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A Hole in the Pavement

Every morning, Norris watches his goddess walk to the bus stop in front of him, the gap between them far wider than the physical distance. This morning, she stumbles. He wants to help her, but finds himself stuck in a hole that appeared along with his self doubt. Can he find his heroic self before she walks away? Find out in this heart-warming,humorous and profound magical realism short story.Every morning, Norris watches his goddess walk to the bus stop in front of him, the gap between them far wider than the physical distance. This morning, she stumbles. He wants to run and help her, but finds himself stuck in a hole that appeared along with his self doubt. By the time he gets out, she’s long gone. He vows that if it happens again, he won’t hesitate, but when she falls the next day, he has more than just his own hole to deal with. Can he find his heroic self before she walks away? This heart warming, humorous and profound magical realism short story (5000 words) is a readers’ favourite from ‘A Matter of Perception,’ a collection of short stories by Tahlia Newland.
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The Gold Girl

James B. Hendryx (1880-1963) was the author of more than 50 novels and anthologies, and wrote hundreds of stories. And Hendryx wrote what he knew, spending time in Alaska, Canada, and the Wyoming badlands. But he’s best known for his characters set around the outlaw community of Halfaday Creek in the Yukon. Set during the Gold Rush of the late 1890s, Hendryx penned over a hundred stories featuring these characters over the span of 25 years for magazines such as West, Dime Western, New Western, Argosy, and the primary home for the Halfaday Creek series, Short Stories.
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An Amish Christmas Journey

Their Holiday AdventureToby Yoder promised to care for his orphaned little sister the rest of her life. After all, the tragedy that took their parents and left her injured was his fault. Now he must make a three-hundred-mile trip from the hospital to the Amish community where they’ll settle down. But as they share a hired van with pretty Greta Barkman, an Amish woman with a similar harrowing past, Toby can’t bear for the trip to end. Suddenly, there’s joy, a rescued cat named Christmas and hope for their journey to continue together forever.Brides of Amish Country: Finding true love in the land of the Plain People
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Rocket Science

In ROCKET SCIENCE, Jay Lake's first novel, Vernon Dunham's friend Floyd Bellamy has returned to Augusta, Kansas after serving in World War II, but he hasn't come back empty-handed: he's stolen a super-secret aircraft right from under the Germans. Vernon doesn't think it's your ordinary run-of-the-mill aircraft. For one thing, it's been buried under the Arctic ice for hundreds of years. When it actually starts talking to him, he realizes it doesn't belong in Kansas-or anywhere on Earth. The problem is, a lot of folks know about the ship and are out to get it, including the Nazis, the U.S. Army-and that's just for starters. Vernon has to figure out how to communicate with the ship and unravel its secrets before everyone catches up with him. If he ends up dead, and the ship falls into the wrong hands, it won't take a rocket scientist to predict the fate of humanity.
Views: 229

Santa's Twin

A contemporary Christmas classic for children of all ages -- including those who pretend to have grown up! Charlotte and Emily are determined to save Santa from his mischievous twin -- Bob Claus -- who has not only stolen Santa's sleigh and stuffed his toy bag full of mud pies, cat poop, and broccoli, but has also threatened to turn Donner, Blitzen, and the others into reindeer soup! How the brave but foolhardy sisters fly to the North Pole and rescue Santa from his "deeply troubled" twin is an utterly charming and unforgettable story sure to add sparkle to your holiday season. Read it aloud, preferably to someone you love to hear laugh! This perennial yuletide favorite was written by bestselling novelist Dean Koontz in 1996 at the request of his fans and has been pleasing readers every holiday season since. Winner of an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition while he was just a senior in college, Koontz today is a world-famous author whose books have been published in thirty-eight different languages and have sold more than three hundred million copies. Lavishly illustrated with spectacular paintings by Phil Parks, this thoroughly modern masterpiece breathes new life and warmth into the world's most beloved legend.
Views: 229

Recall Night

The next chapter in the Eli Carver Supernatural Thriller series from award-winning author Alan Baxter. Back from self-imposed exile in Canada where he fled to avoid the law following the blood-stained events in Manifest Recall–the first installment of award-winning author Alan Baxter's latest supernatural thriller series–Eli Carver returns to the states with thoughts of starting over. But an accidental encounter on a train with a mysterious woman, one he soon learns has her own dangerous past, threatens to unravel his well-intended plans.Upon their arrival in New York, the duo quickly find themselves entangled in an ongoing war between two rival crime syndicates. And with the ghosts of his own past continuing to torment him, Eli finds himself taking the darkest of turns as he's drawn down a perilous path into a world of ancient religion and deadly occult rituals. Praise for Alan Baxter's Ghost Recall and the...
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Outcasts in Time

Join David and his friends and family for the next installment in the After Cilmeri series! Last we heard from David, he'd allowed George to abduct him at the behest of the CIA, for the stated purpose of forcing him to time travel between Earth Two and Avalon. Meanwhile, Lili and the refugees from Paris were floating down the River Seine, making for the English Channel. And King Philippe was blithely reconstituting his government, unaware that the battle of wills between him and David hadn't really ended the way he thought. And that, in fact, it hadn't even ended. David and his companions have pulled off the heist of the millennium. But as David encounters the unexpected in Avalon, and Lili and the refugees face danger at every bend in the river, they must face the hard truth that the best laid plans go awry at the moment of contact with the enemy. And nobody ends up exactly where they intended, either in place ... or in time. Outcasts in Time follows...
Views: 229

Steppe

Thrust naked and helpless at the moment of his death into a world he thinks is hell, a Turkish warrior chieftain discovers that this world, which is a strange recreation of his own, is inhabited by a race of humans known as Galactics. Reissue.
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Shadows Have Offended

An original novel based on the acclaimed Star Trek TV series! The USS Enterprise has been granted the simple but unavoidable honor of ferrying key guests to Betazed for a cultural ceremony. En route, sudden tragedy strikes a Federation science station on the isolated planet Kota, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard has no qualms sending William Riker, Data, and Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher to investigate. But what begins as routine assignments for the two parties soon descends into chaos: Picard, Worf, and Deanna Troi must grapple with a dangerous diplomatic crisis as historic artifacts are stolen in the middle of a high-profile ceremony...while nothing is as it seems on Kota. A mounting medical emergency coupled with the science station's failing technology—and no hope of rescue—has Doctor Crusher racing against time to solve a disturbing mystery threatening the lives of all her colleagues.... ™, ®, & © 2021 CBS...
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The Thief of Always

Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful rounds of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied... There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood's wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. It is only when the House shows it's darker face -- when Harvey discovers the pitiful creatures that dwell in its shadows -- that he comes to doubt Mr. Hood's philanthropy. The House and its mysterious architect are not about to release their captive without a battle, however. Mr. Hood has ambitious for his new guest, for Harvey's soul burns brighter than any soul he has encountered in a thousand years...
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Ella and Ash

Three years after her mother's death, Ella is left with an absent father, a cruel stepmother, and a magical pendant so powerful she must keep it hidden. The pendant is the only connection Ella has with her mother, and she will do anything to protect it—even if it means becoming a servant in her own home.To escape her wicked stepfamily, Ella finds solace under the branches of the weeping willow beside her mother's grave. Ella thought she could practice her magic there in secret, but when she is caught by Ashwin, the son of the richest lord in the county, Ella fears she may lose her pendant after all.Ashwin gains Ella's trust by promising not to tell anyone about the pendant, but Ella knows they are from different worlds, and she is reluctant to open up to him too much. When Ashwin invites Ella to a masquerade ball, she sees it as a chance to escape her life, even if it is for just one night.But her pendant isn't the only secret Ella has been keeping. If Ashwin learns who she really is, will the truth ruin her chance of happiness with him, or will it set her free?Find out in this sweet and magical re-imagining of Cinderella.
Views: 228