When a young artist paints the Mayor's portrait, he hangs it in City Hall. The trouble is that this is no ordinary painting. Everyone sees something different and whose account is true? The painting launches a train of strange events in a world that teeters on the edge of apocalypse. The story is told in four linked accounts woven together, ending at the same moment in time.Fifteen-year old Letty has painted the Mayor's portrait. He hangs it in City Hall for all the world to see, but the trouble is that this is no ordinary painting. Everyone sees something different and whose account is true? But Letty's painting is only one strange occurrence in a world that teeters on the edge of apocalypse. Michael, the reluctant soldier, is forced to join the General's rag-tag army. Assigned to the regiment in the capitol city, he finds his way into a company of mysterious people who are working to rescue the city's orphans from destitution. A man named Joe is the leader of this strange crew and Michael learns to trust him, even in the abyss called Belltown. Thaddaeus, the forgotten artist, stirs up the crowd of regulars at The Tower Inn with his disturbing paintings. Is he mad? Or is he a prophet? Marching to the beat of his own interior music, he never asks what the world thinks. He is too busy straining after an elusive tune, following wherever it might lead. Mayor Jared Hobic is happily corrupt: sucking up to the General, cheating on his wife, slithering like a snake into his position of power and influence. Everything is going his way until a young girl paints his portrait. Now he's plagued by a knocking sound. Is it in his head? Is he losing his mind? And who is this mysterious man named Joe who eludes his grasp? Mayor Hobic is certainly beginning to lose his grip on his carefully constructed life. The story is told in four linked accounts woven together and ending at the same moment in time. Threaded throughout the tales are images of a strange man named Joe, the paintings of Letty; and the bread lady, mysterious and serene, who is always at her table in the market square. Views: 778
Katryn Johnson is an uncommon first time political candidate for office. Political campaigns and conspiracies are common in America. Strange events happen around her. She often does the unexpected. How will she respond to them? World events, fame, and answers to important questions will change Katryn's life and American politics.Everyone has secrets. Who uses them? What does Katryn know? What secrets are hidden from her? The Announcement takes readers on a journey through politics with a new candidate. Katryn Johnson is an innocent, a first time candidate. Katryn will find herself in the American political version of shark infested waters. Katryn discovers she is the chum every shark wants to eat as the waters grow warmer. Every four years elections are a dirty war for power. This series follows her from innocence into the feeding frenzy of The Election. Life or death may become the important question for Katryn and the people around her. This is the first story in a new, free series. The Announcement kicks off a wild ride into too much money, conspiracies à la carte, betrayals, intrigues, and, of course, murder. Views: 778
In a hive mind plagued by viral attacks, a special agent is sent in a mission to collect intelligence about their origin from a defector. But will he win the battle of wits against him?A man of the written word, he has made himself a name in the literary community in the year 2035. But someone has dared to plagiarize his work. When he confronts the culprit, he learns that it was not a person but a computer programmed to replicate his identity. Trapped on all sides by an encroaching world of technology, he tires to escape in any way he can. When he can't do it, he acts out violently against the machines. They become the focus of his rage, and he tries to rally the world to his mission: to save humanity from itself. Views: 778
Now available in one volume—three thrillers from Frank Peretti!
The Oath
An ancient sin. A long forgotten oath. A town with a deadly secret.
Something evil is at work in Hyde River, an isolated mining town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
Under the cover of darkness, a predator strikes without warning—taking life in the most chilling and savage fashion.
The community of Hyde River watches in terror as residents suddenly vanish. Yet, the more locals are pressed for information, the more they close ranks, sworn to secrecy by their forefathers’ hidden sins.
Only when Hyde River’s secrets are exposed is the true extent of the danger fully revealed. What the town discovers is something far more deadly than anything they’d imagined. Something that doesn’t just stalk its victims, but has the power to turn hearts black with decay as it slowly fills their souls with darkness.
The Visitation
The sleepy, eastern Washington wheat town of Antioch has become a gateway for the supernatural—from sightings of angels and a weeping crucifix to a self-proclaimed prophet with an astounding message.
The national media and the curious all flock to the little town—a great boon for local business but not for Travis Jordan. The burned-out former pastor has been trying to hide his past in Antioch. Now the whole world is headed to his backyard to find the Messiah, and in the process, every spiritual assumption he has ever held will be challenged. The startling secret behind this visitation ultimately pushes one man into a supernatural confrontation that has eternal consequences.
Monster
Some monsters are real.
Miles away from the hectic city, Reed and Rebecca hike into the beautiful Northwester woods. They are surrounded by gorgeous mountains, waterfalls, and hundreds of acres of unspoiled wilderness.
During their first night camping, an unearthly wail pierces the calm of the forest. Then something emerges from the dense woods. Everything that follows is a blur to Reed—except the unforgettable image of a huge creature carrying his wife into the darkness.
Enter into deep wilderness where the rules of civilization no longer apply. A world where strange shadows lurk. Where creatures long attributed to overactive imaginations and nightmares are the hunters . . .and people are the hunted. Views: 778
A college football player finds himself embroiled in a battle against fate and his own shortcomings as he strives to convince his doubting mom of the truths behind Christianity. Will he be successful?Being a CEO’s son in the top one percent of income earners certainly has its perks, yet such diversions fail to impress Nick. Success to Nick is defined instead by helping those less fortunate and embracing Christianity. Success to his mom is defined differently, through a passion for work, a capitalization on assets, and a drive to accumulate wealth. Convincing his successful mother to follow Jesus' example is nearly impossible, though, since she feels that Jesus is only a myth, immortalized to control the masses. Then fate steps in and Nick finds himself clashing with the obstacles of alcohol, abundance, and adultery as he strives to outrun time and alter fate to present a compelling argument in support of Jesus to the mother he loves. Views: 778
Tales of nostalgia and loss in a world overrun by technology
Hank is walking home from the bar when the Model T pulls alongside him. It’s been decades since he saw a car this old, and the sound of it takes him right back to his twenties. The door is open, and when he climbs in, the car takes off—without a driver. Before he knows what’s happened, Hank is right back at Big Spring Pavilion, where he spent his youth drinking bootleg whiskey and chasing pretty girls. He will find the past is not quite as he remembered it, but still a lovely place to go for a drive.
This collection includes some of the finest short fiction Clifford Simak ever wrote, including “City,” the story that became the basis for his beloved novel of the same name. In the history of science fiction, no author has ever better understood that the Great Plains and the cosmos are closer together than we think.
Each story includes an introduction by David W. Wixon, literary executor of the Clifford D. Simak estate and editor of this ebook. Views: 778
A college student walks home at night, followed closely by a tall stranger, in a town that's terrorized by a knife-wielding serial killer.A short story.It all began when Rey found a black crystal ball inside the old relic. Taken out of the blue by the mysterious power of the crystal, he finds himself in the world called Terra, a world where the civilization shaped by magical orb called Sphere.Two decades have passed after the fall of the Dark Lord and Spheria at the time of peace since then. But now the unknown menace spreads in the Kingdom of Ishtar, on the west a mysterious army called Phantoms swept one village to another, took their peoples and leaved the place into desolation. His unexpected meeting with Scarlett, a royal guardian, has brought him into a mission to investigate this mysterious incident. Along with Aska of the Volk Tribe, a tribe who can transform into wild beast and Eorin, a girl skilled in crafting magic they went into a dangerous journey; hunts by assassins and dragon rider, fought against Gargantua, an abominable giants from nameless realm and battles against the Phantoms.On the journey they found that the old enemy began to rise and the old horror will spread upon the world. Views: 778
Logan from Echoes of Scotland Street is back with his own smoldering story, as the New York Times bestselling On Dublin Street series returns…
Logan spent two years paying for the mistakes he made. Now, he’s ready to start over. He has a great apartment, a good job, and plenty of women to distract him from his past. And one woman who is driving him to distraction…
Grace escaped her manipulative family by moving to a new city. Her new life, made to suit her own needs, is almost perfect. All she needs to do is find her Mr. Right—or at least figure out a way to ignore her irresistible yet annoying womanizer of a neighbor.
Grace is determined to have nothing to do with Logan until a life-changing surprise slowly begins turning the wild heartbreaker into exactly the kind of strong, stable man she’s been searching for. Only just when she begins to give into his charms, her own messy past threatens to derail everything they’ve worked to build…
Last book in the Series Views: 778
(Suncoast Society, BDSM, various pairings)
Gilo and Abbey are hosting a Valentine’s Day party for their fellow Suncoast Society kinksters, complete with a rope rigging contest. And when you put some competitive riggers together, you know it’s going to get wild. Let the games begin! Have a voyeuristic visit with your favorite characters as they battle for bragging rights for the top rigging title. There might even be a surprise or two in store.
But the night’s not without a little drama. And, for at least one set of characters, life will never be the same… Views: 778
Inspired by the classic work of George Orwell, the fiction is a short allegory. Radha is a cow of cattle society who tries to compare her society with the human world. It's a blend of humor,romance and philosophy. Entertaining and hillarious if you have a unique taste.The Write Group works out of the library in Montclair NJ and consists of over 400 members. The members work on a variety of writing projects including fiction (long and short), memoirs, essays and poetry. The main purpose of the Write Group is to encourage and encourage the members in their writing endeavors. The Montclair Write Group Sampler 2016 is the second anthology dedicated to showcasing the talent of the Write Group. In this edition, thirty-nine members are represented. There are eleven fiction works, eight essays, four memoirs, fifteen poems and a monologue. There’s something for everyone. Check it out. Views: 777
On an alien world of giant insects, Rover strives to be like every other drone and mate with the queen. When he isn’t able to perform his drone duties, he struggles for acceptance and finds friendship and love in an unlikely place—among humans.On an alien world of giant insects, Rover strives to be like every other drone and mate with the queen. When he isn’t able to perform his drone duties, he struggles for acceptance and finds friendship and love in an unlikely place—among humans. Along Rover’s journey he finds he holds a key to helping humans overcome their infertility on his planet and offers a solution for uniting his people with the newcomers to his world.“The Day of the Nuptial Flight” is a 10,000 word science fiction novelette originally published in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Views: 777
Written with the raw honesty and poignant insight that were the hallmarks of her acclaimed bestseller A Widow’s Story, an affecting and observant memoir of growing up from one of our finest and most beloved literary masters
The Lost Landscape is Joyce Carol Oates’ vivid chronicle of her hardscrabble childhood in rural western New York State. From memories of her relatives, to those of a charming bond with a special red hen on her family farm; from her first friendships to her earliest experiences with death, The Lost Landscape is a powerful evocation of the romance of childhood, and its indelible influence on the woman and the writer she would become.
In this exceptionally candid, moving, and richly reflective account, Oates explores the world through the eyes of her younger self, an imaginative girl eager to tell stories about the world and the people she meets. While reading Alice in Wonderland changed a young Joyce forever and inspired her to view life as a series of endless adventures, growing up on a farm taught her harsh lessons about sacrifice, hard work, and loss. With searing detail and an acutely perceptive eye, Oates renders her memories and emotions with exquisite precision, transporting us to a forgotten place and time—the lost landscape of her youth, reminding us of the forgotten landscapes of our own earliest lives. Views: 777
In the year 2051, Faith can move mountains…
Faith Daniels and Dylan Gilmore are in love, and they have a special ability called a pulse: they can move things with their minds. They're caught in the middle of a deadly war with two other pulses: Clara and Wade Quinn, who have joined forces with Hotspur Chance, the most wanted man in the world.
At the start of Quake, Faith and Dylan are holed up in a spectacular abandoned mountain lodge (once used in the film The Shining 71 years before), and their Intel friend Hawk leaves them in the middle of the night, in spite of a newly blossoming love with a girl named Jade. Hawk’s plan is to penetrate the Western State and make contact with a sleeper cell working on the inside that will give them valuable information about Hotspur’s violent plan.
But while Hawk is searching for answers on the inside, Faith and Dylan are still fighting on the outside. In a series of hair-raising battles, the second pulses duel it out, only to raise the body count on both sides. During the battles, Faith and Dylan discover an even great strength: the power of their combined love. Together, Faith and Dylan might just be able to save the world with a quake that is big enough to change the course of history. Views: 776
There Be Monsters Here. . .
It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.
I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.
But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her. . . Views: 776
Liliana Dapprima is living in a world where everything and everyone is not what it seems. What will happen when tragedy strikes and secrets are revealed?Liliana Dapprima was living her life exactly how she planned. She had an amazing job as an interior designer and lived with her best friend, Violet, in Toronto. But, everything changes when her father forces her to move to New Jersey to re-design his businesses in New York City. Upon her arrival in New Jersey she finds out she must live with her old flame, Emilio Amante. This was the man that completely smashed her heart from which she never recovered. Now she must get along with Emilio while trying to date a new guy in her life, Lucas. And to make things more complicated Emilio is Lucas’s boss. Dealing with a love triangle is hard enough on Lily, but now she also must deal with secrets from her family. She is constantly lied to about certain events and when she gets attacked multiple times by a rival family, she wants answers and will go to any extent to get them. Views: 776
