The first-ever history of MTV's first decade. In the beginning, nobody thought it would survive. Record labels were skeptical and cable operators were dismissive-perhaps rightfully so. MTV had an inventory of just one hundred clips, most by fringe British and Australian bands. The channel was available in only a few cities and towns. On the night the network launched, staffers celebrated at a bar in New Jersey because no Manhattan cable operator carried MTV.When MTV debuted in 1981, its slogan was You'll never look at music the same way again.'' But MTV's influence went beyond music-it soon changed network and cable television, radio, sports, film, fashion, teen sexuality, and even politics.Highly respected music journalist Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum have assembled an unprecedented collection of stories from the early days of MTV, straight from the mouths of those who were part of the video revolution. I Want My MTV focuses on the network's first... Views: 21
"It was an urge ... an evil urge, and the longer I let it go, the stronger it got", said Ed Kemper, the serial killer and cannibal.Fiendish, demonic, hellish – each one of these adjectives applies to the diabolical acts that the people in this book have committed. Gruesome killers such as Burke and Hare, who murdered people so that they could sell cadavers. Jack the Ripper, the world's most notorious serial killer of Victorian London, and Albert Fish, a man so fiendish that his story makes Hannibal Lecter's exploits seem tame by comparison. Cannibals such as Ed Gein the bizarre necrophiliac, and Andrei Chikatilo, the Rostov Ripper, who is said to have killed as many as fifty-three young girls and boys, eating his victims in the process. This book contains the shocking truth about the world's most horrifying killers – it is not for the squeamish.Contents: Cannibals, Serial Killers, Wicked Teams, Fiendish Women, Fiendish Doctors, Vampires, Child fiends, School... Views: 21
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Eleven years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared.One year ago, on the very same day, my brother was taken from me, as well. But that time, I went into Faery to take him back.It's strange how a journey can change you, what you can learn from it. I learned that the man I thought was my father wasn't my father at all. That my biological dad wasn't even human. That I was the half-breed daughter of a legendary faery king, and his blood flowed in my veins. I learned that I had power, a power that scares me, even now. A power that even the fey dread, something that can destroy them—and I'm not sure I can control it.I learned that love can transcend race and time, and that it can be beautiful and perfect and worth fighting for but also fragile and heartbreaking, and sometimes sacrifice is necessary. That sometimes it's you against the world, and there are no easy answers. That you have to know when to hold on...and when to let go. And even if that love comes back, you could discover something in someone else who has been there all along.I thought it was over. I thought my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices for those I loved, was behind me. But a storm was approaching, one that would test those choices like never before. And this time, there would be no turning back.My name is Meghan Chase.In less than twenty-four hours, I'll be seventeen.Déjà vu, right? Shocking how quickly time can pass you by, like you're standing still. I can't believe it's been a year since that day. The day I went into Faery. The day that changed my life forever.Technically, I won't actually be turning seventeen. I've been in the Nevernever too long. When you're in Faery, you don't age, or you age so slowly it's not worth mentioning. So, while a year has passed in the real world, I'm probably only a few days older than when I went in.In real life, I've changed so much I don't even recognize myself.Beneath me, the tatter-colt's hooves clopped against the pavement, a quiet rhythm that matched my own heartbeat. On this lonely stretch of Louisiana highway, surrounded by tupelo trees and moss-covered cypress, few cars passed us, and the ones that did flew by without slowing down, tossing leaves in their wake. They couldn't see the shaggy black horse with eyes like hot coals, walking along the road without reins or bit or saddle. They couldn't see the figures on its back, the pale-haired girl and the dark, beautiful prince behind her, his arms around her waist. Mortals were blind to the world of Faery, a world I was a part of now, whether I'd asked for it or not."What are you afraid of?" a deep voice murmured in my ear, sending a shiver up my spine. Even in the humid swamps of Louisiana, the Winter prince radiated cold, and his breath was wonderfully cool against my skin.I peered at him over my shoulder. "What do you mean?"Ash, prince of the Unseelie Court, met my gaze, silver eyes gleaming in the twilight. Officially, he was no longer a prince. Queen Mab had exiled him from the Nevernever after he refused to renounce his love for the half-human daughter of Oberon, the Summer King. My father. Summer and Winter were supposed to be enemies. We were not supposed to cooperate, we were not supposed to go on quests together and, most important, we were not supposed to fall in love.But we had, and now Ash was here, with me. We were exiles, and the trods—the paths into Faery—were closed to us forever, but I didn't care. I wasn't planning to ever go back."You're nervous." Ash's hand stroked the back of my head, brushing the hair from my neck, making me shiver. "I can feel it. You have this anxious, flickering aura all around you, and it's driving me a little nuts, being this close. What's wrong?"I should've known. There was no hiding what I felt from Ash, or any faery for that matter. Their magic, their glamour, came from human dreams and emotions. So Ash could sense what I was feeling without even trying. "Sorry," I told him. "I guess I am a little nervous.""Why?""Why? I've been gone almost a year. Mom will hit the roof when she sees me." My stomach squirmed as I imagined the reunion: the tears, the angry relief, the inevitable questions. "They didn't hear anything from me while I was in Faery." I sighed, gazing up the road to where the stretch of pavement melted into the darkness. "What am I going to tell them? How will I even begin to explain?"The tatter-colt snorted and pinned its ears at a truck that roared by, passing uncomfortably close. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like Luke's battered old Ford, rattling down the road and vanishing around a curve. If it was my stepdad, he definitely wouldn't have seen us; he'd had a hard time remembering my name even when I'd lived in the same house."You tell them the truth," Ash said, startling me. I wasn't expecting him to answer. "From the beginning. Either they accept it, or they don't, but you can't hide who you are, especially from your family. Best to get it over with—we can deal with whatever happens after."His candor surprised me. I was still getting used to this new Ash, this faery who talked and smiled instead of hiding behind an icy wall of indifference. Ever since we were banished from the Nevernever, he'd been more open, less brooding and angst-ridden, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. True, he was still quiet and solemn by anyone's standards, but for the first time, I felt I was finally getting a glimpse of the Ash I knew was there all along."But what if they can't deal with it?" I muttered, voicing the concern that had been plaguing me all morning. "What if they see what I am and freak out? What if they don't... want me anymore?"I trailed off at the end, knowing I sounded like a sullen five-year-old. But Ash's hold on me tightened, and he pulled me closer against him."Then you'll be an orphan, just like me," he said. "And we'll find a way to get by." His lips brushed against my ear, tying my stomach into about a dozen knots. "Together."My breath hitched, and I turned my head to kiss him, reaching back to run my hand through his silky dark hair.The tatter-colt snorted and bucked midstep, not enough to throw me off, but enough to bounce me a few inches straight up. I snatched wildly for its mane as Ash grabbed my waist, keeping me from falling off. Heart pounding, I shot a glare between the tatter-colt's ears, resisting the urge to kick it in the ribs and give it another excuse to buck me off. It raised its head and glared back at us, eyes glowing crimson, disgust written plainly on its equine face.I wrinkled my nose at it. "Oh, excuse me, are we making you uncomfortable?" I asked sarcastically, and it snorted. "Fine. We'll behave."Ash chuckled but didn't attempt to pull me back. I sighed and gazed at the road over the colt's bobbing head, looking for familiar landmarks. My heart leaped when I saw a rusty van sitting in the trees off the side of the road, so ancient and corroded a tree had grown through the roof. It had been there for as long as I could remember, and I saw it every day on the bus to and from school. It always told me when I was nearly home.It seemed so long ago, now—a lifetime ago—that I'd sat on the bus with my friend Robbie, when all I had to worry about was grades and homework and getting my driver's permit. So much had changed; it would feel strange returning to school and my old, mundane life like nothing had happened. "I'll probably have to repeat a year," I sighed, and felt Ash's puzzled gaze on my neck. Of course, being an immortal faery, he didn't have to worry about school and licenses and—I stopped as reality seemed to descend on me all at once. My time in the Nevernever was like a dream, hazy and ethereal, but we were back in the real world now. Where I had to worry about homework and grades and getting into college. I'd wanted to get a summer job and save up for a car. I'd wanted to attend ITT Tech after high school, maybe move to the Baton Rouge or New Orleans campuses when I graduated. Could I still do that? Even after everything that happened? And where would a dark, exiled faery prince fit into all of this?"What is it?" Ash's breath tickled the back of my ear, making me shiver.I took a deep breath. "How is this going to work, Ash?" I half turned to face him. "Where will we be a year from now, two years from now? I can't stay here forever—sooner or later, I'm going to have to get on with my life. School, work, college someday..." I broke off and looked down at my hands. "I have to move on eventually, but I don't want to do any of those things without you.""I've been thinking about that," Ash replied. I glanced up at him, and he surprised me with a brief smile. "You have your whole life ahead of you. It makes sense that you should plan for the future. And I figure, Goodfellow pretended to be mortal for sixteen years. There's no reason I can't do the same."I blinked at him. "Really?"He touched my cheek softly, his eyes intense as they gazed into mine. "You might have to teach me a little about the human world, but I'm willing to learn if it means being close to you." He smiled again, a wry quirk of his lips. "I'm sure I can adapt to 'being human,' if I must. If you want me to attend classes as a student, I can do that. If you want to move to a large city to pursue your dreams, I will follow. And if, someday, you wish to be married in a white gown and make this official in human eyes, I'm willing to do that, too." He leaned in, close enough for me to see my reflection in his silver gaze. "For better or worse, I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."I felt breathless, not knowing what to say. I wanted to thank him, but those words didn't mean the same in faery terms. I wanted to lean in the rest of the way and kiss him, but the tatte... Views: 21
SUMMARY: Stories on crime by women writers. In Frances Fyfield's Nothing to Lose, an Englishwoman plots to get rid of her African husband after a mixed marriage goes sour, while Helga Anderle's Saturday Night Fever is on a journalist's reaction to a murder. Views: 21
A Christmas short story, available only in ebook, from the author of The Nightingale Girls, The Nightingale Sisters and The Nightingale Nurses Christmas Eve, 1936 On a foggy December night, a pregnant woman walks out in front of a trolley bus and is knocked unconscious. She is rushed to the Nightingale hospital, and a healthy baby is delivered. But the mother claims to have lost her memory, and cannot believe that the child is hers. It seems that the Nightingale nurses may need to perform a Christmas miracle . Views: 21
It's 1938, and the tentacles of Hitler's terrifying Third Reich have commenced their stranglehold on Europe. The Nazi empire will soon be clean of all bloodlines deemed tainted or undesirable...including vampires. London's ancient tribunal of vampires is aghast at the destruction taking place on the Continent. Though vampires try not to interfere with human politics, Hitler's terrible plans force them into action. They resolve to send five of their most formidable vampires to Berlin-- millennials that have lived over 1000 years and whose age and wisdom make them close to invulnerable-- to infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy the growing Nazi war machine.The brilliant and beautiful millennial Brigit is loath to go, but her powers are needed if the mission is to have any chance of success. She must summon all her strength to endure the separation from her lover Eamon, whom she made almost eight centuries ago, but whose lack of millennial status makes him an unacceptable... Views: 21
Having run away from home to avoid an unwanted betrothal, Lady Elizabeth Copeland must keep her disguise as an elderly lady's companion at all times.Even when she's called upon to nurse the lady's nephew—who rather infuriatingly happens to be the most incredible-looking man she's ever seen....Elizabeth yearns to break out of Betsy's drab dresses to reveal that she's of the same blue blood as the rakish Nathaniel. But she must not! Unless Nathaniel gets under her guard, and elicits a confession.... Views: 21
My name — my True Name — is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl. Views: 21
Jack Susko is trying for a quiet life in his second-hand bookshop in downtown Sydney. It's more tin mine than gold mine, yet it's his and that's something. But when a wealthy businessman hires Jack to locate some books for him, life starts to get a little more complicated.Soon he's up to his neck in family secrets, corruption and murder, plunged into a world he thought he'd left behind. Making a play for the businessman's beautiful daughter doesn't help matters. And as the bodies start piling up, Jack can't help but wonder when second-hand book dealing became so dangerous.A Deadly Business introduces a new crime hero who's not a detective and whose motives aren't always pure, but he's sure got a talent for finding trouble. Views: 21
Blackout! When the lights go out secrets are uncovered. Steph has a phobia about the dark and runs across the hall into the arms of her gay best friends. This sexy pair of gamers have backup power and her naked form programmed into their latest video creation on a huge TV screen. Their secret lust for her revealed, the passionate exploration heats up. Safe in the dark with her men, Steph doesn’t care if the lights ever come back on! Views: 21
Summoned from her promising surgical career first to her estranged father's bedside, and then his post as medical examiner when his small town needs urgent help with a suspicious death, Emily Hartford discovers home is where the bodies are in this pitch perfect mystery debut.Recently engaged and deeply ensconced in her third year of surgical residency in Chicago, Emily Hartford gets a shock when she's called home to Freeport, MI, the small town she fled a decade ago after the death of her mother. Her estranged father, the local medical examiner, has had a massive heart attack and Emily is needed urgently to help with his recovery. Not sure what to expect, Emily races home, blowing the only stoplight at the center of town and getting pulled over by her former high school love, now Sheriff, Nick Larson. At the hospital, she finds her father in near total denial of the seriousness of his condition. He insists that the best thing Emily can do to help him is to take... Views: 21
