For Christine Dadey, finding a kindred spirit in the charismatic Erik couldn't have come at a better time. Despite the disfigurement that forces him to conceal his face, Erik gives Christine the confidence she needs as he helps her rediscover her love of dancing. But as Christine grows closer to the wounded dancer she fears he may be hiding more than his scarred appearance behind the veiled mask.Christine Dadey’s family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy’s finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she’s told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she’s willing to do to cope with it. Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world’s stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik’s face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he’s lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine. Drawn in by Erik’s unwavering confidence, Christine allows herself to believe Erik’s declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine’s hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik’s shadowy past jeopardizes Christine’s unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge. Views: 596
Lucius Aurelius Faustus is the Tribunus over Caesar's legions in the west, fighting against the Gauls. He's harsh, unforgiving, strategic, and deadly on the battlefield. When an enemy's sword pierces his side, he must retreat to Mediolanum to have the wound treated. Once the medicus has done all he can, he commands Aia, a slave woman, to watch over Tribunus Faustus as he heals. As Faustus appraises the beautiful young woman, he knows she'll be tending to more than just his wound.To distract him from the pain, Aia regales him with stories of her childhood as a slave, and Faustus finds himself strangely drawn to her. When he demands further distraction, she obliges without question as a slave must. Her gentle ministrations command the attention of the Tribunus, and as he learns more of her, he sees her without the veiled eye with which a master views a servant.Aia is only a slave, her value measured by nothing but a pair of coins. Another man already owns her, and she... Views: 596
The adventure continues in this fourth book of the epic multiplatform fantasy series.
Cracks In The Ice
Strange things are happening at the frozen edge of the world. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan have crisscrossed Erdas in their quest to stop the ruthless Conquerors. Only the four of them, supported by the gifts of their legendary spirit animals, have the power to defeat an evil takeover.
While chasing down a lead in the cold north, the heroes arrive at a quiet village where not everything is as it seems. Rooting the truth out of this deceptively beautiful place won't be easy - and the team is already out of time. The Conquerors are right behind them. Views: 596
Twenty-three year old, Kamryn Cunningham has left all she’s ever known and moved to a small town where no one knows her name, who her parents are, or her social status in the horseracing world. Months after opening her own bakery and evading attempts of being set up by her new best friend, she meets Brody. Kamryn fights the instant pull between them because there’s a detail she can’t dismiss. Brody’s married.
To say that twenty-six year old, Brody Saco has had a rough marriage would be an understatement. After marrying his pregnant girlfriend, he spends the next six years in a relationship filled with hatred, manipulation and guilt involving a tragedy that happened five years earlier. When he keeps running into his sister-in-law’s best friend, Kamryn, he can’t ignore that she makes him feel more with just one look than his wife ever has; and soon he can’t continue fight his feelings for her.
When staying apart proves to be too difficult, Brody and Kamryn enter a relationship full of stolen moments and nights that end too soon while they wait for Brody to file for divorce. But the guilt that comes with their relationship may prove to be too much for Kamryn, and Brody might not be strong enough to face the tragedy from his past in order to leave his conniving wife. Views: 596
Living in Africa can cause some humorous situations, these are some short stories about such situations that came my way. In some I can only describe myself as the initiator, not intentionally!Life is filled with adventure, from having to share a deep-drop toilet with various creepy crawlies in the middle of the night, to flying airliners kept in the air by prayers and flapping wings. There are ghosts in the desert, and funerals at sea that can go wrong, there are scores to be settled and bombs to be ducked! There are the heart sore of disappearing pets, and the pain of hunting the unknown, there is a life to be lived! Views: 596
Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there’s that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she’s ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life.
A tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity, is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect it.
We’re doomed. Views: 596
Taken away from a life she thought was perfect. Dealing with her mother who is hiding a secret. Falling for someone who isn't who she believes he is. Feeling as if no one cares. Join Jen as her life becomes explosive in more ways than she can imagine. Without care... A emotional roller coaster which will leave you gasping for more.Four Hundred Sixteen. That’s all it takes to tell a story. A scary story. At least here. Every tale of horror and suspense in this book is exactly 416 words long (you can spend your time counting or reading, that’s up to you). Every story was written by a member of Authonomy.com.Stephen King takes 1,200 pages to tell a story. We do it in half a page. Sometimes we do it better. From Arachnoids to Zombies, “416” has it all. The first fifty four stories were submitted as part of my weekly Flash Fiction Friday contest. Always a treat for the readers, this particular contest was an outstanding success. We got a lot of “new” writers as well as the old standbys. Many wrote outside their comfort zone and they did it well.So, now we have a collection of horror worthy to be on the shelves of whatever bookstores are still in business (another horror story in itself). Unfortunately, timing is everything and my Ouja board tells me that there is not enough time to get “416” on the shelves. That shouldn’t stop you from putting it on yours, however. 416 words is less than two pages. But you won’t believe what we can fit into those two pages. I know I didn’t, and I still believe in Obama. When I first asked myself to edit this book, I thought “who wants to read a bunch of stories that aren’t even written by me. But after reading the submissions, I can almost see the logic of it. Besides, there are two stories that are by me, so everyone wins.Now, here we sit. You, me, and fifty-something tales, tailor made to be read on a cold October night. Short, intense and eerie. You can take them in small doses or plow through with one eye shut and one open. It’s up to you. Don’t be shy with feedback and comments. After all, a zombie can live on brains but a writer needs attention if he or she wants to thrive and survive.Finally, if you think it’s easy, feel free to give it a try. Send me a 416 word horror story before October 30, 2011, and I may add it to this lovely tome. Thank you to Authonomy and Rachel Authonomy for inspiring all of us to rise to this challenge. Mr. King and Koontz have set the bar. You tell us if we cleared it. And yes, this introduction is exactly 416 words. Views: 596
A peasant fights to save his wife from becoming a living sacrifice to the Old Gods.Henrietta closed her eyes and imagined them growing up, holding hands in grade school, working as scientists and doctors. “You suppose they’ll be good friends?”“Oh I don’t see why not. We might be good friends ourselves,” Georgia told her.Henrietta smiled and opened her eyes, staring up at the stamped plastic ceiling tiles with elephants and horses and creatures Henry and George would never see in space. “They’ll be famous,” she said. “They’ll be astronauts.”There was a knock on the door frame, and they turned to see a nurse standing half-hidden in the florescent light. “Lunch is on the way up, ladies,” she said, and she nodded at each of them before turning and going back down the hall.A few minutes later, Henrietta sighed and said, “Henry and George, George and Henry. The Astronauts.” Views: 595
“The Orange & Blue Drive-In touches on a lot of big issues—class and coming of age and small town America in the 60s—with care and sophistication. It is beautifully written with a strong yet quiet line.” —Juliana Spahr, winner of the Hardison Poetry Prize, and author of eight volumes of poetryIn March of 1967 a young man named Timmy leaves home at the age of fifteen to make room for the arrival of his sister’s baby. His journey takes him just a few blocks down the street, but his life changes dramatically. He goes to work for a man named Morgan, the new owner of the Orange & Blue Drive-In, and he meets Penney, Morgan’s thirty-year-old daughter. Rundi, a Muslim immigrant from India rents him a small room in the back of his antique store. Timmy’s childhood and friends cling to him, but a different world pulls him forward into new relationships, relationships that have startling consequences. Everything happens against the background of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, riots in Detroit, the poverty of Timmy’s east Gainesville neighborhood, and a rapidly changing world.“The Orange & Blue Drive-In touches on a lot of big issues—class and coming of age and small town America in the 60s—with care and sophistication. It is beautifully written with a strong yet quiet line.” —Juliana Spahr, winner of the Hardison Poetry Prize, and author of eight volumes of poetry, including: Response (Sun & Moon Press, 1996), Fuck You-Aloha-I Love You (Wesleyan University Press, 2001), and Well Then There Now (Black Sparrow Press, 2011) Views: 595
The Deer, Amanda and Other Short Stories contains six short stories that include, among others, a focus on the repercussions of picking up an old girlfriend and what can go wrong when you go sledding. This semi-autobiographical collection of short stories is a light and enjoyable read (roughly 20 pages).The Deer, Amanda and Other Short Stories contains the following short stories:*First Short Story-The Deer and Amanda: Find out what happens when Nick agrees to pick up Amanda one late night in Madison.*Second Short Story-Jessica: A short story on why being honest with your partner is the best way to go.*Third Short Story-Miriam: Finding your way with a local's help isn't always so useful.*Fourth Short Story-Hey: Read about a man and a cat and their trip to a local bar.*Fifth Short Story-The Mailbags: Watch the reaction to new regulations sink Lloyd's postal career.*Sixth Short Story-Ring of Keys: Nick only wanted to go sledding. While he got his wish, he forgot to do something important, very important. Dustin De Felice is the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction work including the Heartfelt Saga. He used to spend much of his time sledding throughout the Chicago area, though he now spends his time sledding with his daughter and wife in Michigan (and sometimes in Chicago when he’s lucky). Many of these short stories were inspired by a few of his own life adventures. To date, he has unfortunately struck and killed three deer and has lost many sets of keys, wallets and his sense of direction. Views: 595
Ramona's always been a good little girl. All work and no play. That is, until her job leads her in a new direction--directing up and coming rock stars to their next gig. And the rock stars aren't the only ones coming. Everything in Dallas is better after dark, and Ramona soon finds that musicians are better with their hands and tongues than she had ever thought. Which rock star will Ramona choose? Views: 595
Join Abbie and Bendigo Joules as they explore beyond their own east Texas farm, uncovering a hidden wonder in the neighbors living next door. Price and Pleasure Walker fascinate and beguile the youngsters with sculpture, hospitality and family history, enriching their lives and opening their eyes to a world they've never known.The fifth in a series of fourteen short stories by Abbie Joules, as she chronicles the lives of herself and her deceased brother, Bendigo, growing up on their family farm in east Texas during the 1940's and 1950's. Abbie and Ben set off on a short canoe trip down their local creek, seeing adventure. What they find is a new appreciation for their neighbors, Price and Pleasure Walker, an old black couple who open their eyes to a hidden world on their doorstep. Price's gift of sculptural art fascinates them, and the old couple's personal history introduces them to a world they've never known. Abbie and Ben can never look on their neighbors the same old way again. Views: 595
