Two football stars. Two tragedies. Gridiron follies explores the world of football and the pressure that comes with stardom, the bright lights often blinding those that stare into it for too long.Gridiron Follies is a short story collection consisting of two stories both centered around the sport of Football.Fame looks at the life of a star athlete who rises from grass to grace, only to tumble back down to earth drastically. The story is told from the perspective of Fame, who has been personalized in this story to offer a unique perspective on what goes on in the lives of star Athletes.The Beast is the story of star running back Rahim Jenkins who in other to stay on top and keep up with his very lavish lifestyle, makes a life changing deal with the devil, which eventually proves too costly for him. The story is actually a metaphor of life, on the sometimes illegal activities athletes make to keep up with the game.

When a woman vanished in Adelard Odd’s room, the resultant scandal closed the asylum at Quartersoake permanently. In 1925, nearly twenty years after Odd’s death, Lewis Spender and Roger North are willing to brave the room’s evil reputation in order to discover the truth.In this novel by W.S. Lacey, appalling things happen to wonderful people and at least one person goes in want of an umbrella.The first in a series of stories about the darker side of the life of fairies.

A collection of original poetry by Katharine Thorpe, author of the blog "littleinkblot." The poems were written over a nine-year span and reflect both memories of that time and the author's first attempts at using poetry to capture those memories. Including both free verse and traditional pieces, the poems range from silly to meditative and include "flight," "17," and "A Christmas Sonnet."Jake Ramsey watched his parents get murdered when he was a boy. Shortly afterward he was recruited to work for Black Brick, a covert government organization. After Jake survives a shootout while protecting the corrupt executive of a powerful and well connected government contractor, his suspicions grow that the covert government organization he works for has been subverted by somebody who doesn’t have the country’s best interest at heart. The deeper he digs the more he fears he has been lied to about everything, including the details around the deaths of his parents. Jake doesn't know who to believe as he searches for answers, dodges bullets, and is framed for a train bombing. He soon finds himself fighting against the very organization he believed to be on the right side of the law. If you enjoy thrillers with twists and turns, this book is for you. Pick up your copy today!

Red Riding Hood meets the wolf again. He decides to start his dinner with the old woman who lives in the forest. However, this is no ordinary woman but the forest fairy who, having taken the form of a ewe, challenges the wolf. Frustrated by the defiance of the ewe, the wolf flees to the big city where he meets the ewe again. What follows is very exciting and so ... so heart-breaking.The story is taking place in a magic forest. Little Red Riding Hood is three years older since her adventure with the big bad wolf. She is picking flowers again when she has an unexpected meeting with an old woman who needs help with her nails. Red Riding Hood offers to help but has to go back home to get a pair of scissors and liquid soap.On her way back Red Riding Hood comes face to face with a big bad wolf. Perhaps he is the brother of the one who almost devoured Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. Although Red Riding Hood is fearless, she unwittingly reveals to the wolf where the old woman’s hut is.Poor wolf! He believes that the old woman is an easy prey. But instead of the old woman the wolf finds a ewe in the hut. “All the better”, he thinks to himself. But the ewe is not daunted by the threats of the wolf. Actually, the wolf is frustrated by the ewe who threatens him with “If you eat me, the woodcutter will be very angry. He will find you, catch you, tie you up, put you in a cage and release you in the big city.” The wolf is so frustrated by his failed attempts to eat the ewe that he runs to the village to buy a lot of presents for Riding Hood.When the wolf returns to the hut to eat the ewe, he finds the ewe knitting a pair of white gloves from her own wool. The wolf is delighted and at the same time determined to eat her. But he needs to know why the ewe threatened him with the woodcutter releasing him in the big city. She invites the wolf to sit next to her on a couch and watch a documentary about the bit city.But this documentary makes the wolf abandon his plans to eat the ewe and to want to go to the big city which for him looks like a “goldmine” or a “meatmine”.When the wolf leaves, the ewe takes her real form. She is a fairy. But she has to leave the magic forest and go to the big city, too.The big bad wolf and the fairy meet again, this time in the big city. Oh, this is an exciting meeting, beyond imagination and with an unexpected ending.

Fun Adventures are all that matters to Rudy and his three friends, Randy, Harry, and Jerry. This book is about the possibility of all the rabbit families not having enough food to last them through the whole winter and Rudy and he friends come up with a plan that may save the day, but the carrot farmer's new guard dog may stop them in their tracks...Let the adventure begin.Rudy Rabbit was born last spring the same time as his three friends, Randy, Harry, and Jerry. They love to play all day in their field where many other rabbit families also live. It has a carrot field next door and is surrounded by woods. Rudy and his friends find themselves in different situations all the time because they are always looking for something new to do. Each time they find something new to do, somehow it turns into a new Adventure. New rabbits are met, new things are learned, and sometimes they are even smarter than the adult rabbits that live there too.

Disguised as a boy, Ann Marie finds that a handsome boss is harder to ignore than the muscle aches from doing backbreaking work in a copper mine.Ann Marie Ward finds herself alone in the world after her father’s death. His adoration has become her downfall when she finds herself responsible for the bills and expenses he left behind. In the small town of Copper Basin Tennessee, there aren’t very many options. The isolated township is resistant to high ideas and change, so Ann Marie finds herself adopting her childhood nickname of Blaze, masquerading as a young boy, and working in the only productive trade in the area- the copper mines.Dirk Bergmann, educated in Germany and fostered by the mine owner of the area, has been instructed to move to the Copper Basin to see if he can increase copper production. He is looked upon as a foreigner and the locals do not welcome his newfangled concepts, especially one young man with an attitude problem and hygiene issues. A simple assignment escalates into a nightmare when dynamite is introduced to the old timers and an accident follows, injuring the boy.But things are not always as they seem. This is a sweet novella of approximately 20,000 words

The humdrum life of Darcy Platt soon changes and the bookstore of her dreams becomes a portal to a place of magic where she finds herself relishing in a life of apparent simplicity. But there is something lurking beneath the glossy surface and all is not as it seems to be. And she soon finds out she isn't the only one keeping secrets.Darcy Platt is not living the life she had imagined she would be living. Her life is just OK – a mediocre job, a semi-stylish apartment, a loyal best friend, and one lovely dog. Going through the motions has become her normal. She does have a bad habit though – one that she finds gratifying but is embarrassed of. A habit that thrills her but is taboo for someone her age. She can't even say it out loud but she does it every day.Reading Teen Fiction.She knows she shouldn't but she does. It's an addiction - and she can't help it. She would give anything to be the heroine in the books she idolizes where the only things to worry about are choosing a date for the prom and getting an even tan. Why couldn't life be that easy? (Insert sad face).Then something happens that changes everything. Faced with an impossible choice, the bookstore of her dreams becomes a portal to a place of magic where Darcy finds herself relishing in a life of apparent simplicity. But there is something lurking beneath the glossy surface and all is not as it seems to be. And she soon finds out she isn't the only one keeping secrets.Immersed in a world full of enviable friends and sordid secrets, of complicated brothers and mini-dramas, of emotional episodes and meltdowns - Darcy soon learns that what she once adored may not be all it's cracked up to be. Is she happy? And what exactly defines happiness? Is this what she wanted all along? The grass may not be greener over there after all. Full of humor and heart, Page-Turner acts as a portent to the human soul. It's a coming of age story for those who have already come of age. You'll find yourself questioning your own motivations, for better or for worse.

Isabelle Lamberton loves her philandering father but loathes her long-suffering mother. Time blisters as the woman must care for the man who’d terrorized the City, killed her father, yet saved her life. “The Porter’s Muse” is a short story that tugs at the boundaries of difficult truths and a woman’s journey through these entanglements.On the scorching plains of the Zimbabwe Plateau a thrilling adventure is set in motion to prevent a catastrophic war between Boers, Zulus and British redcoats. Archaeologist Lazarus Longman is contacted by an agent of the British Empire and given an important mission; find the mythical gold mines of Great Zimbabwe before the Boers do and prevent revolution in Southern Africa.

When Mortimer Moose tries to fly with Santa Claus on Christmas Eve he is met with prejudice. He has to overcome this, and is faced with a dilemma in which he has to make the correct decision in order to make his dream come true.Mortimer Moose wants to fly with Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. He gets his chance when one of Santa's reindeer is injured, and a contest is held to find a replacement. Mortimer tries to enter, but it is restricted to reindeer. When Mortimer's friends try to make him look like a reindeer, and are unsuccessful he has to overcome prejudice In order to achieve his goal.

When Memoirs was first published in 1975, it created quite a bit of turbulence in the mediathough long self-identified as a gay man, Williams' candor about his love life, sexual encounters, and drug use was found shocking in and of itself, and such revelations by America's greatest living playwright were called "a raw display of private life" by The New York Times Book Review. As it turns out, thirty years later, Williams' look back at his life is not quite so scandalous as it once seemed; he recalls his childhood in Mississippi and St. Louis, his prolonged struggle as a "starving artist," the "overnight" success of The Glass Menagerie in 1945, the death of his long-time companion Frank Merlo in 1962, and his confinement to a psychiatric ward in 1969 and subsequent recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, all with the same directness, compassion, and insight that epitomize his plays. And, of course, Memoirs is filled with Williams' amazing friends from the worlds of stage, screen, and literature as heoften hilariously, sometimes fondly, sometimes notremembers them: Laurette Taylor, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh, Carson McCullers, Anna Magnani, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tallulah Bankhead to name a few. And now film director John Waters, well acquainted with shocking the American public, has written an introduction that gives some perspective on the various reactions to Tennessee's Memoirs, while also paying tribute to a fellow artist who inspired many with his integrity and endurance.

Sebastian Stark just isn’t cut out for normal life with a girlfriend in the hot and humid city of Miami. All in all, he’d rather be back on the island where it was just the two of them, and he could keep everything in balance. The bar down the street tempts him daily, but he’s determined to remain strong. Adjusting to normal life is difficult, but Bastian is doing his best to keep himself together and the nightmares away. Raine’s happy, and that’s what matters to him the most. But not all nightmares can be driven away. When Bastian’s former mentor comes into the picture and presents him with an ultimatum, Bastian slips into old habits. Though he wants to shield Raine from the truth, the shady circumstances of his past form into a hurricane he can’t control. In an effort to protect her, Bastian has no choice but to throw himself back into his old job – death match tournaments – just one last time. Dropped into the arctic wilderness with weapons loaded, Bastian has to compete against representatives from major crime lords all over the states. He’s studied his competition, he knows their weaknesses, and he’s ready to battle for the woman he loves. There’s only one opponent in the mix that causes him any concern. In order to guarantee Raine’s safety, Bastian will be pitted against the key hit man for Chicago’s largest mob family – a guy who’s known as one hell of a shot. A guy named Evan Arden.

Wyatt Gwyon's desire to forge is not driven by larceny but from love. Exactingly faithful to the spirit and letter fo the Flemish masters, he produces uncannily accurate "originals"--pictures the painters themselves might have envied. In an age of counterfeit emotion and taste, the real and fake have become indistinguishable; yet Gwyon's forgeries reflect a truth that others cannot touch--cannot even recognize. Contemporary life collapses the distinction between the "real" and the "virtual" world, and Gaddis' novel pre-empts our common obsessions by almost half a century. This novel tackles the blurring of perceptual boundaries.

On the hot Texas army base she calls home, Katie spends the lazy days of her summer waiting: waiting to grow up; waiting for Dickie Mack to fall in love with her; waiting for her breasts to blossom; waiting for the beatings to stop. Since their mother died, Katie and her older sister, Diane, have struggled to understand their increasingly distant, often violent father. While Diane escapes into the arms of her boyfriend, Katie hides in her room or escapes to her best friend’s house—until Katie’s admiration for her strong-willed sister leads her on an adventure that transforms her life. Written with an unerring ability to capture the sadness of growth, the pain of change, the nearly visible vibrations that connect people, this beautiful novel by the bestselling author of Open House reminds us how wonderful—and wounding—a deeper understanding of life can be. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Once, Miranda felt a little exposed... Miranda Hill can't believe her eyes--her cocky ex-boyfriend, pro hockey player Dane Croft, is back in Bluebonnet, Texas, after all these years. He ditched her--and their little town--just as some rather shocking photos showed up on the Internet for everyone to see. Miranda wasn't so lucky. Stuck in Bluebonnet and left to fend for herself, she's never really shaken the scandal--or his betrayal. After nine long years, Dane's back, and she has the chance to turn the tables on him... It's time she gets even. Former NHL hotshot playboy Dane Croft has returned home to open a survival training school on an old ranch and reinvent himself. When his former high-school girlfriend enrolls in the program, he has no idea that Miranda's plan is to get him in a compromising position--not the one he's imagining, anyway. But soon Miranda realizes that to carry out her deviously sexy revenge, she'll have to get up close and personal with Dane all over again. Being a good girl got her nowhere for nine years; now it's time to be a little naughty. But falling in love with the man who broke her heart was never part of the plan...

"Sam's Chance" is a sequel to the "Young Outlaw," and is designed to illustrate the gradual steps by which that young man was induced to give up his bad habits, and deserve that prosperity which he finally attains. The writer confesses to have experienced some embarrassment in writing this story. The story writer always has at command expedients by which the frowns of fortune may be turned into sunshine, and this without violating probability, or, at any rate, possibility; for the careers of many of our most eminent and successful men attest that truth is often-times stranger than fiction. But to cure a boy of radical faults is almost as difficult in fiction as in real life. Whether the influences which led to Sam's reformation were adequate to that result, must be decided by the critical reader. The author may, at any rate, venture to congratulate Sam's friends that he is now more worthy of their interest and regard than in the years when he was known as the "Young Outlaw."