The days of unified culture and singular Great Kingdoms are over. In their place, bold new visions are redefining the world of fantasy. Eight authors tackle stories with a focus on diversity, finding heroism outside the familiar boundaries of farmhands and prince's castles. Including original fiction from eight authors.The days of unified culture and singular Great Kingdoms are over. In their place, bold new visions are redefining the world of fantasy. Eight authors tackle stories with a focus on diversity, finding heroism outside the familiar boundaries of farmhands and prince's castles. Including original fiction from Nicolas Wilson, Carole McDonnell, Michelle Browne, Mags Carr, William Lenoire, Rachel Savage, Kirstin Pullioff, and Gail Villanueva, this collection goes where GRR Martin and Terry Brooks couldn't. Views: 811
Thorne: A Whole New WorldAfter a year on the raging seas of the post-apocalyptic world of 2250, profiteering Captain Thorne returns to his roots carrying stolen property of the NSA that all but guarantees a high price on his head.This is the third chapter of the post-apocalyptic anthology, Dead Land, currently being developed for an unprecedented multi-media book. If you're an illustrator, animator, a website or game developer, or otherwise interested in being a part of this project, please contact Richard at [email protected]:Richard CunninghamDavid SechrestKalju LeeCurran AltshulClancy Smith Views: 810
On the morning of her wedding, Pell Ridley creeps out of bed in the dark, kisses her sisters goodbye and flees — determined to escape a future that offers nothing but hard work and sorrow. She takes the only thing that truly belongs to her: Jack, a white horse, and small mute Bean who refuses to be left behind.
The road ahead is rich with longing, silence and secrets, and each encounter leads her closer to the untold story of her past. Then Pell meets a hunter, infuriating, mysterious and cold. Will he help her to find what she seeks?
With all the hallmarks of Meg Rosoff’s extraordinary writing, The Bride’s Farewell also breaks new ground for this author, in a nineteenth-century, Hardyesque setting. This is a moving story of love and lost things, with a core of deep, beautiful romance.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 810
Rose, a lowly fisherman's daughter in the crumbling Kingdom of Illiamna, knows nothing of magic, secrets, spies, or sailing ships—not until, dressed as a boy, she is taken under the wing of the kingdom's most mysterious schemer...Who said history had to be boring? Everyone in Illiamna knows the Tale of Benson Rose, a bedtime story beloved by adults and children alike, but few know the story behind their national hero. Would they be surprised to learn that Benson Rose did, in fact, live? Would they be surprised to know he was actually a woman? Raised as a fisherman's daughter in the crumbling Kingdom of Illiamna, Rose knows nothing of magic, secrets, spies, or sailing ships—she is content playing pranks on her neighbors with twin brother Benson at her side. Her idyllic lifestyle is not to last, however, and her tiny village is destroyed, thrusting upon her young shoulders responsibility for her helpless family. In order to protect her mother and sisters in unfriendly lands (fending off thieves, thugs, and an uncle who intends to sell them for gold), Rose must dress as her missing brother. In this disguise, she receives the help of Fenric, a mysterious scribe from the merchant ship Turnagain, and the charismatic Captain Kaille, a man to whom she feels drawn by fate. Little does she know that, with these interactions, she begins the journey that will sweep her into Illiamna's most clandestine intrigues and endear her to time as Benson Rose, the man who saved the kingdom in its darkest days.This is the first in the Rose's Garden and the Sea series. Views: 810
The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there's a catch to the invitation—and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell. Views: 810
In a world where one can live multiple lives, Count Alandre Sessine VIII has survived seven times and is down to his last, leaving him one final shot at finding his killer. His only clues point to a conspiracy that reaches far beyond his own murder, and survival lies in discovering other fugitives who know the truth about the ultimate weapon of chaos and salvation. Reprint. Views: 809
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.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: 809
17-year-old Itzel Loveguard has a secret. The stories she can’t seem to stop writing...sometimes they come true. And now she thinks she may have killed her own father. Itzy is flung on an emotional journey as she struggles to come to terms with her traumatic past – and it leads her into a strange new world of magic and mythology.17-year-old Itzel Loveguard has a secret. The stories she can’t seem to stop writing...sometimes they come true. And now she thinks she may have killed her own father.But she’s not the only one. Her estranged half-brother Oz and his unfailingly charming friend Seth can do things too. And so can the handsome grey-eyed boy, who seems to have stepped right out of Itzy’s dreams and has been travelling to London in search of the mysterious black pulse.Suddenly, Itzy is flung on an emotional journey as she struggles to come to terms with her traumatic past – and it leads her into a strange new world of magic and mythology.Now she finds herself questioning everything she’s ever believed...and wondering who her father thought was coming for her. Views: 808
Tompa Lee, a street girl who's clawed her way up to the lowest rung of the Space Navy, becomes a pawn of interplanetary politics when she's framed for murder on another planet. Now only her enemies can save her from alien injustice.A WomanTompa Lee is a homeless 'street meat' who has clawed her way up to the bottom-most rung of the Space Navy . . . but her dream job plummets into a nightmare when she's framed for mass murder on an alien planet.A ManDante Roussel is the Navy policemen who surrenders Tompa to the Shons . . . but he is horrified to learn that their justice requires trial-by-combat, so Tompa must conquer three hundred accusers.AN ALIENAwmit is an old, lower-class Shon who is the sole witness to Tompa's innocence . . . but to prove it, he must find the valor and the strength to fight to the death at her side.AN UNFAIR TRIALCan Tompa learn to trust and love not only a member of the alien race that wants to slaughter her . . . but also the policeman who betrayed her to cruel alien justice? Views: 808
Neve Knightly lives in an ordinary world. Where déjà vu is nothing more than a mind-trick. Where premonitions are dismissed as mere coincidence. Where no one thinks twice about the glitches in their reality.
Neve Knightly is living a lie.
But when her nightmare of a tragedy comes true the very next day, she can no longer seek solace in self-deception. The glossy enamel has been shattered, and she has caught a glimpse of what slithers just beneath the surface.
She now has the opportunity to decipher the enigma that’s been haunting her since childhood. But her quest soon becomes deeply entangled with the last two people she could have ever imagined: the love of her life, Dylan, who mysteriously vanished three years ago, and his estranged best friend, Romer, who seems to be guarding a secret of his own.
Romance, rancor, and redemption plummet as priorities, as their lives become riddled with peculiar happenings lying just outside the realm of science. And in search for salvation, they emerge at the brink of unveiling the best-kept secret in human history. Views: 808
Three tales of Romance and Magic, one past, one present, one future.Three tales--one past, one present, one future--explore what it is to love and just how far someone would go for the love of another.The Past: Lady Daphne Collister is unimpressed with her fellow magic-wielding debutantes. She finds their methods overbearing. Surely there was a better way of finding a noble husband in Regency England?The Present: Ellie loves Josh. Josh barely knows Ellie exists. For her, it is not enough to sit behind him at school every day. What must Ellie do to get Josh to notice her? How about a love spell? After all, what could go wrong?The Future: Leo and his co-worker Katerina have fallen in love. Secretly, of course, for office romance is illegal and all marriages are strictly regulated. There’s only one exception: the Valentine Raffle. But to win at love, Leo and Katerina may need to cheat the system... Views: 808
A collection of three original fairy tales, without pictures: The Princess and the Dragon, The Storyteller, and The Special Tree.After the epic events of the Gamma Accidents' enrolment in Hero High, summer vacation seems like the perfect chance to relax.But something strange is happening in Crashton. Sea creatures are leaving their natural habitat and flying around in the skies above this holiday hotspot.Someone is obviously behind this. But who are they? And what exactly are their intentions?Jack, Bella, Ethan, Ty and Caleb take it upon themselves to solve this bizarre mystery. Of course, what's the fun in embarking on a new adventure without dragging along some superpowered friends to enjoy the ride? Views: 807
Oxford in 2060 is a chaotic place, with scores of time-traveling historians being sent into the past. Michael Davies is prepping to go to Pearl Harbor. Merope Ward is coping with a bunch of bratty 1940 evacuees and trying to talk her thesis adviser into letting her go to VE-Day. Polly Churchill’s next assignment will be as a shopgirl in the middle of London’s Blitz. But now the time-travel lab is suddenly canceling assignments and switching around everyone’s schedules. And when Michael, Merope, and Polly finally get to World War II, things just get worse. For there they face air raids, blackouts, and dive-bombing Stukas—to say nothing of a growing feeling that not only their assignments but the war and history itself are spiraling out of control. Because suddenly the once-reliable mechanisms of time travel are showing significant glitches, and our heroes are beginning to question their most firmly held belief: that no historian can possibly change the past. Views: 806
The Clements Academy was established, somewhere around the year 2045, training the best and brightest orphans from around the world into the perfect agents. Weapons training, martial arts training, and small unit tactics are each on the curriculum for Clements students. Jon Talbaine has always been the black sheep of Clements, and now he's backed into a corner. How far will he go to get out?The Clements Academy was established, somewhere around the year 2045, training the best and brightest orphans from around the world into the perfect agents. Weapons training, martial arts training, and small unit tactics are each on the curriculum for Clements students. Jon Talbaine has always been the black sheep of Clements, and now he's backed into a corner. How far will he go to get out? *Contains adult themes and language. Not for the faint of heart or the narrow of mind.Broken is one of many self-contained tales of a tough world with no good choices. Find more in 'Breaking Benjamin', available in print or e-book. Views: 806
The aliens crash-landed on Earth eleven years ago. And now, sixteen-year-old Victoria Hale feeds them. With her emotions.
Victoria is an EVE - an Emotion Vesicle Engraft - and one of few humans who are genetically capable of producing emotions for the Gutters to feed on. She's doing it for the money - her sister Alisa needs a good doctor, and fast. But what she didn't count on was being sent to the world's first desegregated high school for Gutters and humans. She didn't count on the paparazzi, the protestors, or the insane Gutter politics and government secrets. She didn't count on the crimson-eyed Gutter prince with an intriguing heart of cold iron, either.
She especially didn't count on murder.
But it's counting on her. Views: 806
