A collection of 30 stories, varying in length, on a wide variety of subjects, mostly with a gently humorous tone.A collection of 30 short stories, including a dozen entries in the "Telegraph" competition of 2012 on varied themes and others previously published in "Pebbles on a Northern Shore"; one group on an eccentric rural community; another on a professional assassin with a conscience; dreams and fancies; a penalty of misplaced confidence; the odd bit of science fiction (definitely not of the "space western" type); a portrait linking mediaeval and modern romances; the friendship between an 18th-century aristocrat and his executioner; and the long-delayed fulfilment of a youthful crush.

Balance is required in all things. Good against evil, order with chaos and the Church and its Protectorate need the Taurans. War is their natural state and Pyrion the ultimate battleground. Follow the journey of Leftenant Geriond Devane as he is tested. Will he be found wanting as demons fight for his soul? Lines have been drawn, Champions chosen and let the die fall where they may.Bio: After suffering from a poor credit report for years, Mark Clayborne went on a mission to study everything he could on restoring his credit. Concluding the extensive research, he repaired his credit report and learned various hidden secrets on how to improve a bad credit file. Because of this no found tested knowledge, Mr. Clayborne helped over a hundred consumers repair their credit and take their financial life back. Now, he wants to share these strategies with the world and as a result HIDDEN CREDIT REPAIR SECRETS was created which has sold over 1000 copies as of today. Mark is a certified credit consultant with over 100 articles written in the area of credit repair. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. He also holds a paralegal diploma. He currently lives in sunny California with a beautiful wife and lovely daughter.

A long dense narrative poem set in a neo-decadent future. Portrays the tempestuous love affair of a cyber-enhanced woman and her wandering paramour. Rhysling Award Finalist 2002A long dense narrative poem set in a neo-decadent future. Portrays the tempestuous love affair of a cyber-enhanced woman and her wandering paramour. Rhysling Award Finalist 2002Bruce Boston lives in Ocala, Florida, once known as the City of Trees, with his wife, writer-artist Marge Simon, and the ghosts of two cats. He is the author of fifty books and chapbooks. His poetry and fiction have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, Pedestal, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and The Nebula Awards Showcase. One of the leading genre poets for more than a quarter century, Boston has won the Bram Stoker Award for Poetry, the Asimov's Readers Award, and the Rhysling Award, each a record number of times. He is the author of the dystopian SF novel The Guardener’s Tale (available as an ebook) and the sixties-counterculture novel Stained Glass Rain (forthcoming as an ebook), and has received a Pushcart Prize for Fiction.

Shady Hazy is a jack of all trades, of sorts. He'd do just about anything for the right amount of cash. He even did the odd hit if times were tough. than one person had snuffed it so Shady could pay the rent on time. He is also able to read people's thoughts, it's how he stays one step ahead of the game. Will his abilites be enough when he has to hunt down a criminal who can control minds?A wonderful opportunity presented itself in early May of 2012. Patti Larsen, a Prince Edward Island author, was going to be presenting at the Montague Regional High School. With Patti already travelling East of Charlottetown, she was more than willing to visit our school to work with some of our budding writers. A group of thirty-nine students from grades seven, eight, and nine were selected by their English teachers based on ability and interest level in writing to attend a writing workshop run by Patti.The writing workshop blossomed into an anthology of student stories. With Patti’s guiding hand, students have compiled an outstanding collection of short stories for your reading pleasure. It is hoped that through an opportunity such as this one students will have gained an insight into the process of writing a book or novel and perhaps consider story writing as a future career.I want to take this opportunity to thank Patti for giving up her time and energy to foster the writing spirit in our student body. She has committed a great deal of her own time and energy working with our students promoting her love for writing. Her passion for writing and the energy she brought to the student workshops is one of the main reasons this project was so successful. I would also like to thank Kevin Stonefield, our principal, and the entire Montague Intermediate staff for allowing our students time to take part in this writing project. The flexibility of our staff and willingness for them to allow students release time from other subject areas is a testament to their desire for student excellence.Finally, I would like to recognize the students for all of their contributions during this process: the initiative displayed creating their stories, their willingness to accept feedback, and ability to work as a team in the publication process. Without their creative ideas this process would not have been possible and I hope they learned as much about the process as I did.Sincerely yours,Mark QuinnTeacher-LibrarianMontague Intermediate School

When a colonist shuttle crashes on an uninhabited planet the desperate stowaway, that caused the crash, assumes the identity of the dead navigator to avoid being executed on sight. With a suspicious marshal onto her she needs to find the other crashed Navi capsule before he does. But even if she's lucky enough to beat the marshal to it, will the other navigator protect her stolen identity?The year is 2027 and the government has a place for Christian fundamentalists.The government says that Christian fundamentalists are mentally ill people, and must be helped. The week end is over, the family has attended an underground church home. The father warns the family to put their Bibles away in the nook under the stairs, but 15 year old Kristen Lund is in a hurry to get to her room to call her friend about Mondays school test. She forgets, and takes her small New Testament to school in her purse. Her hell on earth has just begun, as she is yanked away from her family, and taken to a place under Greenbrier Mountain.In her dark, and dank cell deep in the mountain her faith is tried and put to the test. A snail crawls slowly across her wall. This is not the place the government promised where the children would have horses and dogs to play with, her stomach heaves, but her hunger overcomes her as she takes the snail and puts it in her mouth and swallows. Her stomach revolts and she heaves up what little food remains.

A group of random strangers from around the world, including Dr. Jim O'Connell, reunite following an out-of-this-world alien experience. But something's changed...and now they must work together to protect the planet from a sinister and powerful threat decades in the making.Sweet, fat, theatrical Billy-Boy was never cut out to be a farmer, but as his father’s only son he’s obliged to try. The cows are wayward and the chores are gruelling, but Billy finds escape in a fantasy world. A place where the turnip paddock becomes a lunar landscape, a lavender bed jacket a slinky space suit, a cow’s tail a head of beautiful blonde hair, and where Billy can become Judy Robinson, heroine of TV’s 'Lost in Space'.But in an isolated conservative farming community in 1970s New Zealand, not everyone approves of Billy’s transformation. On the brink of adolescence, Billy is beginning to discover that growing up is far more complicated and confusing than he could ever have imagined. While the mysteries of sex confound him, emotions are unleashed which urge Billy to betray those closest to him.'50 Ways of Saying Fabulous' is a poignant and endearingly comic novel. Anyone who grew up in a small town, grew up feeling that they didn’t fit in, or simply grew up will find this book funny, touching and unforgettably evocative of childhood lost. Praise for '50 Ways of Saying Fabulous':'I loved this funny sad tale of growing up a sissy in New Zealand. Graeme Aitken proves that even the most extraordinary events can occur to wonderfully ordinary people. If I knew fifty ways of saying fabulous, I’d use them all to praise this charming first novel.’ EDMUND WHITE'Thoroughly engaging.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY'A funny but also achingly sad first novel'. OBSERVER'A sort of gay Adrian Mole ... There are laughs aplenty but also moments of agony ... Told with bare faced honesty, it is a warm, cruel, funny tale.' THE SUNDAY AGE'Touching and sad, '50 Ways of Saying Fabulous' also has some very funny moments.' THE TIMES'An entertainment, a gentle, poignant story of a fat boy who fantasises romance and glamour without yet having a name for what he is ... Aitken writes with a distinctive voice, one that is wonderfully evocative.' DENNIS ALTMAN, THE AGE'... an important work ... What Aitken has demonstrated fabulously is his skill in the art of telling a good story ... his honesty and fearlessness in confronting those squirmy adolescent secrets is to be admired.' CANBERRA TIMES

An unexplained phenomenon baffles the small town of Oak Ridge as several townspeople who were previously thought to be dead have suddenly returned. When others go missing, the town becomes divided as people blame the returned for the mysterious disappearances.The Cry Bear tells of a child’s first day at school. Melissa is excited. She has been looking forward to starting Reception Class for a long time. She is wearing her new uniform and her very own lunch box. She feels very grown up. Then suddenly she doesn't want her Mummy to leave. She doesn't want to have to go into the classroom all by herself. She wants to go home.A little girl called Riana makes friends and soon Melissa has forgotten all about feeling sad. Riana seems to know everything about school. Melissa asks her about a curtained area at the back of the classroom through which she can see a large bear sitting on a comfy chair. Riana tells her that is the comfy corner. Melissa is none the wiser. Just before home time a naughty little boy called Trevor rips up a painting she has done to take home to Mummy. Melissa starts to cry. She is taken to the comfy corner to meet Bumble, the Cry Bear. Soon all her tears are gone.

Immortal clones enslave humanity!When scientists invent machines that extend life indefinitely, world leaders begin working together to control world populations and ensure their own power.One worker drone named Thirty-Seven must fight the system to keep himself from becoming a scapegoat. His inflitration of the world's most corrupt culture threatens to spark a thrilling revolution.IMMORTAL CLONES ENSLAVE HUMANITY!When scientists invent machines that extend life indefinitely, world leaders begin working together to control world populations and ensure their own power.One worker drone named Thirty-Seven must fight the system to keep himself from becoming a scapegoat in the world's most corrupt society. He fights against a the whims of a desert prison dictator named Satan and gets mixed up with Satan's wife, Suicide.Through harrowing tribulations and gripping battles, Thirty-Seven evolves from a naive servant to fearless leader of a massive pack of fierce disciples. He joins a secret society and learns the truth about how immortality was invented. Coming to terms with the realities of surviving on his own, Thirty-Seven grows and evolves into a wise and powerful revolutionary.This post -apocalyptic dystopian thriller will keep you guessing. Lots of surprises and twists.

"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring…A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean. A gifted storyteller and consummate historian, Winchester sets the great blue sea's epic narrative against the backdrop of mankind's intellectual evolution, telling not only the story of an ocean, but the story of civilization. Fans of Winchester's Krakatoa, The Man Who Loved China, and The Professor and the Madman will love this masterful, penetrating, and resonant tale of humanity finding its way across the ocean of history.

Earth has transformed overnight: The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece and Rome have returned to Earth -- with all their awesome powers intact. War on any scale was outlawed, along with boom-and-bust economic cycles, and prudery -- but no change was more startling than the face of New York, where the Empire State Building has become the Tower of Zeus! In this altered world, William Forrester is an acolyte of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and therefore a teacher in this case of a totally altered history . . . but the fate that awaits him is a thing even more fantastic than the circumstances we've described!

It was a power game, the old ones would say. Once caught in the glamour of flickering lights, there was no way to notice the danger until it was too late.Human character may be the most difficult to understand topic in the world. I have come across many people with diverse qualities. Some of their qualities are much above average which may put them at par with any great personalities of the world. But the same person may have a worst habit which may put him at par with a criminal behind the bar. In my poems, I am trying to portray some contradictions observed by me in human characters in dealing with people in my day to day life. However, characters are fictitious and far from reality.

Dan Sherman goes from a History Teacher to a Space Guardian in one day. He is transformed into one of the most powerful beings in the Multiverse.Dan Sherman had to take early retirement through bereavement. He started to have lucid dreams about a tall man who was beckoning him go to a certain place. He soon realized that this wasn't an everyday event. It was to be the start of a once in a lifetime chance to be a Space Guardian. How will he cope with powerful entities who will try to destroy him at turn?

A crew in space explores a distant planet, detected only through its toxic gas levels. The previous society killed themselves through war. Upon entering the planet's gravity they are rammed by debris and forced to land on the poisonous surface. They believe it was intentional, and set out to learn who brought them down. Finding only a single area free of poison, and at its center the last droid.In Speak 2 U Soon, Julie Price’s big brother drowns under mysterious circumstances: Uncle Eric takes Davey out in a boat knowing full well Davey is not only terrified of water, but he also can’t swim. It is her brother’s death that is Julie’s psychological undoing. Two other teens, Raven and Jorge, each suffering from their own losses, meet Julie in group therapy. Fast friends, they uncover discrepancies in Eric’s story. After enlisting Davey’s friend, Vince, who was on the boat the night Davey died, the four make a final climatic discovery.

Darclonians want to turn all humans into a “Walking Black Hole” (weapon of mass destruction) to take over this universe and then the next. Jaden’s BIO-engineered body is the key to perfecting this weapon.A Dark Energy Knight touches down on Earth and proves to be an unstoppable force against humanity. An enemy with the powers of a blackhole is an evil only Jaden can face.The first female president proves her self as a fighter and leader for her country. She battles it out against robots in an exo-skeleton suit and proves that a female can kick ass if she has too.Darclonians want to turn all humans into a “Walking Black Hole” (weapon of mass destruction) to take over this universe and then the next. Jaden’s BIO-engineered body is the key to perfecting this weapon.A Dark Energy Knight touches down on Earth and proves to be an unstoppable force against humanity. An enemy with the powers of a blackhole is an evil only Jaden can face.Jaden can feel the Darclonian mothership sitting behind Earth’s moon waiting to take over human minds and body as the countdown gets closer to 0. The nanomoles in human brains are keeping them walking around like zombies and making them prisoners in their own body.Jaden feels an evil force inside of him spreading around his body turning him into something else. Jaden wants answers to what he is turning into and wants to find out what the Darclonians want with him and humans. He hitches a ride from on top of the Taipai 101 building and is beamed onto the mothership. Jaden is shocked at what he sees humans are being used for. Jaden has some tough choices to make as he meets the evil Dark Energy Queen of manipulation. The life of every human being is in Jaden’s hands.

Davina Briggs is a 17 year old, facing the Zombie apocalypse. She is well prepared because of her prepper father. But, is she prepared to be alone in the fort. Zombies won't be the only thing Davina confronts. How will she handle seeing humans dwindle to a more animalistic state? Humans will be as deadly as any undead.My name is Davina Briggs. I'm seventeen and the Zombie Apocalypse just started. At least, I think it has, watching viral YouTube videos of recently dead, standing up, sometimes missing an arm, or with their entrails falling to the ground... Is a pretty good sign of the end of the world.The government might be calling it a virus. I don't know how far this virus will spread. I don't know if it will ever stop. All I know is, it sure doesn't look good. I lost contact with my Dad a few days ago. He is on a business trip out in Denver... Far from the hills of Tennessee, where we live. He promised me, that he would make it home. I pray that he does. Dad is all I have...I'm not going to cry. Nope. Not going to do it. My Dad is a prepper... To my friends and family that snickered at us, or outright laughed at us. Who is laughing now?I'm starting to pack things up and move them to the bunker, which isn't even a bunker. It's a fortification on top of our three car garage... The fort. There is a small home up there with all we will need. My Dad thinks of everything. From an armory to medicine and solar power. I'm sure I, and hopefully we will be okay from the zombies and anything else that could happen. The power is flickering. I'll have to go up to the fort soon... Pull up the ladder and hunker down. Please let my Dad make it home. I know I can make it by myself, my Dad taught me well, but I don't want to be alone for the end of the world!This is my journal of the zombie apocalypse... Hopefully someone will be able to read it.