When Dana, the police detective brings tragic news the next morning, Sadie Zook, the mother of Rebecca’s best friend, becomes drawn into the investigation to find the murderer. Sadie finds that Rebecca lived in a secret world of Englisch friends and possibly Englisch boyfriends. She also knows that Eli, Rebecca’s father, is very controlling and would not understand why Rebecca would be interested in the world outside the Amish community. Then there is the matter of Mark, a young jealous Amish boy, who wanted nothing more than to court Rebecca. As Sadie investigates further she finds herself drawn deeper into a pool of potential suspects and personal danger.

    Never had she imagined it would go by so quickly. Memories of friends that had long since come and gone. Laughter that still echoed through the corridors of her mind. Each thought of those people made her stomach turn on end. The betrayal she felt from them was more than she could comprehend. Xavier was dead. He had passed, and Dawnika knew it before they even got to the hospital. It came as a bit of a shock that he ended up like his father. He was healthy, never did anything that he shouldn’t have. For Christ’s sake he was captain of the soccer and football team. Xavier was as healthy as could be, yet he gave no sign of life. One moment, he was breathing, the next he was lying, sprawled out on the couch. They were watching cheesy horror flicks, and laughing at every flaw, when he started to appear uncomfortable. At first, she wasn’t really worried, of course that was the first mistake that she made. He was her boyfriend, and she should’ve always been concerned, however, she wasn’t. The reason why would remain unknown to her. Twenty minutes later, he was complaining of chest pains and asked her to call an ambulance. She did, but when they arrived, she knew they were too late. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t moving. That of course nearly gave her a heart attack. Moreover she passed out, and when she woke up she was at the hospital, lying in a bed.

    But when they finally track down who was behind a brutal beating of a priest, not everything turns out to be as it seems.

     For ten long years young Dirk Blackthorn has followed his drunken father from one city to another, always having to cheat and steal for his next meal, and never knowing what the future might hold. A magician turned con artist, Dirk’s father Thad has taught him everything he knows. After being driven out of just about every southern city in Agora, they have come to Kell-Torey in search of a new beginning. With winter on its way, and all but a rusty coin spent on his father’s drinking, Dirk must make full use of his skills if they are to survive the harsh northern cold. As Thad descends deeper into his drunken delirium, Dirk becomes determined to make a name for himself in the city’s criminal underworld. Featuring two of Legends of Agora’s most beloved characters, Blackthorn Rising is a fast-paced coming of age tale wrought with sword and sorcery, it is a story of failure and triumph, and a testament to the unrelenting spirit of defiance and adventure within us all. FROM THE EDITOR Blackthorn Rising is a book that sticks with you. Michael Ploof’s stimulating prose and evocative cast of characters are incapable of boring you on any single page. The plot is sharp, charged with dark wit, adventure, intrigue, and emotion. Enjoy Dirk Blackthorn’s bumbling journey to manhood as he rises to become a great thief, and an even greater man. I loved every minute of editing this tale, and I know you’ll love every minute of reading it. --Holly M. Kothe, espressoeditor.com

    This is the reality for Sheneya “Shene” Rivers whose life has always been filled with drama and pain. At 14, her life goes from bad to worse when she gets pregnant and sold into marriage. For the next few years she struggles to survive her initiation into womanhood until she escapes. Thinking she has found a moment of peace, she begins to rebuild her life but lurking in the shadows is a force from her past that will stop at nothing to return to a life she had worked so hard to escape or leave her in a grave. Will Shene find the strength to survive for her future or will she succumb to horrors of her past?

    After getting caught reenacting what she sees, she runs away from home and seeks refuge in the streets of East Hammond,IN where she becomes vividly exposed to the rugged street life. Cuz: A focused hustler who's recently released from serving a 5 year sentence. Cuz places Precious under his wings, but only if she agrees to earn her keep by any means necessary. On their rise to power they encounter Shree, LaToya, Sonya, and Neicey. All five women have the same agenda needed for their journey at hand and agrees to live by Cuz's creed. "Never bite the hand that feeds you, unless that hand tries to slap the taste out of your mouth." Shaunta'e Howard is a new author to the game of books. Although she has been writing all her life this is her first release. She is a very outgoing young woman from Hammond, IN via Chicago, IL. She has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Devry University and a MBA in business from Keller Graduate School of Management. She is a mother of a 15 year old son and 5 year old daughter. In her spare time she enjoys reading, dancing, and any activity involving family and friends. Look forward to Shaunta'e bringing more your way. This is just the beginning.

    Jaden is the new boy in town, as quiet and stoic as a teenager can be. From the moment they meet, their lives entwine. They’re meant to be together, simply fated since they laid eyes on each other. Together, they outlast the odds for years, through high school and college, loving and learning as they go. Headed in different directions, as Hazel develops a talent for writing and speech, while Jaden has harbored a romantic athlete inside him all his life, somehow they stay as united as two souls in love should be. But there are warnings, small signs which hint at an impending disaster. What will happen when that tragedy strikes, and upends everything they made together?

    The stakes are high and Sierra knows that if she wants to have that perfect family she’s always dreamed about, she would need to seek help. Ace Newman is a former Navy SEAL and a member of the elite security outfit, Silver Shields. Ace is good at two things: protecting his charges at all cost and keeping himself emotionally distant. When he meets Sierra, his walls slowly begin to crumble. Suddenly, nothing is more important to Ace than keeping Sierra safe and to do that, they hit the road. BOOK 2 Janey Moore led a simple and unpredictable life running her flower shop in a small town in Oklahoma. But when her sister mysteriously went missing she risked everything and went to Chicago in an effort to find her. When several strange things begin to happen, Janey realizes that her life might be in danger. The one person who can keep her safe is Silver Shields special operator, Drew Campbell but he is the last person she will ask for help. Drew Campbell is a man who is crushed by the weight of guilt. He can never open himself up to love again. Then he meets Janey Moore and his world tilts on its axis. When he hears that her life might be in danger, he decides that it’s up to him to save her. The only problem is that Janey does not want to be saved, not by Drew. BOOK 3 Nico Ortega is a man with a mission and that does not involve falling for the lovely and fiery woman who stole from him. Determined to get back what is his, he abducts her at gunpoint from a party and takes her to his private island. Now that he has her in his custody, he can get what she stole from him and send her on her way. However, things don’t turn out the way he plans. Tamika White lost everyone she’s ever cared about as well as her ability to laugh. A woman of few words, she retreated into a place deep down where no emotional connection can touch her. Then she meets Nico Ortega, the superhot, super rich hotelier. Sure that it's simply a case of mistaken identity, Tamika White decides to help Nico trace the woman he is after, a woman who looks remarkably like she does. BOOK 4 Hope Conran is the co-founder of one of the most popular dating sites. With an almost cult-like following among hackers, she is also one of the nicest people. But Hope hides a deep, dark secret from her childhood, one that is determined to creep out and consume her. She has had a series of life-threatening events that were too close for comfort and is afraid that someone might be after her life. Then to top it all, someone is systematically hacking into her servers and the damage is enough to wipe out years of hard work. She is at her wit’s end when a chance encounter leads her to Silver Shields operator and resident tech guru, Rusty Rosabelle. A former army engineer who served in the middle east, Rusty is very familiar with danger. As a techie and an ethical hacker, he is the perfect protector for Hope, but his arrogance rubs her the wrong way. Rusty puts his life on the line to protect Hope and in the process gets to see the beautiful, but broken soul that lives in her, making him question everything he has ever believed about love. BOOK 5 Emily Silver is the founder of Silver Shields, a security outfit that has earned a reputation as one of the best in the country. Several years ago, her life was shattered when she lost her seven-year-old daughter to kidnappers. Now there are two things that drive Emily: searching for her daughter and hating her ex-husband, tech billionaire, Wayne Carter.

    She goes beyond the call of duty with the most exotic sexual encounters along with a spiral emotional setting. This is one side chick you don’t want to cross, because she will do everything in her power to be number one. See how a side chick can go from number two to number one in this roller coaster book.

    She has everything a street bitch would want the cars, money, clothing, looks, and to top it off the best plug to the dope game in the world, yet all she really wants is the love her father use to give. Have you ever been in love? No! Hurricane hasn’t either up until her father’s dead. Until she thought she meet the man of her dream. She married him, they work together side by side in the street. Yeah he did normal nigga shit, lie, and cheat, but that’s what men do. Hurricane father schooled her on that when she was younger. He would say if you leave nigga because he cheats you will never have a man. He told her street don’t need love, they need money that was her daddy motto. Hurricane catered to her husband, head every morning, breakfast in bed, clothing laid out, bath water ran daily! So tell me this why would he try to kill her??? You can’t believe it? Me either gone read the book you haven’t heard the half of it.

    Young Trace LaFon counted that a good thing or he’d never have lived long enough to become a Texas Ranger or partnered up with Xavier Falcon. But the two become a part of history the very first time the Rangers were ever used as an arm of law enforcement in the Lone Star state. GUNS ALONG THE RIO is the first of this pair’s adventures as both they and the Rangers grow up on the Texas Frontier gaining experience and wisdom mixed with a lot of cowboy common sense and humor. As any cowpoke knows, good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. Colorful and historical characters make up this tale base on “The Cortina War” along the Rio Grande in 1859.

    

    And now I have to save the world. When the biggest game developers on a dying Earth create their latest VRMMORPG, it takes on a life of its own. Impossible to control, and even harder to predict, the game world in Spectres & Skin is officially classed as a parallel universe, and people clamor to escape the horrors of overpopulation and pollution by moving over. Recent graduate Matthew Blake is down on his luck. A climbing accident has robbed him of the use of his legs, his best friend is better than him in every way, and he just cannot find a job. VR is his only escape from a life he can't stand. When he is invited to peek into the exclusive new game world, he can't resist. Is his luck about to change? No. No it isn't. S&S: Exodus is a LitRPG novel, meaning it is extensively inspired by gaming mechanics and includes a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ calculations. It contains scenes of a graphic nature, permadeath, a really judgmental user interface, and a prophecy hat warns of the destruction of both universes — and that's just week one. This is not a book about a superhero, or even a true hero at all. It's the story of the first step a perpetual sidekick takes on his long path towards Champion; a path he perhaps doesn't feel he deserves. Though he does progress, and take on challenges, the first step is always the hardest on a long journey. If you're looking for a story about an overpowered killing machine from page one, you've got the wrong book!

     So what's different about this book, "The Assassination of JFK - Who Really Did It And Why"? Written by a lawyer, it cuts through all the misinformation surrounding the Kennedy assassination and focuses only on the evidence available. Something the Warren Commission strangely failed to do. It also reveals how the assassination went wrong and why the subsequent cover-up was so important for the perpetrators. This is something that almost all other studies into the John F Kennedy assassination overlook. And it takes us back to the early days of the Kennedy family business empire, in the 1920s, and throws light on aspects ignored by other Kennedy assassination investigators. Such as the activities and boundless ambition of Joe Kennedy, the family patriarch and father of the president. Talking of boundless ambition, how did Johnson, JFK's Vice-President, feel at the 1960 Democratic Party Convention, when JFK won the nomination in the first round? Why did he accept the comparatively menial post of Vice-President under Kennedy? Especially when throughout much of the preceding Eisenhower administration he had been more senior in rank to JFK as Senate Majority Leader? And at 52 years of age he wasn't getting any younger. Did he know something even then? Since 1978 the official version of the Kennedy assassination acknowledges that it took place "probably as the result of a conspiracy". So there WAS a Kennedy conspiracy! Who, then, were the conspirators and why did they plan and carry out this murder? Who benefited? How did US policy towards certain foreign countries change after November 1963? What happened with domestic and financial policy? The clues are there. Craig Newman takes us behind the scenes for a glimpse of who really makes the decisions, and who has the power to murder the President of the United States and then order an "investigation" that covers up their crimes? This is one book that no-one remotely interested in the JFK Assassination Conspiracy should be without. This Second Edition contains some new material, including an additional Appendix on the Warren Whitewash/Report.

    No one can explain what killed him. Another tech industry titan is missing. No one can explain how he disappeared. The FBI assigns David and Martin Yerxa to investigate. But father and son are outside their comfort zone among the Internet CEOs, tech journalists, and intelligentsia of Northern California. Together, David and Martin must unravel the mystery of one man's death and another's disappearance while battling the larger forces that seem to be working against them. Ghosts in the Machine is a tense, thought-provoking thriller that will leave you guessing until the final shocking pages.