At first Guillem discards the rumor that the new president has other plans for the country and is never going to leave his new found position and its power. However, he will very soon be involved in an event that will secure the new president's power for life, where in a demonstration of power he will show his legions of mindless followers and instil fear in those that dare oppose him.As it happens in any democracy, a new president had been elected, only that this time the new president was a mentally unbalanced ex policeman, the leader of a failed coup to a previous government and someone who had spent a long time in jail. At first Guillem discards the rumor that the new president has other plans for the country and is never going to leave his new found position and its power. However, he will very soon be involved in an event that will secure the new president's power for life, where in a demonstration of power he will show his legions of mindless followers, instil fear in the heart of those that dare oppose him and without his knowledge, it will start a power struggle deep within occult societies, societies that have always controlled the most powerful and wealthiest members of society. Thrown in the middle of the conflict, will Guillem be able to survive? Will he be able to stop the conflicts within the occult societies from destroying him and his friends? Will he be able to stop the plans of the new president and restore the country's democracy? Views: 618
A digital-only short story set in the STARTERS world, told from Briona's pov. STARTERS received rave reviews, including this from the Los Angeles Times: “The only thing better than a terrific concept is one that is as well executed as Starters. Readers who have been waiting for a worthy successor to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games will find it here. Dystopian sci-fi at its best, Starters is a terrific series kickoff with a didn't-see-that-coming conclusion that will leave readers on the edges of their seats . . .” Includes a sneak peek at the sequel to STARTERS, Lissa Price’s ENDERS, where Callie is ready to fight for the truth—even if it kills her. Views: 618
Throughout the year, Paige Johnston has only one ambition; to go out with Gavin Hunter; a popular boy in school. However, by year's end Paige discovers she has lost focus on her studies and has failed the 12th grade, but a enchanted nightmarish dream foreshadows her destiny with Gavin.Sarah Amalfi and her best friend Samantha are headed to Tijuana looking for some summer fun after their high school graduation... but there’s something far more sinister looming over this road trip than an innocent shopping trip at Tijuana’s famous market place… Warnings from strangers, a vicious attack by a shadowy assailant, a charismatic stranger named Will…What do they want with Sarah?Sarah is forced to consider that there was nothing chance about her meeting with Will, but how can she accept the fantastic possibilities that Will presents to her? A hidden realm within our own, governed by cryptic magic, ancient alliances, demons… and passion beyond her understandingThe truth comes hard and fast in this riveting prequel to the romantic supernatural awakening of Gathering Storm! Views: 618
With Sam and Kayla missing, Kiera, Potter and Murphy head for the Dead Waters. Here they hope to find their missing friends and the answers to why their flesh keeps cracking like that of a statue. Knowing Potter has lied to her, Kiera is struggling with her feelings for him. Therefore, Kiera tries to keep Potter at a distance, scared that she might get hurt again. With Skin-walkers and statues close behind them as they make their journey to the Dead Waters, Kiera can’t help but fear she is being led straight into a dead end. Views: 618
Found in an old shoebox, this exercise in academic satire features the section in which an obscure medieval author travels with Geoffrey Chaucer and the pilgrims to Canterbury, as Chaucer chronicled in The Canterbury Tales. Leopold LaPied was there, although he did not make it into the Tales. Included is an afterword (sort of), commentary (kind of), and updated afterword.Found in an old shoebox, this exercise in academic satire features the section in which an obscure medieval author travels with Geoffrey Chaucer and the pilgrims to Canterbury, as Chaucer chronicled in The Canterbury Tales. Leopold LaPied was there, although he did not make it into the Tales. Included is an afterword, commentary, and updated afterword. Views: 618
Mandy McCarthy is unlucky in love and hapless on the job. In six weeks, she couldn't sell a single used car at her stepfather's lot. Just when she begins to fret that her fortune will never turn around, her salvation arrives at Archie's A-1 Autos in a surprising form: the governor's son.Not only does Aaron Owen want to recruit Mandy to work for his car charity, but the two have an instant attraction that has them sneaking off for trysts during test drives. Unfortunately, Governor Owen plans to run for re-election and he expects his grown son to keep his nose clean. That means no shagging his staff, and definitely no falling in love with wildcards - at least not until after the election.Mandy doesn't want to play secret lovers and would rather let the love of her life go than hide as if she's a dirty little secret. With the governor blackmailing his son and threatening to pull his charity's grant funding if he doesn't drop her, Mandy figures her luck will run out again unless... Views: 618
Intellectuals and Race is a radical book in the original sense of one that goes to the root of the problem. The role of intellectuals in racial strife is explored in an international context that puts the American experience in a wholly new light.The views of individual intellectuals have spanned the spectrum, but the views of intellectuals as a whole have tended to cluster. Indeed, these views have clustered at one end of the spectrum in the early twentieth century and then clustered at the opposite end of the spectrum in the late twentieth century. Moreover, these radically different views of race in these two eras were held by intellectuals whose views on other issues were very similar in both eras.Intellectuals and Race is not, however, a book about history, even though it has much historical evidence, as well as demographic, geographic, economic and statistical evidence-- all of it directed toward testing the underlying assumptions about race that have prevailed at times among intellectuals in general, and especially intellectuals at the highest levels. Nor is this simply a theoretical exercise. The impact of intellectuals' ideas and crusades on the larger society, both past and present, is the ultimate concern. These ideas and crusades have ranged widely from racial theories of intelligence to eugenics to "social justice" and multiculturalism.In addition to in-depth examinations of these and other issues, Intellectuals and Race explores the incentives, the visions and the rationales that drive intellectuals at the highest levels to conclusions that have often turned out to be counterproductive and even disastrous, not only for particular racial or ethnic groups, but for societies as a whole.ReviewPittsburgh Tribune-Review“Sowell brings an all-too-rare perspective to whatever he writes about — that of a conservative black intellectual, especially valuable for this book’s topic.”About the AuthorThomas Sowell is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other academic institutions. He is the author of Intellectuals and Society, Dismantling America, Economic Facts and Fallacies, and the classic Basic Economics, which has been translated into six languages. Sowell has published in both academic journals and in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine, and Fortune, and he writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country. He lives in Stanford, California. Views: 618
Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.
Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself. Views: 618
It’s 2012 and Japan is a dystopia ruled by an invisible leader – a man whom with the power of mind-control has banished the souls of the adults, turning the majority of Japan’s inhabitants into drones for him to command in the name of his perfect society. Paradise. Seeking to take back his future, teenager Tamashii Kiosh decides that the time has come to restore Japan to its former glory.In Japan on 1988, corrupt politician Yamamoto Akira took over Shibuya before seizing the rest of the country. Through his ability to control minds he created Paradise – his perfect world; a world without worries, murder or chaos, only an unnatural order. By banishing the souls of the adults into another dimension, Akira achieved the ability to control the masses and was also able to seal away the peoples’ ability to use their supernatural powers.In this oppressed society, teenagers sooner commit suicide than become one of the “Deprived” but, when their teacher is shot dead by an assassin working for Akira, 18-year-old Tamashii Kioshi along with a small group of peers decide that the time has come to fight against their places in their society and restore Japan back to its former glory.Set in a dystopian Japan, Take Me With You is a grim story about desire, sacrifice and hardship. Their dream of restoring Japan is a journey filled with pain, as their struggles bring to light what kind of people each of them really are.Are they strong enough to seize their future? Views: 618
Joe and Dottie Loudermilk are all set for the perfect early retirement. Joe's an ex-cop, and Dottie's a former English teacher, and as soon as the "SOLD" sign goes up on the lawn in front of their longtime Los Angeles home, they intend to take their brand new Ford pickup truck and Airstream trailer wherever the great American highway leads. Unfortunately, fate is determined to have two forms of trouble dog their every step: murder and their five incorrigible grown children. In Dottie's own words, the Loudermilk brood "go to school, but take pains not to learn anything remotely useful; date weird people and adhere to Mickey Mouse religions...And give birth to grandchildren from hell (whom they raise) like goldfish won at a church carnival." In this introductory adventure, Joe and Dottie visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona, where they're immediately confronted by a corpse in their bathroom, the FBI, an All-Pro lineman from the Los Angeles Raiders---and most frightening of all, their reprehensible son Bad Dog.Both lovers of the offbeat cozy, and parents who know the misery of wayward children, have declared the Loudermilk adventures an hilarious and, to quote The New York Times, "credibly sentimental" treat. Views: 618
Shane Maxton is front man for New York City’s popular rock band, Mad World. But he has secrets; he’s not what everybody thinks he is. He comes from an ancient world, from a different time, when angels walked among men. Read the story, through Shane’s eyes, of his forbidden love, his fall from grace and his inner turmoil from living with the irrational emotions of being human.
Disclaimer #1: This is the story of Mad World Books 1 & 2, Fall From Grace and Saving Grace, written through the point of view of Shane Maxton. IT IS THE SAME Love STORY of Grace and Shane. It’s just Shane’s turn to tell it to you, it’s everything you’ve read before and a whole lot more.
Disclaimer #2: This story contains rock and roll, angels doing naughty things, violence, cursing, drinking alcohol, substance abuse, sexual situations, and irritating scenes that will make you want to hurl your eReader or book out the window. It’s not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. Views: 618
A book about a girl who lost her family to a villain. Then a man comes across her while she's in the middle of battle.Excerpt: She brought her hands up and placed them on her face. She cried silently wishing she could’ve done something for her sister. She blamed herself for everything. Suddenly she felt something wrap around her. She opened her eyes and saw Jensen, “Jensen?” He tightened his hold around her pulling her against his chest, her head resting on it and her arms around him. He said “It’s okay” She sat there for a minute, then her pain started rising to the surface and she hugged him tight crying into his chest. He sat silently letting her cry. He knew she needed it. He knew what it was like to lose someone close to him. Her sobs grew thick and she cried hard against his chest letting all the pain that had built up over the years out. They stayed that way for a long time. Eventually he laid down pulling her closer into his chest resting a hand on top of her head and the other around her. She cried for a long time torment and anguish spilling out of her. He lay there, never losing patience. He simply closed his eyes and let her release her sadness. An hour later she finally quieted trembling in his arms. “Are you a little bit better now?” She brought her head up to look at him. She stared into his eyes then she nodded. He brushed away the stray tears. “If you have nowhere to go then you can stay here as long as you want to. I never got the opportunity to thank you for your help. I’m very grateful. I’m sorry about your sister.” Views: 617
Determined to live a dark life in the company of the assassin who freed her from bondage, Sarai sets out on her own to settle a score with an evil sadist. Unskilled and untrained in the art of killing, the events that unfold leave her hanging precariously on the edge of death when nothing goes as planned.
Sarai’s reckless choices send her on a path she knows she can never turn back from and so she presents Victor with an ultimatum: help her become more like him and give her a fighting chance, or she’ll do it alone no matter the consequences. Knowing that Sarai cannot become what she wants to be overnight, Victor begins to train her and inevitably their complicated relationship heats up.
As Arthur Hamburg’s right-hand man, Willem Stephens, closes in on his crusade to destroy Sarai, she is left with the crushing realization that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. But Sarai, taking on the new and improved role of Izabel Seyfried, still has a set of deadly skills of her own that will prove to be all she needs to secure her place beside Victor.
But there is one test that Izabel must face that has the potential to destroy everything she is working so hard to achieve. One final test that will not only make her question her decision to want this dangerous life, but will make her question everything she has come to trust about Victor Faust. Views: 617
Bay just wants the abuse to stop. The Bleeding Tree can help him, but at what cost?Please note, this work is under 4000 words.A Tales Of Correndrum Short Story (12,000 words) - Rickard considers himself to be the most daring thief in Correndrum, and he lives up to his own opinion by executing his heists with confidence and panache. So far he's managed to survive even his wildest schemes through a mix of careful preparation and blind luck. But more than once he's found himself in situations where his best hope was to follow his personal motto, "The only way out is forward."When he executes the boldest robbery of his career at the mansion of the wealthiest merchant in the city, Rickard learns a secret that threatens some of the most powerful men in the kingdom. He'll need more than his own wits and luck to save his hide this time!. Views: 617
For an airline passenger, an unexpected wait on the tarmac takes a turn for the strange.Also includes an author's note.Three short stories about irrational emotions between two people.The first story, Deadline, relates on mature student, Andrea, about to bag the ideal boyfriend. Only her tutor Mr. Linton and her late thesis stand in the way.The second story, Outside, enters the disturbed mind of Deke, an ex convict doing community service outside the home of single mother, Elaine. Only trouble is, he doesn't want to leave.And Nice follows the life of Durante, a grant assessor, suspicious of his young girlfriend, Kate, who keeps getting texts from a secret admirer.Three reads to fill spare moments, but leaving a lasting impression.The stories themselves are collectively 10,500 words. Views: 617
