Once in a while, you come across someone who had the energy and determination to see it through and you are happy he did. Such is the case with Justin Dwayne Foxworth in his breakout novel, Valerie. I highly recommend you give a new talent a chance and read his work. I'm sure you'll want more of his character development and plots developed into more novels to enjoy... Andrew Neiderman, author of The Devil's Advocate

     The summaries follow a synopsis in French and in English of what you just read, both to review the lesson and for you to see if you understood what the tale was about. At the end of those summaries, you'll be provided with a list of the most relevant vocabulary involved in the lesson, as well as slang and sayings that you may not have understood at first glance! Finally, you'll be provided with a set of tricky questions in French, providing you with the chance to prove that you learned something in the story. Don't worry if you don't know the answer to any — we will provide them immediately after, but no cheating! So look no further! Pick up your copy of French Short Stories for Beginners and start learning French right now!

    An inventive, thought-provoking and characteristically bold collection of short fiction and essays from Hanif Kureishi, centered around the vexed relationship between love and hate.In the story of a Pakistani woman who has begun a new life in Paris, an essay about the writing of Kureishi's acclaimed film Le Week-End, and an account of Kafka's relationship with his father, readers will find Kureishi also exploring the topics that he continues to make new, and make his own: growing up and growing old; betrayal and loyalty; imagination and repression; marriage and fatherhood.The collection ends with a bravura piece of very personal reportage about the conman who stole Kureishi's life savings - a man who provoked both admiration and disgust, obsession and revulsion, love and hate.

    

    Indeed, this enduring obsession provided fodder for some of Singh’s best-known work, both as a journalist and as a peerless raconteur.On Women, a wide-ranging selection of Singh’s writings on the subject, includes Singh’s recounting of an embarrassingly drunken meeting with Begum Para, an actress of yesteryears; a sharp profile of Shraddha Mata, a tantric sadhvi who was alleged to have borne Jawaharlal Nehru’s illegitimate child; and a touching sketch of Singh’s grandmother in the twilight of her life. Also featured in this volume are unforgettable women characters from Khushwant Singh’s most popular works of fiction: Georgine, a clueless American teenager who is seduced by a middle-aged tour guide in Delhi; and Nooran, a young girl in pre-Partition Punjab, who discovers the sweet pleasure of first love only to be overtaken by cataclysmic events which leave her adrift.Insightful, poignant, and occasionally wicked, the essays and extracts in On Women are testament to why Khushwant Singh remains one of the most popular writers of our times.

    

    So when a chance encounter leads him to MI6, Alec thinks he’s landed the perfect job for his talents. But working alone, relying on instinct, he’s soon spinning a web of deception that has him caught between his new masters and powerful opponents. For in his new line of work the difference between the truth and a lie can be the difference between life and death. And Alec is having trouble telling them apart …The Spanish GameAlec Milius quit the spying game six years ago – or so he thought.Living in exile in Madrid, he is lured back into a brutal world of lies and deception by the mysterious disappearance of a prominent politician. Forced to work alone, without the support of his former masters in London, Alec comes face to face with the nightmare of modern terror. And this time there's no-one to call for help…

    Peterson comes a creative guide to language construction for sci-fi and fantasy fans, writers, game creators, and language lovers. Peterson offers a captivating overview of language creation, covering its history from Tolkien’s creations and Klingon to today’s thriving global community of conlangers. He provides the essential tools necessary for inventing and evolving new languages, using examples from a variety of languages including his own creations, punctuated with references to everything from Star Wars to Michael Jackson. Along the way, behind-the-scenes stories lift the curtain on how he built languages like Dothraki for HBO’s Game of Thrones and Shiväisith for Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World, and an included phrasebook will start fans speaking Peterson’s constructed languages. The Art of Language Invention is an inside look at a fascinating culture and an engaging entry into a flourishing art form—and it might be the most fun you’ll ever have with linguistics.

    With a street value over eight million dollars, the grungy duo sets up a buyer then rumbles through Florida in their 1973 El Camino to unload the square grouper and end their financial woes. Unfortunately, in their efforts to make the rendezvous, they become unexpectedly entangled with a host of unsavory characters, including an expatriate haunted by his single testicle, a destitute real estate developer with a penchant for GMILFs, a toupee-wearing pederast, Florida’s first closet-gay Governor, and a game warden turned eco-maniac, all of whom must be dealt with as a Category 5 hurricane, Cyclone Tyrone, spins ashore.

    The young military widow leaves dozens of messages for her father but receives no response. Looking for a copy of her mother’s obituary, Roxie reads an article in the newspaper and discovers her entire life is a web of lies, secrets, and deceit. The story sends her off in search of the truth about the man she idolized. She drives to her father’s birthplace—Manhattan, Kansas—and moves into her grandmother’s huge, three-story, hundred-and-fifty-year-old house. It’s been vacant for decades, but Roxie begins to believe she’s not the only occupant. She doesn’t know if there’s an intruder or if the spirit of her grandmother is watching over her. In only a matter of days, someone has made several attempts on her life. She calls in her best friend, Janice Tallchief—retired on a disability from the Kansas City Police Department—to act as her bodyguard. Can Jan and Roxie unravel the mystery before the killer succeeds?

    She's sent to an orphanage in Blackpool, but the master has an eye for a pretty young lass. Grace won't be his victim, so she runs, destitute, into the night. In Blackpool, she finds a home with the kindly Sheila and Peggy - and meets a lovely airman. But it's 1938, and war is on the horizon. Will Grace ever find the happiness and home she deserves?

    NEW, edited and updated version. (Formatting, spelling and grammar corrections made, plus some new material added) Please note, this is a politically incorrect story. It bashes the current administration. Irony is winning the Powerball lottery six months before the world's economies meltdown. The Shelter tells the story of a family who wins $27 million in the lottery, they pull roots and move to Nashville where they buy a large home bordered by three farms. With the money in hand the world's economies in the process of melting down. They 'buy the farm.' They purchase the three farms and the 7,000 square foot house. The farms are able to provide food when the economies collapse. The house is large enough to hold all of their extended family. To ensure their survival, Jay decides to build a large shelter under the farmland. Jay befriends the local Mafia 'Don', Tony, who helps him in exchange for a ticket in the shelter. Book one tells the story of Jay and Lacy, winning the lottery, their move to Nashville, buying the farms and building the shelter while the world goes to hell around them. The world starts to melt down when the people of Greece elect a new Prime Minister, who defaults on their loans to Germany. The EU falls apart when the other European Nations follow Greece's lead. China demands payment of its debt from America or the state of Hawaii. The President increases taxes to raise the $1.4 trillion needed to pay China back, putting enormous stress on the American economy. Russia adds gasoline to the fire by dumping their dollars. Russia helps destabilize the EU so they can invade by offering humanitarian aid. When the American economy collapses, distribution of food stops, starvation becomes a real problem. The cities explode in violence due to the lack of food and clean water. As the insanity spreads, Jay builds a shelter complex to house over 40 people for more than a year without surfacing. A shelter, he thinks, is an insurance policy, one he hopes he'll never have to use. A shelter complex he and his neighbors, need in order to survive an invasion of their farms. All of their winnings are worthless when the only real currency is a loaf of bread and a bottle of clean water. There's a special sneak preview of my next book, "In the Year 2050. America's Religious Civil War" included at the end of the "The Shelter."

    Now eighteen, Lorna Cunningham is eagerly awaiting the day when she can leave the Newcastle house in which she's known only heartache. The Arabian ancestry of the father she has never known has meant that she has been nothing more than an unwelcome guest in her grandmother's home, forced to take second place to her spoilt cousin, Rose, who has wanted for neither love nor material comforts.Lorna takes comfort from her growing friendship with bookseller Edwin Randall, who shares her love of reading and inspires her with his passion to improve the terrible conditions of the Newcastle slums. But their relationship is overshadowed by Lorna's infatuation with the handsome and charismatic Maurice Haldane - the man Rose is determined she herself will marry and who has the power to change all their lives for ever...

    Number five Kitchener Avenue heralds the start of a new life for the Hope family. For pregnant Miriam it is a warm, safe environment to bring up her child. For her sister, fourteen-year-old Barbara, it means independence . . . and boys. And for Fred it provides the security he craves for his young family. In the lead up to Christmas, the Hopes settle in, and start to make happy memories in their new home. But World War II is round the corner, and this carefree life can't last. Soon the family are split up. Bar, wanting to do her bit for the war effort, joins the ATS, while Miriam and her children are evacuated to the countryside and away from her husband. As the country is thrown into turmoil, can the Hope family come back together and find the happiness they crave? 'A Winter Hope is a heartwarming novel following two sisters from pre-war to post-war, their parallel stories filled with love and loss. I found myself completely wrapped up with their experiences and shed a tear at the twists and turns of their lives.' Mollie Walton, author of The Daughters of Ironbridge 'I have long been a fan of Sheila Newberry's novels. I love their wonderful warmth and charm.' Maureen Lee, bestselling author of The Seven Streets of Liverpool 'Reading a Sheila Newberry book is like having dinner with your mother in her warm and cosy kitchen. You can feel the love and care put into every juicy morsel' - Diane Allen, bestselling author of For the Sake of Her Family Previously published as The Family at Number Five.

    Additional narrators include Geoffrey Palmer O.B.E., Sir Donald Sinden, and Elaine Stritch. Music: 'Reverie De Sebastian' by Steve Davies.