From the infamous Glasgow slum, the Gorbals, Tam Clay chronicles a week in his life, in the last days before the demolishers move in. Intersecting friends, old-timers and eccentrics, navigating his pregnant wife, frisky bedfellows and debt collectors, Tam stumbles through a derelict world on an odyssey of self-discovery. Wildly funny, outlandish and insanely ambitious – thirty years in the writing – Torrington's pulverised '60s Glasgow is crammed to the crevices with a blizzard of his unique and insatiable genius. Views: 396
Leftover from the Holidays is a selected gift from Bobby’s children’s classics. These stories are bouncing off the wall with fun twists and turns that children will enjoy. The gift is perfect for the holidays. (See also Giggles Holiday Stories by Bobby A. Troutt, published by Goose River Press)An adult fictional, short story about a man's journey of self-empowerment and discovering life. When he experiences a life changing event he re-evaluates his life and pushes himself to the limits. Throughout his journey he finds himself through past, present, and future events. The story provokes an emotional roller coaster, only to conclude that the ending is the beginning and beginning the end.After you have enjoyed this free ebook, the author would love your feedback! Views: 396
A murder investigation leads Du Pré into the cutthroat world of illegal horse racing Gabriel Du Pré's aunt Pauline has burned through more than her share of husbands, so it's no surprise when she shows up in Toussaint complaining that the latest one, Badger, has run off. Du Pré, the fiddler and sometimes deputy, agrees to go looking for her man and finds him shot, execution-style, in the wilds of the Montana countryside. A chat with his contacts at the FBI reveals that Badger, a small-time drug smuggler, had been working for them since his last arrest. Pauline's husband was bait, but the big fish got away. The last lead was to a cabal of wealthy gamblers who pass their time racing horses in the barren Montana brush. To infiltrate their tight-knit syndicate, Du Pré goes undercover, lining up his own horse and jockey. He must tread lightly—horses are not the only things these men shoot. Views: 396
Time-travelling ex-postman Harley Byrne's ongoing mission is to capture and make available for download “all the world’s music, ever.” In this newly rediscovered chapter from his lost memoirs, Byrne describes in full his mission to Manchester, 1952, to record the secret computer music of Alan Turing - war hero, mathematician, inventor of hands-free umbrella.Matilda thought she had gotten away with breaking the rules. But when her name appears in blood on a rock, her village elders send her out as the monthly sacrifice. Armed with a steak knife and a flash light, Matilda's not sure she's ready to die. Supposedly the scarecrows will eat her, but she's pretty certain the mayor has something to do with it. Scaring Fields is a stand-alone short story of approximately 4,900 words. Views: 396
Santil the Warrior thought that disposing of a sorcerer's dead body would be easy....how wrong he was!The trial and execution of the sorcerer went well. Santil was given the seemingly easy task of getting rid of the corpse but after a bad start things just got worse and worse. Views: 395
This is a collection of 10 hilarious poems from a pupper (dog or puppy) point of view. The whole family of all ages can enjoy these with a good laugh. There are a total of over 1800 words to tickle your funny bone.A young prince Calum escapes his bed in the dead of night to meet with the illusive wanderer, known to the men of Calum’s kingdom as Roland the Ferocious, at a crossroads. And with that, Calum begins his journey west to the kingdom of Dunway where he seeks a new life far from his father’s kingdom. Only the forests stand between Calum and his new home, the gruff, and hardened Roland, his only guide, but how will the young Calum handle himself when confronted by the beasts and trials he finds within. Views: 395
Sara has led no life. Only two days after her birth, a mysterious plague wiped out the entire human population. She wasn't sure if she had been immune or not, but something kept her alive.When Sara turned fourteen, she became aware that she was not the only survivor in that empty, shallow world. Somewhere, in a distant city, more children were fighting for their lives. But Sara isn't supposed toTwo-Sox Christina's kitten, had played with the fish in the fish bowl before and splashed about, but he had never been on a home fishing trip - until now. He'd apparently eaten all her big sister Sam's Fantails and now he was in BIG trouble. Christina needed a way to discourage Two-Sox from ever doing this again - but how?(PG) A children's story with an alternative ending which is a little on the dark side (you choose the ending you want). Views: 395
Lola Bensky is a nineteen-year-old rock journalist who irons her hair straight and asks a lot of questions. A high-school dropout, she's not sure how she got the job — but she's been sent by her Australian newspaper right to the heart of the London music scene at the most exciting time in music history: 1967.Lola spends her days planning diets and interviewing rock stars. In London, Mick Jagger makes her a cup of tea, Jimi Hendrix (possibly) propositions her and Cher borrows her false eyelashes. At the Monterey International Pop Festival, Lola props up Brian Jones and talks to Janis Joplin about sex. In Los Angeles, she discusses being overweight with Mama Cass and tries to pluck up the courage to ask Cher to return those false eyelashes.Lola has an irrepressible curiosity, but she begins to wonder whether the questions she asks these extraordinary young musicians are really a substitute for questions about her parents' calamitous past that can't be asked or answered. As... Views: 395
Prophets pertains to a SciFi/Fantasy/Cyberpunk trilogy, involving current and advanced technological theories along with mythological references. Think "The Fifth Element" fantasy, "X-Men" ambition and "300" grit. Outlining a rising empire’s lust for dominion and its treacherous collapse, with an aftermath that will leave once fertile lands in ruin and cinder.Prophets pertains to a SciFi/Fantasy/Cyberpunk trilogy, involving current and advanced technological theories along with mythological references. Think "The Fifth Element" fantasy, "X-Men" ambition and "300" grit. The main focus would center on a new super-villain with vile intentions and great power that is sure to garner high rankings amongst fantasy enthusiasts.Able to demonstrate peak or superhuman levels of stamina in addition to control variable psycho-kinetic abilities, both Nathaniel and his fellow homo-dragonous have proven to become socially “unstable” and have been detained within government funded "institutions" for protective purposes.Nathaniel has been a long time resident of a concentration camp-styled facility utilizing controversial methods to house and restrain a collective of potentially dangerous citizens of our population. Time and failed escape attempts would progressively create a twisted man despite all efforts to keep this monster at bay.He is able to break away from the institution and amass a great number of followers, promptly earning the label as a ruthless dictator with great ego and bravado. Announcing himself with god-like status, he is to be worshiped as the peak of his species. His traits demonstrate the purest example of class dominance and is convinced that he should worshiped as such.Thus igniting a scale of holy war unmatched to any other within our history. He assembles foot-soldiers and aerial battle cruisers to impose his might, to smite his opposition who choose not to praise nor submit to his demands.Engaging in costly battles against The United Nations with clear objectives to scorch the Earth, often overwhelming forces in order to put an end toward his global influence. "Prophets: Heaven's Adversary" is the first installment within this new Sci-Fi Trilogy. Outlining a rising empire’s lust for dominion and its treacherous collapse, with an aftermath that will leave once fertile lands in ruin and cinder. Views: 395
Warning: experimental translation (hybrid)First episode of the series "Detective Pisani's notebooks" The detective Pisani is found to investigated on to strange houses of homicide to Aosta, where he has been being transferred for about one year. A blonde has been drowned in the blonde. It doesn't a game of words. Inside the beer factory B63 is recovered the dead body of Venus Ascanetti...Warning: experimental translation (hybrid)First episode of the series "Detective Pisani's notebooks" The detective Pisani is found to investigated on to strange houses of homicide to Aosta, where he has been being transferred for about one year. A blonde has been drowned in the blonde. It doesn't a game of words. Inside the beer factory B63 is recovered the dead body of Venus Ascanetti, a wonderful blonde, drowned in one of the tubs of fermentation of the beer. Beer that, besides, it is also the favorite drink of our detective for burdens qualities of it. What to waste. Wastes on waste! Views: 395
A young Pentagon Intelligence Analyst discovers a terror plot against the United States. Working with agencies to stop it, she becomes attracted to a young Army officer. Together, they try to stop the attack.A young Army officer becomes severely depressed and quits the military after experiencing a horrible event as a counter terrorist operator and can’t rationalize ever leading soldiers in action again. He seeks obscurity as a civilian, taking menial jobs with no plans for his future. Then, a nuclear terror threat in the United States forces him back into service, supporting law enforcement as an advisor about an old adversary. He meets an attractive young intelligence analyst assisting the FBI. The emergency that brings them together also creates a barrier to any personal relationship. When the danger escalates further, they may never have any chance to be together. Views: 394
Kei Salin has been watching young lives fall to faulty bureaucratic nonsense for decades and she's tired of it. She forces the hand of her superiors to remove her from the project. Before obtaining her reassignment,she takes a trip. One stop on her vacation forces her to reveal something she's denied for decades.Ever wonder why aliens don't visit Earth? Or what coffee a demon likes to drink? Or how bureaucracy could really screw up a grand space adventure? A Flash in the Pan? is a collection of speculative flash fiction and short stories that answers these questions and more.The collection includes the following speculative fiction stories:- Beware Antipodean Shores (50 words)- Shipwrecked (500 words)- The Gloriously Cunning Plan (500 words)- Make Mine a Macchiato (500 words)- Striking Twice (500 words)- In the Service of the Public (500 words)- The Devil Wears Ugly Shapeless Garments Covered in Dog Hair (500 words)- The Regersek Zone (500 words)- Hindsight is a Bitch (50 words)- Authentic Empathy (500 words)- Wefting the Warp (4,300 words)- Showdown (5,100 words) Views: 394
Tom Striker is a mud lark, earning a crust foraging on the banks of The Thames foranything worth selling. When his friend Billy goes missing, and he saves a manclaiming to be Old Father Thames, Tom and his friends are caught up in a battlebetween powerful spirits.This title is published by Franklin Watts EDGE, which produces a range of booksto get children reading with confidence. EDGE - for books children can't put down. Views: 394
A hunting trip with his father ends in tragedy for a young Lerebus, a figure destined to become a warrior. His family dead, his village in pieces, the young man sets out on the road of the sword, the road of vengeance. This is the beginning of his tale, the start of what made the man who would become Lerebus Shieldbreaker.This is a short story of approximately 3,500 words.Not all of us are scarred, abused, and stained, but some of us, because of a decision we made early in life, are destined to play a part of life we do not wish to play. Then again we might be living a life of contradiction. A life that we live only because we were never given a chance. We were called names and told we would never amount to anything. We were told this so often that we finally believed it was true and have given in to the lie. Then there is the life that shows the marks of anger, bitterness, and rage. This life does not diminish the other two lives, this life simply shows the scars, the battle wounds, and the ugliness of life. All three lives are scarred and abused. All three carry with them the hurt and anger of years. All three touch each of us in some way. But it need not end there. Views: 394
