When President Clinton sent Richard Holbrooke to Bosnia as America's chief negotiator in late 1995, he took a gamble that would eventually redefine his presidency. But there was no saying then, at the height of the war, that Holbrooke's mission would succeed. The odds were strongly against it. As passionate as he was controversial, Holbrooke believed that the only way to bring peace to the Balkans was through a complex blend of American leadership, aggressive and creative diplomacy, and a willingness to use force, if necessary, in the cause for peace. This was not a universally popular view. Resistance was fierce within the United Nations and the chronically divided Contact Group, and in Washington, where many argued that the United States should not get more deeply involved. This book is Holbrooke's gripping inside account of his mission, of the decisive months when, belatedly and reluctantly but ultimately decisively, the United States reasserted its moral... Views: 526
Kyrin is forced by Daemionis to stay in Paragoy Dimension, but only after he sends her on a dangerous mission to retrieve the coveted seal of Carathis. While away, she befriends a creature that threatens to disrupt the peaceful life in the Valharan Castle.Book 2 in the Dimensions Saga.Kyrin is forced by Daemionis to stay in Paragoy Dimension, but only after he sends her on a dangerous mission to retrieve the coveted seal of Carathis. While away, she befriends a creature that threatens to disrupt the peaceful life in the Valharan Castle.Finn realizes that the Knights of Valhara have a grudge against the known evil, and he sets out to make sure Kyrin is treated as a noble. He starts to realize it’s going to be a harder task than he first though, but feels indebted to her.Alric struggles to understand why Kyrin stays with Daemionis. He and Sithias try to find a way to keep her in Paragoy, when they become afraid that she’s about to shift out permanently. More nobles bring more conflict, and Alric’s afraid it may be more than Kyrin can handle. Views: 526
A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a formula designed to keep his consciousness awake while his body rots in the grave. But all drugs have unforeseen side-effects. Before he could be buried, the killer wakes up. Hungry. Infected. Contagious. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang…but a bite. Views: 526
A Richard Sharpe short story, featuring scenes of action and adventure at Christmas.'You'll like Irati,' Colonel Hogan said. 'It's a nothing place, Richard. Hovels and misery, that's all it is and all it ever will be, but that's where you're going for Christmas.'Sharpe was sent to Irati because maybe the French were going there. The garrison planned to march at Christmas in the hope that their enemies would be too bloated with beef and wine to fight, but Hogan had got wind of their plans and was now setting his snares on the only two routes that the escaping French could use. One, the eastern road, was by far the easier route, for it entered France through a low pass, and Hogan guessed it was that route that the French would choose. But there was a second road, a tight, hard, steep road, and that had to be blocked as well and so the Prince of Wales's Own Volunteers, Sharpe's regiment, would climb into the hills and spend their Christmas at a place of hovels... Views: 526
Lillian Langley is a young single woman living with her family in the highlands of Tasmania, she ends up with child. Disowned by her father, she flees the family farm where she is waylaid by two masked men. While escaping she falls over a cliff. Because of her injuries, her clearly marked trail is found leading to the river where it is presumed she has drowned. Everyone believes her deadEstranged from her family after she discovers she is pregnant, Lillian boards the stage for Hobart. The stage is held up by two masked men. Lillian flees and falls over a cliff. Her trail to the river is found where it is presumed she has drowned.The aborigines find Lillian and Jim Hawkins, the stage coach driver,sees to her recovery with the aid of the local doctor. Lillian insists that her family not be told of her survival as she fears for her life and the life of the child she carries.Also, the added fact that she will be shunned by society even more because of her disfigurement from her injuries when she fell over the cliff. She becomes friends with Jim Hawkins and accepts a proposal of marriage from him even though she does not love him. He gives her a home, keeps her secret, raises her daughter Matilda, and their son William.After eighteen years, Matilda, who has been in England to further her education arrives back in Gladstone where she is seen by Frank O'Connor. He is a suspect in the stage coach hold up all those years ago. Frank, a little worse for wear after spending most of the day in the saloon sees Matilda and swears he has seen the ghost of Lillian. He informs Lillian's brother, Robert, who immediately becomes suspicious. Robert's father is on his death bed and the farm and all that goes with it will soon be his, what he dosen't need is a ghost from the past hindering his future plans. Robert sets about confirming what he fears and puts in place a plan to make sure that the ghost stays a ghost. Views: 525
In a time much like that of early twentieth-century Earth, Klyd Farris, Head of the legendary House of Zeor and a Sime healer, goes into Gen Territory to become a doctor by Gen law. He falls in love with a Gen woman who is not at all what she seems. Ultimately, he must choose between his Sime heritage and his Gen love—a choice that will shape humanity's future destiny.Publishers Weekly says: "House of Zeor created a fervent cult. This second novel of the mutated Simes and their symbiotic-vampire relationship will be welcomed."Winner of the Galaxy Award Views: 525
A lone man encounters a stranger on a dark and terrifying night in the war-ravaged apocalyptic landscape of Lermontov, Russia.Grigori has made camp for the night. Anxious that nothing comes to attack him, he is helped by the appearance of a mysterious stranger who announces himself as Sunrise. Is Sunrise who he appears to be? Will they make it through the dark night with unknown beasts surrounding the camp? Views: 525
Maggie Newberry is an advertising copywriter who’s fast on her feet and a little stunned to realize that she’s over 30 and still hasn’t found true love. When her long-missing sister ends up dead, Maggie flies to the south of France to find the little niece that no one in the family even knew existed. Along the way, she finds handsome, sexy Frenchman Laurent Dernier to help search for theMaggie Newberry is a whip-smart advertising copywriter who’s fast on her feet and a little stunned to realize that she’s over 30 and still hasn’t found true love. When her long-missing sister ends up dead, Maggie flies to the south of France to find the little niece that no one in the family even knew existed. Along the way, she finds handsome, sexy Frenchman Laurent Dernier to help search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister’s murderer sets his sights on the little girl—and Maggie. Views: 525
The simplicity of small town life comes to a grinding halt when two young boys encounter a stranger in the woods.A young girl, who is about to discover her destiny, turns sixteen years old right after the death of her parents. She is taken in by her unknown godmother, who is awkwardly dating her science teacher. Depressed and alone, she unveils her fate, which she may not want any part of. Holidee is told that she is of an ancient race of people from the ocean, who have special skills to help and protect the ocean from humans and natural disasters. When Crix, her godmother’s boyfriend, reveals his true identity as her Guardian and father’s best friend, she begins to doubt everything she had known in her life. Friendless and still grieving her parents’ death, Holidee sets out for the beach with her Guardian. She finds that she was oblivious to her parents' lives, her abilities, and most of her world. She discovers new friends in odd places and unravels the mysteries around her birth. This comes when her Guardian reveals that her blood is not human, but of an ancient race. She is a Pureblood Oceain, a protector of the oceans and all their inhabitants, and the last of her kind. Will she be able to endure the burdens of being an outcast? Can she strengthen her race and bring them out of the depths of solitude? Will she succeed in her destiny? Can a girl lead her people and become the Pureblood she was born to be? Views: 525
The stories in A CRY IN THE WIND are seasoned with twists and turns that will take you on an adventure, as the unlocking of the truth that lay dormant for years in the grave finally rises to face its judgment. The ghost that lurks hidden in the words of the collection will carry you from the enchanted darkness of the night to the haunting “Cry in the Wind.”"Cotton Bloom" – From a small town in Arkansas a brave young girl with a hidden secret has to face the world and grow up. Her struggle as a mixed child has its drawbacks, but beneath the surface of her childhood lies a haunting secret that will drive her and bring her to the reality of the truth. As a beautiful young woman working in a law firm in Baltimore, she receives a startling phone call from her hometown. The call will eventually bring her to the victory in her life that she has longed for and set her free from the bondage of her haunting past."Ellie’s Cry" – A woman is driving with her daughter from Alabama to Tennessee, seeking to get away from an abusive husband. But unknown to her the travel will unlock the door of a serial killer who is stalking the county. When she stops at a bar to get directions, Elllie turns up missing. The search begins and the puzzle of the disappearance begins to unravel. As the search deepens all hope is gone until some unexpected evidence filters from the hidden darkness. Ellie’s haunting cry guides the FBI Agent Brandon to unveiling the truth. Ellie’s mother is put into an insane asylum and from there she hears Eillie’s cry. In the end, Brandon moves in on the killer and sets Ellie’s crying ghost to rest. But, does he?"Blackberry" – In the story of Blackberry you find a struggling killer having to face and overcome a horrible past. His dead victims are the stepping stones that lead him to the truth about himself and the tragic thing that happened to him. They hold the key of who he is; a victim himself trying to be free. Haunted by his past as a child he tries to escape, but only finds the truth that unlocks the door of his freedom in the end. A simple day of picking berries turns out to be a devastation of murders. Lying and insanity drives him to the truth that he needs."Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" – A serial killer is on the loose, terrifying the city of Nashville. The police are in search of a homeless boy who they believe holds the key to the crimes. With corruption in the Governor’s office and the Memphis mafia, the trickle-down effect holds the homeless boy as a possible suspect. "Now I lay me down to sleep," a simple innocent prayer that binds a boy and his mother in a bond that ties the story together in mystery and suspense. As a child the boy is driven away by the murder of his mother who has been killed by his abusive father. After her death he is taken in by a friend and raised until he is a teenager, but after the death of his friend he is turned out into the streets of Nashville to live. Life on the street holds its hardships, but from the words of the simple prayer his mother used to tell him guides him through those dark days and nights on the street. The police find the answers from the twists and turns of the evidence and they solve the case. The murders finally stop, leaving Nashville at rest. Views: 525
An old demon gets caught up in the bureaucracy of hell, a little girl is chosen to dance for fire-breathing goddesses, a hellhound finds a loving home, and a werewolf dabbles in the online dating scene. This delightfully twisted collection of four short stories is easily devoured in one sitting and will leave you hungry for more.Rob Hamilton, a disaffected insurance lawyer, and Toni Haast, a quietly ambitious claims clerk, are sent to Exmouth, a small town on New Zealand's West Coast, to investigate the suspicious death of Artemis Washburn. On family holidays in Exmouth, Rob's father had filled his young son's mind with ideas of the fifth season - the time when things don't quite fit, like rain when it's sunny. As they delve into the truth behind Artemis's death and their relationship develops, Rob and Toni glimpse life in the fifth season. Meanwhile, back in Wellington, the gilded life of Andy Wu, the Dependable Insurance Company’s stellar CEO, starts to tarnish. Can his marriage to Samantha survive his jealousy of Owen Huntly, top salesman and Lothario? Against a background of modern corporate culture and a tragic death, this bitter-sweet comedy weaves stories of love and relationships, ambition and folly. Views: 524
Originally appeared in the print anthology The Bite Before Christmas.
'Tis the season to join Cat and Bones for some holiday cheer in this Night Huntress novella by USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost.
They were looking forward to a normal holiday—at least as "normal" as it gets for vampires Cat and Bones and their otherworldly friends and family. But their yuletide plans are shattered when a mysterious stranger shows up and reveals long-buried secrets that threaten to take a bite out of their holiday cheer … and lives. Views: 524
