. . .”   After twenty-four years in the U.S. Marines, recently retired Mac McClellan is happy to be a civilian again. He is enjoying a leisurely fishing vacation in the Florida panhandle when he hooks a badly decomposed body. Then, when a bag of rare marijuana is discovered stashed aboard his rental boat, he realizes someone is setting him up to take the fall for murder and drug smuggling. Mac’s plans for a more laid-back life must be put on hold while he works to clear his name as the number one suspect. Mac launches an investigation with the help of Kate Bell, a feisty saleslady at the local marina with whom he has struck up a promising relationship. Along the way he must butt heads and match wits with local law enforcement officials, shady politicians, and strong-armed thugs from the Eastern Seaboard to sniff out and bring the real smuggler and killer to justice.

    In Ostenheim, a city obsessed with duelling, it is one that nobody forgets. Bryn’s earliest memory is of watching duels in the arena. His earliest dream is of taking his place there. Amero has no dreams. His life has been about fulfilling the expectations of others. In search of a path of his own, the dreams of others are too tempting to resist. After years of sacrifice and hard work, Bryn is finally a professional duellist. Becoming the First Blade of Ostia no longer seems the childish fantasy it once did. To find the man standing in his way is also his best friend will test him in ways he would never have believed. The First Blade of Ostia is a stand alone novel set in the Middle Sea World of the Society of the Sword Trilogy.

    Reggie can’t wait to test himself against the game’s new and improved monster: ECHO-7. To Reggie, ECHO’S Revenge is more than just a game; it’s his way to escape the harsh reality at home.But there’s a glitch in the new release of ECHO-7. The game developers release a live version of the monster into the real world and now a 35-foot tall extreme predator clad in impenetrable armor with the power to shape-shift and turn invisible is hunting down every elite gamer who ever defeated it in previous versions. One by one, elite ECHO gamers are disappearing. And now, ECHO-7 is after Reggie.Reggie fears that the monster will also go after his younger brother Jeremy who’s been steadily racking up plenty of monster-kill points himself. Determined to keep him safe, Reggie hatches a plot to destroy the monster and save fellow gamers. But can he figure out how to use his gaming instincts in the real world? And, can Claire help Reggie understand who he really is, so he can reach the next level?Echo’s Revenge delivers non-stop, adrenaline-pumping action with a hero who is learning that it takes action to bridge the gap between fantasy and the real world—and that family loyalty is sometimes the trickiest game of all.

    Constantly bullied by Aiko, he eventually takes refuge with the village priest in the Kadek Temple where he studies medicinal and culinary arts, calligraphy, and ultimately, the art of Ki sword. Under the tutelage of the priest he comes to know the grim truth about his father, and is prepared to face the horrific assault of the armies of the Atlantean Empire upon his humble world.And this is just the beginning . . .

    So when she gets the call about an attempted murder and learns her brother stands accused of the crime, her blood runs cold.Penelope believes her brother is innocent, but she's going to have a hard time proving it when he can't remember the events clearly himself. What starts out as a hit-and-run quickly turns into a murder mystery that leaves Penelope questioning herself and the people around her.How far will Penelope go to prove her brother’s innocence? Can she find the strength in her faith to uncover the truth...no matter the cost? Find out in One Chance, the thrilling first book in the Penelope Chance Mystery Series. Grab your copy now!

    The observant nurse who’d followed Sara as she dashed down the hallway like a specter found her there, fists clenched against her chest, struggling to breathe, her face as white as the hospital wall she was leaning against, her lips bloodless. “Dr. Strampein, what’s wrong?” the nurse cried. Sara turned toward the woman. “Oh, God,” she moaned as the nurse opened the door and shouted for help. Mt. Carmel Monastery, with its stone towers, seems more like a castle tour stop then a place Sara might find healing. But its abbess/therapist is Sara’s last hope. Can Mother Elizabeth dispel the darkness in Sara's mind? A promise of healing and love await her. If only Sara can remember…

    Obsidian Worlds brings together his 11 best-selling sci-fi shorts into a mind-bending philosophical anthology.In Your Averaged Joe, a man’s headache is large enough to hold the multiverse. Q46F is an obsessive-compulsive android who finds love in a zombie-embroiled apocalypse. The end of the world isn’t all that bad – The Experience Machine will fulfil your every desire (and some you hadn’t considered). A sex bot dares to dream of freedom in Dinner with Flexi. But mind what you eat, because The Photons in the Cheese Are Lost. Don’t fret though: The Cryo Killer guarantees that your death will be painless, or your money back when you’re thawed. Unless, that is, you’re The Man with Two Legs.Plug into Obsidian Worlds for these and other immersive stories, including the hilarious Time-Traveling Chicken Sexer. Your brain will never be the same again.

    103 pages of summaries and analysis on Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.This comprehensive study guide includes the following sections written by BookRags.com: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, and Topics for Discussion.

    But until then, he'll be shoveling lots of klunk and hangin' with lots of dudes.Talk about a bummer. A maze bummer.Will Thomas ever get to hang out with a girl again? Find out...in THE MAZE BUMMER!

    Wracked with pain, he still smolders from the injustice done to him all those years ago, and pleads with the newspaper editor, Jefferson Morgan, to clear his name and find the one who really killed the child.Morgan finds the request abhorrent, and is unable to believe that Gilmartin could be innocent. He refuses to help, until he does a little research and realizes that Gilmartin could indeed be telling the truth-the local sheriff won't release the trial records; the library has the microfiche files in a safe; Morgan's own newspaper clippings of the event hint at a cover-up by the town fathers at the time of the murder. Everything points to Gilmartin's innocence, and when someone burns down the newspaper office -- apparently to kill Morgan himself -- Morgan is sure of it.But what else will Morgan lose before he can print the truth?

    A whimsical comment from a kind stranger, 'Be sure to search for purple cows,' brings hope to a woman and her children fleeing from a life filled with trouble. In A Search for Purple Cows, Susan Call reveals to the world how painful a relationship can be when love deteriorates into a cycle of abuse and betrayal. Her moving memoir chronicles how she first met her husband, a handsome, stylish, generous man with whom she worked. Eventually they fell in love, married, and had two children. Their life seemed idyllic -- they had a beautiful home and everything a family could desire. But soon, inside those walls, Call was tormented by her husband's alcoholism, domestic abuse, and infidelity that cast her family into a world fraught with fear and despair. God found her in the midst of her pain, and showed her, through the unlikely source of a Christian radio station, that a journey toward Him was possible even in the most unthinkable circumstances. Call eventually found the strength to move on and start anew. Written with candor and grace, A Search for Purple Cows will leave you laughing, crying, and believing that God is present and able, ready to bring hope and healing.

    He's lost everything - his wife, his dreams, his future. He finally enters the death chamber at the famous 'Walls' prison in Texas. He's strapped to a gurney and given an injection of lethal drugs in front of witnesses. Minutes later he's pronounced dead. But that's not the end of it. After the execution comes the shocking revelation - Jordan is still alive. And to stop him talking he has to die all over again - before he brings down the entire American justice system.

    The Relics are lost. A human empire founded more on the spade than the blade has tamed the wild lands where dragons once wielded their fiery lordship. But not all have forgotten the old ways. An ancient evil is stirring, and the Relics of Power are only scattered, not destroyed. None of this troubles Triston Slendrake. He has his own problems. Like his slave-driving bosses, the innkeeper and his sadistic wife. Like his daily diet of cold mush. Like his best friend Alden, who's better than him at everything. Like Kara, who doesn't know he exists. But the sudden arrival of two illustrious strangers on the day of the duel changes everything. Triston soon realizes his dirtbag boss is the least of his worries as he struggles to disentangle himself from a web of greed, bloodshed, and sorcery so foul none have seen the likes of it in over a thousand years. Where do you run, when the long-forgotten power of the undead once again threatens to overwhelm all you hold dear? For Triston, only one thing is clear: running is not an option.

    Laurie Hudson gave up "normal" a long time ago. Isolated from friends and family, she becomes a bartender for an upscale restaurant while she fights to suppress her strange affinity for fire. Around new owner Mikhail Petrov, her careful control disintegrates. She is at once drawn to his urbane, cool demeanor and irritated by his overbearing manner. Now she finds all of her hard won choices being taken away as she is catapulted into a world of Mages, Darks, and mysterious Elementals, all working just below the surface of humanity. As she learns to survive, Laurie realizes her freedom could mean the destruction of the frustrating man she's come to care for.A formidable figure in this strange world, Tri-Elemental Mikhail Petrov commands earth, air, and water. He doesn’t give a damn what the untrained Fire Elemental Laurie wants. Her rare power is the key to his freedom, and he doesn’t hesitate to seize her for his use—an act that propels him into a war he isn’t ready to fight. The cost could mean his life and the destruction of his people. With the Mages closing in, Mikhail faces a choice: destroy the fledgling relationship with Laurie to gain his coveted freedom, or sacrifice himself for hers.

    The curmudgeonly Charles Drooms is perfectly content with his life as the owner of a successful accounting firm. However, when the beautiful widow, Lillian Hapsey, and her two young sons move down the hall from him, his narrow world is shaken. Three forces—Lillian, the Christmas season, and a mysterious little boy—converge to stir up powerful memories, pushing Drooms to make some life-altering decisions.