He doesn't know how he got there, he doesn't know where his family is, and written in dried blood on the bathroom door are the words LET THE GAME BEGIN. Soon Ben is contacted by Simon. Simon knows all there is to know about Ben, more than he cares to remember himself. If Ben wants to save himself and his family, he will have to do everything Simon says.As the game begins -- with stakes much higher than either man can imagine -- no one knows where it will lead or how it will end.Only one thing is for certain: this time the game will change everything.MAN OF WAX is 80,000 words long and the first book in a thriller trilogy where every day men and women must fight a power that threatens to destroy the world. Recommended for fans of Harlan Coben, Michael Marshall, and Dean Koontz. Praise for MAN OF WAX: "MAN OF WAX grabs you by the throat in the first chapter and never lets go. A suspense-filled thrill ride with plenty of shocks along the way. Read it!" -- F. Paul Wilson, author of the Repairman Jack novels

    Definitely for the cerebral high concept sci fi fan.”A POST-APOCALYPTIC FIRST CONTACT EPIC — NO-BULL SCI-FI AT ITS BEST! Aliens, First-Contact, Collapse, Dreamtech, Revolution and Extinction. Twenty-first century: An exhausted Earth destroyed civilization.THAT WAS THE FIRST COLLAPSE.Twenty-second century: An intractable disease destroyed humanity.THAT WAS THE SECOND COLLAPSE.What little remains is the rural utopia known as Goah’s Gift, a rural paradise that expands a dying world. A world where you live quickly.A world where you love intensely.A world where you live quickly.A world where you love intensely.A WORLD WHERE YOU DIE CERTAINLYON YOUR TWENTY-SEVENTH BIRTHDAY.Aliens have been watching us for millennia. They know us well.They know humankind cannot take a Third Collapse.They just revealed themselves. To a few.INSIDE THEIR DREAMS.—————BOOK 1 of the DREAMWORMS series includes:EPISODE I: 2399 First ContactThe wu-sarc is truly a wonder of alien technology, the dream of every dreamer.EPISODE II: Alien MasterDo not let the words fool you, Overseer Yog. Human speech is as unstable as the surface of the ocean during a storm. After centuries of study, I have learned to find the truth beneath the waves. This human loves her parent with unusual intensity, even for a young female.EPISODE III: 31st December 2399Propaganda is like a recreational drug: it feels good, it feels right, but it eventually corrupts you, and kills you.—————Is this book for YOU? No-Bull Sci-Fi! Do you love Science Fiction that feels like it matters? That digs into the truth of human condition and the purpose of civilization? Engaging characters, escapist settings, intense adventures, wildly imaginative plots and EPIC stakes.

    ten years ago to sing in a Japanese nightclub. Ever since, she's been plagued with nightmares of terror. There is only one man can help her -- Alex Hunter. Ten years ago he saw her picture in the papers -- as a senator's daughter who had disappeared. Now he has to bring her memories back to her, memories of a past more terrifying than they dreamed possible...

    Retired Army vet, Isis Black, lives in a small Texas town, a tiny dot on the map. The only friends she has are her coworkers at a Tex-Mex restaurant, the locals she serves, and a homeless man named Bob. One evening after work, Death knocks at Isis’s apartment door. Death wears an expensive designer suit and four-inch heels. She has a curvaceous body, long, silky brown hair and mischief in her voice. Isis is sure that she’s dreaming or has gone to hell for accidentally killing a man by knocking him off a crowded fire escape at a wild party. Death informs Isis that the man she killed was Death’s intern, and now Death needs Isis to take his place for the North American territory. Somebody is stealing the souls that Death needs to transport to the afterlife. The intern’s job is to find out who is sabotaging Death’s efforts. Who better for the job than Isis – she’s lonely, bored and perfect – right down to her name. Death gives Isis three days to decide if she’ll take the job. When her friend, Bob, goes missing, Isis is enraged. But is she willing to work with Death, a talking cat, and a boy-genius as her teammates to find Bob? If she doesn’t help Death, will Bob, and homeless people across the country, die? This is a story of courage and a chase to save humanity. What readers are saying: ”Well written … fast-paced … a mix of supernatural and earthly realms where Death resides … loved the humor … hooked from the very beginning … unusual connection to dark themes.” Look for the other books in the INTERN DIARIES series and meet the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Plague, War, and Famine. Book Two: Plague Unleashed Book Three: Forbidden War Book Four: Unstoppable Famine Book Five: Judgment Day

    They didn't kill her — and they'll soon regret it.When DEA agent Jack Thorne's house is stormed by vengeful drug lords, both he and his wife are shot dead. Only his daughter Louie survives — by using a terrifying power that defies reason.Piecing together a life in his absence, Louie embraces her gift and her rage under the force of a single need: revenge.She will destroy the men that took her family. No matter the cost, no matter how many bullets, she won't stop until justice has been well and truly served.

    All that's standing in his way are two thousand miles and the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. When he pays a heavy price for a youthful lapse in judgment, who might come to his rescue?Henry, the public defender assigned to the case? Bonnie, the feisty, resourceful justice official? Or Sam, the veteran correctional officer who wants a quiet, orderly existence—or so he thinks?This suspenseful tale of loss and redemption reveals serious flaws in the criminal justice system and the power of kindness, friendship, and love in healing life's deepest wounds." . . . reveals the strengths that can emerge when adults within the system step up to guide youth through hard times and trauma . . . I highly recommend this book for adults and young adults alike."— Marcy Mistrett, CEO, Campaign for Youth Justice, Washington, DC"This book will grab you and hold you till its satisfying ending."— Richard Ross, Author of Juvenile in Justice and creator of Juvenile-in-Justice"An important read, weaving information about our justice system with a narrative that's hard to put down."— Naomi Smoot Evans, Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Washington, D.C.Vicki Reed, after earning her bachelor's degree in Law Enforcement and master's degree in Criminal Justice, immersed herself in a successful decades-long career in juvenile justice. A sought-after speaker, she is currently executive director of the Kentucky Juvenile Justice Initiative in Lexington, where she lives with her husband and son.

    He’s hungry, wet, and tired. He’s run afoul of the assassin’s guild, lost a bag of stolen goods, and bet his last penny on the local darts champion when he should have bought bread for his kids. Maybe fate needs a little help . . . As a pastiche of Sword and Sorcery, “Darts” represents the core fantasy characters and archetypes that enthusiasts love (and hate), explores their deeper motivations, and reminds us that best friends are hard to come by.

    To look at skeletons decaying in their graves.To hear the voice, screaming at him. Screaming into his mind. Commanding him to leave.For weeks afterwards, he is filled with dread, terror as to what the voice might have belonged to. A demon? A ghost? In his nightmares, skeletons strangle him. And when they clear, he has the mysterious nightmare of the girl from his school, making the long walk across the graveyard, and disappearing into the crypt. Never leaving before his waking.It's when something awful happens to this girl that his fear turns to panic. Panic which will force him to unravel the mystery of the crypt, and in doing so, many mysteries about himself.Book one in the chilling Jonny Roberts series! Follow everyone's favourite teen ghost-hunter in Lound's heart-stopping stories!

    Each new soul arrives with a story and a last wish. If she can grant their wish, they’ll move on and leave her be. But that isn’t always possible and her head is getting crowded... Three weeks from taking a new job, Linh gets fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Bauer stuck in her head. Another voice is bad enough, but Linh is horrified to learn that the girl’s last wish is for her father to die. When Linh refuses, Elizabeth decides there’s only one way to get what she wants—to take over Linh’s body and kill her father herself. During the struggle that follows Linh is forced to decide what’s more important—her life and the lives of those around her or her oath as a physician to do no harm.

    A Trusting Mother. A Stolen Child.Nadia and Lydia Bisset are identical mirror twins, beautiful, ethereal little girls that make people stop and stare. Carla, their young mother, is exhausted, trudging through endless days of caring for her daughters with little help from her husband, often away on long business trips. At twenty-four, Carla feels like her life has ended before it has even begun. When a new and helpful neighbour, moves next door, the two women become fast friends, spending every day together for two weeks until Carla awakens one afternoon from a drug-induced sleep to find one of her twins, Lydia, and the new neighbor have disappeared.Years go by and Lydia remains missing. Meanwhile, Nadia is growing into a bright, sweet, talented child, yet beneath the surface of her sunny disposition lurks a cold and calculating mind. Forced to reckon with Nadia’s growing psychopathy, Carla puts her daughter into therapy only to have her fragile hopes shattered in a single moment of truth. What Carla discovers will blow her world wide open and nothing will ever be the same again.

    His attempts to achieve this monumental goal are constantly thwarted. And when his former girlfriend returns from Europe with a handsome fiancé in tow, his life becomes even more complicated. A sliver of hope appears in the form of a local TV cooking competition. Winning would offer the solution to all his problems: money for his mission and the chance to impress the girl he loves. But to win this competition, Eshaan first must face a secret that has the potential to destroy his life and his dreams. Can a young life that has been defined by a crisis ever really thrive? Will Eshaan’s pain-filled spirit ever hear the songs of salvation that the Universe sings for him, or will his demons ultimately win? Celebrated food writer Monica Bhide dishes up a page-turning story of sacrifice, determination, and an honest exploration of the human spirit. Set in contemporary India and seasoned with gentle love, dramatic loss, enchanting poetic verse, and exotic food, Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken will take you to a place where past and present keep uneasy yet delicious company. The cover photograph is by the talented and award-winning photographer, Simi Jois.

    They are accompanied by their friends the three electric blue fireflies and the fearful phoenix. Whether it be helping to check wish lists, granting a white Christmas or manufacturing magical Christmas presents, the butterflies can be found everywhere: their mission is to make Christmas bigger, better and more perfect.

    As one reader put it, Healed reads "as if it were written by both Steven King and M. Night Shyamalan." It is the third short story written by Dean Skinner whose first short story, Broken, climbed as high as #134 in Amazon's "90-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads." Dean Skinner is an artist who has his work displayed throughout the US, UK and Australia. Dean is also an author of supernatural thrillers who combines his faith with his love of horror.

    He offers me an absurd amount of cash to travel with them as a consultant for my psychic abilities. Why not? I like Birmingham, and everyone knows those old legends about the Furnaces are a bunch of bull malarkey. Besides, things have taken a turn for the crazy bordering on stupid in Guntersville. Jared Raley, my clueless cuckold new client, is determined to sue his neighbor for an invasion of privacy. I don't think we stand a chance in court since I saw Jared's wife Crystal with their neighbor at the local deli. Together. His hand in her back jean pocket. Yeah, I don't want to be the one to break the truth to Jared.I bumped into my former high school best friend turned nemesis. She's doing great and just bought the veterinarian clinic in town since she graduated from Auburn. Her career is going just as she planned. My face still hurts from fake smiling.Chase brought his friend Patrick to the house for dinner. They're restoring a '76 Vette, working into the wee hours of the night every day this week.It's been impossible for me to sleep. If you met Patrick, you'd understand.The cherry on top of the hot mess that is my life? Granny Snow had a secret gift for me. Oh, boy, did she ever!Why do people assume it's alright to give me a life-altering gift without asking if I want one?You can understand why it's the perfect time to skip town for a weekend and leave my Guntersville problems behind. Even if it means running the risk of further waking my paranormal 'Gifts.' I've never been more wrong in my life. Foolish Beliefs is the 2nd installment in the April May Snow "Foolish" mystery novels and a continuation from the "Throw the" series. The stories are stand-alone.Do you enjoy Janet Evanovich, Tricia O'Malley, Erin Huss, JB Lynn, Jana DeLeon, Angie Fox, Elizabeth Hunter, or Regina Welling? Foolish Beliefs will keep you turning pages until the end!Foolish Aspirations (Mystery Novel #1) Want more April May Snow? Try the complete prequel series listed below.#1 Throw the Bouquet (Short intro story)#2 Throw the Cap (Novella)#3 Throw the Dice (Novella)#4 Throw the Elbow (Short Novel)#5 Throw the Fastball (Short Novel)#6 Throw the Gauntlet (Short Novel)#7 Throw the Hissy (Short Novel)

    Sheila verbally, emotionally, and physically abused Ava for more than thirty years. Drinking lots of alcohol became Ava’s way of coping with the pain and loneliness, but she is ready for change.Ava's friend, Emily Rios, convinces her to spend two weeks at Emily’s vacation home in Ouray, Colorado. Ava is excited about being away from Houston and Sheila. She wants to clear her head and reimagine her life.Ava meets Emily’s friend and neighbor Melody Graves in Colorado. Emily asked Mel to encourage Ava to visit some interesting sites in and around Ouray. Mel is happy to help, but she didn’t expect to fall for Ava.Ava discovers a new love for the outdoors and finds confidence in herself as she and Mel become close.Ava returns to Houston feeling good about her life and ready to move forward, but Sheila is not giving up control. Ava must make some tough decisions to build a new life with the possibility of a relationship with Mel.