Claire flees from a Seattle crook to an Otherworld barbarian tyrant. Not a whole lot of improvement there. One threatens with a gun, the other swings a broadsword.This novel won the EPPIE for Best Fantasy of the Year. Novels by Matthews have been published by Avon, Dark Quest, Dell, Holt, LostLoves, Putnam, Silhouette, Scholastic and others."...Mudflat series is a supernatural comic romp full of non-stop action, fantastic characters and a hero you’ll love..." - RT Book ReviewsIn the first novel of the Mudflat Magic seriesClaire flees from a Seattle crook to an Otherworld barbarian tyrant. Not a whole lot of improvement there. One threatens with a gun, the other swings a broadsword. This novel won the EPPIE for Best Fantasy of the Year.Review:"... a delightful read. Phoebe Matthews creates her own secret world fraught with unknown dangers and magic." Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.comPhoebe Matthews is currently writing three urban fantasy series. Novels by Matthews have been published by Avon, Dark Quest, Dell, Holt, LostLoves, Putnam, Silhouette, Scholastic and others. Views: 784
When a new video game takes the world by storm, a new player is profoundly moved by the beauty and wonder that the game holds. But under the breathtaking exterior is a dark secret that threatens the sanity and lives of the players.In developed countries, social cohesion has been sacrificed on the altar of individual gratification. Individuals wanted more and better. Inventors and entrepreneurs rallied to serve our desires. We progressed – pulled along by our hunger for improvement. This strategy worked well for centuries. Survival rates benefitted more from technological advances than from recognising individual social contributions. But the paths of ‘what we want in the short term’ and ‘what is good for us in the long term’ diverged. As we moved forwards, we increasingly abandoned non-commercial activities – regardless of their contribution to social wellbeing.We’ve now reached point where the benefits of technological advances are becoming outweighed by the disadvantages. New consumer inventions make us less active. Improved food production is turning us fat. Social media is stopping us socialising. Even medical advances will become less important to the majority – focusing, quite rightly, on a shrinking minority of ill people or providing more years of relative infirmity for the very old.The wellbeing of the majority during the majority of their lives can now be improved more by positive social interaction than by technological advances. To do this, we need to amend our reward system. We need to provide additional motivation for carrying out beneficial social activity. Although many already help others altruistically, there’s no moral reason why they shouldn’t receive further tangible rewards. And tangible rewards might encourage even more people to help one another. This would deliver additional social benefits – thereby improving general wellbeing. Views: 784
Over New Year's Eve, a nine man terrorist cell is intent on attacking London and destroying the heart of the city. Only one police squad stands in their way. The Armed Response Unit. As the terrorists pursue separate targets with ruthless intent, the officers on the ARU task force must track them all down and take them on one-by-one in a race against time.It’s New Year’s Eve. A major terrorist cell is planning a series of attacks across London over the next forty-eight hours. The government has surveillance on the group, a man undercover, and prepare to move in, to take out the terrorists before they can strike. But they lose contact with their inside man. And the cell vanishes into thin air, dispersing into the streets, armed and intent on completing their assault on London. The best Counter-Terrorist teams in the country are told to take them down before it's too late.Nine terrorists.Nine lives.The Armed Response Unit is one of these teams. Efficient and ruthless, the task force is ordered to locate the leader of the cell. As they hunt him down, they begin to realise that this is far bigger than any of them could ever have imagined. Bombings, rocket attacks, betrayal and a series of unexpected and shocking twists leave the ARU fighting to stay alive.There's Archer, the youngest member of the team, keen to prove himself and justify his spot on the task force. His best friend, Chalky, who is forced to fight both the terrorists and his own demons. Porter, Deakins and Fox, tough and experienced men who’ve never dealt with anything of this magnitude. And Mac, their sergeant, who must make the quickest of decisions and lead his men against the invisible enemy.As events unfold, other people are drawn into the danger. The Prime Minister, desperately trying to find a solution and protect the capital. A mysterious female Mossad agent, who appears out of nowhere and joins the fight against the cell. Two Special Agents from the DEA, one of whom was a member of the SEAL team that stormed Osama Bin Laden’s compound and who for some reason is struggling with the memory. And the vicious, powerful leader of a Middle Eastern drug cartel, who operates in the shadows and is somehow connected to the terrorists.With crowds all over London celebrating the New Year, and with nine terrorists somewhere amongst them, the Armed Response Unit is faced with the most dangerous night of their lives. As the savage, shocking plans of the enemy are fully revealed, the ARU officers are faced with the ultimate question.How many times can a man cheat Death before Death evens the score? Views: 784
A darkly comic novel set in the world of Eridia. When a bar full of crooks, scumbags, and psychos (plus a few arguably sympathetic characters) learn about a big hunk of gold half a day's journey west, the race is on to see who can get their greedy, treacherous hands on it first. Along the way the competitors must contend with scheming constables, a killer robot, a peevish dryad, and much more.A darkly comic novel set in the world of Eridia.When a dying man staggers into a crowded underworld tavern and tells the assorted desperate characters gathered inside that there’s a huge block of gold hidden in a remote canyon half a day’s journey west, it sets off the craziest, bloodiest treasure hunt Eridia has ever seen.Among the many crooks, scum, losers, and fools vying for this priceless prize are Bastard Jack, the biggest, baddest, and probably hairiest bandit in the land; Kirby and Blunt, small-time thieves whose schemes always backfire; John Grommet, a timid scribe in need of money to save his dying mother; Gaspard and Merizen, lusty con-artists who find the thought of all that gold stimulating enough to necessitate the occasional time-out for a quickie; the Yellow Pawns, a trio of nihilistic cultists who want the treasure to further their apocalyptic agenda; Illyana and Luornu, young barmaids who dream of a life free from the pawing hands of drunken idiots; and then there’s…Ludwig van Beethoven?In their mad scramble to get the gold the various competitors must contend not only with each other but also with a team of local constables, a race of monster-people called the gorgim, a peevish dryad, a killer robot, and a gibberish-spouting, pistol-toting serial killer in a plastic snowman mask.And if they think that stuff’s bad, wait till they find out what’s in store for them when they actually reach the gold…70,200 words. Views: 784
A writer practices billiards while trying to finish the stories of the characters in his head. Although his characters plague him, following him everywhere he goes, he can't seem to finish writing about them.The Star Trails Tetralogy, i.e. "Beyond the Hidden Sky;" "A Dark of Endless Days;" "A Psilent Place Below;" and "Refractions of Frozen Time," takes place in a fictitious universe which includes unfamiliar vocabulary, aliens races, and numerous planets. This compendium was compiled for readers who requested more detail, such as a glossary of terms as well as descriptions of the political structure, weather patterns, and Cyraria's indigenous race, the bnolar. Topical discussion guides at the chapter level are included as well for those who want to delve even deeper, including educators who could use the stories to stimulate interest in numerous scientific or sociological topics. Views: 784
When dance academy student Emilee must spend the night on a haunted stage as a part of a hazing ritual, she is terrified but doesn't expect anything to happen...She's wrong.When dance academy student Emilee must spend the night on a haunted stage as a part of a hazing ritual, she is terrified. For as long as she could remember, she has heard stories about the dancing mannequin with a silver, rust covered mask that prompts young ballerinas to dance in the middle of the night. When they want to stop, he snaps their bones, starting at their ankles and moving on to their necks. Still, Emilee is a logical person. She knows that there is no such thing as ghosts. After a man dressed in black wearing a silver mask comes on stage, she thinks that it is just enhanced hazing meant to frighten her. She is determined not to be humiliated and begins to dance with him. Only too soon she realizes her masked partner was not a part of the school hazing ritual. She has two choices, dance all night and suffer or let him snap her joints, one by one. Views: 784
Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement.
Roland Deschain and his ka-tet*—*Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past.
In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the *Magic Tales of the Eld *that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us.
King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. *The Wind Through the Keyhole *is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.
~from first edition jacket Views: 784
When down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Whittaker wins $19 million in the lottery, he thinks his troubles are all over. The truth is, they're just beginning.When down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Whittaker wins $19 million in the lottery, he thinks his troubles are all over. The truth is, they're just beginning.His Lucky Day is a hard-boiled short story (2,800 words) that explores why nice guys -- or maybe not-so-nice ones -- finish last. Views: 783
How would the world around you react if you were suddenly given the ability to glimpse the future?Eric Hayes found out. See what happens to him as he learns to cope with his new gift and the worlds perception of him.Among the quirky short stories collected in The Chiropractor’s Assistant readers will find :Epistemology - When Ronda Wickford, the assistant manager of Brandenburg’s ShopRite Supermarket, inadvertently hires a middle-age man with a PhD in philosophy to run the fresh produce department, weird things begin to happen. As events unfold, she learns a thing or two about Wittgenstein’s linguistic theories, common decency and how to fix a leaky faucet.Two Pockets - According to Hasidic tradition, everyone must have two pockets, so they can reach into the one or the other, according to need. In the right pocket are to be the words: ‘For my sake was the world created,’ and in the left: ‘I am dust and ashes.’Leaky Pipes - During an escape weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, Bart Schroeder is accosted by a young girl who claims that the retired plumber visited her in a dream. Not a man of many words, the elderly gentleman finds his own wacky way to help a troubled soul make peace with her inner demons These are just a few of the intriguing stories contained in the collection, The Chiropractor’s Assistant. Mr. Rachin favors traditional story telling techniques where intriguing characters and plot are always center stage. Views: 783
A little girl’s body has been found in the wilderness near the desert community of Rubicon Ranch. Was it an accident? Or . . . murder! But who would want to kill a child? Everyone in this upscale housing development is hiding something.A little girl’s body has been found in the wilderness near the desert community of Rubicon Ranch. Was it an accident? Or . . . murder! But who would want to kill a child? Everyone in this upscale housing development is hiding something. Could Kourtney and Jeff Peterson have killed their daughter, mischievous nine-year-old Riley, to protect their secret? Moody Sinclair had once killed an eight-year-old boy. Has she killed again? Fifteen-year-old Dylan McKenzie is a straight A honor student. By day. Did Riley discover the other Dylan, the one who prowls at night? Cooper Dahlsing does strange things while sleepwalking. Could he have killed and not known it? Mark and Jamie Westbrook, self-styled private investigators, show up to help solve the murder, but perhaps they had a hand in creating the crime? Eighty-two-year-old Eloy Franklin sits on his porch and watches. But does he do more than watch? Forty-three-year-old Melanie Gray found Riley’s body stuffed in a television console that had been dumped in the desert. But is she as innocent as she seems? Sheriff Seth Bryan is bitter and cynical at having lost everything he values. Is he manufacturing crimes to bring him the notoriety he craves? Nine Second Wind Publishing authors collaborated to write Rubicon Ranch: Riley’s Story. Views: 783
The novel begins with the mercury poisoning of a small, impoverished boy and follows Chris Andrews, a ecological activist, Myron Seavey, a progressive librarian, and a dozen other characters, including the women Chris lives with in a house in Portland and the brother of the poisoned boy, Malcolm Kimball, who drops out of school, as they all deal with the implications of this poisoning.“Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.” This passage from the funeral service in The Book of Common Prayer is justly famous because it a beautiful expression, in stately Elizabethan prose, of the human condition. Given these limitations, how we spend our time on earth becomes the choice confronting every human being. Most people, like the Kimball family in this novel, are too preoccupied with daily survival to give much thought to larger issues and the common good. Others, like Ned Ridlon, are too self-absorbed in the pursuit of money and power to care. But there are always people like Myron Seavey and Chris Andrews who do fulfill Hamlet’s description of a human being as one who has “such large discourse/Looking before and after,” people who are fully conscious of their human duty to try to make the earth and the life it sustains, both human and nonhuman, better than they found it. The contrast between these two men is one of the central focuses of the novel. Myron Seavey, the inheritor of a Quaker-Unitarian activist background, is open-minded enough to fall in love with a conservative Republican woman. Chris Andrews, in contrast, is single-mindedly and overweeningly a green activist who does not believe in compromise with those whose selfishness would destroy the earth for quick profit. The action, which takes place in a small town in Maine and in Portland, begins with the mercury poisoning of a little boy and entails a wide canvas of other characters, including Adam Kaminski, who in the manner of the French eccentric Facteur Chevel builds a strange hybrid temple; Patti Ryan, a decent, progressive woman who loves Chris Andrews; Donna McClellen, who at first lives with a rock musician and who tries to convince her friend Virgie that her troubles would be lessened if she helped others at a soup kitchen; and Rev. John Covington, who is visited by doubts after a stark pastoral conversation with the sick Adam Kaminski. Finally, Shelley’s line from Adonis (whence comes the title of the novel), “The One remains, the many change and pass,” gives rise to a further question that the novel explores: who or what is the One that remains? Views: 783
Weeks before the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the Bull Moose Party candidate is shot in the head and assassinated. His party thaws Walt Disney's head, attaches it to their guy and runs that. Can someone with the body of a politician and the head of a dreamer become president? It's surprising what's possible in the not-so-distant future...Christmas is a time when families are brought together , people who haven’t seen each other in a long time and who, on this day, sit together at a table, share stories, dreams, joys and a traditional dinner. But on this Christmas, one particular supper is anything but traditional. And what gets served is something very few ever get to taste.A bored and unhappy teen in search of a late-night adventure, in a small farm near the river, will find far more than presents under the tree.One simple meal can hold many secrets … Views: 783
A sudden increase in the violence and frequency of wolf attacks in the forest surrounding Piera has all of the residents on edge.
Ruby:
Three years ago, Rafe left their tiny mountain burg of Piera, leaving Ruby Hood behind to mend her shattered heart. Dealing with the fear created by the powerful and intelligent wolf would be enough for anyone, but now Ruby has to contend with more heartwrenching news . . . Rafe has come home.
Lowell:
Rafe's brother, Lowell, has befriended Ruby in his absence. He's almost as gorgeous as Rafe, and nearly as charming, but the problem is . . . he's not Rafe.
Rafe:
Rafe had no choice but to leave three years earlier, in spite of sharing an earth shattering kiss with his lifelong best friend Ruby. Now, he's back . . . and he's willing to fight for what he wants. Views: 782
The second book in a new urban fantasy series featuring mosquito-sized fairies with poisonous bites that drive humans insane.
It's only been three weeks since Annabelle helped solve the murder of Grace Beauchamp, and in the process, she discovered a secret world of invisible, magic-working people who have decided she might have what it takes to join their ranks.
As best as she can determine, Annabelle’s attack by a group of fairies has infected her with paranormal ability she did not previously possess, including being able to mentally move objects and heal wounds. Her new abilities appear to have few negative side effects, aside from creepy dreams. But would that change if she stopped injecting herself with the mystery drug delivered to her by the even more mysterious Tucker, one of the Invisibles? Leery of trusting criminals with her health, Annabelle wishes she had someone she could talk to about the changes in her life. Enter Hitch, FBI agent and Annabelle's ex, who's back in Donaldsonville on an off-the-books investigation. Hitch suspects that there's a government-funded illegal lab that’s developing a controversial fairy-killing spray that could adversely affect the existence of every living thing in the delta—including humans. And Hitch and Annabelle will have to find a way to work together if they're going to find a way to shut it down. Views: 782
In Broken Harbour, a ghost estate outside Dublin – half-built, half-inhabited, half-abandoned – two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care. Scorcher Kennedy is given the case because he is the Murder Squad’s star detective. At first he and his rookie partner, Richie, think this is a simple one: Pat Spain was a casualty of the recession, so he killed his children, tried to kill his wife Jenny, and finished off with himself. But there are too many inexplicable details and the evidence is pointing in two directions at once.
Scorcher’s personal life is tugging for his attention. Seeing the case on the news has sent his sister Dina off the rails again, and she’s resurrecting something that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control: what happened to their family, one summer at Broken Harbour, back when they were children. The neat compartments of his life are breaking down, and the sudden tangle of work and family is putting both at risk . . . Views: 782
