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Back in the mid-90s the UK music scene was rocked by the mysterious disappearance of Richie Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers. Author Storm Constantine was intrigued by this story and found herself thinking ‘What if...?’ Thin Air is the novel that sprang from her ideas. While the characters in this book are not based upon any existing people, alive, dead or missing, the mystery was enough to inspire a story.
Dex is the front man of a successful band, and appears to have the perfect rock star life with his journalist partner, Jay. But Jay’s existence is shattered by Dex’s sudden disappearance. The mystery is never solved, and Dex is never found: alive or dead. Some years later, after Jay has got her life back together, strange events begin to unfold that suggest that Dex is still around. While it gradually becomes clear to Jay that there is more to the mystery than even she thought possible, malign forces begin to close in on her with the apparent intent of keeping the truth behind Dex’s disappearance forever hidden.
Jay can only follow the clues where they lead her, and that is into territory beyond normal human perception. In the bizarre town of Lestholme, she comes upon a community of the lost, people whose lives have been ruined by media attention, and it is in this surreal place that Jay must penetrate to the heart of the mystery, and discover what really happened to the man she loves, who vanished into thin air.
Capturing the ambience of the music scene of the 90s, Thin Air is one of Storm’s best-loved novels. Views: 418
Gir is very small for a giraffe, and when it looks like his baby brother is going to be a lot bigger than him, can Gir get over feeling insignificant?It is Christmas 1914. As Europe descends further into the Great War, Christopher Flyte is sent home in disgrace from his school. He returns to the sleepy English village of Alton. It is here that he meets the mysterious traveler, Bailey - a master storyteller who fills the boy's head with stories of King Arthur's time. The more Christopher hears, the more he suspects that Bailey's stories are more than just simple myths. Soon, Christoper is a pawn in a game that has been playing out for centuries.... Views: 418
My conversionStrange...Uncanny...Chilling...9
great stories of imagination and suspense from the world of tomorrow by
one of today's top science-fictioneers. Tiger by the Tail An ordinary black pocketbook turns out to be the threshold of an unknown and terrifying dimension... Nightmare Brother One man's torturous sleep was his only chance for survival in the the stars...Letter of the Law On a planet of con-men, an earth born swindler must lie for his life . . . Brightside Crossing On the sunward side of Mercury the temperature was 770 degrees--and a man could die more than once...Plus the following stories...ProblemThe Coffin CureThe Native SoilLove Thy VimpFamily Resemblance
Views: 418
A brand-new adventure set in the hugely popular A Natural History of Dragons universe – a delightful Victorian-esque fantasy. As the renowned granddaughter of Isabella Camherst (Lady Trent, of the riveting and daring Draconic adventure memoirs) Audrey Camherst has always known she, too, would want to make her scholarly mark upon a chosen field of study. When Lord Gleinleigh recruits Audrey to decipher a series of ancient tablets holding the secrets of the ancient Draconean civilization, she has no idea that her research will plunge her into an intricate conspiracy, one meant to incite rebellion and invoke war. Alongside dearest childhood friend and fellow archeologist Kudshayn, she must find proof of the conspiracy before it's too late. Views: 418
This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic 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 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: 418
How does a virgin lady let her steady date know she has determined to marry him? That's all I'll tell you. Click the blue below to see why. Here it suffices to say that the story is short and free. Why read a summary when with little more effort you can read the whole thing? If you can't spare a moment more, you shouldn't be wasting time reading fiction anyway. Go back to work!"One can not judge a book by its cover." So we are told. But a cover is usually the only thing a reader has to base a judgment on. Smashwords tries to aid readers by providing summaries, one short, one long, for each book it distributes. For non-fiction this works well. But this, it seems to me, defeats the whole purpose of fiction. After all, one reads a story to find out what will happen. It’s the uncommon twists and turns that make a story interesting. But if a summary has told all this beforehand, what fun is to be had in the reading? Therefore, no summary of the present short story is given. It's short and it’s free! So read the whole thing and see if you like it.I ask you to do this because I think it is the best book judging method. To find fiction you like you must first read around enough to learn something of the style and stories of different authors. Then you can judge books, not by their cover, but by the your opinion of the writer. I'd like to help you do this. The present short story is one of several which I will make available free at Smashwords. Read a few (or all of them) and decide if you like them. It won't cost you a dime. If you like them, you can then purchase some of my not free (but still inexpensive) longer stories.All these stories are of one particular kind. To reflect this similarity all have the same cover picture, the Kitty & Rose shown above. So after you’ve read a few, you can, in fact, judge them by their cover.The common theme of the Kitty & Rose stories is human sexuality. This is not unusual. Most fiction concerns sex in one way or another; ranging from romances so sedate and demure an extraterrestrial could never know sex is at the root of everything described, to erotica so unrestricted even an extraterrestrial might blush. Kitty & Rose stories are in the middle of this range. All deal with human sexuality, but none do so explicitly. Rather, they are seemly.The dictionary gives three meanings for seemly: Attractive or agreeably fashioned; Decorous or conventionally proper; and Appropriate or suited to its purpose.With respect to appropriateness, seemly sex stories range from the humorous to the inspirational, but all concern human sexuality. So they are clearly appropriate.These stories are also seemly in the decorous and conventionally proper sense. For, while they treat sex candidly, they do not do so graphically. There is nothing pornographic nor erotic in any seemly sex story. Of course, different persons’ opinions about this may differ. A few consider frank pornography decorous. At the opposite extreme are those like the abbot of the monastery where the great biologist Gregor Mendel did his epochal research. This abbot thought Mendel’s studies were decidedly indecorous because they involved the sex of pea plants!Finally, there is the principal sense of seemly, attractive and agreeably fashioned. Like every author I exert my every effort and ability trying to make these stories seemly in this regard. But like every author, I must await your determination of the degree of my success. Since both of us will be pleased if you find them attractively seemly, I very much hope you do.Happy reading!BobbyB P.S. This story is being uploaded on 2-14-2017, Valentine's Day! Fourteen more short stories will be uploaded, one each weekday. Then four longer stories will be offered for sale. Views: 417
A young woman rises from the streets to battle a sinister evil in this magical fantasy adventure by the bestselling author of the Darwath series. Something is amiss with the world's magic. Spells don't work the way they used to—when they work at all. Only the powers of the Crystal Mages remain as they were, powers founded on the use of the mystical element adamis, the harvesting of which has enslaved the peoples of the Twilight Lands. They need a hero. At the same time, ravenous beasts have begun to appear, legendary creatures that seem to be proof against any magic. And Clea Stylachos, granddaughter of a great sage of the Twilight people, has reason to fear that the Crystal Mages, instead of seeking to defeat these insanely destructive monsters, are attempting to weaponize them in their quest for power. Clea's only hope to save her people is a wizard who retains his power, one who will not betray her, either to the great merchant houses or to... Views: 417
Can an accountant defeat a supervillain? Celia West, only daughter of the heroic leaders of the superpowered Olympiad, has spent the past few years estranged from her parents and their high-powered lifestyle. She's had enough of masks and heroics, and wants only to live her own quiet life out from under the shadow of West Plaza and her rich and famous parents.
Then she is called into her boss' office and told that as the city's top forensic accountant, Celia is the best chance the prosecution has to catch notorious supervillain the Destructor for tax fraud. In the course of the trial, Celia's troubled past comes to light and family secrets are revealed as the rift between Celia and her parents grows deeper. Cut off from friends and family, Celia must come to terms with the fact that she might just be Commerce City's only hope.
This all-new and moving story of love, family, and sacrifice is an homage to Golden Age comics that no fan will want to miss. Views: 417
Out on the edge of civilization anything and everything can happen--especially when you're not ready for it.When Jenny, the chief mechanic for the Bonnie Belle hops off to work a deal with the local black market she ends up bargaining for more than just fresh fruit.This short story is an installment in the "Tales from the Edge" universe, joining two prior novels, IN THE BLACK and IN THE VOID.Mark's Mad Phonic Series is a set of graded readers helping children learn to read. The series starts from your child's first words and continues to reading fluency. This is Level 4 Book 2. This book is all about a very slow train!Practicing words with long a vowel sounds. Views: 417
After a peaceful hiatus at home in Rockabill, Jane True thinks that her worst problem is that she still throws like a girl - at least while throwing fireballs. Her peace of mind ends, however, when Anyan arrives one night with terrible news . . . news that will rock Jane's world to its very core. After demanding to help investigate a series of gruesome attacks on females -- supernatural, halfling, and human -- Jane quickly finds herself forced to confront her darkest nightmares as well as her deepest desires. And she's not sure which she finds more frightening. Views: 417
In a not-so-different future, an old zoo tended by a single janitor stands nearly empty and peaceful until a new intern arrives. He creates a few strange exhibits and shifts a paradigm or two in the process.Ryan warned that the things in the dead-end creek were in fact slimy, fetid, space alien freaks.And any kid dumb enough to approach their dark lair had better believe in the power of prayer. For underneath that calm surface of warm water and frog belly -waited sinister incarnate! Waited monster! Waited smelly! If that kid, so determined to make his way across, might step on some stones or some green fishy moss, or perchance he should slip and step into their sludge, then his boots, snared so tightly, would no longer budge. And no matter how hard that child strained, tugged or yanked, the Mud Gullumpers pulled harder and the boots slowly sank ‘til the child screamed in fear, and by clinging to rocks, freed his feet and ran home in his wet, soiled socks. Views: 417
The Great Drought is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by S. P. (Sterner St. Paul) Meek is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of S. P. (Sterner St. Paul) Meek then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 417
POLITICS ARE HELLKaylin wasn't sent to the West March to start a war. Her mission to bring back nine Barrani might do just that, though. She traveled with a Dragon, and her presence is perceived as an act of aggression in the extremely hostile world of Barrani-Dragon politics. Internal Barrani politics are no less deadly, and Kaylin has managed—barely—to help the rescued Barrani evade both death and captivity at the hands of the Consort.Before the unplanned "visit" to the West March, Kaylin invited the Consort to dinner. For obvious reasons, Kaylin wants to cancel dinner—forever. But the Consort is going to show up at the front door at the agreed upon time. The fact that she tried to imprison Kaylin's guests doesn't matter at all...to her.A private Barrani Hell, built of Shadow and malice, exists beneath the High Halls. It is the High Court's duty to jail the creature at its heart—even if it means that Barrani victims are locked... Views: 417
