As much as Johnny tries to run from it, fate always manages to catch up to him, and this time, one day after his graduation from Oxford, fate throws a yellow rubber ducky into his life in a strange attempt to help him refocus his decisions and reroute his future. Will Johnny attempt to trust fate and accept its guiding hand, or will he drudge up the past and try running from it again?At the end of his coursework at Oxford, Johnny reaches a point in his life where he does not know what more to do or where else to go. Sure, he has plenty of options, but with those options comes an endless chain of questions and decisions to make, and his mind locks up when he has to participate in too much of either. Even as he takes the Tube to anywhere, he wonders if he's in control of his future, or if fate is pulling his strings. There have been plenty of moments in his life when he thought fate had smiled on him, especially the night he'd met Claire, but those moments just showed him that it was all one big tease and the future's real plan was to pull the rug out from under his feet.The day after graduation, Johnny figures he should start pulling his own strings, so he considers speaking to a life coach to help him plan out his destiny. As he rides the train back to London, however, he discovers one new trick up fate's sleeve, and it comes in the form of a yellow rubber ducky he finds on the floor under his seat. On this duck is a flash drive full of stories from people who have no connection to each other save for the one factor that they had carried the duck around during a brief season of adventure. The drive also contains an instruction: “To anyone who finds this, please take this rubber ducky wherever you go. At any point you should experience something great, I beg of you, write it down and attach it to the duck. Then, leave it for the next body to find. When the seventh individual writes his experience, keep the duck and publish the letters for all to see.” Johnny can already see the hand of fate trying to pull him back under its spell. But he takes the bait. He takes the duck with him.Six people have already written their stories. Johnny is the seventh and final person to take the duck on a new adventure and share it with the world. But how does one live through a story worthy of closing out the duck's epic journey? How much of Johnny's path does fate still influence? And why does the rubber duck seem so familiar to him? Views: 415
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students' lives. In her distinctive voice, Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold off.Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas,... Views: 415
Run, run as fast as you can. Never stop. Changers have arisen, wreaking havoc as they harvest the world, searching for the Green Stone. The South World sinks in despair, holding its breath, waiting for the One. Eliesmore is a Blended One, growing up on the edge of the forest of the creatures of the wood. Young, headstrong, and inspired by magical rituals, he spends his time between his overprotective mother and sneaking out to dance with the wild things. His courage is tested when Eliesmore discovers that he is One who is meant to save the Four Worlds from the Changers. Unwilling to accept his fate, he turns his back on the prophecy and the futile quest to dissolve the Green Stone. But Eliesmore will soon learn he cannot escape his destiny. Beset by creatures of the deep and hunted by servants of the Changers, Eliesmore finds his task will test the loyalty of his companions and help him answer the ultimate question: Can he trust the immortals - or are they the reason the Changers have come to power? Views: 414
So distant ancestors of Simone and Clay Gareth were royal? And the family reigned in a hidden continent not found on any map? Heirs to an empire, this teenage brother and sister are about to leave Indiana and enter the lost realm called the Fold, a land inhabited partly by humans and partly by intelligent but non-human species; a land of mysteries, dangers, and wars.A mother awaits her son's visit in the nineteenth century before his life - and her life - will change forever. A short story of a mother's love and belief in her son's future greatness, you will walk away smiling, learning about a little known woman in American history that enabled a nation's greatest change with her belief in literacy and love of a son... who wasn't even her real child. Views: 414
How far would you go for love?Callie McFay is about to cross worlds and time... Fairwick used to be populated by all manner of magical creatures but when a cabal of witches forced the closure of the last door to Fairie, the townsfolk had to choose sides. Now it is up to Callie to find a way back. Her quest will take her far from home - to a 17th Century Scotland where the demon she once fell in love with is still very much a man... Views: 414
While Seth O'Malley is healing from a gun shot wound (received in The Cigarette Killer), Ava and her team is awarded a grant to look into cold cases in rural areas of Colorado with Seth as the consulting detective. No sooner than the grant is awarded, when Seth receives a request to look into the brutal murder of a young woman in Kiowa County, near the border of Colorado and Kansas.Ava and her team discover that the girl was buried on top of a previously undiscovered archaeological site. Every step Ava takes to uncover who killed this poor young woman, the closer she gets to her own dark family history.This novella is set in rural Colorado. Views: 414
ROYAL GHOULS is the second book in the Greek Ghouls series: a comedic mystery set in Greece and steeped in ouzo.Things are heating up for Allie Callas, owner of Finders Keepers, a service dedicated to finding doodads, secrets, and occasionally people. No, wait, that’s fire from the yacht that just slammed into the tiny Greek island of Merope. Plot twist: the passengers were already dead before the crash. Allie knows this because they’re infesting her apartment, schmoozing her dead cat, and hogging the television. The ghosts found one of Allie’s business cards tacked to a message board in the Afterlife, and now they expect her to figure out whodunit.Allie doesn’t solve murders. Well, okay, she solved one, but she doesn’t want to make it a habit—not when the delicious Detective Leo Samaras, who may or may not be a serial killer, lives upstairs. Leo desperately wants to discuss that date they had... Views: 414
"The Queen of Spades" is one of the most famous tales in Russian literature, and inspired the eponymous opera by Tchaikovsky; in "The Stationmaster", from The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin, Pushkin reworks the parable of the Prodigal Son; "Tsar Nikita and his Forty Daughters" is one of Pushkin’s bawdier early poems; and the narrative poem "The Bronze Horseman", inspired by a St Petersburg statue of Peter the Great, is one of Pushkin’s best-known and most influential works. The volume also includes a selection of Pushkin’s best lyric poetry.
Contents:
• Short Stories: The Queen of Spades; The Stationmaster
• Drama: Extracts from Boris Godunov and Mozart and Salieri
• The Bronze Horseman (narrative poem), Tsar Nikita and His Forty
Daughters (folk poem) and 14 lyric poems
• Novel in Verse: Extract from Yevgeny Onegin (novel in verse) Views: 414
A dark fairytale fantasy full of the magic of earth and shadow and blood. Seek not these treacherous schemes and faerie creatures, witches, wolves and ancient hungry beasts. For in the green and wooded wilds, a person must take caution when dealing with old dark things.A lord lies dying. Suspicions of murder, curse and poison hang over his last days. One of his heirs weaves plots against the other. A hunched old dwarfish witching-man plies his trade in the hills. Weird and eerie things stir in the gloomy forests for the first time in an age. And into this small, secluded realm, where it seems everyone has a secret, comes a witch-hunter. His name is Kveldulf, and he will bring with him some shadows and secrets of his own.Old Dark Things is a dark, folkloric fantasy set in the same world as The Winter King. It is a stand-alone novel. Views: 414
Payton thought she had a normal, everyday life. When a mysterious man suddenly appears, he shatters her world telling her that her entire life has been a lie. She is a god with the Guardians having lived for 1000's of years. The Anords know where she is and he needs to protect her at all costs. Payton holds the key to saving humanity. However, a mysteriously familiar woman complicates everything.Young and beautiful hairdresser, Payton, thought she had a normal, everyday life, no different from anyone else. When a mysterious man suddenly appears, he shatters her world by telling her that her entire life has been a lie. She is a god among many having lived for thousands of years. She is a key member of the Guardians! The Guardians seek only peace, unity and balance between all good & evil but the Anords want full control. To protect her from the Anords, the Guardians replaced her memory dropping her into her not-so-normal life. Now, the Anords know where she is and he needs to protect her at all costs.Payton holds the key to bringing all of them together as one, working together for the good of humanity. However, a mysteriously familiar woman complicates everything. Views: 414
