Evergreedy Squeeze is a wealthy banker, out of touch with the age of austerity. At Christmas he receives visitations from three spirits, who attempt to show him the truth of his situation.Will he heed their lesson?Apologies to Charles Dickens for this affectionate homage to his famous story in his bicentenary year.A group of random strangers are invited to take part in a mysterious lottery with an intriguing premise. Twenty-seven accept the offer.But what begins as an unusual social experiment quickly descends into something much more sinister. The contestants receive more than they bargained for, and the dark side of human nature reveals itself.As the lottery spirals into a life-and-death struggle for survival, Alice Kato is left searching for answers. How far are ordinary people willing to go to win this extraordinary amount of money? Is there anyone she can trust? Is there any way out?And just who exactly is pulling all the strings?Everyone has their price. Most just don't know what it is yet.

Chased from an Austrian cliff-top castle by an angry mob armed with pitchforks and torches – where can a zombie run to for safety?Hunted down by a headmaster with a silver-bullet-loaded rifle – what’s a boarding school matron-turned werewolf to do?Weary of jumping out from behind pyramids, half-heartedly cursing tourists – how’s an ancient mummy to fill his time?Chased from an Austrian cliff-top castle by an angry mob armed with pitchforks and torches – where can a zombie run to for safety?Hunted down by a headmaster with a silver-bullet-loaded rifle – what’s a boarding school matron-turned werewolf to do?Weary of jumping out from behind pyramids, half-heartedly cursing tourists – how’s an ancient mummy to fill his time?The answer is found at the ancestral home of vampire Victor Romanoff, located on a remote island in the Eastern European country of Mortavia. Here, a motley assortment of B-movie monsters, ghosts and more find refuge and retirement - until the castle is threatened by a greedy property developer. How can the residents see off the threat without resorting to their old ways?

J. P. Donleavy has been writing now for forty-five years and, as he admits, an answer to the question why is ' difficult to dig out of a long past'. Yet over these pages he author's query is largely answered for him: he has written so much for so long because he writes so very well. From the banks of the Seine to the streets of the Bronx, from the stables of the Dublin Horse Show to cocktails at Claridge's, we are transported by these collected short pieces into the singular and spirited world of J. P. Donleavy. Bringing an uncommonly objective yet affectionate eye to his writings on his own birthplace, America, balancing unabashed adoration with good-humoured bewilderment in his depiction of his heart's home, Ireland, the author presents us with a fresh, engaging vista that could only be his own. Whether reviewing a book on sexual exercises for women or paying homage to Yeats, the impress is unmistakably Donleavy's. The initial publication of these pieces in various newspapers and journals around the world gave the author particular pleasure because he knew that he would reach people who were not normally book readers. However, he admits that the fate of most periodicals and newspapers is to be used to 'wrap fish, keep vagrants warm and help light fires'. Books, on the other hand, 'preserve their pages better between covers', and with their publication here he hopes that 'these pieces separately written over these many years can now keep each other company'. An Author and His Image offers a comprehensive overview of one of the most original and incisive voices of the last half-century.

In this humorous short story, Mr. Quimbly sets out on his first-ever field assignment for the Tax and Revenue Agency to investigate the mysterious Mr. Green on a charge of coin hoarding. He finds both the illegal coin collection and Mr. Green at a dilapidated warehouse down by the docks ... and also discovers that he's bitten off a bit more than he can chew.Levi, an entangled whale, is making a dying journey up the Atlantic coastline. Each day brings the creature closer to a frightening end - strangled beneath fishing nets and lead sinkers. When a science blog highlights the giant’s torment, it is a call to action for one group of teenage boys determined to change the leviathan’s fate.With humor and a thoughtful voice, Jeep Muldoon relates the story of a daring rescue on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It’s a tale of heart, with adventure at every turn. Along the way, Jeep reveals a hidden psychic talent that is essential to the team’s plan.The boys set up their command center ahead of the whale at the Cape Lookout Eco Camp. Each passing day brings a new adventure with a bashful sea monster, a pair of ghostly banker ponies and the unassuming heir to a baseball legend. But, when Levi finally arrives, it’s go time. Following a Moby Dick-like rampage, Jeep and his pals dive right back into danger. Testing the limits of friendship and courage, the boys launch a midnight mission to the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” in WhaleQuest!

Following indications of the Enlightened Dragon Society, Clarity Nice notices that the wife of billionaire Dao Bin, Elsie Chu, has purchased an expensive ring, linked to her smartphone. On her own, Clarity finds the role of this luxurious vanity ring, and how knowledge on immortality will be sold with a Health phone built by Dao Bin, Chinese General Tian Yazhou, and conglomerate Owens & Owell.Rejected by socialite Shalia Owell, who has discovered Clarity's false identity as Herbaline employee Darcy Emmers, Clarity becomes agenda and damage control assistant of Elsie Chu, the wife of Singapore billionaire Dao Bin, owner of wireless and telephony company Hunan Enterprises. Disenchanted by a rocky marriage and the lack of influence she has on the business matters of her husband, including the new health phone project to sell longevity services, Elsie Chu has purchased an expensive ring sold by a luxury jeweler, labeled 'Rose Property', which has some wireless equipment built into it to protect her privacy. Convinced that she can take part in her husband's business, she instructs Clarity to spy on Dao Bin and his moneytician Lim Li, to know more about her husband's activity.Sent to the Chinese Embassy and to the Branch of a private bank in Singapore, the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation, Clarity finds out that Chinese Military officials, led by Western Military Command Theater General Tian Yazhou, have agreed to fund part of the health phone project. Her loyalty siding with the monks of the Enlightened Dragon Society, who are protecting their dossier on immortality, Meridian 57, from Taoist Professor Chang, and from his White Tigress, Madame Wa, an expert of esoteric sexuality, Clarity stays close to Elsie Chu, to find out the storage location of rare earth metals which will be used to assemble the new health phone.Clarity becomes a confidant of Elsie Chu, who has begun instruction as a White Tigress, following the esoteric teachings of Madame Wa. But the cheeky doyenne does not trust her esoteric teacher completely, and she uses her ring in order to stay in touch with a secretive group which keeps her away from sexual esoteric practices, the Privilege Club. The secretive club is the group who issued the vanity ring of Elsie Chu, and instructs her to stay away from Madame Wa and instead carry out the filming of an adult film, 'Golden Lamp of Casa Mollino', to vent out the impulses of her outrageous libido.Enmeshed in the filming of Casa Mollino, which is used by Elsie Chu to involve prominent members of Singapore high society in the funding of her husband's health phone project, Clarity is drawn into the ploy of Elsie Chu. Alone and without any immediate support, she must face the shrewd delegate sent by General Tian Yazhou, Economic and Commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Singapore, Jiang Xiong, and the moneytician of Dao Bin, Lim Li, in order to protect the core of Meridian 57, uncover the identities of those behind the vanity ring of Elsie Chu, and find out Taoist knowledge on immortality assembled by Professor Chang, which will be sold with the Hunan health phone, through a joint venture between General Tian Yazhou, Dao Bin and Owens & Owell.

At last it's Part Two of Three! And more magic awaits in the continuing story of Joe's Christmas. In this second instalment we find out what happens next when the Christmas Wish List is seen by the Manager of the marvellous Returns Dept. From the snowstorm in our world to the magic of another, journey through the night with Neddy and little Joe and meet up with the Old Administrator once more...Wonka and Owner bring you this special Christmas gift, Part Two (of Three) ‘Joe's Christmas’ (fully illustrated). The tale continues as Joe’s Mum wonders how to make it a special Christmas, and with a little bit of magic and falling stars the Manager of the Returns Dept steps in. But even the best magic can run up against it. Is there time to process the wishes? Read on and have a little bit more of that special Christmas Sparkle, with lots of love from Wonka and Owner x

This collection of three flash fiction pieces will bring a smile to your face, and maybe even have you laughing out loud. Just like your dad's plaid shorts that skimp on length, these breezy reads will be perfect for your train ride or next bathroom break.We live in a strange world, filled with strange people. It's also a fast paced world. So indulge yourself with the perfect remedy to all the speedy weirdness with this collection of humorous short stories. Follow the internal turmoil of a man struggling to eat a living dessert. Journey to the hidden depths of the deep sea with some pretty awful parents and an even worse child. Finally, watch a couple of door to door salesmen cross the line of appropriateness. Be ready for the unexpected and the wacky. Be ready for a lot of leg.

Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled - where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some - and got some fast! - he would be exiled. Forever! But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by Good Magician Humfrey - or even by the Evil Magician Trent Be that as it may, no one could fathom the nature of Bink's very special magic. Bink was in despair. This was even worse than having no magic at all..and he would still be exiled!

When the invitation to the Preffyn family reunion arrives interrupting a perfectly decent summer vacation, 15-year-old Shelley Wollcott is anything but enthusiastic. It’s not that Shelley has anything against her relatives, she just can’t stand it when they give her that “what a pity” look. It’s not her fault that her real mother walked out on the family or that her father has remarried yet again. With Dad away on business and her older sister visiting their mother in Paris, Shelley must face the “perfect” Preffyns’ reunion with only her prankster younger brother and her insecure new stepmother at her side. It’s an opportunity to uncover the family’s secrets, but Shelley isn’t sure whether, when she discovers the truth, she’ll laugh or cry. In this funny and poignant novel by Caroline B. Cooney, Shelley learns to appreciate all the members of her unusual family—including herself!—in ways she never anticipated. And she discovers things are often not as perfect as they seem. From the Hardcover edition.

Finn Ahearn’s Irish luck runs out when he travels half way around the world to Sydney.The only way he can get back on stable footing is to accept a bartending job, working for tough Aussie bar owner Ellie Finch.Ellie is a decade older than Finn but that doesn’t stop the charming Irishman from wooing her.But can a smooth-talking Irishman sway a hard-hearted cynic to believe in love again?Finn Ahearn’s Irish luck runs out when he travels half way around the world to Sydney.The seedier side of the city’s Kings Cross soon catches up with him and he finds the only way he can get back on stable footing is to accept a bartending job, working for tough Aussie bar owner Ellie Finch.Ellie is a decade older than Finn but that doesn’t stop the charming Irishman from wooing her.Ellie doesn’t believe in the happily-ever-after dream any longer, not since hers imploded a long time ago. Her values are a world apart from Finn’s. They have absolutely nothing in common.But can a smooth-talking Irishman sway a hard-hearted cynic to believe in love again?

When the hard-bitten Police Sarge in Traffic Control hears about a broken down vehicle on the motorway from a rookie patrolman and his partner, are they pulling his leg? A whimisical tale set just before dawn on Christmas morning.When the hard-bitten Police Sarge in Traffic Control hears about a broken down vehicle on the motorway from a rookie patrolman and his partner, are they pulling his leg? A whimisical tale set just before dawn on Christmas morning. Set in England.

Talking about her problems at school doesn't come easy for Olivia so when she receives a diary on her sixteenth birthday, she may just have found an unlikely friend and confidant. Little by little, Olivia slowly learns to deal with her problems as she starts writing in her diary.Poems from BaghdadHussein AbbasPart oneBaghdad never awayI do, you doOur shareTow o'clock, knock, no openBaghdad never awayThey said she is getting old and gray The night darks her evenings and sway Tell them she's still young and virgin Death nights will end by dawn and rayHearts light has its men and coming way They don’t give up and gangers obey Tigress beach has smell of hope and next day Couples always dig their names on and sing Lovers will wait eagerly and love is their playDon’t tell they defeated, please don’t say Arabian nights is coming over and never leave Her sun has not sunk and never set away Let's do her make up and get her light No she pretty without and her face lit the way This poem has written for Baghdad and what she suffering from. It is still has life in it. I do, you doGet my blood and keep my familyGet my soul, don’t let me rollGet my wealth and focus on health Get my soul and save my call Get my body and back my lifeGet my word and play your role Get my faith and make it real Get my days and light my wayGet my sweat and give me houseGet my age and draw my day Get my best and do your best Get my flesh and let me ray Get my time , don’t let it foam Get my tomb and make it home This one for any person who got or will get any position in the Iraqi state to help the people and give them what they need and want. Our shareOur share is limited, our share is fairIt's done before, to spirit is made for Don’t hurry, don’t back, get it full Time is gold, joy and may be more Each has what deserve to do good So be good, not be bad, life is short Have no choice to come, nor to leaveGet your share in fair not in court Money comes and go, love stills in heart Love has no price, nor could buy Pocket sometimes empty, heart always full Fill it with love, make yourself high Think God every day to pave your way Say what to say, he judges your day About our share in this life , fate and destiny. Tow o'clock, knock, no openWhen it's got two o'clock, I'm waitingHis coming is near as the sunlightNot knocking on door, it's on my heart Legs are jumping, eyes eager to his sightWhat a toy, what a sweet in his bag His existence is the soul of our life Before other, before mother I hugCompete to get him before his wife But I was there when he is gone Someone blows him up and puts the light down All shout, no father, no hope, no moreMissing him bares life and darks my townThose who kill make me orphan and sad Steal my sweets, toys and lovely dad A child who was used to open home's door at two o'clock for his father. But his father was killed by violence in some explosion in Iraq.

A collection of flash fiction to celebrate the first anniversary of Great Flash Fiction on 29th March 2015.Eight stories from six of our authors: Maryann Holloway, Christine Brand, Becky Spence, Candida Spillard, Karen Storey & Namitha Varma.Stories include Alphabet Stories and Micro Fiction.Before she met Sean, all Gwen had to worry about was climbing the corporate ladder. Now she’s got to contend with breakups, crazy exes, a painful secret and a man dressed as a hotdog.If only Sean weren’t so good looking and kind. If only her heart would stick to the plans she’d made with so much care. If only the night sky weren’t so beautiful when you view it lying next to someone you love.

In this alternate Alice in Wonderland, a boy named Alex escapes his drunken Step-Father by entering the ridiculous, nonsensical land of Hunterland, filled with snowshoe hares, Indians, barbed wire and dirt roads.Alex, scared of his drunken Step-Father, seeks solace in the gun cabinet. Climbing in, he discovers a world with an elusive snowshoe hare whose pelt would make his Step-Father proud of him and maybe stop hitting him. Chasing the rabbit, he encounters an array of characters and nonsensical outcomes. This book is meant to be a play on Alice in Wonderland.

Norman's definitely dead. His dad fell out of the sky and flattened him. And as Norman didn't want any regular full-time employment before he died, he certainly doesn't want any now. Especially not here at The Universal Reincarnation Company. There's far too many filing cabinets and far too much paperwork. Not that it's the company's fault. The blame really lies with God. If He hadn't decided to close down Hell, then Heaven wouldn't have got too overcrowded and there would have been no need to build the extension. And until the extension is finished, the U.R.C. will just have to keep on recycling all those souls in the big queue. If your taste is for a tender romance, taut with passion and desire, love and betrayal, then this raging stonker of a novel, bursting out of its leather pants with sex, scandal, murder, mystery, suspense, drama, action, adventure and Mad Car Disease, probably won't be for you. Sorry.