A 'traditional style' childrens story about a very timid spider and his friendsA 'traditional style' childrens story about a very timid spider and his friends.

A collection of micro-fiction and flash fiction with a food-related theme. From a screaming salad to other-worldly sweets, from humor to mystery, this is a plateful of tasty tidbits.Featuring gripping Independent authors from around the world, FUSION is the first collection of short works published by Breakwater Harbor Books. Contributing heart-pumping tales of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Crime are seven stories that will thrill and rivet you. Authors from across a wide variety of genres, Dee Harrison, Ivan Amberlake, Claire C. Riley, Scott J. Toney, Mindy Haig, Cara Goldthorpe and C.M.T. Stibbe. The Sliver of Abilon – A Mirrorsmith Tale – 'and you thought it was safe to look in the mirror?'Diary of the Gone - Without a girlfriend, bullied by the Principal’s son, and haunted by the dead, Callum Blackwell thinks his life can’t get any worse. But he’s wrong.Life Ever After. Nina's Story: Part one. – When the dead begin to rise, it's time to put your differences aside and run!NovaFall – When the Meteor falls, the essences will come, forging flesh and planetary souls as one.Cybilla. – To claim his Muse, one man must find the gate between the mortal and the immortal worlds.Capturing Perfection – An artist's tale of love, loss and beauty in Renaissance MilanUntil The Ninth Hour – Until a man loses his daughter to a serial killer, until he loses his best friend, until he is down on his luck, Darryl Williams must put all thoughts of retaliation out of his mind.An excerpt from Dee Harrison’s The Sliver of Abilon – A Mirrorsmith Tale Junah Venmark, Master Mirrorsmith, exited the wayportal directly into the seaweed stench of Abilon. The foul odour tickled the back of his throat and he gagged on a rise of bile. Mirrorsmith Guild protocol demanded that he preview his destination before he arrived but it could not prepare him for an assault on his other senses. He vomited onto the trackway, just thankful that there was no-one to witness his most pitiful entrance ever. He loathed the smell of mouldy greens – it stirred up too many reminders of his wretched childhood in the back alleys of Varna, largest city on his homeworld of Vargo – but this was kabbige soup intensified tenfold. When his heaving subsided, Junah sank down onto his rump, trying to ignore the early evening dew which was soaking into his leggings. He pulled a kerchief from his belt-purse, to wipe the spittle from his lips, and cursed this ill-favoured world. Sissik, his wail, chittered and scurried around him like a silver-furred cyclone, mewing her distress. Junah winced when she skipped onto his tender stomach, the better to peer into his face with her large, prosimian eyes. He ran a finger down her spine and she slowly relaxed beneath his touch. Junah ill? She sent. No, I’m fine, Little One he reassured her. He grimaced. The smell caught me out, that’s all. Sissik wrinkled her own nose. Nasty, nasty stink, she concurred. Junah delved into his purse a further time and extracted a couple of lozenges from a packet. A few chews later and he could smell nothing. “Next time I’ll take ‘em before I get here,” he promised out loud. “Not that there’ll be a next time!” Junah clambered to his feet and peeled the sodden fabric from his buttocks. Sissik took her accustomed place on his shoulders, hiding beneath his long, dark hair and curled around his neck like a fur collar. Wails were native to all the worlds of the Regium, even the undeveloped ones like Abilon. Some wails, the silver-furred ones like Sissik, were prized for their ability to generate the acoustic frequencies that Mirrorsmiths depended upon. Others, the plumper, browner ones, made good eating. Whenever Sissik irritated him, which was often, Junah threatened to dye her coat russet. Now, however, she was quiescent, understanding that it was time for work.

A book of poetry by Irish poet/novelist Des Greene.Romance and lyricism are always near the surface in these works. Modern life has almost lost connection with nature but the links are not stretched to the limit in the Irish mind. Love of countryside and sea are strong undercurrents even to personal emotional traumas. The words ride on the waves or over the hills, singing to nature."Why does she have to be Romilly Montague? Any other name on the planet. She’d be just as pretty and cute and clever—just as perfect—but she wouldn’t be Romilly Montague. Then I’d have a chance with her.”Romilly longs for the freedom to live her own life ... but her dad is Alan Montague, hot contender for the job of Governor. And the bigger he gets, the more protective of Romilly her parents become.Could Julian Capulet’s luck be worse? As if being born into the most conservative family in Verona wasn't bad enough, the girl of his dreams is the daughter of his father's biggest adversary in the upcoming election. His embarrassing family—especially his troublemaking younger brother—seem set to totally ruin his chances with Romilly.For Romilly and Julian it’s never been truer that you can choose your friends but not your family. Will this story end in woe—or can there be a happily ever after for this modern-day Juliet and Romeo?From Amazon bestselling author S.D. Wasley comes a retelling of the timeless tale of Romeo & Juliet.

Lily Owens, ed. Illustrated edition of 159 cherished tales that have enchanted readers for generations. Includes "The Ugly Duckling", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "Snow Queen", all uncut with beautiful illustrations.

Two teenage boys participate in a ridiculous Snake Dance enactment at a mansion in 1960s Arizona.Creative expression is an intense means of learning - all of human experience can and should be our subject matter. I would ask you to consider reading The 2012 Um-Yangian. This current collection, a condensation of a lifetime of off and on again writing, is (just like the title says) not quite publishable. For although there are little gems scattered throughout, putting this work into the public realm is akin to going to the beach after a long winter of becoming pale and gaining a lot of weight - it seems like a good idea until you actually get there – umm what was that? No, no really. I honestly thought this was a clothing optional area….As I said in the opening, creative expression is an intense means of learning - you open yourself up to the criticism and ridicule you thought you had long ago learned to avoid in middle school. But what is our alternative? Job, family, leisure time can all be either futile distractions and death bed regrets or opportunities for really living - your portal to self expression, growth, enlightenment, uh disdain, ridicule, pity... So here's to all the fools, life is what we make of it, some day we'll all become wise or dead ...

The story of a prince with 'extraordinary ears' who by loving, listening and being bold helps create a better world for his people, children and grandchild. To be enjoyed by anyone from 10 to 110!A prince with 'extraordinary ears' realises that his people are no longer happy in their noisy, busy world. The birth of his first grandchild spurs him on to find a way to create a better world. He discovers that listening to his heart, rather than his head, helps him to come up with a plan which he then boldly carries out.

This story is a fictional account of the mission and execution of the neutralization of a sensitive intelligence collaborator that potentially endangered the lives and welfare of the men and women who supported Operation Restore Hope, a UN Humanitarian mission that erupted into violence in 1993. The US Marine Corps sent the 6th Counterintelligence Team to disrupt the threat.Somali Warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid ruled the streets of Mogadishu with an uncanny elusiveness that frustrated US/UN coalition strategists. Our mission was to quell intra-Clan violence and secure major supply routes for aid. It was assessed that Aidid might be the beneficiary of an intelligence leak. Joint Task Force Headquarters responded with a clandestine Counterintelligence operation designed to identify and neutralize this “Insider Threat.” This classified operation was known as Operation Looking Glass. The Counterintelligence community pinned the success of this sensitive operation on the shoulders of one man. Political infighting would complicate the mission’s agenda, but not after a relentless pursuit to expose a collaborator., This novel was subjected to a Department of Defense pre-publication review on 8 January 2013.

poems about life, love, old age, death, birds, beaches, nature, chemistry, time, guns, and mice. Along with the usual unanswerable questions.Welcome to the magical town of Cottontail Pines, where animals talk, and there is always a friend around the corner. In this new story called “Blacky’s Birthday,” Blacky the skunk wakes up on his special day expecting to be lavished with attention… and cake. Unfortunately, nobody seems to want to talk to him at all, and worst of all… no cake! Have all of Blacky’s friends decided not to like him anymore? And most importantly, will he never, ever get to eat any cake?! Find out what happens in this cute new story by T.K. Wade.

A moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us. We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence. Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

John Updike’s twentieth novel, like his first, The Poorhouse Fair, takes place in one day, a day that contains much conversation and some rain. The seventy-nine-year-old painter Hope Chafetz, who in the course of her eventful life has been Hope Ouderkirk, Hope McCoy, and Hope Holloway, answers questions put to her by a New York interviewer named Kathryn, and recapitulates, through stories from her career and many marriages, the triumphant, poignant saga of postwar American art. In the evolving relation between the two women, interviewer and subject move in and out of the roles of daughter and mother, therapist and patient, predator and prey, supplicant and idol. The scene is central Vermont; the time, the early spring of 2001.

Letting her into his life is not an option. Letting her go impossible. Out of Uniform, Book 4 One look at Thomas Becker s seriously ripped body, and Jane Harrison is having trouble remembering why she tracked down the Navy SEAL. Oh, yes, that hot scoop for her magazine. Instead they get trapped in an elevator together and she gets sizzling hot sex. After the delicious encounter is over, Becker s out of there, she s left off balance, and even more determined not to take no for an answer. Either for that interview, or another chance to find out if he always goes commando. One minute Becker is making it plain his answer is no. The next, he s using the only weapon at hand to calm her confined-space panic attack a kiss. And caving in to a fierce, unexpected need that wasn t even on his radar. Long term? Hell no not after the divorce that just spit him out. But a fling with the redheaded reporter with a brutally honest mouth and a body made for sin? Abso-effing-lutely. Trouble is, when the week is over, she isn t even close to being out of his system Warning: Contents under pressure. Hot elevator sex, a redhead who knows exactly what she wants, and a Navy SEAL who can t help but give it to her. May cause spontaneous combustion. Be sure to fan yourself frequently."

For all fans eagerly awaiting Marian Keyes' new novel The Mystery of Mercy Close - featuring Helen Walsh and out in September - here is a laugh-out-loud ebook-only short guide to everyone's favourite dysfunctional Irish family, Mammy Walsh's A-Z of the Walshes. It does exactly what it says on the tin but here's a brief word from its author, Mammy Walsh herself: 'There's this woman I know from bridge, Mona Hopkins, a lovely woman she is, even if I must admit I'm not that keen on her myself, and she said a great thing the other day. I was expecting her to say "Two no trumps," but instead she comes out with a saying about her children. She says, "Boys wreck your house and girls wreck your head." Isn't that a marvellous bit of wisdom - "Boys wreck your house and girls wreck your head!" And God knows it's the truest thing I've heard in a long time. I should know. I have five girls. Five daughters. And let me tell you, my head is wrecked from them. Although, now that I think of it, so is my house . . .' It's the perfect re-introduction to the Walsh family and Marian's new novel, The Mystery of Mercy Close.

At 22, Nat Philbrick won the Sunfish North American Championship. Fifteen years later he decided to give it another try, embarking on a personal voyage of discovery that took him from the many ponds of his native Nantucket to the championship in the American heartland. A warm, funny, often moving story of a sailor, his family, and an island...and the voyage that brought them together.

Romantic suspense, originally published by Silhouette Intimate Moments. The last book in the Mackenzie Family series focuses on Chance Mackenzie, a feral, homeless adolescent until rescued and adopted by Wolf and Mary Mackenzie. The stunning and aloof half-breed has built a career in undercover ops, first as a Naval Intelligence Officer, then as a private consultant. However, one particularly vile terrorist has always eluded the law. Chance and brother Zane find a way to lure Crispin Hauer in: They'll use his daughter Sonia as bait. First step: Make Sunny fall in love with Chance. What could be simpler? Content: Explicit sex, violence, swearing