In Mysteries of Winterthurn, the brilliant young detective-hero Xavier Kilgarvan is confronted with three baffling cases—"The Virgin in the Rose-Bower," "The Devil's Half-Acre," and "The Blood-Stained Gown"—that tax his genius for detection to the utmost, just as his forbidden passion for his cousin Perdita becomes an obsession that shapes his life. Views: 696
Step into the boarding houses and furnished rooms of New York City, or take a stroll around the park. Observe the tumult and glitter of Broadway on a Saturday night, and browse the silken stockings in Manhattan's most exclusive store. Hop onto the Coney Island ferry to join the lovesick shop-girl, the drunken down-and-out and the secret millionaire in the city's dance of folly and pleasure. Bringing to life the glamour and squalor of the 1900s, O. Henry's unmistakable tales are by turns hilarious or tragic, but always deeply poignant. Views: 695
Winner of the inaugural Canongate Prize for New Writing and first published in the prize winning anthology Scotland into the New Era.A short story about the near future written in the second person, exploring themes of art, science, politics and self determination.All Bleu Dalton has ever wanted since the Day of Evanescence is for things to go back to the way they were before the Seven Nations became One and Carl Dickens became dictator. After the publication of Dickens' "Tri-Life: Be Successful" book, people of the New Nation started surviving according to the rules in the book, causing international chaos that Bleu believes she only sees; until one day when Bleu is mysteriously captured and the truth about her world and its fate becomes clearer than she could have ever imagined. Views: 694
"A fantastic coming-of-age thriller." — IndieReader (IR Approved)2020 Quarter Finalist for Young Adult Fiction — The BookLife PrizeThe summer of 1986. Central Texas. William and his friends should be having a blast. Instead, they are hounded by the Thousand Oaks Gang and their merciless leader, Bloody Billy. William found Billy's backpack. And because of what it contains, Billy desperately wants it back, and he'll do anything to get it. William hatches a plan for his friends to sneak away and hide in an abandoned lake house, except they become stranded on the lake's desolate island without food or water. Will their time on the island devolve into chaos? Will the friends survive and be rescued?The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island is Lord of the Flies meets The Body by Stephen King, the inspiration for the classic movie Stand By Me.A gripping suspense story with adventure and danger, tinged with humorous banter between... Views: 691
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2019 by Vulture, The Millions, and O MagazineA razor-sharp, deeply felt new novel—the twenty-first book by Ann Beattie—about the complicated relationship between a charismatic teacher and his students, and the secrets we keep from those we loveAt a boarding school in New Hampshire, Ben joins the honor society led by Pierre LaVerdere, an enigmatic, brilliant, yet perverse teacher who instructs his students not only about how to reason, but how to prevaricate. As the years go by, LaVerdere's covert and overt instruction lingers in his students' lives as they seek some sense of purpose or meaning. Ben feels the pace of his life accelerating and views his intimate relationships as less and less fulfilling; there seems to be a subtext he's not able to access. And what, really, did Bailey Academy teach him?While relationships with his... Views: 691
Magic, Mayhem, And... Mummies.Though Jyximus Faire lives in a crumbling tenement in the Underground City, he escapes the squalor to attend lessons in magic and sorcery at the prestigious Academy in the City Above. But the pace isn't fast enough for Jyx. He wants to learn everything – and he wants to learn it now.Then the dreaded necromancer general Eufame Delsenza sets her sights on Jyx; she needs a new apprentice, and Jyx fits the bill. When she tasks him with helping to prepare royal mummies for an all-important procession, the impatient student realises this might be a chance of a lifetime.Will Jyx take his education into his own inexperienced hands? Can a necromancer's apprentice really learn to raise the dead – and control them?The Necromancer's Apprentice is the first book in a dark fantasy Underground City series. If you like Harry Potter, Tim Burton or Neil Gaiman, then you'll love Icy... Views: 690
A lonely wanderer... A magical island... And Two People Bewitched By Love....
The Channel Islands were divided in allegiance between France and England. Of French blood, and yet subjects of Queen Victoria, the islanders were curious hybrid creatures. But now, in 1888, England is slowly stretching out her arms to them.
Colin du Frocq is eight years old, and his dreams are of the sea that surrounds his home. By day he steals away and takes to the sea in any boat that is sailing. At night he lies in bed listening to the waves beating against the shore. Then one night, in a wild storm, a ship drives onto the nearby cliffs and a strange man enters Colin's life, changing Colin's course forever.
A twist of fate brought Ranulph back to a springtime place that had forgotten him. A proud and beautiful woman offered him refuge, even though she did not understand why, as she trembled before his gaze.
Now Ranulph could feel the spell of the Island twisting around him, binding him to the world of love and companionship he had rejected forever.
A storm-wracked sea had brought him home. It was the magnificent fury of another storm that taught him the splendor of life and the power of love. Views: 690
Immortality had never been something Jane aspired to until one fateful encounter changed her peaceful existence forever. Giving in to the inevitable, Jane decides to make her current unfortunate situation work in her favor and she embarks on journey that will change her life into something she never imagined. Vampire Assassin runs approximately 15,000 words.Immortality had never been something Jane aspired to until one fateful encounter changed her peaceful existence forever. Giving in to the inevitable, Jane decides to make her current unfortunate situation work in her favor and she embarks on journey that will change her life into something she never imagined. Vampire Assassin is the first book in the Jane novella series and runs approximately 15,000 words. Views: 689
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: 688
When Tim and Helen Christopher move into their dream home with their young son, Adam, they are visited upon by an elderly woman, who refuses to leave them alone. Adam especially, is targeted. Gradually, Tim and Helen are forced to conclude that their unwanted visitor requires something from them. But what? Could it be their son, or is it something more?The Uninvited is a short story taken from a paperback collection of short stories, entitled, “The Little Book of Dark Tales”, which is available from my website at www.wrarmstrong.com. When Tim and Helen Christopher move into their dream home with their young son, Adam, they are visited upon by an elderly woman, who refuses to leave them alone. Adam especially, is targeted. Gradually, Tim and Helen are forced to conclude that their unwanted visitor requires something from them. But what? Could it be their son, or is it something more? Views: 688
Joyce Carol Oates is not only one of our most important novelists and literary critics, she is also an unparalleled master of the short story. "Sourland"--sixteen previously uncollected stories that explore the power of violence, loss, and grief to shape the psyche as well as the soul--shows us an author working at the height of her powers.
With lapidary precision and an unflinching eye, Oates maps the surprising contours of "ordinary" life, from a desperate man who dons a jack-o'-lantern head as a prelude to a most curious sort of courtship to a beguiling young woman librarian whose amputee state attracts a married man and father; from a girl hopelessly in love with her renegade, incarcerated cousin to the concluding title story of an unexpectedly redemptive love rooted in radical aloneness and isolation. Each story in "Sourland" resonates beautifully with Oates's trademark fascination for the unpredictable amid the prosaic--the commingling of sexual love and violence, the tumult of family life--and shines with her predilection for dark humor and her gift for voice. Views: 688
Creole gentleman Remy Pigeon has a gift, or a curse. He can touch objects and read the past from them. He prefers to stay away from trouble, but when an attractive red-head with a serious problem and a supernatural secret wanders into his house on a hot summer day, Remy knows that trouble has just found him."Flashover" is a paranormal mystery short story.The Floyd sisters are Lynda, age 13, Cheri, age 11 and Sinda, age 8. They are amateur detectives who live with their mother. The girls seem to find themselves in sometimes scary situations which call for them to become sleuths. Lynda tries to be the responsible one while Cheri and Sinda bicker a bit like sisters sometimes do. They pull together when they need to or the situation calls for it. In Tips for the Beginning Detective, the Floyd sisters offer advice to others who may find themselves in scary or unknown situations. The girls also include a mini-mystery for the reader to solve using their newfound detective tips. Views: 687
