Michael, an aspiring writer who has recently finished his PhD, takes a job as the secretary to his literary hero, Lucian Clarke, a reclusive novelist with a mysterious cosmopolitan past, who lives in a cottage in a village on a mountain outside Hobart which gives the book its title, Wood Green. Peopled by an ensemble cast, the local publican the single mother who manages the pub’s kitchen, the unhappily married couple that runs the corner store, a newcomer from Johannesburg with a murky past, a snivelling B&B proprietor and a determined ex-girlfriend, Wood Green artfully evokes the claustrophobia of small-town life. While Michael believes he is making a new life for himself, Lucian has other plans. Rabin writes with wit and intelligence – and deftly executes an unsuspected plot twist – in his exploration of the perils of literary ambition and the elusive prospect of artistic legacy.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Sean Rabin has worked as a dishwasher, cook, script reader, copy-editor... Views: 59
After making progressive documentary films for decades, Maggie MacGowen did not expect to fall in love with a Los Angeles cop. But Mike Trent, whom she met while investigating her sister’s shooting, is no Los Angeles Police Department stereotype. Tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and a craggy Bogart face, he inspires her to uproot herself and her daughter from San Francisco and move down to L.A. It takes only a week for their new life to collapse. Fifteen years ago, Mike had just made detective. His first homicide investigation was high profile—an off-duty cop shot during a hold-up—and there was pressure to get results. Though he claims the conviction was clean, police methods of 1979 do not look good in the light of post-Rodney King L.A. As the district attorney comes down on him, Maggie must choose between defending her lover and confronting the fact that he may not be as kind as she thought. Views: 59
A former operative in the CIA's most clandestine division is pulled back in to help prevent Armageddon in the Middle EastAn unexpected phone call from the Pentagon propels "superpatriot" Jake Conlan back into the deadly world of international espionage and "black ops" he thought he had left behind him.Jake is asked to mount an emergency, highly dangerous mission inside Iran. His mission: to develop intel that can indisputably prove that Iran has nuclear-launch capabilities and bring down the current Iranian regime.Traveling from Paris to Amsterdam and then undercover into Iran itself, Jake connects with the Iranian covert opposition only to discover there is a traitor on his team. With a ticking clock counting down, Jake has to risk his mission, and his life, to uncover the traitor, and stop an imminent attack on Israel, for it will be full-scale world war if he fails.Fans of Alistair Maclean, Adam Hall, and Brad Thor will find... Views: 59
A high-profile murder ignites a hotbed of political treachery and terrorist threats that pit the Chicano PI against his most formidable foe Sonny Baca has learned to see beneath life's observable reality and develop a new kind of sight. The Chicano PI will need his most powerful guardian spirits when he's called in to investigate the death of the governor of New Mexico. Before the murder, Sonny dreamed of a body floating in dark, swirling water. Not only was the governor drowned, but black feathers were found on his corpse. Sonny fears the killer is his old nemesis, Raven, the vicious cult leader responsible for the death of Sonny's cousin and the near death of Sonny's girlfriend, Rita. But the worst is yet to com: Someone has planted a bomb in the Valles Caldera, near Los Alamos. And it's set to go off in a few hours. Is this the work of Raven? Or someone else? With Chica, his dreaming dog, Sonny delves into the world of the Jemez Pueblo tribe, which... Views: 59
The long-awaited new novel from Salley Vickers, bestselling and much-loved author of Miss Garnet's Angel and The Other Side of You. Violet Hetherington has taken the rash step of joining a transatlantic cruise ship to New York to visit Edwin, an old friend. As she makes the six day crossing, she relives the traumatic events that led to her losing Edwin's friendship, and abandoning her career as a poet, for the safety of marriage and domesticity. Despite her natural reserve, she meets a rich variety of passengers travelling with her, who affect her understanding of her own past. Most significantly, she meets Dino, the dance host, whose motives in befriending Vi are shady, but who teaches her to ballroom dance - and inadvertently helps her to recover from her past. Moving between the late sixties and the present day, Dancing Backwards is written with the lightness of touch and psychological insight which characterise Salley Vickers' acclaimed work. This bittersweet novel is subtle,... Views: 59
The last piece of a literary puzzle falls into place in the final novel of Benjamin Markovits's Byron trilogy.When his former colleague Peter Sullivan dies, Ben Markovits inherits unpublished manuscripts about the life of Lord Byron—including the novels Imposture and A Quiet Adjustment. Ben's own literary career is in the doldrums, and he tries to revive it by publishing and writing about his dead friend, whose reimagining of Byron's lost memoirs—titled Childish Loves—may provide a key to Sullivan's own life and tarnished reputation.Acting as a literary sleuth, Ben sorts through boxes of Sullivan's writing; reads between the lines of his scandalous, Byron- inspired stories; meets with the Society for the Publication of the Dead; and tracks down people from Peter's past in an effort to untangle rumor from reality. In the process, he crafts a masterful story-within-a-story that turns on uncomfortable questions about childhood and... Views: 59
Armed with Galdra, the fabled sword of elven kings, Sorak has forged his way across the forbidding wilds of Athas, from the peaks of the Ringing Mountains to the shores of the Great Silt Sea. Now, along with his villichi companion Ryana, he closes in on the goal of his quest, a natal avangion who holds the secret of Sorak's past and the promise of Athas's future. Unfortunately, Sorak is not the only one pursuing the Sage. The sorcerer-king Nibenay seeks to destroy the avangion before he can fully form. For all his power, Nibenay has been unable to track down the Sage, but he knows Sorak will head right to him... Views: 59
Lackey, Flint and Freer whip up a luscious bouillabaisse of politics, intrigue, love and black magic set in an "Other-worldly, New-Age Venice." Like the actual 16th-century city-state, the authors' Venice of the 1530s is a dangerous place, filled with as many illicit love affairs as murders. Garbage and occasional dead bodies float in the stinking canals. The city is also a target for would-be foreign conquerors: the Vatican, the Holy Roman Empire, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, and the small city-state of Ferrara, ruled by Enrico Dell'este, who surreptitiously watches his grandsons, Marco and Benito, the story's water-rat heroes. Around Benito, a thief, and Marco, a canal doctor, swirl a host of characters, major and minor: the men and women who ply the gondolas and rafts; the spy Caesare Aldanto, the boys' supporter; plus courtesans, whores, monks, priests, knights, shamans, undines and the demon Chernobog. Meanwhile, the winged lion of St. Mark's, symbol of Venice, is stirring, and its shadow falls on Marco as the city's future ruler. Views: 59
Everything you need to know for the perfect adventureWhether you're planning a trip to Yellowstone, cherish fond memories of the park, or hope to visit it someday, Roadtrip Yellowstone is an inspiring guide that offers insider information on the best things to do, see, and experience within 100 miles of America's favorite park, such as:the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, where families can explore interactive exhibits on Native Americans, natural history, firearms, and Buffalo Bill himself.the top five places to see or dig for dinosaurs.Wayne's Boot Shop—the place to buy a real cowboy hat or boots.some of the most quirkiest personalities in eastern Idaho...and much more. Views: 59
After talking her way into a job on a pompous, third-rate chef's radio call-in-show, Angie Amalfi has visions of a new career to go along with her hot, new romance with Paavo Smith, a gorgeous homocide detective.When a successful and much-envied restauranteur is poisoned however, Angie finds the case far more interesting than trying to make her pretentious boss sound good. Some cooks might shy away from such a sizzling case, but Angie can take the heat and stay in the kitchen. Views: 59
Widowed Lisa is overwhelmed by the demands of her deteriorating mansion and spoiled adult children who returned to the nest. A recurring nightmare and a quarrel with her children push her over the edge. She seeks refuge in her hometown where she meets high school sweetheart, Trace and they renew their romance. But divorced Trace has problems too. Views: 59
David J. Schow's short stories have been regularly selected for over twenty-five volumes of "Year's Best" anthologies across three decades and have won the World Fantasy Award, the ultra-rare Dimension Award from Twilight Zone magazine, plus a 2002 International Horror Guild Award for his collection of Fangoria columns, Wild Hairs. Black Leather Required collects thirteen of Schow's short stories and includes an intro by John Farris. The stories included in this collection are: The ShaftSedaliaA Week in the UnlifeScoop Makes a SwirlyKamikaze ButterfliesBeggar's Banquet, with Summer SausagePitt Night at the Lewistone BoneyardJerry's Kids Meet WormboyLife PartnerLast Call for the Sons of ShockWhere the Heart WasSand SculptureBad Guy Hats Views: 59
