The ancient holy texts are missing. The death of the world approaches. Six extraordinary men have shared one vision of a black tower and a river of blood. Somewhere in the desert wastelands of America, the ultimate battle will be waged. The greatest experiment in evil since the beginning of time is under way, with all humanity its designated sacrifice. The future is in the hands of the Six.

in the beginning there was a prophecy of one who would take up the mantle and destroy the ancient one known as Dark Singer in her own lands with a fabled device known only as the Frost Lance......this is such a storyThere is a way about brothers and there is a way about children. There is a way the young see the world as if the world is new and fresh and a place of magic. Sometimes all that matters is that you have someone to share it with, who understands, who sees as you see.Desertion is a story about reality, childhood, adulthood imagination, and growing up. It's about possibility, hope and loss. It's about two brothers and a man in the forest and the places where lies meet truth.And as always, it's about where the lines lay. "We're in... territory [of] mystery and mysterious places... We and the characters seem to move across boundaries, real ones involving the landscape, and emotional ones, where the lines between dream, fantasy, and reality get blurred... This story will stay with me a long time." -Leslee Becker, Author and Professor.Karl Pfeiffer is an aspiring novelist, journalist, paranormal investigator, lecturer, college student, and ghost hunter at the Stanley Hotel. Forever a romantic, he can't resist those things dark, epic, and mysterious, and this comes through in his writing as he explores the extremes of human emotion, where the edges fray, and what happens when the world breaks down.Karl carries a strong web presence, and can be followed on twitter and facebook through his website www.KarlPfeiffer.com

Tales of the Demimonde is a collection of short works based on the urban fantasy trilogy "The Books of The Demimonde" by USA Today bestselling author Ash Krafton.Sophie Galen is saving the world, one damned person at a time. The advice columnist-turned-oracle must save her Demivampire lover from the fate that threatens each of his race: evolution and the destruction of his soul..."As I sat mourning over the fact that I'd read the last of the Demimonde Trilogy, I realized that I had this still. I was so tickled to open up this short piece of notes, stories, excerpts, and extras to act as a balm for my little book hangover. Tales is like the delightful extras after a favorite movie..."-- Sophia, Reviewer Check out the series and get a taste of the Demimonde...excerpts from reviews:BLEEDING HEARTS"This novel was a nice change from the traditional vampire stories. The emotions that the characters were able to draw out of me solidified my enjoyment of "Bleeding Hearts." One of an author's main goals is to get you, the reader, into their story--literally, if they could--by invoking each and every emotion that he/she writes into a character. Ash Krafton does this successfully without any unintentional awkward moments. Her writing style is very smooth, understandable, and didn't leave me questioning what just happened.""The characters were wonderfully written and interesting to follow. Towards the end of the story I was also emotionally involved in the story as well."BLOOD RUSH "Firstly, wow! I literally cannot express how much I love this series! I read the first book in the series, Bleeding Hearts, and could not wait for Blood Rush. It starts right where the first book ended, with Sophie recovering emotionally and physically from "The Crap That Almost Killed Her"."WOLF'S BANE"I was anxious to see how this story would end though...mostly because I was torn between which ending I wanted for Sophie.""I can honestly say this is my favorite book so far in this series. While I have enjoyed reading about Marek and Sofie and then later Rode, I really liked the addition of Dierk."Tales of the Demimonde is a collection of short works based on the urban fantasy trilogy, The Books of The Demimonde. Follow the saga of Sophie Galen, who is saving the world, one damned person at a time. The advice columnist-turned-oracle must save her Demivampire lover from the fate that threatens each of his race: evolution and the destruction of his soul. Learn more about the Demimonde when you read BLEEDING HEARTS, BLOOD RUSH, and WOLF’S BANE.

**The follow-up to *A Mermaid's Kiss*-from a national bestselling author who "stands out in a genre known for its out-of-the-ordinary love play."(*The Romance Studio*)** Mina is the daughter of an unholy union-a mermaid taken by one of the malevolent Dark Ones. While helping to rescue Prime Legion Commander Jonah, she exposed herself as a potentially dangerous weapon, susceptible to the darkness in her own blood. Now, for the general good, Jonah has angels watching over her... Though Mina is resistant to being protected, her attitude begins to change when David, the human-born angel, is awarded the duty. Looking into his eyes, she can sense that he too knows what it means to fight the darkness within. But-as their passion threatens to take over-will it lead them to Heaven or Hell?

One of the most influential practitioners of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft inspired the work of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. As he perfected his mastery of the macabre, his works developed from seminal fragments into acknowledged masterpieces of terror. This volume traces his chilling career and includes: IMPRISONED WITH THE PHARAOHS--Houdini seeks to reveal the demons that inhabit the Egyptian night. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS--An unsuspecting expedition uncovers a city of untold terror, buried beneath an Antarctic wasteland. Plus, for the first time in any Del Rey edition: HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR--Mad experiments yield hideous results in this, the inspiration for the cult film Re-Animator. COOL AIR--An icy apartment hides secrets no man dares unlock. THE TERRIBLE OLD MAN--The intruders seek a fortune but find only death! AND TWENTY-FOUR MORE BLOOD-CHILLING TALES From the Trade Paperback edition.

India, 3400 BCE. India is beset with divisions, resentment and poverty. The people hate their rulers. They despise their corrupt and selfish elite. Chaos is just one spark away. Outsiders exploit these divisions. Raavan, the demon king of Lanka, grows increasingly powerful, sinking his fangs deeper into the hapless Sapt Sindhu. Two powerful tribes, the protectors of the divine land of India, decide that enough is enough. A saviour is needed. They begin their search. An abandoned baby is found in a field. Protected by a vulture from a pack of murderous wolves. She is adopted by the ruler of Mithila, a powerless kingdom, ignored by all. Nobody believes this child will amount to much. But they are wrong. For she is no ordinary girl. She is Sita. Continue the epic journey with Amish’s latest: A thrilling adventure that chronicles the rise of an orphan, who became the prime minister. And then, a Goddess. This is the second book in the Ram Chandra Series. A sequel that takes you back. Back before the beginning.

The future of Xanth is in frightful peril. A powerful magical bird named Ragna Roc has embarked on a campaign to become absolute ruler of that mystical realm. Those who swear loyalty to him are spared. The rest have simply disappeared. So powerful are Ragna’s sorceries that even the Good Magician Humfrey dares not confront him directly. Instead he enlists Cyrus the Cyborg, a handsome half-human playwright with little knowledge of the world, in a stealthy subterfuge. Cyrus must assemble a troupe of traveling players to attract Ragna’s interest. And hidden in disguise among the bevy of beautiful young actresses are the young princesses, Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm, whose magics might just be a match for the evil bird. But Ragna has planted a spy in the midst of the troupe, one who knows their deepest secrets, including the true nature of Cyrus’s forbidden love for one of the young princesses. Only a mysterious child called Kadence, and a cryptic clue — “Two to the Fifth" — may give the companions the edge they need to defeat Ragna’s dictatorial dreams. Brimming with passion and merriment, drama and deception, Piers Anthony’s thirty-second Xanth fantasy is a pun-packed performance sure to provoke applause and ovations from the series’ myriad fans.

When wizards threaten Glorianna Belladonna and her work to keep Ephemera balanced, her brother Lee sacrifices himself in order to save her-and ends up an asylum inmate in the city of Vision. But a darkness is spreading through Vision, perplexing the Shamans who protect it. And Lee is the only one who can shed any light on its mysteries...

A master storyteller and unrivaled visionary, Clive Barker has mixed the real and unreal with the horrible and wonderful in more than twenty years of fantastic fiction. The Inhuman Condition is a masterwork of surrealistic terror, recounting tragedy with pragmatism, inspiring panic more than dread and evoking equal parts revulsion and delight.

What if the Myth were real and everything else mattered not? What if your very soul hung in the balance? Enter a land where the Myth is real, but many have forgotten or scorn the Truth and those who fight to uphold it. The adventure is about to begin, for even those who fight for justice are about to rediscover why.This story is not just another tale of an orphan who finds a magic sword, discovers a forgotten lineage, finds a few friends, and conquers an overwhelming evil. This is a story that crosses a continent, transcends time, plunges deep into the very soul of man, and explores all the vastness and intricacies of life. It is a story of good and evil, love and war, truth and absurdity, courage and faith, hope and despair, humor and adventure, and everything that moves the human soul. Whether viewed as Truth or Myth, it is a tale to make one think and a story full of adventure, intrigue, love, sorrow, hope, and humor: much like this dance we call life. It is a fairy story in that it involves unicorns, dragons, and other uncommon beasts and certain aspects of magic, but it is also a human story that explores the questions, doubts, fears, and triumphs common to the hearts of men. The Brethren are an ancient brotherhood entrusted with preserving and disseminating knowledge, truth, and justice since time began; they have survived indifference, hostility, disaster, war, plague, and obscurity but ever they persevere in their age-old duties. Of late, they have fallen into obscurity due to over-caution and the forgetfulness of the people they serve. A strange encounter rouses them from their secrecy and sends one of their most talented agents into the heart of a sworn enemy only to unveil an even older and more dangerous foe. There are five 'books' in the Serpent and the Unicorn Series which is available as a trilogy. This volume contains Books I and II.

A reporter interviews an old wizard for a story to publish in a newspaper that he works at.A poem is a song sans the instrumentation. These poems in this book you hold are nothing but the songs of our lives which we've sung at some odd points, our lives brought us to. From the pain of separation, to the first innocent love, Of the first rains of the season, of those solitary evenings on the terrace, to those timeless love stories, to finally learning how life goes, and then being surprised again. This book tracks our journey through all of these landmarks that formed us into who we are. We've walked alone and fallen down, fallen down and gotten up. But if we felt it, we penned it.This is it, A Sip from the Glass of life- A Sip Of Life.A poem is a painting with thoughts and feelings for canvas and paints. Life is our canvas and feelings our paint brushes. And here we are to hopefully leave a mark, on this world and more importantly in your heart...

Aeden has dreamed of adventure all his life. When he and his friends have that adventure thrust upon them upon their Nameday, he discovers that the quiet life is something to be appreciated, but now he will never have it again. Passing from one peril unto the next Aeden and his friends are drawn into a war of men and gods.His second wife has trouble fixing his special Bombay martini. A classic spousal abuse tale. The splash of vermouth is never correct. The garnish is wrong and the gin is from Baltimore.A woman writes of her visit to the Head Hunters of BorneoA man wants a cell phone in his casket. He fears the undertaker may cremate him too soon.An alien civilization is in trouble. Their DNA is not stable. They buy humans to use their DNA to aid in saving their people.

Johanna sees the past when she touches anything made of wood. A basket made of twigs tells her that an attack on the port city of Saardam is imminent. As daughter of a rich merchant, she belongs to a class where it is forbidden to speak of magic, she can't warn anyone. Worse, it seems that the attack is in response to something done by the royal family.Johanna is the daughter of a rich merchant in Saardam. As only child and without a mother, she has grown up with notions, such as that she wants to take over her father's river trade business in her own name. Courtesy of her eastern mother, she has an unusual ability. She sees things in willow wood: whenever she touches wood, it shows her what has happened around the tree or wooden object. Any kind of magic is not common in Saardam, and the Church of the Triune, which rapidly gains influence in the city, forbids it.While she goes to church, Johanna also maintains a loose network of magic-enabled people. One of those people is Loesie, a farmer's daughter from out of town.One day, Loesie comes to town after having been struck mute by magic. She carries a basket made from willow twigs that tells Johanna that a group of bandits with demons is about to attack the city.But there is no non-magical proof, so she can't tell anyone or she'd be branded a witch. The time of witch-burnings was not that long ago. Never mind that the army is still approaching, and there are increasing signs that Saardam's embattled royal family might have done something that has angered magical forces in the east. Add to this that the royal family seems to have fallen out with the city's nobility, and that the recent death of the crown princess has left the family with only one heir: the mysterious prince whom no one has seen for years and who has suddenly returned home.At the annual ball, Johanna's father has brokered a dance for her with the prince. Johanna just wants to warn people of the impending attack.

In the not too distant future where insanity has become a plague and spirits feast on the corrupt souls of their victims few options exist but the termination of those afflicted. Renowned Professor Hauser appoints a young doctor out of med school who is thrown straight into the chaos.Lucian isn't sure what to expect when he steps over the banister separating Heaven from Earth. He opens his eyes in a new body, one with no wings, no knowledge of the future, and no special powers. All he remembers is his mission: to find a mysterious key. When he meets a human girl that he can't ignore he is forced, for the first time in eternity, to choose between duty and the pull of his heart. The future hangs on his decision, but he's fallen into a world where nothing is just what it seems.

Rosie Riley just hates being different. If only she looked and acted like the other girls her life would be perfect. The day after she meets a mysterious shoemaker, she gets her wish - she's exactly like the other girls! And it's really scary.A memorable collection of epitaphs and obituaries for the age of digital confession. Artists, athletes, activists, entertainers, evil-doers, rich widows, philosophers. . .40 poems from eight years in a lesbian novelist's on-line diary salute the famous dead—and tackle onslaughts of the ambition, desire, daydreaming, self-berating, fear of aging, loneliness and faithless women common to contemporary America. Sharply observed, often humorous, Dug for Victory also offers an anti-war record of existence in Brooklyn, New York during the days and years following the attacks on nearby Lower Manhattan.