This is a story told from the point of view of a young boy that describes growing up with his twin sister, psychic mother, and his neurotic, supersticious father, and an incident they endured with one of their neighbors that the towns people referred to as The Bird Lady. A very old woman that many accused of being a witch. There is also a black cat that plays a prominent role in the family's livesThis is a story told from the point of view of a young boy that describes growing up with his twin sister, psychic mother, and his neurotic, supersticious father, and an incident they endured with one of their neighbors that the towns people referred to as The Bird Lady. A very old woman that many accused of being a witch. There is also a black cat that plays a prominent role in the family's lives. This is a very odd little story.

Shambles is a collection of quick reads. Here you will find short stories, silly verse and something for the young at heart.Shambles is a collection of quick reads. Here you will find short stories, silly verse and something for the young at heart. Two satirical accounts are also offered under the title "History, What Really Happened?"

Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she’s been fired as a magazine editor, and she only wants to go to her parents’ summer house, The Nutshell, in Keene’s Harbor, Michigan, and make a Bed and Breakfast inn. Matt Culhane needs a spy in his brewery for a saboteur, and Kate is new in town. But Kate despises beer and nobody trusts her.

It's finally time for Jane to go outside! Remi soon realises that showing her the ropes is not as easy as he thought it would be when they find themselves in one hilarious scenario after another. Allison is back as well...and this time with an offer that can't be refused! And, a mysterious presence, yet to reveal themselves, seems to be tracking Jane.It's finally time for Jane to go outside! Remi soon realises that showing her the ropes is not as easy as he thought it would be when they find themselves in one hilarious scenario after another. Allison is back as well...and this time with an offer that can't be refused! And, a mysterious presence, yet to reveal themselves, seems to be tracking Jane. Will Jane choose the right outfits? Will Allison find out who Jane really is? Are they all going to go to dinner together? Find out in Jane 8086 Part Three!

Story #1: The Zombie Who Liked Fred Astaire - A zombie desires to dance like his hero, Fred Astaire, but first he must find a willing teacher. Story #2: The Goldfish Who Contemplated Life - A sad goldfish dreams of escaping his fish bowl so he can fight zombies, eliminate erectile dysfunction, and meet Justin Bieber.It is the year 2049. John Ennis, a writer and political analyst, finds himself in Medina Hurriya, capital city of Algharb. His goal is a new media series for Global Focus Report, but he quickly finds himself dangerously ensnarled in a struggle against Algharb’s oppressive regime.The story has its roots in the early part of the twenty first century. During that period Europe and more particularly France had entered a period of intense transformation. In addition to the wave of continued immigration from Muslim countries, the sons and daughters of previous generations of immigrants reached maturity. The Muslim population of France reached eleven million. Islam had replaced Protestantism to a very large extent as the second religion of the country.Successive governments had encouraged or condoned immigration, without looking further than their next election, without questioning the changes that were taking place in the world, without taking the decisions necessary to integrate the new arrivals into the mainstream population.The result was a gradual radicalisation of attitudes of both the recent arrivals and the existing population towards each other. Most immigrants felt excluded or discriminated against and many were easily converted to the attitudes of their co-religionists in their countries of origin, who in turn were conditioned by events in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, where Islam was in conflict with the West. This novel was originally written in 1991 and I have altered relatively little in the story as it is told here. Many of the scenarios have come to be: a Middle Eastern Caliphate, the massive flight of refugees towards Europe, the rise of right wing political parties, encroaching Islam, the spread of communitarism, the retreat of the UK from the EU, and the threat of disintegration of both. The politicians of Europe and the USA are largely to blame for the situation that exists in the Middle East today and the paths that lay ahead for France the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe are fraught with danger.

The Ministry of Excuses is a secret agency, so secret even they don't know it exists!MI.E. will solve any problem, however big, with a little excuse!It is run by just an old eccentric Professor, but demand for excuses is high so he recruits a young assistant Jack...This is the first book in the MI.E. trilogy.It tells how Jack first lands a job in the Secret Agency M.I.E, and the problems that he and the Professor face, and solve!A hilarious and intelligent read for any age group.

In the late 21st century, overpopulation is a problem. There's also the problem with mental health. In one particularly unusual asylum, there is Dr. Born (psychiatric intern) and Dr. Bloch (sexologist). And then there's Jones. You have not met anyone like Jones. You see, it's not every day that patients claim they are from Mars. And it's not every day they come and go as they please.In the late 21st century, overpopulation is a problem. There's also the problem with mental health. In one particularly unusual asylum, there is Dr. Born (psychiatric intern) and Dr. Bloch (sexologist). And then there's Jones. You have not met anyone like Jones. You see, it's not every day that patients claim they are from Mars. And it's not every day they come and go as they please. A free science fiction story filled with loads of satire (and lots of oddities that will make you shake your head) by speculative fiction author, Lawrence Dagstine.

Set to the music and lyrics and music of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, this is the story of Theodore the disenfranchised rabbit; working tirelessly on the moon to dig a hole from one side to the other to let the sun through; playing in a mundane rock band and having sex rampantly but without much zest.Ezekiel Quain has learned over the years that love and family are nothing to be depended on. After standing strong next to his mom through her cancer, she ran off, leaving Zeke, his dad and little sister to struggle with the leftover medical bills, and a bad taste in Zeke’s mouth about counting on anybody. His relationship with his father is strained, and the only person he cares for is his little sister, Cindy. With looks, attitude, and words, Zeke keeps everyone at arm’s length.Evangeline Parker has it all: money, beauty, brains, and the perfect boyfriend, Tony. What everyone doesn’t see is that she’s trapped, and has been for two years. She lives every day in fear, hiding the fact that Tony isn’t the perfect man everyone thinks that he is. She walks a tightrope, trying to reconcile the Tony of the past with the Tony of the present, and to never, ever upset him. Terrified of anyone finding out the truth, she doesn’t get too close to anyone and has been struggling through the past two years alone.When Zeke stumbles upon Tony and Evie one night and learns of her secret, their worlds begin to collide in a way neither of them expected. Before he can stop himself, Zeke finds himself stepping uninvited into Evie’s life, and urges her to tell someone. Evie refuses, terrified of the repercussions from Tony. Not even sure why he cares, Zeke can only watch from a distance, until disaster strikes and Evie’s secret comes to light, and they are both forced to take action.

Death is a grim reality in the Philippine countryside. For Buck Stardust, it's even worse when he tries to bury the body.Duel at Strolling Ponds is the second installment in The Tales of Katsume Shogoro, masterless samurai, and last surviving member of his family. Shogoro’s quest is to restore his clan’s lost honor, and undo the shame that burdens his soul.Picking up where A Ronin’s Honor left off, Shogoro receives a reply from his nemesis, Matsuo Kaname, regarding his challenge to a warrior’s duel. A date and time is set for the fateful meeting. The location is the Strolling Ponds Garden.Elsewhere, an army of unknown size and intent marches towards Shinano Province.

In this second installment of Jordan Sonnenblick's Dodger and Me series, the humor runs high, the friendships run deep, and Dodger continues to run on French fries and good intentions. What would you do if your best friend was: Still imaginary (and still an oversize blue chimp with major junk-food issues)? Nominating you to run for class president – against the most popular kid in your grade? In charge of your campaign posters…all blue, of course, including your face!? Planning a magical secret weapon to help you win (not fair and square, right?)? Driving you crazy?!?! Now you have an idea of what Willie Ryan's life is like as his adventures with Dodger continue. The last thing Willie wants to do is run for class president, but both his running mate, Lizzie, and Dodger won't let him quit – and have their own ideas of how to run a campaign, especially against James Beeks, Mr. Popularity.

Clarity Nice attends a personal development course at Herbaline, a company reputed for its aggressive sales methods and a secretive hierarchical structure. Befriending Herbaline emotician Coley Manglove, Clarity gets hired to work on the company's secret project, an emotion scale used to elicit sales and label Herbaline employees conforming or rebellious, unrightfully deciding promotion prospects.Teleoperator Clarity Nice visits the headquarters of Herbaline in Orange County, a herbal, diet and weight prevention company, known for its aggressive marketing methods. Seeing on a corporate chart that the president of the company, Lyle Matchett, has never been seen and is not shown anywhere in the annual report of the company, she decides to explore the company's premises afterhours, and stumbles upon an area inside the company building labeled emotician office. Emotician Coley Manglove finds Clarity in her office and reveals to her the secretive project that she has been told to carry out by the head of human studies at Herbaline: A scale of emotion that can be used to describe the personality of employees and to elicit sales from a customer, even those reticent to buy Herbaline products.Clarity and her friend Lanai sign an agreement to work for Herbaline, with their duties undefined and their compensation contingent on dubious aspects of their performance. They board a plane for Cayman where the company has a sales training center, led by Herbaline motivational guru Coleman Cartmel. After looking at the poor sales performance of Clarity and Lanai, Manglove decides to send both of them to the Herbaline language facility in Palm Springs, where a company employee, Ambi Mivel, is being held against her will, because she shows signs of consistent company language refusal of the company's official sales language, 'Herbaspeak'.At the facility, Clarity gets into the 'antisale' area, the room where Mivel is being held against her will. Clarity realizes that Cartmel is manipulating the emotions of Herbaline employees, using an emotion scale that measures human emotions, assigning a subjective 'emotional tendency' number to each employee based on personality, which is used to promote or criticise the worker. The emotion scale links to a brain wave technology device known as the inducer, to prevent or cut off from employee thinking, any emotion that has to do with negative emotions, like impatience, hostility, animosity or open, overt disagreement with company sales policy. Signing off on a relational agreement with Cartmel, Clarity leaves the facility with the recluse, going to a relational board house in Nevada, 'Honey Ranch', belonging to Herbaline, in order to denounce the illegal policies of Herbaline, leave the place, and find their human blueprint, measured by the emotion scale, and shared with a shady group pulling the strings of Herbaline, known as the Privilege club.

The tale-of-the-tape is just about even. It may even favor the fairer sex.The tale-of-the-tape is just about even. It may even favor the fairer sex. Benny is short, scrawny--lazy yet smug. He's a typical entitled, young male. When he sees Alice, he realizes he's never wanted anything more. Alice, however, isn't what she appears.Fresh from her latest romantic disaster, she's out with the girls, slamming shots to kill the pain. A guy across the room reminds her of her ex, and now he's headed her way. A short story - 5000 wordsWarnings: adult language and violence

The Cold War's boiling over. Global tensions are near the breaking point. So what's the perfect assignment for a super-spy who hasn't slept since the Korean conflict? A fun-filled trip to the Montreal World's Fair! The adorable little girl he's escorting—who, under different circumstances, would be sitting on the Lithuanian throne—can hardly contain her excitement, but it isn't all playtime for Evan Tanner. Some mysterious disappearances, apparently linked to the fair's Cuban exhibition, need to be looked into. Keeping his mind on business, however, won't be easy after an insatiable lovely in a tiger skin falls into Tanner's arms, and a mother lode of dangerous drugs falls into his lap. But the biggest, deadliest suprise is the terrorist plot Tanner's tumbling into, and he'll have to think and act quickly to prevent the visiting queen of England from being blown to smithereens.

Who says life after confessing an attraction gets easy? So when shy librarian Sally Regal finally confesses her crush to Instructor Zell Dincht, how exactly will that affect her life? And who will change more?*(this is a work of fan-fiction, events take place after those of Final Fantasy 8)Who says life after confessing an attraction gets easy? The level of difficulty and challenge only changes, along with the playing field. So, when shy librarian Sally Regal finally confesses that she likes Instructor Zell Dincht as more than friends, how exactly will that affect her life?Zell has always been the class clown, or the compulsively-honest freshly-out-of-Garden graduate doing his best to keep up with the rest. Now he's found a girl that looks at him differently than any other person he's known. Will it change who he is?And who will change more?*(this is a work of fan-fiction, events take place after those of Final Fantasy 8)

The life of Spokane Indian Thomas Builds-the-Fire irrevocably changes when blues legend Robert Johnson miraculously appears on his reservation and passes the misfit storyteller his enchanted guitar. Inspired by this gift, Thomas forms Coyote Springs, an all-Indian Catholic band who find themselves on a magical tour that leads from reservation bars to Seattle and New York--and deep within their own souls.