Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware

      M. T. Anderson
     Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware

6 Hours and 57 Minutes It is a land of wonders! It is a land of mystery. It is a land that time forgot (or chose specifically not to remember). Cut off from the civilized world for untold years, this land is called: It is into the mist-shrouded heart of this forbidden, mountainous realm that our plucky and intrepid heroes, Jasper Dash: Boy Technonaut and his friends Lily Gefelty and Katie Mulligan, must journey to unravel a terrible mystery. Come along on a tale of grand adventure that includes in its pages: Lost cities! Tentacles! Monks! Dinosaurs! Gangsters! Cheap suits! Eye doctors! And, of course, the fabled CURSE OF THE JAGUAR!

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    Bright Burns the Night

      Sara B. Larson
     Bright Burns the Night

Ten years ago, King Lorcan of the Dark Kingdom Dorjhalon defeated Queen Evelayn and cut her conduit stone from her. Since then, he has kept her trapped in her swan form. With the loss of balance between Dark and Light, winter has descended and the Draíolon of Éadrolan lose more power every day. But once a year, Lorcan transforms her back to her Draíolon form and offers a truce. And every year Evelayn refuses -- for he requires her to Bind herself to him for life. But now, with an Ancient power bearing down upon them, everything may change. Evelayn will learn that the truths she once believed have shattered, and that she may need her enemies even more than her allies. Lorcan and Evelayn become partners in a desperate quest to return the balance of power to Lachalonia. How far will this partnership go? Can friendship -- perhaps even love -- bloom where hatred has taken root? Sara B. Larson delivers a thrillingly romantic and hauntingly satisfying end to this extraordinary duology.

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    Witch

      Tim ORourke
     Witch

Twenty-year-old Sydney Hart has always made mistakes and when she meets Michael Grayson, she soon comes to wonder if she hasn’t made the biggest mistake of her life. That one moment of passion between them causes Sydney’s world to spiral rapidly out of control. Suffering from nightmares, Sydney soon realises her life and the people closest to her aren’t who or what she believed them to be. Fearing she has been cursed, Sydney attempts to unravel the dark secrets that surround her, and is desperate to discover why a dying man called her ‘Witch’. A racy, paranormal romance with a chilling twist.

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    The Doings of Raffles Haw

      Arthur Conan Doyle
     The Doings of Raffles Haw

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish author who found fame writing about the detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was a prolific writer who also wrote science fiction, historical novels, plays, romances, poetry, and non-fiction. Robert McIntyre and his sister Laura have fallen on hard times. The family has retreated to a house in the country, living on a small bequest from other relatives. Changes come with the arrival of Raffles Haw, a new neighbor both exceedingly rich and exceedingly eccentric. His generosity is unquestioned. His motives are another matter!!! A great read with a very satisfying ending.....

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    Sky Island

      L. Frank Baum
     Sky Island

Lyman Frank Baum is one of America’s most read authors, and he is widely considered one of the premier authors of children’s books. Trot is near her home on the coast of southern California when she meets a strange little boy with a large umbrella. Button Bright has been using his family's magic umbrella to take long-range journeys from his Philadelphia home, and has gotten as far as California. After an explanation of how the magic umbrella works, the two children, joined by Cap'n Bill, decide to take a trip to a nearby island; they call it "Sky island," because it looks like it's "halfway in the sky" but the umbrella takes them to a different place entirely, a literal island in the sky.

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    Bacorium Legacy

      Nicholas Alexander
     Bacorium Legacy

In a cold and frozen wasteland, a young hunter seeks to break free from the empty life his father has resigned him to. Little does he know, his father is ever chased by ghosts of the past, who have nearly caught up with him...Bacoria is a land where the gift of magick still lives, where savage monsters stalk the night and hunger for human flesh, and where in death, all men vanish into oblivion.Luca knows the darkness of Bacoria well. For as long as he can remember, he has traveled the untamed corners of the land with his father, Lodin. Endlessly fleeing from vague shadows of the past, Luca is eager for answers his father will not give.His questions are answered in the form of faceless men who do not speak, who come with fire and steel upon the small village Luca and his father are staying in. They are led by a powerful man with a single red eye, with some connection to Lodin's past, and the implication that this is who Lodin has been running from.Helpless, Luca is able only to watch as his father is slain before him.The sole survivor of the massacre, Luca manages to escape the mysterious man and his silent army. He finds himself in an abandoned town very far away, where a strange girl is able to save him from a mortal injury with a spell that links his soul to hers.Now bound to this girl, Luca sets out on a journey, following the few instructions his father left for him. With the ultimate goal of revenge in his heart, and his father's blade in his hand, Luca will uncover the mysteries of his father's legacy, while building his own.

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    Dark Siren

      Eden Ashley
     Dark Siren

When the mysterious and passionate Rhane rescues Kali from an attacker in the theater parking lot, they form an immediate, smoldering connection. But Kali doesn't remember Rhane or anything from their past. As far as Kali knows, she's just a seventeen-year-old kid coping with an insatiable hunger for the “spark” or energy of others, feeding on classmates to survive.When the mysterious and passionate Rhane rescues Kali from an attacker in the theater parking lot, they form an immediate, smoldering connection. But Kali doesn't remember Rhane or anything from their past. As far as Kali knows, she's just a seventeen-year-old kid coping with an insatiable hunger for the “spark” or energy of others, feeding on classmates to survive. A unique artifact—one that may hold the key to returning Kali’s memories—is uncovered by the archaeology firm where she works part-time, sending Kali and Rhane on a dangerous journey that leads them to the Forbidden City, into the unforgiving Gobi, and into the ruins of Rhane’s ancient homeland. As they fight for survival, Kali begins to discover who she really is and the true power she possesses. But Rhane still harbors a secret that could destroy Kali…unless old enemies kill her first.

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    Hunt

      Rachel Vincent
     Hunt

Abby Wade, Faythe's younger cousin, is all grown up and ready to rumble in this short story set in Rachel Vincent's Shifters world! [Note: This is a re-edited & updated version of the story previously printed in the Chicks Kick Butt anthology.]~A short story set in Rachel Vincent's Shifters world!~It’s been more than four years since Abby Wade survived capture and torture by a quartet of rogue shifters. Back then she was a scared kid, just trying to survive.Now Abby is all grown up, and if she’s learned anything from training with Faythe Sanders, the world’s first female Alpha, it’s that she can take care of herself—and anyone else who comes along. So when her college roommate is abducted from a campsite deep in the Appalachian woods, Abby knows exactly how to get her back…The rules of the hunt are simple. Kill or be killed.Abby Wade is not ready to die.

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    A Wayward God

      Natasha Weber
     A Wayward God

Joshua is a God of Judgement whose occupation is to judge whether or not a mortal should die. He discovers he has an odd fascination with a kind, human girl; and after saving her life when it was dictated by logic that she die, his own brother tells the other Gods what he did. His punishment is to live amongst humans for a year.Joshua is a God of Judgement whose occupation is to judge whether or not a mortal should die. Sickened by the mortals excess and selfishness, he is always in fear that he may start killing them out of his own bias against them, rather than logic. He discovers he has an odd fascination with a kind, human girl; and after saving her life when it was dictated by logic that she die, his own brother tells the other Gods what he did. His punishment is to live amongst humans for a year. He meets up with the girl he saved, Heidi, and she allows him to live with her for the time being. She forces him to live the life of a regular human being, and he comes to admire her hard work, resilience, and her bright spirit. After a threat from his brother, however--who has long had an inexplicable grudge against Joshua--he leaves without telling Heidi, to confront his brother.

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    Blood by Moonlight

      Asotir
     Blood by Moonlight

Historical Fantasy set in 18th century Ireland, when a mad magician plunges the world into eternal Night, to win the hand of his beloved. But she has her powers too.An Irishman enamored, is a dangerous thing. Above all when he consorts with the Gentle People.Aengus loves Lady Agatha, but he is poor, and she is bedmate to a very wealthy man. Therefore Aengus kills the Sun and plunges the world into eternal Night, and a world where the wealthy man and all his ilk, sleep without end. And Aengus gains the body, if not the heart, of his ladylove.And then Lady Agatha learns magic in her turn...

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    Gothic Warrior and the Dark Man

      Billy Wong
     Gothic Warrior and the Dark Man

Lighthearted (but violent) fantasy action featuring one butt-kicking heroine.After meeting goth metal singer and ultimate bar brawler Freya in the drunken battle of a lifetime, retired boxer Lincoln gets a surprise invitation to join her crew. But when evil seeks to claim a band member's soul along with her gift of foresight, the modern warriors must confront the devil's scholar... the Dark Man.THIS SERIES IS MEANT TO BE UNREALISTIC FUN. If complete believability is a must, it might not be for you... but if you like the sound of an awesome female brawler standing toe to toe with huge men and monsters in brutal fistfights on sheer toughness and badassery, maybe it is.Retired boxer Lincoln never imagined he would fight a girl, let alone be pushed to his limits by one. After meeting goth metal singer and ultimate bar brawler Freya in the drunken battle of a lifetime, he gets a surprise invitation to join her crew. He and the band develop a strong friendship as he shares his sports and life knowledge with them and they help him recapture his youth. But when evil seeks to claim a band member's soul along with her gift of foresight, the modern day warriors must confront the devil's own scholar... the Dark Man.A novelette. First chronologically in the Gothic Warrior series.

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    Lady Loverly's Chats

      Porphyro
     Lady Loverly's Chats

Why did this billionaire tell neighbor ladies her youthful sexual experiences? That's all I'll tell you. Click the blue below to see why. Here it suffices to say that the story is short and free. Why read a summary when with little more effort you can read the whole thing? If you can't spare a moment more, you shouldn't be wasting time reading fiction anyway. Go back to work!"One can not judge a book by its cover." So we are told. But a cover is usually the only thing a reader has to base a judgment on. Smashwords tries to aid readers by providing summaries, one short, one long, for each book it distributes. For non-fiction this works well. But this, it seems to me, defeats the whole purpose of fiction. After all, one reads a story to find out what will happen. It’s the uncommon twists and turns that make a story interesting. But if a summary has told all this beforehand, what fun is to be had in the reading? Therefore, no summary of the present short story is given. It's short and it’s free! So read the whole thing and see if you like it. I ask you to do this because I think it is the best book judging method. To find fiction you like you must first read around enough to learn something of the style and stories of different authors. Then you can judge books, not by their cover, but by the your opinion of the writer. I'd like to help you do this. The present short story is one of several which I will make available free at Smashwords. Read a few (or all of them) and decide if you like them. It won't cost you a dime. If you like them, you can then purchase some of my not free (but still inexpensive) longer stories. All these stories are of one particular kind. To reflect this similarity all have the same cover picture, the Kitty & Rose shown above. So after you’ve read a few, you can, in fact, judge them by their cover. The common theme of the Kitty & Rose stories is human sexuality. This is not unusual. Most fiction concerns sex in one way or another; ranging from romances so sedate and demure an extraterrestrial could never know sex is at the root of everything described, to erotica so unrestricted even an extraterrestrial might blush. Kitty & Rose stories are in the middle of this range. All deal with human sexuality, but none do so explicitly. Rather, they are seemly. The dictionary gives three meanings for seemly: Attractive or agreeably fashioned; Decorous or conventionally proper; and Appropriate or suited to its purpose. With respect to appropriateness, seemly sex stories range from the humorous to the inspirational, but all concern human sexuality. So they are clearly appropriate. These stories are also seemly in the decorous and conventionally proper sense. For, while they treat sex candidly, they do not do so graphically. There is nothing pornographic nor erotic in any seemly sex story. Of course, different persons’ opinions about this may differ. A few consider frank pornography decorous. At the opposite extreme are those like the abbot of the monastery where the great biologist Gregor Mendel did his epochal research. This abbot thought Mendel’s studies were decidedly indecorous because they involved the sex of pea plants! Finally, there is the principal sense of seemly, attractive and agreeably fashioned. Like every author I exert my every effort and ability trying to make these stories seemly in this regard. But like every author, I must await your determination of the degree of my success. Since both of us will be pleased if you find them attractively seemly, I very much hope you do.Happy reading!BobbyBP.S. This is Kitty & Rose short story # 7, uploaded 2-22-2017.

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    The Rose Legacy

      Jessica Day George
     The Rose Legacy

Orphaned Anthea Cross-Thornley has been shuttled between family members her whole life. When she receives a letter from a long-lost uncle, she dares to dream that she will finally find a home. Upon her arrival she is shocked to learn that her uncle secretly breeds horses--animals that have been forbidden in their kingdom for centuries. More alarming is Anthea's strange ability to sense the horses' thoughts and feelings, an ancient gift called The Way. Confused and terrified, Anthea is desperate to leave, but when dangers arise that put her family and her kingdom at risk, she has no choice but to embrace The Way and the exciting future adventures it will bring her.

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