**first episode of a seven-part YA SF serial** Kelsey loves books and lattes, preferably together, and is the kind of girl who follows rules to the letter. Unfortunately, her twin sister is obsessed with outlawed virtual reality... a bad vice to have when the government controls everything from entertainment privileges to caffeine consumption. If her sister would just keep her nose out of trouble, maybe they could survive senior year. But when Kelsey meets a charming book connoisseur and accepts his offering of a tarot card, she takes the first step toward her own risky addictions: the guy of her dreams, and his virtual escapes into her beloved storybooks. But the tarot cards can’t guarantee a happy ending when the line between reality and fiction becomes dangerously blurred. **Get this seven-part serial of future gadgets, mind-bending virtual reality, and dangerously fun addictions in the complete Season One Box Set.**SEASON 1 EPISODE LIST: The Fool ~ Virtual Arcana #0The Magician ~ Virtual Arcana #1The High Priestess~ Virtual Arcana #2The Empress ~ Virtual Arcana #3The Emperor ~ Virtual Arcana #4The Hierophant ~ Virtual Arcana #5 The Lovers ~ Virtual Arcana #6

    Volcanic eruptions, sinkholes, earthquakes--everything points to his unhappiness. At least this is what the people of Armania in the Five Realms believe. Amidst the unsettling state of the world around them, the princes of Armania live their lives focused more on who will claim the throne after their sickly father, King Echad, dies. That is until Prince Wilek's concubine turns up dead--beside her, a bloodied message that seems to have come from the mother realms.

     Hugh Howey launched the idea on Kboards, a forum for Kindle readers, but also the meeting place of an active community of indie writers. The result is this anthology of 101 very short stories by 101 authors. To make it more attractive for you, the reader, we set ourselves a limit of a thousand words. You should be able to read each story in under five minutes — on your desktop computer, laptop, or tablet at home or in the office, but also on your smartphone, on the go, while you are commuting or waiting at a coffee shop for your significant other to arrive. We included as many genres as we could. We hope that maybe, with only five minutes of your time on the line that would otherwise be wasted anyway, you'll be tempted to venture outside your comfort zone and try out some new genres and new authors.

    One exclusive anthology. Blood Bound Books celebrates its third year of publishing with Blood Rites, a gathering of dark talents that have shared our dreams-and shaped our nightmares. We individually summoned each author to contribute his or her voice to this choir of the damned. Now, we invite you to join the ritual... Authors include: Brian Lumley, Joe McKinney, Nathan Crowder, Lisa Morton, Daniel O'Connor, Jeff Strand, John McNee, K. Trap Jones, Maria Alexander, Ed Kurtz, Desmond Warzel, Mark C. Scioneaux, Brad C. Hodson, Gregory L. Norris, Monique Bos, Aric Sundquist, Christopher Hawkins, Chad McKee, Adrian Ludens, Bryan Oftedahl, Angela Bodine, Matt Moore, Douglas J. Lane

    He’s spent the last ten years locked away inside his apartment. But today is his day, the day he is to venture out into the world again. There is only one simple task on his agenda: walk one block, cross the street, and have a cup of coffee with his shrink. The only problem is, he chose the wrong day.Enjoy this short story based in the world of my novel Don of the Living Dead.

    Everybody took it back in the day, because there were no side effects... ...AT FIRST. By the time they learned about the Variant Effect it was too late.The old building in a rundown part of Metro was a perfect place to find a body, but they wouldn't have dragged Joe Borland out of retirement if it still had its skin. It's been 20 years since Borland battled the Variant Effect, and 20 since he let his partner get skinned alive. Now both of them are ordered back into action to meet a terrifying new threat.This eBook is also available in the Official Variant Effect Collector Pack.

    With the American people deep in The Second Great Depression and two of the most powerful hurricanes on record to contend with, the United States is in no condition to deal with hidden terrorists on its soil, maniacal politicians, and the most formidable military threat the world has seen since the Third Reich. This is the story of three men from three very different walks of life: Howard Beck, the world's richest man, also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; Richard Dupree, ex-Navy SEAL turned escaped convict; and Maxwell Harris, a crippled, burned-out chief of police of a small Texas town. At first, they must overcome their own struggles and fight for their survival against impossible odds. In the end, the unlikely trio must band together to save their beloved country from COLLAPSE. Empires topple. Nations crumble. Civilization is fragile. In 2027, America will fall.

    How long it has occupied the fibrous soil of that place is uncertain, but Dr Jim Alburton estimates it is close to ten million years. Then again, this is not his sphere of expertise. He would normally consult Jane Milner, the county’s only resident fungus expert. But Jane is dead, along with her partner — victim of a rare, acute brain disease. Alburton found her on the floor of a laboratory, sticky orange fluid oozing from her ears. This was disturbing enough, however her partner’s face was mutilated beyond recognition, an apparent result of his girlfriend’s killing frenzy. Alburton comes to know of the fungus because of Jane’s notebook, which describes its discovery but gives little scientific detail or where it is located. He can’t help thinking the discovery is bound up with her sudden death and that of her partner. The police are moving too slow for Alburton’s liking and don’t accept there’s a connection between this incident and an increasing number of horrific deaths rapidly blooming in the area. A woman walking her dogs along a popular pathway is savagely attacked, a local student inexplicably kills the school nurse, a care-worker suffers a psychotic episode and attacks an elderly man in his home. The news bulletins deliver more reports by the hour. As the number of incidents mounts, Alburton becomes convinced the county is quickly becoming the epicentre of a fungal disease epidemic that could spread nationwide. He concludes the fungus must be acting on its host’s nervous system, causing them to become depraved killing machines. Yet few believe him as he has little evidence for his theory. Now he faces the responsibility of tracking down the source of the disease, persuading the authorities and somehow preventing a cascade of bloody murders. With the newly christened phenomenon known as Mycophoria accelerating in its impact, there are only days or perhaps hours to accomplish this before the disease goes pandemic.

    In all of his years there has only been one for him. What will he risk to get back what is his by right?This is a short story and is the prequel to Love and Blood, book 1 in the Blood Ties series due out in January 2013

    At the historic first meeting, an ambush was launched that put peace for humanity out of reach. Colonel Kyle Martin was there that day. It was his leadership and the bravery of his marines that saved what little hope mankind had. When Earth was threatened with invasion, Martin again felt the weight of war pressing down on him.Known as the Butcher of Hyderabad for his decisions in the Indian War, Martin seemed a poor choice to guard the peace but the perfect man to organize the forces of Earth to defend itself from the coming alien scourge.With a select team of humans and a few allies among the alien races, Martin is tasked with not only defeating the invading armada, but with making sure that Earth is kept free from any alien domination.Faced with impossible odds against an overwhelming foe with advanced technology, it is only a secret about Earth itself that gives Martin the glimmer of hope to succeed.With his “lucky charm” Ramirez, his go-to girl Kitch, and an unshakable Sergeant Major, Martin rolls the die time after time in audacious gambles with the stakes being nothing less than the survival of the human race. Face-paced action awaits in this military sci-fi adventure.

    Usually, he’d get a flat, or the locks would jam or the damned onboard computer would freeze.291, though, had a bloody and tragic history which might explain why this piece of metallic crap seemed so intent on driving him crazy—excuse the pun. At first, he jokingly called it the demon car, but now he realized he may not be far off the truth. Something lurked inside this car and whatever it was, it meant him harm. He was beginning to seriously believe that if he didn’t fight back soon, this car might be the death of him. And he wasn’t about to let that happen. From international bestselling suspense author Susan May, comes a story of possession, desperation, and one man’s battle against an unknown enemy.

    Or the groom's brother and best man, Jamie. The wealthy, charming Jamie is everything Sadie tries to avoid. But the best man has a secret that will change everybody's Christmas.In the snow-kissed Cotswolds, will Sadie have a happy holiday after all?

     She’s been kicked out of her apartment in Queens by her alcoholic boyfriend and has no other friends in the city. A co-worker tells her about a house on Staten Island where she can live in rent-free, but Lisa comes to realize the price that comes with living in an abandoned house. Abandoned: A Ghost Story is a novelette of 14,500 words.

    That's when the realization hit: I'm young, I'm rich (thanks to a hefty inheritance), and I'm boring. Not "needs a little zip" boring, either. More like "mustard stain on a Sears tweed couch" drab. French's in a squeeze bottle, that's me. But suddenly I have Grey Poupon aspirations! Things are gonna change-starting now... Building a better mantrap... First things first: Exercise. Carrot juice. Straight hair. Whiter teeth. Clothes that fit (I have breasts? Who knew?) But wait-there's more. Life's kicked me around a bit, and I've been nursing my wounds for too long. I'm finally ready to take a chance on love with the perfect guy. He's handsome. He's smart. He's reliable. He's my CPA. Problem is, I'm clueless about winning him over. It's time to call in an expert. It's time to call in The Dog. Down, boy. Mike "The Dog" Dougherty is a man's man. A guy's guy. Okay, he's a chauvinist pig, and his sty is "The Dog House," a testosterone-charged column in Maximum for Him magazine. On one hand, I abhor all he stands for. On the other hand, who better to coach me? So here I am. Learning the complex unspoken language of the American male (Talk, bad. Sex, good.); trying exciting new things (Stripping lessons are empowering. Really.); falling for Mike. Uh oh. But the Mike I'm getting to know is different from The Dog. And the Mona I'm becoming isn't quite who I expected, either. This whole makeover scheme is getting crazier by the minute. But "crazy" beats "boring"...right? Jennifer Coburn is an award-winning journalist who has written for magazines and newspapers in the United States, Canada and Australia. She lives in San Diego with her husband, William and their daughter, Katie. Jennifer desperately wishes she had Mona's unlimited cash, beachfront estate and singing voice. When she's not living vicariously through chick-lit characters, Jennifer runs a public relations business which serves non-profit organizations and small businesses in southern California. She is also the coordinator of the Del Cerro Soccer Moms League and coach of the real-life Kickin' Chicks, the best seven-year-old girls to ever tear up suburban soccer fields.

    At a young age she was placed in Foster care that moved her around from one place to the other. Finally being freed at 18, she was left with no money and nowhere to go until she finds a small town in Kansas where she can start over.Little did she know her life was going to be uprooted again when she is kidnapped and brutally raped.Jesse is considered HOT in most women’s eyes, but has little time for Romance. While searching for his Mother’s killers, he witnesses a young girl being kidnapped. He now faces decisions that he must make quickly.Will Jesse rescue Cassie? Will Cassie ever find the happiness she longs for?*Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.