The One Tree

      Stephen R. Donaldson
     The One Tree

Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery begin their search for the One Tree that is to be the salvation of the Land. Only he could find the answer and forge a new Staff of Law--but fate decreed that the journey was to be long, the quest arduous, and quite possibly a failure....

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    Magic by the Lake

      Edward Eager
     Magic by the Lake

If Jane and Mark and Katharine and Martha had stopped to think, they might have ordered magic by the pound, or by the day, but a lakeful of magic causes extraordinary and unexpected events. By the end of vacation, with an unwilling sly old turtle, and Ali Baba's forty thieves, they help stepfather Mr. Smith save his failing bookstore in a most surprising way.

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    The Archive of Lost Dreams and other paranormal tales

      Lissa Bilyk
     The Archive of Lost Dreams and other paranormal tales

Four short paranormal tales.The Archive of Lost Dreams: a little girl discovers the importance of dreams and wishes.Roses Are Red: Loren meets her guardian angel who is struggling with jealousy issues.Don’t Even Peep: Eight year old Susan investigates the secrets in her Victorian home.Round, Round The Fairy Ring: Seven year old Abigail’s new baby sister is replaced with a fairy changeling.THE ARCHIVE OF LOST DREAMS“What is this place?” I ask.“It is the Archive of Lost Dreams,” he tells me.“Why are the dreams lost?”“Some people have had to put a great many of their dreams away as they make sacrifices for those that they love.”“Where do they put them?”.“They are tucked away in a little bottle, where the dreamer can unravel and admire them at will. But sometimes the bottle is accidentally left to float away in the great ocean of life, and the dreams escape. The dreamers forget they ever existed. This is where they end up.”This paranormal short story is 2000 words.ROSES ARE REDWhen nineteen-year-old Loren starts to dream about a mysterious angel called Justice, he soon reveals himself as her own guardian angel. What’s worse: he’s fallen in love with her, and is incredibly jealous of her friendship with any young man, especially the street musician, Martin.This paranormal short story is 4500 words.DON'T EVEN PEEPWhy does eight-year-old Susan wakes up in front of a large covered-up frame hidden away in the attic every morning? Why does her grandmother keep her from peeping behind the luxurious velvet? When will Susan’s father come home? Secrets abound in this Victorian paranormal short story of 2000 words.ROUND, ROUND THE FAIRY RINGSeven-year-old Abigail hates her new baby sister, Celeste. But Celeste has changed from the premature and sick baby into a plump, healthy infant overnight. Then Abigail accidentally falls into a fairy ring and realises her sister has been replaced with a changeling. And no one but Abigail messes with her sister. This paranormal short story is 5500 words.

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    Seeking Cedar

      Lori Meyer
     Seeking Cedar

When tragedy strikes, life will never be the same for Kylan Turner. And when grief and anger converge with a taste of an uncontrollable immense power, the path he’s now chosen to journey may be one he can never return from.Inspired by a JA Konrath challenge to write, edit, create a cover, and publish a short story in eight hours or less. A Career Move - A crash-landed alien tries to find his career path but isn't having much luck...3072 word short story (teen+ appropriate)Capture At The Hive - The Evil Queen Mother has finally captured General Megatron, Defender of the Galaxy. 421 word flash fiction story (safe for children)

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    A Portrait of Tragedy (Chapter 1)

      J Niessen
     A Portrait of Tragedy (Chapter 1)

Judy and her husband Lace move from their countryside mansion (abounding in luxurious amenities) to a studio apartment with very few conveniences. Exhibiting a basic lifestyle, there are clues in the couple’s routine which suggest the story is set in a futuristic time period. Lace accommodates his wife’s requests during the arduous move, while Judy’s animosity poses difficulty and challenge.Updated version of the second book in the 'Old Balmain House' SeriesRaped and reduced to working in a brothel to keep her baby, unwed, teenage mother, Lizzie, forges a new life for herself and her child in the Kimberley region of Australia. But can she evade her persecutors and ultimately bring to them to justice?This is a story of a girl from inner Sydney. Her family is poor, her father dies when she is nine, life is hard. But her courage rises above adversity. It is story of her struggle to survive and make a life of her own, first as a prostitute, then with her child in a remote outback town.This is the second book in the series, "Old Balmain House" and begins in the same house as the first book and continues part of the story of Sophie, the girl who vanished half a century ago. Lizzie, aged eight, meets Sophie, the girl who lived in the same bedroom as a child. Sophie becomes her friend.When Lizzie turns fifteen Sophie tries to warn her not to go in a car with three older boys.Lizzie ignores her warning and is brutally raped by these three men. Lizzie becomes pregnant and is determined to keep her child. She leaves Sydney and goes to Melbourne, to have and keep her baby. Here, penniless and desperate, she become a prostitute the only way she can support herself. She is discovered and the authorities try to take her child.She flees to Broome, a small town in the furthest corner of of Australia. Here she assumes the role of widow with a small child and settles into this friendly town. Her life is good until a man from her former life finds her and threatens to expose her or harm her child.She runs again. On a remote desert road her car breaks down. Without water, with her six year old daughter beside her, they face death from thirst. Help comes in an unexpected way. She takes refuge in a local aboriginal community. Her school friend from Balmain, now a journalist, seeks retribution from the the men who raped Lizzie many years ago and have continued their ways with others. Now, as successful business men, they seek to use the law to deny justice.

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    Curveball Issue One: Death of a Hero

      Christopher Wright
     Curveball Issue One: Death of a Hero

America's greatest hero lies dead, murdered in his home by an old enemy--but did his knowledge of Project Recall die with him? Meanwhile, in a city of corruption and excess, CB uncovers a strange series of killings the police are trying desperately to keep hidden.What is Project Recall?Great. Another novel of dystopian freaking fiction?Not really...In a moving tale about a world trying to regain its humanity, master storytellers Dan McNeill and Kevin Morton tell the story of a band of misfits out to save the world. River's Rising is the thrilling first episode of the four part World Down series - the series that proves not all dystopian fiction needs to be entirely dystopian.Three years after a decimating virus has left mankind on the brink of extinction, two brothers must move past their hatred of each in order to survive. But in this new world, surviving means having a little faith - faith in each other, faith in themselves and faith in what can't be seen. Perhaps most importantly of all, faith means being able to follow their third brother. Their older brother. The one with Down syndrome. Their brother Po has a gift.When they realize what that gift is, it will lead them into a journey of discovery where the stakes couldn't be higher. On one side are the Elected - five god-like beings with super-human powers whose plans for global dominion seem next to certain. Opposing them is suicide.On the other side are the mythical 19 - travelers with their own powers who haven't been seen in years. Tales of their exploits during the dark early days of the outbreak are told in whispers. Hope that the 19 will ever be found is growing dim.But Po and his gift may turn that all around.World Down: Episode 1 - River's Rising. Finally, dystopian fiction without dour characters or kids with crossbows. Finally, dystopian fiction that's fun.

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    Uncanny Tales of Crush and Pound Annual 3

      Christopher D. Carter
     Uncanny Tales of Crush and Pound Annual 3

Dr. Tatum and Seth begin their journey to Three Rivers, California, only to find themselves stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Crush and Pound have not returned from their adventure at Scalus Mountain, and with the reluctant help of an agent of the nemesis organization, STUN, Dr. Tatum and Seth must find a way to survive the deadly wilderness of western California.When best friends Valerie and Samantha discover a magic mirror in Val’s 100-year-old barn in southern Minnesota, they eagerly go through it. Immediately they run into the young Snow White, who has just escaped the huntsman. The girls vow to help her find her father, knowing the dangers that await. On their journey, the fun-loving double-trouble duo quickly discovers they are caught up in the middle of their favorite fairy tales. Having the knowledge of the stories as their only weapon, Val and Sam help two other princesses, make a surprising friend and discover they have a fairy godmother of their very own.

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    Ud the Mortal

      Mike White
     Ud the Mortal

Ud was a human who died many thousands of years ago. And now, he is the only being he knows of to climb up all of the worlds of the Way Down to the top layer of reality and turn from a Ghoul into a mortal again. His first encounter with the humans at the top of the Worlds didn't go as planned, but he has vital news for his (now) fellow mortals.Ud was once a man, but then he died and then tumbled down the lower dead realms called the Way Down, until he ended up as a skeleton creature in Fourth World, three layers beneath ours. He became a wight (skeleton) slave to the ruling elite there, known to Ud as the Ereshkagali, from his name for the god of the underworld when he was a human in the far past.Over the course of millennia, he achieved what no one else had ever done, climbing from the bone dust lands of Fourth World, up to the Ghast swamps of Third World, through the Ghoul forests of Second World, and finally up to First World, the world of mortals.And, after his initial elation at being able to feel as he once did the wates and clean air, free of rot and parasites the size of dogs passed, he began to realize a few truths.-His mind was now in four parts, one for Ud the Wight (skeleton), Ud the Ghast, Ud the Ghoul and the newly minted Ud the Mortal.-Fragmented memories meant that he only remembered pieces of his selves at a time.-One of those fragments of memory brings with it a warning that all mortals should fear regarding the future of the Way Down.**Note-It's worth pointing out that the words and backstory of Ud when he was alive are related to a people that really existed, as well as a real language.

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    Ninth Key

      Meg Cabot
     Ninth Key

Everything is going great for Suze. Her new life in California is a whirlwind of parties and excellent hair days. Tad Beaumont, the hottest boy in town, has even asked Suze out on her very first date. Suze is so excited that she's willing to ignore her misgivings about Tad... particularly the fact that he's not Jesse, whose ghostly status--not to mention apparent disinterest in her--make him unattainable. What Suze can't ignore, however, is the ghost of a murdered woman whose death seems directly connected to dark secrets hidden in none other than Tad Beaumont's past.

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    My Soul to Lose

      Rachel Vincent
     My Soul to Lose

It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it's the worst day of her life. Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit. She tries to convince everyone she's fine--despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities.... "An eBook exclusive prequel to Rachel Vincent's SOUL SCREAMERS series."

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    Corsets and Crossbows

      Alyxandra Harvey
     Corsets and Crossbows

Rosalind Wild thinks it's time for the Helios-Ra to give full membership and recognition to the female descendants of the society-after all, it is 1816 and it's time to make room for new traditions. When Rosalind interrupts a plot to assassinate the leader of the Helios-Ra, she sees an opportunity to prove her worth. But she never expected the assassin to be someone so irresistible, and off-limits. Written as a series of letters to a close confidante, this exciting e-novella gives a glimpse of the early days of the vampire hunting society as seen through the eyes of Hunter Wild's feisty ancestor.

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    Dark of the Moon

      Rachel Hawthorne
     Dark of the Moon

I've loved him forever, but he can never be mine. Brittany is determined to prove herself to the Dark Guardians. And yet she's been keeping a devastating secret: She hasn't experienced any of the intense, early signs of change that mark a Dark Guardian's transformation. The only intense feelings she has are for Connor — and she's kept that a secret, too. But she knows she'll never truly have Connor's love if she's not a Shifter like him. At the first full moon after her birthday, her greatest fear is realized: She doesn't transform. Brittany is so desperate to become a wolf that she'll go to extremes she never thought possible... and put all the Dark Guardians in incredible danger.

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    Wind Rider's Oath

      David Weber
     Wind Rider's Oath

In The War God's Own, Bahzell had managed to stop a war by convincing Baron Tellian, leader of the Sothoii, to "surrender" to him, the War God's champion. Now, he has journeyed to the Sothoii Wind Plain to oversee the parole he granted to Tellian and his men, to represent the Order of Tomanak, the War God, and to be an ambassador for the hradani. What's more, the flying coursers of the Sothoii have accepted Bahzell as a windrider—the first hradani windrider in history. And since the windriders are the elite of the elite among the Sothoii, Bahzell's ascension is as likely to stir resentment as respect. That combination of duties would have been enough to keep anyone busy—even a warrior prince like Bahzell—but additional complications are bubbling under the surface. The goddess Shigu, the Queen of Hell, is sowing dissension among the war maids of the Sothoii. The supporters of the deposed Sothoii noble who started the war are plotting to murder their new leige lord and frame Bahzell for the deed. Of course, those problems are all in a day's work for a champion of the War God. But what is Bahzell going to do about the fact that Baron Tellian's daughter, the heir to the realm, seems to be thinking that he is the only man—or hradani—for her

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    Elnora

      Johan Lindback
     Elnora

A short story about a young girl who made a decisive decision. Is it too late to change her mind ...?A short story about a young girl who made a decisive decision. Is it too late to change her mind ...? A chapter from the forthcoming seven part book series "The magic alliance" which has been revised to become a short story.

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