An original rendition of the death scene of Cleopatra, presented in the form of a dialogue between the Egyptian queen and her handmaiden, Charmion. All inhibitions are scattered to the four winds as the two women unburden their souls and speak their minds before they die. As the author himself calls this piece "ghastly", you have a good idea what to expect!A hilarious dialogue takes place between Cleopatra, the Serpent of the Nile and her handmaiden Charmion, just before the Egyptian queen makes her exit from this world in her own highly original way. Marilyn isn't around to show Cleo how to do it with Nembutals, more's the pity. Slitting the wrist is simply too messy, hanging too undignified, seppuku too Japanese, drowning too watery, jumping off a pyramid too risky (what if you don't die on the spot!), and poison too uncertain.So Cleo opts for the time-honoured tradition of applying an asp to the bosom. By the way, this mode of suicide is only meant for women, eunuchs, and Egyptian drag-queens. The straight dudes either fall on their swords or jump into a pool of crocodiles. There's a high price to pay if you're both macho and suicidal at one and the same time in Egypt.Picture it! The Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt is in her throne-room, dolled up in full state regalia, an inch of makeup on her face, her whole being bedecked with a girl's best friend and other precious stones. Charmion approaches her with a basketful of figs. The mound of figs moves. There is something concealed underneath it – something that lives – and is ready, willing and able to deliver the kiss of death ...

A short story about the life of a quirky person who diedThis book contains six of the eighteen fairy tales from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book (1889). The stories have been rewritten sentence by sentence to make them accessible to 21st century American children. The 6 stories include Toads and Diamonds, Beauty and the Beast, Snow-white and Rose-red, Why the Sea is Salty, Felicia and the Pot of Carnations, Hansel and Grettel.The great beauty of Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book, originally published in 1889, is that it brought together many different fairy tale traditions. There are stories written by Charles Perrault and Mme d’Aulnoy, collected by the Grimm brothers and Asbjornsen and Moe, and translated from the Arabian Nights. It is a very rich collection of fairy tales.However, the stories are written in a language that is outdated and in places inaccessible to modern American children (and even their parents). To remedy this problem, I have thoroughly edited half of the stories contained in Lang`s book, keeping the stories as intact as possible, while revising every sentence so the stories can once again be read with pleasure by children.

Short Story. Others of Ryad’s people have given up trying to free their destined lovers from the glacier. Only one will dare fight the ice after nightfall and for Naia’s sake he must succeed.This is a play written for radio but would suitably serve as a staged play. It sets to highlight the subtle new trend that is recently becoming evident amongst educated couples in emerging developing economies. The previously traditional conservative chauvinistic denial that had seen husbands out rightly refusing to let their spouses pursue every twist and turn in their preferred public careers, has been un-noticeably replaced with a highly misconstrued make-believe cooperation.It presents the modern wife with hopes that are still quite limited by her very own, age old self-shackling desire to be the good wife/mother firstly, and not practically her spouse’s economic and intellectual inability to dictate to her. He is limited to exploiting her only by relying solely on this one over-powering desire of hers.In a modern African cosmopolitan suburb reside two couples, who are very close flat neighbours. The younger couple is a newly married pair, while the much older couple already has teenage children. Though both men are gainfully employed, their equally well educated spouses are uncomfortably unemployed housewives.The articulated relationship the middle-aged couple had willingly shared with a highly principled civil society worker culminated in a genuine praxis that jarred both couples’ older and newer marriages with a reasonably honest intellectual quake of sincerity. The experience is a rude awakening for the two sets of couple and becomes a basis for the supposedly superior masculine gender to learn first hand that indeed what is good enough for the goose is good enough for the gander.The play is about only two of these couples’ normally quiet mornings.

Follow the adventures of Wiggly Worm and his best friends (Snarky Snail, Rattles Snake, and Munchy Mosquito). Wiggly and his friends live in a backyard garden. What happens when they decide to explore outside the yard?* 5 fun short stories for kids* Includes "just for fun" activities* Short story chapter book with picturesFollow the adventures of Wiggly Worm and his best friends (Snarky Snail, Rattles Snake, and Munchy Mosquito). Wiggly and his friends live in a backyard garden. What happens when they decide to explore outside the yard?This is an excellent storybook for early readers, reading aloud at home, and as a bedtime story.* 5 fun short stories for kids* Includes "just for fun" activities* Short story chapter book with pictures* Perfect for a bedtime story for kids* Excellent for early and beginner readers* Big and cute illustrations for early and younger readersThis book is great for quick bedtime story or to be read aloud with friends and family!

This is a short story for middle school students or for any young boy who loves baseball. It's a story about teamwork and getting to know people from from other countries. And it's inspired by my nephew's own journey to America from China! This book is also available online as an audiobook narrated and produced by me.IF THIS SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU--DOWNLOAD THE BOOK FOR YOUR CHILD TO ENJOY!!ChiarOscuro Episode Five New Destinations (Words 8,249).Urok is rocked by the events that followed in the previous episode and the group now confront Sailem after finding themselves out in the middle of the desert. Meanwhile Decabia's forces keep heading west....SERIESChiarOscuro is an ongoing online fantasy series being published at https://chiaroscuroseries.wordpress.com/. Taking place in an alternate world where humanity is just discovering it's full potential after nearly being brought to extinction five millenia ago, the darkness that once threatened humanity has returned, seemingly with the intention to finish what they failed to do 5,000 years ago.ChiarOscuro is made up of 'Books' each one containing an Episode (these normally span a week or two) and a chapter is released throughout the duration of an episode. The official site will be the first place to find the newly released chapters at first, as well as extra pieces that delve deeper into the lore, world and characters of ChiarOscuro and once the Episode has concluded, it will be shortly be available as a single 'Book' to read in full.So follow a small select few in this time where the world's and humanity's certain is uncertain and travel with them to meet many different cultures, people, beliefs, customs through deserts, mountains, the city of nine walls and even the parts of the world the human eye cannot see...SERIES SUMMARYTaking place in a world where at the dawn of human civilisation, a catastrophe struck nearly bringing humanity to extinction and close to forever changing the world as we know it.They called them Demons, twisted, ruthless creatures with no seemingly other drive than to conquer all those weaker than them as they were the strongest and fittest and Earth seemed close to falling into the hands of these strange beings, who came to our world with no warning and legends speak of skies literally tearing open as Demons invaded our world.However, humanity as it always seems to do, fought back and though most of the people living at that time were forever lost, the Demons were defeated, the remaining leaving this world or scattered as they fled the humans only hours before they had been slaughtering mercilessly.It’s been 5,000 years since those events, though many dismiss the tale as legend and humanity has only recently started picking up again, there have been some strange reports recently across Aludin and with the mysterious Decabia to the east, the era of peace may soon be coming to the end and new heroes will have to answer the call to defend humanity’s flame once again, as they did so 5,000 years ago.

Being an Overly Wordy and Inconclusive Philosophical Allegory on the Causes of, and Solutions to, Donkey Related Misadventure and Creaturely Wilfulness.This short story stages a philosophical debate on the nature of causation. Many would consider such a story boring beyond words. Yet, because the protagonists are clinging to the back of a rampaging donkey, their discussion has enormous currency and moment. Yet, because the protagonists are clinging to the back of a rampaging donkey, their discussion is, understandably, overwhelmed by peril and other distractions. And, because the protagonists are primary school children and, for some reason, have yet to fully master the intricacies of philosophy argumentation to the proper standard, their efforts, though well meaning, lack cogency. So please, bend your brains towards these tragic sentences and pity them.

As the oldest of Kay's daughters, Mary feels it her obligation to protect her sisters who crowd the tight hallways of the trailer they call home. Mother Kay's husband regards Mary and her sisters with dangerous eyes, and Mary feels the footsteps of Belle creeping up behind her. Mary knows that if she cannot protect her sisters that Belle will discard her spirit to make whatever stand Mary cannot.Mary cannot deny that danger crowds whatever space in her trailer not occupied by one of her many younger sisters. She is old enough, and weary enough, to recognize the terrible appetite burning in the eyes of her mother's most recent husband. Mary might wish to ignore the peril, but old dame Queenie burns Belle's favorite, clove cigarettes, plays Belle's favorite songs, decorates the children in Belle's favorite costume jewelry. Mary understands that Queenie has no faith that she can protect her younger sisters, and Mary knows Queenie follows all the steps to summon Belle. And Mary knows there is no room for the both of them. For if Belle arrives to fight where she cannot, Mary understands how her soul will be cast outside to flutter in the chill wind.

The Smile of Anubis is a compilation of 5 short stories:Humanity Sweepstakes, Smithers, Phoenix, The Land of the Red Dust and the Smile of Anubis. They are about different things and in totally different styles. Check them all to find your favorite.The Smile of Anubis is a compilation of 5 short stories:Humanity Sweepstakes - tells a story of a standard human who was put to the test to check his humanity. It's a mix of drama and mystery. Smithers contains 3 short glimpses of three different lives and a conclusion that one might draw of them. It's a question and answer, it's a story of our inner kids that never grow up or grow old and how they see us. Phoenix is a science fiction story about a special boy that struggles with his own life and the mission that was put on him by others. Set in future, but speaking about any time one might live in.The Land of the Red Dust is a drama about a man who met his last chance in life and the choice he made. Set in Cambodia, nowadays.The Smile of Anubis is a metaphor of what probably each and every person encounters in his or her life. It tells a story of a girl whose life turned to ruins in the matter of seconds and what happened next.

I have embarked on a journey to write a single poem per day and this my eight volume containing a set of 100 contemporary poems on various topics ranging from politics to cultural criticism. Sometimes the words appear harsh and on other times almost whimsical as the lines roll down and rhyme.Just as before, I have written a single poem a day regarding various contemporary events:I literally have no excuses…Luke CageUnder the stars…Spiller of beans…The last stand (For a fantasy novel)BBC's quest for equality through bigotryDishonesty… or honesty?Yeah… too tired.Neo-puritan eunuchs react to pussyExploding Head SyndromeMy leopard girlA new puppyA stray cat on my stairsWords…Tell the truthAutumnDinsee Nuffin!A poem in a minuteTyrants on the riseWho wins a debate?Let me try writing a eulogy… Nasty WomanAutumn melancholyHello darkness…Scene at a train yardWitnessing that addiction to power… Documentary: The Red Pill MovieAdults among childrenAn investigation 're-opens'A hero of free speech'#GamerGate' mentioned by UN yet again…A long rideTwist in my sobrietyBrink of doom (For a fantasy novel)This American need for lubeImagine all the faces…The Rubin ReportSnow fallsThe end of an election cycle…Day of the vote…Trump won… 'Literally shaking'Election aftermathThe salt price has collapsed…Just a cold spell… The current year… ?Political landscape of a nation…An exercise of incompetenceWishful thinkingSomething little cheery…Fake news…Made up gender pronouns…Winter showerSix minutes… Ash and smoke (For a science fiction novel)International Men's Day, six days later… Audit the vote?Castro kicked the bucket…#TrudeauEulogiesWaiting for my Godot…A knife and a car… Then and now… First day of December…Words of confidence…Simple questions… Just a moment… Well… At least the sky looks blueIndependence day'69…'Rings…I guess FBI is now #GamerGate too… xDSomething post-modernistic… Winter glovesSomething happened… Rogue oneLove#PizzaGate… Top Gear is dead Orange cityIt was Putin!Unit 81 (For science fiction novel)'Sentient trucks' of the media… PlasterBruised toeThree poems in a dayChemical castration of four year oldsPresident Elect TrumpWishful thinking… A Marxist University Professor… Sins of FathersAdolf Guevara ShirtPettiness of a world leaderEve of a new yearIt is the current yearPassengersUntil we see againCold air flows in… Four arrested… What's next?800

A cavalier diver on a treasure hunt reawakens the ghosts of a sunken World War 2 Japanese battleship. The Admiral pursues the diver threatening his life and that of his nephew and niece unless the swords are returned to his family in Japan.England's oldest county provides the backdrop as lives are turned upside down in the most unlikely settings. The characters wrestle with their sanity as they make astonishing discoveries about themselves. From a dream recording machine to an alternative apocalypse, and from historic Canterbury to the White Cliffs of Dover, their world is never what it seems. Is anything they experience even real?The stories gradually fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle until even the reader and the author himself are drawn into the dilemmas. The tales were originally released as 'Seven Dreams of Reality' and 'The Kent-erbury Tales.' Some are expanded; others are modified; one is brand new. Let your mind wander and enjoy these mysterious tales from deepest Kent.

Disgracing her minister father by dancing barefoot in the moonlit forest, Elizabeth Penshurst is banished to her distant relatives in the wilds of Yorkshire. When she meets Gabriel Durham, who was expelled from the priesthood and shunned by his family, the spirited Elizabeth is intrigued by his brilliance and the mystery that surrounds him. She has no idea that her attraction will plunge her into a danger darker than any nightmare. Reclusive Gabriel Durham has forsaken worldly pleasures in pursuit of solitude. In a ruined abbey, he devotes his days to the magic of ancient religions—and his nights to forbidden dreams of Elizabeth. But when he learns that a clandestine Druid cult will sacrifice her, he is compelled to risk everything to save her—and surrender to the destiny that awaits him.

A troubling satire of the romantic myth of stardom and the empty heart of rock and roll, more relevant than ever in our celebrity-obsessed times. Bucky Wunderlick is a rock and roll star. Dissatisfied with a life that has brought fame and fortune, he suddenly decides he no longer wants to be a commodity. He leaves his band mid-tour and holes up in a dingy, unfurnished apartment in Great Jones Street. Unfortunately, his disappearing act only succeeds in inflaming interest. As faithful fans await messages, Bucky encounters every sort of roiling force he is trying to escape. DeLillo’s third novel is more than a musical satire: it probes the rights of the individual, foreshadows the struggle of the artist within a capitalist world and delivers a scathing portrait of our culture’s obsession with the lives of the few. "Brilliant…deeply shocking… Looks at rock music, nihilism, and urban decay." The New York Review of Books "DeLillo has the force and imagination of Thomas Pynchon or John Barth, with a sense of proportion and style which these would-be giants often lack." The Irish Times

In this triumphant bestseller, renowned novelist James A. Michener unfolds a powerful and poignant drama of disenchanted youth during the Vietnam era. Against exotic backdrops including Spain, Morocco, and Mozambique, he weaves together the heady dreams, shocking tribulations, and heartwarming bonds of six young runaways cast adrift in the world—as well as the hedonistic pursuit of drugs and pleasure that collapses all around them. With the sure touch of a master, Michener pulls us into the private world of these unforgettable characters, exposing their innermost desires with remarkable candor and infinite compassion. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for *The Drifters  * “A blockbuster of a book . . . full of surprise, drama, and fascination.”—Philadelphia Bulletin  * “Rings with authentic detail and clearly descriptive sights and smells . . . The Drifters is to the generation gap what The Source was to Israel.”—Publishers Weekly  * “[The Drifters*] conveys a sense of a new time, a new generation.”—Chicago Sun-Times  * “Michener has slid open a window on the world of the dropout and has spared no effort to make the reader aware of this new world.”—*The Salt Lake Tribune*

Once upon a time...in a kingdom high in the Pyrenees, three young princesses were forced to flee the chaos in their land -- vanishing without a trace and lost to their people...until the day a courageous prince can bring each princess home. Life in exile has taught the passionate Princess Amy to hate injustice, and on the enchanting English isle of Summerwind, she finds injustice personified in the powerful and wickedly handsome Jermyn Edmondson, marquess of Northcliff. Since he has stolen the islanders' livelihood, Amy decides to steal him. She kidnaps the arrogant nobleman, chains him with his own manacles, and holds him for ransom. It's a simple plan, destined to succeed. Surely Jermyn's uncle will pay his ransom. Alas, his uncle would be delighted if someone killed his nephew and left him to inherit the title and fortune. And holding the furious, guileful, sensual Jermyn chained in her basement provides a challenge to Amy's restraint...and her virtue. How could such a little revenge and blackmail go so passionately wrong?

The modern classic about an idealistic British schoolmaster’s influence on his students: “A minor miracle” (The New York Times). Throughout his forty-three-year tenure at Brookfield, “a good public school of the second rate” in eastern England, Arthur Chipping has been Mr. Chips to his students. Beginning with his unpolished first years during the Franco-Prussian War, into the radical changes of the twentieth century and the outbreak of the First World War, Mr. Chips has shaped lives. But Chips has been inspired as well—by the unremarkable and the extraordinary, by his colleagues, by a woman who changes him forever, and not least, by his children, “thousands of them, all boys.” Since it was first published in 1934 to international success, Goodbye, Mr. Chips has never been out of print. It was followed by a collection of stories, To You, Mr. Chips, and provided the basis for two award-winning feature films, a stage musical, a radio play, and two television adaptations. Based on Hilton’s experiences as a student at the Leys School, Cambridge, this short novel endures as a revelation of the difference one good teacher can make, and “what the better emotions do toward making people important” (Kirkus Reviews).

From the author of the ever-popular Flashman novels, a collection of film-world reminiscences and trenchant thoughts on Cool Britannia, New Labour and other abominations. In between writing Flashman novels, George MacDonald Fraser spent thirty years as an "incurably star struck" screenwriter, working with the likes of Steve McQueen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cubby Broccoli, Burt Lancaster, Federico Fellini and Oliver Reed. Now he shares his recollections of those encounters, providing a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes. Far from starry-eyed where Tony Blair Co are concerned, he looks back also to the Britain of his youth and castigates those responsible for its decline to "a Third World country … misruled by a typical Third World government, corrupt, incompetent and undemocratic". Controversial, witty and revealing – or "curmudgeonly", "reactionary", "undiluted spleen", according to the critics – The Light's on at Signpost has struck a chord with a great section of the public. Perhaps, as one reader suggests, it should be "hidden beneath the floorboards, before the Politically-Correct Thought Police come hammering at the door, demanding to confiscate any copies".

What do you do when your life isn't living up to your dreams? When the man you love is unavailable, and yet you long for a family, a home? What is the cost of compromising until the real thing comes along?      Reading Elizabeth Berg is like having a friend sit down and talk with you about the deepest truths and most perplexing issues in life, and in this exquisite new novel the bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon once again gives us superb fiction about a passionate woman who solves life's problems in a way that is far from traditional, but close to the wise dictums of the heart.         Patty Ann Murphy says she's "Ms. Runner-Up" in life. Rarely the bridesmaid, never mind the bride, Patty sells houses for a living (well, she's sold one house so far), longs to be married and have a family, but is irresistibly drawn to the wrong man. Ethan seems perfect for Patty--handsome, generous, and sensitive--but he's hopelessly unavailable. Patty's frustration leads her to feelings she doesn't admire--jealousy of her beautiful best friend, Elaine, for instance, about whom she says, "Find me one woman who doesn't withhold just a bit from another woman who looks like that." She's also worried about her mother, with whom she's very close but who is beginning to act strangely. Patty longs more and more for the consolation of loving and being loved, but for the moment feels she must content herself with waiting--until she can wait no more.    Andre Dubus said about Elizabeth Berg's Durable Goods, "Elizabeth Berg writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, loneliness, love and hope. And the transcendence that redeems." And the same will be said about Until the Real Thing Comes Along. From the Hardcover edition.

Sticks and stones break bones. Words kill. They recruited Emily from the streets. They said it was because she's good with words. They'll live to regret it. Wil survived something he shouldn't have. But he doesn't remember it. Now they're after him and he doesn't know why. There's a word, they say. It shouldn't have got out. But it did. And they want it back... Find out why in one of the most mind-bending, page-turning, thrilling novels you'll ever read.