Claire's having a quiet day at her job as a librarian when soldiers show up wanting to destroy the tomes of magical knowledge in her library.It's a slow day at the city library, and Claire thinks it's going to stay that way- other than a visit from her girlfriend's class to learn about magic, it seems that nothing else is going to happen. And then soldiers show up, wanting to destroy the knowledge there and rule the city. Can Claire stand up to them, or is years of history going to disappear in the blink of an eye? Views: 711
(Short Story, just over 2,000 words) A war in the future. Heavy AI and self replicating machines.(Short Story, just over 2,000 words) A war in the future. Heavy AI and self replicating machines.Personally, I think there could be a plot here. So ya never know, maybe this will be the one I go back to in a few years and mine it for a novel or six. As always, I would love to get feedback and constructive criticism of all types. Views: 711
Ben Hammond runs Wierd and Wild, a nightly radio show. There's $50,000 to be won, a prize for the first caller who can prove they had a UFO encounter. So far, the money has never been claimed ...Ben Hammond runs Wierd and Wild, a nightly radio show. There's $50,000 to be won, a prize for the first caller who can prove they had a UFO encounter. So far, the money has never been claimed ..."This is Ben Hammond bringing you Wierd and Wild, the all-night show which has everyone talking." Hammond caught his producer's expression, and gritted his teeth. Never mind the station's polling, he knew there was a big audience out there every night. "We're chatting to Danny Rye about night lights. So Danny, tell us what happened next." "Sure, Mr Hammond. Me and my brother were walkin' along the railroad tracks past the old factory. It was late at night. I know because we could hear owls and stuff." "The dark would have been a clue." "Eh?" "Go on, go on." "Well, there was this light, low and coming up fast. We jumped out the way and it roared past. When we stood up again it was gone." "Most interesting." "Do I get the prize?" "No, you don't get the prize. That was the weakest UFO story I've heard in my entire six years at this station." Views: 711
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock.
Petra’s life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home—blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. But why? Petra doesn’t know, but she knows this: she will go to Prague, sneak into Salamander Castle, and steal her father’s eyes back.
Joining forces with Neel, whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets, Petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem, and that her father’s clock has powers capable of destroying their world. Views: 711
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos. Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for the emperor in less than one hundred days. But her soul-Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber, guarded by a man who hates her, spied upon by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai\'s only possible ally is the emperor\'s most loyal counselor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent. Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape... Views: 711
An unlikely workplace hero finds the courage to tackle the office bully...After a corporate takeover that results in new management and his demotion, Ross is biding his time until he retires. Unfit and unhappy that the lift in the building has been out of order for longer than necessary, he decides to confront his new boss, Ernestine, a cold woman brought in to manage staff layoffs.Desperate to make Ernestine understand that the lift is a symbol of change (and not for the better), he commits an act of defiance that both redeems and costs him...If you've ever been downsized, restructured, mergered, redeployed or retrenched (and who hasn't these days?) then this short story—a 21st Century metaphor in the form of an office drama—is for you.You'll cheer for Ross—a most unlikely hero—as he finally finds the courage to finally say what he thinks.And who knows? This short read might be the inspiration you need to break free from the shackles of your own work drama! Views: 711
While making preparations for the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803, Captain Meriwether Lewis saves a big black Newfoundland dog's life when he buys him from the dog's cruel master. Little does he know that his dog will get a chance to return the favor. If you like this story, you might also be interested in reading the sequel, "Dognapped," another Smashwords ebook.Alaric and Everet have begun their journey across the desolate Oresian plains back to the border, where they'll continue on to the Vasque Capitole to meet with Veld Martiale Hadryan. But issues more personal and pressing than a stalled treaty and the Holds' futures must first be addressed, and as the fury of a coming storm begins to mount, so too do the tension and uncertainty between the pair. Views: 711
A mystery for the history books! River Heights Elementary School has been waiting a generation for this day to come. All the kids in Mrs. Ramirez's class, including Nancy Drew and her friends Bess and George, have gathered to watch Principal Newman dig up the time capsule that was buried over 30 years ago. But, when it's unearthed, a very important vintage doll is missing from the capsule. How is that possible? It's been buried this whole time. Did a classmate steal it before the dig? Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew are on the case! Views: 710
Talking about her problems at school doesn't come easy for Olivia so when she receives a diary on her sixteenth birthday, she may just have found an unlikely friend and confidant. Little by little, Olivia slowly learns to deal with her problems as she starts writing in her diary.Poems from BaghdadHussein AbbasPart oneBaghdad never awayI do, you doOur shareTow o'clock, knock, no openBaghdad never awayThey said she is getting old and gray The night darks her evenings and sway Tell them she's still young and virgin Death nights will end by dawn and rayHearts light has its men and coming way They don’t give up and gangers obey Tigress beach has smell of hope and next day Couples always dig their names on and sing Lovers will wait eagerly and love is their playDon’t tell they defeated, please don’t say Arabian nights is coming over and never leave Her sun has not sunk and never set away Let's do her make up and get her light No she pretty without and her face lit the way This poem has written for Baghdad and what she suffering from. It is still has life in it. I do, you doGet my blood and keep my familyGet my soul, don’t let me rollGet my wealth and focus on health Get my soul and save my call Get my body and back my lifeGet my word and play your role Get my faith and make it real Get my days and light my wayGet my sweat and give me houseGet my age and draw my day Get my best and do your best Get my flesh and let me ray Get my time , don’t let it foam Get my tomb and make it home This one for any person who got or will get any position in the Iraqi state to help the people and give them what they need and want. Our shareOur share is limited, our share is fairIt's done before, to spirit is made for Don’t hurry, don’t back, get it full Time is gold, joy and may be more Each has what deserve to do good So be good, not be bad, life is short Have no choice to come, nor to leaveGet your share in fair not in court Money comes and go, love stills in heart Love has no price, nor could buy Pocket sometimes empty, heart always full Fill it with love, make yourself high Think God every day to pave your way Say what to say, he judges your day About our share in this life , fate and destiny. Tow o'clock, knock, no openWhen it's got two o'clock, I'm waitingHis coming is near as the sunlightNot knocking on door, it's on my heart Legs are jumping, eyes eager to his sightWhat a toy, what a sweet in his bag His existence is the soul of our life Before other, before mother I hugCompete to get him before his wife But I was there when he is gone Someone blows him up and puts the light down All shout, no father, no hope, no moreMissing him bares life and darks my townThose who kill make me orphan and sad Steal my sweets, toys and lovely dad A child who was used to open home's door at two o'clock for his father. But his father was killed by violence in some explosion in Iraq. Views: 710
**A love as bright as the stars and enduring as stone...**
Katie James is unlucky in love—so unlucky she's been reduced to kissing the marble statue in her own garden. But her luck changes when the statue warms to life in her arms—and turns out to be a hunk straight out of any woman's fantasy! Well, almost...Jorlan en Sarr hails from a distant planet, and, like all the other men Katie's known, he comes with a lot of baggage.
**A cursed warrior with a lover's magic touch...**
Entombed in his stony skin for centuries, Jorlan has been waiting for a maiden fair to break the spell. Yet this statuesque beauty with the will of an Amazon and kisses like flame is a far cry from the obedient damsels of Imperia. And though Jorlan is tempted to abandon all for the sake of Katie, unless he can convince her to give him her heart in two weeks' time, he'll be turned back to stone. And she'll be lost to him forever. Views: 710
Charlie Wilde knew her life would change forever when her family moved from the city of Chicago to the suburbs of Arizona…and that was before she found the bracelet. After putting it on, she notices odd things start to happen. Suddenly Charlie seems to have the speed of a cheetah and the strength of an elephant—and that’s just the beginning. She would be thrilled about her transformation if she had any idea how to use the device or control her amazing powers. So Charlie is forced to put her trust in new friends to help her uncover the surprising truth behind the mysterious bracelet. Views: 710
Fans of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and Holly Black's "The Curse Workers" will embrace this richly drawn, Norse-mythology-infused alternate world: the United States of Asgard. Seventeen-year-old Soren Bearskin is trying to escape the past. His father, a famed warrior, lost himself to the battle-frenzy and killed thirteen innocent people. Soren cannot deny that berserking is in his blood--the fevers, insomnia, and occasional feelings of uncontrollable rage haunt him. So he tries to remain calm and detached from everyone at Sanctus Sigurd's Academy. But that's hard to do when a popular, beautiful girl like Astrid Glyn tells Soren she dreams of him. That's not all Astrid dreams of--the daughter of a renowned prophetess, Astrid is coming into her own inherited abilities.
When Baldur, son of Odin and one of the most popular gods in the country, goes missing, Astrid sees where he is and convinces Soren to join her on a road trip that will take them to find not only a lost god, but also who they are beyond the legacy of their parents and everything they've been told they have to be. Views: 710
"The fear froze across her back and chained her forehead in sweat."Naomi Zhu is a citizen of Maple Falls, a town where locking doors is considered optional. Then, at 1:46 PM on a typical summer's day, Broc Avery is murdered. Naomi's boyfriend is accused of manslaughter. To free him, Naomi must break-free of her sheltered life and ride a whirlwind of love, danger, revenge, and bone-chilling fear."The ground rushed at her dying eyes. Although the fall itself wouldn’t kill her, the killer opening the door most certainly would..."Meet Naomi Zhu, citizen of sparsely-inhabited Maple Falls. In the last ten years, the biggest crime to hit Maple Falls was the theft of a hideous abstract art statue. Then abruptly, at 1:46 PM on an inconsequential summer day, Broc Avery is murdered. Al, Naomi's boyfriend, is accused of manslaughter. Naomi must break-free from her sheltered life and fight for the freedom of an innocent man. Along the way, she rides a whirlwind of love, danger, revenge, and bone-chilling fear. Views: 710
Cat O'Nine Tails Cat, feisty heroine of "Cat Royal"... becomes an unlikely recruit for the British Navy, takes passage to America and navigates her way through a fiendish plot to do away with Lord Francis, heir to a dukedom. From the grand Assembly Rooms of Bath to the wilds of a new frontier, Cat finds she is for once quite out of her depth. Full description Views: 710
New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins brings you the second book in this thrilling war-torn world...
Being on the run in the desert means food and sanctuary are hard to come by, but Amber Tate and her crew are not about to give up. Not after having the things they love brutally ripped from them by an unknown enemy who sent their world into the apocalypse.
Survival takes precedence, but once safe shelter is found, their guards fall and the emotions they've been holding in are finally released. Anger, insecurities...lust. In their tight quarters, Amber, Rylen, Tater, and Remy can't escape it. The past must be faced, and passions run even stronger in the darkest of times. In the midst of unrest, their worlds are rocked again when they discover the truth about the war that's ruined their lives. They thought finding out the enemy's identity would give them the edge; instead it's revealed terrifying dangers they never thought possible. Views: 710
