In March 1918 the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk removes Russia from WW1 but not the German and Turkish invaders searching for Russia’s natural resources. Russia is in civil war chaos. Britain must stop its enemies acquiring cotton, used in ordinance, but can do so only by sending intelligence missions into Russian Turkestan to gain the support of politicians, even of opposing parties.Bolshevik Russia breaks an agreement with its allies not to make a separate peace by unilaterally signing the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, in March 1918, with the Central Powers. Russia thus leaves WW1 as it sinks into civil war. Germany and the Ottoman Empire ignore the treaty’s terms and continue their invasion of Russia looking for natural resources. Whilst the Allies are desperate to get Russia fighting again they agree that: France will try to check the German invasion of the Ukraine, Crimea and Bessarabia as they look for food; Britain will try to prevent Germany acquiring Turkestan cotton, vital for ordinance manufacture, and will try to prevent both Germany and the Ottoman Empire acquiring Caucasus oil and minerals. Britain also is concerned with the possible invasion threat to India posed by Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The world’s largest grower of cotton, the USA, too is interested in stopping Russian Cotton getting into German hands. In March 1918 Major Edrich the British consul in Shushtar, a quiet Persian backwater, is recovering from a war wound whilst monitoring any possible German or Ottoman machinations in the town. However, Edrich discovers his British predecessor has bequeathed him a blood feud with local tribesmen. Edrich does everything he can to avoid being murdered without appearing to usurp the local Persian governor’s authority. When Edrich is offered a job in China he jumps at the chance. En route to China, through India, he discovers that London has instructed the Indian Government to send an intelligence mission to Russian Eastern Turkestan to try and stop the local Bolsheviks selling cotton to the Germans and to identify whether released Central Powers POWs could be used as troops to invade India. Edrich recognises this Russian Turkestan mission is more challenging than the job in China and connives to get appointed to it.Unknown to the Eastern Turkestan mission a second Indian intelligence mission is launched via Persia, into Western Russian Turkistan. Russian speaking Captain Thomas Fernee, a former policeman with experience of undercover work on India’s North-West Frontier, joins this intelligence mission. Fernee’s undercover police experience is used to achieve the same aims as Edrich’s mission albeit over a thousand miles to the west. Fernee discovers he has to deal with fluctuating governments not just the Bolshevik and Counter-revolutionary ones in Russia, but also the contradictory approaches that the British Home and Indian Government’s have on what his and other missions are to achieve. Views: 489
Fresh from saving the lives of millions of people, Johnny Graphic and his friends are drawn into another rip-roaring ghost adventure. This time an army of monstrous bog zombies has appeared out of nowhere to ravage the northern counties of the Royal Kingdom. They're rampaging, burning, and smashing everything in sight. And they're capturing kids for reasons too terrible to even contemplate. Johnny, his best friend Nina Bain, and his sister Mel are summoned to help defeat the evil genius thought to be behind this nefarious plot. Percy Rathbone! The very same ghost who created the etheric bomb. Who nearly destroyed Johnny's hometown. And who was the last person to see Johnny's parents before they disappeared. Cut off from all help in the grim, foggy northern wilderness, the young news photographer and his companions must fight for their very survival while they try to rescue the kids who have been taken. But Percy is plotting an even greater horror. And Johnny has to stop him... Views: 489
The end always comes at a price...
To save his cousin, Claire, Nyx Fortuna was forced to release the goddess, Hecate. Free and bent on destroying the world, Hecate will kill anyone that gets in her way . . . starting with every member of the Wyrd family.
Now, Nyx and company must join forces with the Fates and fight to return Hecate to her underworld prison. Magical and mortals alike must take sides to survive, but no war is without its casualties... Views: 489
If only her life were a story on paper, she could tear it into a million pieces and start over. Ten-year-old Francie McLean’s life hasn’t been the same since her best friend started battling cancer. Francie wants to be loyal and caring to Randi, but when put to the test, she fails. Will their friendship survive the disease that changes everything?If only her life were a story on paper, she could tear it into a million pieces and start over.Ten-year-old Francie McLean wants to be like her best friend, Randi—pretty, popular, and kindhearted—everything she isn’t. Francie struggles to be someone she is not and somehow control her world that way. But she can’t control Randi’s frequent headaches that ruin their summer fun.Randi goes away for mysterious medical tests, leaving Francie to endure the bullies on the school bus alone. When Randi returns, Francie is elated until her mother greets her with tears and tragic news. Randi has cancer.Francie and Randi Picconi have been inseparable since Francie’s family moved to Long Island in the summer of 1976. Francie admires and sometimes envies Randi. She often plants her feet in Randi’s footprints and wonders what it would be like to be her. Now she wonders how it feels to have cancer. She questions God, “Why create beauty only to take it away?” Nothing makes sense to her anymore. When Randi begins treatments, her father begins drinking too much. As her health deteriorates, his problem with alcohol escalates until it threatens to loosen the threads that hold their family together in this difficult time of their lives.As Randi’s battle with disease drags on, Francie’s desire to fit in at school pulls her away from the person who needs her most. Francie faces a series of hard choices: should she do the right thing and spend time with sick Randi, or hang out with Lucille and Nina who are healthy and fun? Will their friendship survive the disease that changes everything? Set on Long Island in 1979, Randi’s Steps is a coming-of-age story that goes beyond the expected themes of friendship, boyfriends, and self-doubts. Randi’s Steps exposes the dark places in a young girl’s heart and the challenges of facing the truth about herself. Views: 489
Is it possible to heal by thought alone—without drugs or surgery? The truth is that it happens more often than you might expect. In You Are the Placebo, Dr. Joe Dispenza shares numerous documented cases of those who reversed cancer, heart disease, depression, crippling arthritis, and even the tremors of Parkinson's disease by believing in a placebo. Similarly, Dr. Joe tells of how others have gotten sick and even died the victims of a hex or voodoo curse—or after being misdiagnosed with a fatal illness. Belief can be so strong that pharmaceutical companies use double- and triple-blind randomized studies to try to exclude the power of the mind over the body when evaluating new drugs.Dr. Joe does more than simply explore the history and the physiology of the placebo effect. He asks the question: "Is it possible to teach the principles of the placebo, and without relying on any external substance, produce the same internal changes in a person's health... Views: 489
Poems by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Translated from the Vietnamese by Bruce Weigl and Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Nguyen Phan Que Mai is among the most exciting writers to emerge from post-war Vietnam. Bruce Weigl, driven by his personal experiences as a soldier during the war in Vietnam, has spent the past 20 years translating contemporary Vietnamese poetry. These penetrating poems, published in bilingual English and Vietnamese, build new bridges between two cultures bound together by war and destruction. The Secret of Hoa Sen , Que Mai's first full-length U.S. publication, shines with craft, art, and deeply felt humanity.
I cross the Lam River to return to my homelandwhere my mother embraces my grandmother's tomb in the rain,the soil of Nghe An so dry the rice plants cling to rocks.My mother chews dry corn; hungry, she tries to forget. ** Views: 489
Frazer's Mills, in upstate New York, is a small, isolated village, where everyone knows everyone else and things haven't changed much (and the mills have been closed for quite some time). When murder suddenly intrudes upon this sedate rural backwater, Henry Gamadge arrives to solve the mystery and restore order. Views: 488
Just when you thought it was safe to think again an unknown force squeezes your brain so tight that it pushes the fear deep into the recesses of your mind until only horror oozes out the bloody fresh wounds. Read on until only a slight twitching is left on your brain waves, welcome my friend, to my insanity.The Snub Nubbins are a bit different, we can expect that, after all they do come from a planet so far away, an area in space called the Cosmos. Just like humans they have a planet to live on that is no different to our own earth, or so they thought.Billions of years beyond human's existence on earth evolve the Snub Nubbins, Larco the Wizard discovers the far away planet Plop Plop is in fact Snub Nubbin from ancient times when it was called Earth. Larco travels back in time down the dark hole of rainbows to expand his knowledge and continue his quest of discovery. Views: 488
After deciding to leave Fanchon and his friends must speak the outside language and conceal their magical talents to survive outside of Glynis. Fanchon visits the Seer's home and leaves with a new wife and two new missions - to find his lost uncle and a new home for the people of Glynis. As the youngest member of the group will Fanchon be up to the task of being the leader on this adventure?Fanchon has tried many trades but none suit him. He learns the skills readily enough, but soon begins telling his master more efficient ways of doing things. He decides to explore the kingdoms that lie south of the protected valley of Glynis and some of his friends join him. They must speak the outside language and conceal their magical talents to survive in the world outside of Glynis. Fanchon makes a last minute visit to the Seer's home and leaves with a new wife and two new missions - to find his long lost uncle and a new home for the people of Glynis. As the youngest member of the group will Fanchon be up to the task of being the leader on this adventure?This is a simple short story meant to introduce the world of Asculum and the founding of Dracona. Views: 488
The Rise & Fall of an American Gangster..Killing Charlie...Inspired by True EventsKilling Charlie: The Black Sheep..is a short story inspired by true events. Born to American royalty, a son to two of Florida's founding families, deserts his shot at the white house for a life of crime. The rise of an empire, the definition of the american dream, the fall of an American gangster. Views: 488
Following a divorce, Heath MacLaren spends his nights with women who are beautiful, yet unable to provide what he seeks. His friendship with Annie sustains him.It’s been two years since Annie’s husband died. She cherishes the friendship she’s found with Heath, until he drops a bombshell that changes everything. Do they settle for what they have—or fight for it all?“In this passionate Contemporary Romance, author Shirleen Davies introduces her readers to the modern day MacLarens starting with Heath MacLaren, the head of the family.”The Chairman of both the MacLaren Cattle Co. and MacLaren Land Development, Heath MacLaren is a success professionally—his personal life is another matter.Following a divorce after a long, loveless marriage, Heath spends his time with women who are beautiful and passionate, yet unable to provide what he longs for . . .. . . Heath has never experienced love even though he witnesses it every day between his younger brother, Jace, and wife, Caroline. He wants what they have, yet spends his time with women too young to understand what drives him and too focused on themselves to be true companions.It’s been two years since Annie’s husband died, leaving her to build a new life. He was her soul mate and confidante. She has no desire to find a replacement, yet longs for male friendship.. . . Annie’s closest friend in Fire Mountain, Caroline MacLaren, is determined to see Annie come out of her shell after almost two years of mourning. A chance meeting with Heath turns into an offer to be a part of the MacLaren Foundation Board and an opportunity for a life outside her home sanctuary which has also become her prison. The platonic friendship that builds between Annie and Heath points to a future where each may rely on the other without the bonds a romance would entail.However, without consciously seeking it, each yearns for more . . .. . . The MacLaren Development Company is booming with Heath at the helm. His meetings at a partner company with the young, beautiful marketing director, who makes no secret of her desire for him, are a temptation. But is she the type of woman he truly wants?. . . Annie’s acceptance of the deep, yet passionless, friendship with Heath sustains her, lulling her to believe it is all she needs. At least until Heath drops a bombshell, forcing Annie to realize that what she took for friendship is actually a deep, lasting love. One she doesn’t want to lose. Each must decide to settle—or fight for it all. Views: 488
Giggle's Holiday Book is a book of fun holiday stories that will tickle your fancy.What is Giggle's Holiday Book? It is a collection of holiday stories that will tickle your giggle. These odds and ends, off-the-wall holiday treats will comfort you with smiles, laughter and a slight grin that will cause you to giggle. Views: 488
