'A foot on the neck is nine points of the law' There are many who say that the art of diplomacy is an intricate and complex dance. There are others who maintain that it's merely a matter of who carries the biggest stick. The oldest and most inscrutable (not to mention heavily fortified) empire on the Discworld is in turmoil, brought about by the revolutionary treatise What I did on My Holidays. Workers are uniting, with nothing to lose but their water buffaloes; warlords are struggling for power - and what the nation wants, to avoid terrible doom for everyone, is a wizard. Rincewind is not the Disc’s premier wizard – in fact, he can’t even spell ‘wizard’ – but no-one specified whether competence was an issue. And they do have a very big stick… Mighty Battles! Revolution! Death! War! (And his sons Terror and Panic and daughter Clancy).  

A short story that comes after Hostage to Pleasure and before Branded by Fire.

Spanning three generations, and illuminated by marvelous flights of lyricism and wit, "Moon Palace" follows an orphan child of the sixties as he seeks the key to his past and the answers to the riddle of his fate.

Grandfather and the children are visiting Broken Moon Pond, where Grandfather used to vacation as a child. The children are enchanted by the beautiful wilderness. But they soon encounter a strange set of coincidences, mishaps, and mysteries.

The final installment in the Creatura Series by Nely Cab.

Karen cant't wait for Christmas. She and Andrew are writing to Santa, baking cookies, and decorating their tree. Karen is even learning about other holidays, like Hanukkah. Then Karen's grandmother gets sick and has to go to the hospital, and now Karen doesn't want Christmas to come at all.

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 story chronicles the journey of Agymah and his friendsBook 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."

A MODRONS REPORT: DOMINIONS OF DEITIES WORSHIPPED BY THE INHABITANTS OF REALMSPACE AND THE PRIME MATERIAL CONTINENT OF FAERUN.VOLUME #1: EVIL DIETIES A- L-1st Edition, 1335x catalog of prime material research from The Great Modron March & by modrons serialized 856,223.043 – 900,103Commissioned by The One and the Prime.Coded by Quinton #7,601,342,695 Planar Alias = “Scribbles”A MODRONS REPORT: -DOMINIONS OF DEITIES WORSHIPPED BY THE INHABITANTS OF REALMSPACE AND THE PRIME MATERIAL CONTINENT OF FAERUN.VOLUME #1: EVIL DIETIES A- L-1st Edition, 1335x catalog of prime material research from The Great Modron March & by modrons serialized 856,223.043 – 900,103Commissioned by The One and the Prime.Coded by Quinton #7,601,342,695 Planar Alias = “Scribbles”Published in accordance with dmsguild Forgotten Realms Licensing Agreement.

"Volume Two of the Border Trilogy" Set on the south-western ranches in the years before the Second World War, "The Crossing" follows the fortunes of sixteen-year-old Billy and his younger brother Boyd. Fascinated by an elusive wolf that has been marauding his family's property, Billy captures the animal - but rather than kill it, sets out impulsively for the mountains of Mexico to return it to where it came from. When Billy comes back to his own home he finds himself and his world irrevocably changed. His loss of innocence has come at a price, and once again the border beckons with its desolate beauty and cruel promise.

In MIDNIGHT JEWEL, Richelle Mead goes beyond the glitz and glamour of the Glittering Court, delving into the dark, political underbelly of Cape Triumph through the eyes of one girl who dares to fight for her freedom. A refugee of war, Mira was cast out of her home country and thrust into another, where the conditions were inhospitable at best. In a life-altering twist of fate, she is given the chance to escape once more, and she takes it, joining the Glittering Court. Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies who appear destined for powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. There, Mira finds herself subjected to persecution, not only from her fellow Glittering Court jewels, but from her suitors, as well—men she would potentially be expected to give her life to. By day, she goes through the motions, learning the etiquette and customs that will help to earn her anonymity, even making a couple true friends in the process, the forthright ladies’ maid Adelaide and the ambitious laundress Tamsin. But by night, Mira hatches a different plan entirely—one that, if exposed, could get her hanged in the highest court of Adoria. MIDNIGHT JEWEL is the extraordinary story of a girl with few options who courageously forges a new path, finding love, passion, lifelong friendships, and maybe even a way to freedom.

In a world beset by magic waves, Kate Daniels works as a mercenary. She is tired, hungry, and there is foul-smelling blood on her boots. All she wants to do is to go home, but when Mercenary Guild offers her a job she can't refuse, she finds herself protecting a man against Russian wizards. This story was originally published in the anthologies * Dark and Stormy Knights * and Magic Graves.)

WHEN TRUTH AND JUSTICE ARE NO LONGER BLACK AND WHITE ISSUES . . . Sephy is a Cross, one of the privileged in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts as inferiors. But her baby daughter has a nought father . . . Jude is a Nought. Eaten up with bitterness, he blames Sephy for the terrible losses his family has suffered . . . Now Jude's life rests on a knife edge. Will Sephy be forced, once again, to take sides? A razor-sharp and intensely moving novel, the second in the "Noughts & Crosses" sequence.

For the past four years, everyone thought Ethan Daniels was dead and gone. But now he is back with a vengeance. After the gruesome death of his adopted sister at the hands of a merciless gang, there is nothing he wants more than revenge. He can't sleep. He can't think. All he hears are her cries and all he sees is her death. Ethan comes home to take on one of the world’s most notorious crime lords in his bid for revenge. Using his vast resources, advanced skills, and an arsenal of weaponry, Ethan dons the mask of a vigilante and wages a one-man-war against the crime lord’s empire. However, he doesn't expect a reunion with Katrina, the girl he loved as a boy. After multiple reencounters with her, Ethan's resolve begins to waver as he is forced to realize that he can't have both love and vengeance. Retribution exacts a price while fate—well, she has plans of her own.

The title doesn't lie: This is a story about a young writer and an old witch who meet on a lonely road that winds towards the New Capital. Actually, they meet there twice. The first time, there's a curse involved. The second time--you'll have to read and find out. It all adds up to about 4,000 words--perfect as a train read or an after-dinner fable. (Didn't you hear? Doctors recommend after-dinner fables.)

Jeanie loves a New Species and is willing to pay for that love with pain, tears and heartbreak. She’ll do anything to keep 710 alive but she never wants him to know how she suffered for him. He’s the reason for her mission in life—freeing others like him. True has a new life working with the NSO to rescue his people. A good life, until he encounters a dying woman—the female who betrayed him. True should feel gratified that she’s finally going to pay for her crimes, but she claims to be a victim too. He is still irresistibly drawn to the pretty little human who touched his heart and made him want her. When he clasps her hand to offer comfort, his instincts kick in and True will fight everyone to protect her.

Have you ever wondered just what was going on when that odd little man with the long name stepped up and volunteered to spin straw into gold for the miller’s daughter? If you stop and think about it, there are some very peculiar and rather hard-to-explain components to the story. Vivian Vande Velde has wondered too, and she’s come up with these six alternative versions of the old legend. A bevy of miller’s daughters confront their perilous situation in very different ways — sometimes comic, sometimes scary. Most of the time, it’s the daughter who gets off safely, but sometimes, amazingly, Rumpelstiltskin himself wins the day. And in one tale, it is the king who cleverly escapes a quite unexpected fate.

(Suncoast Society, MFM, BDSM) Chelbie Larson’s turned on by intelligence, but the creative, snarky, feisty woman knows she’s too much for any one guy to handle. The picky sapiosexual refuses to settle for less than what she wants, which is why she’s still single. Her parents have a solid marriage, and she knows that’s the quality of love she yearns for. Enter Nick and Rich Hurst, fledgling kinkster twins. One is a computer expert, the other a talented musician. And they’re no stranger to showing a woman a good time. Chelbie’s not bashful about showing them what she wants. Just when Chelbie had given up on finding a guy, they show her maybe dreams can come true. But when Chelbie’s attacked out of the blue, the truth about the triad’s relationship doesn’t make her parents happy. Now she faces a difficult choice between appeasing her parents…or deciding to follow her heart. One thing’s for sure—her life will never be the same.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Penn Cage series explores the dangers of obsession in this gripping psychological thriller. John Waters is a successful businessman and a happy family man--but his life comes crashing down around him with one word from a beautiful stranger: "Soon." Suddenly, he is face to face with a memory from his past--of an obsession that he thought he had escaped. One that now plunges him into the darkest side of love and passion... "This novel should come with a red wrapper marked DANGER: HIGH EXPLOSIVES."--Stephen King

In Morrison's debut young adult novel, TAKEN BY STORM, Michael faces incredible loss, but he finds Leesie. UNBROKEN CONNECTION is Leesie's story. By the final page, she is broken and battered--physically and spiritually. Morrison vowed to her readers not to leave her that way. CAYMAN SUMMER recounts Michael and Leesie's final journey. Michael takes Leesie to the Cayman Islands to heal. Time, sunshine, and Michael's devotion free her of physical pain, but grief and guilt haunt her. Michael will do anything to find the old Leesie who prayed, spoke of visions, and kept the rules. For Leesie, that girl is lost forever. Rules? What's the point now? She's ready to break every one. Morrison wrote CAYMAN SUMMER with fan critique and input at http://caymansummer.blogspot.com.

Under the reign of Louis XV, corruption and intrigue have been allowed to blossom in France, and Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon and proud of his soubriquet 'Satanas', flourishes as well. Then, from a dark Parisian back alley, he plucks Leon, a redheaded urchin with strangely familiar looks, just in time for his long over-due schemes of revenge on the Comte de St. Vire. Among the splendours of Versailles and the dignified mansions of England, Justin begins to unfold his sinister plans -- until, that is, Leon becomes the ravishing beauty Leonie... Unanswered questions. Lovely, titian-haired Leonie, ward of the dashing Duke of Avon, had all Paris at her feet. Yet her true origins remained shrouded in mystery. And neither the glittering soirees nor the young aristocrats who so ardently courted her could still the question that plagued her young heart. What was her mysterious parentage? Just one man held the secret, the one she feared most in the world--the iron-willed Comte de Saint-Vire, deadly enemy of the Duke. He would give her the answer--for a price. But could she betray the man she secretly, helplessly loved? And could this proud young beauty bear to face the truth when it came?