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Visions Of Odd

A collection of word-doodles from S.A. Barton's early writing 2007-2011. These are vignettes, not truly stories, explorations of possible futures for humanity -- some near-future, some far, some through alien eyes. Some themes appear in later stories, some not -- or not yet.Visions Of Odd contains 7 word-doodles totaling about 8400 words.Can a man fashion justice as he would a clock? Cast out of the craft hall in his prime and bitter from his many losses, a blind artificer has taken on an apprentice to make what he no longer can: a device that will enter him into the Grand Competition. But does the artificer even want to win? Or does he only care about revenge? And will that be enough? The Artificer’s Apprentice is a short story set in a medieval city where magic and technology blend seamlessly and where the Artificer guilds make handsome profits keeping the city's systems running. The leaders of these guilds have complete control over their members, but one man is about to challenge that authority. Blind, frail, and destitute, the embittered artificer could not be that much of a threat, could he?Follow the tale of The Artificer’s Apprentice to see what he shall fashion in his shop...
Views: 485

The Last Best Kiss

Anna Eliot is tired of worrying about what other people think. After all, that was how she lost the only guy she ever really liked, Finn Westbrook. Now, three years after she broke his heart, the one who got away is back in her life. All Anna wants is a chance to relive their last kiss again (and again and again). But Finn obviously hasn’t forgotten how she treated him, and he’s made it clear he has no interest in having anything to do with her. Anna keeps trying to persuade herself that she doesn’t care about Finn either, but even though they’ve both changed since they first met, deep down she knows he’s the guy for her. Now if only she can get him to believe that, too.... With her signature wit and expertly authentic teen voice, Claire LaZebnik (the author of fan favorites Epic Fail and The Trouble with Flirting) once again breathes new life into a perennially popular love story. Fans of Polly Shulman, Maureen Johnson, and, of course, Jane Austen will love this irresistibly funny and romantic tale of first loves and second chances.
Views: 473

The Gift of Story: A Wise Tale About What Is Enough

In this enchanting book, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES shares several small stories that, like Matriochka dolls, fit inside one another. Taken together, they are a moving testament to the enduring legacy of stories and to the triumph of love over loss. Dr. Estes masterfully blends the bitter and the sweet, the dark and the light, despair and hope, into a wonderful gift that illuminates and strengthens, a gift that will be cherished by all who receive it.
Views: 473

The Last Trump (A Farce Of Politics)

When Donald Trump becomes President in 2016, nothing seems amiss -- aside from Donald Trump being President. But by the time 2020 rolls around, he's more popular than ever but things are beginning to fall apart. President Trump just doesn't seem to be himself......and the face he shows at his second inauguration is more shocking than anyone could dare dream!When Keegan finally gets away from his brutal mother on his sixteenth birthday, things go from bad to strange as his father picks up a hitchhiker in the desert during their escape. The strangeness of the day gets scary as Keegan notices the hitchhiker’s odd behavior. But with Keegan’s failing memory and bizarre dreams of a red wind, he can’t be sure about what his father’s gotten them in to as they make their way to the creepy Arizona town of Sedonia Falls. This is the first episode of a five-part serial.
Views: 461

[Scarlet Wilson 05] - Miz Scarlet and the Perplexed Passenger

Sail away with Book #5 in the Scarlet Wilson Mystery Series....When innkeeper Scarlet Wilson is asked to accompany her wheelchair-bound mother on a five-night cruise to Bermuda, she expects to have a trip to remember. Boy, will she remember this one!Laurel Googins Wilson's new beau, Dr. Thaddeus Van Zandt, and Scarlet's old high school flame, Kenny Tolliver, join the women as they set sail for paradise. While Scarlet loses herself in a good book on the balcony of their stateroom, poor Laurel witnesses the deadly plunge of a fellow passenger into the Atlantic Ocean. "Man overboard!”It's the start of a nightmare that may never end. Who would want to kill George Delaney, the respectable funeral director from Caulkins Cove, Maine, on a cruise to Bermuda? While Kenny, an experienced investigator, joins forces with old school chum Marley Hornsby, now the security chief for the cruise line, and the cruise ship's security team, to find the killer hiding in their midst, the amateur sleuth known as Miz Scarlet can’t resist diving into this mystery. But this isn't a killer who wants to be found. He's dangerous...he’s desperate...and he’s plotting to kill again!As the ship approaches Bermudian waters, the widow finds herself a suspect in her husband's murder. Did she do it? Miz Scarlet and her cohorts don’t think so. But how can they prove that Kathleen Delaney is innocent? Time is quickly running out. As soon as the ship docks at King's Wharf, the FBI plans to take their only suspect into custody.Working late into the night in their frantic search for a murderer, the feisty Miz Scarlet and her dashing, determined heartthrob follow the clues left behind by the dead man, desperate to identify the next victim. One catastrophe after another draws the travel companions deeper into the dastardly intrigue, and the closer they get to the truth, the harder the murderous fiend fights to distract investigators with his razzle dazzle bag of tricks. Suddenly Miz Scarlet finds herself facing the wrath of a devious, dangerous stranger. Can she stay alive long enough to figure out what the killer's end game is?
Views: 460

Real Magic

BESTSELLING BOOKIn this inspirational guide, Wayne Dyer, the author of the phenomenal bestsellers Wisdom of the Ages, Pulling Your Own Strings, and Your Erroneous Zones, reveals seven beliefs central to working miracles in our everyday lives. When most of us think of magic, we picture a man in a black cape sawing a woman in half, or a sleight-of-hand card trick. But there's another kind of magic – real magic – that can enrich your life. According to Dyer, real magic means creating miracles in everyday life. Quitting smoking or drinking, achieving new Job success, or finding a happy relationship – these are all miracles because they transcend our perceived limitations. From "creating a miracle mind-set" and achieving change in the areas of personal health, prosperity, and fulfilling love relationships to believing in the magic of miracles on a global scale, Dyer shows us that miracles within our reach and within...
Views: 446

Things I Should Have Known

*Things Chloe knew: Her sister, Ivy, was lonely. Ethan was a perfect match. Ethan’s brother, David, was an arrogant jerk. Things Chloe should have known: Setups are complicated. Ivy can make her own decisions. David may be the only person who really gets Chloe.* Meet Chloe Mitchell, a popular Los Angeles girl who’s decided that her older sister, Ivy, who’s on the autism spectrum, could use a boyfriend. Chloe already has someone in mind: Ethan Fields, a sweet, movie-obsessed boy from Ivy’s special needs class. Chloe would like to ignore Ethan’s brother, David, but she can’t—Ivy and Ethan aren’t comfortable going out on their own, so Chloe and David have to tag along. Soon Chloe, Ivy, David, and Ethan form a quirky and wholly lovable circle. And as the group bonds over frozen-yogurt dates and movie nights, Chloe is forced to confront her own romantic choices—and the realization that it’s okay to be a different kind of normal.
Views: 443

Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character

In this magisterial study of the relationship between illness and art, the best-selling author of An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison, brings an entirely fresh understanding to the work and life of Robert Lowell (1917-1977), whose intense, complex, and personal verse left a lasting mark on the English language and changed the public discourse about private matters. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry, Robert Lowell put his manic-depressive illness (now known as bipolar disorder) into the public domain, creating a language for madness that was new and arresting. As Dr. Jamison brings her expertise in mood disorders to bear on Lowell's story, she illuminates not only the relationships among mania, depression, and creativity but also the details of Lowell's treatment and how illness and treatment influenced the great work that he produced (and often became its subject). Lowell's New England roots, early breakdowns, marriages to three eminent writers, friendships with other poets such as Elizabeth Bishop, his many hospitalizations, his vivid presence as both a teacher and a maker of poems--Jamison gives us the poet's life through a lens that focuses our understanding of his intense discipline, courage, and commitment to his art. Jamison had unprecedented access to Lowell's medical records, as well as to previously unpublished drafts and fragments of poems, and she is the first biographer to have spoken with his daughter, Harriet Lowell. With this new material and a psychologist's deep insight, Jamison delivers a bold, sympathetic account of a poet who was--both despite and because of mental illness--a passionate, original observer of the human condition.
Views: 415

Hung On The Cross

"Hung on the cross" is a collection of poems reflecting the Passion of Christ. The poems are heartfelt feelings of each individual poet. These poems will not just enhance your faith but give your a reflective attitude during this apt season of lent and easter."Hung on the cross" is a collection of poems reflecting the Passion of Christ. The poems are heartfelt feelings of each individual poet. These poems will not just enhance your faith but give your a reflective attitude during this apt season of lent and easter. The anthology is a blend of mix feelings about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Christ gave up his life totally that we may unite ourselves to the Father bearing all the pain that came along the way. Hung on the cross is a sure effort to commemorate the Passion of Christ.
Views: 413

A Pornodroid's Tale

A short story, about 3900 words.Jimmy Babe has it all -- he's an interplanetary pop star. He has the adulation of billions, a starship that doubles as a mansion, a pornodroid devoted to his every physical need.But stardom has become a burden to Jimmy, and he's looking for a way out. Perhaps his awakened AI pornodroid can help -- if his record label will let her, that is.Welcome to Camp Omigosh! You are going to have the best time here! Yes, it has been closed down for the past thirty years. And yes, we do need some help rebuilding some of the cabins. We hope you brought your tools. No, there is no electricity or wi-fi hot spots. No cell phone reception either. No, we do not have a heated swimming pool. But we do have an icy cold lake! Doesn't that sound like fun?!Yes, three decades ago, a boy mysteriously died in the forest. Yes, there are rumors that his ghosts haunts the woods at night. No, we do not want to talk about it. No, you should not wander off the trail! No, Camp Omigosh is not spooky, or dangerous, or strange in any way. My, you ask a lot of questions. Why don't you shut up and enjoy a roasted marshmallow?CAMP OMIGOSH is a novel by Wade Bradford, author of WHY DO I HAVE TO MAKE MY BED and CSI: NEVERLAND. Wade plans to release free chapters of the book during 2013. (But only if there's enough interest to keep it going, so spread the word!)CAMP OMIGOSH combines comedy, adventure, and sci-fi/supernatural to create the perfect summer camp experience. Share the adventure. Keep the secrets.Visit: www.wadebradford.com
Views: 392

The Mystery Boys and the Inca Gold

The whole mysterious affair puzzled Cliff. To have those queer strangers appear suddenly at Aunt Lucy’s with their unusual questions threw him a little off his stride. “No,” he answered the stocky Spaniard with the crafty, shifty eyes, “I did not get a letter from Peru. Who wrote it? Is it from my father? How do you know about it?” While the Spaniard interpreted the answer to his companion Cliff studied them both. If the tall, stalwart man with copper skin and piercing eyes was not an Indian, Cliff had never seen a truthful picture of one. He wore European clothes but he was not at his ease in them. While he listened to the queer language which the Spaniard used he kept his eyes boring Cliff and Cliff saw that his denial was not believed. Copper-skin muttered something and the Spaniard turned again to Cliff. “You not get letter? Mi amigo, my friend, say it mail ‘nine, ten week’ ago.” “I can’t help that,” Cliff declared, “It hasn’t come. Who is it from—my father?” Cliff had not heard from his father in nearly five years: naturally he was anxious about the scholar who studied ancient civilizations and who had gone to Peru to write a book about the Incas.
Views: 375

The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens

MAKING SMART CHOICES IN CHALLENGING TIMES The challenges teens face today are tougher than at any time in history: academic stress, parent communication, media bombardment, dating drama, abuse, bullying, addictions, depression, and peer pressure, just to name a few. And, like it or not, the choices teens make while navigating these challenges can make or break their futures. In The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make, Sean Covey, author of the international bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, gives teens the strong advice they need to make informed and wise decisions.Using real stories from teens around the world, Sean shows teens how to succeed in school, make good friends, get along with parents, wisely handle dating and sex issues, avoid or overcome addictions, build self-esteem, and much more. Jam-packed with original cartoons, inspiring quotes, and fun quizzes, this innovative book will help teens not only survive but thrive during their teen years and beyond. Building upon the legacy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, this is an indispensable resource for teens everywhere.
Views: 363

Trouble on Titan

The tenacious Colonel Benedict and his son, Tuck, are sent to Titan, Saturn�s fifth moon, to investigate reports of smuggling. Soon they discover that the less-than-friendly colony is hiding much more than just a smuggler. Together they dig up a scandalous case of interstellar sabotage and what the colonists reverently refer to as �THE BIG SECRET,� which could destroy Earth�s power supply - forever.Can the Colonel and Tuck resolve an age-old dispute between the Titan colonists and Earthly authorities before the clock runs out? Mankinds fate depends on it . . .
Views: 354

The Fourth Horseman

Wilderness Patrol fficer Pamela Tate, scouting in the mountains of Washington, sees and touches a ground squirrel in the dusty path, blood trickling from its mouth. Forty-eight hours later she lies dead at her campsite, covered in mysterious welts and bruises.Across the lake, a boisterous camping party falls silent as they watch each other sicken and die in agony.A killer is loose. It has a foreign name. Yersinia Pestis. Plague. An unknowing nation harbors the deadly evil in its midst.While a few embattled survivors race to save the country, perhaps the world, the grim invader hides in a mother�s sigh, a child�s laugh, a lover�s whisper. Nothing can stop the death ride of . . .The Fourth Horseman.
Views: 343