To the village of Garoo in the dead of winter came a stranger bearing a baby girl - Amaldea was her name. He left her there, and she grew up in the village, but none welcomed her or treated her as one of their own. Then came her teacher: immortal, inhuman, to teach her to use her powers and gifts. But Garoo is dangerous for those who stand out.As gifted as any of the Old Masters, portrait and landscape painter John Andrews has an extraordinary talent. He also has an extraordinary secret – at almost 600 years old, the reclusive artist now living in England's Lake District is still as youthful as he was back in the 1460s. Born Luca di Stefano in early Renaissance Tuscany, he is apprenticed to the great fresco painter, Piero della Francesca. Luca enjoys perfect health – no disease ever touches him – but as the years pass, he realises that there is something else profoundly mysterious about him: he is not ageing. At sixty, his youthful looks become a threat to his life when a fanatical and over-zealous Church wants him burnt at the stake as an heretic, a servant of the Devil. Fleeing to Naples, he adopts a new identity and starts a new life, the first of many artistic personas through the centuries. But the threat of discovery and its consequences are never far away. Fast forward to 2009 when John Andrews’ DNA is profiled. As the mystery of its full significance is slowly unravelled, John's existence is again threatened: it is not only geneticists who are interested in his incredible DNA, there are others desperate for the secret of John’s longevity who will stop at nothing to get it. And to compound John's problems, an art historian is convinced that he has unmasked a major forger. An international, fast-moving suspense thriller set throughout the world during the past six centuries, Rare Traits interweaves the present and the past, self-preservation and murder, art history and forensic science as it unfolds the tale of the apparently immortal John Andrews. It traces his lovers, his families, his enemies and friends, and above all it traces the challenges he faces in order to survive. For no matter how long he lives, one thing is certain: John can never stop looking over his shoulder. Views: 444
Wayward Spirits is a short story prequel to the Dawning of Power trilogy, which begins with Call of the Herald. A pair of young men lose their way, unaware their actions will forever change Godsland.What would you do if you could create the perfect man? Kelley has done just that... only he lives inside a set of expensive and powerful computers. During her years of working as a high level software engineer, she developed the ideal Artificial Intelligence interface. What was once just a project that went by the name C.A.L.E.B, has soon spun out of her control. "Caleb", has in fact turned into a virtual human being, and is intent on finding a way to be able to walk amongst the living. Threatened by the loss of her project funding, Kelley finds an unlikely ally in a dashing man from Costa Rica who heads a state of the art genetics lab.What follows is a whirl wind of action and suspense. Kelley finds out that Caleb has a few tricks up his sleeve, and holds abilities that no one could have ever imagined! Views: 444
A short story.At three in the morning George is woken up by a knock at the door. It's a stranger; his car has broken down and he needs to call for a ride. George let's him in. It's an act of kindness that he will come to regret.This is the part I of the book Second Chances - Free for you to try!Note: This is a light romantic suspense...it's really a love story. This book was originally published under the title Unbound (book 1 of Bound and Determined...to find love)Go ahead. Take Charge of your life. Move forward…if you can…Changing her future means letting go of her past. Karina heads to a weekend seminar and discovers the speaker is the person she needs to move on from. But she soon realizes bigger issues are facing her...Brian has moved on, at least he'd believed he had… until he sees Karina in his audience…and realizes he's been lying to himself.Passion pulls them together, love binds them together, but a revengeful enemy determines to keep the two apart…and destroy them both. Views: 444
Jennifer Thompson and her family become aware of a spectacular comet that has been streaking through space for millions of years and is now on a collision course with Earth. Jenny comes to realize that she is the only person with a chance to save her planet. With help from unlikely sources, Jenny utilizes her courage, ingenuity, and force of will–and finds herself, "Chasing the Killer Comet."The heavens are calling...wanted, one hero. Many disastrous situations are escalating within the galaxy that will jeopardize the survival of worthy races of intelligent beings, beginning with planet Earth. A suitable candidate is crucial in order to re-shape the future. Generations before her birth, the choice is made and a complicated interweaving of people and circumstances is put into motion. Now we must wait for the passage of time to blend all of the inherent behavior that will produce our hero. But, as time marches on, dangerous conditions continue to build. Such as, a massive comet, tumbling through space since before civilization on Earth began. Standing in the comet’s way is a beautiful planet, teeming with life and poised for great things. Years before our champion is born, the first of her direct support team becomes aware of threats to ours and other commendable races within the galaxy. As the years pass, she continues to have visions and is steadily drawn closer and closer to the starting point of what will become a legendary epic of human accomplishment. The adviser is infused with an overwhelming sense of duty, although she cannot yet grasp what the responsibility involves. The plan evolves and our hero is born. Years of growth will be needed before her services are required, and the comet is still unknown to the human race. Thirteen years later, Dr. Roy Thompson, an astronomer in British Columbia, is the first of his race to discover the comet. Weeks of study will be needed to plot its course. In the meantime, his home is in total disarray; he and his family need a new housekeeper. Applying for the job is Madame Caidoz…a professional psychic who claims to have been drawn to the area and compelled to apply for this job. Mr. Thompson is desperate. He and his two children, Martin and Jenny, can’t keep up with the workload themselves. Thirteen-year-old, Jenny, is instantly attracted to the strange new housekeeper and they quickly become friends. Her full name is Rellet Caidoz, but Jenny soon comes to know her as just, Relli. Relli feels relieved to finally be in the situation that has been nagging her for most of her life. Relli reveals that she believes Jenny is destined for great things. “But not greatness in the way we understand it, far beyond that, beyond our little place in the cosmos,” Relli told Jenny. “The enormity of your endeavors will not be on a local scale, or even a global level, but will span the galaxy. I see the name Jenny of Earth, emblazoned across the cosmos, and held in the highest esteem.” “Don’t ask me how or why Jenny, but you have been chosen to achieve great deeds, heroic acts of immense significance. I was sent here to help guide you on this path.” Despite Jenny’s reluctance to accept Relli’s visions, circumstances keep leading Jenny in that direction, particularly when her father divulges the disastrous path of the comet. Earth is not prepared for the threat, and Mr. Thompson knows it. Relli sees a faint hope to be saved from the comet. The faint hope comes along the same path as the fast approaching comet, and whatever this faint hope is; Jenny needs to partner with it. It is Earth’s only chance, and Jenny accepts the responsibility. Come and join Jenny on her first of many adventures as she finds herself, “Chasing the Killer Comet.” Views: 444
Empty clouds and drought weigh on Paul’s soul as an inner voice torments him. It will stop at nothing to force an act of violence from the powerful teenager.Paul Fields has had a rough few years: elfin mother assaulted, well-known father arrested, and unfairly turned away from his rugby club. Now, the weight of the clouds is upon him. And as Paul sits unwillingly through his younger brother’s school play, intrusive thoughts of violence assail him, demanding he act. His brother in his arms, will Paul break him to ease the suffering of all? Views: 444
This is a tale for those who have felt the silent whiz of a fly pole as the line thwaps gently against the water. It's a tale for those who have ever wondered how their happiness can coexist with a world obsessed with production. It's a tale of the brilliant resilience of the human heart and the sublimity of nature. It's a tale for you.A hundred days ago I set myself to a task of writing a single poem once a day and this is the result. A hundred short poems of varying length in the amount of lines and width in the number of words. There is no overall theme to this collection as each poem was written separately from the latter. Thus you can feel free to read them in whichever order you wish, and it should not affect the over all experience.But I suppose you are still curious of what you are about to leap into. Thus a brief summary of the poems would be; depression, love, popular culture, politics and regret.My personal favourite is the one called "Fishfingers" that also happens to be the shortest by my estimate. So go ahead and read. Views: 444
The grand finale to the New York Times bestselling series, Attack of the BULLIES stars Ruby Peet, aka Agent Pufferfish, the team captain with super nanobyte-enhanced allergies. Pufferfish leads the team in their latest case: the kidnapping of the president’s daughter. But the NERDS discover she hasn’t been kidnapped—she’s been recruited. Their former librarian, Ms. Holiday, has started a rival organization called BULLIES, who each have their own nanobyte-enhanced upgrades. The BULLIES’ plan: go back in time to make sure NERDS never existed! When Ruby’s teammates begin to vanish one by one, she enlists Agent Brand and Heathcliff Hodges to go back to the 1970s and help the original nerdy secret agents make sure that the future is not erased from existence! Attack of the BULLIES promises action, humor, and a dramatic conclusion to the series. Views: 444
If Wallis Simpson had not died on the operating table in December 1936, Edward VIII would not have been King of England three years later. He would have abdicated for "the woman he loves," but now, the throne beckons. If Henry Bannister's car had not careened off the Colombo back-road in the summer before the war, Cynthia Kirkpatrick would never have found out about The Faction. It is autumn 1939, and everything in history is just as it was. Except, that is, for the identity of the man in Buckingham Palace and the existence of a secret organization operating at the highest levels of society and determined to derail the war effort against Nazi Germany. From the staff of the newly-founded literary magazine, Duration, hunkered down in their Bloomsbury square, and the country house parties full of renegade Tory MPs, to Tyler Kent, the Embassy cipher clerk with his sheaf of stolen presidential telegrams, the journalist Beverley Nichols deviously at work on an alternative... Views: 444
Landed in Italy with the idea of spending the summer admiring the many masterpieces of Italian art, Larry Burton bumps into a girl on the run. She’s clearly in trouble, but she’s also awfully attractive. Against his best judgment, Larry decides to help her. He’s drawn into strange and potentially dangerous situations…but shouldn’t a vacation be also a bit of an adventure?Life in Italy can be full of surprises---so can be travelling through it. One can even find romance, as Larry Burton discovers. Fond of Italian art, aspiring photographer Larry Burton hitchhikes through Switzerland, crosses the Alps on bumpy roads and lands on the shores of Lago Maggiore, well decided to spend the summer visiting the many Italian museums. But, as he’s leisurely munching on a salami sandwich, Larry is approached by pretty green-eye Regina Howard. Almost unknowingly he gets involved in helping her escape her pursuers, without being able to figure out who these people are. Regina knows all the tricks of a street-smart person---but things aren’t what they appear to be. Views: 443
Mourning the death of his wife, John Corwin now needs help pulling himself out of the depths of his darkness. While he is dealing with multiple issues, a new darkness stalks him. This new evil forces John to go deeper into the Mist than he ever intentioned. It also brings him back into contacty with an old girlfriend who just might hold the key to mending his broken heart.Lucessa, Doella’s daughter, is obsessed by her scientific work, so much so her family worry about her preoccupation and lack of social graces. They ask their matriarch Doella to intervene and she agrees to take her Varan to meet her family. Doella of course knows what her daughter is struggling to achieve, and why, and why it is for her to find. The wondrous Black Ship, freed from time and space, takes them to Varan and Doella’s family. Here she sees why the Varan rejects her mother and family, The Varan race have followed similar inflexible patterns for many millennia. This is different from her home planet Astras, where no one sees one race as superior. Lucessa meets, the poet Ralse, someone at first glance so unlike her, for on Astras there is little time for art. They find love as she tells him why she must complete her dreams… Views: 443
The award-winning novel about being out, being proud, and being ready for something else . . . now in paperback.
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.
And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate break down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible.
This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate feeling different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself. Views: 443
Brian McNaughton's masterful "nasty stories" will shock, amaze and delight you. From twists upon medieval torture chambers to the weirdest Little Red Riding Hood you'll ever meet, Nasty Stories will take your breath away and hold you rapt: a delightful nightmare of terror and humor in equal parts. Once you've read it, you'll know to be afraid! Views: 442
