Josh Cross has finally escaped his frightening roots in Faraway Washington. Thanks to kind carnies from Carnaval de le Nuit, he has been warmly welcomed into their fold and has blossomed completely from the ugly duckling he once was. Several months have passed since he obsessed over the rash of murders and disappearances back home. The carnival has traveled around from show to show, touring tirelessly and has collectively decided to spend an entire month set up in Enchantica, Louisiana. Upon arrival, Josh finds himself enthralled with the town, the weather, and the beautiful scenery. At first opportunity, he takes off to explore his new surroundings. Faraway is the furthest thing from his mind, but the memories come rushing back when he finds himself face to face with someone he knows to be missing and presumed dead from his hometown. She claims her name is Alice, but he knows that she is lying. He can tell she recognizes him too and suspects she is being held against her will. A small hyperactive man with tufts of white hair demands that Alice come with him, and the pair disappears into a thick swampy forest. Fearing for "Alice's" safety, Josh follows. Deep in the forest, a shocking secret is revealed to Josh; a secret so terrifying he wants nothing more than to convince himself it is all a terrible nightmare. Anything but a dream, the horror triggered by Josh's discovery is all too real. Just like that, he is once again thrown into darkness in a land as fantastical and fearsome as any Wonderland or Never Never Land ever could be. Wondernever is part two of the Fairytale Diaries. Part one is No Happily Ever After. Views: 12
When NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna and his squad are tasked with escorting a bunch of civilian contractors into Te Urewera National Park, it seems a strange job for the army.
Militant Tūhoe separatists are active in the area, and with its cloying mist and steep ravines, the forest is a treacherous place in winter.
Yet nothing has prepared Taine for the true danger that awaits them. Death incarnate.
They backtrack toward civilisation, stalked by a prehistoric creature intent on picking them off one by one. With their weapons ineffective, the babysitting job has become a race for survival.
Desperate to bring his charges out alive, Taine draws on ancient tribal wisdom. Will it be enough to stop the nightmare? And when the mist clears, will anyone be left? Views: 12
An anthology of stories “Martin has assembled an impressive array of writers… Progressing through the decades, Wild Cards keeps its momentum to the end… I’m looking forward to the next episodes in this saga of mutant Americana.” – Locus “Well written and suspenseful and a good read… The authors had a lot of fun rewriting recent American history.” – Aboriginal Science Fiction “Commendable writing… a zany premise… narrated with rueful humor and intelligence.” – Publishers Weekly *** The first fifteen volumes of the Wild Cards series concerned themselves primarily with aces (those given superhuman powers by the Wild Cards virus) and jokers (those whom the virus transformed into freaks and monsters). But in this all-new collection of Wild Cards stories, Deuces Down will focus on some characters less often in the spotlight: the deuces. In Wild Card slang, a deuce is an ace whose superpower is tiny, trivial, sometimes silly. As with the other books in the series, Deuces Down is set in an alternate, shared-world universe. It's here that you'll find the never-before-told tales of the exciting 1969 World Series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Brooklyn Dodgers; the first moon landing, when the whole world wasn't watching; the Great New York City Blackout of 1977; and Grace Kelly's mysterious disappearance during the filming of The French Lieutenant's Woman. Views: 12
It was worse than winning the lottery—much worse. This bequest might mean more money, but the strings attached had Pandora McVie tied up in knots. Respecting Uncle Jolley's last wishes meant spending time isolated in the Catskills with Michael Donahue, her least favourite—though best looking—distant relative and co-beneficiary. Living with a carrot-topped termagant wasn't Michael's idea of a good time, either, but he realised they were stuck. Jolley was a matchmaker to the end—and apparently for some time beyond. What could happen in six months? Michael answered that one himself: almost anything. Views: 12
This thrilling and super sexy novel from bestselling romantic suspense author Shiloh Walker will appeal to fans of Allison Brennan and Linda Howard. Shay Morgan has stayed hidden for a long time. Living a reclusive life in Earth’s End, Alaska, she’s as far away as she can get from the trauma of her childhood and the man who hurt her long ago. But terror takes over Shay’s life yet again when an unknown stalker steals away the fragile peace she’s built for herself—targeting not only her but the one man who’s ever managed to get past the walls she’s built around herself.Elliot Winter has lived through being falsely accused before—it ruined his military career. Now it’s happening all over again. And this time, his accuser is a twisted impostor who’s targeting his ex-girlfriend, Shay. Despite a fierce mutual attraction, Shay and Elliot broke up because Shay couldn’t let her guard down, couldn’t let Elliot in. But now they both need to trust each other to confront a psycho who seems to know all their secrets.From the Inside FlapComing in here had been a BFM. Big f'ing mistake. She should have just waited in the car... "I miss you." Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Don't." His lips brushed across her brow. "Don't want? Tell you that I miss you? Miss us?" "Us?" She laughed hollowly as she turned to face him. "There is no us, remember? You said that. There's me...and there's you...and sometimes we're together, but there's no us." His gaze held hers. "I never wanted it to be that way. And maybe there was more of an us than I realized. Seeing you..." he paused, took a deep breath. "Seeing you just drives that home." Those intense, hypnotic eyes held hers. Her heart kicked up a few beats, stealing her breath away. As he started to dip his head, Shay stood there, frozen. Shit. What now... His mouth, so warm, brushed against hers. She gasped and then almost wished she hadn't as he used that opportunity to tease the inside of her lips with his tongue, moving deeper and deeper. His hands came around her waist, tugging her closer. This is a bad idea... *The warning was already screaming in her head. She couldn't give him what he needed. And he couldn't accept what she had to give. They would just hurt each other again-- Tearing her mouth away, Shay ducked to the side. "We...we can't do this." She pressed a hand to her buzzing lips. "I'm just getting to where I'm used to going through the days without you calling. I'm just getting to where I can pass a few nights without dreaming about you." Liar-- Well, she did manage to go a few nights, she told herself. Usually, on those nights, she had nightmares, but so what? She wasn't dreaming of Elliot and that was all that counted, right? "Shay..." He reached up and touched her shoulder. But she didn't want to hear what he had to say. She wasn't going through this again. He needed things she couldn't give him...and it hurt. She wasn't whole inside and she had to accept that and stop pretending otherwise, and it hurt. Stooping down, she grabbed the basket of books from where he'd placed them on the floor. Without looking back at him, she headed for the front of the store. She had to get out of here. She could pay for her damn books and meet Lorna at the café. It was two doors down--she could walk two doors. Maybe not well. She was already weaving a little, lethargy and weakness still pervading her body, but she damn well wasn't going to linger around-- She stumbled, her feet all but giving out under her. Crashing into a book dump just next to her, she flung out a hand, but there was nothing to grab. Books from the display went flying and just before she would have crashed to the floor, a pair of strong, steady hands gripped her waist. "I've got you," Elliot murmured. I've got you... *The room stopped spinning around her, even though her legs still felt like spaghetti noodles. Her heart slowed back down to its normal speed for a few seconds, before embarrassment settled in. Swallowing, she closed her eyes and reached for some level of control. Stumbling all over the place. Running away from Elliot. She needed to get herself together. Sucking in a desperate drought of air, she blew it back out. Carefully, she eased away from Elliot, checking her legs--okay, she could walk. This was good. This was...bad. Grimacing at the bookdump she'd knocked over, she opened her mouth to apologize. The display had been holding a lot of books, she thought inanely. Foil lettering on one of them caught her eyes. Lettering the shade of blood. Familiar... Her stomach dropped to her knees, and the waning strength in her abused body disappeared completely. Sinking to her knees, she reached out to touch one of the books. "Shay, I'll pick it up," Elliot said. His voice seemed to come to her from a tunnel. Her blood roared in her ears and black dots danced in front of her eyes for a long, ugly second. Stop it, Shay--breathe! No more panic attacks. She didn't do panic attacks any more. No. This...this wasn't happening. About the AuthorShiloh Walker is the bestselling author of If You Hear Her, If You See Her, If You Know Her, Chains, Fragile, and The Missing. She loves reading and writing anything fantasy and nearly every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full-time and lives with her family in the Midwest. Views: 12
A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires. Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival's Freak Show. But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed...until one of them is murdered. Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn't actually exist. Her search for answers leads... Views: 12
He’s no fairy-tale prince. But he just may be the hero she needs. Grimm’s Circle, Book 3 Ren has always danced along the fine line between being a little bit crazy and being overcome by a darkness that’s haunted him since his mortal days. As an empath, he prefers to live far from people who would leak their emotions all over him, so he’s not expecting the woman who drives right into the heart of his wood. She has a cursed book with her and demons hot on her heels. Even more surprising are her abilities and the reaction Ren has to her. Aileas is on the run. She just isn’t certain if she’s running from something real or imagined. One thing is for sure, her brother is dead and she’s certain the book she found has something to do with his death. She really starts to doubt her sanity when she meets a hot but somewhat crazed man in the middle of nowhere. He calls himself Ren, and although he doesn’t seem to be out to hurt her, he definitely seems to want something. She just doesn’t understand what. She does know what she wants though. She wants him, and the shadows and darkness she glimpses inside him don’t matter. At least, right up until he claims to be a guardian angel. And she thought she was going crazy. Warning: this title contains soul-sucking demons, kick-ass angels and a hero who is a little crazy and a whole lot sexy. Views: 12
Review"Andrew P. Mayer's The Falling Machine enjoys the promise of a glorious conceit that the book delivers on—steampunk superheroes in Gilded Age New York City. The first of Mayer's Society of Steam trilogy, this book offers cocked-eyed adventure and the high camp of steampunk wrapped around a story of moral choice, family loyalty and the ultimate question of who gets to be counted as a person. A ripping yarn that strikes all the right notes, The Falling Machine will delight and entertain you." --Jay Lake, Campbell Award winning author of Mainspring and Green"If Stan Lee had lived in the 1880s, this is the book he would have written—steampunk superheroes. Filled with larger than life characters, cliffhanger action, and ingenious gadgets so richly realized you'll feel the steam hissing from them, at its heart, it's a two-fisted meditation on the mythic glories of heroism and the tragic frailties of the heroes themselves." --Clay & Susan Griffith, authors of The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire Book 1) About the AuthorAndrew P. Mayer is the author of a short comic story titled "Om Nom Nom" published by Dark Horse Comics. The story was anthologized in Myspace Dark Horse Presents Anthology #3 and in New Creepy Anthology. He currently works as a game designer, workin with a number of different companies developing games for Facebook.Previously he worked as a game designer and creative director for Sony Psygnosis, the Cartoon Network, and PlayFirst Games. Visit Andrew at andrewpmayer.com. Views: 12
