forever changed and he is faced with his most difficult challenge yet. Note: This is a short story of approximately 2,100 words or 10 pages.Right and wrong will cost you....Lizzie Luck is magical. Apparently. The DNA test came back proving she's from the otherworld.She's unemployed, has 24 dollars in her account, and is so out of luck it's killing her.Things couldn't get worse, right?Wrong.When she winds up in the police station and comes to the attention of the city's richest, most charming and most powerful vampire, her fortunes take a turn for the worse. Soon she finds herself under contract to him. She has to agree to his terms, and in return, he'll find out who she is....From magical murders to dangerously attractive vampires, Lizzie is thrust headfirst into a world of intrigue, mystery, and fantasy.....With plenty of action, adventure, wit, and romance, Angel: Private Eye is sure to please fans of Witch's Bell. A seven-book series, the first two books are currently available.

A gentle sibyl is on a quest to make peace with the invaders of her exotic world. Things go wrong and her bodyguard is provoked to bloody violence. Their escape becomes a desperate fight for survival.Insight and intuition are the gentle powers of the wise and benevolent Oracle of Telluria. She is on a quest to make peace when assailed by the clone, human female invaders. A sinister alien commands the women and has nefarious plans for the gentle sibyl. The Oracle's bodyguard delivers her from captivity. Their desperate escape becomes a fight for survival. The Oracle must choose between the lives of others or the loss of her very self. The subtleties carry the consequences of this ultimate decision.

In the vein of Ray Bradbury's "The Halloween Tree," this fantasy adventure follows three friends on their quest to stop a deranged survivalist that has eluded capture and is known as the Redwood Reaper.The Last Dinosaur is totally fiction from the beginning to the end. It's from the warped mind of TJ Daniels Poet. It's filled with humor throughout.A long, long time ago, in a land far away, on a desert covered rain forest lived A Giant. (we don't know what kind of giant it was, it was just called A Giant).One day, the giant was cruising along on his rolling stone, (the stone was the size of Mount Rushmore), but it was round and he had discovered that by balancing on it, he could make it move. And that became his mode of transport. He hadn't yet discovered that he could use two, like inline roller skates. This was the forerunner of the unicycle, pogo stick, big wheel and many other fine inventions, including the wheel and the one wheeled scooter.He was going too fast one day when too late, he saw an egg, just laying there in the rain forest covered desert, but now it looked like a one egg omelet and that was 'The Last Dinosaur'.When the last dinosaur egg was squished, it went to dinosaur heaven and was greeted by all of his/her ancestors. You couldn't tell male from female dinosaurs, but they had a special code, or maybe a special smell so they knew the difference, maybe not. Maybe whenever they met another dinosaur, one would say: 'I'm male' and the other would say: 'Me too, glad to meet you'.There were squirrel dinos, flying dinos, rawling dinos, chicken dinos, and there were even a few Pet Rock dinos that had turned to stone because of age.Dino Heaven looked much the same as Arizona, with blue skies, and a lot of sand and sand castles. It almost looked like a desert, except there weren't any trees. Otherwise it would look like a desert without trees.It was a very peaceful place and very flat, with mountains from horizon to horizon, covered with water filled sand. In the middle, there was a majestic fountain, flowing with sand colored water.This was a very special sand, 'cause you could drink it, eat it and you pooped beautiful hand-carved sandcastles.There were piles of sandcastles everywhere.Everyone that lived in this desert was very rich, because they used sand as currency. Whenever you ran out, all you had to do was reach down and grab a handful, put it in your pocket and you were no longer poor. Many pocketswere filled to bulging. The greedy even had bulging back packs, and they called themselves 'bankers'.At the end of this desert, there was a giant forest, with all sorts of vegetable and fruit trees. The watermelon trees only grew a few inches off the ground though, because of the weight of the watermelons, so you didn't have to climb the trees to harvest the melons. In the middle of the desert/forest, hidden in plain sight, deep in the mountains was a magic sand castle.It was so magical that it was invisible and you could only find it by touch, or by bumping into it. One night, The Giant tripped over it and fell on it and the sand made him sneeze. He sneezed so loud that he created an earthquake and the earthquake created a giant black hole.As The Giant and the desert/forest and everything that existed was sucked into the black hole, The Giant was so startled, angry, sad and happy, that he cursed in a language understood only by him. It could have been ahappy curse, no one knows, since no one understood the language.Then, as if by magic, everything that was in the black hole came shooting out as fast as light and instantly reassembled itself as it was before. Except that in the middle, there was a space ship.

This short piece is a meditation on the last series of protests in Burma. It deals with the attempted uprisings from the point of view of three symbolic protagonists, a humble clerk who works for the regime, a senior Buddhist monk who has found himself embroiled in the politics of the military government and the dying general who is still able to justify his barbaric actions.This short piece is a meditation on the last series of protests in Burma, back in 2007. It deals with the attempted uprisings from the point of view of three symbolic protagonists, a humble clerk who works for the regime, a senior Buddhist monk who has found himself embroiled in the politics of the barbaric military government and the dying general who is still able to justify his barbaric actions yet worries about whether he has accumulated enough merit for his next life.Some useful background information from the BBC.A popular uprising was forcibly crushed in 1988 and mass demonstrations were not seen again until 2007, when a small string of protests about living standards gained momentum among a public normally too cowed to voice any dissent.Burma has been under military rule since 1962; the regime stifles almost all dissent. The first elections for 20 years were held in November 2010.Thein Sein was sworn into office in March 2011, officially launching a nominally civilian government to replace almost 50 years of military rule.Former general Thein Sein was sworn into office in March 2011, officially launching a nominally civilian government to replace almost 50 years of military rule. He succeeded Senior General Than Shwe, who had been paramount leader since 1992, as the new head of state.The primary source for part of this description is BBC News.

Colonial Adventure is a graphic novella written in rhythmic prose depicting a slice of British colonial history (1936—1977) as experienced by individuals on both sides of the racial conflict.Colonial Adventure is a graphic novella written in rhythmic prose depicting a slice of British colonial history (1936—1977) as experienced by individuals on both sides of the racial conflict. It begins with a British couple who leave the sophistication of London to establish a large agricultural operation in what was then Southern Rhodesia, later Rhodesia and now Zimbabwe. With the rise of Black Nationalism, the black majority rebels leading to a brutal civil war that has a severe impact on the two families, one black and one white, whose lives the story follows. Of the shorter stories, also written in rhythmic prose, one concerns a female architect from Haiti, another a young boy abandoned at a country fair by his mother and a third addresses an over-reaction in the climate of fear surrounding Islam. The fourth story portrays an outrage committed against a teenager seeking to free herself from family domination, while the last tale is a dramatic monologue conducted by an African dictator.

Goodison Goebbels is an art critic who knows neither art nor what he likes. But he likes the blank canvases of John Bollockburn. Follow this nasty little man on his short journey to the ultimate artistic faux pas.From #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author comes a heart-pounding adventure of love, loyalty, and survival.A gifted 7-year-old boy and his teen siblings are ripped from their peaceful lives—kidnapped by a sinister organization determined to get back at their father. But when their plane crashes an ocean away in the bear-infested jungles of South China, the mysterious motive behind their abduction is the least of their problems, and they must lever every ounce of their courage and wits to survive the wilds and escape the ruthless drug lord who is hot on their heels. Can a gifted child learn to kill in order to save his loved ones?An “international thriller with soul.” Ideal reading for fans of Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Dan Brown, Matthew Reilly, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Vince Flynn.Important Note: This 130-page novella features the characters and continuing story from the #1 Bestselling “Brainrush” Thriller series. It is a complete story unto itself, compiled from books four and five of the series, “Brainchild” and “Smoke & Mirrors.” If you’ve read those full-length novels, then you’ve already read most of the contents of this novella.

Hello, my name is Bubbles The Tractor and I live in a barn on Messybrook Farm with my chums Larry the Lawnmower and Look Out Below a very clumsy, but loveable crane. Together we seem to get into all sorts of exciting adventures and meet lots of nice people and some not so nice. Messybrook Farm is owned by Stanley and his devoted wife June who both take great care of us.Hello, my name is Bubbles The Tractor and I live in a barn on Messybrook Farm with my chums Larry the Lawnmower and Look Out Below a very clumsy, but loveable crane. Together we seem to get into all sorts of exciting adventures and meet lots of nice people and some not so nice. Messybrook Farm is owned by Stanley and his devoted wife June who both take great care of us. Stanley recently retired from the local Messybrook Cove Police Force and still likes to stay tuned to local events by listening to his old Police Radio in the barn. Stanley doesn't know we talk to each other, that's our little secret and I hope you can keep it a secret too. When Stanley leaves the barn we turn the radio on and find out if anyone needs our help and this is when the fun really begins. During this story I meet a giant tractor named Goliath and his equally nasty owner. The story is all about my determination to succeed against all odds. Let us begin.

Cinderella meets the grown-up world of greed, corruption, and power. The last eligible heir to the Gurun dynasty has a terrible choice to make: follow her heart & marry the knight who has always loved her or marry a cruel and power-hungry political rival in hopes of securing the future for her family. The fate of planet Beinan hangs in the balance as Anlei makes her fateful choice.Cinderella meets the grown-up world of greed, corruption, and power.The last eligible heir to the Gurun dynasty has a terrible choice to make: follow her heart and marry the knight who has always loved her or marry a cruel and power-hungry political rival in hopes of securing the future for her family. Young and innocent, what is a princess to do? The fate of planet Beinan hangs in the balance as the great succession crisis threatens all Princess Anlei holds dear in this romantic prequel to “The Ghosts of the Past.”

Twenty poems by Bill Yarrow, mostly title participles and a couple of gerunds with fake IDs.Twenty poems by Bill Yarrow:1. Playing for Keeps2. Burying the Hatchet3. Staring at Waves4. Searching for the Word5. Looking at Waffles (8 Different Ways)6. Drinking an Orange Julius While Listening to Pink Floyd7. Crossing the Center Line 8. Getting Home Alive9. Annulling the Future10. Theorizing Salsa11. Playing Pinochle in Your Snout12. The Knitting Needle13. The Learning Curve14. The Sticking Point15. Not Drowning16. Just Foundering17. Disappearing Ink18. Ash Coming on Second Wednesday19. Here's Looking at Euclid20. Villon, Stop Following Me Around!

My bedroom door doesn't have a lock. I watch the doorknob from my bed, imagining the handle’s slow turn. I hug my knees and rock in sweat-drenched anxiety. On the other side of the door is a foul mist, and in that mist waits a yellow thing, a Grimm fairytale come to life.Jigsaw John was a real life homicide detective in the LAPD. This story is a homage to him as the goal of every officer with a gold shield is to emulate this great crime solver. The skill of a child of wealthy parents is put against street thugs and serial killers alike. From child kidnapping and death to a serial psycho with unbelievable cruelty, these cases are thrust onto her problem solving back as she is thrown into the middle of a career with only her natural ability to survive. A thrill filled chase scene fills out the story of this strangely sensitive police officer. With only her dog Katie at home to talk with, can she hold it together to the end?