A Kell the Barbarian story. Any resemblance to Robert E. Howard's Kull is completely intentional. Kell, Queen of Valusia must defeat a plot by an ancient race of serpent-women and their priestesses. It is a good thing she has Brula, the stalwart spear slayer to guard her back when she goes berserk! A Gender Switch Adventure.He had two problems: a broken leg and terminal boredom. The long days and nights alone in his flat after an accident lead an incapactitated young student to renounce his aversion to the internet and take his first tentative steps into the world wide web.Before long, he finds himself entering a new kind of social network: an online self-help community called simply 'The Room'. The experience of eavesdropping on the lives of others quickly becomes addictive, and the members of The Room seem welcoming enough.But then something changes: a man called Bryan confesses to a murder. It could be a fantasy, or a sick joke, but it's not. And the terror doesn't stay online for long... The Room is a tale of murder in the age of social networking. A dark psychological thriller of curiosity and killing that has been called a Rear Window for the Facebook generation.Short story length: 4000 words approx.Also includes as a bonus feature the first chapter of Gavin Bell's full-length thriller: Halfway to Hell.

In the very near future, the country is plunged into drought and unrest. Scare resources and constant heat are making life completely miserable. Casey doesn't think she can stand slugging back another gel pack or working one more shift at the wells. Fortunately, there's a solution: anyone over the age of seventeen can sign the Forever Contract and enter a utopian paradise.In the very near future, the country is plunged into drought and unrest. Scare resources and constant heat are making life completely miserable. Casey doesn't think she can stand slugging back another gel pack or working one more shift at the wells. Fortunately, there's a solution: anyone over the age of seventeen can sign the Forever Contract and enter a utopian paradise. While people's minds take a permanent vacation, their bodies get warehoused and hooked up to a complex array of sensors and feeding tubes. As Casey's brother says, "You upload your consciousness to the system and you're free to live as long as you want, however you want. No more pain, no more heat, no more awful dust, no more work. Just pure thought. It's what our species has always been meant for. Suffering is for philosophers. Not for me."Casey's ready to sign--a permanent vacation is just what she needs. There's only one problem: her boyfriend James doesn't trust it.Told from his and her perspectives, The Forever Contract is a 17,000 word (60 page) novella suitable for readers in grade 8 and above.Would you sign the contract?

A collection of the fourth and last set of twenty updates from the serial fantasy fiction "Enzi's Irregulars" as part of a weekly writing challenge. This tale follows the adventures of five unusual mercenaries as the Fifth Goblinoid War begins to cause problems across the world of Doulairen.A collection of the fourth and last set of twenty updates from the serial fantasy fiction "Enzi's Irregulars". This tale follows the adventures of five unusual mercenaries as the Fifth Goblinoid War begins to cause problems across the world of Doulairen.The war erupts into its terrifying climax. The five monstrous mercenaries led by the human called Enzi face their greatest challenges. Will any survive a confrontation with a horrific creature from the depths of myth and legend?Raw and unedited, this series was updated weekly for 80 continuous unbroken weeks. No edits or tweaks were allowed, the author had to complete a narrative taking any potential past writing mistakes into consideration, trying to avoid writing himself into a corner. This series gives a taste of the author's voice and the fantasy world of Doulairen.

Timo is a typical farm boy with a difference: when he goes out to tend the flocks a dragon joins him for the night long vigil. But things are about to change between him and Kirigama, as the Drake has need of his help.For fans of Robin Hobb, Richard Morgan and anyone eagerly awaiting the release of Scalebound.After the Storm... is the third chapter of 'The Orphans Revolt'. I'm planning to release it and its sister volume 'His Staying Hand' episodically whilst I get a head start on writing the concluding volume of the trilogy. So if you enjoy the above keep your eyes peeled for future instalments. As I've done with previous writing, each part will also be available for download individually here on Smashwords.Hope you enjoy!

After Fandri kisses sweet halfling, Emina, he’s chased off the farm by her pitch-fork wielding father and a crazy goat. Accompanied by his fairy, he runs away with knights and elves in search of adventure. With magic spells, dragons, deadly pirates and a fierce bear, Fandri gets a whole lot more adventure than he bargained for.Running away with the elves was supposed to be fun. After Fandri kisses sweet halfling, Emina, he’s chased off the farm by her pitch-fork wielding father and a crazy goat. Accompanied by his fairy, he runs away with knights and elves in search of adventure. He makes friends with a squire named Varl and together they travel Reloria on an elven quest. With magic spells, dragons, deadly pirates and a fierce bear, Fandri gets a whole lot more adventure than he bargained for. Fandri’s Adventures is a prequel and great introduction to the popular Hunters of Reloria fantasy trilogy.

Anyone who can eliminate their enemies by eating them is a formidable foe. Anyone would be the Hazmats, insaniac shapeshifters whose mindless greed is threatening the continued existence of the Abyssmal Cities. Is Miriam Mermelstein doomed to follow in their footsteps? Invasion of the Hazmats is a humorous middle-grade fantasy about getting along with difficult people. Best for ages 8-10.Anyone who can eliminate their enemies by eating them is a formidable foe. Anyone would be the Hazmats, insaniac shapeshifters whose mindless greed is threatening the continued existence of the Abyssmal Cities. Is Miriam Mermelstein doomed to follow in their footsteps?Miriam Mermelstein is changing and it’s not puberty. Just what is she becoming? Well, it depends on whom you talk to. According to a certain nasty person, her fate is sealed and there is nothing she can do about it.Invasion of the Hazmats is a humorous middle-grade fantasy adventure about getting along with difficult people. Best for ages 8-10.Zazkal threw the jar all the way across the room, no easy task underwater.“Useless, useless, useless. You’re nothing but an undersized ten-year old with a mouth bigger than your brain. I refuse to have you hanging around, interfering with my work.”I cracked.“What is this? Education by intimidation?” I hollered back. “You’re supposed to be my teacher. Anyway, you can’t kick me out and I can leave whenever I want. I’m not your prisoner anymore.”The first day was going much better than expected. Here we were…already on speaking terms.

From New York Times bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks comes the next adventure in the Love at Stake series, featuring a Master vampire and his love affair with a woman of many secrets . . . Vampire Zoltan Czakvar is on the hunt for the truth about his father's death. He's been searching for a very long time—since 1241, in fact. And he is not about to give up, even when he's attacked by a woman with striking blue eyes and a hell of a right hook! Neona is also on the hunt. She's looking for a mate, and she thinks muscled Zoltan will work just fine. After all, men are good for only one thing. Soon, though, she realizes there's more to this handsome vampire than just sexual prowess. But she's keeping a secret from Zoltan, something so big that it will rock the vampire world. Can their newfound love survive . . . even if their passion means the destruction of her world?

After a long spell of exile, Sparhawk, Pandion Knight and the Queen's champion, returns to his native land to find it overrun with evil and intrigue - and his young Queen grievously ill. Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year. But as Sparhawk and his allies - who include Sephrenia, the ageless sorceress, and Flute, the strange and powerful girl-child - seek to save Ehlana and the land, they discover that the evil is even greater and more pervasive than they feared. Truly a gem of epic fantasy from the modern master of the genre, The Diamond Throne is a must for Eddings fans - and an excellent introduction for those who have yet to discover the delights of his work.

The third bone-breaking, belly-busting adventure in the series that puts the “funny” back in, um, funny series. That didn’t really work, did it? If you’ve read the previous Skulduggery books then you know what the Faceless Ones are — and if you know what the Faceless Ones are, then you can probably take a wild guess that things in this book are going to get AWFULLY sticky for our skeletal hero and his young sidekick. If you haven’t read the previous Skulduggery books then what are you doing reading this? Go and read them right now, so that you know what all that stuff in the previous paragraph was about. Done? Good. So now you’re on tenterhooks too, desperately awaiting the answers to all your questions, and instead you’re going to have to wait to read the book. Sorry about that.

A classic middle-grade tale of magic and friendship, about a girl who helps an old friend find home, by two New York Times–bestselling authors Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. It’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house. It turns out she’s right. Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who—or what—he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise. Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from, and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever. Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic, middle-grade fiction come together to craft this magical story about the enduring power of friendship.

One boy’s footprints strayed into a stray Gate and walked a forbidden path. Then he was brought to a new Dreamworld, there to begin a Journey new.One wolfcat’s pawprints stepped out for the first time to guide the steps of a lost boy, to stand in the way of all that may harm him, to keep him from walking into trouble... or at least, to try.In Dreamworlds, a telepathic network where billions of dreamers share their dreams, a freak accident steals a boy away from his family for several hours. 13 year old Colin awakes with no memory of those hours, but in Dreamworlds, new scars prove that something had happened.His father brings him and a select group of friends to a new Dreamworld the next night - the one Dreamworld in all the Network that allowed children to roam free, obtain a sort of power, and face the responsibilities involved. A Dreamworld where children Travel with and care for animal Comrades, a Dreamworld meant for children to grow and mature without parents looking over their shoulders all the time.There Colin faces new challenges and dangers both meant to be in that Dreamworld and those Definitely Not meant to be there. He explores friendship like he never had before... and finds that it could be the only thing he could count on to protect him.(Dreamworlds 1-8 Cover Art recombined, edited, adjusted, and otherwise tampered with by permission from the artist who drew the originals; Melissa Wullur)

Billy is a Bit, a tiny element in a home Computer's memory, and he's very bored! His life consists of standing and sitting on demand without ever understanding why. So, one day, when ordered to sit by Mr Write, he doesn't. He crouches!Utter confusion ensues: Billy is IN-DE-TERMINATE, and that means that the whole System cannot function properly. Is Billy's job is more important than he thinks?This is a tale of life inside a home computer, as seen from the viewpoint of one of its tiny components - Billy the Bit. He and the other inhabitants of the computer do the actual work of making things happen for its human user.If you have ever wanted to understand how a computer operates - without studying electronics and microcircuits - this story explains how, by telling the story of how one tiny element nearly brings the system to a halt.A painless way to learn the workings of a PC, which will enable readers to understand the basics of what is going on under the covers whilst enjoying an amusing tale. Although originally aimed at children, adult experts in the field may enjoy the author's visualisation of the functions of a computer's elements.

Still looking for a quick Halloween scare? When you have a few minutes, here is a fun, short read for both young and old.Is there any truth to the story that Sawyers' Grandfather told him when he was younger? Are there really such things as monsters and goblins? Why do kids even wear costumes on Halloween anyway? If you're not sure how to answer these questions, or if you just need a fun read, join Sawyer on Halloween night as he discovers the truth for himself. But be careful, 'cause you never know what's really out there...

John Johnson is tired of his family and name, and so his dreams weave elaborate stories to replace the mediocrity of his days. And then one summer night, a tattooed wizard arrives at the community park to unfold magic of the most incredible kind. With a final unraveling of chain, that stranger transforms John Johnson into a new man by replacing the bonds John knows with much more sinister knots.A tattooed wizard unleashes double-edged magic in this excerpt from the novel The Sisters Will Dance by Brian S. Wheeler. The wizard with the strange patterns of ink swirling across his skin discovers an audience of one in the young man named John Johnson. Spells of earth and smoke unfurl at the wizard's summons and captivate John, whose life until witnessing such magical powers felt timid and dull. The wizard saves his most amazing, and most diabolical, trick until the end. With water and chain, that wizard wraps John's soul into floating, iron chain, and so forever shatters the smooth conformity until then known by John Johnson's days.