Every wish has a price.This short story is also available in "Infinite Dimensions," a new anthology by Derek Powell.Tom Swanson, new owner of a genuine magic lamp, learns the hard way that every wish has a price.This short story is also available in "Infinite Dimensions," a new anthology by Derek Powell.

Sometimes the line between fact and fantasy becomes distorted and blurred. How do we determine on which side of that line our perceptions belong? Are we really seeing the things we believe we are seeing - or are we in fact, truly insane?Astoria: home of the Brethren, a place of legend, learning, and Truth, and secrets that cannot be told. The Lady thought she knew everything that passed within the walls of Astoria and most of that which happened in the wider world, but there are some secrets to which even she is not privy. What must be hidden at any cost? Why must she remain ignorant of mysterious happenings within her own keep? Can she trust those who would intentionally hide things from her?Discover a boy with a destiny he refuses to accept, a servant that dares defy the Lady to her face, a book of tales few can read, inexplicable comings and goings, and adventures beyond count. Unicorns, dragons, griffins, and other fantastic creatures all have their part while the Truth lies within grasp, waiting only to be discovered.

An unlikely workplace hero finds the courage to tackle the office bully...After a corporate takeover that results in new management and his demotion, Ross is biding his time until he retires. Unfit and unhappy that the lift in the building has been out of order for longer than necessary, he decides to confront his new boss, Ernestine, a cold woman brought in to manage staff layoffs.Desperate to make Ernestine understand that the lift is a symbol of change (and not for the better), he commits an act of defiance that both redeems and costs him...If you've ever been downsized, restructured, mergered, redeployed or retrenched (and who hasn't these days?) then this short story—a 21st Century metaphor in the form of an office drama—is for you.You'll cheer for Ross—a most unlikely hero—as he finally finds the courage to finally say what he thinks.And who knows? This short read might be the inspiration you need to break free from the shackles of your own work drama!

Kristen's life gets more complicated as she deals with losing the only man she's really ever loved....her father, only to find out that almost everything she has ever known was a lie. Her only ally as she's running to save her life from someone trying to kill her is her father's neighbor, an ex-police officer and writer, who knows just how to get under Kristen's skin.Kristen's life gets more complicated as she deals with losing the only man she's really ever loved....her father, only to find out that almost everything she has ever known was a lie. Her only ally as she's running to save her life from someone trying to kill her is her father's neighbor, an ex-police officer and writer, who knows just how to get under Kristen's skin. Circumstances push the two together and they learn that they are more compatible than they first thought. This book is a novella, or about 27,000 words, and is filled with love, passion, intrigue and mystery.Sample Preview: Although it was a beautiful autumn day, it felt more like spring as Kristen Casey walked down the sidewalk. The only real difference was that the trees had shed their normal shades of green for more bold and brilliant ambers, oranges and reds. Kristen passed an elderly couple who gave her a sympathetic smile, which she politely returned. It was odd that a place so beautifully landscaped couldn’t be more appreciated by its visitors. The lawn had all been freshly mowed and the scent of fresh-cut grass was in the air. Kristen found herself transported briefly back in time to when she was in elementary school. She would walk from her father’s house everyday to school. For a short-cut, she would cut through an apartment complex where at least twice a week, they were cutting their grass. The smell, to her, meant that spring had arrived. Towards the end of the school year, she would always be so restless because all she wanted to do was be outside, where she could enjoy all that nature offered her. She’d give anything to be that naïve, playfully restless girl once more. But, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was twenty-eight, and had learned the hard way that life wasn’t just full of sunshine and rainbows. And nothing demonstrated that better than where she was right now. Even though she was surrounded by sunshine, a bright blue sky, freshly mowed lawn and well manicured topiaries, she was also surrounded by pain and sorrow. Kristen looked around. She had a habit of reading the names and messages on the carved pieces of stone. She could only imagine how many lives were affected by all of the names before her. “I’m here, Dad,” she said as she placed the flowers she had been carrying next to her recently deceased father’s headstone. Be sure to sign up for the free newsletter at PorterlanceBook.com to find out about all the great releases we offer by Rory Chambers and our other best-selling authors, like M.D. James, Matt Zachary, James McCullough, and John Green. Books by Rory Chambers:Dangerous Reunion (Book 1: Class of ’92 Series)Surviving Las Vegas (Book 2: Class of ’92 Series)Secret Obsessions (Book 3: Class of ’92 Series)Class of ’92 Series (All 3 Books)Steel Glances (Book 1: Rocky Mountain Novella Series)Identity Crisis (Book 2: Rocky Mountain Novella Series)Legally Comatose (Book 3: Rocky Mountain Novella Series)Mountain Novella Series (All 3 Books)

Antique dealer and gypsy Roman Grey is picked to guard the royal crown of Hungary during an exhibition at St. Patrick's Cathedral. While guarding it from those who would take it, he uncovers a century's old secret about the crown.

The Evans family make it their mission to destroy Christian influence in the United States through wars, protests, and government tyranny in this first novel of seven in The End Times Saga.Book 1 of The End Times Saga.Times of Turmoil is book 1 of 7 in the Christian fiction series, The End Times Saga.In this first novel in The End Times Saga, we follow how the Evans family gained their riches and eventually their power to influence events in the United States. We see important events that the Evans family gets themselves involved in: such as the return of the Israelites to Israel, the assassination of President Kennedy, the terrorism of 9/11, and eventually events that lead to government tyranny in the United States with the sole purpose of destroying Christianity and its influence in the United States.

Timothy Stoddard is a shy, stuttering, young boy who meets a girl his age named Arabella. Arabella knows things that haven’t yet happened, and performs some neat tricks such as disappearing.Timothy Stoddard is a shy, stuttering, young boy who meets a girl his age named Arabella. Arabella knows things that haven’t yet happened, and performs some neat tricks such as disappearing.On a farm in Nebraska Eddie Verboom unearths a demonic-looking jade idol. Upon touching it a voice speaks to Eddie inside his head, calls himself “The friend behind your eyes,” and promises him wealth and power if he does what he says, starting with moving to Sacramento, where reports of the SacTown Slayer, a serial killer, are dominating the airwaves.

When Brandy Silver picks up her friend from a party, she doesn't expect to be forcibly drugged—or pursued by a demonic wraith. What she saw makes Brandy a target for a dangerous magical underworld. In order to save her, Thaimon has gone mad, and if Brandy can't catch him nobody knows where the killing spree will end.When Brandy Silver picks up her friend from a party, she doesn't expect to be forcibly drugged—or pursued by a demonic wraith. Now she's witness to a bliss den that the police pointedly ignore and, worse, the drug can be deadly.What she saw makes Brandy a target for a dangerous magical underworld and at the heart of a mystery no one else wants revealed. In order to save her, Thaimon has gone mad, and if Brandy can't catch him nobody knows where the killing spree will end. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Wild Hunt is the tenth and final episode of Season 1 of the Blissed series. There are plans for 10 seasons, with about 10 episodes per season, each episode about 10,000 words long. To catch every episode, please sign up for my newsletter.Hope you enjoy Wild Hunt.Nicolette

Control was the word Dr Toby Harper lived by. She strove to keep her life in order, her ER in order. But no one could have been prepared for the man she admits one quiet night to the Springer Hospital. Delirious and in critical condition, he barely responds to treatment. And then he disappears without trace. The subsequent search leads Toby to a second patient with the same infection. And it reveals an unsettling twist - the infection can only be spread through direct tissue exchange. Soon Toby's on a trail that winds from a pregnant sixteen-year-old prostitute to an unexpected tragedy in her own home. Only then does she discover the unthinkable: a terrifying and deadly epidemic is about to be unleashed ...

An amoral young tramp.  A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband.  A problem that has only one grisly solution--a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve. First published in 1934 and banned in Boston for its explosive mixture of violence and eroticism, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir. It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America's bleak underside, and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Louis Pinell, the recently apprehended "Icepick Prowler," freely admits to having slain seven young women nine years ago -- but be swears it was a copycat who killed Barbara Ettinger Matthew Scudder believes him. But the trail to Ettinger's true murderer is twisted, dark and dangerous. . . and even colder than the almost decade-old corpse the p. i. is determined to avenge.

1888 and the SS.Liverpool is sailing from Durban to Southampton. On board is Jaak, fleeing the British gallows for two murders and wanted by the Russian Army. Also on board is a RussianSecret Service Officer who discovers who he is. The first story is free to introduce the characters and plot for more stories.1888.It began with a casual conversation between two bored passengers during a long sea voyage from South Africa to England. Dr. Grant, a British surgeon returning from India explains to Count Peter Evdokimoff, a Russian Nobleman the advantages of using hypnosis in place of an anesthetic during surgery. A few days later a fight breaks out below decks leaving one man dead and his killer seriously injured. Dr. Grant requests the assistance of the Count as he believes the injured man is speaking Russian. The Count agrees to assist, and he visits the patient. But Evdokimoff is no ordinary Count, he is a high ranking officer of the Russian Secret Service, the Okhrana, on his way to London to find the man who is funding Anti-Russian Jewish extremists. And he discovers that the injured man is no ordinary passenger, he is a Circassian with a Russian brand on his shoulder. The brand of a high-security Russian Island prison where convicted prisoners only go to be executed and none have ever escaped. Evdokimoff believes him to be a war criminal, "the butcher of Kokand, a ruthless killer, who was wanted by the Russian Army. When Grant jokingly offers to teach the Count's assistant Gurin to hypnotise him for surgery, Evdokimoff willingly agrees and the patient known only as Jaak, is tricked into allowing it. As Evdokimoff watches Jaak fall into a heavy trance and allow himself to be manipulated like a marionette to Gurin's every whim he realises that he has a perfect scapegoat to use in London and formulates a plan to use Jaak to draw out the dissidents. But Jaak has left a trail of bodies behind him in South Africa and Mikael, the brother of one of the victims is on his way to London to kill him.

Back on the job after an involuntary leave of absence, LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is ready for a challenge. But his first case is a little more than he bargained for. It starts with the body of a Hollywood producer in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce, shot twice in the head at close range - what looks like "trunk music," a Mafia hit. But the LAPD's organized crime unit is curiously uninterested, and when Harry follows a trail of gambling debts to Las Vegas, the case suddenly becomes more complex - and much more personal. A rekindled romance with an old girlfriend opens new perspectives on the murder, and he begins to glimpse a shocking triangle of corruption and collusion. Yanked off the case, Harry himself is soon the one being investigated. But only a bullet can stop Harry when he's searching for the truth . . .

“Hilarious….Strange and risky….A right-on, pitch perfect novel, with wide social scope, comic genius, page-burning storytelling magic, and juicy characters who wrench your heart and gut.” —Washington Post Book World A character so outrageous he could only have come from the ingenious imagination of Elmore Leonard, lewd, lecherous, law-bending Florida jurist Judge Robert “Maximum Bob” Gibbs has been judged guilty by a grudge-bearing malefactor and sentenced to death—by alligator, if necessary. Maximum Bob is a delightfully dark classic thriller from “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever” (New York Times Book Review), and any reader who loved getting gleefully lost in criminal mayhem of Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, The Hot Kid, or any number of the inimitable Leonard’s numerous crime fiction masterworks will get maximum enjoyment out of this one.