Curl up with a cowboy this Christmas with these three heartwarming tales A FAMILY FOR THE RANCHER by Jenna Kernan Two years ago, Dillen Roach fell for wealthy debutante Alice Truett. Now she's at his door with his orphaned nephews in tow! Could Alice be the perfect Christmas gift for this solitary rancher? DANCE WITH A COWBOY by Kathryn Albright Kathleen Seridan is determined to leave the tragedy of her past behind her--including brooding cowboy Garrett. But with Christmas magic in the air, can she resist the warmth of his touch? CHRISTMAS IN SMOKE RIVER by Lynna Banning Gale McBurney is an utter mystery to rich "city girl" Lilah Cornwell. But to make Smoke River her home by Christmas, she'll have to let this rugged cattleman take the reins.... Views: 680
Rose Evermore has lived in Ar Cena her entire life. Despite this, she still feels like an outsider, like a shoe that doesn’t quite fit. Halfway through her eighteenth year, she begins to notice changes around her, such as the fact that she has a stalker who can hold fire in his bare hands, or the dreams that she can turn into reality.After a series of mishaps, Rose finds herself in an alternate realm, brought there to hone the magical power she was born with. Even here, though, Rose feels set apart. The Academy Masters treat her differently than the others. Her assigned soul mate avoids her when he should be working with her. Despite all this, Rose begins to grow into something no one could’ve seen coming; a hero.With her, nothing is as it should be, and she decides to find out why. Soon she discovers that not everything about this new world is what it seems.Least of all her. Views: 680
This is a science fiction short story about the end of our civilization, and the beginning of a new one. In the story, small mysterious creatures resembling dragons appear all over the globe, with unexpected results for us. This is not a sword-and-sandals adventure tale but a work of ideas. "The Dragons" takes an unsparing look at where humanity is now and offers a different vision for our future.Look around you. Do you like what you see? Are you satisfied with our political leadership, with the business class, with all those who have their hands on the levers of power? Are you content with the current order of the world? Perhaps you aren't. Perhaps you are quite definitely not satisfied. In fact, when you think about the myriad of serious problems that humanity currently faces-- climate change and the ongoing wholesale destruction of nature, economic stagnation, growing inequality and disenfranchisement, ethnic and social discord, armed conflicts and the nationalistically-fueled threat of greater bloodshed to come-- you are filled with despair, and anger. Despair, because with every passing day these issues seem to be growing more grave, more intractable, more pressing. Anger, because those who are responsible for guiding us toward a better, more sustainable world, for creating the conditions in which justice, prosperity, and opportunity might flourish...are not. Our leaders are failing us, of this can be no doubt. But beyond their failure lies an even greater burden of accountability. Like it or not, this the world we have made. In the future its achievements and missteps will be laid at our doorstep and no one else's. So if we don't care for the direction things seem to be heading in, it is up to us, the people, to change it. That's what this story is about: people taking the reins of the world back into their own hands to create a better society, one strong enough to last our time, and worthy of bequeathing to our children. And yes, the story is also about dragons, as well as a very special kind of magic! Read this tale if you cannot help but feel that somehow,somewhere, civilization-- the whole kit and caboodle-- has taken a wrong turn. Read it if you believe that neither the system we live under now nor its human proxies will ever be capable of putting us back on a truly democratic, sustainable path. And read "The Dragons" if, despite the undeniable gravity of the challenges facing us, you still have hope, and wouldn't mind coming by just a tad more. Views: 680
When Lucas Warbuck receives a book from a prophet, it opens up a world of secrets, schemes and trickery… and holds a special message. Suddenly the kingdom of Darkotika is scrambling. Who is this boy who looks so…well, ordinary? An average boy would never dream of such possibilities. How on earth did this happen? Lucas Warbuck… summoned? Will he ever find out? And what if he does?When just-about-twelve year old Lucas Warbuck receives a book from a prophet, it opens up a world of secrets, schemes and trickery… and holds a special message that he doesn’t even bother to read. Suddenly the kingdom of Darkotika is scrambling. Who is this boy who looks so…well, ordinary? The average Middling would never dream about kingdoms in realms of darkness or light… and possibilities. Somehow Lucas sees things others do not; not that they couldn’t… they just didn’t. His life may not be so average after all! So when Darkotika’s spies with long-nosed telescopic lenses come snooping around the town of Target for him… and an unsuspecting kid is snatched right out of his seat at the movie theater. Well, you can see where we’re headed! How on earth did this happen? Lucas Warbuck… summoned? Will he ever find out? And what if he does? Views: 680
Contains ROUGH, HARD, and FIERCE - all three books in Colin and Allie's complete story! This boxed set in the Chicago Underground series is over 400 pages.
Meet the woman shaped by betrayal and the man determined to save her at any cost...
ROUGH (Book One)
I'm a cautionary tale. A statistic. A victim. A single teenage mother from the poor part of town. Most of the time I'm too busy working and struggling to care what people think. Survival doesn't come easy.
I have a dark secret, a pressure valve, a rare moment just for myself. On these nights I visit a club. There I find men who give me what I need.
Men like Colin.
But he wants more than a few stolen hours. He demands more than my body. He wants my heart and soul--my happily ever after. I never thought I'd be Cinderella. I never thought a man that rough could be my prince.
HARD (Book Two)
What Colin doesn't know can't hurt him.
At least that's what I tell myself about the secrets I keep. I don't have a choice, not if I want to keep my daughter safe. And keep him Colin safe too. There are enemies in the shadows waiting to strike from all sides. I'm holding them out with my bare hands, but it's hard not to get crushed in the process.
And the truth has a way of coming out.
If I'm not careful, the past I've been working so hard to hide, the pain I've been fighting so long to outrun, will wipe out the man I love.
FIERCE (Book Three)
I'm torn between what I want and what I need. Between the men in my past and the man by my side. Colin has tried to control me, to use me. But he also guards me so fiercely my heart aches.
Raincheck. Business. Don't wait up. --C
That's the note he leaves for me, as if I could sit around while he fights my dragons. As if I could let himself get killed in some vain attempt to protect me.
There's no protection left for me. No redemption either.
This is my battle, and I've already lost.
Boxed sets in the Chicago Underground series:
Rough Hard Fierce - Colin and Allie's story
Wild Dirty Secret - Luke and Shelly's story Views: 680
The Empire of Twelve is at war with itself. An army of Xaosian invaders move forward with a plan to take the Empire for their own, targeting the planet Raan. But it is clear that the Xaosians are not working alone; something else is pulling the strings and its army grows every day.When the dust settles, nothing will be the same again.The Empire of Twelve is at war with itself. An army of Xaosian invaders move forward with a plan to take the Empire for their own, targeting the planet Raan. But it is clear that the Xaosians are not working alone; something else is pulling the strings and its army grows every day.The planet Narcsia is dying. Storms and quakes ravage the world, leading to a world-wide evacuation. However, when a few of the Scalimen natives look to the storm, they see strange gas creatures demolishing their world.The pits of Rat'hak are deadly fighting arenas. Accepting that he may never who he used to be, amnesiac Ash must fight in the pits in order to survive.Meanwhile, a survivor of a long-thought dead race clings to the hope that his race is alive, and vows to do anything it takes to find them once again. Even if it means helping the Xaosians build their world-crippling super-weapon.When the dust settles, the Empire will never be the same again. Views: 680
From the world of Beautiful Creatures-a dangerous new tale of love and magic.
Ridley Duchannes is nobody's heroine. She's a Dark Caster, a Siren. She can make you do things. Anything. You can't trust her, or yourself when she's around. And she'll be the first to tell you to stay away-especially if you're going to do something as stupid as fall in love with her.
Lucky for Ridley, her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley "Link" Lincoln, never listens to anyone. Link doesn't care if Rid's no good for him, and he takes her along when he leaves small-town Gatlin to follow his rock-star dream. He teams up with a ragtag group of Dark Casters, and when the band scores a gig at a hot Underground club, it looks like all of Link's dreams are about to come true.
But New York City is a dangerous place for both Casters and Mortals, and soon Ridley realizes that Link's bandmates are keeping secrets. With bad-boy club owner Lennox Gates on her heels, Rid is determined to find out the truth. What she discovers is worse than she could have imagined: Link has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay. With their lives on the line, what's a Siren to do?
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of the Beautiful Creatures novels, are back to cast another magical spell. Their signature blend of mystery, suspense, and romance, with a healthy dose of wit and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more. Views: 680
The family dog and a Venus Fly Trap help a woman unearth enough of her husband’s secrets that she wonders what more he may be hiding, what other dastardly deeds could there be and can she get at them? Perhaps it wasn’t the dog and the Venus Fly Trap that smoked him out. Maybe it is her developing psychic ability coming to the fore.Jim feels free to do as he pleases in his own home when he is all alone. Totally uninhibited when left on his own he lets it all hang out. He is comfortable with the fact that no one can see him doing silly, unconventional and absurd things. It is very liberating indeed and he gets to the point where he can’t help himself. His only witness is the dog and although Misty occasionally gets cranked up, barks, howls and wants outside it is good for a laugh. Then something unexpected happens, he finds out his actions have not been as surreptitious as he imagined they were. Views: 680
Not everyone is given a second chance at love. When Scott Meyers finds Liz Hoffman—the woman who walked out on him fifteen years ago—on the side of the road after a car accident in the middle of a snowstorm, he’s unwilling to let her slip through his fingers again. Will she accept him back into her life, or will their second chance melt away like the snow beneath their feet?"...a fast-paced exploration of corruption and power...an exciting story packed with twists, disasters and suspense." — Emma Hunneyball, In PotentiaAn amiable corporate manager by day and a matchmaker whenever he can get around to it, Calvin Newsome’s new dream job falls into his lap when he’s recruited by a secret worldwide organization whose agents use uncanny abilities to empower and influence everyday downtrodden individuals. Disaster strikes, however, when an elaborate scheme leaves Calvin as a prime murder suspect...and his new employer is presumably to blame.With the authorities on his heels and his life left in ruin, Calvin uses his new powers to blend in until a journey for freedom becomes a quest for peace. As the agency’s complementary organization threatens the security of all of earth’s inhabitants, Calvin teams up with unlikely allies and battles startling enemies hellbent on unleashing their power in a twisted version of justice, innocent lives be damned. Views: 680
Rudy is an out-of-place loner who doesn't have much to live for until a series of strange experiences transport him to another reality…or is it merely a glimpse of what could be?A dark fantasy e-short of 4,500 words.‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ is one of 11 short stories of science fiction, fantasy and horror collected in Transient Tales Volume 1.They evacuated people, in the the early days of the Blight. They sealed off the affected areas and posted guards. They provided protection, issued reassurances. They put their top scientists to work on finding a solution. They don’t do any of that anymore.But even if everyone else is giving up, Olivia’s determined to find a way to survive. To adapt.Because what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Or different, at least. Views: 680
Tegan Pennells used to care about everything: family, friends, boys, school, and music. But then her dad died and that stopped.
She doesn’t care about her relationship with her mum and sister. She doesn’t care that she’s pushed away most of her friends. She doesn’t care that she lost her virginity to her friend’s brother in the backseat of his car. She doesn’t care that she uses men, or what people think about her friends with benefits agreement with Kai, a guy she met in a bar.
Tegan doesn’t care about the man that received her father’s heart. And she doesn’t want to care about that man’s son.
She doesn’t want to care about anything ever again. Views: 680
The NGA's Agent Scott enlists John Mackinac’s help in unravelling the truth behind a time-inconsistent artifact (TIA) discovered on the island of Martinique in 2052. Using technology developed by a top-secret NGA research group, Mackinac and Scott trek across the multiverse to discover if the TIA proves terrorists also have this technology. (ver 2.0)Fractime’s story tells of key times surrounding the Universal War, a conflict pitting humanity against machine and itself throughout time.The NGA's Agent Scott enlists John Mackinac’s help in unravelling the truth behind a time-inconsistent artifact (TIA) discovered on the island of Martinique in 2052. Using technology developed by a top-secret NGA research group, Mackinac and Scott trek across the multiverse to discover if the TIA proves terrorists also have this technology (ver 2.0) Views: 679
Caelfel, the budding she-elf of Sal'Sumarathar, fights, often alone, the evil forces that have infiltrated her beloved woodland city in order to save her family, herself, and the one elf everyone hates.Caelfel Gyssedlues is a young she-elf at seventy-six years old, the youngest known elf in her woodland city. A highly skilled archer, she was picked to join a certain hunting party to defend their forest from goblins. All is well until she chances upon Feraan, the most hated elf of the Honey Water Empire. She breaks royal decree by saving his life and finds herself constantly at odds with her people and a dangerous tracker. She is often forced to defend herself and her family simply because of her decision. Meanwhile, she finds herself becoming closer to Feraan, perhaps even falling in love, but the longer she knows him, the more apparent it becomes that Feraan's enemies reach beyond their elvenkind. Soon those enemies come searching for him too, putting Caelfel's life in even more danger. Views: 679
Book Two of the Witching Savannah seriesGraceful trees and historic buildings fill Savannah, Georgia, but beneath the city's Southern splendor, its supernatural roots run deep. The members of local witch families grace the society pages...when they're not secretly protecting their magical work from dark forces.Savannah resident Mercy Taylor may now be in control of the South's most powerful family of witches, but she's struggling to master her newfound magic. Pregnant with her first child and still reeling from a heartbreaking betrayal, she just wants to be able to use her supernatural abilities without accidentally destroying dishes or blasting the doors off buildings.But when Mercy's long-presumed-dead mother suddenly returns, begging Mercy to keep her presence under wraps, the witch wonders how many secrets her family is hiding...and who she can really trust. And when the danger around her intensifies to deadly levels, Mercy knows she must discover the truth behind her family's magic—before it destroys her.The second book in J.D. Horn's Witching Savannah series, The Source casts a thrilling spell. Views: 679
