On a hill, reared back from a northern lake, stood a weather-beaten farmhouse, creaking in a heavy winter blizzard. It was an old-fashioned, many-pillared structure. The earmarks of hard winters and the fierce suns of summer were upon it. From the main road it was scarcely discernible, settled, as it was, behind a row of pine trees, which in the night wind beat and tossed mournfully. In the front room, which faced the porch, sat a man,—a tall, thin man, with straight, long jaws, and heavy overhanging brows. With moody eyes he was staring into the grate fire, a fearful expression upon his face. He straightened his shoulders, got up, and paced the floor back and forth, stopping now and then to listen expectantly. Then again he seated himself to wait. Several times, passionately insistent, he shook his head, and it was as if the refusal were being made to an invisible presence. Suddenly he lifted his face as the sound of a weird, wild wail was borne to him, mingling with the elf-like moaning of the wind. He leaned forward slightly, listening intently. From somewhere above him pleading notes from a violin were making the night even more mournful. A change came over the thin face. “My God!” he exclaimed aloud. “Who’s playing like that?” He crossed the room and jerked the bell-rope roughly. In a few moments the head of a middle-aged colored woman appeared at the door. “Did you tell my daughter I wanted to see her?” questioned the man. “No, sah, I didn’t. When you got here she wasn’t in. Then she slid to the garret afore I saw ’er. Now she’s got to finish her fiddlin’ afore I tell ’er you’re here. I never bother Miss Jinnie when she’s fiddlin’, sah.” The old woman bowed obsequiously, as if pleading pardon. “Yes, sir; Jinnie, for short, sir,” answered the girl, with a slight inclination of her head. Awkwardly, and with almost an embarrassed manner, she walked in front of the grate to the chair pointed out to her. The man glanced sharply at the strongly-knit young figure, vibrant with that vital thing called “life.” He sighed and dropped back limply. There followed a lengthy silence, until at last Thomas Singleton shifted his feet and spoke slowly, with a grim setting of his teeth. “I have much to say to you. Sit back farther in your chair and don’t stare at me so.”

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), was an English novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau (1898). These works, "minor classics" of English literature, are set in the contemporaneous fictional country of Ruritania and spawned the genre known as Ruritanian romance.Zenda has inspired many adaptations, most notably the 1937 Hollywood movie of the same name. Hope wrote 32 volumes of fiction over the course of his lifetime and he had a large popular following. In 1896 he published The Chronicles of Count Antonio, followed in 1897 by a tale of adventure set on a Greek island, entitled Phroso.He went on a publicity tour of the United States in late 1897, during which he impressed a New York Times reporter as being somewhat like Rudolf Rassendyll: a well-dressed Englishman with a hearty laugh, a soldierly attitude, a dry sense of humour, "quiet, easy manners," and an air of shrewdness.

In nineteenth-century England, a powerful sorcerer and King of the Goblins chooses Kate, the elder of two orphan girls recently arrived at their ancestral home, Hallow Hill, to become his bride and queen...

Young and beautiful Violetta may be of royal blood, but her kingdom is in shambles when she arrives in London on a mysterious mission. Her journey has been long and her adventures many, but it is not until she meets the playwright William Shakespeare that she gets to tell the entire story from beginning to end. Violetta and her comic companion, Feste, have come in search of an ancient holy relic that the evil Malvolio has stolen from their kingdom. But where will their remarkable quest--and their most unusual story--lead? In classic Celia Rees style, it is an engrossing journey, full of political intrigue, danger, and romance. This wholly original story is spun from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and includes both folly and suspense that would make the Bard proud.

Cora Marsland wrote this popular book that continues to be widely read today despite its age.

This eBook contains three short stories that involve angels, demons, and panthers. Corrigan's Mate is about a female demon hunter who finds out that she has been living a lie. The Panther's Stolen Mate is about an alpha panther finding his mate and trying to get her to accept him. Claimed By A Panther is about a female human encountering a panther and having to make a choice.Not all of us are scarred, abused, and stained, but some of us, because of a decision we made early in life, are destined to play a part of life we do not wish to play. Then again we might be living a life of contradiction. A life that we live only because we were never given a chance. We were called names and told we would never amount to anything. We were told this so often that we finally believed it was true and have given in to the lie. Then there is the life that shows the marks of anger, bitterness, and rage. This life does not diminish the other two lives, this life simply shows the scars, the battle wounds, and the ugliness of life. All three lives are scarred and abused. All three carry with them the hurt and anger of years. All three touch each of us in some way. But it need not end there.

Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, she sees the difference between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends-or even more. When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra . . . help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy?

Charles M. Horton wrote this popular book that continues to be widely read today despite its age.

Leerie is a book by Ruth Sawyer, who is best known for her books "The Way of the Storyteller," "Roller Skates," and "The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween." Born in Boston in 1880, Ruth Sawyer was an American writer of children's books.. She studied folklore and storytelling at Columbia University, where she earned a B.S. in 1904. Ruth Sawyer's first published work was The Primrose Ring in 1915, of which a movie was made in 1917 (starring Loretta Young). Her best-known book is Roller Skates, which won her the Newbery Medal in 1937. Like Roller Skates, a number of Sawyer's books are autobiographical accounts of her childhood and reveal an interesting perspective on American life at the end of the 19th century. These include The Year of Jubilo and Daddles, The Story of a Plain Hound-Dog. Sawyer also wrote non-autobiographical novels for children, such as The Enchanted Schoolhouse and The Year of the Christmas Dragon , and a scholarly work, The Way of the Storyteller. She published a number of collections of folktales, such as This Way To Christma s(which featured an illustration by a young Norman Rockwell) and My Spain: A Storyteller's Year of Collecting (1967). In 1965, Ruth Sawyer was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for her work.

The shocking tale of a felon, the woman who loved him, and an unspeakable crime--from the award-winning author of Missy's Murder. This electrifying chronicle recreates the chilling events that led up to the murder of Carol Montecalvo and takes readers inside the courtroom for the shocking trial of her husband Dan who, four years later, still professes his innocence. Photographs.

From New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson comes Outta the Bag the hilarious prequel story to her upcoming novel Me, Myself and Why, the first in a brand new series. In Outta the Bag, Clive Better—the better-than-best plumber in town—attends a speed dating event where—instead of attempting to score phone numbers—he recounts his recent run-in with a freaked-out cat and a sexy-but-psychotic woman that has left him confused, scratched up, and rather aroused.  

If you want to survive, you have to follow the rules… Mikayla Morgan is wanted for her mother's murder. She's been on the run for almost a year now, avoiding not only the police but the real killer. Tired of running and desperate to clear her name, she breaks one of the most sacred rules: never return to the scene of the crime. Every bounty hunter on the Eastern Seaboard is after the Morgan girl—but Shaun Denver and his partner snagged her. She's a piece of work, and Shaun can't decide if he wants to kiss her or kill her. When things take a sharp turn south, Shaun does the only thing he can think of to keep her close—he handcuffs them together. As the danger mounts and the killer closes in, the chemistry between them threatens to explode. Shaun and Kayla will need to break all the rules if they hope to get out of this alive.

Mary Freeman was a prominent American author in the late 19th century, and historical novels like Pembroke are still in print today.

A.E.W. Mason was a 20th century British politician, but today he's best known for the classic The Four Feathers, a story about the virtues and vices of wartime.