'Sweet, funny, heartbreaking but uplifting at the same time. I absolutely LOVED this book.'Alice Fletcher doesn't like to take chances and she certainly doesn't believe in fate. Three years after the end of her last long-term relationship, she's in no hurry to risk another heartbreak. But fate has other plans. One day, on her drive home, Alice comes across a man, dazed and lost, by the side of a wrecked car. And with no one else around, Alice goes to help.TV star Jimmy Mack is riding the crest of the career wave one minute, and the next he's staring at his crashed car. But when Alice comes to rescue him, things start to look up. What Alice and Jimmy discover next changes everything. Fate might have marked them out for each other, but somehow their destinies have got tangled. Will they get their happily-ever-after, or might their time together be shorter than either of them would hope...Join Jill Steeples for this truly 'out of this world'... Views: 524
The world's greatest managers differ in sex, age, and race. They employ different styles and focus on different goals. Despite their differences, great managers share one trait: They break virtually every rule conventional wisdom holds sacred. They don't believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They don't try to help people overcome their weaknesses. They disregard the golden rule. They even play favorites. Gallup presents the remarkable findings of its massive in-depth study of great managers — those who excelled at turning each employee's talent into performance.Companies compete to find and keep the best employees using pay, benefits, promotions, and training. But these well-intentioned efforts often miss the mark. The front-line manager is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. This amazing book explains how the best managers select employees for talent rather than for skills or experience, how they... Views: 524
Coming out while attending school in Paris, Tristan finally gets a taste of his sexuality, but he has no idea he's about to step into an even more strange and exciting world: he discovers a race of men known as Others that can transform into beasts when aroused... and one of them includes Tristan's new boss at the institute where he studies. Warning: This 10,393-word novelette is a steamy read that features explicit scenes including gay M/M sex and romance, supernatural shapeshifter action, virgins, werewolves, oral and anal sex, and may be too much for timid readers! ~ DUSK NATION ~ Humanity has no idea of the secret societies that surround them but remain in the shadow of the dusk: entire races of the supernatural coexist, and their dealings with each other as well as a select few humans range between blood lust... and sometimes just plain lust. BONUS! This ebook contains a preview of the hot novelette "The Night Raiders" by Bernadette Russo. Views: 524
A short story by a guy who wrote a story about himself trying to write a story.Jessica and her friends Tim, John and Susan were fascinated with the famous Lizzie Borden hatchet murders that took place in 1892 at Fall River, Massachusetts. They would have liked to have met Lizzie in person but she died in 1927 in her hometown Fall River, Massachusetts. Jessica and her friends only lived about fifty miles from the Borden's house but never paid a visit. John had this crazy idea they would all spend the night in the Borden's house and try to conjure up Lizzie Borden's ghost and try to communicate with her and find out the real truth if she really killed her father and step mother. Tim being the rich one of the bunch called the owner on the telephone to see if he and his friends could rent out the Borden's house for the weekend and the owner agreed. The others met Tim at his house and brought along some ghost hunting equipment and a ouija board in hopes of communicating with the ghost of Lizzie Borden. Everyone piled into Tim's Bentley and headed to Fall River, Massachusetts with excitement on their faces. As they were traveling down the highway Susan said “After this is all over and we get concrete proof of the killer's identity I'm going to write a book of our experiences at the Borden's house and I'll bet we'll sell a million copies.” “Dream on girl,” chimed in John laughing under his breath. Jessica said “John lay off, if that's her dream let her have it.” “Okay! Okay!” replied John. Views: 524
15 dark short stories by Nicolas Wilson in a variety of genres.Selected Short Stories Featuring Analog Memory collects fifteen of Nicolas Wilson's earlier short stories. These stories are dark, brooding, and entirely too intimate.Analog Memory contains:Uncanny Valley: A man forced to be a luddite in a robotic world, by medical necessity, ponders whether his new fling is human.Censlus: A census worker is murdered while doing his job.Seed: An old woman meets a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.Faith Emmanuel: After a carjacking, a student finds himself financially at the mercy of a corrupt medical system.Family Business: A marital fight ensues after a husband involves his kids in a life of crime.Brickmouth: A buried vampire awakens.Laborious Love: A robotic engineer builds the perfect girlfriend, and the perfect relationship.Jesus Loves Me (Just Not That Way): A man wrestles with his sexuality.Unlucky At Math: An intellectual ruminates on his relationship.Fighting Mad: A soldier considers the toll that the military takes on Muslim soldiers.Cowgirl Up: A memorial for a stubborn woman's fight with cancer, and love of smoking.The Courage of Our Convictions: An old soldier examines the leavings of genocide.Medicine: A friend falls back into addiction.The Cost of Being Me: Some ruminations on the possibility of heaven, while dying.Randomly Accessed Memory: A head injury causes a man to lose his memory, throwing his life into chaos as he regresses to his last known lifestyles.Analog Memory: A former CIA operative has his memory reset in an unorthodox way, and deals with the glitches of the new technology. Views: 524
When nine-year-old Tom Serafino’s twin sister Teagan suffers a debilitating brain injury, a police investigation implicates his playmate Mario’s unclean immigrant, transient worker known as Shoe. Innocent of the crime but burdened by his own childhood tragedy, Shoe takes the blame for what is in fact an accident caused by his young nephew, ensuring Mario’s chance at a future publicly unscarred.The lines between innocence and guilt, evasions and half-truths, love and duty are blurred. Can a lie born from resignation, fear, and love transform tragedy into hope? And is the life of one man worth the price of that lie?Told in vivid scenes alive with imagery and with thematic echoes of John Burnham Schwartz’s Reservation Road and Northwest Corner, Apology explores how the decisions we make in an instant reverberate in the years to come. Apology further paints a portrait of sacrifice within two immigrant families... Views: 524
If you love quirky and dark short stories but have become discouraged over the lack of originality these days then "Weirder Than Weird" will renew your faith! "Weirder Than Weird" is chock full of dark and creepy tales that will leave you wanting more and also wondering about the authors sanity."Weirder Than Weird" is chock full of the most unusual tales that you will ever read. Imagine if you will... a woman who holds the deepest and darkest of secrets. She seeks relief from her ignominious shame but her psychologist knows her secret all too well and she ends up paying for her indiscretions with her very soul. Or consider Keith Tuttle, a young man who unwittingly becomes entrenched in a horrifying tale that leads him into bondage but in the end someone close to him unexpectedly benefits from his damnation. Another story called "Arrival Time" will allow you to peer into the life of a solitary man traveling through space and what he has come to rely upon in order to keep his sanity. Will he lose it? Stand by....These are just a few of the weird tales that await you. Can you hear the whistle blowing? The train is about to leave the station. Next stop: Scares-ville, Terror-town and Humor-heights. The only question now is...will you be on board? Views: 524
For lovers of Marion Lennox and Fiona Lowe comes a sweet, touching novel about secret desires and second chances, set in the intriguing world of sleep medicine.Dr Cameron Lewis has been running from his past for a long time, so when a career opportunity opens up in his hometown of Brisbane, he takes it as a sign to move home and pick up the pieces of his life. But his vow to never have a child remains steadfast — it's the one thing he can't compromise on.Nurse Stacey Carter has always craved a family of her own, and, following a bitter divorce and the death of her mother, she finally decides to make her dreams come true. She doesn't need a man to help, but she can't help thinking that the new doctor in the Sleep Medicine ward might be the ideal alternative... Views: 524
Luke wants Stone to succeed as a rancher and put the legacy of his shiftless father behind him, but he'd also like Stone to share his bed. Views: 523
Part-time artist and full-time barista Sam Mills was sure he never used to be such a softie. Then he met and married Jack Bailey, lawyer and aspiring author, in a Maine coffee shop, and life has never been so good.Marimar, an attractive, biracial, strong willed yet socially awkward sixteen-year-old moves to a Victorian home in a small town. Sage is a tall handsome southern boy with a troubled family life. He can’t help but be attracted to Marimar's petite beauty and fiery disposition. Marimar discovers the house has a mysterious past which is shrouded by the superstitious townsfolk. She believes it’s all an urban legend until she starts experiencing strange phenomenon first hand. Sage is drawn both to her and to the house. They set off together to seek the truth, but no one is talking. In discovering the house’s history she uncovers a life altering family secret as well. These revelations open up a new reality for her and make her question her beliefs and even her ability to stay alive, let alone pursue a relationship with her first love. Views: 523
The Madness is Back!The third annual "Days of Madness" short story anthology is back with twenty new short-short tales that explore the extremes of the human condition, and beyond!Features new stories from the pens of: Richard Godwin, Benjamin Sobieck, Anthony Cowin, Angel Zapata, J.J. Steinfeld, L.W. Salinas, Matthew Wilson, Jack Horne, Donald J. Uitvlugt, and Chris Allinotte.The Madness is Back!The third annual "Days of Madness" short story anthology is back with twenty new short-short tales that explore the extremes of the human condition, and beyond!Ride shotgun with a distraught father as he floors it down the highway in pursuit of justice.Answer the "Babysitters wanted" ad in your local paper, but be ready for the game of your life.When frogs scream like crickets and mermaids become reality, you've in for a wild ride through ten days of madness.Features new stories from the pens of: Richard Godwin, Benjamin Sobieck, Anthony Cowin, Angel Zapata, J.J. Steinfeld, L.W. Salinas, Matthew Wilson, Jack Horne, Donald J. Uitvlugt, and Chris Allinotte. Views: 523
Son murdered. Wife abandoned. Head hunted.When a violent pandemic turns his neighbors homicidal, Kozz is forced to break out of his solitude and venture back to the world where he left his love behind.Frostarc is a journey through one man's struggle to forgive himself. The people of his frozen planet have gone insane, and many have disappeared. Kozz needs to find a way off his ice-block prison in order to track down his wife and must make sure she is shielded from the madness that has befallen humanity. Hiding from his past is no longer an option. A decade of isolation and self-loathing has destroyed his spirit, but a young boy and mother who Kozz finds on his travels serve as a surrogate family, one he feels compelled to protect.Mystery and turmoil plague a civilization in its early period of space pioneering. Frostarc will haunt readers with its bloody, western-shootout style and frightening revelations of Kozz's secret history. He... Views: 523
This is the complete TRADE WORLD SERIES — all four books in one. (Re-edited)
MANUAL INTERPRETATION - Rett didn't expect to be rescued and then attacked by a primitive on a test flight. Andrew didn't expect to save an alien and nearly destroy his planet because of what he learned. Earth didn't get to choose their representative for a planet-wide treaty and then be threatened by an alien confederation.
Surely Earth Couldn't defend itself. Surely they couldn't have had contact with others, from off-planet, before now... but what was this backwater planet doing with a fleet of ships, advanced navigation systems and a galactic-class trading facility with personnel who spoke all the major galactic languages. Every species got it wrong.
PATENTLY OBVIOUS - Earth is venturing out into space with technology adapted from aliens. We have no clue on how to trade and which planets are occupied and which are vacant. How will we move out into the void when there is political sniping at home? How do you convince the public it is a good thing when they don't believe they really exist? Aliens are headed to Earth. What do we trade? What will we ask in return? How do we handle intellectual property off planet? Every technology—every trade good is fair game. This is about Earth going through its growing pains and being tested at every turn. Earth has a lot of growing up to do and it isn't all fun and games... it is a test we have to pass...
A CERTAIN EXPERTISE - shows our young race suddenly moving into deep space. Empires had existed before us but we had come from the fringe of the galaxy and the older races were near the core. Some races progressed slowly even though they were much older due to their bureaucracy. Others appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. We were currently leaving a mark on our galactic arm through our trade and rediscovered ancient technology.
We have overcome local competition and are probing deeper toward our galaxy Core. We are searching for the creators of the molecular circuitry that can improve electronics or form intelligent machines. We are also, struggling with our humanity and facing political jockeying at home due to radical changes in longevity, energy availability, and mobility. A society’s standard of living is based on the average energy available to individuals and ours has just increased by orders of magnitudes.
The new power sources and alien influences may be a bit much for Earth should we even survive the tourists and traders. The more advanced species that are further inward on the spiral arm are another kettle of fish altogether.
CORE VALUES - Earth and the Exploration Service destroyed the bulk of the Allung slave traders. New transition technology lets them travel thousands of light years instantly and they’ve seized accumulated positional data (charts) from the Allung Confederation. The Earthers are traveling closer to the galactic core where the Allung may have run into the Ylee, the possible creators of the lamlee.
The Ylee region of space is close to LeiLei and Shiv’s home world and we will go there first. Earth wishes to expand: explore, and tame further systems near the core. They have to decide what type of expedition to form—do they need a lone ship, a squad or an armada. Earth has had opposition at every step of their travels and many groups on Earth are finding the means to look for a future, an escape into space. Earth may not survive its successful trading...is trade worth five billion human lives? Views: 523
"In the Eye of the Storm" is a collection of verse in three sections, from "Demeter's Dance", where aspects of nature are sometimes threatened by neglect or interference and "Breakages" - emotional responses to love and life, to poems prompted by Greece in "Moonbirds and Wild Water." They are hopefully impressions and thoughts of more than merely personal relevance."In the Eye of the Storm" is a collection of verse in three sections. "Demeter's Dance" conveys mysterious or disquieting aspects of nature. In the poem "To Marcus by the Corn", the past one can feel locked beneath the earth of a Suffolk field, seems, momentarily, to uncannily possess the boy walking through the field with the poet.Demeter was the guardian goddess of the land which she let wither while searching for Persephone, her daughter, abducted by Hades and carried to the Underworld. The poem "Demeter" recalls her as a ghost, still wandering the fields and waiting to return. And in "Moon Hare" there is a recollection of the folk belief that a girl left by her lover turned into a white hare!In the section "Breakages", the experience of loss and regret is rife in such poems as "The Dream", conveying the unreachable, in "In Retrospect", comparing a lost love to "dark music in reluctant depths without expression", while turmoil and compassion surface in "The Final Piece", where the element that would complete a person's character, has gone astray.Youthful pessimism persists in "Drowned", bemoaning the loss of our universal soul and "The Butterflies" have but a fleeting beauty.The collection "Moonbirds and Wild Water" is inspired by Greece and her islands - from the birds that sang all night in Skiathos and thoughts on Santorini's volcano, to verse about Crete where I live - from the resilience of her mountain folk to the myth of the Minotaur in the Knossos labyrinth. Views: 523
