Lieutenant Aurelian finds himself lost in the jungles, and following a brush with death, the soldier is captured by bandits. He is led into a subterranean valley ruled by Lord Abraham, the master of a forgotten technology. Aurelian must summon the will to overcome his physical limitations and utilize a curse of blood in an attempt to escape from the valley and return to the surface world.Aurelian, an exile from the militaristic nation of Akkahellonia, finds himself lost in the jungles of a rival nation and, following a brush with death, is brought into a subterranean world where the residents have all been changed by a machine thought lost a millennia ago. After falling victim to the machine and its possessor, Aurelian must summon the will to overcome his physical limitations and utilize a curse of blood in an attempt to escape from the valley and return to the surface world.Here is the first story set on the water planet Triton and its Celestial Isles. Inspired by the myths and legends created by pulp fiction masters Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H.P. Lovecraft, the Triton Tales blend science, magic, and adventure as they tell the stories of the heroic men and women who struggle against extra-natural forces seeking to corrupt their world. Views: 482
In the midst of famine during a forgotten Stalinist genocide, DANYA KOMYSA is a proud Cossack Partisan, forced to witness the murder of his wife during the Soviet Purges and Famine of 1932. Despite his heroic defiance, against Stalin's most notorious Chekist General, his lone crusade for retribution seems hopeless. Now as Danya wrestles with his destiny he encounters a powerful resistance group and takes on a deadly challenge. He must chaperone NATALKA ZAKHAROV, once Stalin's favourite adjutant, yet now Russia's most wanted fugitive, to Kharkiv City as she flees from the same Chekist General who murdered his wife. As the notorious GENERAL VRATEK and his Cheka Secret Police pursue the pair across the nation, Danya and his Chekist adversary are drawn ever closer together. Relentless conflict, incarceration and rescue soon follow as the chase builds to a dramatic climax in Kharkiv City. Now love strikes deep into two open hearts as Danya and Natalka are bound by... Views: 482
"Unlike too many poets who tumble into print at the first twitch of feeling, Michael Ryan takes time to listen to himself, and such listening contributes immeasurably to the subtlety of his address to the reader...[He] reminds us on every page that poems can be about lives, and about them in ways most urgent and delicate." —William H. Pritchard, The Nation"The twin ancient powers of poetry are story and song," Michael Ryan said in a recent interview. "I like a lot of both." And both are here in This Morning in glorious abundance: graceful complex narratives and tight formal lyrics, edgy humor, affecting music, and insistent clarity always in the service of the heart. He can be deeply funny and extremely moving, often at the same time. No other living poet possesses Ryan's range of tone and technique in rendering the great subjects of art and life: sex, mortality, loss, and love (both conjugal and paternal). Even his most apparently autobiographical writing... Views: 482
Azin’s village of Defra Elves is far from perfect, with the unique magic of Defra bound to their emotions some mistakes are understandable. But as the target of one particularly evil Fire Defra Azin cannot help but feel the village has been too understanding of his actions. Given the option to end his life by Fang, a wolf seeking help of a Beast Defra, Azin must choose between family and justicePlease let me know what you think i'm trying to get some unbiased feedback. Views: 482
A balloon ascent to the Heavens... A man with X-ray vision... A utopian metal city built on giant pylons above Paris... A sexless world in which women reproduce parthenogenetically and man is unknown... Is science insane? Unholy? See nine French authors of the 19th century grapple in a ground-breaking fashion with the future themes of science fiction. All the stories included in this volume predate the first translation into French of H.G. Wells. They are representative of a distinct tradition of romans scientifiques whose cardinal influences included astronomer Camille Flammarion and Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. This edition includes a historical introduction and notes by Brian Stableford. Views: 482
At 7:45 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving break, a bomb goes off at Edison High. Nine people die instantly. Fifteen are critically injured. Twenty-two suffer less severe injuries. And one is blinded. Those who survive, struggle to cope with the loss and destruction. All must find new meaning for their lives as a result of something they may never understand.
Lurlene McDaniel's signature expertise and finesse in dealing with issues of violence, death, and physical as well as emotional trauma in the lives of teens is immediate and heartrending. Views: 482
A soulful journey through India, a detour into amnesia, a plunge into adventure as humor lights the way to liberation. A book for awakening Minds who know that spiritual truth lies within—and that it takes a bit of laughter, plus facing the muck at times, to get there. Fiction based in fact, the sacred tinged with sacrilege, and an entertaining boost for those on their path to freedom."The Now or Never" is much like the fabled elephant probed by five blind sages who each perceive it in a different manner. For some readers, the book will be an entertaining adventure populated by colorful characters, with India’s rich heritage and natural beauty providing an attractive backdrop to tale unfolding. Others, while reading, will glimpse the light and shadow in a psyche truthfully exposed through a man’s twisting spiritual path, juxtaposed against a fictional tale in which characters spring from his scattered mind to frolic in both conflict and harmony. Many readers who are tired of dry, spiritually-correct writings, may be refreshed by the abundant humor and gentle sacrilege that are used to delve into spiritual insight as well as to enhance the story line laced with intrigue, manipulation, kindness, murder, and perhaps, redemption.The plot centers around a man who awakens each morning with a fresh case of amnesia, a predicament soothed only slightly by lush garden setting and the rumbling Ganges River outside his isolated ashram hut. He does his best to slowly piece together has past and present, while his future attracts a cast of characters eager to take advantage of his mental handicap. Shri Shri Cy Bubba, a guru of questionable repute who caters to ‘the serious seeker or the gullible wealthy’, is the primary bump in our forgetful protagonist’s road. But getting shaken up by a trickster like Cy Bubba has it’s spiritual advantages, as does running into Alberta who thinks it a hoot to provide a series of…'innovative', shall we say, wake-up calls to a confused and pliable man with no memory. Also, the protagonist periodically discovers pieces of his spiritual autobiography dropped along the path that were written just prior to his plunge into amnesia. They tell the true story of a man having lost his comfortable life, as a respectable engineer and lawyer, to a mind-bending spiritual awakening in the 1990’s filled with inter-dimensional spirit guides, psychic encounters, and reality shifts that sent him spinning off into the fast lane of spiritual highs and shadowy lows.As the book draws to a close with fiction and fact intertwining to weave a fitting climax to the story, the protagonist/author realizes that he has actually been caught in a deeper, lifelong cycle of forgetfulness than the one recounted in the novel.This amnesia of the soul sends the author off on a true-life search for his higher mind and to recollect why our spirits fell into human embodiment in a convoluted earth world. Three subsequent books in "The Nyxall Chronicles" follow this journey through soulful loss and exquisite discovery that climax in 2015 in the Peruvian Andes. The Chronicles may be read and enjoyed in any order since each contains a unique storyline, message, and resolution. Views: 482
Apocalypstick contains two deliciously dark short stories: Finding Home, a creepy supernatural horror, and Killing Tiffany Hudson, a post-apocalyptic tale of two genetically modified people who must decide the fate of humanity.Behind every inexplicable action a man takes, you will find his warped perception of a woman.Immerse yourself the minds and lives of two extraordinary men who did it all for the women they love.Story 1. Finding HomeSee the world through the eyes of a deeply troubled man as he quests for his twisted idea of a perfect home, a perfect woman, and a perfect life. Whether you are a casual reader or like to explore subtext, this very creepy jaunt will make your skin crawl.Story 2. Killing Tiffany HudsonIs there any line you wouldn't cross to save the life of a loved one? Is there any price you wouldn't pay? A young man battles the consequences of his answers, in this Post-apocalyptic short fiction, where right masquerades as wrong, weakness as strength, and deadly monsters as... camels? Well, sometimes, yes. Views: 482
Three classic Richard Sharpe adventures
Richard Sharpe and the Peace of 1814
It is 1814. Rumours abound that Napoleon has surrendered, been murdered, or fled. But before the French are finally defeated and Sharpe can lay down his sword, one of the bloodiest conflicts of the war must be fought: the battle for the city of Toulouse.
Sharpe and the Waterloo Campaign, 15 June to 18 June 1815
It is 1815. Sharpe is serving on the personal staff of the Prince of Orange, who refuses to listen to Sharpe’s reports of an enormous army, led by Napoleon, marching towards them.
Richard Sharpe and the Emperor, 1820-21
Five years after the Battle of Waterloo, Sharpe’s peaceful retirement in Normandy is shattered. An old friend, Don Blas Vivar, is missing in Chile, reported dead at rebel hands – a report his wife refuses to believe. She appeals to Sharpe to find out the truth. Views: 482
Amid the squalor of Renaissance France, the brash and beautiful gay prostitute, Claude Severin, is struggling. Debts multiply, homelessness looms, the one-eyed monk ever spits of his reprobation. When a mysterious stranger offers him a golden chance, Claude, desperate, ignores the shadowy nature of payment. He's happy enough at the chance to raise his station, but at what cost to his soul?Claude Severin lives amidst the squalor and the religious excitations of Renaissance France. Life is free and brash for the servant cum gay prostitute. But circumstances turn cruel when his master, Serge, fed up with his sinful ways, demands he moves out. The ultimatum seizes Claude with terror. If he does not find a new master soon, only the savage streets await him. Salvation is at hand when a mysterious stranger, Guy Sewell, offers him the golden opportunity for an education. The chance to raise his station is too tempting for Claude, despite Guy's roguish eyes and his evasion on the lewd nature of payment. But fiery sermons light up every street corner, and Claude grows fearful for his soul. Suddenly the choice isn’t so clear anymore. What way lies forward?Read here as Claude must find his true way between the Cross and the Black in this exciting first book of this series. Views: 481
The Darcys get pulled into the Regency craze for Egypt in this romantic and adventurous Pride and Prejudice continuation by bestselling author Amanda Grange and Egyptology expert Jacqueline Webb.
When Elizabeth, Darcy and their lively children go to Egypt with Colonel Fitzwilliam's younger brother, romantic interludes between Darcy and Elizabeth intertwine with the unraveling of a mystery dating back to an ancient Egyptian woman. They find long-hidden treasure, thwart a theft and betrayal by the ever villainous George Wickham, and lay to rest an ancient ghost. Views: 481
They are known by many names, from Gods and Immortals to Demons and Vampires. They are whispers in the shadows, myths, and legends. They have existed alongside mankind for thousands of years, always in hiding, always feeding. They are are the top of the food chain and humanity is their only prey.AUTHORS NOTE: About six months ago I finished my first novel (Chronicles of the Vampire Hunters: The Coalition). The finished product was well over six hundred pages long, was unedited, and had NUMEROUS grammatical and punctuation errors. Also due to its length several elements of the story had to be left out. So instead of moving on to my next project, I decided to improve upon The Coalition. So I broke the novel up into three parts, had it edited, and added previously left out scenes(including a new prologue) making it a more complete story. If you've read The Coalition before I hope that you will be happy with the new material and if not I'm confident you will enjoy this first novel following Jake and his family's adventures. So here it is, the first part of The Coalition Trilogy: Creation. They are known by many names, from Gods and Immortals to Demons and Vampires. They are whispers in the shadows, myths, and legends. They have existed alongside mankind for thousands of years, always in hiding, always feeding. They are are the top of the food chain and humanity is their only prey. Alone and outnumbered a small group of men and women stand their ground, fighting to drive back the darkness anyway they can. They are our first, last, and only line of defense against monsters that know no fear. They are the Vampire Hunters. Jake Bishop is a normal, easy going kid that spends his summer days playing with his action figures and watching cartoons. The biggest, Earth shattering problem is his life are his parent's nonstop arguments over money. That all changes one hot summer night, when a demon from his father's past comes crashing back into his life. Jake is plunged into a surreal, terrifying world beyond his worst nightmares. Jake is nearly killed, his mother kidnapped, sending his father into a mad quest for revenge. Jake learns two truths, vampires exist and the Bishops have been hunting them for hundreds of years. And they are VERY good at what they do. Views: 481
In order to reclaim his father's kingdom, Jason has been sent on an impossible mission - to take the golden ram's fleece that lies far away, guarded by a dragon. Jason, who is so attractive that women fall instantly in love with him, sets sail in the Argo, along with the greatest heroes of ancient Greece, including the surly (and often drunk) Hercules, the enchanting musician Orpheus and the battling twins Castor and Pollux. As they battle clashing rocks, monsters and seductresses, watched over by pitiless gods, they will learn that victory comes at a price. In The Golden Fleece Robert Graves transforms Greek myth into a thrilling and richly imagined story, bringing the ancient world vividly alive. Views: 481
A collection of mulit-genre poems of short stories written by an array of talented writers.Intertwine features some of today's up and coming writers, as well as some that have been firmly established for years. With everything from poetry, humor, fantasy, horror, love, and real life, Intertwine promises to have something for everyone. Views: 481
