Samuel Rutherford Crockett (24 September 1859 – 16 April 1914), who published under the name "S. R. Crockett", was a Scottish novelist He was born at Duchrae, Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, on 24 September 1859, the illegitimate son of dairymaid Annie Crocket. He was raised on his grandfather's Galloway farm, won a bursary to Edinburgh University in 1876, and graduated from there during 1879. After some years of travel, he became in 1886 minister of Penicuik. During that year he produced his first publication, Dulce Cor (Latin: Sweet Heart), a collection of verse under the pseudonym Ford Brereton. He eventually abandoned the Free Church ministry for full-time novel-writing in 1895 The success of J. M. Barrie and the Kailyard school of sentimental, homey writing had already created a demand for stories in Lowland Scots,[3] when Crockett published his successful story of The Stickit Minister in 1893. It was followed by a rapidly produced series of popular novels frequently featuring the history of Scotland or his native Galloway. Crockett made considerable sums of money from his writing and was a friend and correspondent of R. L. Stevenson, but his later work has been criticised as being over-prolific and feebly sentimental. Crockett's connection with Kailyard is now beginning to be acknowledged as nebulous at best, as evidenced by a re-appraisal of the whole Kailyard concept by writers such as Andrew Nash.[5] In 1900, Crockett wrote a booklet published by the London camera manufacturer, Newman & Guardia, comparing cameras favourably to pen and pencil and explaining how he encountered the N and G advertisement

Weekly summary of soap opera's hottest news, stories, humour, gossip, blind items, top stars/stories/couples/characters to watch, snark galore, review, and analysis.INSIDE —Exclusive Interview With Sir Trevor St. John: On Joining GH; How He Kept His Epic ONE LIFE Comeback A Secret; If Victor Is “Special;” Why Llanview Was Corny; And Who Is Todd’s True Love (His Answer Will Surprise You)! Plus: Part Two of Catherine Hickland’s Bombshell Interview! Find out Why ONE LIFE was Daytime’s Most Toxic Set! Exclusive Daytime Emmy Award News: Which New Category Was Axed? B&B’s Jennifer Gareis Is Pregnant Again! Y&R Scoop: Inside Darnell Williams' New Character! Source: Which Storyline Did Ron Carlivati Go Over Frank Valentini’s Head to Green-Light? GH Casting Shocker: Kirsten Storms’ GH Comeback Delayed Again! Did B&B Really Let Zack Conroy and Brandon Beemer Go? Not Quite! DAYS: The Truth About Nadia Bjorlin’s Rumoured Comeback! Crystal Chappell on ONE LIFE’s Finale! Source: Prospect Park Has Secured $100 Million Dollars for Online Soap Ventures! DAYS’s Tanya Boyd Recast Due To Health Crisis? Y&R Goes On Location for Lane’s Wedding! Y&R Welcomes Back Ted Shackelford, Signy Coleman and Yvonne Zima! THE REVOLUTION May Be Televised — But No One’s Watching! Huge Numbers for ONE Life’s Finale Week! Cutbacks at SOAPS IN DEPTH! The AMC Ending You Never Saw! Exclusive: Why Deidre Hall Is Thrilled To Be Back On DAYS! WTF: Johnny is Claudia’s son on GH?! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!

The beloved writer returns to entertain in a fresh collection of essays

Samantha was born under a full moon to a mother already dead. Revived by doctors and given to her unloving father, Samantha was raised a cursed child, her only friend the ghost of her mother who speaks to her through keys that open a secret box under her bed. From the inside out, Sam burns with life, a fire so vivid it keeps her peers at a distance, all except one.

The next installment of the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series will hook readers with its love story, its sticky situations and a grandmother who only wants happiness for her grandchildren. Beckstrand brings new life to the age-old occupation of matchmaking.**

A fictional tale of a teenager's first encounter of racism after moving to a new town, this short story was written by a 10th grade student as part of a high school project.Book 1 in a series of 4 - The Long Journey of Agymah Chahine: A story that spans the ancient globe, filled with danger, adventure, hope and endurance. It tells of Agymah Chahine, a simple carpenter from the city of Abydos in Ancient Egypt, of his adventures in the Army of the Pharaoh, and of battles with the ferocious Lion of the Sands. The full story chronicles the journey of Agymah and his friends from the souqs of Egypt to the far side of the world. It tells of the perils they faced, the dangers they shared, the tragedies they endured and, finally, of their journey home, through a Land of Golden Peonies, beneath Pavilions of Ice, across Seas of Sand and Blood, and so unto their homeland. This is Agymah’s story."The cohorts ran ten wide, each with twenty men across its front. We moved quickly to the head of the valley and turned as one onto the flat ground between the hillsides. Ahead we could see the boiling clouds of the battle and glimpse strange shapes, enormous shapes, that seemed to fly through the dust. We saw the flash of weapons in the sun, and heard the roars of the men and the screams as they were destroyed. And for the first time, we heard, louder and more terrible than before, the howl of the Beast. The Centurions shouted, and for a moment the line slowed, then the drums began to beat more quickly until, with a roar of pride and anger, the line surged forward, and in that final moment as the dust cleared, before us opened the maw of hell."