A short story. Patrick's car breaks down on a deserted byway and he walks to a nearby gas station where he crosses paths with a very attractive twink who offers to help him, but things aren't always what they seem. PLEASE NOTE: this is NOT erotica.A Summer in Amber is set thirty-six years after the first of a series of powerful solar storms destroys the world's electrical grid – shorting out computers, and making radio, TV and mobile phones impossible. Within hours the world was thrust back into the 19th century. Those who survived the ensuing chaos gradually adopted to this new reality. This story takes place in an England and Scotland that have adopted to this new world using an eclectic mix of old and new technology. Steam engines pull carriages over lines once used by high speed trains. Electricity is generated locally using solar panels and windmills. The streets are filled with bicycles dodging horse drawn drays and pedestrians dressed like Victorians to protect their skin from the greatly increased ultraviolet light reaching the ground due to the solar storms' disruption of the earth's upper atmosphere. A Summer in Amber might be described as a "mirror image" steampunk novel. Instead of 21st century technology in a 19th century society, Edwardian technology had been adopted by a post-apocalyptic, late 21st century one, making for an out of the ordinary steampunk story. There are, for example, no zombies. Morlocks, yes, but no zombies, nor airships and air pirates. The story's steampunkness comes from a mix of Edwardian and 21st century technology and from its old-fashioned narrative style – a reflection of my fondness for the Scottish stories of John Buchan, and Compton Mackenzie. (And the 1959 movie remake of the 39 Steps starring Kenneth More.) Along with adventure, romance plays its part as well in A Summer in Amber. The story has been described in one review as a "Regency romance". I'm not sure what constitutes a Regency romance, but falling in love with a rather fey girl is certainly part of what makes this summer in the highlands so unforgettable for Sandy Say – a summer he hopes to keep forever preserved in the amber of memory.Current version 3.3 18 Sept 2016I have two other novels available wherever fine ebooks are sold. Some Day Days, a rather experimental romance novel set in this same never-never England, but before the storms. The Bright Black Sea, a long, sweeping, space opera of mystery and adventure set in the Nine Star Nebula. Views: 415
★★★★★ POWERFUL! Violet Walker creates an intensely romantic world for young and old alike. A place where there is darkness and light, love and hope, and if you dare to go there you will never want to leave. Views: 415
Captain Perrin Shin and teacher Mahrree Peto have to unravel the secrets of the Guarders who attack their village. It's not as if the new Administrators are helping much. In fact, one might think Chairman Mal was behind it all. But that would mean the world was literally out to get them, and why would two inconsequential people in Edge be of interest to the Chairman of the world?Captain Perrin Shin, assigned to village Edge of the World, is out to do more than command the new fort. He’s determined to uncover the mystery of the Guarders: where they live, why they attack, and what they want. Suspiciously, none of their behavior has ever made sense. Mahrree Peto, a teacher in Edge, is also growing suspicious. Of the Administrators who promise to eradicate the Guarders, and of the arrogant captain they sent to protect Edge. It’s hard to know who to trust. The most powerful man in the world is also fascinated by trust, and precisely what it takes to destroy it. He’s looking for research subjects, and up in Edge a brash captain and a nosy teacher have caught his attention. Let the experiment begin. Part fantasy, part adventure, part humor, part romance, part mystery all equates to a wholly entertaining and unique family saga. Think you know who to trust? Think you know the color of the sky? Probably not . . . Views: 415
Galway is the fourth book in the 30,000 B.C. Chronicles series. Journeying from the Cliffs of Dover to the coast of Stone Age Ireland, the characters compare the bounty of the wild, prehistoric land against memories of the scorched, used-up Earth they left behind. Their trip is turned upside down by the arrival of the Hunter. Views: 415
Andrew Brawley was supposed to die that night. His parents did, and so did his sister, but he survived.
Now he lives in the hospital. He serves food in the cafeteria, he hangs out with the nurses, and he sleeps in a forgotten supply closet. Drew blends in to near invisibility, hiding from his past, his guilt, and those who are trying to find him.
Then one night Rusty is wheeled into the ER, burned on half his body by hateful classmates. His agony calls out to Drew like a beacon, pulling them both together through all their pain and grief. In Rusty, Drew sees hope, happiness, and a future for both of them. A future outside the hospital, and away from their pasts.
But Drew knows that life is never that simple. Death roams the hospital, searching for Drew, and now Rusty. Drew lost his family, but he refuses to lose Rusty, too, so he’s determined to make things right. He’s determined to bargain, and to settle his debts once and for all.
But Death is not easily placated, and Drew’s life will have to get worse before there is any chance for things to get better.
A partly graphic novel. Views: 415
As much as Johnny tries to run from it, fate always manages to catch up to him, and this time, one day after his graduation from Oxford, fate throws a yellow rubber ducky into his life in a strange attempt to help him refocus his decisions and reroute his future. Will Johnny attempt to trust fate and accept its guiding hand, or will he drudge up the past and try running from it again?At the end of his coursework at Oxford, Johnny reaches a point in his life where he does not know what more to do or where else to go. Sure, he has plenty of options, but with those options comes an endless chain of questions and decisions to make, and his mind locks up when he has to participate in too much of either. Even as he takes the Tube to anywhere, he wonders if he's in control of his future, or if fate is pulling his strings. There have been plenty of moments in his life when he thought fate had smiled on him, especially the night he'd met Claire, but those moments just showed him that it was all one big tease and the future's real plan was to pull the rug out from under his feet.The day after graduation, Johnny figures he should start pulling his own strings, so he considers speaking to a life coach to help him plan out his destiny. As he rides the train back to London, however, he discovers one new trick up fate's sleeve, and it comes in the form of a yellow rubber ducky he finds on the floor under his seat. On this duck is a flash drive full of stories from people who have no connection to each other save for the one factor that they had carried the duck around during a brief season of adventure. The drive also contains an instruction: “To anyone who finds this, please take this rubber ducky wherever you go. At any point you should experience something great, I beg of you, write it down and attach it to the duck. Then, leave it for the next body to find. When the seventh individual writes his experience, keep the duck and publish the letters for all to see.” Johnny can already see the hand of fate trying to pull him back under its spell. But he takes the bait. He takes the duck with him.Six people have already written their stories. Johnny is the seventh and final person to take the duck on a new adventure and share it with the world. But how does one live through a story worthy of closing out the duck's epic journey? How much of Johnny's path does fate still influence? And why does the rubber duck seem so familiar to him? Views: 415
"Elsie on the Hudson" from Martha Finley. Teacher and author (1828-1909)."Elsie on the Hudson" from Martha Finley. Teacher and author (1828-1909). Views: 415
Imprisoned in a storeroom with a Beretta 9 mm pistol pressed against his temple by a garrulous moron eager to kill, a grim calculation of life and death played out in Slade's mind. Plan A was to keep the man talking and his mind off taking the shot. He hadn't come up with plan B yet, but if plan A failed, he wouldn't need it anyway. Views: 414
If Worry has never paid you a visit, stay calm, He will find you. If you have prayed before, this book will help you to do it correctly.Worry is something we all worry about. Prayer is something we sometimes do to put our worries away. We are tossed to and fro by many challenges in our work, family, society and in our environment. All these impede our personal effectiveness and performance.Could there be a way to sort all these out and start living our best life using the treasures we have in our hand?Yes! Why Pray When You Can Easily Worry will show you the practical path to discovering yourself and beginning your limitless life regardless of bad you feel about yourself. Views: 414
Although four months have passed since Elizabeth Bennet's rejection of his marriage proposal, Fitzwilliam Darcy has yet to come to grips with the idea of a future devoid of Elizabeth's love and companionship. Riding through the rain to reach Pemberley, Darcy arrives at his home with his mood as gloomy as the weather. When he discovers that Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle are touring the gardens, Darcy decides to use the approaching storm as a way to keep Elizabeth at Pemberley. It is his last chance to convince Elizabeth that he is a man worthy of her affection. Will he succeed? 11,000+ words Views: 414
