Ethan's Reception, a Story of Hardship and Acceptance

      Kathleen J. Shields
     Ethan's Reception, a Story of Hardship and Acceptance

FiFi was not happy the day Ethan was brought home from the animal shelter... but Ethan was enthralled! Having spent months in doggy jail, Ethan was bound and determined to show his new parents how appreciative he truly was.Ethan had experienced many emotional ups and downs for numerous months when he was finally adopted by his fur-ever home. Unfortunately that home already had a dog and that miniature white poodle was not very happy to be notified she was getting a brother. While it took time, patience and persistence, Ethan finally proved himself worthy to FiFi by being the best dog he could possibly be.

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    Our Lady of the Forest

      David Guterson
     Our Lady of the Forest

From the best-selling author of Snow Falling on Cedars--an emotionally charged, provocative new novel about a teenage girl who claims to see the Virgin Mary. Ann Holmes seems an unlikely candidate for revelation. A sixteen-year-old runaway, she is an itinerant mushroom picker who lives in a tent. But on a November afternoon, in the foggy woods of North Fork, Washington, the Virgin comes to her, clear as day. Father Collins--a young priest new to North Fork--finds Ann disturbingly alluring. But it is up to him to evaluate--impartially--the veracity of Ann's sightings: Are they delusions, or a true calling to God? As word spreads and thousands, including the press, converge upon the town, Carolyn Greer, a smart-talking fellow mushroomer, becomes Ann's disciple of sorts, as well as her impromptu publicity manager. And Tom Cross, an embittered logger who's been out of work since his son was paralyzed in a terrible accident, finds in Ann's visions a last chance for redemption for both himself and his son. As Father Collins searches his own soul and Ann's, as Carolyn struggles with her less than admirable intentions, as Tom alternates between despair and hope, Our Lady of the Forest tells a suspenseful, often wryly humorous, and deeply involving story of faith at a contemporary crossroads. From the Hardcover edition.

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    When the Nines Roll Over and Other Stories

      David Benioff
     When the Nines Roll Over and Other Stories

A tour de force of imaginative storytelling from the critically acclaimed author of City of Thieves and The 25th Hour and co-creator of the HBO series* Game of Thrones* In * When the Nines Roll Over , David Benioff (The 25th Hour, City of Thieves*) uses humor and rich characterizations to explore the sometimes thrilling, sometimes pathetic emotional lives of a diverse set of characters. Over the course of eight stories, we are introduced to a host of young people on the cusp of discovery and loss. As he evokes the various states of agony and pleasure--humiliation, rebellion, camaraderie, and desire--Benioff displays a profound understanding of the transformative power of a single moment and how sadness can be illuminated by a humorous flip side. * When the Nines Roll Over * confirms the promise of a gifted writer emerging as a storytelling force.

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    Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota

      Chuck Klosterman
     Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota

Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilarious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.

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    Away From the Dark

      Aleatha Romig
     Away From the Dark

Nine months ago, Sara Adams awoke with no memory. The man holding her hand told her she’s a member of The Light, a tight-knit religious group led by the terrifying and charismatic Father Gabriel. As a woman in the community of The Light, her duty is to be unquestionably obedient and to submit to the will of her husband. But as Sara’s memory starts to return and she remembers her past, she sees that everything she’s been told is a lie. The Light is an insidious and dangerous organization, and its corrupting influence reaches well beyond the confines of the remote campus where Sara is being held. With everything at stake, Sara struggles to sort out her true memories from her indoctrination. The desire to escape consumes her, but who can she trust? And which other followers of The Light were forced into this life, brainwashed to believe they belonged? The more she remembers, the more it becomes clear that Jacob, the man who calls himself her husband, is keeping shattering secrets of his own. But Sara cannot flee alone, leaving innocents behind. She must fight to extinguish The Light.

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    Benediction

      Kent Haruf
     Benediction

When Dad Lewis is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he and his wife must work together, along with their daughter, to make his final days as comfortable as possible, despite the bitter absence of their estranged son. Next door, a young girl moves in with her grandmother and contends with the memories that Dad’s condition stirs up of her own mother’s death. A newly arrived preacher attempts to mend his strained relationships with his wife and son, and soon faces the disdain of his congregation when he offers more than they are used to getting on Sunday mornings. And throughout, an elderly widow and her middle-aged daughter do all they can to ease the pain of their friends and neighbors.

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    The Best Friend

      Shalini Boland
     The Best Friend

Toxic school mums, money worries, paranoia, and murder... The Best Friend is a chilling psychological thriller from the Bestselling Author of The Girl from the Sea. They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer ... Wrong. Louisa's new best friend has it all - the house, the status, the money. But she's also hiding a dark secret. And as Louisa is drawn deeper into her friend's life, events take a chilling turn . . . "Sit on the edge of your seat and prepare for the ride!"

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    Bright Young Things

      Scarlett Thomas
     Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things wanted for Big Project.' They're in the prime of their lives but our bright young things are all burnt out. Six sparky twenty-somethings just out of university and working dead-end jobs, they are all bored to tears with their lives and looking for a way out. When a mysterious job is advertised in the newspaper, they all apply. What they least expect is to find themselves prisoners on a deserted island. There's food in the fridge and they have a bedroom each, but there's no telephone, no television, and no way to escape.

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    Playing Games

      Jessica Clare
     Playing Games

Katy Short doesn't want to be on The World Races. She’s not a social butterfly like her brother (and partner) Brodie. In fact, she’s just as happy to end up in last place as in first. But when her brother makes a selfish move that pairs her up with silent and surly rock star Liam Brogan, everything in the race changes. Now Katy’s fighting to stay out of the Loser Lodge, just so she won’t have to suffer through all that alone time with Mr. Tall, Dark and Arrogant. Except Liam? Kinda hot. He’s sexy, pierced… and not nearly as surly as she thought. There’s one good thing about a game with partners -- lots of one-on-one time… This is book two of the Games novels, sexy contemporaries with a reality TV twist.

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    Wicked Heart

      Leisa Rayven
     Wicked Heart

The one guy she can’t have is the one she can’t forget. Liam Quinn is one of the biggest movie stars in the world…and the only man Elissa Holt has ever truly loved. After being out of her life for six years, he and his gorgeous fiancée are set to star in the new Broadway show Elissa is stage managing. The only trouble is, when late night rehearsals bring Elissa and Liam together, the line between what is and what could have been gets blurred. Now one moment of weakness is about to create a scandal that will echo around the world. Elissa knows that falling for Liam again would be a tragedy in the making, but as any good romantic knows, love doesn’t always follow the script.

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    Hard Creek Bridge: a short story

      Isaac Sweeney
     Hard Creek Bridge: a short story

Friendless and shy, Slim Jackson enters his second semester at Abe Lincoln University. He gets lost on an unknown path, comes to a strange bridge, and has the struggle of his lifetime.When two young men go on a hunt that they know will be the last hunt of their youth, they decide they want it to be an unforgettable outing. When they cross a ridge leaving the protection of their kingdom behind, they find a cavern that looks like it needs to be explored. In the cavern they find exactly what they were looking for. In this stoney hole lives something they will never forget!The other titles in this series, have gone on to become International bestsellers. Book one The Royal Dragoneers, was nominated for the 2011 Locus Poll, and book six of the series, Blood and Royalty, won the 2015 Readers Favorite Award for Young Adult Action and Adventure.

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    Amun Sa and the Girl from the Desert

      Christopher Buecheler
     Amun Sa and the Girl from the Desert

The elder vampire Ashayt was once a simple peasant girl living in Egypt, on the outskirts of the great city of Memphis. Her life changes first when she meets a man -- Amun Sa -- with whom she falls in love, and second when she meets a deadly creature in the reeds, who bestows upon her both the gift and curse of immortality.This story is a spoiler-free excerpt from The Children of the Sun.The elder vampire Ashayt was once a simple peasant girl living in Egypt, on the outskirts of the great city of Memphis. Her life changes first when she meets a man -- Amun Sa -- with whom she falls in love, and second when she meets a deadly creature in the reeds, who bestows upon her both the gift and curse of immortality.This two-chapter story is a spoiler-free excerpt from The Children of the Sun, the upcoming conclusion to the II AM Trilogy by Christopher Buecheler.

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    An Unspoken Truth

      Jessica Gold
     An Unspoken Truth

Two experiences weave together to reveal an unspoken truth, a story never told. A teenager journeys to the site of an unfathomable atrocity, with a survivor in tow. Sixty years earlier, a small village comes together in the face of danger, to solidify an act of pure love. An Unspoken Truth reminds us of the human cost of war and its far reaching affects on future generations.Susie Meyers was one of the most beautiful women you ever laid eyes on. She had long wavy blonde hair and a smile that would melt any man's heart. The story begins at around midnight on October 31, 1953 Susie and her friends downed too many beers at a Halloween party. Then decided to pile into her friend Tommy's car with his friends Jack and Karen with their six packs of beer and drove down Hill Haven road. Just as they were all singing along with the radio, rain came pouring down and Tommy was having a hard time concentrating on the road because of the loud music and laughter coming from Susie and Karen in the back seat of Tommy's car. Jack was too busy handing out the beers to everyone to notice danger was on the way. Susie was the only one in the car not wearing her seat belt. The rain was really pouring down to where Tommy should have pulled off to the shoulder of the road and waited for the rain to stop before proceeding any further. Tommy just kept driving at a high rate of speed and drinking his beer when all of a sudden a driver on the other side of the road lost control of his vehicle causing Tommy's car to skid off the road and hit a tree head on. Unfortunately, Susie was the only passenger in the car that was not wearing a seat belt. Susie was ejected from the car and hit the tree head on decapitating her.

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    Lovelost

      Qwantu Amaru
     Lovelost

Qwantu Amaru's second poetry chapbook chronicles his search for love and the aftermath and learnings from this neverending search. For all the romance lovers out there, this FREE chapbook is for you!Qwantu Amaru, novelist, poet, and spoken word artist offers up this poetic treatise on the love battles he's waged, lost, and won in his search for love. From the beautiful opening poem Moonlight to the final statement Better to Have Loved and Lost, take the voyage with this unflinchingly honest poet. Lovelost just like his first chapbook, After the Storm is a FREE offering from this up and coming writer.

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