The six stories in Haruki Murakami’s mesmerizing collection are set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, when Japan became brutally aware of the fragility of its daily existence. But the upheavals that afflict Murakami’s characters are even deeper and more mysterious, emanating from a place where the human meets the inhuman. An electronics salesman who has been abruptly deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package—and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who has been raised to view himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may or may not be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. As haunting as dreams, as potent as oracles, the stories in After the Quake are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.

It was a terrible idea. But that doesn’t stop Sarah Meadows from saying yes to covering for her identical twin sister at staff orientation week at Camp Firefly Falls. It’s just a few days and she'll be back to finishing her master's thesis, right? But when her sexy, ex-park ranger partner figures out her secret, she’s got her work cut out convincing him not to turn her in. Beckett Hayes knows he should report Sarah to the boss, but instead, he finds himself agreeing to train her. There’s just something about those big, doe eyes and all that sass. But when Sarah starts to matter more than he planned, the pressure's on. Can he convince her to take the road less traveled or will this one week have to be enough? A novelette of approximately 16k words. This story is a crossover introduction to the Camp Firefly Falls series. Check out my full novel in the series, Second Chance Summer.

Alla fine degli anni Ottanta Gerald Durrell intraprende una spedizione in Madagascar per catturare qualche esemplare di aye-aye, un lemure caratteristico della zona, e garantirne la riproduzione: «Lasciare che un essere così sorprendente e complesso si estingua è impensabile quanto bruciare un Rembrandt, trasformare la Cappella Sistina in una discoteca...». Giunto nell’isola, che gli appare come il profilo di una omelette mal rivoltata, Durrell si mette subito sulle tracce dei misteriosi lemuri. E dopo una visita al mercato locale, dove, sotto gli ombrelloni bianchi fitti come un campo di funghi, sono appesi polli simili a piumini viventi, salva il primo esemplare, altrimenti destinato alle pentole di un’abile massaia indigena. Con il suo incantevole humour, Durrell sa trasformare ogni aspetto dell’indagine scientifica in avventura, in racconto: anche lo studio del vocabolario dei lemuri, con i loro «pop», i miagolii e le fusa gattesche, gli uggiolii canini e i ringhi da tigre. I protagonisti sono sempre gli animali, osservati con occhio ironico e ammirato: flemmatiche oche egiziane in completo di tweed, pappagalli sfavillanti come bigiotteria a buon mercato, felini che paiono incarnare la versione malgascia della Pantera Rosa. E lo stesso occhio amabile e divertito si posa sugli umani, descritti in un compulsivo shopping natalizio tra bancarelle di scimmie infiocchettate e maialini multicolori. Io e i lemuri è apparso per la prima volta nel 1992.

FROM USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLA JAMES... One boy. Mother calls him Hansel. One girl. Mother named her Gretel. Locked in little rooms, in the mountainside mansion of a crazy woman. Until he saws a hole into the wall dividing them. Then at least, they have each other’s hands. It doesn’t end well at Mother’s house. Everything gets…broken. Ten years later, they meet again in an exclusive Vegas sex club. Whips. Chains. And most of all, a mask. What happens to love when it gets twisted? Fairy tales are cautionary tales, remember?

The year is 1905. Eighteen year old Kate Barrington is getting ready for a ball. She has fallen deeply in love with Jonathan Wentworth, heir to his uncle’s estate. But when she arrives, Jon’s attention is captivated by her frail but enigmatic cousin Cassandra. Consumed by jealousy Kate tries to leave, but is stopped by Rick Ferris, a charming and handsome business tycoon. Kate knows she cannot love Rick like she loved Jon - but when Rick proposes she agrees, and becomes Mrs Ferris. Shortly after Jon marries Cassandra. Yet when he tries to touch her she shrinks in fear. With Kate longing for another man, and Jon unable to consummate his marriage with his wife, both relationships are put under terrible strain. Will Kate be able to forget Jon and fall in love with her husband? Or will Jon and Kate’s attraction to each other prove their undoing? ‘The Velvet Glove’ is a moving social drama following the lives of two women from very different social backgrounds at the beginning of the 20th century. “Mrs Williams is a skillful scene-setter, and piles up her bricks of fear with a malevolent daintiness which makes her final climax more fearful.” The Times Mary Williams was born in Leicestershire and attended Leicester College of Art where she trained as an illustrator. During a varied and colourful life she wrote and illustrated children’s programmes for BBC Wales and worked as a newspaper columnist. She has had many occult novels published as well as her bestselling Cornish romances which she wrote under the pseudonym Marianne Harvey. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

'What is next to ecstasy?' 'Pain.' 'And what is next to pain?' 'Nothingness.' 'What is next to nothingness?' 'Hell! The place which has nothing ahead... everything is left behind... There’ll come a time when all this will make sense to you... and you’ll never ask anyone what is next to ecstasy.' Pir-e-Kamil has a message for everyone: there comes a moment in life when one has to decide between light and darkness. Even in light one needs to tread carefully because once in the darkness it makes no difference whether one can or cannot see. But sometimes there is a second chance, one may repent and trace back his steps to light. At this point the only solace is the voice that guides and leads to light, the voice of The Perfect Mentor.

Thrown out of a Lancaster bomber at twenty thousand feet without a parachute, Squadron Leader Peter Crighton-Biggie has just four and a half minutes of precious existence left.Thrown out of a Lancaster bomber at twenty thousand feet without a parachute, Squadron Leader Peter Crighton-Biggie has just four and a half minutes of precious existence left. What would go through YOUR mind? Includes 'Rescue', a bonus story of WW2.

stories by Craig Wallwork: more information can be found at www.kuboapress.wordpress.comCaroline's life is on track. She's about to get her nursing degree and she's engaged to rich, handsome Trevor. But, before they get married, Trevor wants Caroline to spend the summer in Louisiana, getting to know her father, who's never been in her life. She reluctantly agrees and heads south, deep into bayou country where she meets Cade. Charming and handsome, he's pulling out all the stops to convince her that he's the man for her, not Trevor. As she becomes frightened by a series of strange accidents that began after her arrival, she learns that the woman haunting her dreams is actually a long-dead family member come to warn her about the men in her life. Caroline soon realizes that if she doesn't solve the mysteries from the past, they could permanently alter her future.

A couple decide to divorce themselves from mainstream culture in an attempt to find food and life for later years, a family watches home movies when all else has been taken, the mentally ill are guided by the voices of folk music, and a man discovers a life on a city bus that he’d never thought possible. Plus six more.Guest Ranch is a short story. It opens with a married couple visiting the ranch. The husband is in a bad mood because he had been stopped and fined for speeding in the town. It takes him awhile to warm up to the experience of the ranch and a young guide. However, he gradually gets into the spirit of things.The story is in the western genre.

The Writer is dead. He is gone and I feel now that I hardly knew him. Who was this person and what secrets did he leave behind? What is going to happen to us now he is gone? Who are we without him? There was such a light in him, where did it all come from? Was it somewhere inside him or did he steal it from us? How am I ever going to be able to go on alone? What happens now?The Gadgets come alive in a book that lifts the lid on what life is really like on your kitchen worktop. You will never look at those appliances the same way again. The gadgets which include a blender, fat fryer, knife, coffee machine, ice cream maker, grill, warming tray and many more must escape from their environment using their powers as gadgets. If they don't succeed they will be auctioned off on the Internet and the shame of being a second-hand gadget is too much to bear.But they are in fear of 12 year-old bully boy Zack who wreaks havoc wherever he goes. Even if they do manage to get outside they have to find somewhere to hide and with the Garden Gang on the loose the outside world can be very frightening.This adventure-packed full-length 69,000 word book has unforgettable characters like Deep Fat the fryer, Jane Dough the bread-maker, Blade the handsome kitchen knife and many many more. Follow the gadgets' fantastic adventures and endearing relationships in this first of a series of books.

Set in A British castles warm stone kitchen in the misty predawn, a group of people linked by an ancient heritage set out to bake delicious treats for their loved ones still dreaming on this cold wet morning.The love of A mother and will never pass, a group of mothers meet once a week in a 18th century stone kitchen to bake treats for their loved ones as they sleep.Surrounded by characters who delight in annoying the women and creating havoc,this story is a sweet and loving tribute to all mothers.

Robert Hendry is the author of 26 published non-fiction titles and three novels. He asks some fundamental quastions about the way literature is going. With modern demands for "the Hook", POV and so on, would the classic authors of the past get published today?Read this FREE book and see what you think.At only eighteen-years-old, Amber Ashborne is sole heir to the throne of Ashborne, the most powerful kingdom in Everrathe. In an attempt to earn the love and approval her emotionally abusive father has never given, the future queen raised herself to be the son he could never have; forgoing the ease and luxury of a princess's life for that of the sword and steel of a knight's. However, the king's disdain would not be overcome, and under the weight of the Ashborne crown, the young princess resigned herself to a loveless life of battle, guilt and torment. Until fate crosses her path with a mysterious young man named Emoren. Amber is caught off guard as the young commoner effortlessly breaks through the walls surrounding her, bringing an unfamiliar light to her dark, battle-ridden world. And despite being preserved for royal engagement, the future queen can't deny the feelings that quickly seize her heart. Little does she know, these forbidden feelings will not only shape her future, but that of an entire kingdom.

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...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...

Do you think of Shakespeare as something you had to read in school? Or do you think of Shakespeare as that famous author that you ought to read but that you never get around to? If you do, then Filling the Cheap Seats aims to convince you that Shakespeare is fun! This short book offers fun thoughts and unusual ideas about Shakespeare the playwright and his thirty seven plays.When the apocalypse came it was not from the fires of nuclear war or unseen viral plagues, not from an unstoppable asteroid or even the machines rising up in defiance of their human overlords. The Last War, as later generations would come to remember it, was fought between fighter jets and dragons, between companies of sword wielding golems swarming over steel tanks in support of deadly Magicians wielding magical fireballs. It was a war of magic versus science and science lost. A thousand years later Duncan Cade is born without magical abilities into a dystopian world dominated by the Magical. As a young adult he’s a pariah and an outcast because of his condition, an unwanted reminder of a time when their forefather’s wiped non-magical humans from the face of the planet. His life is a constant struggle not only to fit in a society based on magic he doesn’t wield, but also to survive without the simplest of magical abilities. He thinks that he is alone, the only non-magical boy in the entire world. When the magic begins to fade from the world, Duncan is blamed and just escapes the wrath of the Magician police force into the wastelands surrounding the city of New Dallas. He sets out on a quest to find the origin of Magic and soon discovers that not only is he not alone, but the non-magical humans are finally fighting back. The Last War was only the beginning of the apocalypse and young Duncan Cade, a boy born without Magic, is thrust into the middle of the new war against the Magicians.

10 Year old Bobby McRainey tells of the day to day struggles as a batboy on a losingest team ever! But, when his 1951 ball club signs 5 Negro Leaguers and integrates Southern Baseball, Bobby discovers that even losing teams can have immortal moments. "...perhaps a Denzel Washington movie in this novel" --Publishers Weekly. Based upon the Amazing True Story!10 Year old Bobby McRainey tells of the day to day struggles as a batboy on a losingest team ever! But, when his 1951 ball club signs 5 Negro Leaguers and integrates Southern Baseball, Bobby discovers that even losing teams can have immortal moments. Through a long hot summer, the Graniteers sweat out a 14 – 96 season. New coaches, a name change (to the Granite Rocks) and even ‘Black Cat Night at Granite Falls Stadium' cannot turn things around. When Bobby finds an unhittable ‘Cuban’ pitcher is really an American born black man, he struggles with the unfairness of "Whites Only" baseball.Publishers Weekly called the book ‘beguiling.' “There are some very pleasant moments (and perhaps even a Denzel Washington movie) in this novel … based on the incredible true story of the worst team in Baseball History that became the first Southern team to break the color barrier."