Cold Welcome

Nebula Award–winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling series featuring Kylara Vatta, the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta’s War sequence. Summoned to the home planet of her family’s business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero’s welcome. But instead she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate with the outside world, commanding a motley group of unfamiliar troops, and struggling day by day to survive in a deadly environment with sabotaged gear. Only her undeniable talent for command can give her ragtag band a fighting chance. Yet even as Ky leads her team from one crisis to another, her family and friends refuse to give up hope, endeavoring to mount a rescue from halfway around the planet—a task that is complicated as Ky and her supporters find secrets others will kill to protect: a conspiracy infecting both government and military that threatens not only her own group’s survival but her entire home planet.
Views: 573

Ashes of Hope

When a monster saves you from other monsters, are you any better off?Ash chokes the sky and my life as I knew it is long gone. Nuclear war left our planet a scarred dead husk, and those of us left fight tooth and nail to survive. There is hardly anything left to eat, except each other.The lucky ones die quickly.I've had a different kind of luck, but the bargain I made to stay alive is slowly killing me. The only question is, will I survive long enough for my bargain to save me? Or will all my hope turn to ash?
Views: 573

Nightmares

Over the years, everyone has nightmares. Some from eating to late, some from life experiences, and others from just listening to the evening news just before bedtime. Each is a nightmare in its own right, some more so than others. It depends on your point of view. These nightmares are in alphabetical order by title.A collection of nightmares that … well you decide. Over the years, everyone has nightmares. Some from eating to late, some from life experiences, and others from just listening to the evening news just before bedtime. A few nights ago I watched the evening news, and then went to bed. I woke up in a cold sweat about three AM remembering a few stories I'd published years ago, and some I wrote but didn't publish. I don't remember what caused the original nightmares that prompted me to write those stories. I reread them and decided to republish them, and publish some of the unpublished ones. I still have several, but they are so off the wall or what you would consider controversial, that I'm going to hold onto them unless I hear their contents in the news. After all, I'm not a harbinger. Each is a nightmare in its own right, some more so than others. It depends on your point of view. These nightmares are in alphabetical order by title. Here they are!
Views: 572

After Sundown

National bestselling author Amanda Ashley has created a world of seductive, preternatural creatures whose passions are as limitless—and as dangerous—as their powers. In this sensual and gripping new novel, love, desire, and ambition collide in a city that is both home and hunting ground to its population of darkly irresistible vampires... He Has Become What He Once Destroyed. Edward Ramsey has spent his life hunting vampires. Now he is one of them. Yet Edward\'s human conscience—and his heart—compel him to save beautiful Kelly Anderson, and soon their growing love is his reason for living. And as the ancient, stunning, and merciless vampire, Khira, seeks supremacy among Los Angeles\' undead, Edward and his former nemesis, Grigori Chiavari, once Khira\'s lover, must unite to stop her— before the city, and everything they cherish, is in her power...After Sundown.
Views: 572

Workings of a Happily Ever After, The

Zell Dincht's proposal was the culmination of what seemed a lifetime of dreams. But when they begin planning the wedding of their dreams, how hard will they work to have their 'Happily Ever After'?*(this is a work of fan-fiction; events take place after those of Final Fantasy VIII)For shy Sally Regal, Zell Dincht's proposal was the culmination of what seemed a lifetime of dreams and fairytales. But when they begin planning the wedding of their dreams, tests and decisions come that make their relationship begin to change.How hard will they work to have their 'Happily Ever After'? Will the plans for the ultimate wedding survive?*(this is a work of fan-fiction; events take place after those of Final Fantasy VIII)
Views: 572

When Stars Are Bright

For Lina Holt, a Dutch seventeen-year-old with a flair for singing, 1930 is going to be her year. Her long-time boyfriend is about to propose and her mother will finally realize their relationship isn't a passing phase. But when a stranger snatches her from her backyard, everything changes.Lina is thrust into the spotlight of a New York vaudeville show where she's paired with Nik, a mysterious pianist. The two bond during rehearsals and it doesn't take long before Nik puts himself at risk to confess a hidden truth. Without Lina, the show is in its last season and there's no way she'll be allowed to slip through the owner's fingers. Not when she carries fairy magic in her blood—an gift that turns her song into a dangerously addictive drug.If Lina ever wants to return home, she must learn who to trust before she's forced to remain a prisoner on stage forever.WHEN STARS ARE BRIGHT is a historical Thumbelina retelling with a touch of magic.
Views: 572

The Clerk's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 2)

After her friend moves out west as a mail-order bride, Annabelle decides to do the same and leaves for the same town. After all, no man can be worse than the factory owner who won't leave her alone. Colten couldn’t understand why someone would be crazy enough or desperate enough to order a bride through an advertisement. When Annabelle arrives to marry the worst possible man Birch Creek has to offer, Colten decides to help out. He just never expected to end up married to her. Without any plans or preparation for a wife, Colten has to figure out how to take care of a woman he didn’t want while Annabelle has to come to terms with the new direction her life is headed. Can the two of them grow to love each other, or will her fears from her past and his concerns for the future keep them from finding love in the moment?
Views: 572

The Bone Cell

The Bone Cell is a place to avoid at all costs, but of course Ian and Connor do not know this. An ancient crow has enlisted them to right a forgotten wrong of murder, mayhem and magic. With no mind to the consequences, they are both soon sucked into the middle of a crime that for long years has gone unpaid...A spooky dream of a gigantic crow and an old, crumbling church in the lost reaches of a forest. A hint of mystery, murder and mayhem in dark underground passages. A poor magician and his little girl, surrounded and harassed by a group of mad trappers…These are the visions that bring Ian and Connor to the site of their abandoned tree house where, unsurprisingly, the crow awaits. As they sit in the embrace of the crow’s eerie time knot, the strange bird tells them a nearly two-hundred-year-old story of how a town and great church came to be and of the misery that befell it. Of how the church became home to many animals and birds, and of the massive oak that had since grown up through the floor and slowly engulfed the church’s remains. But now the tree has begun to wither and an avalanche of death will soon follow. The two boys are the crow’s only remaining hope because of an innate talent they have been diligently hiding. They will be required to walk into the teeth of an old crime that has gone years unpaid, and of course the crow cannot promise that they will not be swept up in the flood of danger and madness that is fast approaching. Because something has changed in The Bone Cell and Connor and Ian are the only ones who can do anything about it.
Views: 572

Three Mermaid Tales

Three times. Three tales. Three tails. Journey back in time to the days of pirates to watch a colony attempt to take root on an island ruled by mermaids. Then, travel to the present for the comedic romance of a mermaid who wants to dance. Finally, jump into the future and see what happens when two Marine Biology majors, one of them in search of a mermaid, end up on an environmental pirate ship.In "The Red Siren," travel back in time to the island of Mystycetii in the days when mermaids ate oysters and were ruled by a mer-king. Follow the journey of the naturalist Dove as he attempts to fall in love with his betrothed, Rowynne, and comes crashing down hard for a local mermaid. Then, fast-forward to the present for "Ocean Girl," the story of a mermaid named Luna who wants to win a human dance contest - will she get up after her fall from the spotlight? Finally, jump into the near future with "People with Fishtails," the tale of two landlubbers who find themselves on an environmental pirate ship. Gayle is searching for her mother, whom she believes to be a mermaid ,while Sander is on the lookout for unusual marine specimens. Neither of the two knows they're also looking for love...Enjoy a journey through the ages with these three tales of mermaids!
Views: 572