Triplets narrate, teen descendants of Medusa. Warring factions among the gods of Olympus are coming; creatures of the Abyss are pushing into San Francisco; boys in their lives hide dangerous secrets. Tough Gretchen has fought monsters the longest, trains newfound sisters. Perfectionist Greer keeps her social calendar, faints from visions. Compromising Grace worries about missing brother Thane.

An anthology of poems and illustrations by children and young people living on the Isle of Wight, aged 8-15.The 25 shortlisted and 8 winning entries from the 2014 Anti-Bullying poetry competition based on the theme ‘Let’s Stop Bullying for all’ are collated within this ebook, alongside illustrations from young people on the Isle of Wight.

The Doctor takes Clara to Edinburgh where he has to plug up a leaking energy well. Unfortunately, he is already too late and they have to pursue shadowy bird-like creatures through time to stop them consuming the raw energy of a child destined for great things...They were like birds. Large, black birds – shadowy descendants of pterodactyls – gathered in the shadows and out of sight. A movement from one of them could be dismissed as a trick of the light – the mind placing tricks with the shadows of the night. They were hungry. Ravenous. And they could feel their next meal getting close. A rip in time. Juicy energy waiting to be consumed. Gathered around one special person. A person with the potential to change the world. All they had to do was find a way through and then they could begin their feast.The Doctor takes Clara to Edinburgh where he has to plug up a leaking energy well. Unfortunately, he is already too late and they have to pursue the shadowy bird-like creatures through time to stop them consuming the raw energy of a child destined for great things...

Reader alert: BRINK OF ETERNITY was published under a different cover, but with the same title, in July of 2011. The content is the same. You may have also read BRINK OF ETERNITY on the Heroes & Heartbreakers website. Welcome to Caris Roane's vampire collection, two very different novellas that track the journey of two powerful vampires. In entirely different ways, both BRINK OF ETERNITY and EMBRACE THE DARK, explore the sexy mystique of the warrior vampire, each over-burdened by the responsibilities of his job and in need of the love of a good woman. BRINK OF ETERNITY follows the tradition of the Guardians of Ascension and introduces the Militia Warrior aspect of Second Earth. First published in July of 2011, the story features Warrior Gideon and his Mortal Earth lover, Elise Jordan, as she answers her call to ascension. BRINK OF ETERNITY launches a novella series called, Dawn of Ascension. The second novella, THE DARKENING, releases on Valentine’s Day, 2014. But the world is the same, and the Warriors of the Blood often show up as well as the magnificent Endelle. EMBRACE THE DARK takes you into the world of the Blood Rose series, in which the blood-needs of a master vampire can only be met by one gifted woman. First published in May of 2012, EMBRACE THE DARK explores the Nine Realms of North America, a world inhabited not just by vampires, but by the fae, by charming trolls, and the evil Invictus pairs that prey on the weak of the realm. But ruling each realm, and more powerful than any other creature in the land, is a Mastyr Vampire. Our beleaguered Mastyr Vampire, Gerrod, suffers from chronic blood starvation and can only be sated by a phenomenon called a blood rose. But how can he accept Abigail as his blood rose, when she’s a mere human?

After a stalker breaks into her home, internet entrepreneur Bee Langston decides Kelly Connolly is the only man who can help her—but seeking help from the former Marine isn’t easy, especially after she made a spectacular fool of herself trying to kiss the sinfully sexy bodyguard. When Kelly spots Bee weaving her way through the Houston nightspot where he’s working security, all those feelings he’s desperately tried to deny for his best friend’s sister come flooding to the surface. He’ll do anything to keep her safe, even if means getting up close and personal with the one woman he simply can’t have. Soon, Bee’s stalker isn’t his only problem. His gambling addict father is tangled in a mess of debts to two of Houston’s toughest loan sharks. With the family gym on the line, there’s only one way for Kelly to make everything right. He agrees to fight for the Albanian mob in an underground bare-knuckle fighting tournament. But winning the tournament and saving his family’s legacy comes at a high price—one that just might cost Bee her life.

“The thought . . . called up the flavors of an elaborate and bold cuisine, bent on making the flavors’ highest notes vibrate, juxtaposing them in modulations, in chords, and especially in dissonances that would assert themselves as an incomparable experience.” — From *Under the Jaguar Sun* These intoxicating stories delve down to the core of our senses. Taste, hearing, and smell. Amid the flavors of Mexico’s fiery chilies and spices, a couple on holiday discovers dark truths about the maturing of desire in the title story, “Under the Jaguar Sun.” In “A King Listens,” a gripping portrait of a frenzied mind, the menacing echoes in a huge palace spur a tyrant’s thoughts to the heights of paranoid intensity. “The Name, the Nose” drives to a startling conclusion as men across time and space pursue the women whose aromas have enchanted them. Mordant and deliciously offbeat, this trio of tales is a treat from a master of short fiction. “[Calvino is] a learned, daring, ingeniously gifted magus . . . Under the Jaguar Sun . . . fuses fable with neuron . . . The reader is likely to salivate.” — Cynthia Ozick, New York Times Book Review

More than a quarter of a century after "The Sword of Shannara" carved out its place in the pantheon of great epic fantasy, the magic of Terry Brooks's "New York Times"bestselling saga burns as brightly as ever. Three complete series have chronicled the ever-unfolding history of Shannara. But more stories are still to be told-and new adventures have yet to be undertaken. BookOne of High Druid of Shannara invites both the faithful longtime reader and the curious newcomer to take the first step on the next extraordinary quest. Twenty years have passed since Grianne Ohmsforddenounced her former life as the dreaded Ilse Witch-saved by the love of her brother, the magic of the Sword of Shannara, and the destruction of her evil mentor, the Morgawr. Now, fulfilling the destiny predictedfor her, she has established the Third Druid Council, and dedicated herself to its goals of peace, harmony among the races, and defense of the Four Lands. But the political intrigue, secret treachery, and sinister deedsthat have haunted Druid history for generations continue to thrive. And despite her devotion to the greater good as Ard Rhys-the High Druid of Paranor, Grianne still has bitter enemies. Amongthe highest ranks of the Council she leads lurk those who cannot forget her reign of terror as the Ilse Witch, who covet her seat of power, and who will stop at nothing to see her deposed . . . or destroyed. EvenGrianne's few allies-chief among them her trusted servant Tagwen--know of the plots against her. But they could never anticipate the sudden, ominous disappearance of the Ard Rhys, in the deadof night and without a trace. Now, barely a step ahead of the dark forces bent on stopping him, Tagwen joins Grianne's brave young nephew, Pen Ohmsford, and the wise, powerful elf Ahren Elessedil on a desperateand dangerous mission of search and rescue-to deliver the High Druid of Shannara from an unspeakable fate. Expect no end of wonders, no shortage of adventure, exhilaration, suspense, andenchantment, as Terry Brooks demonstrates, once again, that there is no end to his magic of invention and mastery of storytelling.

A gripping psychological thriller on the inherent greed and evil of man, dooming the planet. Two hundred years of tender love between man and alien, political downfalls, wanton violence of unspeakable order tempered with laughter, family loyalty and hope is the thrilling vehicle by which Ms Accinni conveys her cautionary tale of the merciless disrespect man gives his planet and the vulnerable creatures entrusted to him. "Baby" introduces Netty, a naive teenage farm girl given in marriage to an older brutal opportunist disguised as a successful citizen during the years of Prohibition in Sussex County, New Jersey. After years of enslavement, Netty flees into the night from her rapist and bootlegger husband, traveling back to the farm worked by her parents, where she rescues an unfamiliar damaged creature she finds in a cave in the woods of her childhood, falling in love with the enigmatic alien she names Baby. Together they find happiness and fulfillment despite the changes to Netty's body wrought by the proximity of the unusual creature. Damaged by entry into our atmosphere while pregnant, the confused creature forgets the purpose of his mission, appearing unconcerned with the disappearance of his offspring and savoring the unexpected joy of the love he shares with young Netty. When a handsome Italian stranger comes into Netty's life, complications ensue as she falls in love while trying to hide the bizarre and wondrous changes to her farm and her body. Netty, Baby and Wil strive to conquer obstacles thrown in their path by life, succeeding wildly until the heart-rending and astonishingly brutal climax to their story. This charming, yet brutal story is the prologue to a series that will chill and surprise you as it foretells the selfishly destructive path man has followed since his species evolved. It pulls no punches while allowing Netty and Baby's influence to transcend mortal life as the world dances toward depraved indifference, introducing other characters along the ride that readers will laugh,shed tears with and learn to despise. What lengths will Baby and his offspring go to complete their mission? Will it spell Armageddon for the beleaguered planet with its vulnerable and exploited creatures or will man tip the scales himself, leaving those that love the creatures to salvage the pitiful ruins?

Jeanette Winterson's novels have established her as a major figure in world literature. She has written some of the most admired books of the past few decades, including her internationally bestselling first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, the story of a young girl adopted by Pentecostal parents that is now often required reading in contemporary fiction. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? is a memoir about a life's work to find happiness. It's a book full of stories: about a girl locked out of her home, sitting on the doorstep all night; about a religious zealot disguised as a mother who has two sets of false teeth and a revolver in the dresser, waiting for Armageddon; about growing up in an north England industrial town now changed beyond recognition; about the Universe as Cosmic Dustbin. It is the story of how a painful past that Jeanette thought she'd written over and repainted rose to haunt her, sending her on a journey into madness and out again, in search of her biological mother. Witty, acute, fierce, and celebratory, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? is a tough-minded search for belonging--for love, identity, home, and a mother.

John Reddy Heart came to Willowsville, New York, driving a salmon-colored Cadillac Bel Air and sitting on three Las Vegas phone books; he was eleven years old. From that day on, as John, his seductive mother, addled grandfather, and younger siblings settled into one of the town's most beautiful homes, John Reddy Heart would become legendary as a rebel, a heartthrob, and an outlaw. In this uproarious epic novel from one of our most gifted contemporary storytellers, the ballad of John Reddy Heart -- his rise, fall, and second ascent into the realm of myth -- is sung by a chorus of Willowsville voices who find in him their savior, scapegoat, dream lover, and confessor. Broke Heart Blues may be the most entertaining novel yet from Joyce Carol Oates: razor-sharp satire that holds a mirror up to America's obsession with celebrity.

Chilling real-life accounts of witches, from medieval Europe through colonial America From a manual for witch hunters written by King James himself in 1597, to court documents from the Salem witch trials of 1692, to newspaper coverage of a woman stoned to death on the streets of Philadelphia while the Continental Congress met, The Penguin Book of Witches is a treasury of historical accounts of accused witches that sheds light on the reality behind the legends. Bringing to life stories like that of Eunice Cole, tried for attacking a teenage girl with a rock and buried with a stake through her heart; Jane Jacobs, a Bostonian so often accused of witchcraft that she took her tormentors to court on charges of slander; and Increase Mather, an exorcism-performing minister famed for his knowledge of witches, this volume provides a unique tour through the darkest history of English and North American witchcraft, never failing to horrify, intrigue, and delight.

Dawn and Claudia have a perfect day planned. They've invited Dawn's brother and three other kids to join them on a sailing race out to Greenpoint Island. The girls have even packed a picnic lunch for the adventure. But then a big storm blows up in the middle of the race. And Claudia and Dawn and the kids never return from the island. The Baby-sitters can't believe it's true--two of their members are missing!

Alice’s memorable last year of high school is being overshadowed by some very difficult situations. A sudden increase in vandalism at the school leads Alice to discover an angry and violent group of students—teenage Neo-Nazis. Then an awkward hallway encounter gets a classmate to confess that a new, attentive teacher has been taking advantage of her. All at once, Alice’s safe and comfortable school starts feeling strange and serious—all this plus the normal senior year pressures of college applications and life-making decisions. Alice has two options: step up or melt down. The choice is simple, and true to the character that readers have loved for years….Alice steps up—in a big way.

Gombrowicz's strange, bracing final novel probes the divide between young and old while providing a grotesque evocation of obsession. While recuperating from wartime Warsaw in the Polish countryside, the unnamed narrator and his friend, Fryderyk, attempt to force amour between two local youths, Karol and Henia, as a kind of a lewd entertainment. They become increasingly frustrated as they discover that the two have no interest in one another, and the games are momentarily stopped by a local murder and a directive to assassinate a rogue member of the Polish resistance. Gombrowicz connects these threads magnificently in a tense climax that imbues his novel with a deep sense of the absurd and multiplies its complexity. Gombrowicz is a relentless psychoanalyzer and a consummate stylist; his prose is precise and forceful, and the narrator's strained attempts to elucidate why he takes such pleasure at soiling youth creepily evoke authentic pride and disgust. Borchardt's translation (the first into English from the original Polish) is a model of consistency, maintaining a manic tone as it navigates between lengthy, comma-spliced sentences and sharp, declarative thrusts. - Publishers Weekly

Horses were in Annie Bronn's blood. For as long as she could remember, she had been fascinated by the spirited wild mustangs that roamed free throughout the West. So when greedy cattlemen started to round up the mustangs for slaughter, Annie knew it was up to her to save the breed. The true story of Wild Horse Annie's crusade to save the mustangs is inspiring. Readers will cheer her on, all the way to the White House, in her struggle to preserve these beautiful creatures from extinction.

Scheming, extorting, menacing and general evilness are nothing new in the world of villainy - indeed it's expected. But there are codes of conduct. Until now. In an attempt to purge the Global League of Villainous Enterprises of its more destructive elements, Dr Nero has underestimated the cunning and resources of those who oppose him. Meanwhile, Otto and the rest of the Alpha stream have been sent to begin their most feared exercise: The Hunt, in the icy wastes of Siberia. But there is a traitor in their midst. The first strike against Nero will be a strike against the Alpha stream. Villain-kind is on the brink of CIVIL WAR.

Begin by entering “The Rift.” Answering a distress call from a colonized planet, a combat team finds themselves ambushed. They manage to scrabble their way to a remote research facility in the countryside, joining a group of schoolchildren that have holed up with the researchers -- three groups united in fear that their lives will last only as long as they can avoid discovery by the aliens that have come to their planet. When the aliens do come, it becomes clear that despite all the years of research, the humans’ understanding of the aliens is woefully incomplete. “Swords and Saddles” is one of several alternate history stories that Jack Campbell has written. When lightning strikes Captain Ulysses Benton and his US Cavalry Fifth Regiment, they recover to find an ancient structure in the desert that they’ve never seen before -- and writing in a language none of them recognize. When the next find themselves skirmishing with soldiers wearing armor more appropriate to Roman centurions than 1870s Kansas, it becomes clear that wherever it is they are, it isn’t Kansas. But where are they, then? And how do they make their way home? The Lost Fleet isn’t the only Jack Campbell series full of outer space intrigue. “Failure to Obey”is a novella in his Paul Sinclair series. When Lieutenant Jen Shen saves the day after a terrorist attack on a space station, she gets a medal, but Ivan Sharpe, a fellow officer and Paul’s former master-at-arms, gets a court martial. In a classic court martial scene that rivals the best in American literature, Paul has to work behind the scenes to save Ivan’s military career.

New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper turns up the heat even as she chills readers to the bone with a new suspense novel that distills the essence of fear itself. In this relentless thriller, two psychics put more than their lives on the line to stop a killer darker and more evil than they could ever imagine. . . . FBI agent Quentin Hayes always knew he had an unusual talent, even before he was recruited by Noah Bishop for the controversial Special Crimes Unit. But, as gifted as he is, for twenty years he’s been haunted by a heartbreaking unsolved murder that took place at The Lodge, a secluded Victorian-era resort in Tennessee. Now he’s returned one final time, determined to put the mystery to rest. Diana Brisco has come there hoping to unlock the mystery of her troubled past. Instead, she is assailed by nightmares and the vision of a child who vanished from The Lodge years ago. And an FBI agent is trying to convince her that she isn’t crazy but that she has a rare gift, a gift that could catch a killer. Quentin knows that this is his last chance to solve a case that has become a dangerous obsession. But can he persuade Diana to help him, knowing what it could cost her? For something cold and dark and pure evil is stalking the grounds of The Lodge. Something Diana may not survive. Something Quentin never felt before: the chill of fear.

If only she'd been born a boy, Tamsyn would never have been sent away to Uncle Gideon's - the armourer's - house when her grandmother died. She could have stayed by the wild sea that she loved with her Uncle Martin, the ship merchant. But instead, she is bound for busy, bustling Tudor London, and the armourer's house, far from the coast and far from her beloved ships. Homesick and lonely in the loud family of cousins, it isn't until she meets the strange old Wise Woman that Tamsyn is finally promised her "heart's desire"...

Major Connor MacKinnon despises his commander, Lord William Wentworth, beyond all other men. Ordered to rescue Wentworth's niece after the Shawnee take her captive, he expects Lady Sarah Woodville to be every bit as contemptible as her uncle. Instead, he finds a brave and beautiful lass in desperate peril. But the only way to free Sarah is for Connor to defeat the Shawnee warrior who kidnapped her-and claim her himself.From the Back CoverMajor Connor MacKinnon despises his commander, Lord William Wentworth, beyond all other men. Ordered to rescue Wentworth's niece after the Shawnee take her captive, he expects Lady Sarah Woodville to be every bit as contemptible as her uncle. Instead, he finds a brave and beautiful lass in desperate peril. But the only way to free Sarah is for Connor to defeat the Shawnee warrior who kidnapped her--and claim her himself.Torn by tragedy from her sheltered life in London, Lady Sarah is unprepared for the harshness of the frontier--or for the attraction she feels toward Connor. When they reach civilization, however, it is she who must protect him. For if her uncle knew all that Connor had done to save her, he would surely kill him.But the flames of passion, once kindled, are difficult to deny. As desire transforms into love, Connor will have to defy an empire to keep Sarah at his side. About the AuthorColorado author Pamela Clare began her writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor-in-chief of two different newspapers. Along the way, she and her team won numerous state and national honors, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service and the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award. A single mother with two college-aged sons, she writes historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense within view of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.