RAIN ALREADY KNOWS HOW HARD LIFE CAN BE. BUT SHE IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER A SHATTERING SECRET FROM THE PAST THAT WILL CHANGE HER FUTURE FOREVER....
Growing up in the ghettos of Washington, D.C., the cards are stacked against a hardworking dreamer like Rain Arnold. Rain has fought to be the best daughter she can: she studies hard and gets good grades; she helps her mother cook and clean. And unlike her defiant younger sister, she avoids the dangers of the city streets as if her life depends on it...and it does. But Rain can't suppress the feeling that she has never truly fit in, that she is a stranger in her own world.
Then one fateful night, Rain overhears something she shouldn't: a heartbreaking revelation from the past, a long-buried secret that is about to change her life in ways she never could have imagined. In the blink of an eye, everything Rain has ever known -- the family she has loved and the familiar place she has called home is left behind, and Rain is sent to live with total strangers, the wealthy Hudson family. But just as she did not belong to the troubled world she was raised in, Rain is also out of place in this realm of luxury and privilege. With nowhere to turn, Rain finds an escape in the theater, inside the walls of an exclusive private school. But will it be enough to fulfill her heart's deepest wish -- and give her a place to call home? Views: 623
Procter's a junkie. He lives near Brown Hill with the raccoons and his drug paraphernalia, which he keeps on a silver platter under the sofa. He didn't have a woman until he met her. She has clean, shiny hair. She's going to be his woman. They're going to be a family. He's not going to be a deadbeat any more.Sophomore Cory Towson is the new kid in town, at school, and on the Grandview soccer team. When a split-second accident ends Grandview’s star ‘keeper’s season, Cory also finds himself the new kid in goal, with the team’s hopes for the championship riding on his shoulders. Time after time, he fails to defend his goal. The team’s bully sweeper increases the pressure. Other teammates avoid eye contact in the locker room and at school. As if that weren’t enough, when Cory rides his bike home through the wide high desert streets, the house is always empty, his mom out with her new boyfriend once again. His parents’ divorce has landed him and his mom in Southern California, and he hasn’t heard from his dad since they left Utah many months back. Cory feels alone except for one nerdy friend, Gene, and a personal goalkeeper coach he can trust to watch his back…or can he? Will betrayal and self-doubt take Cory down, along with Grandview’s chances for victory? With riveting action on the soccer pitch, on suburban streets, and even in a secret hideaway, Cory’s in Goal follows a boy’s quest for goalkeeping excellence and stability in his fast-changing world. Views: 623
The Games Goes DeeperFBI Agent Sarah Brightwater and journalist Tyler Ford must team up once more to stop the evil machinations of mass serial killer Dwight Spalding.Two sets of unrelated murders in Virginia begin to become entwined as Spalding's web begins to be unraveled. Sarah is working both cases but can't let the link be known for fear of being taken off them and losing her chance to catch the man who killed her mother.Tyler's involvement in the case become more personal than he imagined possible. Will he be able to escape the plans of the vile murderer who is using him a plaything?Buy now to continue the case! Views: 623
Frank is on his last delivery of the day when his world is turned upside down. Have his senses finally betrayed him?In the future, the Earth is still recovering from alien invasion, conquest and liberation; civilisation is shattered, the sky is broken and the world will never be the same.But Nadger doesn't understand any of that. All he knows is that it's time to hide before the other kids find him!A flash-fiction story about living in the aftermath of invasion, the first in the irregular 'Broken Sky' series. Views: 623
Meet me at the end of the world ... As civilization comes to an end, Lewis and Karen take their last vacation to the only cold place left on Earth, the remote resort town of Cold Pools. There, they will say goodbye ...The Cold Pools - a short story of 3,000 words.Meet me at the end of the world ... As civilization comes to an end, Lewis and Karen take their last vacation to the only cold place left on Earth, the remote resort town of Cold Pools. There, they will say goodbye ...The Cold Pools - a short story of 3,000 words, is taken from the author's collection Ms Ito's Bird & Other Stories.Chris Ward is the author of the novels The Tube Riders and The Man Who Built the World, available now in ebook and paperback format. Views: 623
I meet a dream boy on holiday, accept his invite to his dream mountaintop castle; but when I get here, it’s a nightmare of invisible staff (apart from old, sour-faced Lisa) and gardens of either freezing white snow or sheer darkness. Oh, and magpies who appear out of nowhere.Now I’ve found a book for ‘young wytches’; but will it help me survive the castle, or is it just another trap?I meet a dream boy on holiday, accept his invite to his dream mountaintop castle; but when I get here, it’s a nightmare of invisible staff (apart from old, sour-faced Lisa) and gardens of either freezing white snow or sheer darkness. Oh, and magpies who appear out of nowhere.Now I’ve found a book for ‘young wytches’; but will it help me survive the castle, or is it just another trap? Views: 623
A young man with a deep fear of death comes face to face with his phobia in a surprising and terrifying way.They say that in order to overcome our fears, we must face them, and that's exactly what is about to happen a young man with a severe phobia of death. As his night turns from uneventful to terrifying in this short story from the author of the Permuted Press novel 'Containment Room Seven', he'll find out that the only thing more terrifying than what lies within the dark is what doesn't. Views: 623
Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city... Views: 622
The world has become a different place since Henry woke up this morning and decided to go for a run on his treadmill. His neighbour seems to be acting strange, no one is working at the radio station, and the 911 operator rushed him off the phone when he called. What happened to his town while he was sleeping and will Henry be able to survive the dangers that lie outside of his house?A Short Story-Bill Tompkins is a retired high school science teacher turned novelist and indie author. Frustrated at the lack of sales for his AWESOME book, he turns to extreme measures.Nar Schmidt is Bill's 15 year-old neighbor, former student and computer prodigy whose favorite pastime is roaming around in the elaborate computer systems of large corporations.Bill enlists the teenager in a wild scheme to exact revenge on unfaithful readers- forcing them to buy his book at the point of a gun. Views: 622
As the survivors continue to seek stability in their lives, forces both inside and outside the fort walls move them toward a final, climactic conflict between the living and the dead. Jenni, Katie and the others discover that they are not alone, that there is another enclave of survivors whose leaders plan to take over the fort. Faced with a series of difficult decisions, each choice they make could lead to the deaths of those they love or, if not careful, their own demise. Meanwhile, an army of the dead is descending on the fort. Soon, the living will face their ultimate fear. . . . . . a siege by the dead. But they will fight to the end to survive. . . As the world dies. Views: 622
'The Hour of the Time' is a short story by Vincent Hobbes. It was first published in 'The Endlands' (Jan. 2011) Gunter von Strauss owns a small bookstore. He carries something for everyone’s taste. He also carefully inspects each book, making sure they are safe to read. Who knew that choosing the wrong book could carry such a consequence."The Game..." makes for strange bedfellows. Local gangster Dante (Jack Boy) knows more than anybody how dangerous and ruthless the streets can be. But against his better instincts allows himself to fall for a local female gangster named Alinna. Considered to be somewhat of a competitor to Dante because she leads her own all female crew. Alinna too, is very well aware of the dangers that come with letting feelings get in the way of business. But like Dante, decides to embrace the attraction anyway. That however proves to be a mistake. When she discovers Dante is two-timing her with a female gang unit officer. But unlike what she has with Dante, this relationship is more about lust and power. Or better yet the officers lust for it. While both get pleasure from this arrangement, she also gains intel. Which lead to major busts that fuel her quick ascension within the department. However her world is suddenly rocked when she discovers she's pregnant with Dante's child! Now they have something that binds them together forever... and something that complicates not just her job but also Dante's relationship with Alina! But with Alina being onto Dante's cheating ways, and the officer being willing to eliminate any and all threats to her burgeoning career. Not to mention the threat of the streets discovering Dante's Serpico ties. Could he end up losing everything in the end? Views: 622
When a man pulls into a gas station in the middle of nowhere, he finds out he's not alone out there. In both the bad and good sense.Cassiea never thought returning a necklace would get so complicated. Because of that one decision, she was transported to a world, hidden from Earth by the Elvains. They were magical beings who, for centuries, been waiting for her to appear. They told her that she was the reincarnation of an evil witch name Keya. And the necklace, she thought she had found by chance, held the witch's magic. A magic that was the source of Keya's powers and what had turned her evil and ultimately her death. Cassiea was not thrilled to learn that she had inherited the evil witch's magic and that other magical beings would stop at nothing to get a hold of it. One in particular, was Keya's sister, Nara, whom wanted the powers for herself and to avenge Keya's death. Now Cassiea's ordinary life became extraordinary. And all she wanted to do was to go home to her quiet, comfortable and normal life. But the Elvains insisted that her destiny laid with them. Destiny. A word that Cassiea never gave much thought to. A word that never held any meaning to her became the bane of her existence. As she struggles through the acceptance of the keeper of this magic, she had to fight her way out of Nara's grasp while keeping everyone she loved safe and to prevent herself from becoming evil like Keya. Views: 622
Surviving..when there is no where else to flee. Daryl Ingram, arrogant and ignorant, refused to prepare for the spreading chaos of the zombie plague. Unprepared for their arrival, he fled in terror to his only avenue of escape, the trap door leading to the crawlspace. Cold, damp and blind to the world outside, his survival is in doubt.Surviving..when there is no where else to flee. Daryl Ingram, arrogant and ignorant, refused to prepare for the spreading chaos of the zombie plague. Unprepared for their arrival, he fled in terror to his only avenue of escape, the trap door leading to the crawlspace. Cold, damp and blind to the world outside, his survival is in doubt.No food. No water. Only the trash that fell into the crawlspace with him. Undead footsteps echo on the floor above him. All he can see through the narrow vents are his neighbors, both the living death and the truly dead. Death seems to be his only option. Views: 621
Fr. Arthur Gerdtz is on a mission from God. His church is fighting for relevance in the modern world. Attendances are dwindling, atheism is on the rise, and Instagram celebrities are bigger than Jesus. This veteran priest is in grave danger of losing his religion.Until he decides to introduce some Old Testament values to the twenty-first century.FALSE ICONS & SACRED COWS is part one of HOLLYWOOD HACK JOB, with parts two and three due for release in the coming months. Views: 621
When two children at a Halloween party, decide to go looking for their friend in the woods, they find something they weren't expecting.Logan Reed was18 years old, 5’11’’ tall with jet black hair cut tight around his head, long on top and brown eyes with a handsome face. He was one of those sporty lads that had to be a winner at any cost; he hated losing and would go to any lengths to be the best. Given his attitude he wasn’t the most liked kid in school, not that it bothered him much.When he wasn’t chasing the gold medal, Logan was a nice polite lad who used manners more than most lads of his age. Right now though he wasn’t trying to win any sporting event, he was trying to win over the affections and attentions of one Joss Kisswater. She just happened to be the prettiest girl in the school as well as the best at sports. She’d recently come over from California and with her stunning good looks, blonde hair, golden suntan and American accent meant that Joss was on lots of boy’s minds. He believed though they were a match made in heaven and destined to be together; all he had to do was convince her of it. The problem was three other lads were also trying to get her and they were better than him at one thing, the one thing Joss loved and he was crap at - Surfing. Logan had done some surfing before the school put him with a group that was already a few days in to their lessons, he could get to his knees no problem, it was standing that he found very difficult. Logan was now more determined to learn how to surf than ever, he was going to win the competition that was being held the day before the party on the beach and he had only one more day left. It wasn’t enough time. His solution was to practise alone at night and there was to be a full moon tonight so he’d have plenty of light.Pulling the zip up on his wetsuit Logan slipped in to the water, the light from the moon reflected on the waves giving the water an eerie silvery glow. Two things would now put Logan’s life at risk, the first was his single mindedness and the second was his complete lack of knowledge about the currents and tides. Logan made up his mind that his only chance of surviving was to head for the rocks and climb his way out and back to safety.Clay Norton was a top Australian surfer and he finds Logan and helps him to surf, the problem is that Clay doesn’t turn out to be the man Logan thinks he is. Views: 621
