From evil overlords to bumbling henchmen, talking cats to lovelorn fishermen, mad queens to wise opossums, the collected fourteen stories subvert popular fantasy tropes in surprising and delightful ways. This book collects some of the best funny fantasy fiction published in the past decade. Included are works by Hugo and Nebula Award winners, New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, as well as up-and-coming talented writers.Includes the following stories:“Dave the Mighty Steel-Thewed Avenger” by Laura Resnick“Crumbs” by Esther Friesner“Fellow Traveler” by Donald J. Bingle“A Fish Story” by Sarah Totton“Another End of the Empire” by Tim Pratt“Giantkiller” by G. Scott Huggins“A Mild Case of Death” by David Gerrold“Fairy Debt” by Gail Carriger“A Very Special Girl” by Mike Resnick“The Blue Corpse... Views: 456
A hostile frozen planet. A bunch of colonists have to survive on scarce resources and watch their every step to stay alive. They'll never have children and never see Earth again - that's the contract they've signed. When every connection to normal life is broken, can you still remain human?Remember what they say about revenge?They were once on a jury together, forty years ago, when a man was executed for killing his wife. Now three of the four are dead, amid personal vendettas and accusations of pornography, and the last man standing is arrested for the murders. It’s up to Sasha Stace QC to secure his conviction. But the case is circumstantial, the trial sensational, and nothing is as it seems. In her fight for justice, Sasha embarks on a course that imperils her life and endangers those she loves. Best Served Cold is a fast-moving and gripping legal thriller with more twists than the rope that strangles its victims. Be warned. Views: 456
Chasm Waxing is a cyber-techno-thriller. Twenty-somethings Becca Roberts and Josh Adler work for companies selected by the NSA's new Venture Capital firm. Conflict arises when the NSA Director uses the VC in a vendetta against ISIS. Josh's AI discovers the location of an ancient religious relic, drawing all three into a confrontation with a rising military/ political figure in the Middle East.Chasm Waxing is the first novel in the Chasm Trilogy. It’s a realistic, apocalyptic, cyber-techno-thriller; ripped from today’s headlines—projected into the year 2020. Startup kids, Becca Roberts and Josh Adler, work for companies selected by the NSA's new venture capital and startup accelerator firm. However, the NSA Director—General Shields, uses the accelerator to pursue a personal vendetta against ISIS with micro-surveillance robots. Meanwhile, Josh's AI unexpectedly discovers the location of an ancient religious relic with geopolitical implications. Muhammad Rahmati, an Iranian Quds Force Commander, employs his own novel ideas to defeat ISIS. He'll use the victory as a springboard to build a new, technically-savvy empire. A crescent moon waxes in the Middle East. Becca, Josh, General Shields, and Rahmati engage in their first confrontation, impacting the global balance of power. Chasm Waxing explores the burgeoning technologies of next-generation robots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, Bitcoin/ Blockchain 2.0, hacking, driverless vehicles, augmented reality, gamification, encryption, and quantum computing. Views: 456
Fur is a book of erotica about women for women; an adoring love song to female sexual desire, a passionate sonnet to the feminine form and a heart-felt celebration of woman in all her glorious shapes and sizes.
Share the delights of first time sex, solo & voyeuristic sex, lesbian sex and, of course, sex with men. Celebrate real women of every age, race and size from teenagers to seniors and join them as they experience the real erotic delights of unashamedly female-centric sex in a myriad of forms and situations.
If your heart beats with aggressive female sexuality you'll devour Fur and be left begging for more - it really is your kind of book...
"You know how 'literary erotica' stories are usually stilted, confusing, and not-at-all sexy? Well, I've been devouring stories by an author who's the opposite of that. Vanessa de Sade writes stories that appeal to my personal triggers -- exhibitionism, sexually aggressive women, one-night-stands. Her voice is lush, lyrical and startling..."
"Ms. de Sade is one of the most sophisticated writers of contemporary erotica, seamlessly blending... eroticism with complex characters" Views: 456
Li Bai's poems have been spread out thru the ages; even today they are highly praiseworthy. But only some know about his style of fencing called Li Bai's Drunken Sword. In terms of his famous works, the reader will discover how the poet's swordplay and wine drinking under the moon affected his poetic legacy. The author's 60 newest moonlit verses are also exposed herein for immediate contemplation.These collected poems has been inspired by the works that the Tang-period poet Li Bai (701-762 CE) left after him as a great cultural heritage, and of whom I will have more to say on the pages below. It was with him that this book began; without him, none of what follows after the short essay would have been written.Fortunately or not, but I am not alone in this regard, as there are so many famously known creative figures in the West who have also been inspired by the poetry of Li Bai who lived and created on the other side of the world around twelve hundred years ago, but whose influence in some inexplicable way continued to grow in China and abroad.The following three poems of Li Bai translated and represented herein as preface to my collection of verses are unfolded around the common subject of the Chinese literature -- the moon and its imagery. Together with the reader, we are going to unveil some unnoticed (if not to say 'misunderstood' or even 'wrong interpreted') moments of the poet's legendary life.It sounds obvious but, again, we learn more about the world literature by studying the evolution of poetry through the centuries; as a result, we find out more of the world's history, evoke our interest and understanding of the ancient writers and of humanity in general.Poetry analysis and its translation from the language like archaic Chinese, which is the foreign language for the contemporary Chinese as well, is not scientifically exact, it is somewhat subjective to how it affects the translator's academic knowledge and daily experience. Yet, I find it very difficult to put a lot of credit on those representatives of the Old School (most of them are the famously known scholars of academic elite) who do not try to dig deeper about the poets of antiquity, and to reveal their motivations and find out those who affected them.Everything Li Bai did was tuned to the passage of time and the joys of Nature with brilliance and great freshness of imagination. The subjects that he studied in his poetry were swordplay, friendship and solitude constructed around the everlasting image of the moon's disc reflected in the pool with its multiple tints and mythological riddles. His imagination and humorous characteristics of a freethinker are apparent in his poetry in full to be a powerful incentive for many others throughout the ages, and your humble author is not the exception. Views: 456
Gay M/M sweet romance standalone short story in the interconnected Ridgemont University series. Focus is on character development and sweet romantic moments. Medium heat, medium angst.How will Connor and Adam deal with their overpowering attraction? Will they stick to the script, or will they end up breaking the rules? Find out in this first Ridgemont University Short Read.Gay M/M sweet romance standalone short story in the interconnected Ridgemont University series. Focus is on character development and sweet romantic moments. Medium heat, medium angst.Connor Olivier is a freshman at Ridgemont University, living in Initia Nova, one of the newer residence halls on campus. He has always lived by the rules: head prefect in school, straight-A student, and a bit of a stick in the mud. His small-town background and strict, religious upbringing always made him feel stifled, and the fact that he had steadily dated a girl all through high school never quite felt right. Studying at Ridgemont University is his chance to finally let loose and find himself. Suddenly, everything makes sense when Connor is assigned a second-year student, Adam, as a mentor. Connor is instantly head-over-heels, and realizes that it won’t be easy to resist Adam. Adam Scholtz is a reformed bad-boy. He partied too hard in his first year, and he is on thin ice with the university administrators after one wild night led to a very public and embarrassing scene. Adam is determined not to be led astray again and to complete his degree in peace. Nothing could be less convenient than the irresistibly hot first-year student who he has been assigned to mentor as part of his probationary re-admittance to Ridgemont. Adam is tempted to break the rules, but doing so might risk his future at Ridgemont University.How will Connor and Adam deal with their overpowering attraction? Will they stick to the script, or will they end up breaking the rules? Find out in this first Ridgemont University Short Read. This is a standalone story within the fictional Ridgemont University series by Meredith Taylor. The Ridgemont University series follows the M/M gay romances of students at the fictional Ridgemont University in Cape Town, South Africa. The books are crammed full of flirty, fun and sweet romantic moments and complex characters that will make you care about them deeply (and maybe even have them tug at your heartstrings). The romances are organic and realistic, and even though the books are mostly light reading, they have enough substance for you to really dig into and think about long after you turn the last page. Give Ridgemont University a try; the boys might just steal your heart. Views: 456
16-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in a hospital's mental ward after a failed suicide attempt. Now she must find a path to recovery - and perhaps rescue some others along the way.
When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: After her suicide attempt, she shouldn't be alive. But then she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she's never had.
But Vicky's newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up, sending Vick back to the life that drove her to suicide, she must try to find her own courage and strength. She may not have them. She doesn't know.
Inspired in part by the author's own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one - about living when life doesn't seem worth it, and how we go on anyway. Views: 456
UNKNOWN DESTINATION is a collection of three short, suspense stories. It emphasizes the role of the unknown in stories, and creates suspense for readers. The characters in these stories all find themselves face to face with the unknown, but they must do their best to combat it.UNKNOWN DESTINATION is a collection of three short, suspense stories. THE PAPER follows Luthor on his attempt to flee from the consequences of his actions. All the while, he is haunted by a mysterious voice calling his phone. JUNGLE FEVER tells the story of Marcus, a soldier lost and alone in a foreign country. He must complete his mission at all costs, even when things look bleak. In THE DEAD OF NIGHT, Aleks and Devon must try to survive the onslaught of horrid monsters that have overtaken the world around them. They don’t know what has happened or why, but they know they are on their own to survive. Views: 456
Exchange student Myra runs to get away from the heavy class load. When she lands in a male dominated world – a rugby practice in South Wales – and asks to play with the team, she has to prove she’s qualified, in more ways than one. Views: 456
In 1902 the dusty western town of Hillyard, Washington, seems worlds away from metropolitan New York City, but it still isn't far enough for Nell to feel safe. So when she's handed a chance to impersonate Mabel Chumley as the new Hillyard schoolteacher, Nell jumps at it. Never mind that she knows nothing about being a schoolteacher. When a man is murdered and Nell finds herself holding answers to the mystery, she knows better than to share her information with the Marshall. After all, she's no innocent herself, and it's no skin off her nose if someone else gets away with murder. Unfortunately, the murderer doesn't know that. Meanwhile, the town's lady doctor befriends Nell with an intensity that borders on courtship-or is it suspicion? When Nell's story begins to unravel, she scrambles to shore up one alias or another. Anything to keep the town-and the lady doctor-from finding out who she really is. And what she's done. ** Views: 455
Jillian and Zoe are two of the outstanding women in this contemporary women's fiction series. Each deserved a shorter book of their own to complete their life stories. These two books, Seven Days With Jillian, and Seven Days With Zoe, are here under one title: Seven Days Destinations.Seven Days With JillianSo much has happened in the Beck family since the incredible week in Mexico.Back in Canada, Jillian must take stock, appreciate her new start, and plan the futures of her husband and their three children.Easy? Not so much!Seven Days With ZoeZoe and Wesley Philips had everything a couple could possibly want. The birth of their son would complete the perfect picture. But life doesn’t always go as planned. Views: 455
'. . . a novel brilliantly evoking the isolation of a woman with an unbearable weight on her conscience' *Sunday Times* Having been shot in the shoulder in the line of duty, Dutch police detective Lotte Meerman returns to work after four months of painful recovery - yet not all her colleagues are happy to see her. But department politics take a backseat when Lotte is called to investigate a worker's fall from the roof on a building site in the centre of Amsterdam. Frank Stapel's tragic accident becomes suspicious when Tessa, his widow, discovers human bones in her husband's left-luggage locker at Amsterdam Central. To Lotte, this changes the course of her investigation from fatal accident to potential murder. When forensics discover the skeleton dates back to the Second World War, the rest of the team are convinced that Lotte is wasting everybody's time by insisting this somehow ties in with the Frank's death, but then it is discovered that some of the bones are less than a decade old . . . and although vindicated for pursuing the cold case, Lotte finds that the investigation takes a dark and sinister turn, linking an old war crime to events in the much more recent past. Praise for Anja de Jager
' An absorbing read with the smack of reality ' Daily Mail
'The book succeeds as a portrait of both a city and, in its heroine, a delightfully dysfunctional personality'
Sunday Express
'Impressive . . . De Jager is as good on dodgy family relations as she is on police procedure'
The Times
'Detective Lotte Meerman is damaged by her past and tortured by the dreadful mistake she's made at work . . . Amsterdam is the other star here, beautiful and deadly' Cath StaincliffeReviewA harrowing but absorbing read― *Daily Mail* [Meerman's] painstaking police work is undermined by emotional turmoil in a novel brilliantly evoking the isolation of a woman with an unbearable weight on her conscience [Meerman's] painstaking police work is undermined by emotional turmoil in a novel brilliantly evoking the isolation of a woman with an unbearable weight on her conscience― *The Sunday Times on A Cold Death in Amsterdam* The book succeeds as a portrait of both a city and, in its heroine, a delightfully dysfunctional personality The book succeeds as a portrait of both a city and, in its heroine, a delightfully dysfunctional personality― *Sunday Express on A Cold Death in Amsterdam* De Jager manages to circumvent the overfamiliar. The evocation of a bitterly cold Amsterdam is worthy of Nicholas Freeling's Van der Valk books De Jager manages to circumvent the overfamiliar. The evocation of a bitterly cold Amsterdam is worthy of Nicholas Freeling's Van der Valk books― *The Independent on A Cold Death in Amsterdam* Complete with a strong and respectable female protagonist, Anja de Jager presents a thrilling whodunit that is bound to ensure the admiration of any reader. Welcome to Amsterdam. Complete with a strong and respectable female protagonist, Anja de Jager presents a thrilling whodunit that is bound to ensure the admiration of any reader. Welcome to Amsterdam.― *W24*About the Author
Anja de Jager is a London-based native Dutch speaker who writes in English. She draws inspiration from cases that her father, a retired police detective, worked on in the Netherlands. Anja worked in the City for twenty years but is now a full-time writer. She is currently working on the next Lotte Meerman novel. Views: 455
