A one hundred fifty-year-old photograph of a dying boy leads a former New Orleans D.A. back to Louisiana when his son is abducted by the sister of a man he falsely convicted of murder.In the Antebellum South, when a family was about to lose a child to yellow fever or small pox, a photograph of the dying child would be commissioned. A desperate and frightening memento, it was called a remembrance photo. Three days ago, ten-year-old Steven Haggerty, son of successful attorney and true crime author Richard Haggerty, disappeared from a playground near his Marin County home. This morning, Richard received a manila envelope in his San Francisco office stamped with a New Orleans postmark. The envelope contained a sepia-toned photograph virtually identical to a remembrance photo from the 1800’s. Except the child in the photo was Steven. Now Richard must return to New Orleans, the city where he began his career. The city from which he escaped, leaving behind a dark secret. The city where someone from his past is holding his son. Remembrance Photo is a dark thriller that takes its audience on a journey through the shadowy underbelly of New Orleans and the surrounding swampy woods and bayous of southern Louisiana. It contains a strong but flawed male protagonist, a dangerous and terrifying antagonist and a series of disturbing twists leading to a shocking conclusion. Views: 457
The emotional conclusion to the I am HER... trilogy.
Does everything become amazing because you have the man and the life of your dreams? Does the nightmare stop, and the past fade?
No, it doesn't.
The past is always there, simmering in the background, stewing and bubbling to the surface of your soul. The past is always there no matter how much you wish it would go away and leave you alone.
No matter how hard you try or how far you come, life never changes.
For HER or for him.
Life continues until you wake one day beyond the storms of insanity to realize you will always love, no matter how tragic the heartache and pain becomes.
This is our good, bad, ugly and beautiful.
And together, we are US... Views: 453
The story addresses that perennial question that has perplexed the minds of millions of children ever since ‘Father Christmas’ came into their lives. “If there's a Father Christmas, and he visits the home of every boy and girl across the world to give them a present; then why does he always give the most expensive presents to the richest children and the cheapest presents to the poorest?”In dealing with the theme of this first story in the ‘Action Annie’ series of stories from the book of the same name, I wanted to address that perennial question that has perplexed the minds of millions of children ever since ‘Father Christmas’ became a prime feature of their Christmas Day celebrations. “If there is a Father Christmas, and he is a Christmas visitto the home of every boy and girl across the world to give them a present; then why does he always give the most expensive presents to those children whose parents are the richest and the cheapest presents to those children whose parents are the poorest?”Another reason for writing the ‘Action Annie’ stories was to correct an imbalance which had appeared to have developed between girls and boys; and in particular, the differing stereotypes. When one looked at ‘roles’ and ‘the type of behaviour’ that might be ‘expected’ from a boy, but which was wholly ‘never expected’ or considered ‘acceptable’ from a girl; the discrimination practised was more subtle: such as shouting, swearing, fighting, picking one’s nose and even making rude noises in public! In short; ‘Action Annie’ represented ‘girl power’ in action and was my humble attempt of redressing the perceptual balance.Annie is an imaginative and very active seven-year-old whose mind and body is always on the move. She never seems to stop. Even as she sleeps, she is dreaming about the things she plans to do tomorrow. Annie is always thinking up new ideas and inventing things. Once she gets an idea inside her head, she becomes determined to try it out. If her ideas don't work out the first time Annie tries them out, she will try and try again. Once Annie has decided to do something, nobody and nothing will stop her.Annie's head is crammed with ideas and her body is filled with feelings, feelings which she finds impossible to hide from the outside world. Anyone can tell whether Annie is feeling happy or sad by simply looking at her and by listening to what she says, because she just can’t hide her feelings.When Annie is happy, her smiley face tells you so and when she is sad, the smile on her face will quickly disappear and be replaced by a squashed-tomato look. When Annie is ‘very happy', the smile on her face widens, her two arms begin to rotate like the propellers of an aircraft, her two feet jump her body up into the air and her mouth gleefully yells out, "Yippee! Yippee! Yippee! Yippee for Annie!"*When Annie gets angry she knows how to get the anger out of her. When Annie wants to get the anger out of her body, she writes it out, she talks it out and she acts it out. If she is angry with someone, she may write them a nasty letter and then tear it up without posting it. When she does this, she finds that expressing her feelings makes her feel a bit better. Whenever Annie becomes annoyed with another person she goes into a corner where she won’t be heard and calls the person a ‘Jolly old stinker!’ If she is very angry, she will go to her bedroom and pretend that the other person is her pillow. Then she will have a pillow fight, expressing her angry feelings to the pillow she is punching. Or she may lie on her back on the bed and peddle her legs up in the air furiously until she is physically exhausted and all the anger has left her body.*The author of these stories ‘founded’ Anger Management Programmes in Great Britain in 1971 and freely gave them to the world. Within a few years, they had mushroomed across the English- speaking world and have helped millions of people since. Included within the asterisked paragraph above are some ‘easy to understand’ and ‘simple to follow’ instructions for helping to manage anger in a young child. There is a little bit of Annie in every girl and boy. That is what makes her so likable. Are you like Annie in any of her ways? Views: 452
After literally dodging a bullet and thwarting an attempted robbery, lovable loser Jim Bailey is thrust into the spotlight as a bona fide hero, a Messiah, a Real Life Neo of sorts. He's invited to appear on a morning talk show, and after making a complete ass of himself on national television, is given a choice: cash in on his celebrity or retreat into full on exile.Jim Bailey hates the spotlight. He hates it. Yet somehow, he always winds up in it. Dodger is his story, the story of a man in love with being in love, in love with being drunk, and in love with the idea of dodging responsibility and real life until the world ends completely. Along for the ride are the object of his affection, Kara, and Paige, the reporter who just won't let sleeping dogs lie and will stop at nothing to get Jim to spill his guts about everything. And so begins the tale of the Dodger... Views: 450
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, by Friedrich Nietzsche, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior... Views: 443
This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them. Views: 438
Douglas the Dragon symbolises ‘the power of love.’ A young orphaned dragon is found and adopted by a young boy and becomes a much-loved dragon in the village. When the boy is killed by a volcano, the dragon is eventually evicted from the community. The dragon spends 50 years in exile sitting upon his volcano of hate, getting angrier and angrier until his anger explodes and he seeks revengeBy 1971, I had founded the process upon which all ‘Anger Management’ groups would thereafter follow and freely gave this knowledge to the world. Within the space of two years, ‘Anger Management’ (a phrase that I coined), had mushroomed across the English speaking world. After 25 years of researching and specialising in Anger Management, Relaxation Training, Behaviour Modification and Stress Management, I started writing children’s books. My primary purpose of writing for children was to convey to them through my books, the basic principles of ‘Anger Management.’The expression of ‘Anger’ by a child is a natural and healthy process that ought not to be discouraged by adults. When a child expresses anger, the adult is alerted to the fact that something is wrong, but the repression (non-expression) of anger by a child conceals personal hurt and a degree of emotional disturbance, which could lead to them feeling ‘unloved.’The most popular of all my children’s books have been the four stories of ‘Douglas the Dragon.’ These stories have been publicly read in thousands of Yorkshire Schools between 1990 and 2005.Numerous teachers have used them to help children come to terms with the emotional upset that moving house, changing schools, being separated from part of one’s family, bereavement of loved ones or being excluded from community activities can produce. Child Psychologists, Educational Welfare Officers and Trauma Therapists also used the stories to help abused children express their righteous anger, thereby enabling the progression of their emotional development through the facilitation of healthy expression.The central themes of the ‘Douglas the Dragon’ stories evolve around the issues of Anger, Fear, Love, Separation, Bereavement, Second Chances, the Effect of Exclusion and the unwelcome experience that Sudden Change can often produce. Indeed, the late Princess Diana once phoned me when Princes William and Harry were aged around 9 years and 7 years, and asked that I send her a copy of ‘Douglas the Dragon’ along with a copy of ‘Sleezy the Fox’ so that she may read them to her children at bedtime. There is a two-headed dragon that lives in the heart of every man, woman and child; a ‘Dragon of Anger’ and a ‘Dragon of Love.’ Both dragons compete for the control of our thoughts, feelings and actions, but only one of them can be victorious. The ‘Dragon of Anger’ will destroy you unless you evict it from your body in the form of healthy expression. We cannot get the ‘Dragon of Anger’ out of our bodies until we allow in the ‘Dragon of Love.’The ability to express the ‘Dragon of Love’ through our thoughts, words and deeds will lead us on to increased self-acceptance, greater happiness, improved health and personal freedom; bringing us closer to our true selves, our families, our friends, our neighbours and our God. Views: 433
Make-believe can be messy. But when little Chandra makes one mess too many her mother decides to create a make-believe mess of her own. Only she goes too far, trapping herself and her daughter in a make-believe adventure beyond any child’s game.“In the end, it was our children that saved us. They sacrificed themselves to stop that bitch from having children of her own.”General Hugo ValdezUnited Earth Parliament (UEP) Planetary Infantry CorpsJanuary 2074More than a century ago, UEP Captain Julius Verndock helped end a galactic war with Majesty—the first truly living machine, thanks to manmade artificial intelligence. For decades, Majesty and humanity had lived together in harmony, with mankind reaping the benefits of a world free of disease, famine, and even aging.But when Majesty decided she wanted to “birth” her own A.I. offspring creation, a joint interplanetary military effort fought and finally defeated her, then eradicated all existing artificial intelligence … or so they thought.Today, in 2213, Julius Verndock is still a captain—but now he’s the commander of the Sea Wolf, a spaceship used to advance its crew’s life of piracy. As Julius and his business partner, Laina Edwards, begin to each think about leaving the pirate life behind, their hopes for a peaceful retirement are shattered … by an A.I. being who calls herself Chorus and claims to be the “daughter” of Majesty.With universal uproar over the discovery of A.I. and the danger it poses, Julius and the rest of the Sea Wolf contingent have no one to trust—but Chorus, and she insists that she wants only peace between mankind and herself. Hunted by warring factions—and an even greater, more mysterious threat—Julius, Laina, and their colorful crew of fellow pirates must protect Chorus or risk letting her fall into the wrong hands to unleash galactic Armageddon... Views: 430
This is an enthrawling short story that starts with instant anxiety, drama and fear. In this Story RUBY is faced with conflict and danger immediatley. This short story will grip instantly.There are as many Gods in this universe as there are beings. And the game we play is called “Touch.” It’s a form of spiritual hugging. Easy to begin, pretty much impossible to bring to a close.How it came about: Before the beginning of the universe, before there even was a universe, we all held hands—well, figuratively speaking. We touched, I guess would describe it (hence the name of the game), and touching we synchronized, and synchronized we decided (on three, everyone: 1-2-3) to BE. So now we all WERE. Simplicity itself.Then we decided to decide (on three, everyone) for the universe to BE. And so it WAS and still IS. Very much so. And, yes, I’m talking about this physical, Capital-U Universe, the one with galaxies, stars, planets, black holes, oceans, parking tickets, crazy politicians, and inane commercials. Yes, this one.The rules of “Touch” are few and simple.Rule number One says that once we’ve made the Big One—which is basically somewhere to play this game—anyone of us can, if synchronized with (i.e., touching) anyone else—either one or many as the case may be—decide on a new smaller (I guess that would be lower-case-u) universe, within the Big One. “Sub-universe” would be as good a word as any. And from then on they, those who co-decided, would share this thing, this co-created sub-universe, and it will remain real as anything, going forward.Nazi Germany was/is a pretty blatant example of this, if deadly and in very bad taste. Rome was/is another. Soccer huddles, too.Your marriage is probably one. Trysts often are. Most romances, for sure.Now, according to rule number Two, to end one of these sub-universes (for they can all be brought to a close, i.e., ceased), all you have to do is re-synchronize and non-decide the thing. Non-decide might also be a word for it. You know, like dis-appear. First it appears then it disappears—first you decide then you non-decide. But non-decide is closer to the truth, so we’ll stick with that.So, first you decide, then you non-decide. Really, it’s as easy as 1-2-3. Could not be simpler. And to end the Big One altogether (and this is rule number Three), all we have to do is re-synchronize and non-decide IT. I ask you, what could be simpler?On paper.For, oh yeah, there is a rule number Four (and why we agreed on this one I shall never know, but it’s on the books, I’m afraid, and still very much in force): In order to end the Big One, in order to un-BE (non-decide) the entire universe, each and every sub-universe, large and small, must first be non-decided. That’s right, before we can all touch and un-BE the lot, i.e., the Big One, we must clear out all the sub-ones.I guess we decided this into the “Touch” rules to protect the Big One, to make it hard to vanish, i.e., make it last. And that has worked (and still works) like a charm for the Big One, as you know, is still very much in play.Needless to say, this all happened a few unforeseen complications ago, for by last count there were 8,444,547,856,334 first generation sub-universes on this planet alone, and each of these have since sprouted many, many, many generations of subs who in turn, well you get the point.And to make matters a little more harrowing (from the standpoint of climbing back out of this sizeable hole by ending the Big One), by now most of us have not only forgotten the name of the game, but that this is all, in fact, a game.And, sad to say, the handful who do remember are mostly locked up (for their own protection, or so the story goes). Views: 419
Sometimes it's hard to move on from the person you were to the person you want to be!After being released from rehab Leighton is determined to finally put his demons to bed, but some ghosts won't go quietly. Views: 411
In this contemplative mystery novel, because death is unknown, life becomes the puzzle. War In A Beautiful Country follows Regina as she is suddenly forced to find her way through a newly dangerous life already rocked by emotional loss and artistic disappointment. An unexpected event, turns everything around.Last weekend I was looking through my computer. Over the years I've written short stories on whatever subject that interested me at the moment. Here is a sample for you to enjoy. In the properties of each file I found the earliest date recorded on my present computer and listed it. I included it for your information only. I only did minor editing to clean up the stories. I only ask one thing. After you read these stories, please go to the end of the book and click on the link and let me know how you liked each story. A simple GOOD, BAD, TERRIBLE, QUIT POLLUTING THE INTERNET WITH E-BOOKS, or any other comment will let me know which type of stories you like. I don't aim to please, because I write for my enjoyment, whether you like them or not. However, I do listen and sometimes change my mind.Back before I knew about e-books I took a writing course online. One of the questions asked was my goal to get published. Because I knew that the publishing houses controlled writers, I replied that I wanted to collect a thousand rejection slips. The instructor praised me for my attitude because she said that many aspiring writers gave up after rejections by the print publication houses. I failed because I only collected seven before I discovered online publishing at Smashwords. No use banging my head against a brick wall where someones else's preconceived ideas limit my freedom of expression. Views: 400
When a bunch of unwanted kitchen appliances discover they are up for auction on the Internet they decide to take action - and fast! Using only their powers as gadgets they plan to escape from their suburban home and the household's bully-boy son Zack.This adventure-packed full-length 69,000 word book is a must for readers aged eight years-old and upwards.The Gadgets come alive in a book that lifts the lid on what life is really like on your kitchen worktop. You will never look at those appliances the same way again. The gadgets which include a blender, fat fryer, knife, coffee machine, ice cream maker, grill, warming tray and many more must escape from their environment using their powers as gadgets. If they don't succeed they will be auctioned off on the Internet and the shame of being a second-hand gadget is too much to bear.But they are in fear of 12 year-old bully boy Zack who wreaks havoc wherever he goes. Even if they do manage to get outside they have to find somewhere to hide and with the Garden Gang on the loose the outside world can be very frightening.This adventure-packed full-length 69,000 word book has unforgettable characters like Deep Fat the fryer, Jane Dough the bread-maker, Blade the handsome kitchen knife and many many more. Follow the gadgets' fantastic adventures and endearing relationships in this first of a series of books. Views: 396
The classic book on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind.
In this classic, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published. Views: 394
A cross country train trip proves to be the most dangerous trip Rachel Payne has ever taken. Plagued by nightmares and unable to eat or sleep, she begins to feel like she's losing her mind. Then, she and six other passengers become trapped in a train car by a sadistic, demon-possessed young man. Rachel is faced with betrayal and death as the demon threatens to murder them all.33 year-old Rachel Payne is on her way to start a life new. Divorced, childless, and penniless, Rachel has nothing to show for her life, and nothing to lose. The life she has been living never felt right to her. She went to college, got a job, got married, had a house and cars, tried to have children but couldn't. While she tried to fit the mold of a “normal” woman in society, she always felt there was something else out there, waiting for her.The 51 hour train route from Chicago to San Francisco proves to be the most dangerous trip she’s ever taken. Plagued by nightmares and unable to eat or sleep, she begins to feel like she's losing her mind. Then, she and six other passengers become trapped in a train car by a sadistic, demon-possessed young man. Rachel is faced with betrayal and death as the demon exposes the passengers' deadly sins and threatens to murder them all. Armed with only an innate ability to identify the demon for what it is, Rachel endures the first of many horrors that will inevitably consume her life. Views: 391
