She fled from a tyrannical mother into the clutches of a sadistic man. She endured poverty, fear and pain. Then along came Ben Starling, older, wiser, who smoothed her path and gave her love and security. But now Ben has become a stranger who has slipped beyond her reach. As her stability threatens to disintegrate once more, a thin, waif-like girl from Liverpool thrusts her way into Laura's life - a girl who is to prove a link with the past. But no one can help Laura make the decisions that will alter the course of her existence. As the September starlings gather, Laura realises she must take courage and forge her own future.

    These are the stories of the Old West written by bestselling Western author Paul L. Thompson. Matt was one of Shorty’s best friends, they had worked on ranches’ together back in their teen years and were as close as any brothers. Shorty told his partner Buffalo he may be gone for months, but will write when he can. That night he cleaned and oiled his guns. As the sun came up the next morning, he was miles closer to Big Spring, Texas in U.S. Marshal U.S. Marshal Shorty Thompson is on the case again when a young English girl and her brother are robbed of their precious family jewels they are trying to safely get to San Francisco. Outlaws abound, all trying to get their hands on the loot, but they have a bit of a surprise when they come face to face with scrappy young Margret, backed up by Shorty. Plenty of bullets are shot both ways, but will the bad guys win? Excitement, shoot-outs, and life or death situations ensue, all over some black pearls and blue diamonds. This is Black Pearls, Blue Diamonds and Bullets from Paul L. Thompson. And in “The Long Trail Nowhere” Ronnie Cox slowly saddled his horse, stowing all of his traveling gear and tying it tightly. Walking to the main house, he knocked on the door. Jack Johnson opened it with a smile. “Come on in, Ronnie.” Ronnie stood with hat in hand. “Mister Johnson, I’s needing to draw my pay, as I’ll be taking up the trail after a bit.” Little did he know, this trail to nowhere was going to lead to a whole lot of trouble, and he was slowly riding that way. These three exciting stories are now together in this new collection from action-packed bestselling Western author Paul L. Thompson. These are three of the most powerful Western adventures in town waiting for your Kindle!

    But when news of a horrifying murder shocks her sleepy fishing community, she’s compelled by a deep sense of justice to help track down the killer. And when an old friend offers her a chance to do it from behind a badge, she goes all in. Ellie’s investigation gets off to a rapid start, leading her into a hidden underworld of drugs, murder, and lies, where she quickly discovers that some of the locals may not have the cleanest of hands. Meanwhile, as deep pain continues to linger from the recent death of her father and a gaping hole left by a previous mission gone terribly wrong, Ellie discovers that it’s not so easy to outrun your past. SHALLOW BREEZE When a plane loaded with illegal drugs crashes into an iconic pier, the locals begin to wonder if any other secrets are about to fall out of the sky. After going to Tampa to search out a possible link between Hawkwing Enterprises and the dead body of a young boy, Ellie suddenly becomes entangled with an elusive drug lord and the former Navy SEAL working with him. On Pine Island, a local and beloved business owner is blackmailed into moving cargo that goes against everything he believes in, bringing his world crashing down around him as he begins to live a sinister lie. BITTER TIDE When local Matlacha artist Jean Oglesby confides to Ellie that her son may be in some trouble, Ellie steps in to help and is sent down a winding trail that leads her into deep and unexpected waters. A Category 4 hurricane has Pine Island in its crosshairs, and as the winds whip the mainland, it forces Ellie to make a choice: flee for safety or stay and hunt down the weapons smugglers that have kidnapped and tortured an innocent man. And when a friend from the past suddenly appears with unexpected news, she begins to wonder if the truth is even out there and if she will be forced to finally bend the rules. VACANT SHORE Ellie has encountered setback after setback, and this time is no different. When a former adversary comes back for revenge, Ellie discovers the crosshairs cover more than she ever could have imagined and locks her into a deadly battle that has already claimed far too many innocent lives. As she gets ever closer to unmasking the lies running rampant over her community, Ellie finds corruption at the highest levels of government, forcing her to reexamine everything she knew to be true. In this nail-biting conclusion to an investigation that began in Broken Stern, Ellie’s pursuit of justice takes her to the very threshold of death’s door, and what she finds leading up to it is nothing short of terrifying.

    What a dilemma! What is he going to do?Find out in the Diary of a Hungry Ocelot! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tags: minecraft stories, minecraft fanfiction, minecraft books, minecraft diaries, minecraft tales, minecraft short stories, minecraft short story, minecraft story, minecraft creepypasta, minecraft diary of a wimpy, game fanfiction, kids books, minecraft free, minecraft books for kids, minecraft games, minecraft xbox, minecraft tips, minecraft game, minecraft comics, minecraft story book, minecraft journal book, herobrine, villager. minecraftales, game fiction, game stories, game books, game story books.

    Along the way, however, Miriam boards the wrong train . . . Ann Abelson's novella begins a family saga based on actual events.

    Great perfumes have always had one purpose: to seduce. Aphrodesia is a mystery novel that takes place in this world. Eric Foster, the top student at the world-famous perfume institute in France, creates an aphrodisiac of astonishing potency. But when a critical ingredient of his perfume goes missing from the institute's collection, he is accused of the theft and expelled. Disgraced, he takes a mind-numbing job in New York testing scent additives for supermarket products. The only bright spot in his life comes from moonlighting -- with his three-legged bloodhound Daisy -- as a "forensic smell expert" for the NYPD. When police call him a crime scene where a woman has killed her lover in a fit of insatiable lust, he is shocked to recognize a familiar smell, his aphrodisiac. The cops tell him they found the same perfume at three similar homicides, and suddenly Eric becomes the prime suspect. Convinced the perfume is a counterfeit, he sets out on a desperate mission to prove his innocence and discover why the knockoff is killing people. Smell is the most primal of our senses. How it affects us, emotionally and physically, and how experts use it to manipulate us are at the heart of this story.Aphrodesia was a Quarter-Finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition.

    

     That becomes hard to do when Lieutenant Reese Armstrong sieges it for use as a hospital for his wounded soldiers and encampment grounds during the forty-seven day standoff for control of the Mississippi River before the surrender of Vicksburg. Widow Alexis Bella Seaborne led a sheltered life in the arms of massive oaks at Azalea Plantation with her husband Luke Wyatt until the Civil War forced her to forget about the elegant dress of a lady and embrace survival when a Yankee officer took control of her home. Reese never thought he’d fall for a Southern belle, but he can’t deny the attraction he feels each time Alexis’s haunted blue eyes show passion for the home she loves and her beloved South. He can’t help but envy the love and regard she held for her husband and longs for love like it. Alexis never thought she could love again when her husband died in the war. How could she fall for a Yankee when Union soldiers killed him? Left with nothing but a war-ravaged rundown plantation after the invasion of an ocean of blue, can she find trust and faith to move on? As movement flutters in her stomach, can she let go of the past to find a future for her and her unborn child? Her first love was sweet, young, and innocent, and she loved him with all of her heart, yet this handsome Yankee devil invaded her home and made her blood sizzle. His touch seared her skin as well as her heart. Worse yet, his kisses entrapped her lips and devoured her, consuming her with a passion that told her she was still alive and had not been buried with her husband. Despite her efforts to die on the inside, he awoke the spirit, heart, and passion she thought she’d buried for good. Book one of a two book serial, but may be read as a stand-alone. The second book will pick up with Reese still battling the raging Civil War and focus on the ending of the war. This one focused on the Battle of Vicksburg.

     Meals will be enjoyed, friends will be consoled and they will share in the much anticipated birth of a new baby. Amidst all the excitement and busyness, the thread of love and family remains strong. Join them this holiday season for a Christmas in Tuscany! Legacy Series: Book 1: Buying Time Book 2: In Her Own Time Book 3: Matter of Time Book 4: Taking Time Book 5: Just in Time Book 6: All in Good Time A Map for Bella: Book 1: Bella’s Hope Book 2: Bella’s Holiday Book 3: Bella’s Heart Book 4: Bella’s Home Legacy Series Reunion: Book 1: Christmas in Tuscany Book 2: Birthday Surprise Book 3: A Summer Together

    

    When bones are recently discovered near his abandoned ute, her mother informs her of the details surrounding that devastating day. Now, Lily is determined to find out what happened.Under the alias of Abby O’Brien, she leaves her job with the police force in the city and accepts a position as a personal nurse to care for Nathaniel and Matthew Kinsley’s mother.Arriving at the cattle station, Lily thinks she has a foolproof plan until she catches the eye of the elder Kinsley brother and sparks fly.Secrets are revealed, and the sordid past of the Nobles and Kinsleys comes to a head when Lily discovers a family she didn’t know existed.Will this news be the glue to hold her to a place she once called home, and can she learn to trust Nathaniel and accept his marriage proposal?

    He knows the journey to Texas will be long and difficult, but his heart and mind simply won’t rest until he locates his family. In Apocalypse Trails, bestselling author Joe Nobody takes the reader along on a thrilling adventure through a world that is barely alive. Humanity is threatened with extinction as society has been buried under a blizzard of volcanic ash. Join Commander Jack Cisco as he ventures across this doomsday landscape, encountering both the best and the worst mankind has to offer.

    Times-News, January 4, 1918Seeing something of himself in a struggling teenage boy, an old man faces one final challenge--and an opportunity to bring closure to a secret past.Spanning nearly nine decades, from the mountains of western Virginia, to a riverside mill town, to a farm in the Piedmont, this is the story of lives marked by tragedy, resilience, and, ultimately, the discovery of purpose and belonging.Inspired by a true story.

    

    Tock.When a series of bombings rock the Pacific Northwest, FBI Agent Blake Wilder leaps into action.The investigation though, brings her back into contact with an ATF agent she has clashed violently with in the past.Their theories clash as hard as their personalities and Blake opts to run her own concurrent investigation. What she uncovers is a twisted tale twenty years in the making. The story, as they uncover it, is full of twists, turns, and explosive revelations. All the while, Blake’s renewed rivalry with ATF Agent Winslow is threatening to derail everything.The bombs continue to explode, and the bodies continue to mount as Blake races to find the killer before he’s able to kill anybody else. At the same time, she’s forced to fend off the vengeful attacks coming from within the law enforcement community itself as well as the strife within her own team.Old enemies resurface and new ones lurk in the shadows, waiting for their moment to step forward and strike. The knives are out, and Blake must dodge them all to keep a serial bomber from burning the city to the ground.Time is running out.Blake must either find the killer or become his next victim…