On the first morning, however, she wakes up feeling slightly ill, and with a strange scratch mark on her waist. Soon, Katie and Jason are plunged into a nightmare. Something dark and sadistic lurks beneath the calm of Hotel Necro, something that leaves Katie horrified by her own potential for evil. Can the couple break free from the hotel's ominous grip? And if they can, will they ever be allowed to leave? Escape From Hotel Necro is a dark horror story about a hotel with a twisted secret, about one woman's attempt to break free, and about the lengths we'll all go to in order to prove that we're good people at heart.

    Please see below for the contents: Smile Alex's mum was tired and over-worked. Holding down a full-time job, keeping the house clean and looking after the children - the youngest of which was still a handful with his ADHD as they tried to get the medication right - she just wanted a break. Even if it were only for an afternoon - so she sent Alex to the shopping mall, with his younger brother who was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to go to the toy store to spend his pocket money. She never once thought Alex would lose his younger brother in the crowds. And no one would have guessed how the day would have ended or just how many more children were missing. Buried I've stopped panicking now. Not because I'm not scared. I just know panicking won't help the situation. It'll only serve to make it worse. Need to try and remain calm for as long as possible. Control my breathing. Save my oxygen. I breathed in and coughed. The air in here is stale. I hope I'm not in here for long. Please, dad. Don't let me be here for long. Please. I started to cry. Helpless. The 8TH Moving from school to school is never easy. You're constantly struggling to catch up to the level of the other students. You're forever meeting new friends just to have to leave them and establish new colleagues at the new schools. You always find yourself lost in the never-ending maze of corridors as you battle to get to grips with where everything is... But it's worse when the more unfriendly students decide to take an instant dislike to you. Tormenting you each day...Pushing you to see how long it is before you're going to snap. Wondering what you're going to do in retaliation to their harsh words and cruel pranks. Are you going to stand up to them or are you going to be yet another pupil who goes out of their way to avoid them whilst crying yourself to sleep until you feel as though you can't take the suffering anymore? You're going to stand up to them of course. You're going to turn the tables on them. You're going to be the teacher to a very special class. A class where the lessons will be heard through-out the world...Lessons which will never be forgotten. This is your classroom now and lessons will be learned. The Cabin “You’d never see the ghosts, not properly. You’d only catch a glimpse of their shapes out of the corner of your eye and you’d hear their stolen, vengeful scream; an ear-piercing shriek to steal the lives of anyone who heard it.” For Craig, the trip to the cabin was supposed to be a quiet retreat from his hectic city life where he could concentrate on writing his latest novel. For his wife, Susan, and his two kids, Jamie and Ava, it was supposed to be a weekend vacation. For all of them, it became a nightmare. Happy Ever After If it's just you and me, together, for the rest of our lives - no-one else to mess things up... could you ever love me? Peter loves Vanessa. He loves her a lot and is looking forward to starting a nice life with her, and only her. No one else to get in the way and mess up their beautiful relationship. He'll do anything for her. Absolutely anything to make her happy. Anything to see that beautiful smile of hers. Anything to live happily ever after with her. The only problem is - Vanessa doesn't know Peter and, more importantly, understand why she is cuffed to the dining room table. Told through the eyes of the two people living the story, follow Peter as he keeps Vanessa prisoner hoping that she will fall in love with him and follow Vanessa as she desperately looks for a way out of this hell. Bonus short story: The Ward

    He must, however, work a deal with her. She needs money to save her ranch and he needs access to the spring on her property. Seems simple, right? But nothing’s ever easy with Pearl. The woman is steely and stubborn, but she’s lovely too, with a carefully concealed, vulnerable side. As much as he tries not to notice, thoughts of Pearl distract him plenty. She stirs all sorts of protective notions. He yearns to shield her from the dangerous outlaws that lurk in the nearby canyons. When whispered rumors turn into deadly threats, Levi vows to do whatever it takes to keep Pearl safe.

    This bundle contains the first three novels of Kingdoms of Sand, a fantasy series from a USA Today bestselling author. That's over 1,000 pages of battles, intrigue, and magic.Sweeping from snowy forests to cruel deserts, from bazaars of wonder to fields of war, here is a tale of legionaries and lepers, priests and paupers, kings and crows. Here a girl travels across endless dunes, seeking magic; a cruel prince struggles to claim a bloodstained throne; and a young soldier fights to hold back an overwhelming host. The fate of all civilization stands upon a knife's edge, for under the storm of war, even the greatest nations are but kingdoms of sand.

    Johnstone, Best-selling western author, John Spiars has created a timeless hero of the old west. The first novel in the Heck Carson Series, Riders of the Lone Star brings the wild and lawless Texas frontier to life. When the Law ain’t enough… He brings Justice. The year is 1852. Settlers on the Texas frontier are at the mercy of hostile Comanche and vicious outlaws, and the only ones holding the line between life and death are a few brave men, known as Texas Rangers. Outnumbered and outgunned, they bring law and order to the untamed land. They face impossible odds with nothing more than grit, determination, and a fast gun. It is this adventure and excitement that lures sixteen-year-old Jesse “Heck” Carson to leave his families ranch to join the fight. Heck quickly learns that this life comes at a price, the cost of which is hardship, danger, and possibly his own life. The bonds of friendship, loyalty, and duty lead him into epic battles that test his courage and resolve, and along the way he learns what it means to wear the star of the Texas Rangers. Excerpts: As fast as he could, he pulled the hammer back and fired, the first Comanche jerked once and hit the ground. The other warrior was no more than two feet away now. Heck wondered if he had another bullet left. Had he fired five or six shots? He couldn’t remember. Saying a silent prayer, Heck pulled the hammer back and looked at his approaching enemy. The point of the warrior’s lance was inches away from his chest when heck pulled the trigger. The barrel of the Walker was almost touching the chest of the charging Indian. Heck heard no sound, but saw the smoke pour out of the barrel and the big warrior dropped to his knees, and fell on top of the young Ranger. Lieutenant Sutter and Corporal Anderson approached the men on horseback, ready to do what had to be done. Looking at the group of riders, however, Sutter immediately recognized he had made a terrible mistake. These men were not military, not even by Southern standards. They were unkempt, filthy, and armed to the teeth. His heart sank as he noticed that most of the detachment were Mexican and their guns were not in their holsters. “What is going on here?” he said, unable to believe what he was seeing. The lead rider smiled and said, “This was even easier than Senor Cortina said it would be. Thank you.” Without saying another word, the man raised his pistol and fired two quick shots, hitting both Lieutenant Sutter and Corporal Anderson between the eyes. The man wheeled around with his rifle as Heck landed on his back, but it was a fruitless gesture. There was a look of pained surprise on the man’s face as Heck covered his mouth and pulled him to the floor. Heck plunged his knife into the man’s chest several times, as he kept his hand over the man’s mouth. After several seconds his muffled cries were silent. John Spiars is the author of the Heck Carson Series. He is a writer and amateur historian with a passion for the history and myths of the "Old West". His hope is to keep alive the western genre for this generation and all of those to come, while both entertaining and educating readers of all ages. He is a native Texan and lives in North Texas with his wife and four children. When not writing western novels, he maintains a blog and Facebook page about Texas history and travel entitled Under the Lone Star.

    Three years after being chased from office, the former president discovers the identity of the man who released his secret file. The ex-President begins to exact revenge while plotting his return to power. A fatwa makes CIA pilot Duncan Hunter the most wanted man in America. Then an airliner disappears over the Pacific Ocean. The new President gives the CIA two time-sensitive missions: find and eliminate his traitorous predecessor, and stop a self-radicalized computer scientist before another airliner goes missing. Duncan Hunter is in the race of his life to stop a jumbo jet from crashing. The CIA believes they have finally located the former president. All roads lead to Dubai where a showdown between good and evil begins on the top floor of the world’s tallest building.

     Book One: TESS. From the wild decadence of late nineteenth-century Newport comes the tale of Tess Moran, a beautiful Irish housemaid in one of the grand summer "cottages," who makes a dark bargain with a man of commanding wealth — and falls in love in the bargain. Book Two: AMANDA. Marrying American money to an English title is a tradition of its own; but Amanda Fain, a brash heiress with money to burn, has a fondness for Bolsheviks and bootleg liquor that makes her an unlikely match for the reluctant, ironic, and impoverished English aristocrat Geoffrey Seton, who has been ordered to America to find someone who can pay the bills for the family estate back home. Book Three: LAURA. While the Great Depression grinds relentlessly on, Laura Andersson, a Midwestern farm girl with an improbable love of the sea, embarks on a bold adventure that promises riches but delivers passion, one that threatens all she holds dear. Book Four: THE HEIRS is the dramatic conclusion to the four-book series BY THE SEA. Economic hard times are a distant memory in high-flying, recent-day Newport, home of the oldest and most prestigious trophy in the world, the Holy Grail of sport--the America's Cup. Here, the descendants of Tess, Amanda and Laura play out their destinies, their paths crossing in unforeseen ways: Mavis Moran, Neil Powers, his daughter Quinta, and America's Cup skipper Alan Seton all find themselves caught in a web of mystery, sabotage, and conflicting desires. "A quality novel [that] contains many of those little epiphanies, those moments of recognition. [Part 1, TESS,] is what makes Stockenberg's book stand out from the rash of novels on class conflicts between Irish servants and their Yankee masters." —Providence Journal

    How was a new character supposed to choose a class? How was he supposed to survive? Just one wrong step could mean imminent death.

    Anna Lawrence, nineteen and inspired by Lord Byron’s poems, is determined to seek a life of travel and adventure. Both decide to flee society. They meet when Giles rescues Anna from her first escapade. Anna is resolute in demonstrating her independence but, somehow, she always ends up in trouble. His own pleasures forgotten, Giles rescues her from one potential disaster after another. He knows he cannot live without her, but he meets an unexpected obstacle, for Anna has a secret that means she can never be more than a friend to the man she has come to love with all her heart... Is there any way for their love to prevail? Beth Elliott was born in Lancashire, but fell in love with books during many childhood visits to her Welsh grandparents, whose bookshelves were always well stocked. Her greatest discovery was the novels of Jane Austen, which have fascinated her ever since. Having first taught languages in various countries across the globe, Beth eventually decided to write her own novels. Her previous books The Wild Card, In All Honour and April and May were also published by Robert Hale and you can learn more about her on her website: www.bethelliott.webs.com.

    Brett, who was abducted from Indianapolis, fears that his captors will decide to kill him. More recently, two boys from a Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb, Stephen and Michael, have been abducted, and the detectives on the case know that if they are not found within 24 hours, any chance of finding them is remote and they will be gone forever. A fourth boy, George Tokay, a Navajo, holds a key piece to this puzzle and doesn’t realize it. Pete Kelliher and his team of FBI agents from the Crimes Against Children Unit have been tracking the murders of children for the past two years. He believes that if they can find these two boys, they might find the answers to the questions that have been eluding them. He and his team race to find Stephen and Michael before they disappear forever. There isn’t much to go on, and each time he gets a break, potential witnesses are found dead. As Pete and his team investigate, the stories of these boys are like loose threads on a sweater: pull the wrong one and it unravels completely. Slowly, Pete comes to the realization that one or more members of his own team might be behind it all. There is injury and death, some of which is Pete’s fault and that causes him to question his effectiveness and his future.

    All she wants to do is to win some cash, enjoy some drinks, and flirt with the sexy stranger she literally stumbles into at the roulette table. But little does she know that her luck is about to change…in a deadly way.When Chinese assailants attempt to kidnap Madalina from the casino, her broad-shouldered roulette partner comes to her rescue. A tall, dark, and handsome private security specialist, Cole West just met Madalina, but he’s instantly driven to protect the feisty, fashionable beauty.Now, Madalina and Cole must discover who is after her—and why. Catapulted down a perilous path of danger and deception, their building passion soon threatens to dissolve into distrust. Will they be torn apart just when they need each other the most?

    But she had battled the storms of life before, and she would not be intimidated, not by nature’s fury nor by a man, even one who once had her heart….... When the beautiful plantation-born socialite Angelique Latour is swept off her feet and quickly wedded to a swarthy scoundrel, her world is turned upside down. Although schooled to be a charming, proper Creole belle, her fine education does not prepare her for the cruel irony that leaves her penniless and alone. Haunted by loss and betrayal, she refuses to be a victim, tapping into her own resourcefulness to save herself in a world where men traditionally hold the power and position. And just as a unique opportunity for reinvention, redemption, and romance presents itself, forces of nature and the universe plot to spoil her happiness, driving her hopes with a hurricane’s fury into the wide expanse of the Gulf of Mexico. Angelique’s Storm weaves a powerful tale of suspense, treachery, and survival against the backdrop of pre-Civil War South Louisiana

    These stories have accumulated over 100+ reviews and have been boxed together for the first time!Missed ConnectionsHow far would you go for revenge? Veronica Bauer isn't above homicide. Twelve years after a ruthless attack killed her mother and put her father in prison, she embarks on a mission to bring the real culprits to justice. As bodies start to drop, Detective Sheila Arden is assigned to the gruesome case, but she soon discovers that the truth is more complicated than she thought. In a riveting game of cat and mouse, each woman challenges the other to reach new heights.The ProfessorFollowing the mysterious disappearance of her history professor, Nicole Costello discovers that her prestigious university is home to an elite secret society with questionable moral standards. Can Nicole crack the case of her missing professor and finish her thesis paper, or will Nicole herself crack under the pressure?

    Waking up in the Great Savanna, James struggles with a less-than-useful interface before he comes across two creatures locked in battle. The shoulder high grass allows him glimpses of a lion-esque creature fending off a torrent of scales and claws. Sneaking up to steal a better look at the surreal situation, James discovers two things. 1. Getting hurt in the game.... well hurts! 2. This noble race of lion-men, named Martyrs, have almost been decimated by the scaled lizard creatures. By unwillingly saving the life of a Martyr cub, James is adopted into their village. He grows to love the beauty of the Great Savanna and his adopted game brother, whose life he saved... That is until PATRICK arrives, and the tranquility of the game is shattered. James embarks on a mission for answers to his steadily increasing list of questions. On the top of that list, "What the hell happened to the human race, and where is my damn brother!?" LitRPG Categories = Town Building & MOBA

    He escaped Boston, with help from his mother, to head to the west coast and create a new life in Seattle. All that changes when he attends a party to celebrate his friend's new physics invention: a device that connects two universes together.Events quickly spiral out of control as Brett, and his best friend's ex-girlfriend, find themselves pulled by the device and end up in a different version of Earth, one that has been stripped of it's resources and population by an alien race. Will the Earth they came from share a similar fate? Can they escape the dimension they've been sent to and find a way back home? And do they want to escape after learning more about the universe they find themselves in? More importantly, can they change the SyStem that controls everything in that universe and many more?The SyStem: Multiverse is the first book in a series of the same name, where they fight monsters with psychic powers, deal with betrayal, survive on a barren world, and decide whether they will let things remain the same or take action to change their circumstances.Jon Svenson is the author of Biomedical Self-Engineering and other novels yet to be released.