"If you are among evil people, you must be like the lion, gathering strength and awaiting your time." Africa is the only home Rachel Sheridan has ever known. But when influenza strikes down her missionary parents, she is left vulnerable prey to her family's wicked neighbors. Surrounded by greed and lies, Rachel is entangled in a criminal scheme and sent to England, where she is forced into a life of deception. Like the lion, she must be patient and strong, awaiting the moment when she can take control of her own fate—and find her way home again at last.

An explosive novel set in 1974 Belfast! In 1974 Belfast, the official Irish Republican Army has lost its influence, and a more violent offshoot of it -- the Provisional IRA, or Provos -- has begun a campaign of terror, bombing indiscriminately and remorselessly with the sole purpose of making Ulster ungovernable. British army explosives expert Lieutenant Marcus Richardson is confident in his ability to prevent the Provos' damage until a home-made car bomb nearly takes his life. Recuperating in hospital, Richardson wonders how to get himself out of explosives work with his dignity intact. Major John Smith appears with the answer: one last mission, then an appointment to an elite branch of the armed services. The only catch is that the mission is far more dangerous than defusing ticking bombs. Richardson must assume the identity of a working-class Catholic, infiltrate the Belfast Provos and identify their top men. If the Provos have the slightest suspicion his story is false, he can be sure they'll dispose of him without a second thought. Richardson agrees and goes in -- but as he gets to know the killers he's meant to expose, he finds that the conflict over Ulster may not be as blac

The third in Immanion Press's series of Storm Constantine's short story collections, Mytholumina contains the majority of the author's science fiction stories that have appeared in anthologies and magazines. There are rare pieces to be found here, such as 'So What's Forever', 'The Vitreous Suzerain' and 'God Be With You' that were written for short-lived or little known genre magazines that Storm was keen to support. Included also are previously unpublished pieces, such as 'The Germ of Life' and 'Time Beginning at Break of Day'. Whether they take you to a slightly-skewed version of our own reality or out among the far flung stars, these stories are peopled by the rogues, seducers and enigmas that are a hallmark of Ms Constantine's work.

Is she dead or alive? That is the question on everybody’s lips. Eve appears to have been killed -- that’s what everyone attending her funeral thinks, at least. But not even some of her top-brass colleagues know for sure whether her death is a hoax -- a way to ensnare her brutal captor, Jim Doane, once or for all. But even if Eve really is still alive, how much longer can this charade continue before she falls into even greater danger? CIA agent Catherine Ling will waste no time trying to find out. Years ago, Eve risked everything to help Catherine find her missing son. Now Catherine, along with Eve’s beloved Joe Quinn and Jane MacGuire, will go to the ends of the earth to save her…

Who but Russell Hoban could weave a tale of life’s pleasures and pain around a candy pig? And who but Quentin Blake could make the most poignant of stories so lighthearted and delightful? In this episodic picture book by an inimitable author-illustrator duo, a fantastic chain of events is triggered by the unacknowledged fall of a marzipan pig behind the sofa. We meet in quick succession a heartsick mouse, a lonely grandfather clock, an owl in love with a taxi meter, a worker bee, a fading hibiscus flower, a mouse who greets the dawn dancing, and finally a boy who guesses at the true relations between things. Appealing to the unsentimental yet sensitive nature of children, The Marzipan Pig is exquisitely attuned to the bittersweet wonder of life and to the sentience of all beings.

Nothing's sexier than an man who can keep a secret. A typical bachelor party is all about beers and beautiful women. A vampire bachelor party is no different -- except the men are drinking Blissky (whiskey-flavored synthetic blood). And no one can throw a party quite like Jack, the illegitimate son of the legendary Casanova. But when the party gets out of hand and the cops show up, Jack has some explaining to do . . . if only he wasn't struck speechless by the beauty of Officer Lara Boucher. Lara is sure there's something more than a bachelor party going on. What is Jack hiding? And why is he so interested in the recent disappearance of young women all over town? Her investigation uncovers more than she wants to know, especially about this modern-day Casanova. But if she's ever to make detective, she'll need to expose all his secrets . . . if only her heart wasn't on the line.

A hilarious detective story from internationally best-selling author Eoin Colfer.

This short story takes place after the events of Spider’s Bite but before the begin­ning of Web of Lies. In "Web of Death," Gin Blanco’s retire­ment is inter­rupted by some unwanted guests.

Some six months before killing himself, Lucky Saurelius is honor bound to serve as a groomsman at his best friend's wedding. Armed with a rented tux, carton of cigarettes and a bottle of Grey Goose, he strikes out for Pennsylvania. With one last chance to settle his affairs, and no chance of turning things around, Lucky inadvertently resolves to compose the suicide note to end all suicide notes.Lucky Suarelius is running out of time. Out of options. Out of ideas. Out of his mind. Five years after being dumped by his publisher, he now finds himself trapped in Verona, North Carolina. Seven years spent behind the counter of a local sex shop. Girlfriend of eight years now moved on to greener pastures. Sixteen years of rampant alcoholism reaching its limit. Thirty-four years old without a single prospect for thirty-four more.On his thirty-fifth birthday, he will lock himself in a New Orleans motel room, and swallow a bottle of pills with a vodka chaser.But first, there is the small matter of his best friend’s wedding. Armed with a rented tuxedo, carton of cigarettes and a bottle of Grey Goose, Lucky strikes out for Skytop, Pennsylvania. What awaits is a bizarre landscape of estranged friends, wild memories, dangerous fantasies, incestuous confessions, karaoke, keg stands, exquisite hallucinations, drinking games, dragonflies, indifferent bridesmaids, disgruntled locals, open bars, blackouts, fireworks, Chinese vibrators, maraschino cherries, benders, rock n’ rollers, endless failures, infinite bottles of red, and the lingering demons of an unsettled score......Someone should have clearly thought twice before making him a groomsman. Joaquin Emiliano requests the honor of your presence for the surreal, often absurd and always outlandish dictation of Lucky’s final words, as he stumbles towards the end of all things, on this, the sacred occasion of a new beginning.

Captain Barnes and his team of specialists are assigned to a mission in Germany. At first it seemed like a straight forward rescue but this couldn’t be further from their reality. Experiments were being conducted on humans. And the subjects were all behaving in a way that was incredibly far from human. Barnes and his team soon found themselves in the heart of the chaos - with nowhere to run.A 10 minute long script set in a dystopian future where political correctness has gone mad. This was originally written around 2000 for a competition run by the SciFi channel on cable tv.The idea being to write a script for a 10 minute long movie, the winners script was actually made & shown in cinemas all across the UK.My entry came in the top 50 winning me a red SciFi channel t-shirt telling me to "Smell the coffee", an inflatable grey alien (its still sitting on top of my wardrobe!) and a glow in the dark mini alien.One of the judges was Douglas Adams & I am proud that he read my work before he died.Please note - THIS IS A SCRIPT!

Have a laugh with your family and friendsThis book is perfect to read to your family and friends whenever you want to have a laugh with them. The animal jokes however are also great to read at your own leisure!Whether you want to share jokes with your friends and family, or enjoy the jokes peacefully during your breaks, The Ultimate Animal Joke Book is a suitable candidate to add to your stock!The Ultimate Animal Joke BookHave a laugh with your family and friendsThis book is perfect to read to your family and friends whenever you want to have a laugh with them. The animal jokes however are also great to read at your own leisure!Receive the many benefits that developing a person sense of humour can bringAccording to research, encouraging a person to have a good sense of humour can help them grasp unconventional ideas and ways of thinking, help people not take themselves too serious, and make your pal enjoy the more playful aspects of life!Enjoy the many illustrations which complement the Animal JokesThere are many pictures which are not only fun to look at, but also compliment the jokes within this book. Have a laugh on the chipmunks behalf as he/she is getting the mickey told about them, or smile along with the happy whale!Here are some hilarious jokes within this e-bookQuestion: What’s the difference between a fish and a piano?Answer: You can’t tuna fish.Question: Why are giraffes so slow to apologize?Answer: It takes them a long time to swallow their pride.Client: “Do you have alligator shoes?”Storeperson: “Yes, sir. What size does your alligator wear?”Whether you want to share jokes with your friends and family, or enjoy the jokes peacefully during your breaks, The Ultimate Animal Joke Book is a suitable candidate to add to your collection :)!

Jack Reese makes a living cleaning up the gruesome remains of corpses and is hired for a job in a remote mechanic shop at the dead of night. But something in the darkness that surrounds Jack and his work crew is stalking them. Jack also has visions of memories he swears are not his own. Are they real or is he imagining them? The answers lie hidden in the darkness but the darkness always lies.This short contemporary fantasy explores the bond between grandfather and grandson. Beau knows the town thinks his grandfather Leon is crazy. Leon doesn't help that fact by claiming to be Ponce de Leon while manning the counter of his liquor store, The Fountain. But crazy to outsiders is just life to Beau, who for as long as he can remember has been following his grandfather into the Louisiana swamps and looking for the right place to set their fires."At some point in the story, I found myself almost wishing to be burned, which must mean that this story is doing something remarkable." -Matt Williamson, Unstuck Books.EXCERPT - Grandpa Leon was a firebug for as long as Beau could remember. He was not one of those you see on TV, setting fires to abandoned homes and warehouses and accidently torching sleeping homeless. It was nothing like that--or maybe it was, just with a different style.For one, Grandpa was a seasonal firebug. When the spring rains tapered off and the swamps started heating up--bluegill turning circles in their shrinking pools, gator trails drying into mud tracks between the islands--Beau began listening for the antsy snap of that Zippo lid coming out of his grandpa's trouser pocket. It was like the sun's hot eye set something afire in the old man and he'd whisper in his thick Cajun, "Cher, let's you and me go find something to do."

Two revisionist western books in one.On the Rocks: Wanted, dead or alive. Can she hide? A young cowgirl, falsely accused, searches for a new life. There’s a big reward. And not much hope. Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun: Can even the toughest cowgirl survive? First it’s the shooters on horseback, then the bartender, then a lawdog goes missing.There’s a hanging. And a lot of snarky dialogue.Love a sheriff who has his own way of doing things? Outlaws aren’t all bad. Or are they? Action and humor. Cowgirls, Indians & lawdogs.Two revisionist western books in one.On the Rocks: Wanted, dead or alive. Can she hide? A young cowgirl, falsely accused, searches for a new life. There’s a big reward. And not much hope. Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun: Can even the toughest cowgirl survive? First it’s the shooters on horseback, then the bartender, then a lawdog goes missing.There’s a hanging. And a lot of snarky dialogue. The outlaws have their reasons. We just have to figure out what they are. Or don’t we?

Lu is an apothecary, trying to get along as an immigrant in Seashine. Her closest friend is an assassin named Silveo. When Silveo asks Lu to formulate a new poison, her involvement brings her into contact with an attractive pirate captain, as well was thugs and slavers in the belly of Seashine’s underground. As pressures build, Lu makes a mistake which may cost both she and Silveo their lives.Lu is an 18-year-old apothecary, trying to get along as an immigrant in the port city of Seashine. Her closest friend is a young assassin named Silveo. Lu doesn’t like to think about how Silveo makes his living, but she owes him her freedom, and she cares for him deeply. She also happens to be an excellent chemist with a knowledge of dangerous substances. When Silveo asks Lu to formulate a new poison, her involvement brings her into contact with a dangerously attractive pirate captain, as well as thugs and slavers in the belly of Seashine’s underground. As pressures build, Lu makes a mistake which may cost both she and Silveo their lives.“Chemistry” is a novelette from the world of Panamindorah, related to the Guild of the Cowry Catchers series. The story has some mild sexual references and innuendo. It is not intended for children. “Chemistry” is a stand-alone story that can be enjoyed without reading Cowry Catchers, but the story will have more meaning for fans of the series. “Chemistry” is also available along with other stories in: Secret Things – Short Stories from Panamindorah, Volume 2.

When Sakura once again meets her gorgeous adoptive brothers, Sebastian and Darcy Princeton, forbidden feelings are awakened and an old flame ignites. When orphan Sakura Tanaka sneaks into a famous Japanese designer’s fashion show in order to meet her biological mother, she doesn’t anticipate a complication that will turn her world upside down. Through mistaken identity, she ends up modelling for the designer, which in turn leads to an unexpected encounter with her seven drop-dead gorgeous adoptive brothers, two of which have intentions for her heart. One of them is Sebastian Princeton, the handsome multi-billionaire real estate investor, who isn’t afraid to show his feelings for her and openly pursues her. The other is Darcy Princeton, the multi-billionaire game designer and entrepreneur, whose love Sakura has always secretly possessed. To whom will Sakura ultimately give her heart?

*In the Ichidian Universe where The League is law, most live in fear. We fight back. Welcome to a world where corrupt assassination politics dominate everyone. It’s kill or be killed. Welcome back to the future…and meet hell's new breed of heroes.* Devyn Kell spent his life in service to the League until he learned of the double dealing and backstabbing that was costing innocent people their lives. Refusing to play those politics, he became a Runner; someone who makes sure planets get the weapons, medicine and supplies they need to survive. May the gods have mercy on any who get in his way, because he definitely won’t. Alix Garran is a woman on the run from a past she can’t escape. Signing on to work for Devyn as a System’s Engineer, she finds a cause she can fight for—and a man she can respect. But as Alix’s past catches up to her, and Devyn’s old enemies turn lethal, they have to fight together…or fall alone, in *Born of Ice*, the third bestselling League novel from Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Since the publication of Song of Kali in 1985, Dan Simmons has produced a substantial body of fiction notable for its vigor, variety, and sheer imaginative reach. His latest, a novella-length tale of startling originality, beautifully embodies these qualities, reaffirming Simmons's position as one of the finest storytellers of our time. Muse of Fire takes place in a remote future age in which the human enterprise has all but ground to a halt. Earth, drained of its oceans and populated largely by the dead, is little more than a distant memory. The scattered human remnants occupy the lowest rung of a Gnostic hierarchy that dominates both their secular and spiritual lives. Against this backdrop, Simmons introduces the Earth's Men, a wandering troupe of players dedicated to presenting the works of Shakespeare to every accessible corner of the settled universe. The story begins on the planet known as 25-25-261B, a regular stop on the players' interstellar tour. A routine performance of Much Ado About Nothing is in progress when an unprecedented event occurs. A band of Archons—members of the usually invisible ruling caste—enter the makeshift theater and join the audience. In doing so, they change the course of human—and non-human—history. What follows is an intellectual adventure story of astonishing richness and depth in which disparate species face each other across an insurmountable divide, their only point of contact the indelible language of William Shakespeare, the story's true muse. Skillfully deploying the elements of traditional science fiction—advanced technologies, alien encounters, strange new worlds—Muse of Fire entertains and illuminates while celebrating the best, most durable elements of our cultural legacy. It is a work of wit, erudition, and tightly compressed grandeur that only Dan Simmons could have written.

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.

Palestine. For most of us, the word brings to mind a series of confused images and disjointed associations-massacres, refugee camps, UN resolutions, settlements, terrorist attacks, war, occupation, checkered kouffiyehs and suicide bombers, a seemingly endless cycle of death and destruction. This novel does not shy away from such painful images, but it is first and foremost a powerful human story, following the life of a young girl from her days in the village of al-Tantoura in Palestine up to the dawn of the new century. We participate in events as they unfold, seeing them through the uneducated but sharply intelligent mind of Ruqayya, as she tries to make sense of all that has happened to her and her family. With her, we live her love of her land and of her people; we feel the repeated pain of loss, of diaspora and of cross-generational misunderstanding; and above all, we come to know her indomitable human spirit. As we read we discover that we have become part of Ruqayya's family, and her voice will remain with us long after we have closed the book.

Almost one year ago, Alice TodHunter Moon left her PathFinder village to become Apprentice to ExtraOrdinary Wizard Septimus Heap. The Castle still fills Tod with wonder—it’s hard to believe all that Magyk comes from the great block of lapis lazuli beneath the Wizard Tower. But in faraway lands, the brilliant blue stone is crumbling to dust. Soon the destruction will spread to the Castle and the Wizard Tower will lose its Magyk and come tumbling down. It seems that the Orm Egg that Tod rescued from the evil sorcerer Oraton-Marr was the Keystone holding the Enchantment of the lapis lazuli in place. But the Egg has hatched now, and the Keystone is no more. Somehow, from somewhere, another Keystone must be found—but how? Despite the intrigues of the witch Marissa and the Red Queen, both of whom have their own plans to take over the Castle, Tod sets off on a hazardous journey to find a new Keystone. She has yet to discover that Aunt Mitza has murderous plans in store. This final installment of the TodHunter Moon trilogy celebrates how hard work, selflessness, and the courage to be who you are can create a harmony that spans the seas and stars.

You are never too old for love! Pearl is the grandmother most people want to hide. There is one dragon-shifting warrior who is happy to kidnap her. Internationally acclaimed author S.E. Smith presents another scorching hot story sure to become one of your favorites! Asim Kemark has lived a long, lonely life. It is his pledge to his former king and to Mandra Reykill that keeps him, his dragon, and his symbiot from going mad. He has given up on finding his true mate and devotes himself to caring for the wide assortment of creatures on Mandra and Ariel's mountain retreat. The last thing he expects to happen when he visits the palace is to lose control of his dragon and his symbiot after they sense their true mate. Before he knows it, he has kidnapped her! Pearl St. Claire is enjoying a new adventure - learning to live on an alien planet. As a mature woman in her sixties, she thought she had experienced just about everything life could throw at her - only to discover she hasn't really experienced anything yet! She is both amused and exasperated when one of the dragon-shifting aliens kidnaps her, believing she is his true mate. Life is no longer boring or lonely as Asim courts the enchanting and spirited, human woman, but he isn't the only one who has noticed Pearl or the unusual animals under his care. When poachers attack, determined to steal the exotic creatures under his protection - including Pearl and a new clutch of alien eggs from Earth - he will do everything he can to protect them. Can one dragon keep the most precious creatures under his care safe, or will he lose the biggest battle of his life? Read on for a special bonus story! First time available on Amazon! The Great Easter Bunny Hunt: A Dragonlings of Valdier short story! Alien eggs can only mean one thing - an adventure! A pile of unusual eggs leads to an exciting Easter egg hunt for the kids and the adults alike in this delightful holiday tale. The children must work together to recover Jabir's coveted eggs after the Great Easter Bunny is caught taking them away. Can the Dragonlings and their besties save the day?