Her husband, a powerful senator, has hurt them one too many times. But it’s hard to hide from someone with keys to all the powers in government. She stops in a little town in Wyoming—too tired, too scared, and too broke to go further.Sheriff Luke Wilson has worked his family’s ranch in Wyoming nearly all his life, save for a few years playing big-city cop in St. Louis. The draw of his family’s home pulled him back and now he runs his ranch and takes care of what little crime Hope, Wyoming has to offer.It’s Christmas, the time for magic and the unexpected miracle. Fate throws a twist into Hope and Luke’s lives, leading them to a new future...if they can escape the clutches of her abusive husband.

    In this follow-up collection, the editors once again tackle the question: “How short can a story be and truly be a story?” Determined to find the best flashes from America in the twenty-first century, James Thomas and Robert Shapard searched everywhere for stories that were not merely good but memorable. Moving, and certainly unforgettable, this collection includes stories from the best and most popular fiction writers of our time, including Ron Carlson, Robert Coover, Steve Almond, Amy Hempel, A. M. Homes, Grace Paley, and Paul Theroux. In addition, Rick Moody properly defines armoire, Lydia Davis delves into a world of cats, and Dave Eggers explores narrow escapes. Over and over, these stories prove that often less is more.

    This is not one of those tales… Sophronie Slater had no interest in getting married. Even if she did, the Duke of Waycross would not be her choice. She would, however, do anything for her father. So, in honor of his dying wish to see her legally bound to the contrary, annoyingly handsome Scot who drives her mad, she agrees to a very temporary marriage. She’ll never love him, though. At least, that was the plan…Evan Gordonstone has no interest in romance. Caring for his relatives and restoring his duchy to profitability is about all he can manage. But if he has any hope of one day realizing his dream of breeding and racing horses, he needs Sophronie. Their arranged marriage will fix all his problems. Assuming he doesn’t fall for his lovely new wife and ruin everything…Sophronie and Evan are about to find out that opposites can attract in the most unexpected—and sensual—ways. But when all is said and done, can they win each other’s hearts and turn their fake marriage into a real happily ever after?~ * ~Scandals, Secrets, and Sweet RomanceThis Historical Regency Romance by a USA Today bestselling author proves that enemies can become lovers and opposites do attract. Sparks fly as Evan and Sophronie match wits until they admit their love for each other.If you enjoy reading lovable rogue or duke romances with a pinch of intrigue, a dash of humor, and soul-searing emotion, then you’ll adore Collette Cameron’s enthralling SEDUCTIVE SCOUNDRELS series. Settle into your favorite reading nook with a beverage and your copy of HOW TO WIN A DUKE’S HEART for a page-turning, enemies to lovers, entertaining Regency world adventure you can’t put downThough this book can easily be read as a stand-alone, most readers prefer to read the series in order.SEDUCTIVE SCOUNDRELS SERIES:A Diamond for a DukeOnly a Duke Would DareA December with a DukeWhat Would a Duke Do?Wooed by a Wicked DukeDuchess of His HeartNever Dance with a DukeThe Debutante and the DukeWedding her Christmas DukeLoved by a Dangerous DukeHow to Win A Duke’s HeartWhen a Duke Desires a Lass - Coming soon!

    It's okay. She's fine. She just wants to sign papers with dignity and end it all civilly.Dev is pissed. For five years, he worshiped the ground Jiya walked on. And what did he get for it? Loneliness and heartache. And while he wants to punch the wall, his beautiful wife is sitting demurely signing papers.Fate intervenes in the form of two best friends, by locking them in the very room in which they signed their divorce. What happens when two people who never stopped loving each other are forced to confront their mistakes?

    Now he’s back with a job for his old “friend” Jack. While Jack doesn’t consider Cypher much of a friend, the job is ideal for Nadia. There’s a killer in Honolulu, targeting those involved in the family court system. When no one else would take one victim’s cases, lawyer Angela Kamaka did, putting herself squarely in the killer’s cross-sights. For Nadia, Angela is the perfect victim—an innocent person in danger for doing the right thing. So Nadia and Jack get an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii courtesy of Tyrone Cypher, who has his own reasons for wanting to keep Angela safe.

    She and her husband Liviu are teachers in their twenties, living under the repressive regime of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the Socialist Republic of Romania in the 1970s. But after her brother-in-law defects, Alina and Liviu fall under suspicion and surveillance, and their lives are suddenly turned upside down--just like the glasses in her superstitious Aunt Theresa's house that are used to ward off evil spirits.But Alina's evil spirits are more corporeal: a suffocating, manipulative mother; a student who accuses her; and a menacing Secret Services agent who makes one-too-many visits. As the couple continues to be harassed, their marriage soon deteriorates. With the government watching--and most likely listening--escape seems impossible . . . until Alina's mystical aunt proposes a surprising solution to reduce her problems to a manageable size.Weaving elements of magic realism, Romanian folklore, and Kafkaesque paranoia into a gritty and moving depiction of one woman's struggle for personal and political freedom, Bottled Goods is written in short bursts of "flash fiction" and explores universal themes of empowerment, liberty, family, and loyalty.

    The Foot Soldier brings you to the hell of jungle combat. Close your eyes and this novella takes you there. It conveys the terror and brutality of jungle warfare and their effect on the American riflemen--those who bore the greatest burden. It's every bit as compelling as The Things They Carried.

    Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Erica James and Marian Keyes, this free collection of Sheila's previously published stories will make your heart skip a beat, make you laugh with abandon, and smile in the knowledge that just about anything's possible... A passenger spots the man of her dreams on her daily commute - and decides to make her fantasy a reality.A widow on the verge of giving up everything rediscovers the magic in her life.A publicist attending a star-studded event ends up in the spotlight.A mother reveals a secret to her family that will change their lives for ever.A pop star discovers she can't hide - even in paradise - until she takes fate into her own hands.A young girl comes to term with who she is - and who she isn't - on her island escape. These feel-good stories, together for the first time in this exclusive digital edition, are taken from Sheila O'Flanagan's bestselling collections Destinations, A Season to Remember and Connections. In addition to these wonderful stories, don't miss the chance to get up close and personal with Sheila in WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF's special extra material, including a sneak peek of her upcoming novel, THE MISSING WIFE.

     From the files and pen of world renowned true crime writer Alan Hynd (1903 - 1974) comes the final installment of deliciously dark true murder cases of the first half of the 20th Century. These stories, the third of these three short collections, are unified by a single theme: they all involve physicians. And not for the autopsy, but as perpetrators or accused perpetrators. You may never see your family care giver again in the same light. Told in the characteristic wry, anecdotal reportorial style that made Alan Hynd famous in his day (two wartime best sellers in 1943, contributions to The Reader's Digest, Colliers, Coronet, The Saturday Evening Post, True, Liberty, The American Mercury and almost every true detective magazine in print) these tales will have you cringing one minute, laughing the next, and gasping in shock a moment later. Truly, no one could make up classics like these. We meet here the notorious Dr. Cream, a twitchy-eyed psychotic with a yen for prostitutes, a Philadelphia chiropractor whose girlfriend lost her head, and Marcel Petiot, whose patients payed their own way out of this world. Then as a bonus, get to know (from a safe distance) "Lethal Louise," the black widow of California, and Adolf Luetgert of Chicago, whose sausage-making plant was put to extracurricular uses. This is not for the faint of heart. True crime is always farther out there than fiction.

    I was looking for something funny, but found this instead. It was written in the spring of 2007 and trunked for good reasons – it’s heavy handed and melodramatic and overwrought, and there are many things I’d do differently now, but you can sort of see the beginnings of Swine and Roses and the Edge. Call it my Goth-phase – every has to have one, right?

    Both stories confront death and the process of dying: In Ivan Ilyich, a bureaucrat looks back over his life, which suddenly seems meaningless and wasteful, while in Master and Man, a landowner and servant must each confront the value of the other as they brave a devastating snowstorm. The quintessential Tolstoyan themes of mortality, spiritual redemption, and life’s meaning are nowhere more movingly and deftly explored than in these two tales. This unique edition also includes a critical Introduction and extensive notes by Ann Pasternak Slater, a Fellow at St. Anne’s College, Oxford.From the Hardcover edition.

    Three masters of the fantasy genre present a collection of enchanting stories, filled with adventure, magic, and everlasting love, that includes Mercedes Lackey's Counting Crows, in which Lady Gwynhefar must choose between duty and love when she aligns herself with Sir Elloran, a legendary warrior, as well as Catherine Asaro's Moonglow and Rachel Lee's Drusila's Dream

     For Olivia, it was ten times harder because…Chris Bishop was taller and more amazing than she remembered! He was also the Chief of Police and hot as sin! Olivia had thought that her feelings for Chris were buried and gone. Apparently not! So when he walked into her new bookstore, the sparks were hot enough to ignite things. Chris remembered Olivia…who wouldn’t? She was beautiful and ambitious. So it was a surprise to find her back in town. He’d made a mistake years before. But he was older and wiser now. He wasn’t going to make another one. Not where Olivia was concerned. Now he just needed to figure out how to get her to trust that they could make it!

    

    Literary theory, philosophy, and linguistics rub up against memory, dreamscapes, and fancy, making the practice of writing a metaphor for the illusory nature of experience. Betwixt and Between is, in many ways, simply a book about how to live.