A young man’s coming of age story. Innocent and sweet with menacing undertones. In the Power Plant our protagonist works in his University’s boiler and chiller facility typing reports and running errands. He’s nineteen and trying to deal with his attraction to men while feeling he should be in love with women.Available as this Short Single or as part of the collection Odd Voices in LoveA young man’s coming of age story. Innocent and sweet with menacing undertones. In the Power Plant our protagonist works in his University’s boiler and chiller facility typing reports and running errands. He’s nineteen and trying to deal with his attraction to men while feeling he should be in love with women.Harvey's work has appeared in Story Magazine, The James White Review, Shade, Soulfires and other fine anthologies. A great story is kept, shared, and read again for your enjoyment.An Excerpt:Bells ring in my head. It’s my Mother phoning the Power Plant late into the night, to inquire why haven’t I come home. I know what time the night Operator is supposed to make his rounds to read the meters. But he will sleep half the night under the narcotic hum of the big chillers and fudge the numbers on the meter sheets. He’ll eat his lunch in the control room up front by the big gaping door of the plant. He’ll piss through the grate rather than come toward the tool room to go to the toilet. There’s a side door that’s always unlocked because the lock’s broken. It’s a good way for someone to get into the power plant unnoticed and into the tool room if they have a key, like Hawkins has a key. I know Hawkins knows these things too. Because now he’s looking at me and the ropes and pulleys hanging from the ceiling. He breathes hard and his hand digs deeper between his legs. He moves the door back and forth. Views: 654
Philip Pullman, author of 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, has remarked that "after nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world." This new collection of Rumi stories fills that need.This fresh prose translation of 105 short teaching stories by Rumi, which form the core of the six-volume Masnavi, explores the hidden spiritual aspects of everyday experience. Rumi transforms the seemingly mundane events of daily life into profound Sufi teaching moments. These prose gems open the mystical portal to the world of the ancient mystic.These stories include well-known and popular tales such as "Angel of Death," "The Sufi and His Cheating Wife," "Moses and the Shepherd," "Chickpeas," and "The Greek and Chinese Painters" as well as the less commonly quoted parables: "The Basket Weaver," "The Mud Eater," and "A Sackful of Pebbles."Rumi's voice alternates between playful and authoritative, whether he is telling stories of ordinary lives or... Views: 651
A scintillating epic fantasy …There are myths and there are legends, but none compare to those of the land of Elphamia...A scintillating epic fantasy …There are myths and there are legends, but none compare to those of the land of Elphamia...Long ago, in the age before Men, there was an ancient kingdom known as Elphamia, inhabited by a variety of creatures. Most people have heard of Elves, Faeries, Pixies and Leprechauns, but not many have ever heard of an Elphin Rabbit!From a time before memory, there was one Elphin Rabbit whose destiny was about to shape the Kingdom… Views: 645
Promise - Short Stories from Promise GooddayThese scorching short stories are taken from the novel Promise Goodday. Pete the serial rapist/killer meets his fate in an abandoned amusement park in the The story "End of the Line." In "Goose Steps" you meet Promise, sassy yet innocent and unaware of the fate about to befall her. It all converges later in the searing heartbreaking novel.Few people can claim to have a perfect relationship (and those who do are probably hiding something). The romance between young lovers Chase and Ariel has had its fair share of set-backs too. There’s Chase’s notorious womanising, for one, not to mention an ex-girlfriend and her businessman father – a man with dubious connections to say the least – neither of whom you’d be advised to cross if you could help it. The fact that Ariel is mute can’t help either (she hasn’t spoken a word in her life, though doctors can’t figure out why).But despite everything, Chase and Ariel are back on track. And Dilon – Chase’s closest friend since they were boys together at school – couldn’t be happier for them. So why have the police hauled Dilon in for questioning? What has Chase been up to now? Views: 642
Ashley and Geoff fight to survive on District 13, the Angel City Orphanage and Juvenile Detention Center; run by teen gangs and governed by a pack of serial killers, preying on the otherwise helpless children.Ashley is now 15, and her parents have returned from the dead - only to be killed again, on her birthday!Ashley and Geoff are sent to a hell-hole of an orphanage, where they must fight to survive. Gangs rule the district with terror and violence, but Ashley kneels for no one. Views: 638
An old sorceress returns to her homeland, determined to seek revenge for the sins of the past, while embroiled in a plot that will jeopardise the future of her world. Blurring the boundaries between good and evil, this intriguing short story serves as prelude to the epic fantasy/science-fiction novel "The Key of Alanar". Rory Mackay is author of the critically acclaimed novel "Eladria".Written in celebration of 150 years of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)Alice falls into a world of mad computer programs when she doesn’t do her Mathematics homework. Will she find her way back? Will she find her Bunny? Or will the Ultimate Viruses of Power have their way? Views: 628
From the depths of despair, Boy overcomes his hardships, and discovers universal truths that give profound meaning to his life, and relationship to the world.Boy's incredible transformation gets noticed by a very inquisitive snail, who eventually discovers Boy’s secrets, as they unfold, raising our awareness to deep life changing insights. It is a story about peace, love and freedom.Snail and Boy is a story about a boy who lost his family in the war. From the depths of despair, Boy overcomes his hardships, and discovers universal truths that give profound meaning to his life, and relationship to the world.Boy's incredible transformation gets noticed by a very inquisitive snail, who eventually discovers Boy’s secrets, as they unfold, raising our awareness to deep life changing insights.One day, Boy is astonished to discover a snail writing silvery letters on a wall, and from that moment on, a special relationship evolves between the two.It is a story about love. It is a story about peace. It is a story about freedom.Hopefully, Boy lives in each and every one of us. Views: 626
The prolific writings of Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, continue to inspire a devoted international following and have transformed modern Arabic literature. In this volume of early writings, Gibran’s simple yet lyrical style crosses from prose to poetry and yields insight into his dedication and inner vision of beauty, including the tale of a strange hermit in “The Tempest,” the discovery of love lost to war in “The Mermaids,” and the long voyage of sea and soul in the prose poem “Between Night and Morn.” Views: 623
In the cities along the river Ihil, the nomad tribes of the Middle Desert are almost as legendary as the gods. Sardeet is the youngest daughter of the Bandit Queen of the Oclaresh, but her father was a man of the city, and after her husband's death, he brings her to her uncle to recover from her grief.She walks veiled and silent, as befits one who is rumoured to be the widow of a god, and the people of the city whisper about how beautiful she must be for those rumours to be abroad. They generally dismiss the other part of the story, that the reason her husband is dead is because her sister killed him.Sardeet's sister Pali, however, knows that this is true—and that there are consequences.The Warrior of the Third Veil is the second story of those about the Sisters Avramapul. It takes place after The Bride of the Blue Wind. While you do not need to have read The Bride of the Blue Wind, you will probably enjoy this one better having done so. Views: 621
The rise of cloud computing is not only creating a battle for global internet control: it will soon change the ways in which we exercise our creativity and forge relationships. Our Cloud Culture Project has at it’s core our ground-breaking report, written by Charles Leadbeater, asking the key questions about this emergent social sphere: What will Cloud Culture be like? Who will own the cloud?Judge Henry Davis is faced with deciding whether a young man, convicted of murder, should live or die. The case has generated national media attention, and opposing forces are lined up outside the court as he arrives to announce his decison. Adding to the mounting pressure on Judge Davis, himself a candidate for political office, is pressure from publisher who regards himself as a king-maker in their political party. He wants the judge to duck the decision. What will Judge Davis do? Views: 621
Her Christmas Match...After inheriting a gift shop in Love, Alaska, single mom Maggie Richards is ready for a new beginning–while her little boy is ready for a new daddy! But Maggie has no time for love–she wants to open the shop in time for Christmas, something she'll do with help from childhood friend Finn O'Rourke. Finn's on board to help Maggie–but not with the romance rumors that swirl around them like snow. Like Maggie, he's hiding too many secrets to ever wed. So why do Maggie and her little boy make him dream of finding an unusual gift under the tree–a ready-made family? Views: 620
Magic is out of fashion.Murder, like romance, is always a possibility. The journey home from Orio City was supposed to be straightforward. Avoid being captured by brigands or agents of the criminal gangs; try not to cause any further spiritual or magical shocks; and make it over the mountains before winter closes in. Jemis Greenwing and his best friend Mr. Dart are both fairly sure it's too late to prevent Mr. Dart's new cousin Jullanar Maebh from thinking them utterly mad. A sudden blizzard drives Jemis and his friends to seek refuge in an eccentric country gentleman's even more eccentric house. They only want to stay out the storm without revealing all their secrets: but the other guests have secrets of their own, and Mr. Dart's ability to hear the inanimate has some unforeseeable consequences. Blizzards. Unicorns. Ciphers. Noblesse oblige. A budding romance. And that's before the murder. Book Five of Greenwing &... Views: 612
A small collection of stories about judgment, vengeance, inspiration, inter-connectedness, and devotion. With each tale, the reader is challenged to consider new ideas or perspectives. There are twists, surprises, lovable and detestable characters, epiphanies, and revelations that will stay with the reader long after the reading is done.This is the second in a series of haiku on the four seasons. It follows "5 Winter Haiku." Views: 611
