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Elain Pardie thought being mated to three wolf shifters was the best thing that ever happened to her despite its toll on her nerves. As her adopted family grows, however, so do her troubles. And unexpected guests before her wedding bring answers, and even more questions, about her past.
Ain, Brodey, and Cail Lyall never expected to find their One, the woman to complete them. Now that they have, it turns out they have more in common with her than they thought. Despite their claim on her body and heart, it looks like they’ll have the fight of their life to hold on to her.
Elain’s life has gotten crazier than she ever thought it could between dealing with revelations and wedding plans. The distant past is catching up with them, and now it’s up to Elain and her three mates to stand up to a ruthless man bent on revenge. Views: 633
Discover the origins of Durzo Blint in this original novella set in the world of Brent Weeks' New York Times bestselling Night Angel trilogy.
"I got a bit of prophecy," the old assassin said. "Not enough to be useful, you know. Just glimpses. My wife dead, things like that to keep me up late at night. I had this vision that I was going to be killed by forty men, all at once. But now that you're here, I see they're all you. Durzo Blint."
Durzo Blint? Gaelan had never even heard the name.
Gaelan Starfire is a farmer, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He's also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he's worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity, and all too often he's become a hero, his very names passing into legend: Acaelus Thorne, Yric the Black, Hrothan Steelbender, Tal Drakkan, Rebus Nimble.
But when Gaelan must take a job hunting down the world's finest assassins for the beautiful courtesan-and-crimelord Gwinvere Kirena, what he finds may destroy everything he's ever believed in.
Word count: ~17,000 Views: 632
Marina had So Much To Tell You. Now it's Lisa's turn.
While writing in a journal for class, Lisa gradually reveals her own personal feelings and concerns, while describing relationships with and problems of other girls at her boarding school. Views: 632
30 CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES GOOD TO THE LAST LINEThe McGuffin has long been a staple tool in any crime and mystery writer's arsenal. A perfectly placed last line of a short story can pull together subtle plot threads into a devastating dénouement or give everything that came before it a brand-new meaning, sometimes even reshaping the story entirely for the reader. Joe Gores and Bill Pronzini, two of the most talented mystery writers of the 20th century, joined forces to assemble the very best McGuffin stories by such celebrated authors as Anthony Boucher, Harlan Ellison, Joe L. Hensley, Edward D. Hoch, John Lutz, John D. MacDonald, and Donald E. Westlake. They, along with 24 more authors, have created some of the very best mystery stories that often save their best twists for the very last line... Views: 632
In twenty-two stories of amazing range and variety, Ray Bradbury once again works his special magic, sounding out life's mysteries in the past, present, and the future.
Stories:
A Piece of Wood (1952)
A Story of Love (1976) variant of These Things Happen (1951)
Darling Adolf (1976)
Drink Entire: Against the Madness of Crowds (1976)
Forever and the Earth (1950)
G.B.S. - Mark V • (1976)
Getting Through Sunday Somehow (1962)
Have I Got a Chocolate Bar for You! (1973)
Interval in Sunlight (1954)
Long After Midnight (1963)
One Timeless Spring (1946)
Punishment Without Crime (1950)
The Better Part of Wisdom (1976)
The Blue Bottle (1950)
The Burning Man(1975)
The Messiah (1973)
The Miracles of Jamie (1946)
The October Game (1948)
The Parrot Who Met Papa(1972)
The Pumpernickel (1951)
The Utterly Perfect Murder (1971)
The Wish (1973) Views: 632
Stan is called out to Possum Kingdom Lake in central Texas where two boy scouts have driven off a cliff in a jeep. The driver, Steven Caldwell, survives unscathed but the passenger dies. It appears to be just another tragic auto accident until the sheriff discovers Steven and the victim were in love with the same girl. When Steven is charged with murder he asks Stan to defend him, but Stan is reluctant to do so because Steven claims he ran off the road when he saw a spacecraft hovering overhead. In order to prove Steven's innocence he'd have to prove that aliens had visited Possum Kingdom Lake!ReviewWilliam Manchee's Cactus Island: A Stan Turner Mystery is one legal thriller that will have you scratching your heads, even if you don't believe in extra-terrestrial life. How do you defend someone who insists that they saw a space ship that caused them to lose control of his jeep, plunging over a hill and resulting in the death of a friend who had been a passenger in the vehicle? The driver, Steven Caldwell, who survives the accident, is accused of murder for reckless driving and the incriminating evidence slowly builds up, particularly when the sheriff discovers that the two friends were in love with the same girl. Attorney Stan Turner initially refuses to defend Caldwell on the grounds that this could make him the laughing stock of the legal community. On the other hand, if he succeeds, he would be considered a brilliant litigator. Eventually, Turner gives in and takes on the case, while continually grumbling that every time he thinks he has it under control strange things happen. In addition to our murder trial, Manchee cleverly interweaves another mystery- one involving a divorce between Cheryl Windsor and her husband Martin, who mysteriously has disappeared along with one of the his employees- a manager at one of his hotels. This one is handled by Turner's partner Paula Waters, who is troubled that her client, Cheryl Windsor, seems to be having convenient lapses of memory as the district attorney gathers a great deal of damning evidence against her. Could she have something to do with her husband's disappearance? When Waters tries to find out more about Martin Windsor, she comes to the conclusion that he may have intentionally disappeared in order to avoid his assets being divided by the divorce court. In fact, he made sure all of his assets disappeared along with him and moreover he seems to have been involved with off-shore bank accounts. What eventually is exposed is that although the two mysteries seem to be miles apart, they are very much interconnected, particularly when we are clued in that Martin Windsor, an immigrant from Hungary, seems not to have left any records evidencing his existence in the USA. Who is Martin Windsor and where did he come from now becomes of prime importance? Manchee provides his readers with a dexterously plotted tale that ties everything together with a surprise ending. And even if you don't believe in space ships and aliens, you have to admit that this would make great courtroom drama- if it actually happened! --Norman Goldman, Bookpleasures.comWith Cactus Island William Manchee offers another riveting tale in his ongoing Stan Turner series. The reader is hooked immediately from the Cactus Island first line in this gripping, keenly portrayed story theme. The narrative is told in the first person, chapter by chapter by Stan and law partner Paula Waters. Initially I had a little problem deciding who was talking, but I soon had that figured out and zipped right into the story. Transitions are handled well, I wondered how Manchee could pull plot and sub plot together in a believable manner, and found that Manchee has done it again with wit and adroit writing. As always Manchee s characters are uncontrived, well portrayed and plausible. I have found with Manchee s character there is no middle ground, we really like the likeable, and really despise those deserving our aversion. Colloquy flows naturally as the characters work to unravel problems. The plot zenith and outcome are handled with usual Manchee aplomb. I have no problem believing that Stan would have dealt with the situations he faced in Cactus Island precisely as is drafted by author Manchee. Writer Manchee has set together another great milieu of engaging, convincing characters, predicaments and blunders. The tale Manchee weaves in Cactus Island brings us another great romp with full time lawyer part time sleuth Stan Turner and his law partner Paula Waters. With the character Doc Verner and his insistence that aliens have landed on Cactus Island, Manchee has added a little plot twist to titillate and surprise the reader. Cactus Island is a well-written tale filled with many of the characters we have come to enjoy from the first works in this ongoing series. The Turner children are now nearly grown up we see Stan, Rebekah and their family much as our own. And that is in part what makes this series so engaging. --Molly Martin Reviews"Cactus Island" is part of the "Stan Turner Mystery" series. It was the first one that I have read in this series. I enjoyed it so much; I am looking forward to going back and catching up on the other ones. It starts out as a suspenseful mystery. I can't say murder mystery because in one case, the death is suspicious and in the other case, we aren't sure if the person is actually dead or has just disappeared. Stan and his partner Paula are both defense attorneys on cases that initially appear dissimilar, however, as the plot thickens it is discovered that there is a connection between the two. By the end of the story, they are totally intertwined. The plot also evolves from a mystery to a science fiction tale. I absolutely loved this twist in the story. It made it much more fun to read. The characters are well developed and each has their own personal issues to deal with. This makes the novel seem more real to you because it adds more dimension to the drama that is occurring within the plot. Because it is a series, they also already have their relationships established and seem very comfortable within their roles. Mr. Manchee has a gift of leading you to a thought about what is happening in the story, then acknowledging it, and then adding suspense that takes you off in a different direction. This was great. I would finally think I figured things out, and then realize that I wasn't even close. Then with the sci-fi angle, it really changed things. Reading "Cactus Island" is definitely like riding a rollercoaster and it is all fun! I did get a few goose bumps along the way. If you like straight up, non-paranormal fiction, this book is not for you. However, if you like shows like X-Files and books with paranormal or science fiction elements, read "Cactus Island," and you will be in heaven! I sure was. --Reader Views From the PublisherCactus Island is book seven of the Stan Turner Mystery series featuring legal sleuths Stan Turner and Paula Waters. It marks a turning point in the series as Stan's involvement with the CIA intensifies as he is enlisted to help them keep a dark and ghastly secret that, if revealed, could cause widespread panic and outrage. To further complicate matters, Stan suffers a tragic personal loss in this episode that will have a dramatic impact on future books in the series. Finally, a new series will be spun off from the final chapter of the novel---but that's all we can tell you for now. Views: 632
This is short story that takes place ten months before the events of "Hounded", the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles, coming 2011 from Del Rey.
Use download button below or click * here * . Views: 632
The witty sequel to Frederik Pohl's & C. M. Kornbluth's legendary science fiction classic The Space Merchants, written 30 years later.
Great advertising agencies still dominate the world and control all governments and every aspect of human behavior. When a handful of renegades on Venus zealously opposes the so-called “benefits” of the hucksters’’ paradise, it seems inevitable that the all-powerful account executives of Earth will stop at nothing, not even war, to force the rebels to submit.
But the Veenies have a plan…. Views: 632
Princess Millie and her fiancé, Audun, are busy preparing for their wedding when trouble starts brewing in Greater Greensward. Millie's baby brother, Felix, has been kidnapped and is trapped in a swamp full of other frogs. With all the adults busy fixing problems elsewhere in the kingdom, it's up to Millie and Audun to find him—but they need all the help they can get to fight the family's oldest nemesis, the angry wizard Olebald. From the deep blue sea to the soaring skies, our two heroes will stop at nothing to get their families back together and banish all the troublemakers for good.
E. D. Baker brings out all our favorite characters for this funny and ferocious finale to Tales of the Frog Princess, the best-selling series that inspired Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Views: 632
Upon his mother's death, fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips is sent to live with an eccentric uncle he had never met in a remote manor house, where he learns that his family suffers from a curse that allows him to make plants grow on command and dragon eggs hatch. Views: 632
Four short stories set in the same universe which are the beginnings of a larger tapestry of interwoven stories.Four short stories set in the same universe which are the beginnings of a larger tapestry of interwoven stories.Terosan Prime is a planet-spanning city that sits at the heart of the Terosan Galactic Republic. A democratic power that spans numerous star systems with majority control of their galaxy. Their power is only rivaled by the large consortium of corporate planest who are collectively known as Kyopix. The latter were once wealthy Terosan merchants but broke away to form their own “civilization” with a set of rules that's less restrictive. Trade between the two is prosperous and the hostility is mostly confined to heated negotiations.The gaps between these two powers is full of independent star systems; they are the unconquered, the resistive, the destroyed, or the unknown. Living free but sandwiched between two super-powers does not make for easy living.This is a universe of empires, computer hackers, gamblers, merchants, nomads, killers and faster-than-light travel.Stories in this volume: "Deck 20", "Fallen Gods of Cheam", "The Pirate Queen", "Gnir's Raid". Views: 632
Katharine Kerr's richly imagined cycle of novels set in Deverry and the Westlands has earned a devoted following--and a reputation as the finest Celtic fantasy being written today. Now she returns to Deverry's war-ravaged past....
In a kingdom torn by civil war, young Lillorigga seeks to shield her dawning powers from her cruel mother Merodda's manipulation. Mistress of a magic that, untamed, could kill her, Lilli brings her terrifying visions under the kindlier tutelage of the mysterious dweomermaster, Nevyn. But soon she must choose between her own clan and the true king who fights to claim his rightful throne, between sanctuary and blood feud, loyalty and love. Little does she dream that the slaughter she invites, and the malevolence she defies, could stalk her across the ages...twisting and twining the strands of timeless destinies.
From the Paperback edition. Views: 632
Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood, this genre-bending page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux follows two girls who transport themselves into the world of their favorite book only to encounter the sinister alternate reality that awaits them. No matter how different best friends Adelle and Connie are, one thing they've always had in common is their love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. So when the girls are tempted by a mysterious man to enter the world of the book, they hardly suspect it will work. But suddenly they are in the world of Moira, living among characters they've obsessed about for years. Except...all is not how they remembered it. The world has been turned upside down: The lavish balls and star-crossed love affairs are now interlaced with unspeakable horrors. The girls realize that something dark is lurking behind their foray into fiction—and they will have to rewrite their own arcs... Views: 632
Released just before the March 2013 feature film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, this new edition is updated through The Last Olympian, and includes several brand new essays!
The #1 New York Times bestselling Percy Jackson series—The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian—features a dyslexic boy who discovers he is the son of a Greek god, the target of mythical Greek monsters, and the center of a prophecy that could change the balance of power in the world forever. In Demigods and Monsters, YA authors take on the series' Greek gods, demigods, monsters, and prophecy, to add insight and even more fun to Riordan’s page-turner series.
The book also includes an introduction by Percy Jackson series author Rick Riordan that gives further insight into the series and its creation, and a glossary of ancient Greek myth, with plenty of information on the places, monsters, gods, and heroes that appear in the series. Views: 632
