Working with the blindest of clues, Siddharth has to race against time to prevent terrorists from achieving their horrific goal--an India laid low by a catastrophe of biblical proportions.This is a story that leaps across continents, gets to the heart of convoluted terrorist plots and attacks, and amazes you with its exposition of high-tech gadgetry and science. It is equally a story of breathtaking bravery, recounted at a mind-blowing pace. At its core, it is also a story about the beauty of relationships. Relationships that are beyond national boundaries and historic enmities…

    Hephaestus Books represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Hephaestus Books continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. This particular book is a collaboration focused on Enid Blyton series.

    He has everything he could ever want at his fingertips, but something is missing. When one of his friends gives him an exclusive invite to join the Billionaire Birthday Club, he’s intrigued. Could this place finally help him figure out what's missing in his life? Tara Wilson takes the concierge position at the elite and very private island resort, Billionaire Birthday Club, viewing it as a stepping stone to opening her own high-end hotel. What she doesn’t expect is to fall for one of her clients, which could jeopardize everything for her, including her heart. Will Wade’s birthday wish come true? Will Tara be able to have both love and a career? And what will happen when the news gets out about their relationship? *** Billionaire Birthday Club is an exclusive resort—for the billionaire who appears to have everything but secretly wants more. After filling out a confidential survey, a curated celebration is waiting on the island to make their birthday wishes come true!

     In the aftermath, Ethan Brody returns from the war to find everything he knows and loves reduced to nothing but ashes. Hell bent on revenge, he sets off to find the murderous gang, only to have them slip away. Losing his faith, he sets off on a life of bounty hunting, vowing to never again let justice go astray. "Alive" is no longer an option and in the process, the legend of the Rider is born. 1894: Oliver Kingston Dukes a man of remittance finds his way to the town of Adobe Wells, immediately becoming embroiled in the town's struggle with the wealthy and powerful Katy brothers. Enter the Rider, on the trail of the notorious bandit Hector Salazar. He joins Dukes and the townsfolk to take back the town once and for all, and perhaps...take back his own salvation.

    Thanks for sharing their lives with us. Reminds me of my family’s toffee legacy. As the only daughter the receipe falls on my shoulders. I laughed at the antics of Ethel and Carol as it hit home with me. Can’t wait to read more. Merry Christmas Diane from Colorado -Diane C Boyle ★★★★★ Five Stars Love all the stories! November 26, 2017 Love all the stories! I love the "clean" romance, and the spirit of the characters. With all the hate, violence, and over sexualization in books, TV, movies, news, these stories took me to a place where people are kind and beautiful in heart. I'm smiling from ear to ear! - Penguin812 “So holiday perfect! 6 Inspirational and funny books, heartwarming, and delightful to read! As a senior I was really happy to see older characters having romances as well! The inhabitants of Kissing Bridge are so cute I want to live there! S.Stevens - Kindle Good Books“Linda West has such a knack for the humorous side of characters … Her writing style is so upbeat and unique I hope to see more of these characters I’ve come to love - I laughed my butt off over Kat's story with her long distance boyfriend. I laughed so hard my husband kept asking me what I was reading. I love Kissing Bridge!”Debbie Dragna< Book 1 - Christmas Kisses and Cookies - Supermodel Summer Landers is forced to return home from LA to Christmas crazy and ultra adorable Kissing Bridge Mountain. She discovers her family blue ribbon cookie winning legacy is in shambles. Together with her mom and older Aunt they work to beat their rivals and Martha Stewart. Book 2 - Holiday Kisses and Valentine Wishes - Dodie is broken hearted when she comes to stay at the Kissing Bridge lodge. She finds herself falling for a soldier she writes letters to. She never imagined he'd show up in Kissing Bridge. Book 3 - Chocolate Kisses and Heartfelt Wishes - Olympic hopeful Kacey Anderson comes home to Kissing Bridge to heal and secretly train against her coaches wishes. A compelling activist makes her question her true path in life and love. Book 4 - Firework Kisses and Summertime Wishes - Sweet Elle is broken hearted when her longtime boyfriend dumps her because she's not good enough to be his future wife. She finds solace in her horses and a stranger that has lost as much as she has. Book 5 - Christmas Wishes and Paris Kisses - Kat O'hara is a writer that can't write. Her long distance relationship is putting a strain on her nerves and her diet. When she meet a stunning stranger, Raj Kumar from India, she dislikes him immediately. A super funny odd couple, they are thrown together in a night class, and transform each others lives. 6 - Christmas Belles and Mistletoe - Kissing Bridge is in an uproar when the Landers' famous blue ribbon cookie recipe is stolen. Everyone is a suspect, especially Mrs. Beaverton who's been stealing kisses from all the men in town that happen anywhere near hanging mistletoe. It's a cosy mystery only a Christmas miracle and Santa can solve. Magical recipes and secret baby's delight all in this HEA set.

    If you’re going to be an agent for the Australian Department of Unusual Events, then you need to know how to deal with werewolves. And werewolves, rookies, are not pleasant creatures to deal with. The average werewolf is seven feet tall and weighs roughly two hundred and fifty kilograms. The average werewolf also wants nothing more than to rip your face off and eat you for dinner.If you want to beat a werewolf, you can’t afford to fight fair. No, you cheat – you cheat as much as you bloody can. If that means sneaking up on it and putting a silver bullet in the back of its head with a sniper rifle, then that’s what you do. But I’m not going to waste your time by telling you what you already know. I’m not going to tell you about a mission where everything went right. I’m going to tell you about a mission where things went wrong because things always go wrong and learning how to deal with that is the only way you’ll last more than a year or two in the Department.So pay attention and take notes. It could save your life.

    

    Seven years of the worst war in history – so far – have turned the region into a wasteland where only the sword rules, and only the rats and the bankers grow fat. Roger Hawken, seventeen-year-old Englishman, black sheep of a family of minor landed gentry, leaves his Wiltshire home to take service with a free company of mercenary soldiers based in the Netherlands. Roger’s indiscretions have resulted in his being apprenticed as blacksmith in place of a more gentlemanly occupation, and as a smith he joins the company. Pitchforked into the bloody conflict of the siege of Breda, he finds there is more to his job than shoeing horses and forging short-swords, and starts to make his name as a fighting soldier…

    Winter is coming... As survivors around the world struggle to get their feet under them in a world overrun by the walking dead, a new problem rears its head. As unstoppable as any horde of zombies, the seasons march on, heedless of the fragility of the human race. The first winter is approaching. Up in the mountains of northeastern Oregon, Steve's band settles in but discover something so horrible that it may destroy them before the weather has a chance. Kevin faces ghosts from his past while struggling to maintain unity among his people. In other parts of this dead world, a team of scientists struggle to devise a cure... A new pharaoh rises in Egypt... Chad learns he will do anything to keep his daughter safe... Juan struggles with the demons of his past that tell him he is unfit to lead...or love... A military unit tries to restore order at any cost... Dead: Winter The first winter has come, and with it, new problems. No longer are the zombies the biggest threat to survival. With the global infrastructure gone, people are forced to do whatever it takes to survive...even the unthinkable. Steve faces his toughest decision yet as he tries to lead his people through one nightmare after another. Kevin risks everything to save one girl and finds himself in the middle of a military fight for power. Juan fights his way home, but soon finds himself leaving the island...at the worst time possible. Two women set out for London...but one has a secret that she is keeping under wraps. One man seeks to be a god as a new exodus occurs in Egypt. A soldier abandons his post, but can he escape his duty? The darkest days have come now that winter has most of the world in its clutches. Dead: Siege & Survival Several months have passed since the dead began to walk. The first winter has taken its toll in more ways than one as humanity continues to struggle to survive. Not every threat to humanity comes form the undead as so many have discovered man's ability to sink into depravity with the absence of law and order. Time and again survivors have fought, run. and regrouped. Yet, there seems to be no respite, and as winter draws on...things become more and more difficult to endure. A new threat seems to materialize even before the last can be dealt with. And if the physical toll was not enough, the hours of isolation and the time left with one's thoughts can become just as destructive. How much more can you take? Dead: Confrontation

    Make way for Charlie Smithers.The time is the nineteenth century. The place, the Serengeti Plain, where one Charlie Smithers – faithful manservant to the arrogant bone-head, Lord Brampton (with five lines in Debrett, and a hopeless shot to boot) – becomes separated from his master during an unfortunate episode with an angry rhinoceros, thereby launching Charlie on an odyssey into Deepest Darkest Africa, and subsequently into the arms of the beautiful Loiyan…and that’s where the trouble really begins.Maasai warriors, xenophobic locals, or evil Arab slavers, the two forbidden lovers encounter everything that the unforgiving jungle can throw at them."A truly engaging read that will keep anyone’s attention from the hilarious beginning until the last word. I highly recommend this 5 star novel." ~ Chapters & Chats

    The story unfolds in the weeks following Andaris’ seventeenth name day: Desperate to escape a life of meaningless drudgery behind the plow, he leaves the safety of his secluded valley town and ventures alone into the uncharted depths of an ancient forest, the heart of which is said to be twisted and black. Choosing to ignore the counsel of his more sensible nature, he is drawn ever onward, lured by the tantalizing splendor of distant mountains, the sheer peaks of which purportedly stand sentinel over a land long steeped in mystery. What ensues is more remarkable than anything even he could have envisioned. Andaris goes looking for adventure.... What he finds is a world in the midst of tidal change, an extraordinary place where he encounters all manner of extraordinary things—vast landscapes teeming with flora and fauna capable of firing the most malnourished of imaginations. To be sure, danger lurks around every bend, a heady amalgam of sword and sorcery which threaten to bring his young life to an abrupt end. Indeed, if not for a very fortuitous encounter, namely the crossing of paths with a band of travelers who turn out to be much more than meets the eye, it surely would have. Gaven, Ashel, and Trilla seem fated to become fast friends, the sort of companions he’d always wanted, but never thought he’d have. The Lost One and his army of shapelings are preparing to march against Rogar’s western border—the only thing standing between them and the green, fertile lands to the East. The balance of power is shifting. Despite the debt of blood owed them by their Sokerran neighbors, the Alderi Shune fear they will be made to stand alone. No one speaks of defeat, but it is on the tip of every tongue. For the first time since they were erected, more than a thousand years ago, the impossible is about to happen: The Eight Walls of Rogar are about to fall. The scales could tip in either direction, depending, oddly enough, on the choices of a rather bookish young man named Andaris Rocaren. You will forgive me, intrepid reader, if I now take the opportunity to formally invite you to join in the fun, to accompany young Andaris and his fellows into and out of the kingdoms of Nelvin, Mindere, Sokerra, and Rogar. Over hill, dell, and stream you shall go, hiking through rugged mountain ranges heavy with snow, into subterranean catacombs whose unplumbed fathoms are illumined by naught but the guttering flames of your makeshift torch, until you reach, at long last, and in just the nick of time, the battered gates of a once great civilization on the brink of war.

    He is warned by night whispers to flee from his tiny mountain village of Dun Mare. The stolen egg of a dragon will pay his way, if he manages to live long enough to sell it. However there are forces against him far beyond his understanding. All he believes he knows about his life and home is false, but the egg of the black dragon is the key. Many believe black dragons do not exist or have gone extinct. Gareth finds himself alone in a strange world of tempest seas, flying dragons, and powerful foes vying for the mental powers he may possess, and for control of the egg. Telepathic teachers a secret sisterhood, and the king's armies willing to kill for a black dragon are only the beginning of Gareth's story. The second book of the series is expected to be published by October of 2015.

    Beam Piper's groundbreaking parallel world's SF novel, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, and the sequel, Great Kings' War by John F. Carr and Roland Green. The Paratime Police patrol an infinity of alternate earths. Their prime directive is to protect the Paratime Secret thereby keeping this infinity of worlds from mixing and destroying each other, or from learning the parasitical Home Time Line is secretly looting their resources.When Penn. State Policeman Calvin Morrison is accidentally dropped off from a cross-time conveyer onto Styphon's House Subsector, he threatens both the Paratime Secret and leadership of the gunpowder theocracy, who owe their power to their secret knowledge of the "fireseed" formula. In just a few weeks, by the use of his knowledge of military strategy, Kalvan saves the small princedom of Hostigos from an invasion orchestrated by Styphon's House.Kalvan Kingmaker opens right after Kalvan's decisive victory over the Holy Host of Styphon. With Great King Kaiphranos of Hos-Harphax in mourning over his eldest son's death, the time is ripe for the Army of Hostigos to invade Harphax and topple the Iron Throne. At the holy city of Balph, the Inner Circle is reeling. Archpriest Roxthar, a rare true believer in Styphon, is conducting a full-blown inquisition of Styphon's corrupt upper priesthood. Once his reformation is complete, Roxthar's next job will to rebuild the Holy Host and defeat and destroy the Usurper Kalvan.Meanwhile, there is a great migration of nomads across the Sea of Grass; they are the wild card. As the nomads pour across the Great Middle River, pushing the clans and tribes that live there into the Great Kingdoms, the big question soon becomes: Will Styphon's House be buried by the human wave, or will they use the nomads in their war to the death with Kalvan and Hos-Hostigos?

    Chauncy Rollock is an amiable archaeologist with just the right knack for solving logic problems. And the Mexican Military captain Gustavo De Leon is tired of fighting corruption at all levels of government. All three men and their families become entangled in the secret of the Mayan Riddle found on the steps of a newly discovered pyramid. Those who would use the treasure for personal gain are never far from their goal and must be stopped at all costs.The Yucatan will never be the same.Treasure of the Mayan King is a clean action-adventure novel that is safe and enjoyable for the whole family to read. “If you like Indiana Jones, you’ll love this book!”From the back cover:A violent tropical storm has uncovered a previously unknown Mayan pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula. On the steps of this temple lies a riddle that leads to the hidden treasure of a great Mayan king. One man, the French linguist Dr. Sova, believes he knows the secrets of the riddle. But his efforts to find it are cut short and the information falls into the hands of unscrupulous people. The race is on to see who will be the first to find the treasure of the Mayan king!

    But when her aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, travels back in time to 1941, she must not only fight for her right to fly the world's best fighter plane, she must also fight in the opening air battles of World War II. She must fight her father's war.