ABOUT THE SHORT STORY’S PRICE: Hello, you lovely people. Odd to talk about money straight up, but I know that some of you might be thinking, £1.99 is a lot for a short story. Let me explain how it works. A rate of 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) applies to eBooks in the UK. This doesn’t apply to ‘real’ paper books. That means 33p of the £1.99 goes straight to the British government. Amazon takes around 2p to deliver the story to your Kindle, then takes another 48p as its cut. The remainder, £1.16, goes to me. That's not a great deal, I hope you agree. In these times of falling sales, and authors losing their contracts, and only one in seven traditionally published authors being able to write fulltime, stories like this are a vital way of YOU supporting the authors whose books you enjoy. So THANK YOU for your support! Think of it in terms of a pint of beer or a cup of coffee: they cost £2-4, depending on where you live. This story will give you more enjoyment (I think!) than either of those things, and last for a longer time, and cost you less money. This is only the second time I have self-published a short story. (Massive thanks here to Pete Simpson, who designed the cover for me!) It’s been an exciting project since the day I did the poll on Facebook, asking you lovely people which of my characters you wanted me to write about. Centurion Tullus won out, narrowly, and this is the result. The one hundred and something people who backed the Kickstarter campaign got to read this story almost 7 months ago, but now you can too. Enjoy the story, and please email me if you have any questions about it or anything else – ben@benkane.net Ben

    Even if that means literally throwing herself at the Duke and risking her own ruination.No man is arguably more broken and debauched than Timothy Burton, the Duke of Marfront. But, according to his father’s will, he needs to wed and produce an heir. Only, he never sleeps with the same woman twice.When Diana finds herself bound to the same man she wanted to frame, she starts discovering not only his tender, guarded heart, but the big secret surrounding his mother’s death. For, she is about to follow her cold trail...

    Then, she bought a new house, the house of her dreams. But, the house of her dreams could turn out to be her biggest nightmare.

    And so begins her new life with Noah Tuke.But instead of marital bliss, Harriet finds herself in the cramped farmhouse which Noah calls home, and in this overcrowded and angry household she meets with hostility and bitterness. The only person who offers her friendship is Noah's brother, Fletcher. Gradually she learns the true reasons behind Noah's desire to marry her - and realises that the only person she finds real companionship with is the person she can't possibly be with.

    That would be his older brother Jason. He isn't the tallest, best looking, or funniest either. Again, that would be Jason. He is better than most in the village at archery, though. He is an excellent hunter, and can perform more trick shots than anyone else with amazing accuracy. Well, he is almost better than anyone else. Jason has him beat there too. Jonathan doesn't mind though, he and his older brother share a deep bond that connects them more fully than their differences could separate them. They work together in their family fields, go swimming at the fishing hole, and sometimes they play tricks on other farmers in the village. Whatever they do, for good or ill, they do together. On Jonathan's sixteenth birthday though, officers come to the village asking for volunteers. Trolls have invaded during the heaviest monsoon season ever known, and the wet conditions have given the trolls enhanced abilities. Jason is the first to step forward, and is eagerly accepted for his height and strength. Though he also volunteers, Jonathan is told he is too young, and not strong enough for the rigors of war with the trolls in the Murkle Quags. When letters stop arriving from Jason after two years of war, and Jonathan still finds himself denied acceptance to the army due to his small stature, he does what any good brother would do. Jonathan Haymaker takes his bow and leaves his home. They said it couldn't be done. The journey was too far, the dangers too great, and the war too fierce for a boy like him. Perhaps they were right, but he knew Jason was alive somewhere, and he was not about to let his brother be alone.

    The Curse of Treasure Island is a thrilling sequel to the classic Treasure Island.

    Daniel Dampe investigate a series of strange, impossible sightings-from phantom ships and ghosts to creatures long extinct. What they uncover is an ancient, mystical evil intent on destroying every person in the town.Written in a style reminiscent of 19th century authors like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, with tantalizing elements of science fiction and dark fantasy, Jeffrey E. Barlough's Dark Sleeper draws the reader into a complicated plot featuring dozens of fascinating characters and culminating in a surprising and unforgettable climax.

    Dickens' Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered Letters plunks the reader down in the middle of the London book world to expose the madcap shenanigans, rows, rivalries, and general mayhem perpetrated by the supposedly prudish Victorians. We see Dickens on his first American book tour having bits of his fur coat snipped off by manic fans, romantic rumors swirling around Thackeray and Charlotte Bronte, Anthony Trollope scheming with Thomas Hardy in an attempt to get more money for his novels, and Bulwer Lytton (of "It was a dark and stormy night" fame) apparently plotting to poison his wife An eye-opening cultural history and a marvelously entertaining read, this is sure to be a gift book all fans of Victoriana fans.

    the world of angels and devils, of Lucifer and Lucifer's son, the world of temptation and seduction in his latest masterpiece of deviltry and suspense. In a world of horror and fear that is almost too realistic to be fiction, Mavrodi's characters burst from the pages, come alive and open up their innermost beings... revelations that will shock and astound the reader, who--while filled with fear and anxiety--will be unable to put LUCIFER'S SON down until the last terrifying scene.

    They are spinsters and are desperate to marry. Each woman meets a smooth-talking stranger who promises her a better life. She falls under his spell, and becomes his wife. But marriage soon turns into a terrifying experience. In the dark opening months of the First World War, Britain became engrossed by 'The Brides in the Bath' trial. The horror of the killing fields of the Western Front was the backdrop to a murder story whose elements were of a different sort. This was evil of an everyday, insidious kind, played out in lodging houses in seaside towns, in the confines of married life, and brought to a horrendous climax in that most intimate of settings -- the bathroom. The nation turned to a young forensic pathologist, Bernard Spilsbury, to explain how it was that young women were suddenly expiring in their baths. This was the age of science. In fiction, Sherlock Holmes applied a scientific mind to solving crimes. In real-life, would Spilsbury be as infallible as the 'great detective'?

     A new Tudor monarch has just been crowned: a handsome, energetic king. His court, so different from his father’s, is a glamorous, seductive magnet to ambitious young noblemen from across the country. One such man is Julian Allard who has fled a monastic life in Northumberland to seek love, fame and fortune at the court of Henry VIII. But when his beloved marries another and the King proves to be a temperamental master, Julian’s idyllic life at court begins to fall apart. Dismissing the advice of friends and the wise heads around him, he finds himself on a path to self-destruction, believing only in the dark prophesy of a fortune teller. Cloisterman is powerful Tudor chronicle from a master storyteller. Juliet Dymoke’s portrayal of life at the court of Henry VIII at an exciting time of intellectual and artistic promise, is compelling, moving and utterly convincing.

    Lurking in the shadows, and remaining in the background, they have preyed on humanity for thousands of years. Bram Stoker came close, revealing the presence of Dracula, but even he misunderstood the true nature of the vampire.

    In the opening chapter Sarah is taken to Britain’s *Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace where she catches a glimpse of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Throughout the novel Spring gives his readers the opportunity to share Sarah’s perspective on English history which for Sarah from age 3 on is somehow magically, metaphorically, reflected on the glass windows of the Crystal Palace. As a matter of fact, we learn in the author’s foreword that the title of this book comes from an old music hall song with the words, “You could see the Crystal Palace if it wasn’t for the houses in between.”

    During the Cold War, a more monumental effort was made by America and her allies to intercept and exploit Russian and communist countries communications. In the mid-1950s a tunnel was built by British MI-6 and the CIA which tapped into a buried communications cable in East Berlin. They successfully intercepted and exploited East European and Russian communist communications for over a year. Suddenly, in 1956 the tunnel was “discovered” by the Russians, denying the allies this exceptionally valuable intelligence source. This novel, The Berlin Tunnel is a fictional account of how a second tunnel might have been built between East and West Berlin. It is a thriller which takes the reader into the super-secret world that the author occupied fifty years ago. Every scene in The Berlin Tunnel could have happened. The time—1960-1961, and the place—the Divided City of Berlin have been faithfully recreated using extensive research and the author’s personal experience. Young American Air Force Captain Robert Kerr arrives in a divided Berlin awash with spies who move freely between the East and West. His task—build a TOP SECRET tunnel under the River Spree into East Berlin—tap into highly classified communications links between civilian and military leaders in Russia and the Warsaw Pact countries. The knowledge gained from this source will help America’s leaders to manage an imminent confrontation between the East and West over Berlin, perhaps even prevent World War III. At all costs, knowledge that the tunnel is being built must be hidden from the Russian KGB and the East German Stasi as well as our closest allies—the British and French. Only those involved in its construction can be allowed to know of the existence of the tunnel. Love couldn’t have found him as a worse time. Soon after he arrives, Robert falls for a German girl, Anna Fischer. It is spy verses spy as the dreaded East German Secret Police—the Stasi use every means possible to determine what Robert and his construction crew are doing in Berlin. But it is Anna, who is often caught in the crossfire between the Americans and the Stasi. The conclusion of the novel centers around events that focuses the attention of the world on Berlin. First, the Wall is closed, trapping 19 million East Germans including Anna’s entire family behind the Iron Curtain. A few months later, the world held its collective breath when the Berlin Crisis occurs—High Noon at Checkpoint Charlie—the only time in the Cold War when Russian and American tanks faced each other. Robert and Anna are caught up in these momentous events as they try to free her family and survive in a very dangerous city.

    A misunderstood act of chivalry places Scott at the mercy of a town hiding a sinister secret.As they say, no good deed goes unpunished, and for Scott, that punishment could be his life. Sit back and enjoy this stay-up-all-night serial killer psychological thriller.Author Commentary‘Brother’s Keeper’ is my first psychological thriller, and it was simultaneously fun and challenging to write. It tells the story of Scott Sharp, a traveler whose train makes a stop at the tiny town of Burdensville. There he begins to unravel the goings-on, which pulls him into the dark secrets the town holds, and the secrets won’t let him go.Writing this story was fun for a variety of reasons. It was off the beaten path compared to most books I write. The monster in this book is not a vampire, witch, or zombie; instead, the monster is an unknown man.Scott walks into Burdensville without the slightest idea of what has been happening to this town. The whole place is off, and he can’t seem to put his finger on what is happening around him. I wanted people to really be in Burdensville while they read this. I also wanted readers to get a very specific feel for the town, Mayberry, without a shower. I did my best to convey the gloom of the constant shadows that seem to hang over the place, even when the sun was shining. That’s more or less what happens in small-town life and, evil or not, Burdensville is no different.