***This Book has been re-edited***Humans were created long ago by creatures from another universe, no one knows exactly why. When first contact is initiated Earth is shocked to learn that these Alien Humans need their help! Their society is completely dependent on machines and overrun by excesses of sex and drugs. The people of Earth are the key to humanity’s survival.***This Book has been re-edited***At the center is the human homeworlds, a three planetary system where humans were born. All throughout the galaxy are colonies of humans, only a handful knows they are not alone. Earth, will have first contact with other humans and slowly learn of its role in the community. The homeworlds are in decline, completely dependent on machines and overrun by excesses of sex and drugs. Their society has become stagnant, slowly dying. The people of Earth are “FreeFormed”, they are allowed to freely develop and no other colony is like them because emotions are feared, but Earth is the key to humanity’s survival.Now, a mortal enemy has invaded another human colony and must be confronted. These strange humanoid creatures are after the homeworlds, but why? They bring with them an horrific truth and the fate of our universe is uncertain.

Morgan Abbey is about to find herself drawn into a centuries-old struggle involving a group of people who quietly coexist alongside the common people of the world. This shadowy group believes it is time for them to reclaim their former positions of power—and they believe Morgan is the key. Every victory comes at a price—but is it one that Morgan will be willing to pay?Morgan Abbey’s life is about to change. Just weeks before the beginning of her senior year, a mysterious stranger approaches Morgan with information that turns her world on end: First, the psychic ability she believes she has just been pretending to have since middle school might actually be real. Second, her mother, who disappeared abruptly and completely almost a decade ago, might still be alive. Morgan finds herself drawn into a centuries-old struggle involving a shadowy group with incredible powers. The Veneret have quietly coexisted alongside the common people of the world for centuries. Now they believe it is time for them to reclaim their former positions of power—and that Morgan is the key to their victory. Every victory comes at a price—but is it one that Morgan will be willing to pay?Continue the adventure. Seeking (The Naturals, #2) now available!

RayRay and his crew are braving the weather for a quick walk over to SouthHaven,where their fav dealer lives.Turning a corner,the enterprising young criminals spy an odd-looking man standing under the streetlight like a present under a Christmas tree,probably sporting a fat wallet.The boys would like to relieve the man of his money,but the thing is,he's not from around S.H.or any place on earth...Ray Ray and his crew are braving the cold weather for a quick walk over to South Haven, where their favorite dealer lives. Turning a corner, the enterprising young criminals spy an odd-looking man just standing there under the streetlight like a present under a Christmas tree, probably sporting a fat wallet. The boys would like to relieve the odd man of his money, but the thing is, he's not from around South Haven; or any place on earth...."Ray Ray liked to keep his arms covered beneath a crotch length long-sleeve because of the needle marks, not to mention the little .25 he had taken to carrying in his back pocket, as the paranoia crept deeper by degrees."

A man lays on his deathbed, reminiscing about his past as a Vietnam War Paratrooper. As he remembers his past, his health begins to decline, leaving doctors to wonder how he's managed to live this long. Jim Morris manages to tell a story about the Vietnam War from the point of view that was silenced: the soldiers. This book will give you an insight into the Vietnam War and the men who lived it.A man lays on his deathbed, reminiscing about his past as a Vietnam War Paratrooper. As he remembers his past, his health begins to decline, leaving doctors to wonder how he's managed to live this long. Jim Morris manages to tell a story about the Vietnam War from the point of view that was silenced: the soldiers. This book will give you an insight into the Vietnam War and the men who lived it.Author Jim Morris was a Green Beret in Vietnam. He has written a number of well-received books--both fiction and nonfiction, including his bestselling memoir, War Story.

Christmas seems ruined for Pepper Jones.A loud party is not the way she wanted to spend Christmas Eve with her friends.Telling Jacob Longstreet of her predicament, he works a little magic to bring the spirit of Christmas back to Pepper.Check out this heartfelt story that takes you back in time to a Christmas in the trenches of the Civil War.A loud party is not the way she wanted to spend Christmas Eve with her friends.Telling Jacob Longstreet of her predicament, he works a little magic to bring the spirit of Christmas back to Pepper.Check out this heartfelt story that takes you back in time to a Christmas in the trenches of the Civil War.J.T. Lewis' Pepper and Longstreet YA mystery series has been described as the next Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mysteries...with a paranormal twist!

The protagonist’s advocacy against mass accusation on him being ‘not man enough’. He also contests the parallel label of ‘not woman enough’. The jury is already out as he puts up his witty advocacy against the pop cultural benchmarks over gender appropriates and massive peer pressure on men and women alike for being ‘something enough’. It is for readers to preside on the judgment. He needs you!The protagonist’s advocacy against mass accusation on him being ‘not man enough’. He also contests the parallel label of ‘not woman enough’. The jury is already out as he puts up his witty advocacy against the pop cultural benchmarks over gender appropriates and massive peer pressure on men and women alike for being ‘something enough’. It is for readers to preside on the judgment. He needs you!It is not only about being not a man enough. This predicament is similar for women too. This label of not man enough also extends to women as being not women enough. Rather, women in contemporary culture have to struggle with this label far more than men. In modern culture, there are so many stupid and populist benchmarking of a women’s desirable persona and imagery that it is really tough for a woman to feel comfort and wellness with her natural body and mind, let alone with a choice, which does not conform to populist imagery.The protagonist not only attempts a joint advocacy against the label of being ‘not man enough’ as well as being ‘not women enough; he also has a silly perspective on what ‘enough’ benchmark the populist cultures must have for larger wellness of gender mutuality. He surely needs your vote. Do bail him out!

Book One of the Lord Jester's Legacy.When Mark Seaton's father disappears and his mother is murdered, he becomes a pawn in a deadly world of nobles, masked courtiers, and mysterious beings that whisper in his mind.The only way a pawn can survive is to gain position and power.The only way Mark Seaton can be free is to become a player.When Mark Seaton's father disappears and his mother is murdered, he becomes a pawn in a deadly world of nobles, masked courtiers, and mysterious beings that whisper in his mind.The only way a pawn can survive is to gain position and power.The only way Mark Seaton can be free is to become a player.Book One of the Lord Jester's Legacy"Prazeman has crafted a magnificent, credible fantasy where noble lords symbiotically bond with masked jesters whose machinations and assassinations further their ambitions without imperiling their souls. She does a uniquely wonderful job of honoring her readers' intelligence, parsing out little hints and nibbles, barely enough information to figure out what is going on as her hero navigates the intrigue. The result is a swift and satisfying read that leaves us begging for a sequel. Whole-heartedly recommended!" – Lawrence Kane, ForeWord Magazine"Prazeman's jesters dance fine lines through a world of byzantine politics. Real, fallible people lie behind complex masks. The subtle weave of influences, and the dangers they produce, will keep readers hooked." – Sara Mueller, Endeavor Award Committee Member"The world of MASKS is a fantasy world unlike any other I've encountered, rich with mystery, intrigue, and danger, and its hero Mark is complex and unusual – a young man trying to solve the riddle of his parents' deaths while concealing dangerous secrets of his own. No one in this book is exactly what they seem, Mark least of all. We all have our masks, and MASKS lifts the façades of its characters and its world to expose the ambiguous truths behind them." – David Levine, Hugo Award Winning Author

Second book in the Gary Maddox Series:Sydney private investigator Gary Maddox is asked to find a missing accountant. He doesn't expect any trouble. After all, the guy is just an bean counter. But he's dead wrong. Powerful men have dispatched a posse of thugs to kill the ledger looker. Gary is soon counting bodies and trying not to become a ugly statistic.*Ignore the cover... It in no way is representative of the quality of this book (At least I hope it doesn't). The only purpose it has is to serve as a cover that gives off vague details about what's inside...

Based on the Resident Evil series by Capcom. Albert Wesker and William Birkin are the youngest employees ever hired by the Umbrella Corporation. They are brilliant scientists, but are not prepared for Umbrella's secret virus known as the Progenitor, a virus that creates the living dead. Manipulated by their superiors, James Marcus and Ozwell Spencer, they must work together in order to succeed.Based on the Resident Evil video game series by Capcom. Albert Wesker and William Birkin are the two youngest employees ever recruited by the Umbrella Corporation. Both of them are brilliant young scientists, destined for great careers in the cutting edge of biological science. At the Umbrella Training Facility, under the tutelage of the mysterious James Marcus and the ruthless Ozwell Spencer, they excel at their research and are rapidly promoted. But they are not prepared for the shocking truth about the Umbrella Corporation. All of Umbrella's advanced biological research is founded upon a lethal virus known as the Progenitor, a terrifying disease that kills its host and then resurrects it as the living dead. As Wesker and Birkin accept the frightening truth and focus on their own scientific goals, their teacher, James Marcus, gradually descends into madness over his latest project, putting all of Umbrella at risk. Now, it is up to Wesker and Birkin to deal with Marcus and the even more-terrifying virus he has created, known as the T-virus ...

Double the fun in this story with bonded siblings, Onyx and Jasper! adventures, a big surprise and a happy ending make this one a must-read.In our Old Testament Snapshot study we talked about the prophecies and how important they would be to those who were going to be around when Jesus was alive. The prophecies were so important that without them the people would have had a hugely, mondo difficult time, probably impossible, in recognizing the Messiah when He finally came. God knew that the people would need positive proof that Jesus was the Messiah. God just didn't provide one or two prophecies to show the people that Jesus was the Messiah. There were literally thousands of prophecies that He had to fulfill and He did just that. In this study we will begin looking at the different things that Jesus did to fulfill prophecy, and to touch humanity in a way that no one else could. Since He was God, He was able to heal the sick and the lame. He was able to give sight to the blind. He had the power of life and death, so He could bring people back to life. He did some truly amazing things during His three-year ministry but still many of the people that saw Him do this stuff still did not believe that He was the Messiah. They were so blinded by Satan that it was nearly impossible for some of them to ever believe in Jesus. Satan is very good at what he does. After all, he was the highest created being. That means he was the most powerful, the most beautiful and the smartest creature that ever existed. Satan is no dummy, he knows just how to keep people from seeing God the way He truly is.

A short story collection covering the loss of identity and the divorce between different identities, from the dark emptiness of Kansas night to a magical winter solstice to mysterious river islets. Meet the friend of the man who bends spoons with his mind, the man who loses his language, the woman trapped in an Armageddon of her own making, all locked in a stagnant pattern with change in doubt.Deep under the arctic ice, danger waits. A weapon too powerful for the men who built it, a weapon hidden for generations. Soon that weapon will be unleashed on an unsuspecting earth.Cole Samson, marine salvage operator, has been hired to explore an underwater oil bed. He becomes part of the experimental flight of the hybrid airship, Leviathan, designed to reach the remotest regions of the planet. When he discovers a mysterious artifact under the arctic ice, he becomes trapped in dangerous conspiracy directed by the highest echelons of political power.Dr Alistair Minton, professor of Geology, leads the discovery team. His university sabbatical turns into a deadly cat and mouse game when he encounters an old rival trying to steal his claim to the massive oil deposit, a rival who will commit mass murder to get what he wants.Gregor Steltstin, ex Red Army, is a man driven by his past. Indebted to a shadowy organization, the former soldier must follow their orders and help commit horrific acts of terrorism, or face a deadly punishment for failure. Samson’s discovery might be Strelstin’s escape from the global reach of his ‘masters.’About this book. White Out is a fast paced thriller about international conspiracy, futuristic technology, and the weaponing of science for geopolitical interests instead of mankind’s benefit. Its engaging, complex characters, set against the historical backdrop of the Cold War, and thought provoking themes will remain with you long after the book is finished.

In the ninth century b.c., the Phoenician princess Jezebel orders the execution of all the prophets who refuse to worship the pagan god Baal. Commanded by an angel of God to flee Israel, Elijah seeks safety in the land of Zarephath, where he unexpectedly finds true love with a young widow. But this newfound rapture is to be cut short, and Elijah sees all of his hopes and dreams irrevocably erased as he is swept into a whirlwind of events that threatens his very existence. Written with the same masterful prose and clarity of vision that made *The Alchemist *an international phenomenon, *The Fifth Mountain* is a quietly moving account of a man touched by the hand of God who must triumph over his frustrations in a soul-shattering trial of faith.

Perhaps no twentieth century writer was so observant and elegant a chronicler of his times as Truman Capote. Whether he was profiling the rich and famous or creating indelible word-pictures of events and places near and far, Capote’s eye for detail and dazzling style made his reportage and commentary undeniable triumphs of the form. Portraits and Observations is the first volume devoted solely to all the essays ever published by this most beloved of writers. From his travel sketches of Brooklyn, New Orleans, and Hollywood, written when he was twenty-two, to meditations about fame, fortune, and the writer’s art at the peak of his career, to the brief works penned during the isolated denouement of his life, these essays provide an essential window into mid-twentieth-century America as offered by one of its canniest observers. Included are such celebrated masterpieces of narrative nonfiction as “The Muses Are Heard” and the short nonfiction novel “Handcarved Coffins,” as well as many long-out-of-print essays, including portraits of Isak Dinesen, Mae West, Marcel Duchamp, Humphrey Bogart, and Marilyn Monroe. Among the highlights are “Ghosts in Sunlight: The Filming of In Cold Blood, “Preface to Music for Chameleons, in which Capote candidly recounts the highs and lows of his long career, and a playful self-portrait in the form of an imaginary self-interview. The book concludes with the author’s last written words, composed the day before his death in 1984, the recently discovered “Remembering Willa Cather,” Capote’s touching recollection of his encounter with the author when he was a young man at the dawn of his career. Portraits and Observations puts on display the full spectrum of Truman Capote’s brilliance. Certainly, Capote was, as Somerset Maugham famously called him, “a stylist of the first quality.” But as the pieces gathered here remind us, he was also an artist of remarkable substance.

In a story full of lust, madness, and ecstasy, we meet twelve distinctive characters that lived in the same region of central England over the span of six thousand years. Their narratives are woven together in patterns of recurring events, strange traditions, and uncanny visions. First, a cave-boy loses his mother, falls in love, and learns a deadly lesson. He is followed by an extraordinary cast of characters: a murderess who impersonates her victim, a fisherman who believes he has become a different species, a Roman emissary who realizes the bitter truth about the Empire, a crippled nun who is healed miraculously by a disturbing apparition, an old crusader whose faith is destroyed by witnessing the ultimate relic, two witches, lovers, who burn at the stake. Each interconnected tale traces a path in a journey of discovery of the secrets of the land. In the tradition of Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill, Schwob's Imaginary Lives, and Borges' A Universal History of Infamy, Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell, Lost Girls) travels through history blending truth and conjecture, in a novel that is dazzling, moving, sometimes tragic, but always mesmerizing. Now available in paperback for the first time in America! With an Introduction by Neil Gaiman, a signature of full-color plates by JosE Villarrubia, and a cover design by Chip Kidd.

When the story was first translated from Danish and published in England in the mid-nineteenth century, the Little Match Girl's dying visions of lights and a grandmother in heaven were often interpreted as metaphors of religious salvation. In "Matchless", Maguire adds a different dimension to the story, intertwining the match girl's tale with that of a young boy, Frederik, whose own yearnings are the catalyst for a better future for himself and his family. Maguire uses his storytelling magic to rekindle Andersen's original intentions, and to suggest transcendence, the permanence of spirit, and the continuity that links the living and the dead.

From the celebrated author of The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev, a trilogy of related novellas about a woman whose life touches three very different men—stories that encompass some of the profoundest themes of the twentieth century. Ilana Davita Dinn is the listener to whom three men relate their lives. As a young girl, she offers English lessons to a teenage survivor of the camps. In “The Ark Builder,” he shares with her the story of his friendship with a proud old builder of synagogue arks, and what happened when the German army invaded their Polish town. As a graduate student, she finds herself escorting a guest lecturer from the Soviet Union, and in “The War Doctor,” her sympathy moves him to put his painful past to paper recounting his experiences as a Soviet NKVD agent who was saved by an idealistic doctor during the Russian civil war, only to encounter him again during the terrifying period of the Kremlin doctors’ plot. And, finally, we meet her in “The Trope Teacher,” in which a distinguished professor of military history, trying to write his memoirs, is distracted by his wife’s illness and by the arrival next door of a new neighbor, the famous writer I. D. (Ilana Davita) Chandal. Poignant and profound, Chaim Potok’s newest fiction is a major addition to his remarkable—and remarkably loved—body of work. From the Hardcover edition.

When Cash Mayson was forced to choose between the love of his life and his unborn child, he knew exactly what he had to do. No matter how broken it left him. When Lilly Donovan was forced to accept that the guy she loved wasn't who she thought he was and became a single mother, she knew exactly what she had to do. Proving just how strong she was. What happens when years later you find out that everything you thought you knew was a lie? Can two people who once loved each other overcome the obstacles that are thrown at them and fall in love all over again? Cash Mayson had forgotten how it felt to be loved until Lilly came back into his life. And now that he remembers, he will do everything within his power to keep not only the woman that he loves but also his children. The power of love is a beautiful thing.

From the author of Forrest Gump and A Storm in Flanders comes a riveting chronicle of America's most critical hour. On December 6, 1941, an unexpected attack on American territory pulled an unprepared country into a terrifying new brand of warfare. Novelist and popular historian Winston Groom vividly re-creates the story of America's first year in World War II. To the generation of Americans who lived through it, the Second World War was the defining event of the twentieth century, and the defining events of that war were played out in the year 1942. This account covers the Allies' relentless defeats as the Axis overran most of Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. But midyear the tide began to turn. America finally went on the offensive in the Pacific, and in the west the British defeated Rommel's panzer divisions at El Alamein while the U.S. Army began to push the Germans out of North Africa. By the year's end, the smell of victory was in the air. 1942, told with Groom's accomplished storyteller's eye, allows us into the admirals' strategy rooms, onto the battle fronts, and into the heart of a nation at war.

The steady tick of an aged Regulator wall clock and the squeak of an overhead fan turning slowly are soft but insistent, counting down the night, while the high desert thrums like a half-remembered Victrola song. The sounds are below the consciousness of Winchell Dear, an old-time gambler, a Texas poker player on the southern circuit, as he waits for something . . . something vague that his life of chance tells him is evil and moving his way. He has gassed and oiled the Cadillac and adjusts the pistol in his right boot, then plays one of the six fiddle tunes he knows, thinking back to his good days with Lucinda Miller. Alone, he waits in his remote ranch house, while, just outside, an acquaintance named Luther hunts, unblinking and of nervous temperament and moving through yellow primrose bending in the night wind. In Diablo Canyon, a distant part of Winchell Dear's ranch, Peter Long Grass squats by a campfire, contemplating the profile he saw moving along the ridge of Guapa Mountain an hour ago, thinking about the gambler’s housekeeper, Sonia Dominguez, about the small, quiet world he has fashioned far from civilization and what undefined presence might now be threatening it. He gathers his tools and begins to run across the desert floor. And boring toward all of them is a cream-colored Lincoln Continental with two men aboard. Traveling from Los Angeles on a mission they've been given, they are professionals, cool and implacable at the start, but becoming steadily more confused by the strange landscape they are passing through. Forty minutes from their task, they ready themselves, while a kitchen wall clock ticks its way through the long night of Winchell Dear. The Long Night of Winchell Dear finds master storyteller Robert James Waller at his best as he takes us through the wind and dust of the high desert mountains, into the shadowy world of high-stakes poker fought in the back rooms of Amarillo and Little Rock, and headlong toward the book's stunning finale of chaotic terror, where an unexpected hero emerges. "From the Hardcover edition."

*Follow crime fiction’s toughest hero from San Francisco to the Mexican *frontier in the third installment of the Collected Case Files of the Continental Op The Continental Op is short, fat, and aging—but don’t let his appearance deceive you. Handy with a gun, and always willing to take a roundhouse to the chin, the Op is the toughest sleuth San Francisco has ever seen. And when a rich Englishwoman hires him to find her estranged husband, the Op thinks he’s in for an easy job. But the husband is an addict last seen in Tijuana, and finding him will take the hardboiled detective past the border and into a hellhole called the Golden Horseshoe. Before Nick Charles or Sam Spade, Dashiell Hammett made his mark with the adventures of the Continental Op, whose particular brand of justice defined the legendary Black Mask style. In “The Golden Horseshoe,” “The House in Turk Street,” and “The Girl with the Silver Eyes,” the Op follows his cases from civility to temptation and back again.

Newly edited and new cover! The Werewolf Society Box Set 3 stories in one set Wicked Werewolf Night Nico's Story A witch after his secret. A wolf after her pleasure. Nico Moore is the leader of of The Werewolf Society's elite Royal Guard. Aylia Richardson is the witch who calls to the beast in Nico, but destiny has also made her the keeper of a gift that threatens the very existence of his race. To destroy this gift will destroy this woman...the only one he has ever dared to call 'mate'. Wicked Werewolf Secret Kole's Story Kole Smith will soon become the leader of his pack, and not just any pack. He will lead the Royal Guard of the Werewolf Society. Before he accepts his role, he has unfinished business and her name is Sarah. Sarah's family ran the Casino Operation used as a front for The Werewolf Society, until the greed of the rebels trying to overthrow their government led to her families murder. Kole saved her life, gave her the opportunity to live, and to deliver the vengeance she craves against the rebels. Wicked Werewolf Passion Shi's story Shi is a wolf whose been shunned by the Royal Guard he once fought for, the head of a mercenary team that does the jobs too dirty for everyone else. His newest job is to find, and kidnap, the gorgeous daughter of a high ranking member of the council, and make him confess he's working for the enemy.Dirty work, but someone has to do it. Only this gorgeous wolf isn't about to believe her father is on the bad side of the fence, nor does she have plans to be anyone's captive. In fact...she might just make Shi her captive.