This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Randal Bellamy's country house was a place of pleasant breakfasts. From the dining room the outlook was delightful; grass, flowers and sunshine, with the host's easy charm, made it almost as easy for Theophilus Caldegard to drink his tea fresh, as for his daughter Amaryllis not to keep her host, Sir Randal, waiting for his coffee. This morning, while she waited for the two men, the girl, remembering that this was the eighteenth of June, was surprised by the ease with which the five weeks of her stay had slipped by; and she wondered, without anxiety, at what point the guest merges into the inmate. "I can't live here for ever," she thought; "but as long as there's room for his test-tubes, and his dinner's good, dad thinks it's all right for a girl." And, as if it was all right, she laughed—just in time for Randal Bellamy to get full benefit of the pleasant sound. "Laughing all alone?" he said. "That's when the funny things happen," replied Amaryllis. Bellamy looked down at her, as if asking a share in her merriment.

Carlo Zeno, gentleman of Venice, ex-clerk, ex-gambler, ex-soldier of fortune, ex-lay prebendary of Patras, ex-duellist, and ex-Greek general, being about twenty-nine years of age, and having in his tough body the scars of half-a-dozen wounds that would have killed an ordinary man, had resolved to turn over a new leaf, had become a merchant, and was established in Constantinople in the year 1376. He had bought a house in the city itself because the merchants of Genoa all dwelt in the town of Pera, on the other side of the Golden Horn. A Venetian could not have lived in the same place with Genoese, for the air would have poisoned him, to a certainty; and besides, the sight of a Genoese face, the sound of the Genoese dialect, the smell of Genoese cookery, were all equally sickening to any one brought up in the lagoons. Genoa was not fit to be mentioned within hearing of polite Venetian ears, its very name was unspeakable by decent Venetian lips; and even to pronounce the syllables for purposes of business was horribly unlucky. Therefore Carlo Zeno and his friends had taken up their abode in the old city, amongst the Greeks and the Bokharians, the Jews and the Circassians, and they left the Genoese to themselves in Pera, pretending that they did not even exist. It was not always easy to keep up the pretence, it is true, for Zeno had extremely good eyes and could not help seeing those abominations of mankind on the other side of the Golden Horn when he sat in his balcony on spring evenings; and his only consolation was to dream of destroying them wholesale, of hewing them in pieces by the hundred and the thousand, and of piling up pyramids of their ugly grinning heads. Why were they Genoese? Carlo Zeno would rather have taken a box on the ear from Sultan Amurad, the Turk, over there in Asia Minor, than a civil word from the least objectionable of those utterly unspeakable monsters of Genoese. 'Behold,' said Tertullian one day in scorn, 'how these Christians love one another.' Matters had not improved in eleven hundred years, since that learned Doctor of the Church had departed this life, presumably for a more charitable world; but Carlo Zeno would have answered that the Genoese were no more Christians than mules, and much less so than the pigs, which are all under the special protection of the blessed Saint Anthony. At the very time, too, when my story begins, those obnoxious villains of Genoa were on the successful side of a revolution; for they had helped Emperor Andronicus to imprison his father, Emperor John, in the tall Amena tower on the north side of the city, by the Golden Horn, and to lock up his two younger brothers in a separate dungeon. It was true that Emperor John had ordered Andronicus and his little son of five to be blinded with boiling vinegar, but Genoese money had miraculously converted the vinegar into bland white wine, and had reduced the temperature from the boiling point to that of a healthful lotion, so that neither the boy nor the man were any the worse after the application than before; but Andronicus had resented the mere intention on the part of his father, and had avenged himself by taking the Empire, such as it was, for the present, while reserving the delight of murdering his parent and his brothers at a convenient season in the future. All this was very well, no doubt, and Andronicus was undisputed Emperor for the time being, because the Genoese and Sultan Amurad were willing that he should be; but Amurad had not always been his friend, and the Genoese had not always had the upper hand of the Venetians; the wind might change in a moment and a tempest might whirl him away from the throne even more quickly than the fair breeze had wafted him towards it. Zeno thought so too, and wondered whether it would please fate to make him the spirit of the storm.

It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts. To the experienced, his outward man, neat and modestly prosperous, denoted a young barrister of promise or a Treasury clerk. His figure was good, he was above the middle height, and he carried himself with an easy independence. He seemed to be one who both held a fair opinion of himself and knew how to impress that opinion on his fellows; yet was not incapable of deference where deference was plainly due.

When Shawn finds out he could die, there is only one person he wants by his side: Andrew. Only problem is Andrew broke up with him six months ago.Shit. You always think there’s plenty of time, plenty of chances. Staring down at 20% survival odds has made me rethink a lot of things. I wish I had come out of the closet instead of letting him leave, wish I’d been more willing to rock the boat before it started to sink. Maybe he meant it when he said he’d still be there for me, still be my friend.This story was written as a part of the Goodreads.com M/M Romance Group's 'Love is Always Write' event.

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The second in a series of free anthologies that will showcase quirky, ironic, whimsical and unusual fantasy stories from writers around the world.The second ebook in a proposed series of free anthologies that will showcase quirky, ironic, unusual, absurdist and philosophical fantasy stories from new and established writers around the world. These anthologies will attempt to present the sort of work that lies outside and beyond the conventional genres and labels of fiction. This issue contains a previously unpublished story by David Gerrold, author of the 'Trouble With Tribbles' episode for STAR TREK.

My high school crush doesn’t know I exist. She becomes a talented musical artist. In my story I tell of how close I came to becoming a part of her life, and the substitute relationship I form with a new-found friend. Included is a page of poetry, written to express the secret love I struggle with.Earth, Book One of The Hrwang Incursion series, continues with another intense episode. Eva settles in with the aliens at their new palace in California and makes contact with Mark and Juan. Thinking she has developed trust with the alien soldiers, she is suddenly threatened by an ill-timed accusation. Jayla and Jada fall into the hands of survivalists, and when someone offers Jayla hope beyond reason, she has a critical decision to make.In space, isolated on board an alien ship, the recovering Stanley receives shocking news. He’s more alone than he ever imagined he could he be. The burden of being Ambassador to the aliens is almost more than he can handle. Wolfgang and Leah, now part of the newly formed Pan German army, develop new, lethal skills.1804, the decorated Hrwang Artificial Intelligence unit, is assigned planetside to a new mission: seeding a radioactive cloud to prevent it from sweeping over all of Earth. But then its handlers give it an extra, suicidal, assignment. It begins to understand the consequences of its actions.

When Jordan is awakened in the middle of the night by a horde of the undead, he is forced into a fight for his life and his upperclass suburban existence. What he finds leads him to question the safe path he has followed in life and ultimately make the choice to stay the course or start fresh.When Jordan is awakened in the middle of the night by a horde of the undead, he is forced into a fight for his life and his upperclass suburban existence. What he finds leads him to question the safe path he has followed in life and ultimately make the choice to stay the course or start fresh. A short sci-fi story about modern life, conformity, and the road not taken.

Imagine being on the brink of losing everything near and dear to you…Would you be able to handle the possibility of having nothing left? What would you do?Loretta is at her breaking point, dealing with mounting debt and the tragic death of her husband Jack. With her Christian faith tested by the events that have unfolded in her life, will she be able to keep the one thing that she has left?Imagine being on the brink of losing everything near and dear to you…Would you be able to handle the possibility of having nothing left? What would you do?There are times when it is incredibly hard to keep your faith in tact when everything you love is slipping away. This is exactly what Loretta Jenkins is going through in this powerful and inspiring Christian fiction tale in of the Inspirational Stories of Faith short story trilogy.Loretta is at her breaking point, dealing with mounting debt and the tragic death of her husband Jack. With her Christian faith tested by the events that have unfolded in her life and the internal struggle to keep her hope alive, the big question is: will she find the secret to hold on to the one thing that she has left?This magical inspirational religious fiction story explores the proven and simple solution to conquering the negative forces that challenge to destroy faith at its very core. Sandwich Shop Miracle is a must read for readers of inspirational books and faith-based books alike.

In this short tale, we experience not just the beginning and the end of an affair, but also the seeming randomness of things. In the midst of grief, we often ask questions that have no clear answers--not knowing that sometimes the answer lies within ourselves.And that this lesson in letting go, as our narrator belatedly learns, is as important as keeping love between two people alive.Kira has built up a reputation as a transporter and escort. She takes on a contract to work her way into a pirates nest. However her audacity, skill and ability enable her to make rapid progress within the pirate ranks. Does she complete her contract, or turn coat and stay within the ranks. Only time will tell.

Billie's Kiss

A boy is being bullied. But that happens all the time, doesn't it? For this boy, however, life takes an unexpected turn, and he will discover what he is really made of.A boy is being bullied. But that happens all the time, doesn't it? For this boy, however, life takes an unexpected turn, and he will discover what he is really made of when he finds that which was hidden a long time ago.A short story suitable for all ages, from young adult and upwards.