For more than thirty years, Paul Yee has written about his Chinese-Canadian heritage in award-winning books for young readers as well as adult non-fiction. Here, in his first work of fiction for adults, he takes us on a harrowing journey into a milestone event of Canadian history: the use of Chinese coolies to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia in hazardous conditions.After the CPR is built in 1885, Yang Hok, a former coolie, treks along the railway to return his half-Chinese/half-Native son to the boy's mother where he confronts the conflicts arising from road-building among the Chinese and Native peoples. Hok's guide on the often perilous trip, Sam Bing Lew, also of mixed Chinese-Native blood, urges Hok to take his son to China, while Hok has dreams of finding fortune in America. The two men agree on little, as many issues fester between Chinese and Natives at a time when both races were disdained as inferior by whites ("redbeards").This... Views: 68
Does music have the power to invade the soul?
Beware of the Dark Muse... Sixteen year old Muddy Rivers has always wanted to fit in with the "regular" crowd. He aches for a romance with his blind friend, Poe, but knows he doesn't stand a chance. He hopes that his life as the guitarist for his band, the Accidentals, will help him accomplish gaining her attention and acceptance from others.. But then his older brother disappears playing a mysterious song and Muddy is plunged into a world of music where songs come to life. He learns where musicians get their ideas and at what price. He must learn to harness the power of the legendary crossroads and what lies on the other side if they are to conquer a series of trials which no one expects "special" or "different" teens to even survive.Along with drummer Otis, singer Poe, and saxophonist Corey, each battling their own disabilities or demons, Muddy must cross the river that is the source for all creativity. Once there, the... Views: 68
Cariad Williams has been writing to Franco Mezzaluna since they were kids. But he has never written back. And now he has become a famous film star. What's more, he is due to visit Winterworld, the Christmas theme park where Cariad works. The only problem is that she has boasted to her friends that he is her boyfriend and now everyone will find out about her lie... An exclusive short story from Milly Johnson to raise funds for the Care for Claire charity. Views: 68
Graeme Leith - electrician, Italophile and jack of all trades - joined Melbourne's theatre collective at Carlton's famously innovative Pram Factory theatre and said, 'Let there be light.' And there was: Graeme Blundell, Jack Hibberd, Max Gillies and many others produced over 140 new Australian plays in ten years.Like many of his generation, Graeme left suburban Australia in the 1950s, bound for London and Europe. After a stint in Britain's atomic weapons industry he rode his Lambretta scooter to Perugia in Italy, where he had his first taste of 'ethereal' wine and fell in love.But Graeme had also fallen for the idea of making wine, and in the mid-1970s he and his partner Sue Mackinnon established Passing Clouds, a vineyard in Victoria's Spa Country that produced award-winning wines from the beginning.Then tragedy struck. In 1984 Graeme's beautiful and talented daughter Ondine and her boyfriend David vanished en route to the South Coast of New South Wales. Ten days... Views: 68
All bodyguard Tess Miller wants is a vacation. But when a wounded stranger stumbles into her isolated cabin in the Arizona mountains, Tess becomes his lifeline. When Shane Burkhart opens his eyes, all he can focus on is his guardian angel leaning over him. And in the days to come he will need a guardian angel while being hunted by someone who wants him dead. Views: 68
As one of the few remaining death mages, Jaxom has spent his life ridiculed and feared by people and mages alike. With a new darkness rising in the kingdoms, he must now use his power to avert the subjugation of all mankind and protect the people he cares about. With the ability to control death itself, the magic of his school was once used to avert the destruction of life, and it is up to him to do it again. Gathering skilled people to his side, he seeks out the source of this evil before it’s too late. Views: 68
It is amazing what persons will do to be together when they are cheating. This story has quite a number of twists in the plot. It starts off with a couple who have found a way to get away from their spouses and children to spend time together for an entire weekend. They go as far as they can to prevent anyone from recognizing them. She just wants to be with him but he has other ideas in mind. He would love to watch her with another. The plot unfolds as he puts his plan into action unbeknownst to anyone else. Will it all work out as he planned it or will it become too much to handle? Views: 68
A rich, dark fantasy of destiny, death, and the supernatural world hiding beneath the surface. Nettie Lonesome lives in a land of hard people and hard ground dusted with sand. She's a half-breed who dresses like a boy, raised by folks who don't call her a slavebut use her like one. She knows of nothing else. That is, until the day a stranger attacks her. When nothing, not even a sickle to the eye can stop him, Nettie stabs him through the heart with a chunk of wood, and he turns into black sand. And just like that, Nettie can see. But her newfound sight is a blessing and a curse. Even if she doesn't understand what's under her own skin, she can sense what everyone else is hiding-at least physically. The world is full of evil, and now she knows the source of all the sand in the desert. Haunted by the spirits, Nettie has no choice but to set out on a quest that might lead her to her true kin... if the monsters along the way don't kill her first. Views: 68
