Between the years 1977 to 1989 I had several friends and seemed to be out every night with one or all of them. The thing that didn’t occur to me then was they were all female but I had no intention of being anything other than a platonic friend with all of them and can’t think why.Each Sunday I would meet 3 girls at the café across the street from the church we attended and we would decide what adventures we would ‘get up to’ each week. If it was hot and sunny we could go to the seaside if not – which was more likely coming from Glasgow – we would visit places of local interest or just ‘hang out’ together.Being friends with them brought me into contact with several of their ‘other’ female friends and I found myself getting emotionally involved with them as well - but I had ‘fairly steady’ girlfriends most of the time so never thought of any of these girls as anything other than platonic acquaintances. One girl was Jewish – she rebelled against everything, her father, her religion, the world in general (when it suited her) and regarded the holocaust as a personal insult - although she knew nobody involved.One was a lesbian – the other girls tolerated her, because she was very funny and entertaining, as long as she kept her sexual preferences at a distance from them.One was a nymphomaniac – it wasn’t her fault, she often told me, she hated to sleep alone –and seldom did.One I met when she was 5 years old, then later when she was 11, and the last time when she was 16 and on her way to join a convent. She confessed she had a massive crush on me when we first met, which was re-kindled when my friends and I had helped her out when she was 11. She promised, the last time I saw her, to remember us all in her prayers.One was twice the age of the others, including me, and had been a ‘bit of a girl’ when she was younger and tried to convince all who came into contact with her that she ‘still had it’. Several of the girls doubted she ever had ‘it’ and no matter how hard she tried she was never likely to find ‘it’ again.One was, without doubt, the most beautiful girl I had ever met. A few years after I left their group she turned up in the local press and was lambasted by them when it emerged she was the mistress of a local businessman and dared to go to a prestigious function on the arm of a famous millionaire. They slaughtered her for about a week until the famous man quickly married his childhood sweetheart and she was never mentioned again. Each ‘Diamond’ in this adventure is based on several aspects of these ‘friends’. Their stories once told, their secrets once kept. Hopes and desires often shared - confessions and fantasies seldom overheard. Could it be it was all so simple then (The way we were)? Views: 289
Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience. Views: 289
A Smarts & Dewdrop Mystery, book 1.Detective Smarts of Crazy Name Town has a problem. Doctor Boring has been bumped off, and the only clues at the scene are some olives, tomatoes, mushrooms and a sprinkle of oregano. With the townsfolk dropping like flies and Pizza Dudes stumbling down the streets, Officer Dewdrop has an idea.For ages 10+.A Smarts & Dewdrop Mystery, book 1.Detective Smarts of Crazy Name Town has a problem. Doctor Boring and his receptionist have been bumped off, and the only clues at the scene are some olives, tomatoes, mushrooms and a sprinkle of oregano. With the townsfolk dropping like flies and strange-looking figures stumbling down the streets mumbling "Pizza!", Officer Dewdrop has an idea.Juvenile fiction/YA/age 10+This story is contained in The Gage Project book, published by Inknbeans Press, which is raising money for children's charities. Views: 288
Another strange and rather peculiar story, in the style of Roald Dahl, by the Crazymad Writer, Gerrard Wilson.Are you searching for the path of true enlightenment? If so, read on - but beware of unforeseen the consequences.I can imagine you thinking, ‘What’s so scary about ‘Fizzy, Cherry Cola?’ To be truthful there is nothing scary about it, but having said that, please look carefully into the bottle before making your final assumptions…Well, did you see anything? Did you see the troubled souls trapped inside the bottle? Did you see the expressions on their poor, pitiful faces, knowing they have no hope of ever escaping it, that the only release they might hope for is that someone happens upon the bottle, and then drinks the cola, this finishing them off? Views: 288
Crack open Ruby Redfort’s second adventure — and you will literally be on the edge of your wits.
Everyone’s favorite girl detective is back for a second mind-blowing installment, packed with all the off-the-wall humor, action, and friendship of the first book. This time, though, it’s an adventure on the wide-open ocean, and Ruby is all at sea. . . . Can she crack the case of the Twinford pirates while evading the clutches of a vile sea monster as well as the evil Count von Viscount? Well, you wouldn’t want to bet against her. Views: 288
This time, Riley might really have bitten off more than she’s ready for. After practically begging the Council for a more challenging Soul Catch, she is assigned an actual Roman gladiator—Theocoles, the Pillar of Doom. How is Riley, a skinny twelve-year-old, supposed to get through to him? Then she meets the beautiful Messalina, who convinces her that her only chance is to become part of this world. To accomplish this, Messalina helps Riley through a dramatic, mystical makeover, transforming her into the beautiful and mature teen she’s always wanted to be. Finally, Riley can experience her first boyfriend and her first kiss. With a dream this enchanting, will she ever want to leave? Views: 288
I think I'm losing my mind. The alternative would be I'm seeing ghosts. If I'm going crazy, I should check myself into a nuthouse as soon as possible. But if I'm not... if she's really a ghost, listening to her could mean the difference between life and death.Can a shy artist gain the upper hand in a face-off against her domineering twin?Will paint cans fly as two teams from vastly different backgrounds butt heads?Will a fun-loving volunteer find the courage to carve his own path?Follow three teens as they grapple with issues of love, loss, friendship, identity, and harbored prejudices in a race against time to complete their artwork in the 2nd Annual National High School Fresco Painting Competition. Views: 288
Dentists save the world! With some help from a time traveling government agent...This short story is about dentists who travel through time to keep reality as we know it from collapsing. Yes. You read that right, dentists often save the world! Views: 288
Ember Walsh is a trusting soul with the quiet beauty of her late mother, who perished in a mysterious car crash when Ember was three. A little tomboyish from being raised by her father, Ember packs a punch when a stranger gets pushy with her in a bar, catching the steely blue eyes of a tall, gorgeous tattooed man—Trace Montgomery. Still damaged from her last disastrous relationship and warned off the bad boy by friends, Ember fights the smoldering heat that Trace sparks in her when he begins shadowing her like a dark angel.
Burdened by a lifetime of horror and heartbreak, amateur fighter Trace doesn’t want to want Ember. His deep self-loathing keeps him from having any meaningful relationships, but Ember is an itch he can’t scratch. The two push and pull, slowly crumbling their walls, seemingly brought together by fate, because the turmoil that haunts their pasts is interlinked in undeniable ways. But can these two fighters finally lay down their arms?
In Beautifully Damaged, L.A. Fiore delves into deep scars and lets love and forgiveness uncover redemption. Views: 288
12-year-old Christina Smith is trying to get her life back on track. She's lost her father to cancer, her mother has become a stranger and is involved with someone new. All Christina has left is her best friend, Tadpole Stevens to help her through a time when everything seems dark. How can she find the magic of the lake again without Daddy? With good friends, time and the lake, healing comes.Christina Smith is 12-years-old and her world has been turned upside down. Forest Lake has been her whole world, filled with magic everywhere she turns until her father dies of cancer and any kind of light is hard to find. Christina's mother has been whittled down by her father's illness, made bitter and hard. She turns to someone new, a hospice volunteer and only with him, does Christina see any part of the mother she has always known and loved.Feeling abandoned and angry, Christina struggles to find happiness again. It will take the help of her best friend, Tadpole Stevens, John Collier, her mother's new husband and other good friends in her neighborhood to teach her that the magic was always there--inside of her. Views: 288
A family trip to the Aransas Pass Lighthouse turns spooky. *This story is family appropriate.Sarah and Carl Jr's dad is crazy about lighthouses. In fact he writes books about them. But when the family head to Aransas Pass, Texas for a snoop around the old lighthouse, they find a little more then they went looking for! Views: 288
This short story provides a powerful and touching encounter and an imperative message. Experience the significance of Easter up close and personal in a manner you have probably never considered.You had seldom given a second thought to the meaning of Easter, until today. You wander the streets, alone. An unexpected encounter leaves you baffled but hopeful in a way you had never imagined. You witness a quintessential change for the better. You are glad you chose to endure, for you now understand that the end will usher in a new beginning, a glorious and joyful beginning. Views: 288
An anthology of horror, science fiction and fantasy short stories, some dark and some light but all challenging the bounds of your imagination. You will begin with an experiment in nano-biotechnology gone very wrong, end with an alternate reality on Olde Aearth, and in between experience everything from dragons and wizards to a hurricane and misadventures in space!Can you imagine what your world might be like, One Minute After? A blurring of reality that transcends rational bounds; where every frame of reference has been turned on its head, and visuals are but fleeting reflections in a hall of mirrors?Venture, then, if you dare, into this anthology of horror, science fiction and fantasy; some dark and some light, but all a challenge to your imagination. We will begin with an experiment in nano-biotechnology gone very wrong, and, if you do not perish in transit, end in a desperate alternate reality on Olde Aearth; emerging with a glimmer of hope ~ justified or not. In between, in those shadowy alcoves and interstitial chambers throughout, you might experience dragons, wizards, hurricanes, or even misadventures in space.As a caveat, there can be no assurance as to what anyone will encounter, One Minute After. The journey elicits a different experience for each, and not everyone returns whole, or at all.That said, all are welcome to transcend this unique dimension of faux reality. It could never, after all, thrive as a shell devoid of fear, and to feed that hunger there must be voyeurs within. And so if you are feeling contradictory, adventurous, or just plain foolhardy, please hasten to cross the threshold into the altered timescape of 24:01. Simply pay no mind to the frantic, leaping shadows within, the basso chortle emanating from the darkness close-by, or the clack of the latch falling shut behind... Views: 288
