That's what the note says. Five-Four-One is just a lowly leprechaun, working for the Behindkind Tax Office. He has no idea why he's suddenly been dumped into the terrifying death-trap known as Australia: no idea who the kid is, or why someone wants them both dead. Nor does he know who else is looking for the kid—which is unfortunate, because out of all the other things that could potentially kill him today, that one is the most likely to stick. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF DROPBEARS is a companion novellette in the City Between urban fantasy series.

    Alternate-cover edition can be found here In his second collection, Carver establishes his reputation as one of the most celebrated and beloved short-story writers in American literature—a haunting meditation on love, loss, and companionship, and finding one’s way through the dark.

    That's all she's ever wanted to be. This year, her senior year, not only does she have to share the coveted Senior Editor position with her arch nemesis, Jimmy Foster, she also has to figure out how to keep the school paper alive. With the local paper closing and the school cutting Journalism from the budget, it's a long shot. Working side-by-side with Foster, the guy she likes to call Lucifer, makes it even worse.The only thing Layney dislikes more than swimming in the high school dating pool is Jimmy Foster thinking he got the best of her, so she takeshis ridiculous newspaper assignment--to go on twelve blind dates--to prove his powers of darkness won't work on her. The trouble is, the more she learns about herself on her journey of bad blind dates, the more she wonders if maybe Foster has known her better than she knows herself all this time. And maybe she should have trusted him with the secret she’s kept for four years—the secret that broke them up to begin with.

    A tragic accident. A young boy lost in the world... When a devastating accident leaves a young, Amish boy mute and orphaned, his uncle Simon steps up to care for him, but Simon is unsure how to help his innocent nephew Abram through his trauma. Lucy, a kind and nurturing young school teacher, finds her heart going out to this sweet new boy in her classroom. Due to her own secret past, she can relate to his tragic experience and non-verbal response, and she feels God’s hand in guiding him to her. She also cannot help but notice his handsome, caring uncle who is showing interest in her. But when Lucy’s past and shame are revealed, will Simon still be interested? Should Lucy even allow the attraction to grow knowing what she knows about herself? Only God knows how past pain and sorrow can bring hope to a questionable future for all of them. Can these three faithful souls truly become an "Unexpected Family?"

    In other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family; menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night; a little girl tears through a house like a tornado, driving her babysitter to the brink; and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection, comfort, and cruelty.One of the breakout literary stars of 2020, Brandon Taylor has been hailed by Roxane Gay as "a writer who wields his craft in absolutely unforgettable ways." With Filthy Animals he renews and expands on the promise made in Real Life, training his precise and unsentimental gaze on the tensions among friends and family, lovers and others. Psychologically taut and quietly devastating, Filthy Animals is a tender portrait of the fierce longing for intimacy, the lingering presence of pain, and the desire for love in a world that seems, more often than not, to withhold it.

    A lonely ticket taker worries about his sister. An almost-famous songwriter nurses old wounds. A stage manager tires of being behind the scenes. A singer-songwriter struggles to untangle her feelings for her best friend and his girlfriend. In this live-out-loud anthology, the disparate protagonists of sixteen stories are thrown together for one unforgettable event: their high school’s battle of the bands. Told in a harmonic blend of first- and third-person narrative voices, roughly chronological short stories offer a kaleidoscopic view of the same transformative night. Featuring an entry from Justin Courtney Pierre, lead vocalist of Motion City Soundtrack, Battle of the Bands is a celebration of youth, music, and meeting the challenges of life head-on.

     You could think of these stories as ultra filthy, no strings attached one night stands - perfect for those times when you just want to have a damn wild, sexy time and then walk away slightly bow legged with a satisfied smile on your face. Each story in the series is complete and unrelated to the next, a sensual lucky dip, because regular sex should never have to mean boring sex, right? In fact, the only thing that is regular about this series is that Kitty will release a brand new story EVERY Friday. A weekly dose, because, after all, regular sex is good for your health. Perfect bedtime reading, or for commuting to work, or to spice up your lunchtime. Just make sure that no one is reading over your shoulder… The Regular Sex series of half hour erotic reads from Kitty French ~ bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase wham, bam, thank you ma’am. EPISODE 1 - THE COMMUTE. ‘Is this seat taken?’ I look up, and just like that I’m done for. ‘Take me,’ I say, and then feel my cheeks glow, probably turning the same shade of dull ox-blood red as the faded upholstery of the seat he’s absently stroking as he watches me. He raises one brow a little as if he’s seriously considering my offer. ‘Take it,’ I correct myself and shoot him my best ‘aren’t I a goofy klutz this morning,’ smile, even though we both know that I’d meant exactly what I said, although it would have been wiser if the words had stayed inside my head. I’d just handed him the upper hand within three seconds of meeting him, a mistake I’d made several times before and vowed to learn from. That’s me all over though; keep on doing the same thing and expecting the results to be different, which even I can see is the action of an idiot. ‘I’m Stacy, newly crowned queen of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time,’ I say brightly, because he’s slid into the seat opposite mine and is still looking at me intently. His eyes are a curious sort of blue; they remind me of a pale turquoise cocktail I had on the beach in Ibiza last summer, or of soft, worn Levi’s begging to be unbuttoned by your lover. ‘Queen Stacy.’ He inclines his head formally. ‘I’m Jude, king of bad intentions.’ Click buy to find out just how bad Jude's intentions are - if you need a hint, they're VERY BAD indeed.

    So as a free update for Shopaholic fans, I have decided to share with you one of the adventures of the newly-wed Becky and Luke. I hope you enjoy it! Love Sophie xThe new Mr and Mrs Brandon are on honeymoon, and Becky has big plans! They’ve got a whole year to explore Venice, learn yoga in India, sleep in little wooden huts in South America… maybe even see penguins in the Antarctic. And of course they’ll need to buy just a few essential souvenirs along the way (everyone needs a set of Murano glass goblets, after all).They’re not just tourists, they’re travellers. Becky is sure it is just the thing that Luke needs – time to unwind. He’ll come back a changed man… with all the good bits still intact of course.But it soon becomes clear that Luke has different plans entirely. Can Becky help him let go, or will this little disagreement threaten their whole honeymoon?

    But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?Spicy Little Curses A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.HatchlingSix days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

    A disastrous trip including lost luggage and a body search at security sends him to the variety store to replace his toiletries. All he wants is to relieve the pounding in his head, play a little bluegrass, and find a “plus one” to ward off any matchmaking attempts by his friends. Then Holly Ferguson, the cashier from a local variety store, accuses him of theft, and his bad day gets worse.Can a stolen moment under the summer mistletoe turns everything around? Get a glimpse into the characters and world of Mistletoe Meadows in this complimentary micro-read.

    . . A fighter leads his band of virtual warriors, thieves, and wizards across a deadly computer-generated landscape . . . A company outsources grief for profit, their tagline: "Don't feel like having a bad day? Let someone else have it for you."

    Medical issues make it necessary for her to get pregnant now, but without a husband or boyfriend on the horizon, she's on the hunt for a donor. Will the gorgeous partner in her new law firm fit the bill, or will she find that her perfect baby daddy has been under her nose all along?

    The handsome blond ski instructor. The sparkle on a cashmere skirt. Hot cocoa and kisses in front of a crackling fire.

    The collection features Canada's much-loved fictional family: Dave, Morley, Stephanie and Sam. Stories from the Vinyl Cafe also introduces a host of other wonderfully imagined characters, such as Margaret Dwyer, a suburban housewife who startles herself by shoplifting a pepperoni sausage, and Flora Perriton, who is consumed with thoughts of lost opportunities when an old friend passes away. Then there's Ed, who-overcome by the death of his favourite rock star-embarks on a pilgrimage to New York City to meet the singer's widow.As always, the stories in this rewarding and irreverent collection prove that Stuart McLean is indeed a national treasure.

    Sadie’s lover calls her as he drives to meet his wife at marriage counseling. Gwen pines for her roommate, a man who will hold her hand but then tells her that her palm is sweaty. And Sasha agrees to have a drink with her married lover’s wife and then immediately regrets it. These are the women of Single, Carefree, Mellow, and in these eleven sublime stories they are grappling with unwelcome houseguests, disastrous birthday parties, needy but loyal friends, and all manner of love, secrets, and betrayal. In “Cranberry Relish” Josie’s ex—a man she met on Facebook—has a new girlfriend he found on Twitter. In “Blue Heron Bridge” Nina is more worried that the Presbyterian minister living in her garage will hear her kids swearing than about his finding out that she’s sleeping with her running partner. And in “The Rhett Butlers” a teenager loses her virginity to her history teacher and then outgrows him. In snappy, glittering prose that is both utterly hilarious and achingly poignant, Katherine Heiny chronicles the ways in which we are unfaithful to each other, both willfully and unwittingly. Maya, who appears in the title story and again in various states of love, forms the spine of this linked collection, and shows us through her moments of pleasure, loss, deceit, and kindness just how fickle the human heart can be.