In a quiet midwestern town, a terrifying plague gives three junkies a chance to live again. But they aren't the only ones given a second chance at life...It came at you first like an unexpected chill breeze on a warm day, the kind that makes you wrap your arms around yourself and shiver involuntarily. Most people never had a chance to figure out what was happening before it was too late. Only the lucky ones, the ones already ruined, like me, were able to defend ourselves.The terrifying first installment of Heartland Junk, a zombie apocalypse serial!--Rivet ignored my reply and began pacing, tearing at his hair with both hands. "They're in me, man. In my head. I can't...all night, they've been talking...whispering...telling me things." "Who has?" "These, I don't even know, man, these voices. And like, I'm seeing this darkness. It's so deep. I haven't touched a needle in two days, but please, Ray, please. You gotta help me out." He stopped pacing and turned to me, eyes pleading. He'd burst a blood vessel in his left eye and a tributary of red ran across the white from the pupil. He looked sick. I noticed his hands, now held out to me like a beggar's, were shaking slightly. This wasn't the Rivet I knew. "Give him some, Ray," Jennie's light voice floated up from the couch. I'd almost forgotten about her, watching Rivet carry on like this. It was frightening, in a way. "Can't you see he needs it?" "I, uh...yeah, yeah sure, man. Just let me..." I turned to look around the living room, searching among the overflowing ashtrays and crusted dishes for that little brown baggie filled with powder. Something pressed at the inside of my skull, like that feeling right before a killer headache. It was hard to think. I needed coffee, a cigarette, hell, a hit of my own wouldn't go down too rough. "I uh...Jen, what'd we do with it last night?" "Kitchen?" She sat up on the edge of the couch and let the quilt fall to her waist. She wasn't wearing a shirt or a bra. "Oopsie," she giggled lightly and bunched the quilt edge up to her shoulders. Rivet had stopped pacing and was staring at her like a row of corn had sprouted from her forehead. "It wasn't like that..." I started, hoping to head off another jealous outburst from Rivet, but he wasn't paying attention. He just kept staring at Jennie's forehead with that blank, lopsided expression, his eyes wide, unblinking. "...Rivet?" Jennie said cautiously. "You okay, hun?" Rivet licked his lips. Then he calmly leaned down and bit Jennie's ear off. Views: 384
Meet The Wapshots of St Botolphs. There is Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea-dog and would-be suicide; his licentious older son, Moses; and Moses's adoring and errant younger brother Coverly. Tragic and funny, ribald and splendidly picaresque, and partly based on Cheever's adolescence in New England, The Wapshot Chronicle is a family narrative in the finest traditions of Trollope, Dickens and Henry James. Views: 384
Once every so often it wakes to feed. Once every so often an unsuspecting soul is lured to its home. The year is 1839 and it is about to eat again. Detectives Cartwright and Watts are on the case of a missing woman. They know where she is, and they know that no one has ever come back alive. This is one case they may wish they avoided. Views: 384
This book was digitized and reprinted from the collections of the University of California Libraries. It was produced from digital images created through the libraries’ mass digitization efforts. The digital images were cleaned and prepared for printing through automated processes. Despite the cleaning process, occasional flaws may still be present that were part of the original work itself, or introduced during digitization. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found online in the HathiTrust Digital Library at www.hathitrust.org. Views: 384
Almost a decade after its original publication, award winner and Governor General Literary Award nominee Joseph Boyden's classic book of short stories is finally being reissued. Born With A Tooth, Boyden's debut work of fiction, is a collection of thirteen beautifully written stories about aboriginal life in Ontario. They are stories of love, unexpected triumph, and a passionate belief in dreams. They are also stories of anger and longing, of struggling to adapt, of searching but remaining unfulfilled. The collection includes 'Bearwalker', a story that introduces a character who appears again in Boyden's novel Three Day Road. By taking on a new voice in each story, Joseph Boyden explores aboriginal stereotypes and traditions in a most unexpected way. Whether told by a woman trying to forget her past or by a drunken man trying to preserve his culture, each story paints an unforgettable and varied image of modern aboriginal culture in Ontario. An extraordinary first book, Born With A Tooth reveals why Joseph Boyden is a writer worth reading. Views: 383
Driving down a dark road his car dies. The winter chills him. The nearby graveyard seems to call out to him. But it isn't the graveyard or the cold he has to worry about. Something much worse is calling for this lone traveler who just wants to get home."Someone Else's Life" takes place in the near future and concerns Suella Worthy, a baseball pitcher's wife who will stop at nothing to experience the joys of motherhood. Because she was born with a genetic condition that renders her infertile and incapable of carrying her own child, she reaches out to the mysterious Lifewind organization for help. A longtime female friend of her husband is forced to carry the cloned child to term and Suella becomes a mother to Natalie. But should some things never be? Suella becomes bewildered and upset that while her daughter looks exactly like her, she prefers playing catch with her father to dancing ballet with other little girls. Things become even more complicated when Natalie accidentally learns of her biological origin and destiny, long before Suella and her father Nathan wanted to tell her. Heartache and heartbreak ensue, but a glorious rebirth awaits. Views: 383
‘The Parcel’ is a collaborative novella written by the attendees of the 2016 spring-term ‘Creative Writing – Intermediate’ ten-week evening class hosted by co-contributor Morgen Bailey.The authors wrote their chapters while knowing only the size, weight and destination address of the parcel, together with the chapters’ starting and ending locations – chosen by the authors themselves.‘The Parcel’ is a collaborative novella written by the attendees of the 2016 spring-term ‘Creative Writing – Intermediate’ ten-week evening class hosted by co-contributor Morgen Bailey.The authors wrote their chapters while knowing only the size, weight and destination address of the parcel, together with the chapters’ starting and ending locations – chosen by the authors themselves. They chose their own characters – the lead of which entitle each chapter – and plot.Morgen then collated the stories and made minor edits to turn each chapter into a cohesive novella before designing the cover and upload the finished package between the final two weeks of the course so all the contributing attendees left the course as published authors!We all hope that you enjoy reading this novella and that it feels seamless to you. We would love to know what you think and would also be very grateful if you left a review as an encouragement for others to read the novella.Thank you again for downloading this eBook – your support is much appreciated. Views: 383
Charles Strickland, a conventional stockbroker, abandons his wife and children for Paris and Tahiti, to live his life as a painter. Whilst his betrayal of family, duty and honour gives him the freedom to achieve greatness, his decision leads to an obsession which carries severe implications. Inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin, The Moon and Sixpence is at once a satiric caricature of Edwardian conventions and a vivid portrayal of the mentality of a genius. Views: 382
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: 381
A cathartic and at times politically incorrect yarn, this piece of experimental fiction is not easily pigeonholed. The reader is exposed to the mind of a tormented soul, one that is wracked with doubt and uncertainty regarding its central purpose and function. Nevertheless, Yevsky again manages to somehow guide us through the morass with his unique sense of humor, self-deprecating style and wit.The characters in WetWeb are struggling to understand the status of humanity in a strange world where biology and technology are intricately and unavoidably interconnected.Quote from Al McKnight:“If I lost a finger, a hand, an arm; am I less human? The answer must be no! Consider the converse case. When we animate organic tissue, a finger, a hand, an arm, have we created a part of a human? The answer must also be emphatically no.” Quote from Hans Hoobler:"What is walking among us? What cooks our meals and cleans our houses? What cares for our children? What strange creatures are these? What new race is born?” Views: 380
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. Views: 380
When Lisa’s Valentine’s Day ritual is interrupted by a phone call, she is surprised it’s from someone she hadn’t heard from in many years. What could her ex, Joey, possibly want from her on what could have been their 25th wedding anniversary?The Valentine’s Day Curse is a short story about stirred memories of unrequited love. For some people Valentine’s Day is not always a bed of roses.When Lisa’s Valentine’s Day ritual is interrupted by a phone call, she is surprised it’s from someone she hadn’t heard from in many years. What could her ex, Joey, possibly want from her on what could have been their 25th wedding anniversary? The Valentine’s Day Curse is a short story about stirred memories of unrequited love. For some people Valentine’s Day is not always a bed of roses. If you like O. Henry, you may also enjoy this tale with a twist...a quick read, suitable for any day. Views: 380
Beloved for its nostalgic evocation of the Mississippi frontier in the 1840s and for its colorful depiction of an idyll on a raft shared by an orphaned boy and a fugitive slave, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been touted as the Great American Novel. Views: 379
In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez, leg-breaker, assassin, and spy. A Las Vegas water knife, Angel "cuts" water for his boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her luxurious developments can bloom in the desert, so the rich can stay wet while the poor get dust. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in drought-ravaged Phoenix, it seems California is making a play to monopolize the life-giving flow of the river, and Angel is sent to investigate. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a drought-hardened journalist, and Maria Villarosa, a young refugee who survives by her wits in a city that despises everything she represents. For Angel, Lucy, and Maria, time is running out and their only hope for survival rests in each other’s hands. But when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only thing for certain is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink. Views: 379
