Millions of readers have fallen in love with Ava's bestselling books... come join the family. International bestselling author Ava Miles presents the much-anticipated installment of the bestselling Dare Valley series about two people coming home and fighting for a second chance at love.J.T. Merriam has a bottle of champagne on ice for the moment his soul-sucking divorce is final—and he plans to share it with the woman who has made him believe in happily ever after again. Not only is Caroline Hale his partner in opening the new Merriam Art Museum in Dare Valley, but she's helping him heal, showing him that love isn't a four-letter word.The only problem: his ex is determined to destroy every thing he has—including his relationship with Caroline. J.T. tries to cut her off, but it seems she's always one step ahead. When she shows up in Dare Valley with all her furs and ferocity, everyone is worried, especially J.T.'s rough-and-tumble twin brother and Arthur... Views: 389
A story of family secrets and misunderstandings, and the way in which they impact down the generations. Walter Blake's death brings a flood of memories to his two daughters. There is the question of what Walter and his wife buried in the garden. The notion of things being buried is also a metaphor for all kinds of issues including, art fraud, family feuds, and holocaust survival.What Lies Buried reaches back in time as the present generation of an Australian family digs up its past and uncovers secrets and misunderstandings. The story exposes uncomfortable truths, not just for the characters, but for readers unfamiliar with the experiences of some survivors of war who made their way to less threatening countries only to find that pockets of prejudice exist in all communities. The story also deals with the way a few early European settlers forged lasting friendships with indigenous Australians — an all too rare occurrence.History records much about families like the Wentworths who arrived in Australia already wealthy. What Lies Buried deals with the lives of less affluent free settlers who struggled through the nineteenth century to establish properties and build the wealth that was inherited by many rural families in the twentieth century.This is a story of the way family secrets and misunderstandings impact down the generations. The Blake family, owners of a grand property in rural New South Wales, is at the heart of all this, with Walter Blake's death bringing a flood of memories to his two daughters, one of whom has been estranged from him for many years. There is the question of what Walter, along with his second wife, Rachel, buried in the garden all those years ago, and the notion of things being buried is also a metaphor for all kinds of issues that have dogged the family over the years. This is a wide ranging tale that deals with, among other things, art fraud, family feuds, and the long term effects of war.A leading assessor, who recommended What Lies Buried for publication, described it as an interesting story populated by convincing characters and ‘a good read’. Views: 388
Whether you’re a veteran grandma or a Nana-to-be, this collection of stories will warm your heart and make you laugh about the universal experiences of being a grandmother: the phone call that announces your baby will become a mom herself; the first time you hold the most beautiful grandson or granddaughter in the world; and the day you’re on babysitting duty and realize that major issues are minor infractions best solved with love instead of lectures. This book celebrates the memories we make and the times we cherish with grandmothers: the women who can both spoil and be stern; who provide unconditional love and invaluable wisdom; and who can share sage advice while sharing an ice cream.
Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul is the perfect thank you to grandmothers everywhere—those special women who enrich our lives with joy and love. Views: 388
The twentieth anniversary edition of the original Chicken Soup for the Soul is brimming with even more hope and inspiration—the stories you’ve always loved, plus bonus stories, plus 20 bonus stories from today’s thought leaders.
Twenty years later, Chicken Soup for the Soul continues to open the heart and rekindle the spirit. Celebrate the twentieth anniversary with the classic book that inspired millions—reinvigorated with bonus stories of inspiration! You will find hope and inspiration in these 101 heartwarming stories about counting your blessings, thinking positive, and overcoming challenges. Views: 384
A dinner at a minotaur's house brings an unwelcome intruder. Raoul Mithras, a godling both old and new, is forced to pursue an old foe across a surreal landscape, hoping to prevent the awakening of the One-Way-World - if he is not destroyed first.This story was a winner in the "L Ron Hubbard presents the Writers of the Future" contest, and first appeared in WOTF Vol XXVI.When a catastrophic natural disaster looms on the near horizon, the government releases an airborne virus designed to make the human race tougher, better able to survive. It was developed for soldiers to make them better able to fight, go longer without food and water, and increase their strength. In its virus host it bonds itself to our own cells and helps them to regenerate at an advanced rate, so that even if you die you can rise again. In non combat field tests the soldiers become aware of this, they called the phenomenon Overclocking and looked at it in a positive light. How could you look negatively at being able to live forever? A quick shot of the antidote after the heart had begun to beat again and the virus seemed to slip into remission, leaving a healed body the would come out of the virus induced coma in a few days once again its own.But the virus does something the governments didn't consider, it never stops working, never truly becomes dormant. Even after the body has ceased any real life, the virus lives on, rebuilding it's host in a new and potentially indestructible way. Days later, what was dead becomes alive once more. In this book those closest to Project Bluechip begin to pick up the pieces of their world and get themselves to safety. They have heard rumors of a place in the South that might offer safety, but getting there may require a price that is far too high to pay... Views: 383
The story is centered around how a banished young lion called Ola discovered and fulfilled his destiny despite the various temptations he encountered in the paradise of lust. He was fortunate to oblige himself the opportunity life offered him while he was in the Great, Great, Wild Jungle. He however determined not to lose his focus on his destination. His destination was his destiny.This highly interesting and life impacting comical piece is a work of fiction. The author, Moses Olanrewaju Bolarin, was in a trance on Monday, July 5, 2010 when this story was revealed to him. This story is already in a short animated cartoon film format as well as in mobile phone screensaver, wallpaper, and video formats.The story is centered around how a banished young lion called Ola discovered and fulfilled his destiny despite the various temptations he encountered in the paradise of lust. He was fortunate to oblige himself the opportunity life offered him while he was in the Great, Great, Wild Jungle. He however determined not to lose his focus on his destination. His destination was his destiny.Everybody, young and old, has a lot to learn from this exhilarating story. Views: 380
The year is 2021 and something sinister is going on at the country's leading cancer hospital. One doctor discovers a secret that will shatter his world and pave the way for invasion.Donal's school trip to the zoo turns into an unexpected journey across space. Accompanied only by a lofty camel and a stowaway lemming, he finds himself trapped on a alien spaceship which is hurtling towards a distant planet.The little green Meerie who greet him look friendly enough. But when they send him on a quest to find their missing space fleet, it means a dangerous journey across the desert where far more terrifying aliens live... An exciting and humorous science fiction story for ages 8 to 12. Views: 376
Praise for Susannah Constantine: 'Thoughtful and dark' The Times Magazine 'Captivating' Woman & Home 'Beautifully written' Hello! 'Brimming with secrets, scandal, shame' The Sun 'Fans of Downton Abbey will love this' Davina McCall Summer, 1979. Twenty-six-year-old Esme Munroe has finally left the Scottish Highlands for the excitement of London. Working at a prestigious art gallery in Mayfair, she meets gorgeous, worldly Suki, who takes her to the most exclusive bars and clubs in the city. But it's easy to get lost in London's glamour and chaos, especially when a long-hidden secret looms – will Esme discover it and who she can really trust, before it's too late? Don't miss the stunning sequel to After the Snow, perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and The Crown. Praise for After the Snow: 'Thoughtful and dark' The Times Magazine 'Captivating' Woman & Home 'Beautifully written ... with a dramatic, thrilling conclusion' Hello! 'Fans of Downton Abbey will love this' Davina McCall 'A... Views: 373
When not only her way of life, but also the life of her dearest friend is threatened by an old associate, will it be enough for Madison, an ex-con artist, to continue as a law abiding citizen, or will she be forced back into the line of work that claimed the love of her life?After a heist goes horribly wrong, resulting in the death of her fiance, Madison is determined to turn her life around. Forced to disappear, she leaves everything behind, including her most trusted friend, Skyler. She follows the rules and gives up cracking safes in attempt to escape the dangerous lifestyle they were both leading. Even still, she cannot outrun her past. Now an old associate threatens Skyler and Madison must face the ghosts that haunt her. Left with no choice, she has to set aside the shards of her broken heart and the memories of her lost love in order to save something even greater. Views: 373
Having survived three months in a life raft, Hans Larsson returns to Cape Verde intending to dive on the wreck of his yacht Future seeking answers, but in a frightening turn of events, the former Navy SEAL uncovers the island’s dark secret, the Trade. In his role as special operative, Hans employs the Concern’s covert global reach and sophisticated technology to expose a vile chain leading all the way to Washington. Views: 369
In the heatwave summer of 1962 Frank Watson, an investigator with a dubious past in pre-revolutionary Cuba, is hired to plant phone taps in the Hollywood home of Marilyn Monroe. There are rumours Monroe has kept a diary, a red book, detailing her affair with John F. Kennedy, the record of a scandal that could bring down the President.In the heatwave summer of 1962 Frank Watson is hired by Jack Scalligan, a man he believes is working for Twentieth Century Fox, to plant illegal phone taps in the Hollywood home of Marilyn Monroe whose escalating problems with barbiturates and the Kennedys is disrupting the studio’s filming of Something's Got To Give.Watson has recently been dismissed from a clandestine posting at the Havana Embassy after the CIA failed to save Batista's government. Now he’s helped by his partner and brother-in-law, Tommy Guppy, an ex-LAPD detective. A man whose family relationships have dissolved in alcohol and cynicism but whose basic ideals somehow survive.As they watch Monroe’s glamorous life disintegrate Frank becomes personally involved. Similarities between the star’s vulnerability and the fate of a young cabaret singer he rescued from the Havana revolution haunt him, a woman at the other end of success but sharing the same self-destructive core. He feels a guilty complicity with the Hollywood dream that seduced and destroyed her.Marilyn’s personal crisis is echoed on the wider stage by the political turmoil between the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. With the world on the edge of nuclear war - the clock in Kennedy’s words at ‘five to midnight’ - Frank Watson comes to believe the Secret Service are conspiring to protect the President by other than legitimate means.There are rumours that Monroe has kept a diary, a red book, detailing her affair with John F. Kennedy, the record of a scandal that could bring down the President.After her death in strange circumstances - some claim suicide, rumours say murder - the book vanishes. Tommy Guppy, suspected of stealing the diary, is killed as shadowy factions scramble for the evidence.Dealing with the aftermath of Guppy’s death on his estranged family, Watson fights to resolve ambiguities and shifting allegiances as he searches a city of lost beliefs. A Los Angeles where failed politician Richard Nixon and has-been actor Ronald Reagan walk the same streets as Sinatra’s Rat Pack and Mafia dons, a time when naked ambitions create reality out of Hollywood noir. Views: 367
A jaded ruler and a mysterious virgin… destiny will bring them together… only to break them apart.As the great king of the golden kingdom that sits atop the highest mountain in Bal-Mont, Gadreel thought that he was invincible. Until an unexpected enemy sent his defenses crumbling down, and took over his kingdom. Now, he was stripped of his honor, kicked to the curb, and was banished to the Earth, never set to return until the passing of the fiftieth blood moon. For the last five decades, he spent his life planning the Herculean mission to reclaim the kingdom that was taken away from him. But in order for his plans to prosper, he has to take Laura with him to Bal-Mont, and use her against the powers that be. But she could only traverse to his world if he will take her innocence and ruin her. It seems easy to do, but a real daunting task, for he was a gigantic monster, and she was still a friggin' virgin. But he must do it, by hook or by crook, or he could bid goodbye to the grand scheme he has plotted for fifty years to avenge his great loss, and claim back what was rightfully his. Living in a world where she doesn't fit in, Laura struggled to live a normal life. Unwanted by her own mother and bullied by her peers, she longs for love and acceptance. Until one day, at twilight, she finds herself lost in the heart of the dark forest. There, she meets a mystical creature who takes her in for a rough ride. It's a big leap into the darkness, but something she will never regret. Or maybe she will. Views: 366
A Noir-ish story set in 1950's England, Dennis and Celia have spent two years having an affair. Her wealthy husband will not grant her a divorce and is determined to make her life a misery. Dennis and Celia devise a plan to get rid of Simon for good. At first, the plan seems foolproof. But nothing is infallible, and Dennis and Celia soon learn that getting rid of Simon wasn't such a good idea.A Noir-ish story set in 1950's England, Dennis and Celia have spent two years having an affair. Her wealthy husband will not grant her a divorce and is determined to make her life a misery. Dennis and Celia devise a plan to get rid of Simon for good. At first, the plan seems foolproof. But nothing is infallible, and Dennis and Celia soon learn that getting rid of Simon wasn't such a good idea after all. A dark tale with a grisly finality, The Long Drop To Eternity is a short story that noir fans will love. Views: 365
Previously published as Midsummer Dreams. Believe in magic. Follow your dreams. What could possibly go wrong? Emily relies on her father. They live together and work together and, since her mother died, she's become very used to being Daddy's one and only princess, so whatever she was expecting him to bring home from his latest overseas conference it wasn't a brand new fiancée.When home no longer offers the security she craves, Emily resolves to find a man she can truly depend on. Fortunately, her boyfriend, Dominic, is nothing if not reliable. There's no reason at all that he couldn't be her happy ever after.Except... Emily's best friend, Helen, has loved Dominic for a decade. Can she accept that he will never be hers?And what about Alex, Helen's devil-may-care housemate? He's impulsive, unreliable, and passionate – everything Emily is sure she doesn't want.At her father's... Views: 364
