Yet famine, war, and an encroaching night leave the Eastern Empire trending towards ruin.Faint hope arises as a new dynasty ascends to the throne of Caesar. Bearing witness to such events is Varus, a young Herulian slave to the aging yet powerful Justin, who unveils a bold plan held by two generations of Romans – to retake the West and reclaim their homeland.Following Justin’s dream, Varus enlists with the Roman Army and discovers the carnage of 6th Century warfare. As a mysterious horde of black-shielded invaders devastates the Empire’s northern provinces, Varus’ unit is called upon to defend under the leadership of Belisarius, one of Justin’s most promising commanders.As Varus prepares for the sacrifices to come, however, he begins to question Justin’s secrets, seeking answers regarding his true identity and place as a pivotal figure in the Empire’s survival.

    No nation can stand against his legions but even the Empire has its limits. The brooding forests across the Rhine hold warriors who will not submit and the Suevi are the mightiest of them. With only their hatred of each other in common, the Romans and the Germans cross the river to raid and slaughter but neither of them has the force to take the other’s territory and hold it. This does not prevent them trying. Otto of the Suevi, son of the Chieftain and war counsellor Badurad, lives freely among the woods and glades on the far side of the river, hoping to live the same life as his father and become a respected warrior in his turn but that is not to be. He visits a wise woman with his father and her shocking, prophetic vision of his future sets him on a different path than he could never have imagined. Fate is not to be defied so Otto accepts what she has told him as absolute truth and lets it guide him through blood and fire to his personal destiny far from his own people.

    In this book the end comes through the use of an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) weapon over the United States and Europe by a Muslim coalition. It follows the lives of its characters through the pulse and its aftermath - their struggle for survival through the chaos - and the eventual triumph of the US against the coalition in spite of huge population losses at home.

    I can sanitize my manuscript and give the reader a false sense of how war reduces the humanity of an individual. Not only that, but sanitizing the past distorts history and lulls a person into a nonchalant manner of behavior in determining courses of action. The end result is that I would defeat the purpose that compelled me to write my book in the first place. So what is the point? I hope that you understand what I am trying to achieve. As I put this book together over the years, I constantly questioned my ability and skill to compose my manuscript in a cohesive manner and even my right to do it, but here it is. I think the main problems were that I couldn't look at it objectively and that I tried to write it as an 18-19 year-old. I wanted to present the naiveté and immaturity, which had awesome power and control over life and death. At the same time, naiveté and immaturity could strangle you. The title, The Mailman Went UA, came from our little song and dance routine that we performed when we didn't receive any mail. It reflected the utter desolation of aloneness and heartbreak that extended beyond the lack of mail to who you were as a human being, and that impact is impossible to shake. The mail was our only touch with any degree of normalcy. It was more than a connection with the "World." It was the essential element in preserving our sanity. We were surrounded by death and destruction and became unfazed by them, but we were always hit hard when we didn't receive any mail.

    After the murder of her beloved father, even those closest to her could not be trusted. So she kept to herself.When the handsome Laird to-be starts courting her, Lorraine is truly baffled. He never paid her any attention in the past. Why does he care now?A renowned warrior and heir to the clan's Lairdship, Daividh MacDougall can have any woman he desires. Many women pine for him, but his eyes are only for one lonely lass. Even if his intentions are not so honorable – for he’s bound by a wager to seduce her.The more time he spends with Lorraine, the greater the spark of desire grows, and soon, his passion for her becomes real. But before he can confess the truth, a dark plot against him starts to unfold, and everything changes.With his secrets revealed, Daividh's enemies can ensure Lorraine hates him forever. Before taking his life, that is…It started as a bet, but it became a deadly game…

    David Campbell got through the virus by staying drunk, hidden away from most everyone. On his way to visit his sister in Kansas City he finds himself stranded in Montezuma Iowa. He wasn't there when his mother died as a result of the virus, he's not going to let his sister down, the only family he has now. It's a long journey to Kansas City and David has to battle his inner demons all the way, temptation and fate will continue to intervene. When it seems the God's are testing man's limits, some men will rise to the challenge and some will fail. David's on the bubble.

    Will it be with Breena?This is a novelette introducing a new werewolf mythology based on the concept that werewolves have fairy blood in them in order to help them shift. This is their magic.

    These aging giants, calling themselves the ‘freakin’ old guys’ are hard-working leaders in their respective fields and have a menagerie of skills to show for it. But what starts out as a dream quickly turns into a nightmare.With these guys, the action never stops.While preparing to set sail, they have a run in with a teenage troublemaker that plagues the locals. The son of a senator, Sean has no respect for authority and is a little lost. The FOGs come from an era where a little rough handling never hurt anyone, and so strike a deal with Sean’s mother to have him sail along with them. She agrees, hoping that two weeks of hard work alongside six respected, intelligent men will get Sean turned around. Things quickly take a turn for the worst when the six small boats get caught in the crossfire of a mafia drug deal. It soon becomes clear that some of the group’s members may be hiding secrets and past lives from the others… Suddenly, the six boats are caught in an odd fog bank, and when they come out the other side, things are not as they seem. Their radios and compasses no longer work and time seems to have lost its way. Where are they? Things quickly start to defy the accepted order of things. Suddenly dropped into their own Odyssey, they fight against strange creatures and demi-goddesses as they try to find a way back home. Together, they must navigate this strange new land. Caly’s Island is a rip-roaring pseudo-fantasy thriller of a modern quest to conquer the unknown amongst seas of turmoil. Dick Herman retired from the US Air Force in 1983 with the rank of Major after serving for twenty- one years. He has flown over 200 combat missions himself and was stationed in Vietnam, West Germany and Great Britain. He has flown the F-4 and C-130 and received five medals, including the Bronze Star. He and his English-born wife now live in Fair Oaks, California. He is the author of several aviation thrillers from Endeavour Press.Venture Press is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We are committed to the discovery and rediscovery of immensely talented authors in the SFF genre, and continue to push boundaries in search of great literature. Join us as we venture across universes and unknown landscapes – past, present and future. Sign up to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/1LUVI4n Follow us on Twitter @venture_pressFacebook: http://on.fb.me/1NnFow7

    It’s 1936 and Britain is in the grip of the Depression.Nell Flanagan is a decent, hardworking woman, married to Stephen, a tough, heavy-drinking brute of a man, who works as a casual in the docks — when there’s work available. Nell has hidden the abuse she has suffered at his hands from her young children, although most of the neighbours realise what’s going on.The Tanners think she must be asking for it, but nineteen-year-old Martin Lovell, has always admired Nell. When he sees Stephen actually attacking Nell, he can stand back no longer, but his actions have repercussions for all the families…

    

    Culley does an artful job of piecing together a story line that parallels what is known. Strong writing of the characters and a good dose of action and intrigue make a worthy read. H A Culley has long been a favourite of mine and this book does not disappoint. Really enjoyed this series. The books skip along at a good pace. The characters both real and fictional are brought to life in medieval Britain. ABOUT THE BOOK This novel follows on from H A Culley's successful series about the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Northumbria Many will have heard of Bernard Cornwall’s hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, but what of the real Uhtred? He was an Anglo-Saxon noble of the tenth and eleventh century who became Earl of Northumbria. This novel is based on Uhtred’s life. In the late tenth century Northumbria was surrounded by potential enemies: the Scots to the North, the Danes in the South of the region and Viking raiders from across the North Sea. Uhtred, the elder son of the Earl of Bernicia, fights and wins his first battle against a horde of Norsemen when he is fourteen and continues to face external enemies throughout his life. However, he has to contend with enemies within his own family as well. His father is jealous of his success and disowns him and his younger brother wants him dead so that he can succeed to the earldom. He survives several attempts on his life but then the Scots invade and besiege Durham, where Uhtred has left his wife and child believing it to be a place of safety. He must unite the disparate parts of Northumbria under his leadership if he is to stand any chance of defeating the Scots invaders and so save his family. Meanwhile, across the sea Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway, and his son Cnut make plans to invade Northumbria as a prelude to seizing the English throne.

    Though initially employed as a maid, Mary soon becomes the daughter the couple were never able to have. With Britain at war, unable to remain idle, Mary finds employment in the local steel works but when her fiancé Tom Downing is killed in action Mary is convinced it is retribution for their night of sin during Tom's Christmas leave. However, Mary grows to love Jack Holmes, a local miner. They marry and move into a humble terrace house with little but their love to keep them going. As the years pass Mary is determined to achieve success for herself and her family. She sets up her own dressmaking business and it seems as if she has finally found peace of mind. But the business starts to dominate her life until tragedy once more threatens to destroy all she most cherishes...

    

    

    From its inception in 1913, through the Jazz Age and the Depression, to its reincarnation in the boom-boom Reagan years, to the image-saturated Information Age, Vanity Fair has presented the modern era as it has unfolded, using wit, imagination, peerless literary narrative, and bold, groundbreaking imagery from the greatest photographers, artists, and illustrators of the day. This sumptuous book takes a decade-by-decade look at the world as seen by the magazine, stopping to describe the incomparable editor Frank Crowninshield and the birth of the Jazz Age Vanity Fair, the magazine’s controversial rebirth in 1983, and the history of the glamorous Vanity Fair Oscar Party.With its exhaustive sweep, visual impact, and time-capsule format, Vanity Fair 100 Years is the book everyone will want in 2013.<!--?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /--> Praise for Vanity Fair 100 Years: “The book is a stunning artifact that begets staring, less for the words and publishing industry than as an exercise in visual storytelling reflected through the prism of society and celebrity. The best photographers, the best designers, the best illustrators all came together over Vanity Fair’s contents, and the book unfolds in page after page of stunningly rendered images, some iconic and some that never even ran.” —New York Times Book Review