The Ephrata Institute is an intellectual think tank at the outer fringes of the final frontier. Dedicated to the arts and sciences, the Institute seems an unlikely target for an invasion, but it proves easy pickings when the Crusade comes from beyond, determined to impose its harsh, unbending Truth on all the worlds of the Federation. Armed with weaponized gravity, the alien Crusaders will stop at nothing to rescue the universe from its myriad beliefs . . . even if it means warping the mind and soul of every sentient being they encounter. Responding to an urgent distress signal, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise soon find themselves in conflict with the Crusade, and facing individual challenges. When Kirk and Spock are transported to the Crusade’s distant homeland to confront the source of the invasion, Sulu finds himself trapped behind enemy lines, while Lieutenant Uhura is faced with possibly the most difficult decisions of her career.
As the Crusade sets its sights beyond Ephrata IV, it is up to the Enterprise and its besieged crew to keep freedom of thought from being crushed beneath the weight of worlds! Views: 537
From bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith comes a charming set of mysteries that will keep young readers guessing--and laughing--from the first clue to the last.
Harriet Bean loves nothing more than a good mystery, and is always ready to take on a new case. When Harriet Bean's father mentions that he has five sisters--whom Harriet has never met--she is immediately intrigued. Harriet is determined to uncover the whereabouts of her five lost aunts, but with nothing more than an unfinished family portrait and a few outdated clues, will she be able to locate them? In The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean, join Harriet in her search to reunite her father with his five lost sisters--Veronica, Harmonica, Majolica, Japonica, and Thessalonika.
In Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats, Harriet doesn't think twice when her mind-reading detective aunts Japonica and Thessalonika enlist her help to catch a cheat at the racetrack. After all, Harriet is just the right size to go undercover as a jockey. But when the plan takes an unexpected turn, Harriet finds herself in the saddle!
In The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean, when Harriet discovers that she has yet one more lost aunt--a cowgirl named Formica--she jumps at the chance to join her two detective aunts on a visit. Aunt Formica's ranch is being plagued by devious cattle rustlers, and she needs Harriet's help to track down the bandits and save the ranch. But the Wild West carries dangers all its own. . . Views: 537
Ralph sticks his tongue between the terminals of a nine-volt battery, and so becomes initiated into the pack of children who assemble to fight the beast lurking in the river, draining their town of life. The monster has stolen precious treasure from each child who pedals his and her bicycle towards the dark to confront the monster, and those young warriors speed out of town to earn their revenge.Ralph's legs burn as he pumps power into his bicycle's pedals to race to the river bottoms to confront the monster Lacy claims lurks in the water to steal life from their fading community of Beckford. Ralph envies the weapons each of his friends bring to wield against the monster, and he fears he possesses nothing with which to combat whatever monstrosity they discover outside of town. Each rider pedaling towards the descending dark feels their childhood slipping for the sorrow the bottom beast has manifested. Thus they have all tasted a nine-volt battery's spark to count themselves among the initiated pack that swears to make that monster return the treasure it has stolen from their families and lives Views: 536
Rory Miller thought her life was over when a serial killer set his sights on her and forced her into witness protection. But a fresh start on Juniper Landing Island was exactly what she and her family needed. For the first time in years she and her sister hang out at the beach, gossip about boys, and party together. She's also made friends with a local clique--including a magnetic and mysterious boy named Tristan.
But Rory's world is about to change again. Picturesque Juniper Landing isn't what it seems. The truth about the swirling fog that rolls in each morning, the bridge that leads to nowhere, and those beautiful locals who seem to watch Rory's every move is more terrifying than being hunted by Steven Nell. And all Rory ever wanted was the truth. Even if it means learning that she can never go home again. From the best-selling author of the Private and Privilege series comes the second novel in a heart-stopping trilogy about a girl who must pick up the pieces after the only life she's ever known ends. Views: 536
What would you do if you found an ancient pair of witch’s slippers in the old cottage you were staying at? Janet, who loves Lee (who loves Maxine), tries them on. Maxine, who loves Greg (who prefers Janet), tries them on. Then they find a book of potions. Then they find that the house has decided it isn’t going to let them go. Witch one will the slippers choose?Witch one will they choose?What would you do if you found an ancient pair of witch’s slippers in the old cottage you were staying at?Janet, who loves Lee (who loves Maxine), tries them on.Maxine, who loves Greg (who prefers Janet), tries them on.Then they find a book of potions.Then they find that the house has decided it isn’t going to let them go.Witch one will the slippers choose? Views: 536
This sequel/prequel to The Incredible
Transformations of Alice Hollywood, takes place nearly twenty years after a
fiery crash changed Em Martín’s life. Now living in Los Angeles, and known as
Mackenna, a recent life-altering tragedy has her in an emotional tailspin.
Memories and regrets previously buried and ignored have been churned up.
In a desperate effort to stop her downward
progression, Mackenna turns to her writing for emotional support; as well as a
vehicle for getting to the root cause of her current mental and emotional
frailty. While culling through her life for clues, the Southland is rocked by a
devastating earthquake, further complicating her difficult self-exploration.
Enter Eve, an earthquake refugee and an uncomfortable reminder of a past Mackenna
has spent many years trying to ignore—and forget. A delicate dance of avoidance
ensues until a devastating secret is exposed, driving Mackenna to the edge of
disaster. Will Eve be the last straw, and push Mackenna over the edge? Or will
she be the one to save Mackenna from the lower depths?
Mackenna has always been quiet on the quiet
side—almost an awkward kind of quiet. She's a keen observer and not one to talk
too much about herself or her life. But she has a secret she’s been keeping for
nearly twenty years that's eating her alive. Since the untimely death of her
parents and the subsequent inheritance of unfathomable proportions, Mackenna is
sinking and sinking fast. She’s a writer who finds it easier to express her
feelings with words, and so she begins to self-explore her downward spiral
before it’s too late. Before she does something she can’t undo.
In a departure from her first novel, The Incredible Transformations of Alice Hollywood, Djuna Shellam lets Mackenna Martín share her story and explore her
life—how she got to the point she is in the story in the first person
narrative. Intermingled with omniscient narrative, Shellam takes us back and
forth in time in a seamless fashion to tell the story in a story. Prepare
yourself for a stunning twist that will take your breath away.
Views: 536
CeeCee Wilson hates her name. Elsee Caitrin Wilson...a cow name in CeeCee's mind as well as the minds of her classmates. On top of that, her father becomes ill, her brother deserts her in favor of the wicked witch of the southwest, and the man she's fallen for loves another. CeeCee discovers that growing up is painful and life is hard, but sometimes good can come from the bad. Dear Diary SeriesCeeCee Wilson hates her name.Born two weeks after her paternal grandmother's death, CeeCee is the spitting image of her, and CeeCee's mother, Allison, devastated by the loss of her mother-in-law who was also her best friend, can't imagine any other name.CeeCee fervently wishes her mother had possessed a bit more imagination.Elsee Caitrin Wilson...a cow name in CeeCee's mind as well as the minds of her classmates.As if that isn't enough for a child to handle, CeeCee and her family have to move the summer before she's to start high school, her father develops a disease that's slowly destroying his body as well as her universe, her older brother Mark becomes infatuated with the wicked witch of the southwest, the man she falls in love with loves another, and to top it all off, she can't seem to stop making lists.Does God care? How can a loving God allow those things to happen? Is CeeCee losing her faith? Had she truly ever possessed any? Or is she simply a product of her parents’ blind belief? What if everything she's been taught up until then has simply been a lie? What if God doesn't exist and it's all a hoax?Transitioning into adulthood is painful for CeeCee as her anger, doubts, and despair overwhelm her at times, but in the midst of her unwilling journey from child to woman she finds the courage to face her life as well as herself with honesty and a determination to deal with the obstacles that have been thrown in her path.Dear Diary...is the second book of the Dear Diary...Series. Views: 536
Amaryllis Ashley is tired of waiting passively at home for her husband's attention. And she is beginning to hate him for tempting her into divorce. Amy, after all, married for life.Given the options of sleeping with his wife or sleeping on the sofa, Orion Ashley took the sofa. He would never touch her in the home she'd inherited. Orion never bargained on his wife kicking herself out of the bed.Amaryllis Ashley is tired of waiting passively at home for her husband's attention. And she is beginning to hate him for tempting her into divorce. Amy, after all, married for life.Given the options of sleeping with his wife or sleeping on the sofa, Orion Ashley took the sofa. He would never touch her in the home she'd inherited. Orion never bargained on his wife kicking herself out of the bed, and him back into it. Amy is convinced her husband is cheating. Guilt-ridden, Orion begs her for just a little more time. At work the next morning, he receives a call from the housekeeper that lands both him and his wife in the hospital. They leave Dallas in an uproar months later when Orion is seen racing out of a society ball with his wife tossed over his shoulder.Battling pride and fear, the couple comes to the realization that communication and trust are two of the most important tools they'll need to build a successful life together. Views: 536
New year; new beginnings. Alyssa McNeil is on a mission of breaking free of her comfort zone, reinventing herself, and forgetting the fact that her ex is getting married on New Year's Eve. She's in Belize for a week of sun, fun, adventure, and flirtation. Meeting Luke is an unexpected bonus…falling in love with him, though, simply isn't part of the plan.
Luke Picket is more than happy to go along with her idea of a no strings, uncomplicated weeklong fling. He embraces his bachelor lifestyle and can't see that changing any time soon. But when they find themselves trekking through the jungle and facing turbulent seas together, his hard heart starts to soften.
But they'd agreed on anonymity, on a first-name-only-no-strings love affair, and neither wants to ruin the moment with unwanted declarations. Old beliefs are challenged. Doubts questioned. Will they stick to their deal and go their separate ways when the week is over? Or will the new year bring them a new attitude about love? Views: 536
Nothing seems to be able to stop the sinister plans of Baron de Saint-Magloire, aka Gaston Rozen. Enriched by the gold made by Professor Sokoloff, he is quickly becoming the master of Paris. But he M. Cardec, chief detective of the Surete, and the brilliant Dr. Lemoine, are already on his heels… Views: 535
Hong Kong, 1940. For the reckless young journalist Stevie Steiber, days at the Happy Valley racecourse slip into dangerous, hedonistic nights. Meanwhile Major Harry Field, a British Intelligence Officer, is investigating the recent arrival of Wu Jishang, a sophisticated publisher who owns a controversial political magazine. But it is Stevie, Jishang's close colleague and lover, who really fascinates Harry. As the British community continues to party despite the looming threat of war, the two are obsessively drawn into a dark passion. And when the Japanese army seizes the island, they are faced with terrifying challenges – how far will they go to protect each other? Views: 535
Welcome to Elephant Small Vol 5. This is the fifth in a series of five ebooks that cover five years of original verse previously published on my weblog 'Elephant Small'. Vol 5 covers edited highlights from the years 2010 - 2013.When the apocalypse came it was not from the fires of nuclear war or unseen viral plagues, not from an unstoppable asteroid or even the machines rising up in defiance of their human overlords. The Last War, as later generations would come to remember it, was fought between fighter jets and dragons, between companies of sword wielding golems swarming over steel tanks in support of deadly Magicians wielding magical fireballs. It was a war of magic versus science and science lost. A thousand years later Duncan Cade is born without magical abilities into a dystopian world dominated by the Magical. As a young adult he’s a pariah and an outcast because of his condition, an unwanted reminder of a time when their forefather’s wiped non-magical humans from the face of the planet. His life is a constant struggle not only to fit in a society based on magic he doesn’t wield, but also to survive without the simplest of magical abilities. He thinks that he is alone, the only non-magical boy in the entire world. When the magic begins to fade from the world, Duncan is blamed and just escapes the wrath of the Magician police force into the wastelands surrounding the city of New Dallas. He sets out on a quest to find the origin of Magic and soon discovers that not only is he not alone, but the non-magical humans are finally fighting back. The Last War was only the beginning of the apocalypse and young Duncan Cade, a boy born without Magic, is thrust into the middle of the new war against the Magicians. Views: 535
When an autopsy finds traces of the banned insecticide Chlordane in the anointing oil on the corpse of a local big-wig, Pittsburgh police bring Lupa Schwartz, an outspoken non-believer, into an investigation focused on a well-liked local clergyman. Worried that the police are planning to use him as a political fall-guy...When an autopsy finds traces of the banned insecticide Chlordane in the anointing oil on the corpse of a local big-wig, Pittsburgh police bring Lupa Schwartz, an outspoken non-believer, into an investigation focused on a well-liked local clergyman. Worried that the police are planning to use him as a political fall-guy, Schwartz coerces Cattleya Hoskin, a magazine reporter with a connection to his family’s past, to chronicle his process and squelch any misgiving that his world-view influenced the outcome. Suspicion in the case is focused on Fr. Coneely, an outspoken euthanasia advocate who had earlier made the mistake of telling the family of the now-dead man that, hypothetically, he could safely apply poison-laden oil to their suffering father during last rites, and nobody need be the wiser. Was Mr. Hanson the willing victim of a mercy killing, or was a lapsing insurance policy the real motive for one of Hanson’s five children to taint the oil?All of the elements which are to become the unique hallmarks of the Lupa Schwartz series are birthed in this story: Schwartz’s compulsion to flatten the tires of parking rule scofflaws, Cattleya’s frustration with Schwartz’s refusal to carry a credit card or cell phone, their unspoken agreement to never discuss their shared history, and Schwartz’s fondness for comedy movies. We also meet the supporting cast who populate each of the stories: Mia, the feisty mechanic who lives in Schwartz’s large Victorian during the week to work on his car collection, but who visits her grandmother on weekends; Beverly, the cook and housekeeper who may or may not be in love with Schwartz; and Trevor Johns, the Pittsburgh police homicide detective by day, and Jazz/Blues clarinet player by night. We also meet most of the circulating cast of bit-players who appear in stories as needed: Jana, Cat’s friend at Gamut Magazine HQ; the Five Seekers, members of a discussion group Schwartz belongs to; and Victor Jenkins, a newspaper reporter. Views: 535
