In a land called Mira, the brutal sacking of a young colony links the fates of two opposite characters: a twelve-year-old printer's son named Simon Jones and his long-lost uncle Tiberius Bogg, one of Mira's legendary mountain men.Together they trek through a merciless landscape full of extraordinary creatures -- all culled from American tall tales, Indian legends, and backwoods folklore.Across the sea lies a newly discovered continent, a world whose forests and beasts are unknown to the recorded memory of elves, dwarves, or men.In this land called Mira, the brutal sacking of a young colony links the fates of two opposite characters: a twelve-year-old printer's son named Simon Jones and his long-lost uncle Tiberius Bogg, one of Mira's legendary mountain men.Simon is small, but smart; scared but determined. Bogg, with his raccoon-skin cap and smart-talking grammar abuse, is fast as a splintercat and stealthy as a hidebehind. Together, they turn the tables and pursue their attackers (a cruel knight and his soldiers from the old country) through a wilderness full of extraordinary creatures – jackelopes and thunderbirds, fur-bearing trout and four-legged hills – all culled from American tall tales, Indian legends, and backwoods folklore. Views: 276
A dark tale of murder, revenge, destruction and witchcraft. An anti-hero for an ultra-modern, ultra-stylised world. A fight to the death where it's hard to see the difference between good and evil. And a final battle for redemption.A dark tale of murder, revenge, destruction and witchcraft. John Paris is an anti hero in a warped world, with everything that he could possibly desire, but inexorably drawn to death. He is employed – he thinks, at least – by Hart Industries, an organization that exists on the edge of society, that builds weapons and creates technology for anyone who can pay the most, no matter what the consequences. At the centre is Simon Hart, John’s oldest friend, ruthless and intensely ambitious, weaving his web of control and deceit for his own ends. But then he and John stumble across something new, something vast, something that will change everything. And suddenly, John is thrown into a new reality, finding himself at the centre of a deadly game involving the secret police, traitors, assassins, vampires, and angels. As he fights to survive, to know who he can trust and who is out to destroy him, he has to reassess everything that he knew, that he took for granted. He has to decide if he wants to plunge into the darkness, into the vacuum that will destroy him, and those around him, or if he has what it takes to fight for the chance of redemption. Views: 275
Jim Money bites off more than he can chew when he goes to collect a gambling debt. He's beaten, shot at, finds out that his girlfriend is involved with his best friend, and is forced to work with a woman he despises all in one day.In trying to discover what is going on, a more sinister truth is brought to light.Jim Money just wants his money back from Chuck. Chuck refuses to pay it back, and when Chuck's hardened brothers show up, Jim is forced to back down as shots are fired as he narrowly escaped danger.Jim calls his best friend Steve to go collect from Chuck. Meanwhile, Jessica explains to Jim that although she loves the money he makes from illegal gambling and hustling, she wants a normal life free of the dangers associated with his lifestyle. After spending years building his gambling empire, Jim is reluctant at first, but he thinks about it awhile and decides to take a gamble. Besides, he would have a loving wife, and a stable family life free of the criminal elements that haunt him. He realizes that he could have that with Jessica. But before Jim could tell her, she receives a phone call and shuts Jim out.THE NEXT DAY...Jim receives a phone call from Carla, Steve's wife. She insists that her husband and Jessica are having a fling. Jim denies that Jessica or Steve would do that to him, but he humors Carla. He picks her up and they go to Jessica's house. But when they arrive, they are greeted with a more sinister truth.Will Jim Money get the wife and family life that he wants, or is he biting off more than he can chew?THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE JIM MONEY STORIES.Here are the other stories in chronological order:Bon Appétit EscapeOn the RunJamesBUSTED: a Prequel to the Jim Money Stories Views: 275
THE PAST FORWARD In this book for the most part you will find people saying things like: “I’m old enough to make my own underwear choices.” And “Can I kick your ass and it be ok if the ERA passes? I’m a supporter if you say yes.” And probably way too many pop culture references. Anything else on the high or low brow measure is highly due to delusions of grandeur on the part of the writer.When suspicious incidents begin rattling North America, it doesn't take long for the authorities to realize that something supernatural is happening. To solve the problem, though, they'll have to ask for help from Maywitch - the organization of mages tasked with keeping their peers in check. Kay Adamis, a young witch struggling through college, doesn't complain too much when Maywitch drafts her. She's a decent firecaster who's better at magic than studying, and since her parents aren't around, she could use some help paying her bills. But nobody warned her that the casualties were quietly mounting after months of magical unrest and resulting cover-ups. Demon-summoners and necromancers lurk in the shadows, and some of them seem to be banding together - with potentially dire consequences. With Maywitch's enemies growing stronger every day, Kay has to learn to trust her new companions and herself while rooting out the cause of the chaos unfolding around them.Content Note: Recommended for ages 15+ due to violence and profanity. Views: 275
Ralph Henry Barbour (Also wrote, with L.H. Bickford, as Richard Stillman Powell) was an American novelist, who wrote popular works of sports fiction for boys. Views: 275
ReviewGarth Nix and Sean Williams on Troubletwisters"Sean and I are old friends and we ahve been talking about co-writing something for years, so it's great we've finally got our double act together with Troubletwisters. We'd discussed co-writing a thriller or a science fiction screenplay but then it hit us that we both love children's fantasy books, so that's hwat we should write together. Troubletwisters is the result." —Garth Nix""riters like Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, and Ursula Le Guin inspired both of us when we were kids. Now that we're older and have kids of our own, our job is to inspire them in turn. But really, it's our inner children we're writing for first. That we've never really grown up is what makes these stories so much fun, for children of all ages." —Sean WilliamsProduct DescriptionA spectacular new middle-grade fantasy series from NYT bestselling authors Garth Nix and Sean Williams, in which two twins find that they must act as wards against a threatening evil.The Evil has been trying to break into our dimension and dominate the earth for centuries. Unbeknownst to most of us, there are Wardens all over the globe, who protect humanity from the Evil that asserts itself at the Portals, which are the only places through which the Evil may pass into our world.Jaide and Jack Shield don't know that the world is under attack. They don't know that their dad and their Grandma X, who they move in with, are Wardens, or that they themselves are troubletwisters, young Wardens just coming into their powers. Views: 275
Mildred A. Wirt was an American author. She is best known for her work on the early Nancy Drew series. Views: 275
This powerful, sweeping novel continues the saga of Dshurukawaa, the Tuvan shepherd boy introduced in The Blue Sky. Torn between the onset of visions and pressure from his family to attend a state boarding school, the adolescent attempts to mediate the pull of spirituality and pragmatism, old ways and new. Taken from his ancestral home, he reunites with his siblings at a boarding school, where his brother also serves as principal. Soon he comes to understand that the main purpose of the school is to strip the Tuvans of their language and traditions, and to make them conform to party ideals. When tragedy strikes, Dshurukawaa begins to sense the larger import of his visions, and with it a possible escape. Tschinag's lyrical language, his striking characterizations, and his evocation of a singular way of life make The Gray Earth an unforgettable read and a worthy follow-up to The Blue Sky. Views: 275
Excerpt: ...beach, and oh, how empty seemed the sea far, far behind the breakers of Biscay Bay! At the sight of those breakers, whose sound had been growing in her ears, Olwen gave an involuntary "Oh! Look at them!" From the hotel windows they seemed nothing more than a crawling white line. Here they were rushing monsters that seemed to shake the shore where they broke. They broke and spouted not more than fifty yards away, then swirled and seethed almost to the feet of the women in surf, in the lines that would be taken by boiling milk. Olwen stood nearest with spray on her cheeks, thunder in her ears, and a storm of unimagined whiteness before her eyes, finding it all riotously beautiful. But the last thing in the world that she expected was what Mrs. Cartwright then said: "I say! Let's bathe. It would be too gorgeous in there!" Miss Walsh, behind her, looked as if she could not believe her ears. "In October, dear Mrs. Cartwright?" Dear Mrs. Cartwright laughed as she threw out her arm towards the waters, soaring to crash, soaring again to crash. "That," she cried, "was going on before the months had names!" "Oh, but I never knew any one dreamed of bathing after August," murmured Miss Walsh, still clutching her hat, "and, besides!" (as if that settled it), "you haven't brought your things with you." "That's just what I meant," declared Mrs. Cartwright, taking a deep breath. "I'm going in." "Oh, please don't!" protested Olwen. "I can swim quite well, but any one can see that's dangerous. Supposing you were caught in and swept away. Oh, I wouldn't." "I shouldn't dream of letting you, child," cried Mrs. Cartwright gaily. "I'm going in," and she stooped to unlace the brown thongs of her sandalettes. "Oh! I'll go on and gather shells, then," said Agatha Walsh (hurriedly turning her back as if she dreaded to let her eyes fall upon some repellent sight, reflected Mrs. Cartwright, with amusement). The elder woman was of the type that, under such circumstances, makes... Views: 275
In 2003, Pat Tillman, serving in the US Army, hastily wrote a "just in case" letter to his wife, Marie. When he returned on leave before his departure to Afghanistan, he placed the letter on top of their bedroom dresser. For months it sat there, sealed and ever-present, like a black hole through which Marie knew her stable life would be pulled if she ever had reason to open it. Then, in April 2004, Marie's worst nightmare came true. In the days following his death, it was Pat's letter that kept her going and, more than that, it was his words that would help her learn to navigate a world she could no longer share with her husband. In THE LETTER, Marie's talks for the first time about her journey to remake her life after Pat's death. In it, she recalls meeting and falling in love with Pat when they were kids, his harrowing decision to join the army after 9/11, and the devastating day when she learned he'd been killed. She describes how she withdrew from the public... Views: 275
They say there are two ways to get out of a bad situation; simple and hard. This is a story that takes someone down both paths. Deals behind closed doors are made while others made out in the open. But this is no ordinary game of cat and mouse. New Orleans is a big city with lots of graveyards and swampy routes. Take the wrong one and you may not back it back...They say there are two ways to get out of a bad situation; simple and hard. This is a story that takes someone down both paths. Deals behind closed doors are made while others made out in the open. But this is no ordinary game of cat and mouse. New Orleans is a big city with lots of graveyards and swampy routes. Take the wrong one and you may not make it back. Thus the sayin' "Two go out, but one came back."Heather had no idea how one night would turn her life around. "Timing is everything" she was told. "Do exactly as I tell you and in the order I tell you, and you'll succeed." is all the advise that was giving to her when she decided that she had enough. Views: 274
Charlie the Great White Horse and the Journey to the North Pole:The second book in the trilogy.Children’s fables are meant to bring back to life: the basic tried and true ideals of old-fashioned story telling, whose foundation is built upon wholesome and virtuous storylines; that is the basis of “Americana LiteratureThe three protagonists that gave Charlie so much trouble are back again.Charlie has taken ill at the North Pole because the magic that lies within the string of “Magic Jingle Bells” has been broken and now Christmas might be lost forever. The, “The “Missouri Rats” and Squint-Eye Pete are no good crooks who have devised a sinister plan take over the daily operations of Santa’s Village from Charlie and steal Christmas’s future from all the children of the world. Louis, Chug, and Hot Tamale Molly (a neighborhood girl) have been by fate, decreed to be the saviors of the future of Christmas and have been given the daunting task of returning the magic back into the string of “Magic Jingle Bells”. The three brave friends must embark on a long and very dangerous trek to the North Pole to reach Santa’s Village before Christmas Eve, before the dwindling magic that is keeping Charlie alive, is no more. The three young adventurers with help from “Jupiter the Show Horse” and his best friend Apollo get help from the strangest of characters through out their arduous journey. With each giving all the help they can to save Christmas, but mostly they all try to give little Louis the courage that he will need to succeed, at the dramatic and climatic ending.The first book in the series is now ready: The Journey to Northumberland and the Rise of the Undertoads. Views: 274
