A collect of poetry, prose, and short story/poem. Mostly my mindless ramblings and observations of the world and the people which inhabit it.But Kora sat unmoving, in great magic. The walls, her home, faded about her. Warmth went; all alone and on a freezing plain, dressed in a tunic, sharp knife in her belt, bow on her shoulder, arrows in a quiver behind. Her eyes gleamed; a pale cold light, ˈlɪmpɪd ɪn ˈdʌlnəsShe looked around. Away, at vision’s limit, a dark shape rose above the plain: a Tower, the only thing in all this barren place: no bird flew, no grass grew. Despite the wool she shivered. Breath-clouds hung in the raw air, ˈsləʊli dɪˈzɒlvɪŋThen in eye’s corner something moved. She turned to gaze across the Waste and saw a Cloud. Far, almost straight behind her as she faced the Tower, it too reared up black and sheer. Unlike the Tower, moving, whirling, wisps trailing their tentacles around a core, ˈtwɪstɪŋ ɪnˈseɪnli Views: 712
It’s about a woman who thinks a butterfly she finds on her dead husband’s pillow is him reincarnated. The love scene will knock your socks off.Mother paused, drew the butterfly to her lips and whispered some secret before continuing her story.“It was but a month ago,” she recollected. “I wakened to discover your father resting on the side of our bed reserved to him throughout our marriage. To be sure, I was uncertain of his identity at first, but the butterfly’s urgency, crawling up my arm and neck to nibble on my earlobe—precisely as your father so entertained me years before—well, then, what more proof could he provide of his spirit restored to me?”__from "The Butterfly" Views: 711
B has spent the last few months bunking with the Angels, a group of teens dedicated to eradicating the evil dead from the face of the earth, beginning with the undead roaming the abandoned wreckage that was once London. But the Angels' mission is a bit more complicated than that, and B takes to the streets of a very changed London to decide: is it a mission really to be believed? But instead of answers, B finds a horror beyond imagining. Views: 711
Welcome to Elephant Small Vol 3. This is the third in a series of five ebooks that cover five years of original verse previously published on my weblog 'Elephant Small'. Vol 3 covers edited highlights from the years 2008 & 2009.May contain the off rude word. Views: 711
Marinna has returned to The Sapphire Lounge on her comeback tour. It was where she met her husband and she's determined to put her marriage behind her once and for all. The saxophonist Saul is ready to help her start living again, but then her ex turns up with an astounding offer. What will Marinna do - choose the new hottie or return to her old love?"To End All Others" is a short compilation of stories about World War I and the terrible struggles of humanity within that horrific war. It opens with "Another Dream," a poem which mirrors a work by Siegfried Sassoon, the decorated British veteran and conscientious objector of the war. The poem reflects the lasting, harrowing effects of the Great War on the men who sacrificed their boyhood for their nation; while the battles end, the war lives on for untold years in the minds of its veterans. Next, a father strives to make the world see reason as Europe descends into the abyss of war. The man mourns as a patriotic son embraces the nationalistic craze and eagerly joins the army. Throughout the following years, his thoughts and aching heart are shown through poignant letters to his wife. Yet, "An Era Recalled, a Sorrow Relived" displays that peace is not always fulfilling and seldom brings relief. Finally, "The Mandate" reveals a tale about the knights of the air, the Great War's pioneers of aviation. The French hero Georges Guynemer struggles to reconcile his humanity with his duty amid the furious skies over France. All told, "To End All Others" provides a fitting tribute to the millions of men whose lives were ended amid the mire of the trenches, the expanses of the air, and the flowing depths of the oceans. Perhaps, in some small way, it will ensure that we never forget their sacrifices. Views: 711
Second Hearts (Book two, The Wishes Series) Available now.Storm Shells (Book three, The Wishes Series) Available now.*** Au & NZ iBooks Best of 2013 Breakout Book Of The Year ***For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig. She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls. When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why. Views: 711
In this military space opera, fighter pilot Henry Gallant must defeat threatening aliens hiding in the asteroid belt. In an era of genetic engineering, he is the only Natural left in the fleet. Only bright and attractive junior officer Kelsey Mitchel has shown any sympathy for him. Now her life as well as a good many others, depends of Henry Gallant.As the last star fighter in Squadron 111, Midshipman Henry Gallant is on his way from Jupiter to the nearest space base in orbit around Mars. With the United Earth fleet on the verge of annihilation from alien ships, he can expect no help. In order to reach Mars, Gallant must make his way through the asteroid belt and threatening aliens. With so much uncertainty about the alien capabilities and intentions, analyzing the captured computer equipment in Gallant’s possession could prove crucial.The fate of Earth could rest on the abilities of Midshipman Henry Gallant. Unfortunately, it is his abilities that have been much in doubt during his tour of duty. In an era of genetic engineering, he is the only Natural (non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. His classmates and superior officers have all expressed their concern that he will not be up to the demands of the space service. Only bright and attractive junior officer Kelsey Mitchel has shown any sympathy for Gallant. Now her life as well as a good many others, depends of Henry Gallant.As the last star fighter, Midshipman Henry Gallant must travel through the asteroid belt and threatening aliens. In an era of genetic engineering, he is the only Natural left in the fleet. Only bright and attractive junior officer Kelsey Mitchel has shown any sympathy for Gallant. Now her life as well as a good many others, depends of Henry Gallant. Views: 711
There once was a troll that liked to help people. He met a princess alongside a bridge and as the days passed, they became good friends. Then there came the day when she had to leave, but she promised to return. For how long the troll would have to wait; only time would tell. This is a short story for kids over 7 years old. I Hope you enjoy it.“Promises mean nothing on this ship. Tell me the password.”Nobody knows what really happened when Rachael Baptiste’s mom disappeared a week ago. So when Rachael’s second-grade classmate Raul tries to break into her mom’s computer only to be chased away by giant talking dogs, she follows him into the night and discovers that he—and her mom—have caught a magical sickness that lets them turn into magical animals, or Exotics.A group of evil Exotics, the Shadow Dogs, kidnap Rachael and Raul to a mysterious ship and try to force them to tell them her mother's secrets...but Rachael's not talking. Instead, she's trying to find a way to escape the ship and rescue the Exotic kids trapped on board, waiting to be sold as pets...or are they? Views: 711
Near the end of Amor Towles’s bestselling novel Rules of Civility, the fiercely independent Evelyn Ross boards a train from New York to Chicago to visit her parents, but never disembarks. Six months later, she appears in a photograph in a gossip magazine exiting the Tropicana Club in Los Angeles on the arm of Olivia de Havilland.
In this chain of six richly detailed and atmospheric stories, each told from a different perspective, Towles unfolds the events that take Eve to the heart of Old Hollywood. Beginning in the dining car of the Golden State Limited in September 1938, we follow Eve to the elegant rooms of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the fabled tables of Antonio’s, the amusement parks on the Santa Monica piers, the afro-Cuban dance clubs of Central Avenue, and ultimately the set of Gone with The Wind.
With the glamour and grit of the studio system’s golden age as a backdrop, Towles introduces in each story a memorable new character whose fate may well be altered by their encounter with Eve. In following the thread of these varied encounters, we watch as Eve forges a new and unexpected life for herself in late 1930s Los Angeles. Views: 711
Closure is a thriller of 440 (PB) pages with political and police procedural themes and is the first book in the Jack Randall series. Told from the sniper's and his pursuers point-of-view, Closure will keep you glued to the page as the killer, and the FBI team assigned to catch him, travel from target to target before their fates finally converge on live television in the nation's capital.When a prominent lawyer is shot while waiting at a suburban stop sign it sets off a nation-wide manhunt for an elusive killer. Special Agent Jack Randall of the FBI finds himself appointed to track down and stop the shooter. Not by his superiors, but by the killer himself.As more bodies fall the shooter takes his message to the press, earning the support of the public with his choice of targets and confounding the FBI at every turn. From the desert of Nevada to the urban jungle of New York City, Jack and his team follow the trail of bodies and haunting messages left behind by the killer. With the pressure to find him mounting on Jack, the assassin’s crimes grow bolder, and his message more sinister and closer to home. It becomes clear to Jack that in order to find the shooter, he may have to look inside his own past, and become the man he was years ago. Views: 711
A short story of fiction based upon fact. History has created some unique people, but these three brothers will amaze you for what they did to help save some lives.A short story of fiction based upon fact. History has created some unique people, but these three brothers will amaze you for what they did to help save some lives. In the year 1864 the worst blizzard on record hit Iowa. At an army fort in Esterville, the troops had run out of food. They were slowly starving to death.Three brothers volunteered to deliver some food. The story is fiction based upon fact. History has produced some unique people. These men will simply amaze you for what they set out to do. Views: 710
An ancient alien ship is found, giving us the ability to travel outside of our solar system. Some view this technology as our savior, and others, our destroyer. In this episode, a prototype test crew disappears, forcing a political cover-up as UNSA Adrian Commander Daniels struggles with the loss of his friends while hiding a truth which could end humaniy's hope for galactic colonization.In the late 21st Century, Earth's ecosystem is rapidly approaching the point of complete collapse. In a stroke of luck, an ancient alien ship is discovered on Mars with technology that could allow mankind to relieve the pressures on their homeworld and settle the stars. Many people view this wondrous technology as a gift, but there are those on Earth who wish to see it destroyed as a danger to everyone. When a team of researchers is lost after receiving an ominous alien warning during a prototype test, UNSA Commander Adrian Daniels is forced to participate in a political cover-up and lead his remaining crew into unknowable danger, while struggling against a tide of deadly intrigue. Meanwhile, Sally Yeung, the young prodigy who leads Commander Daniel's research team, must race to uncover the secrets of a vanished alien civilization to not only save the crew, but possibly all of humanity as well. Views: 710
A somber man wishing to fulfill certain urges for the first time in his life. A wooden box containing the means for that fulfillment. An intrusive cousin. An impeccable lawn. A garden shed. An embarrassing plaster statue of the goddess Athena.The 3d in a series of 14 short stories by Abbie Joules as she recounts the exploits of her and her brother, Bendigo, growing up on a farm in east Texas in the late 40's. A cow called Two-Banger goes missing, again, and this time it is young Abbie who is sent to retrieve her. Along the way Abbie discovers a nest of baby raccoons in a hollow tree, and unable to resist, she climbs into the tree only to find herself ensnared as the night comes on. Finally discovered by her brother, he and his father go to great and heroic lengths to free her. What would you have done? Views: 710
Fans of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and Holly Black's "The Curse Workers" will embrace this richly drawn, Norse-mythology-infused alternate world: the United States of Asgard. Seventeen-year-old Soren Bearskin is trying to escape the past. His father, a famed warrior, lost himself to the battle-frenzy and killed thirteen innocent people. Soren cannot deny that berserking is in his blood--the fevers, insomnia, and occasional feelings of uncontrollable rage haunt him. So he tries to remain calm and detached from everyone at Sanctus Sigurd's Academy. But that's hard to do when a popular, beautiful girl like Astrid Glyn tells Soren she dreams of him. That's not all Astrid dreams of--the daughter of a renowned prophetess, Astrid is coming into her own inherited abilities.
When Baldur, son of Odin and one of the most popular gods in the country, goes missing, Astrid sees where he is and convinces Soren to join her on a road trip that will take them to find not only a lost god, but also who they are beyond the legacy of their parents and everything they've been told they have to be. Views: 710
Twelve thrilling stories, not very scary, just enough. Do you like spending relaxing evenings with your friends, a glass of red wine in your hand, the crimson liquid shimmering under the yellow glare of the candlelight? So do I.Twelve thrilling stories, not very scary, just enough.Do you like spending relaxing evenings with your friends, a glass of red wine in your hand, the crimson liquid shimmering under the yellow glare of the candlelight? Do you like listening to their stories about things that happened directly to them, or more often, to someone they know, or even more often, to someone known by the person they know? Do you like to listen to the night insects play their monotonous music at night while the pale moon shows its mysterious face in the small, square window of the room in the country house where you and your guests have gathered? Do you like hearing stories that seem strange and impossible during the day?Then, this book is for you… Views: 710
