Manners of the Age

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
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Some Day Days

Be careful what you wish for – wishes can come true, as Hugh Gallagher discovers when the girl of his dreams, the incomparable Selina Beri, comes seeking his expertise on a piece of technology she needs to understand for her last final exam. Can Hugh, the classic shy, geeky, university student, avoid making a fool of himself with the girl he's loved from afar? A romance set in the near future.(Ver 2 - 3 April 2016 updated version)Some Day Days is a novel of first love and friendship set in Oxford and Cambridge England. It reflects my taste for simplicity, understatement, humor, and clever writing (though that's a goal rather than a claim.) Raymond Chandler once wrote that there are two types of writers, writers who write stories and writers who write writing. I aspire to write writing. I started writing Some Day Days six years ago, and finished revising it this year, so this work spans my current writing phase.It is something of an experimental work, along the lines of Frankenstein. The original subtitle was a romance in an undetermined number of pieces of which this is the first twelve pieces. It began life as a novelette, to which I added a novella length sequel, and then, as my imagination raced ahead, I outlined a whole series of pieces until I had a memoir spanning four years. I use the word "pieces" to describe its parts because no one term describes them all. I have the original novelette, its longer sequel, several chapters of varying lengths, an essay, a gaming story and a ghost story, tied together as the memoir of Hugh Gallagher, a third year student reading Physics and Philosophy at Oxford University – let's say twenty years from now. It does, however, have a beginning, middle and an end, and thus, the essentials of a novel. The first piece, Kiss of the White Witch is a result of two challenges. The first arose in reading somewhere about a challenge to write a short story centered on the effects of a new technology in the future. I chose a device that records one's life in video as a "dynamic diary" or a "dyary". I wrote this before Google Glass, but after the first such limited devices were being talked about. The second challenge came from my dislike of stories that are told to the reader, rather than having the story play out on its own. Talk being cheap, it's easy to be a critic – so I decided to see if I could write a story that unfolds mostly in dialog. The result was Kiss of the White Witch.Several drafts later, I found myself wondering how I could bring the two characters together again, and eventually wrote a sequel, a novella called A Shattered Heart – the second piece in this work. I now had two pieces, both too short and too long for anything, leaving me no choice but to plow ahead and write more. Over the past six years I've written the ten other pieces that make up the rest of this work, which cover the first six months of the long romance I had dreamed up. One should never say never, so I won't. I am, however, unlikely, to write more pieces, so this is most likely a stand alone book. I considered adding an addenda outlining some of the subsequent events, but Hugh wouldn't stand for that, "It's my story to tell. Or not. I'll tell it my way, or not at all," (Artists! It seems that even a small literary effort sparks an artistic temperament!) Still, it is, after all, his story to tell. Or not. I've honored his wishes.Some Day Days – a little romance of first love set in the near future by the author of A Summer in Amber, is available at most fine ebook sellers. And coming late summer/early fall 2015 Planets of Call, a long space opera with a golden age of science fiction touch.
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Bog Man

A perfectly preserved pre-historic cadaver is discovered in the fens and brought to a Museum. For the new Director it should present a major opportunity but is it real? And if it is, how come the pre-historic ring it's wearing also bears the marks of a local shop. And where is the Museum's Head Electrician? If the Director doesn't find answers soon the unthinkable may happen. He may look an idiot.I promise, there isn’t a vampire or werewolf in sight.
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X: A Short Story

‘Don’t let me lose myself.’Fifteen-year-old X thinks she is going to die. Shacked up in the cellar of an old farmhouse, she starts a journal to document her last few days. Much less than a few days if the uglies manage to get in.X is a post-apocalyptic short story from Jack Croxall, author of Tethers.‘Don’t let me lose myself.’Fifteen-year-old X thinks she is going to die. Shacked up in the cellar of an old farmhouse, she starts a journal to document her last few days. Much less than a few days if the uglies manage to get in.X is a post-apocalyptic short story from Jack Croxall, author of Tethers.Praise for XA luminous, captivating tale perfect for giving you one of those reading "moments".– Liz Loves BooksI was left with a genuine shiver down my spine.– D.M. Cain, author of The Phoenix Project
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Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters; Or, Battling with Flames from the Air

Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters; Or, Battling with Flames from the Air By , Victor Appleton
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Ariel

This small tale takes you through a few people you meet in Annan's trilogy. Though it is centered around Ariel and Toshi's love, you get a feel more for other people vital to Annan's world and the SIA. Be warned, there is mermaid sex.Ariel is left to save her love, Toshi, after a failed spell leaves him helpless and stuck as something not human and not merman. Her need to save him brings her to the steps of a mythical being and gives readers a glimpse of what is happening at the SIA outside Annan's troubles. Enjoy a small visit to the mermaid world, hidden below the depths of our ocean's.
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Overlord

Determined to bring meaningful change to her people, Lady Eza of the Sarronti seeks out the leader of the Outcasts and proposes a daring alliance. She expects to negotiate with a barbarian. Instead, Overlord Kage Razel awakens longings that have nothing to do with the rebellion. He intrigues and attracts her, making her ache for the consuming passion she has only experienced in his arms. Yet Kage also frightens Eza. She senses secrets in him, portions of his being he will not share with anyone. There is no doubt Eza wants him, but can she trust this mysterious stranger, or will he use his unique abilities to gain control over her world?Don't miss the exciting conclusion of the Outcasts series!
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Amazonia

The Rand scientific expedition entered the lush wilderness of the Amazon and never returned. Years later, one of its members has stumbled out of the world’s most inhospitable rainforest: a former Special Forces soldier – scarred, mutilated, terrified, and mere hours from death – who went in with one arm missing…and came out with both intact. Unable to comprehend this inexplicable event, the government sends Nathan Rand into this impenetrable secret world of undreamed – of perils to follow the trail of his vanished father…toward mysteries that must be solved at any cost. But the nightmare that is awaiting Nate and his team of scientists and seasoned U.S. Army Rangers dwarfs any danger they anticipated…an ancient, unspoken terror – a power beyond human imagining-that can forever alter the world beyond the dark, lethal confines of the Amazon rainforest for better… and for worse.
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The Archer Who Shot Down Suns: Scale-Bright Stories

A sampler of short stories taking place before and connected to SCALE-BRIGHT in chronological order. Chinese mythology retold from the time of humanity's creation to contemporary Hong Kong.A sampler of short stories taking place before and connected to SCALE-BRIGHT in chronological order. Chinese mythology retold from the time of humanity's creation to contemporary Hong Kong. "The Crows Her Dragon's Gate" (first published in BENEATH CEASELESS SKIES, 2013. Ed. Scott H. Andrews). The story of Xihe, the mother of suns, when she was young and the world was new: how she met her husband, lost herself, and found it again. "Woman of the Sun, Woman of the Moon" (first published in GIGANOTOSAURUS, 2012. Ed. Ann Leckie). Houyi rose in heaven, bow and arrow in hand: the hunt was her joy, the slaying of demons her delight. But most delightful was a serving girl called Chang'e. "Chang'e Dashes from the Moon" (first published in EXPANDED HORIZONS, 2012. Ed. Dash). Chang'e has been a prisoner on the moon while the world turns and cities rise. For centuries Houyi has looked for a way to free her wife, and now she has found it in a distant grand-niece: a young mortal woman named Julienne.
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The Twelve Labours of Hercules

Hercules is in a race against time to save the world. Twelve challenges must be completed, and the clock is ticking. Monsters must be fought, puzzles solved and gods confronted, but this time strength will not be enough, it will take honour, wisdom, perseverance and, above all, friendship to win the day. A book where the adventure never stops, it will enthral children of all ages.With triumph after triumph in his past, Hercules has become proud and boastful, believing himself to be almost a god. Unless he can rediscover what it means to be a man, the king of the giants will break free and destroy the world. Twelve challenges must be completed, and the clock is ticking. Monsters must be fought, puzzles solved and gods confronted, but this time strength will not be enough, it will take honour, wisdom, perseverance and, above all, friendship to win the day.A book where the adventure never stops, set in the time when heroes and gods still walked the earth, it will enthral children of all ages.
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Dragon Seer

Ashanti sees things she shouldn't see; dragons doing things civilized dragons aren't supposed to do. Worse yet, they aren't random killings by those wanting to explore their primitive sides. They're planned, calculated attempts to halt the races of people from interferring with plans for a war that will leave them enslaved if it isn't prevented.This is a Dragon Empire story.Ashanti sees things she shouldn't see; dragons doing things civilized dragons aren't supposed to do. Worse yet, they aren't random killings by those wanting to explore their primitive sides. They're planned, calculated attempts to halt the races of people from interferring with plans for a war that will leave them enslaved if it isn't prevented. But she has no intention of standing aside while and allowing her visions to become reality. Compass Press hopes you enjoy this free Dragon Empire story. If it is not free at this location, we encourage you to check other retailers. You can read more about Ashanti and the Empire in Heather's full length novel, the Dragon Empire, available in eBook and paperback everywhere. Due do some violent content, this story may not be suitable for younger readers.
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