After receiving a distress signal from the mining colony a sole survivor is brought back to the ship. The atmosphere aboard Syracusae gets more tense with every passing moment as crew members start to go missing.After receiving a distress signal from the mining colony on AF-235-B, a rogue planet also known as Nyx, a sole survivor is brought back to the ship. While the second rescue party is dispatched on the search for the hundred and fifty-seven colonists, which seem to have vanished into nowhere, the atmosphere aboard Syracusae gets more tense with every passing moment as crew members start to go missing. Rebecca Porter, a medical officer, tries to solve the mysterious disappearances and is forced to face the horrors that are now lurking aboard the spaceship.

*(Caution: If you are prone to nightmares do not select this title)* - MATURE CONTENT - Desperate to clear his client, an attorney solicits the supernatural talents of a spiritualist in order to gain access to a deceased witness, but in the process, pays an unusual price.In a desperate attempt to get his client acquitted of a murder charge, a practical, no nonsense, skeptical attorney is forced to consider using supposed supernatural means to resurrect the only witness to the crime to get the corpse's testimony. The means by which this feat is to be accomplished is as bizarre as the price for said service.

Which bridges would you burn to meet the girl of your dreams? In a cellphone obsessed world, Avery Ward is about to find out the answer to that question for himself.Avery Ward has had limited success with relationships in his twenty-something years on earth, and they all had ended in disaster, including his most recent engagement to the straying Allison. As a student in psychology and a counselor-in-training, he feels it's important to analyze the mistakes of his past before embarking on those same mistakes in the future; it's the reason he's careful about the chances he takes. So, when he sees Melissa, the girl of his dreams, at a fraternity party one night, he calculates the risk in talking to her, deciding if she may or may not be crazy. But his limited exposure to examples of such high-class beauty overrides any sensibility he might have about holding back, so he goes in for the conversation. And, for a solid sixty seconds, he is enraptured by her words, her voice, and her stunning physical form. Bonus: She doesn't seem the least bit out of her mind. But, like the best things he finds in life, his moment of bliss is cut short when her cellphone rings and she disappears into the night to tend to her call. He attempts to find her again before the party ends to finish their conversation, but he has no luck. His dream girl has gotten away.Fortunately for his aching heart, serendipity has either a sense of humor or a need for answers, so many months later, fate brings Avery and Melissa back together in a new place. But will she remember him if he tries to get her attention? And will he even have the guts to talk to her again after having such ill luck with others in the past? And can they reconnect in spite of the incessant cellphone alerts causing an interruption to Avery's quest?Thanks to a friend's advice, Avery decides to pursue his dream girl no matter the risk. But thanks to the mistakes of that same friend, Avery Ward is about to embark on a journey that could cause him to lose more than just a chance at meeting his dream girl. Once again he has to assess the risk and decide if this one's worth gambling with fate and if fate will even allow him to fulfill that second attempt at initiating love.

Phone use has skyrocketed, phone etiquette has not. In fact it seems they are inversely related. The more we use phones the less we know how to act on them. This essay is an attempt to correct that dearth.Phone use has skyrocketed, phone etiquette has not. In fact it seems they are inversely related. The more we use phones the less we know how to act on them. This essay is an attempt to correct that by offering some time tested tips on how to use a phone to call someone one. While this is the last use to which most people put their cellphones to use these days, it is still something that is done enough to require some sort of arbitrary rules to govern behavior whilst using.

Twenty-one year old Monica Younger must now live with the realization that she has been acquitted of the death of her five year old daughter. Purely because their wasn't enough evidence. Public opinion however had her convicted before the trial. The real horror lies in the fact that she didn't know if she was guilty or not, How was she to put this nightmare behind her?The guilt, the tortuous fear for her life and the gap in her memory made her wish she was the one who had died and not her daughter.Screaming voices in her head kept stopped her from sleeping well at night. They started while she was in jail awaiting trial. One of those voices she heard was her daughter calling her; "mommy, mommy, I love you,” Those nights she would wake in a cold sweat, and would have taken her own life if she could have found a way.

This is a short story about two people who appear to have the perfect life, but are privately dealing with an addiction that threatens to tear them apart. Can they get the help they need and save their marriage, or will their happy ever after slip out of reach?This is a short story about two people who appear to have the perfect life. Friends are envious of the easy love they have for each other and long for that kind of relationship for themselves. What they don’t know is that an out of control addiction is tearing the couple apart and threatening to ruin their dream marriage and life together. Can they accept there is a problem and get the help they desperately need or ultimately will they lose each other and everything they ever wanted?

Life has not been kind to ten-year-old Faris. He has lived at the Grimbaldi Foundation for the Potentially Lacking for as long as he can remember, so long that he doesn’t even have a last name – he’s Faris, just Faris. One magical night an opportunity to escape lands on his window ledge and Faris grabs hold with both hands. (Suitable for ages 7+)Life has not been kind to ten-year-old Faris. He has lived at the Grimbaldi Foundation for the Potentially Lacking for as long as he can remember, so long that he doesn’t even have a last name – he’s Faris, just Faris.One magical night an opportunity to escape lands on his window ledge and Faris grabs hold with both hands. He doesn’t know where or who he will end up with, just that life anywhere but The Foundation has to be better.Join Faris on his first adventure, when he finds out that he is a lot more than a ‘normal’ boy and what friendship really means. Perhaps you will be as surprised as him when you meet his new friends….(Children's book, aimed at readers aged 7+)

Aquaphobia, claustrophobia, mysophobia, OCD, and Asthma are just the start of what ails Robert Smith, the man drafted to go down in history as the first After World Archivist.His mission?To document the findings of the first-ever After World battle submarine, the USS LUCE.Unfortunately, for Robert, this does require boarding the vessel.The works of Amser Studios fit together like a puzzle. To see the timeline of this unique universe, please visit AmserStudios.comI hope that you enjoy this and all other Amser Studios reads and ask that you PLEASE REVIEW on sites like goodreads, amazon, barnes and noble, etc as they are being made free temporarily for your convenience. Thank you.Aquaphobia, claustrophobia, mysophobia, OCD, and Asthma are just the start of what ails Robert Smith, the man drafted to go down in history as the first After World Archivist.His mission?To document the findings of the first-ever After World battle submarine, the USS LUCE.Unfortunately, for Robert, this does require boarding the vessel.​Travel to 2397 when the first After World History Log was ever documented! Look HERE to see where this story falls in the Amser Studios timeline! (This work is a part of the EXPERIMENTAL COLLECTION)

RetailBig Brother is a striking novel about siblings, marriage, and obesity from Lionel Shriver, the acclaimed author the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin.For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. Alas, her husband, Fletcher, a self-employed high-end cabinetmaker, now spurns the “toxic” dishes that he’d savored through their courtship, and spends hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened? After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me.Rich with Shriver’s distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat: an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It asks just how much sacrifice we'll make to save single members of our families, and whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.Review“What would you do for love of a brother? For love of a husband? For love of food? In Big Brother, Shriver’s new and wonderfully timely novel, her heroine wrestles with these vexing questions. Only the scales don’t lie.” (Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy)“The fellowship of Lionel Shriver fanatics is about to grow larger, so to speak. Big Brother, a tragicomic meditation on family and food, may be her best book yet.” (Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story)“A searing, addictive novel about the power and limitations of food, family, success, and desire. Shriver examines America’s weight obsession with both razor-sharp insight and compassion.” (J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine and Commencement)“Brilliantly imagined, beautifully written, and superbly entertaining, Shriver’s novel confronts readers with the decisive question: can we save our loved ones from themselves? A must-read for Shriver fans, this novel will win over new readers as well.” (Library Journal)“An intelligent meditation on food, guilt, and the real (and imagined) debts we owe the ones we love.” (Publishers Weekly)“Shriver brilliantly explores the strength of sibling bonds versus the often more fragile ties of marriage.” (Booklist)“[Shriver] has a knack for conveying subtle shifts in family dynamics. . . . Ms Shriver offers some sage observations. . . . Yet her main gift as a novelist is a talent for coolly nailing down uncomfortable realities.” (The Economist)“Shriver is brilliant on the novel shock that is hunger. . . . Most of all, though, there’s her glorious, fearless, almost fanatically hard-working prose.” (Guardian)“Shriver is wonderful at the things she is always wonderful at. Pace and plot. . . . Psychology.” (Independent) From the Back CoverFrom the acclaimed author of the National Book Award finalist So Much for That and the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin comes a striking new novel about siblings, marriage, and obesity.When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at her local Iowa airport, she literally doesn't recognize him. In the four years since the siblings last saw each other, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened?And it's not just the weight. Imposing himself on Pandora's world, Edison breaks her husband Fletcher's handcrafted furniture, makes overkill breakfasts for the family, and entices her stepson not only to forgo college but to drop out of high school.After the brother-in-law has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It's him or me. Putting her marriage and adopted family on the line, Pandora chooses her brother—who, without her support in losing weight, will surely eat himself into an early grave.Rich with Shriver's distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat—an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It asks just how much we'll sacrifice to rescue single members of our families, and whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.

Cat o'Nine Tales is the fifth collection of irresistible short stories from the master storyteller. Ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters and Jeffrey Archer's trademark of deliciously unexpected conclusions, this new collection has the added bonus of thirteen charming illustrations by the internationally acclaimed artist Ronald Searle. Some of these twelve stories were inspired by the two years Jeffrey Archer spent in prison, including the story of a company chairman who tries to poison his wife while on a trip to St. Petersburg---with unexpected consequences. "The Red King" is a tale about a con man who discovers that an English lord requires one more chess piece to complete a set that would be worth a fortune. In another tale of deception, "The Commissioner," a Bombay con artist ends up in the morgue after he uses the police chief as bait in his latest scam. "The Perfect Murder" reveals how a convict manages to remove an old enemy while he's locked up in jail, and then set up two prison officers as his alibi. In "Charity Begins at Home," an accountant realizes he has achieved nothing in his life, and sets out to make a fortune before he retires. And then there is Archer's favorite, "In the Eye of the Beholder," in which a handsome star athlete falls in love with a three-hundred-pound woman . . . who happens to be the ninth-richest woman in Italy. Jeffrey Archer is the only author to have topped international bestseller lists with his fiction, nonfiction, and short stories. Cat o'Nine Tales is Archer at his best: witty, poignant, sad, surprising, and unforgettable.

Using a play by Karl and Josef Capek as source, Flann O'Brien locates his insect drama in Dublin, his most familiar stalking- territory. His adaptation is a vehicle for ridicule and invective, targeting race, religion, greed, identity and purpose. With his extraordinary ear for dialogue, O'Brien creates his own fantastical world, and the outcome is a hilarious satire of Irish stereotypes - as Orangemen, Dubliners, Corkagians and culchies become warring ants, bees, crickets, dung-beetles, and other small-minded invertebrae. The lost text of this play, Hilton Edwards' prompt copy from the 1943 Gate Theatre performance, was discovered in the archives at Northwestern University, Illinois. 'A play by Ireland's most celebrated comic writer, Flann O'Brien, lost for fifty years, has been discovered in the archives of Northwestern University, Illinois, by an American academic. The O'Brien play, Rhapsody in Stephen's Green, was put on in Dublin by the Edwards-MacLiammoir company at the Gaiety Theatre during Lent in 1943 with a cast of 150 - representing millions, as is obligatory with an insect play. But, presumably because of the offence it gave to Catholics, Ulster Protestants, Irish civil servants, Corkmen, and the aspersions it seemed to cast on married life and the superpatriotic Fianna Fail party, it only ran six days and was never again performed ... However it and the context in which it was born - and rapidly snuffed out - gives intriguing insights into neutral Ireland of the 1940s, suffocating in puritanism and insular politics.' Peter Lennon, The Guardian, 17th of November 1994

A rich Komarran merchant fleet has been impounded at Graf Station, in distant Quaddiespace, after a bloody incident on the station docks involving a security officer from the convoy's Barrayaran military escort. Lord Miles Vorkosigan of Barrayar and his wife, Lady Ekaterin, have other things on their minds, such as getting home in time to attend the long-awaited births of their first children. But when duty calls in the voice of Barrayar's Emperor Gregor, Miles, Gregor's youngest Imperial Auditor (a special high-level troubleshooter) has no choice but to answer. Waiting on Graf Station are diplomatic snarls, tangled loyalties, old friends, new enemies, racial tensions, lies and deceptions, mysterious disappearances, and a lethal secret with wider consequences than even Miles anticipates: a race with time for life against death in horrifying new forms. The downside of being a troubleshooter comes when trouble starts shooting back . . .

Almost a decade after its original publication, award winner and Governor General Literary Award nominee Joseph Boyden's classic book of short stories is finally being reissued. Born With A Tooth, Boyden's debut work of fiction, is a collection of thirteen beautifully written stories about aboriginal life in Ontario. They are stories of love, unexpected triumph, and a passionate belief in dreams. They are also stories of anger and longing, of struggling to adapt, of searching but remaining unfulfilled. The collection includes 'Bearwalker', a story that introduces a character who appears again in Boyden's novel Three Day Road. By taking on a new voice in each story, Joseph Boyden explores aboriginal stereotypes and traditions in a most unexpected way. Whether told by a woman trying to forget her past or by a drunken man trying to preserve his culture, each story paints an unforgettable and varied image of modern aboriginal culture in Ontario. An extraordinary first book, Born With A Tooth reveals why Joseph Boyden is a writer worth reading.

She’s a free-spirited dreamer. He’s a brilliant painter. But now their shared passion for art has turned into something deeper.… For as long as she can remember, Kugy has loved to write. Whimsical stories are her passion, along with letters full of secret longings that she folds into paper boats and sets out to sea. Now that she’s older, she dreams of following her heart and becoming a true teller of tales, but she decides to get a “real job” instead and forget all about Keenan, the guy who makes her feel as if she’s living in one of her own fairy tales. Sensitive and introverted, Keenan is an aspiring artist, but he feels pressured to pursue a more practical path. He’s drawn to Kugy from first sight: she’s unconventional, and the light radiating from her eyes and the warmth of her presence pull him in. They seem like a perfect match—both on and off the page—but revealing their secret feelings means risking their friendship and betraying the people they love most. Can they find the courage to admit their love for each other and chase their long-held dreams?

For years, Emily has been living happily in the underground goblin kingdom. Now she is old enough to marry, but when her childhood friend, Seylin, proposes, she doesn't take him seriously. Devastated, Seylin leaves the kingdom, intent on finding his own people: the elves. Too late, Emily realizes what Seylin means to her and sets out in search of him. But as Emily and Seylin come closer to their goals, they bring two worlds onto a collision course, awakening hatred and prejudices that have slumbered for years.

On a school trip to Salem, Massachusetts, Kristy, Abby, Mallory, Stacey, and Mary Anne find a mystery instead: a famous diamond, the Witch's Eye, is stolen from a local museum. The Baby-sitters set out to investigate, but someone seems determined to stop them. Stacey's room is ransacked. Abby is followed. And then Kristy disappears! Abby's sure the BSC is cursed. And all the Baby-sitters agree: Whether or not the danger is supernatural, it's definitely real. Will they find Kristy, and the thief, before it's too late?

12-year-old Veronica Swan's idyllic life in a close-knit Mormon community is shattered when her two younger sisters are brutally murdered. Although her parents find the strength to forgive the deranged killer, Scott Early, Veronica cannot do the same. Years later, she sets out alone to avenge her sisters' deaths, dropping her identity and severing ties in the process. As she closes in on Early, Veronica will discover the true meaning of sin and compassion, before she makes a decision that will change her and her family's lives forever.

“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect. Then it all changed. I was sold.” Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world. But lusty paradise is shattered. Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror. Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold. Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever? A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

The interstellar Bridge System was the greatest invention in the long history of cosmic humanity. Spread through dozens of planets, men and their societies had drifted apart in isolation until the Bridge came to link together humanity's multifold worlds and had affirmed once more that all men were brothers and sisters under the skin. But the far away world of Azreal was the exception, the one dissident world that refused the Bridge. It became the task of two agents, a man and a woman, to bring Azreal back into manshape unity, to ferret out the hidden reasons for the stubborn refusal. The problem, with its perils and high risks, was to involve more than just secrets, for Manshape is John Brunner novel that deals with the very fabric of civilization

Risky in conception, hip and yet soulful, this is a prose poem of a novel -- intense, lyrical, and highly evocative -- with a mystery at its center, which keeps the reader in suspense until the final page. In a tour de force that could be described as Altmanesque, we are invited into the private lives of the residents of a quiet urban street in England over the course of a single day. In delicate, intricately observed closeup, we witness the hopes, fears, and unspoken despairs of a diverse community: the man with painfully scarred hands who tried in vain to save his wife from a burning house and who must now care for his young daughter alone; a group of young clubgoers just home from an all-night rave, sweetly high and mulling over vague dreams; the nervous young man at number 18 who collects weird urban junk and is haunted by the specter of unrequited love. The tranquillity of the street is shattered at day's end when a terrible accident occurs. This tragedy and an utterly surprising twist provide the momentum for the book. But it is the author's exquisite rendering of the ordinary, the everyday, that gives this novel its freshness, its sense of beauty, wonder, and hope. Rarely does a writer appear with so much music and poetry -- so much vision -- that he can make the world seem new.

Determined to find the human traffickers preying on Shadowlands’ submissives, Master Raoul gets himself invited to a small slave auction. Once informed, the FBI orders him to reject the limited choices so the slavers will invite him to the big auction. To Raoul’s shock, one of the slaves is the kidnapped friend of a Shadowlands sub. She has a scarred body...and an unbroken spirit. He can’t leave her behind. Ruining the FBI’s carefully laid plans, he buys her. Kimberly’s freedom has come at a devastating price: the other women are still slaves. An FBI raid is their only hope for rescue. Desperate to help the Feds locate the big auction, she agrees to pose as Master Raoul’s slave. Wearing a collar again is terrifying, but under the powerful dominant’s care, Kim starts to heal and then to blossom. This is what she’s been drawn to—and fled from—her entire life. She escaped the slavers who captured her body—can she escape the master who’s captured her heart?