Dandy, detective and adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver tackles the enemies of the crown in this thrilling collection of three complete short stories drawn from the steampunk Pax Britannia Ulysses Quicksilver novels. In ‘Fruiting Bodies’ a gruesome death leads Ulysses and his manservant Nimrod to the glasshouses of Kew, bringing them face to face with the horrors lurking within. A Hallowe’en séance leads our intrepid duo into a close encounter with the world beyond in ‘Vanishing Point’, whilst in ‘White Rabbit’ Ulysses journeys into a world of madness and murder, meeting some sinisterly familiar characters along the way. This collection is the perfect starting point for readers new to the exciting world of Pax Britannia! 'Fruiting Bodies' was first published in the novel 'El Sombra', 'Vanishing Point' was first published in the novel 'Leviathan Rising' and 'White Rabbit' was first published in the novel 'Blood Royal'. Views: 48
ReviewProduct DescriptionIt's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend....But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences. Views: 48
The book is a testimony both to the callous and cruel behavior of the Japanese and to the courage and fortitude of those who suffered at their hands. Views: 48
They gather in darkness, sharing ancient and arcane knowledge as they manipulate the very matter of reality itself. Spells and conjuration; legerdemain and prestidigitation - these are the mistresses and masters of the esoteric arts. From the otherworldly visions of Conan Doyle's father in Audrey Niffenegger's 'The Wrong Fairy' to the diabolical political machinations of Dan Abnett's 'Party Tricks', here you will find a spell for every occasion. Jonathan Oliver, critically acclaimed editor of The End of The Line and House of Fear, has brought together sixteen extraordinary writers for this collection of magical tales. Within you will find works by Audrey Niffenegger, Sarah Lotz, Will Hill, Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem, Liz Williams, Dan Abnett, Thana Niveau, Alison Littlewood, Christopher Fowler, Storm Constantine, Lou Morgan, Sophia McDougall, Gail Z. Martin, Gemma Files and Robert Shearman. Views: 48
Osama bin Laden was the most wanted man in American history--an enemy who brought the United States what President George W. Bush called "a day of fire," and ushered in a new era of terrorism. It took a decade of blood and sacrifice, of determination and frustration, but finally, in a nighttime raid at the end of a dirt road in Pakistan, the hunt for Bin Laden ended with a gunshot. It was a dramatic climax to a long and painful chapter.But now what? The terrorist threat that has defined American policy since the attacks of 9/11 did not die with Bin Laden in his walled compound near Islamabad. Radicals still wish us harm, and we must fight on.In this provocative collection of essays edited and introduced by Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham, a group of penetrating analysts and leaders look ahead to the world after Bin Laden--to the future of Al Qaeda, of Afghanistan, of Pakistan. We explore the political, military, and cultural implications of the post--Bin Laden... Views: 48
Jesse Swanson’s life is pretty normal: He has a job he doesn’t mind, his parents are pretty decent, and he’s got a boyfriend. So what if he still lives at home? So what if he thinks he argues a little too often with his guy? Everything changes when he stops to pick up a bird and ends up picking up a new guy instead. Chris, formerly known as Sings-like-water, is fascinated by Jesse’s music and by Jesse himself, but figuring out how to be human isn’t easy—especially when Jesse’s now ex-boyfriend decides he’ll do anything to get Jesse back. Can Jesse and Chris overcome the odds, or will their fledgling romance falter before it can fly? Views: 48
'I've done some stupid things in my time. I've been reckless. I've broken a few rules. But never before have I ruined so many lives or left such a trail of destruction behind me.' As Max would be the first to admit, she's never been one for rules. They tend to happen to other people. But this time she's gone too far and everyone is paying the price. Grounded until the end of time, how can she ever put things right? Views: 48
Protecting Rose by Cheryl Yeko Views: 48
After her fiancé calls off their wedding, Brooke Clayton has nowhere to go but home. If she can survive in the tiny Colorado town for a year, she'll fulfill the odd terms of her estranged grandfather's will. Turns out the wealthy businessman next door, handsome single father Gabe Wesson, needs a nanny for his sweet toddler—and Brooke needs a job. But Gabe sees Brooke as a reminder of the young wife he lost. Given their pasts, do they dare hope to fit together as a family…forever?About the AuthorWinner of the RITA Award for excellence in fiction, Linda Goodnight has won various other highly acclaimed awards, and her romance novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Active in orphan ministry, this former nurse and teacher enjoys writing fiction that carries a message of hope and light in a sometimes dark world. A country girl, she lives in Oklahoma. Readers may contact her through her website: www.lindagoodnight.com Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Gabe Wesson was a desperate man.Inside the aptly named Cowboy Cafe, a hodgepodge of western types and various other townsfolk gathered at the long, Formica-topped counter for homemade pie and socializing. Gabe joined the counter crowd, his toddler son perched on his knee.In a few short weeks, he'd discovered that if a man wanted to know anything or spread any news in the town of Clayton, Colorado, the Cowboy Cafe was the place to do it. Today, what he needed more than anything was a nanny for his son, A.J. Funny that he could run a corporation with dozens of employees but he'd hit a brick wall when it came to finding suitable child care in this tiny Rocky Mountain town.He was a gambler of sorts, a speculator. Some would even call him a troublemaker, though he always left a place better than he'd found it.He'd found Clayton to be a sleepy community time had forgotten. With an abandoned railroad track slicing through town and an equally abandoned silver mine perched in the nearby hills, the town was just about dead.It was the "just about" that had brought Gabe here. He had a knack for sniffing out near-dead businesses and bringing them back to life. This gift—and he was convinced it was a gift from God—had taken him from a scrappy kid stocking groceries to the head of his own Denver corporation by the age of thirty-three.But unless he found a nanny soon, he would be forced to move back to Denver, something he did not want to do. At least not now, not when the weight of the past two years was starting to lift.The friendly young waitress, Kylie Jones, sailed past with a slice of hot pie oozing cherries and drowning in vanilla ice cream. Gabe's mouth watered. He ordered the pie and a coffee for himself and a grilled cheese with milk for his son.Filled with the smell of home-baked cakes and cinnamon, the long, narrow cafe was warm, welcoming and always busy. Square wooden tables with chunky, straight-backed chairs crowded every space. The Denver Post, well-read and refolded, lay next to the old-fashioned cash register and a credit card machine. From a jukebox beside the door, George Strait sang about the best day of his life.On the stool next to Gabe a cowboy type in boots and Wranglers angled a fork toward the street. A white hearse crept past. "They're planting old George today.""Cody Jameson, show some respect." Red-haired Erin Fields, the surprisingly young cafe owner, took a swipe at the worn counter with her bleach rag. "This town wouldn't exist without George Clayton and his family."Kylie, carefully filling a salt shaker, looked up. "Nobody liked him that much, Erin, even if he was the only lawyer in town. Or maybe because of it.""Still. Speaking ill of the dead doesn't seem right. His grandkids are here for the funeral and they're good people." She propped a hand on one hip and gazed at the street. "Brooke came in yesterday and bought burgers to take over to Arabella's. That girl is still sweet as that cherry pie.""I'd love to see Brooke again," Kylie said wistfully. She'd moved on to stuffing paper napkins into tall, metal holders. "We played basketball together in high school. She was a terrific point guard."Erin tossed the bleach rag into the sink behind the counter and ran her hands under the faucet. "Then see her, Kylie. None of the Clayton kids have been in town for ages, but she'll probably stick around for a couple of days."Kylie's pretty face tightened. "You know how Vincent feels about that side of his family."Erin's lips thinned but she didn't say anymore. She took a pair of roast-beef-laden platters from the order window, grabbed an iced tea pitcher and moved toward a couple seated at one of the square tables.Gabe listened with interest, gleaning the facts and the undercurrents. He'd returned to Clayton this morning after a three-day trip to corporate headquarters in Denver. Between then and now, the former owner of the Lucky Lady Silver Mine, George Clayton, had passed away. He wondered if George's heirs knew he'd sold the mine to an outsider.While he contemplated what the unexpected death could mean to his company, Kylie stopped in front of A.J. A trim brunette, she was the fiancée of one of his new employees, Vincent Clayton. She always made a fuss over A.J."What a big boy you are. You ate up every bite of that sandwich." She felt A.J.'s muscles and received a giggle in return.Fork paused at half-mast, Gabe said, "My job offer is still open.""Sorry, no. I'd love to nanny A.J., but I'm getting married soon."Gabe didn't know what getting married had to do with his offer, but he let the comment pass. "Got any other ideas for me? I need to find someone soon." Like yesterday.Her brown ponytail swung side to side. "I've been asking everyone who comes in. So has Erin, and your sign is still up." She pointed to the fancy graphic-enhanced poster stuck to the front door. "So far, no luck. Who's looking after him now?""Me, mostly." That's what made the situation desperate. A job site, especially a construction zone, was no place for a curious toddler. Gabe sweated bullets every time he had to go to the mine. As work progressed, he'd need to be there more and more."Let me know if you hear anything, okay?" He took out his wallet and tossed a bill on the counter. "Keep the change."Kylie's eyes widened at the size of the bill. "Wow, thank you, Mr. Wesson. I'll keep asking."With a nod toward the cowboy and a wave toward the redhead, Gabe and A.J. pushed out into the summer sun as the last of the funeral cars crawled by. A pretty woman with wavy blond hair gazed bleakly through the passenger window. Something in her expression touched a chord in him. He knew he was staring but couldn't seem to help himself. A.J., tired of standing still, yanked at his father's hand. The woman, stirred by the motion, looked up. Their eyes met and held. Sensation prickled Gabe's skin.The car rolled on past and she was gone. But the vision of those sad blue eyes stayed behind.Brooke Clayton gazed around at the collection of Clayton grandchildren gathered in the conference room of the Clayton Christian Church like a bunch of errant schoolchildren sent to the principal's office. Not one of them wanted to be here at the reading of their grandfather's will. Yet, five of the six had come out of blood loyalty, not for Grandpa George Clayton, but for their cousin Arabella. It was her phone call, her need, that had brought them together again after more than four years.Brooke's gaze rested on each beloved face. Her intense cop brother, Zach. Her sophisticated sister, Vivi-enne. Mei, the adopted sister of the only absent grandchild, rebel Lucas, and of course, darkly pretty Arabella. With a clutch of emotion, Brooke acknowledged she'd missed them, though she hadn't missed the painful memories of living in the tiny town that bore her family name.Only family and a few close friends had attended Grandpa George's funeral services, although plenty of townspeople had stared at the procession on its journey to the cemetery. She wondered what they were thinking. Good riddance? Was there anyone who'd miss George Clayton, Sr.? None of the grandchildren had it in them to pretend what they didn't feel, and silly as it sounded, the lack of grief had made Brooke sad.As they'd driven down Railroad Street, a man had stepped out of the Cowboy Cafe. A tall, handsome stranger with a very small boy.That's when she'd begun to weep. Small children had that effect on her.She'd once known everyone in this town of less than a thousand, but she hadn't recognized the man. They'd made eye contact, and something—some indefinable something—had passed between them. She'd thought about him and his beautiful brown-haired son off and on during the graveside service. Who was he? Why had that particular stranger's image been stamped on her memory?"We need to begin." Pencil thin in an appropriately black suit, attorney Mark Arrington had already waited more than an hour for the sixth and final grandchild to arrive.Calls had been made and letters sent, but no one was certain their rebellious cousin had received the summons. Even if he had, only one person in the room was confident of Lucas's attendance. His sister.Brooke wiggled her feet inside the confining heels. With a broken pinky, pinching heels and her wounded pride, she hurt everywhere. A few days ago, she was planning a wedding. Now, she had no plans at all beyond getting through today."I don't think Lucas is going to make it," she said."If Lucas was coming, he'd be here," Zach added with coplike frankness."A few minutes longer." The quiet steel of Mei Clayton's voice drew every eye to her round, delicate face. Of all her kin, Brooke understood Mei the least. As she'd grown older Mei had pulled away from all of the Claytons except her adopted brother, Lucas."What makes you think he'll show?" Zach asked.Mei sat up straighter in the cushioned chair, quietly insistent. Her gleaming black hair swung softly around her Asian features. "If he's needed, my brother will come."The lawyer cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, everyone. I have another appointment in thirty minutes." With a gesture Brooke found overdramatic, the attorney pointed toward a flat screen. "If I may direct your attention to the TV. Mr. Clayton himself would like to address you first, and then I have the task of setting out the rules of the will."Brooke exchanged frowning glances with her brother. What in the world? Zach lifted an eyebrow but offered no response. Whatever his thoughts, he'd keep them to himself until all the evidence was on the table.The screen fli... Views: 48
Product DescriptionGenre: Multicultural Menage ParanormalSeries: Power Up; Previous Book: RetroCogA casualty of funding wars and an overzealous Defense Department trying to clean up its reputation after several failed experimental programs, the Psychic Warfare Program (PWP) is scrapped in its infancy. Its participants are transferred to other defense agencies, but a few decide to leave the government behind, knowing full well their freedom hinges on keeping a low profile and living under the radar.Chloe King has worked for the government ever since she left college. First as a cop, then as an agent, she's been putting away the bad guys for more than ten years. A clairaudient who’s always been able to escape trouble at the last minute, she’s now part of a group of people who understand what it means to be different, but now she's with a private organization, without the government's protection. She should be working less dangerous cases, trying to retrieve paranormal objects gone missing. Yet her luck has taken a turn for the worse.She’s just getting over being nearly murdered by a serial killer when a stalker nearly brings her down. The voices she’s heard more than half her life have disappeared, and she’s afraid her life is coming to an end. If she can’t hear those voices again, she’ll die. She can feel it. But she never counted on the voices being real. Or belonging to two strong, sexy men resolved to keep her for themselves.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable:anal sex, menage (m/f/m with no m/m sexual contact), voyeurism. Views: 48
What would you do if you were a freak and one day you learned of a way to become normal? The only thing that outcast and Relic hunter Benjamin Skyhammer has ever wanted is magic power like the rest of the humans on Pingala. He is thrilled when he learns of a ceremony that will bestow the magic power on him but soon discovers that a powerful sorcerer plans to stop the ceremony by assassinating a crucial player. Skyhammer must hunt down the sorcerer by deciphering strange messages he receives through his Retrograph Whorl. But the messages alert Skyhammer to a more dangerous matter – someone is attempting to destroy all magic on Pingala. Will Skyhammer survive the journey across the weird and wild countries of Pingala long enough to capture the sorcerer, prevent the destruction of magic and finally belong the way he's always dreamed? Views: 48
For years, Amber traipsed around the Northwest avoiding the skeletons in her closet. Job-hopping every few weeks, she refused to let anyone get close to her as she slowly made her way east. As winter plants itself firmly across the Rockies, she decides to take a chance on a job at a logging company with a family different from any she's ever known before. Watching the family interact creates more questions than answers for Amber. Feeling like she's entered the happily-ever-after written at the end of fairytales, she watches for cracks in the façade. Surely as the days pass, the play-acting will cease and the real family will emerge. Or could she be wrong? Could they truly be genuine? Could Faye understand the trauma from her past or Peter think of her as more than just the winter office help? Could this family really hold the key to what she's seeking? Views: 48
There are things Patrick Boyle will never forget: the sound of his own neck breaking at the moment of his death in the fall of 1970, the sweet taste of his mother's chocolate cake, and the awful day his parents abandoned him in his childhood house-turned prison.Nineteen-year-old Patrick wonders for decades if God has forgotten all about him or if he's being punished for some terrible crime or sin over a lovely forty years trapped in an empty home. But when Sara Oswald, a strange woman with a mysterious past, buys his house, old feelings reawaken, and a new optimism convinces him that she's the answer to his prayers.Things are never simple, though, especially when she begins channeling the memories of his life and death in her writing.About the AuthorAida Brassington lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband and dog, where she is at work on her next novel. Views: 48
