ABOUT THE SHORT STORY’S PRICE: Hello, you lovely people. Odd to talk about money straight up, but I know that some of you might be thinking, £1.99/US$2.99/CDN$3.99/A$3.99 is a lot for a short story. Let me explain how it works in the UK. A rate of 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) applies to eBooks. This doesn’t apply to ‘real’ paper books. That means 33p of the £1.99 goes straight to the British government. Amazon takes around 2p to deliver the story to your Kindle, then takes another 48p as its cut. The remainder, £1.16, goes to me. That's not a great deal, I hope you agree. A roughly similar story applies in foreign territories. In these times of falling sales, and authors losing their contracts, and only one in seven traditionally published authors being able to write fulltime, stories like this are a vital way of YOU supporting the authors whose books you enjoy. So THANK YOU for your support! Think of it in terms of a pint of beer or a cup of coffee: they cost £2-4, depending on where you live in the UK. This story will give you more enjoyment (I think!) than either of those things, and last for a longer time, and cost you less money. This is the third time I have self-published a short story. (Massive thanks here to Pete Simpson, who designed the cover for me!) It’s been an exciting project since the day I did the poll on Facebook, asking you lovely people which of my characters you wanted me to write about. Centurion Tullus won out, narrowly, and this is the result. The one hundred and something people who backed the Kickstarter campaign got to read this story almost 7 months ago, but now you can too. Oh, what's it about? The war of the Batos, or the Pannonian War, which took place between AD 6 and 9, a general emergency that had almost 100.000 legionaries sent to modern-day Croatia to sort out the rebels. Enjoy the story, and please email me if you have any questions about it or anything else – ben@benkane.net Ben

    SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But after narrowly escaping a hostage situation, she yearns to return home to Avalon. There, Sophie discovers the surprising rewards of small-town life—including an unexpected passion for Noah Shepherd, the local veterinarian. FIRESIDE Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. But when life throws him a curveball in the form of AJ, the son he's never met, Bo and his newly hired publicist Kimberly van Dorn begin to realize that they both have a lot to learn about the game of life…and putting love first. LAKESHORE CHRISTMAS Maureen Davenport is finally getting her shot to direct Avalon's annual holiday pageant, but her storybook notion of Christmas is disrupted when Eddie Haven is assigned to assist her. As they spar over every detail of the pageant, their passion for the perfect performance begins to blossom into something more.

    His observations lead him to a conclusion that he cannot believe--and won't believe until it's too late! Along with his colleague, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot, and crazy old man on a rendezvous with death, Murphy sets out to confront the beast that has uprooted the world around him--the massive, once-thought extinct shark known to science as C. Megalodon! Hungry, terrifying and fearless, the Megalodon is here!

    HE’S AN EX-MERCENARY WHO WANTS TO SEE JUSTICE DONE. WHATEVER IT TAKES . . . AND THAT USUALLY INVOLVES BREAKING A FEW THINGS.Johnny Silver's brother, Carlo, the head of an investment bank, disappears along with ten million euros.DON’T MESS WITH HIS FAMILY.Johnny, an ex-mercenary on the run, is persuaded to come out of hiding to track him down. The trail leads Johnny into the world of gambling, prostitution, drugs, and human-trafficking to a crime that shocks the core of a man who thought he’d seen everything.Sometimes even the most cynical man discovers something that shakes him.Perfect for fans of Mark Dawson, Frederick Forsyth, David Baldacci, J.B. Turner, and Rob Sinclair.WITH A PLOT THAT TWISTS AND TURNS AS IT MOVES AT A DAZZLING PACE, MERCENARY IS A STORY NOT TO BE MISSED.

     Before Project Overtime, Task Force Zombie, or Green Ghost, there was just Nick Bauer, a teenager. Then he, his twin sister Nikki, and two of their friends dared to visit Voodoo Village, and everything changed. Find out how Green Ghost became Green Ghost in The Ghost of Voodoo Village. Then find out more about General Thomas Steeple, the brain behind Overtime, and his ominous visitor from Texas. See if Captain Randall and Lieutenant Carlos' new crew chief has her eyes on more than their AH-72 Comanche. And what about those ten mysterious CHILSS in their special, hidden chamber? If you're one of the thousands who read Standing The Final Watch and can't wait for Standing In The Storm this spring, let this bonus material tide you over until you can get your next fix of Nick Angriff, Green Ghost, and the 7th Cavalry. You bought the ticket, now take the ride.

    The men who live through the plane crash must make their way toward the mountains separating NWT from the Yukon Territory while surviving off the land, facing tragedy and the wild, and uncompromising land and animals they come across. This is a story of extreme survival, and a rescue attempt that is beyond belief.

    Knights of blood and of war bring forth the very worst that Medieval brutality has to offer, but in that darkness, there is a ray of hope. Women of brightness shine the most when confronting the darkness within men. Be shocked at nothing within the pages of this collection, for these novels will take you into the blackness and back again, where love reigns supreme, even over evil.Romance comes in many shades, in many ways.This set contains:DarkWolfe – A de Wolfe son puts a tragic past behind him and finds love with an enemy.DarkMoon – A special ops knight finds an unexpected romance. Will it cost him a life-long friendship?Dark Steel – A happenstance creates a new duke – who falls into a surprising romance.The Dark Lord – The darkest lord of all finds a woman to tame his vicious ways.Guardian of Darkness – A noble knight and a Scottish hostage find love amidst a web of royal lies.The Dark Lord’s First Christmas – Bonus book! The Dark Lord discovers the meaning of Christmas.The original Medieval Romance novels with no cliffhangers, no cheating, and always with a Happily Ever After.

    These aging giants, calling themselves the ‘freakin’ old guys’ are hard-working leaders in their respective fields and have a menagerie of skills to show for it. But what starts out as a dream quickly turns into a nightmare.With these guys, the action never stops.While preparing to set sail, they have a run in with a teenage troublemaker that plagues the locals. The son of a senator, Sean has no respect for authority and is a little lost. The FOGs come from an era where a little rough handling never hurt anyone, and so strike a deal with Sean’s mother to have him sail along with them. She agrees, hoping that two weeks of hard work alongside six respected, intelligent men will get Sean turned around. Things quickly take a turn for the worst when the six small boats get caught in the crossfire of a mafia drug deal. It soon becomes clear that some of the group’s members may be hiding secrets and past lives from the others… Suddenly, the six boats are caught in an odd fog bank, and when they come out the other side, things are not as they seem. Their radios and compasses no longer work and time seems to have lost its way. Where are they? Things quickly start to defy the accepted order of things. Suddenly dropped into their own Odyssey, they fight against strange creatures and demi-goddesses as they try to find a way back home. Together, they must navigate this strange new land. Caly’s Island is a rip-roaring pseudo-fantasy thriller of a modern quest to conquer the unknown amongst seas of turmoil. Dick Herman retired from the US Air Force in 1983 with the rank of Major after serving for twenty- one years. He has flown over 200 combat missions himself and was stationed in Vietnam, West Germany and Great Britain. He has flown the F-4 and C-130 and received five medals, including the Bronze Star. He and his English-born wife now live in Fair Oaks, California. He is the author of several aviation thrillers from Endeavour Press.Venture Press is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We are committed to the discovery and rediscovery of immensely talented authors in the SFF genre, and continue to push boundaries in search of great literature. Join us as we venture across universes and unknown landscapes – past, present and future. Sign up to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/1LUVI4n Follow us on Twitter @venture_pressFacebook: http://on.fb.me/1NnFow7

    Reanimated ahead of schedule, Adam Hassler, former Delta Force officer, leads the first expedition out of David Pilcher's mountain superstructure. His mission is simple. Guide and protect a team of surveyors and scientists, while they study the surrounding area and collect data for the reconstruction of Wayward Pines. A few hours into the trek, Hassler suspects that the operation has been compromised--by the very people that ordered it.With daylight fading, Hassler's team faces an unknown threat, on unfamiliar ground--in front of an impatient audience.The GENESIS connection to Blake Crouch's bestselling Wayward Pines series:David Pilcher predicted mankind's fall. The world as he knew it would be gone when his "volunteers" emerged from suspension--and they would rebuild it.He'd reboot humanity in Wayward Pines, Idaho--a cozy, idyllic town situated deep inside a sheltered mountain valley. The residents of Wayward Pines would be protected: isolated from the dangers of the new world.Only one obstacle stood in the way. An enemy far deadlier than Pilcher ever imagined possible. A powerful, uncompromising adversary--immune to fear and devoid of mercy. Humankind's worst nightmare.With the odds overwhelmingly stacked against his project, and time running out, Pilcher takes a wild chance on an unpredictable member of his team. Adam Hassler, former Delta Force officer, is woken from suspension ahead of schedule and ordered to explore the valley. The task sounds simple to Hassler, but there's a catch. He is unaware of the danger lurking in the forest beyond the hatch--and nobody plans to warn him.The vicious struggle to build Wayward Pines unfolds in the definitive prequel to The Wayward Pines series.This ebook was published through an agreement with the author of Wayward Pines, Blake Crouch. Mr. Crouch has not necessarily read or endorsed this story.

    His old life was calling him back. A chance meeting would put them on a new path - together. Hayden Samuels worked hard to make something of himself. Unable to follow in his father’s footsteps he found work that gave him a purpose and joy. Now he has to return and tell his father that he wants to live his life on his own terms, even if that strains their relationship to the breaking point. But when the stage rolls into town he comes face to face with a young woman that makes him think twice about leaving. Edythe Devon had worked for her father for years and now she wants a life of her own. Taking a chance by moving to the town of Sweetwater Springs, Montana, she arrives just in time to meet a young man who makes her dream of more than just ‘getting by’ on her own. But there are those who would keep the two apart and a family emergency might just divide them for good. Is there enough between them to bring them back together before it’s too late? This sweet Western romance, set in the time after Debra Holland’s book, Beneath Montana’s Sky, and before the Brides of the West series, includes a number of friendly faces from Sweetwater Springs and will introduce you to new friends as well. Click the 'Buy Now With 1-Click" button to read "Stay With Me"

    A great story with lots of twists! I was literally spellbound." "I love J. M. Klaire's stories. They are hot, sexy, sexy stories of finding your true mate." Get every story in the Alpha Hunted series, all in one huge bundle collection of shifter goodness! BEFORE THE HUNT: PREQUEL When a wolf shifter with commitment issues teams up with a runaway bride to find her a new groom- the claws come out and the fur flies! Meet Sandra, a runaway bride looking to provide for her widowed mother, and Naythan, a wolf shifter determined never to settle down. This prequel to the Alpha Hunted series takes place about nine months before Alpha Hunted: Keelyn & Bane. ALPHA HUNTED: KEELYN & BANE Fate’s dark design brings them together... in a mating neither is ready for. Five years after witnessing her father's death, Keelyn has become what she never wanted to be: a were-hunter. Surprisingly good at the career she'd had thrust upon her that fateful day, she heads to the yearly gathering to pay her farm's rent with money earned from hunting werewolf hearts and pelts. Bane and his wolf pack are also headed to the yearly gathering when Bane, the pack's Alpha, finally scents the female his wolf says is to be their forever mate. There's only one problem- she also scents of death and wet wolf hide. When Bane follows Keelyn into the woods, neither are prepared for the passion, or the truths, they're each about to face. Can they survive the revelations that lie ahead? Or has fate doomed them to an impossible love? ALPHA HUNTED 2: BELLA & MAC Feeling desperate and alone, pregnant with a baby left behind during a rape, the last thing Bella needs is for her were-hunter sister to bring strange men home. Mac, a bear shifter traveling with his adopted wolf pack, scents pregnant Bella as his mate. Mac's first instinct is to provide for and protect Bella, but Bella's first instinct is to aim a shovel at his head. Secrets and shifters being welcomed into a house of were-hunters, who each hold secrets of their own. What could possibly go wrong? ALPHA HUNTED 3: IVY, DAVID & RYKER When two wolf-pack enforcers show up right in the middle of some serious family drama, Ivy is almost too busy with her own personal crisis to notice how hot the tattooed bad boys are. With secrets being revealed left and right, her family being hunted, and her own hidden identity a key to the whole thing, the last thing she needs is two lone wolves claiming that she, and only she, can complete their triad and become their mate. Not sure she even believes in fated mates, and needing to keep her family together while getting to the bottom of a mystery three generations in the making, she tells the men no. And no isn't a word they are used to hearing. ALPHA HUNTED 4: ENID & THE KING Enid raised her three young daughters to hate, and hunt, shifters. So, of course one mated a werewolf, the other a bear, and the third mated not one but two of the rag-tag pack's wolf enforcers. When Enid finds herself entwined in the lives of her girls, their mates, and their king, who just happens to be a sexy-as-sin dragon shifter, her first thought is, "FML.

    Suspicion that Hendrix is an impostor leads Max Stafford to the Rift Valley, where a violent reaction to his arrival points to a sinister and far-reaching conspiracy far beyond mere greed…Includes a unique bonus - The Circumstances Surrounding the Crime, Bagley's true story about an attempted assassination.

    Search and rescue specialist Luc Moon is tasked with the impossible: finding the boys on his own.During the search, Luc discovers clues to a remarkable lost world, a world hidden deep within a forgotten valley. Now in a life-and-death struggle, Luc―and those closest to him―must survive against legendary creatures and a ruthless billionaire determined to keep the discovery to himself.

    Lieutenant Commander Dallas Grant reports the explosion of a Poseidon missile just minutes after its successful deep sea launch. But then he uncovers a strange aerial attack by another suborbital craft of unknown origin equipped with military technology thought to be available only to the United States and the Soviet Union. A silent and unidentified mystery is flying and is a threat that needs to be formally detected. The most recent in a series of unexplained near-space disasters, the attacks are costing international state powers billions and eroding the reputation of all global satellite operation and research. Classified data is valuable and as leaks appear emergency intelligence analysis profiles a plot by Nesei Aerospace Industries. The Japanese munitions and communications giant could be attempting to control all black sky programs, a prospect which would undoubtedly create global chaos and economic collapse, and soon. An atmosphere of anxiety and paranoia sets in awaiting authorisation from the President as cameras rouse suspicious, films are unaccounted for and an official record of unleaked classified data is called for. Police are to be avoided, until a body warrants calling in the FBI. Urgent Orders are sent to Grant and his colleague Dmitri to combine their 21st century black sky warrior strike squads in an apparently unofficial war that has already been initiated. Aware of the dangers both men consider the women they leave at home and whether they will ever return from this mission, or if they will be captured as prisoners. Grant and his colleague Colonel Dmitri Vidorov are sent to fight the ultimate high-tech war to free the newest, most dangerous frontier of all… Praise for William H Lovejoy ‘Delta Green is an exciting aerial thriller. Buckle your seat belts!ʼ - Joe Weber, author of Defcon One ‘Lovejoy has proven himself a master storyteller.’ - Clive Cussler ‘Lovejoy writes in afterburner. … action that leaves you dry-lipped, moist-palmed and hungry for more. An excellent read.’ - M.E. Morris William H Lovejoy is the author of twenty-five thriller, suspense, and mystery novels, including Delta Blue and Delta Green. A Vietnam veteran, he resides in Colorado and is Vice Chancellor Emeritus from Mohave Community College.

    After nine long years of trying to grow their family into the perfect dream come true, fated mates, Ryan and Layna, are ready to give up. Not on each other but on their dreams. When they're given the chance to help an abandoned baby temporarily, they're faced with a pain harsher than what they've already been through. The pain of hope. But this little one isn't what any of them expected, and when the fiery truth comes out, hearts are bound to melt.A visit from a shadow of Christmas past, a lost child, and the reunion P. Jameson fans have been asking for, all wrapped up with a shiny bow as we revisit the Ouachitas in Merrily Ever After.