Black Widows: Episode 1


Michael G. Thomas - 2016
    Aboard their heavily-armed ship Medusa, they embark on secretive missions throughout the crumbling Confederacy as it wages a terrible and bloody civil war. The lives of Syala and her twin sister Arana change forever on the day the slavers hit their new home on the Skylla Research Facility. It is a day that started like any other, before turning into a terrifying massacre as soldiers and hideous creatures swarm through the facility killing or enslaving anyone that stands in their way. The sisters struggle to survive as a desperate few try and fight back, but nothing can hold back the horde. Until they find a single mercenary dressed in black armour who refuses to back down. Her name is Zhang Wei, and she is a Black Widow. Black Widows is serialised over six short-read episodes per season, in the same fashion as a TV series. More adventures will be released over coming weeks before being combined into a 6 volume compilation. See my website for news on the next thrilling release at www.starcrusader.com

The Mother of All Meltdowns


Crystal PontiAndrea Moore - 2013
    In a millisecond, her halo crumbles and she has a moment so crazed it is forever known as the one…The Mother of All Meltdowns. The following anthology was written by women who have had their moments. Together we have experienced the anguish and frustration of the adult-sized tantrum. We have shed the tears, dropped to our knees in agony, and asked the age-old question, “Why me?” From poop-decorated rooms to having our liquid gold scrutinized and confiscated by TSA, we’re not afraid to share our collection of thirty tell-all stories. We are survivalists and know that within every meltdown there is a silver lining.

In the Mirror


Robin Lythgoe - 2011
    "With the help of Lythgoe's spot on descriptions - not to mention the beautiful cover art - I could practically feel the mirror under my fingers. I own an old mechanical typewriter that I used to write many a poem on when I was younger. It belonged to my father and the clack and clatter of it when he used to write was a well-loved sound to me. Lythgoe's story brings to mind many memories of my youth and childhood and how the simple things were very special. In the Mirror is well crafted, full of deep emotion, wonder, loss, hope and most of all, magic."--Kristie Kiessling, Reviewer

The Devil's Church and Other Stories


Machado de Assis - 1977
    Collectively, these nineteen stories are representative of Machado's unique style and world view, and this translation doubles the number of his stories previously available in English.The stories in this volume reflect Machado's post-1880 emphasis on social satire and experimentation in psychological realism. If he had continued to produce the moralistic love stories and parlor intrigues of his earlier fiction, Machado's legacy would have been an entertaining but inconsequent body of work. However, by 1880 he had begun a devastating satirical assault on society through his fiction. In spite of his ruthlessness, Machado does at times reveal an ironic sympathy for his characters. He is not indifferent to human conflict but uses humor and irony to stress the absurdity of these conflicts, acted out against the backdrop of an indifferent universe. Such a spectacle creates a sense of helplessness that can only inspire wistful amusement.In his technical mastery of the short story. Machado was decades ahead of his contemporaries and can still be considered more modern than most of the modernists themselves. That his stories elicit such strong and diverse reactions today is a tribute to their richness, complexity, and significance.

Wilson's War


T.S. Paul - 2016
     Athena Lee's Quirky AI. Wilson has his origin story revealed at long last. Discover why he wants a Cat. Ever wonder why Hannibal Lee is afraid of the Farm? Meet lots of new characters and visit a few of our friends. Follow Wilson's adventures as he has fun at the expense of others. Taking advantage of Humans is too easy. Plotting Galaxy Domination is more fun. Prepare to Get down and Get Funky as the Hits just keep on coming!

Guiding Light: Jonathan's Story


Julia London - 2007
    When his true love Tammy Winslow died saving his life, Jonathan Randall had only one reason left for existing: his baby daughter Sarah. But Sarah's great-grandfather, powerful millionaire Alan Spaulding, was obsessed with bringing her up himself. Faking his death, Jonathan fled Springfield, leaving only his mother Reva Shayne aware he and Sarah were still alive. After being on the run for months, Jonathan comes to the sleepy town of Tourmaline, California, with no intention of staying. But ten-month-old Sarah seems strangely happy here, and Jonathan himself feels an inexplicable pull toward the town. It's almost as if Tammy's ghost were whispering to him that he should stay for a while. But life is hard for a bad boy trying to turn good, until a local young woman comes into his life. Aubrey Cross isn't quite sure what attracts her to this stranger in Tourmaline. Perhaps it's his dark good looks; perhaps it's because she too has always felt as if she doesn't belong in Tourmaline, even though her father is the popular town sheriff. Aubrey alone knows that this pillar of the community is in reality a sadistic abuser. And, of course, with a past like Jonathan's, it's no surprise that life doesn't stay peaceful in Tourmaline for long. Sheriff Zeke Cross is sure there are some secrets buried, and he's not going to rest until he uncovers them. Can Reva protect Jonathan and Sarah before they're discovered by the dangerous Alan Spaulding? Featuring some of Guiding Light's favorite characters, Jonathan's Story is the passionate tale of how Jonathan may have finally found a second chance for true love...but who knows better than Jonathan how quickly everything you love can be ripped away from you?

Ambush


Carolyn McCray - 2012
    Can they survive a brutal ambush?

Hotel Paradise


Carol Drinkwater - 2014
    The day after the renowned festival's closing ceremony, Genevieve is invited to visit the newly-refurbished Hotel Paradise. Genevieve knows the hotel well – in fact, her past life there has haunted her for over a decade... Twelve years earlier, two travellers have met in Paris. Genevieve dreams of becoming a famous songwriter, while Paul is determined to be a professional photographer. Full of optimism, they hitch south to the Riviera where they answer an advertisement for live-in help at the Hotel Paradise, located on an island just off the French coast. There the young couple are seduced by the tranquility and magical beauty of the hotel and its setting. But the island has a darker side, with a history of bloodshed that fills Genevieve with foreboding. When a stranger arrives who threatens her future with Paul, Genevieve senses that events are about to spin out of control … Anglo-Irish actress Carol Drinkwater is still well-known for her award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. A popular and acclaimed author and film-maker as well, Carol has published twenty books for both the adult and young adult markets. She is currently at work on her twenty-first title. When she purchased a rundown property overlooking the Bay of Cannes in France, she discovered almost seventy 400-year-old olive trees. Along with her French husband, Michel, Carol reclaimed the land and began producing top-quality olive oil. Her series of memoirs recounting their experiences on the farm (The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest and Return to the Olive Farm) have become international bestsellers, and the related travel books,The Olive Route and The Olive Tree, inspired the five-part documentary film series, The Olive Route. Carol's first Kindle Single, The Girl in Room Fourteen, reached the number one position in the Singles charts in both the United States and the UK.

The Moments


Natalie Winter - 2019
    Moments that make us who we are. But what if they don't unfold the way they're supposed to...?What if you get on the wrong bus, or don't speak to the right person at a party, or stay in a job that isn't for you? Will you miss your one chance at happiness? Or will happiness find you eventually, when the moment is right?Meet Matthew and Myrtle. They have never really felt like they fitted - in life or with anyone else. But they are meant to be together - if only they can find each other.A powerful and emotional story about missed chances, interwoven lives and the moments that define us.

Love Interrupted: Navigating Grief One Day at a Time


Simon Thomas - 2019
    Gemma died from acute myeloid leukaemia, just three days after being diagnosed.In Love, Interrupted, Simon is brutally honest about his journey through grief, and opens up about how close he came to ending his own life. Simon didn’t know how to carry on without Gemma; he just knew that, for the sake of his eight-year old son, he had to find a way …Love, Interrupted is a moving story of love, loss, faith, and family.

River Road


Charles Martin - 2015
    For the boy inside the pages . . From Charles: I am often asked about my childhood. How I grew up. Where. What informed me as a writer, man and child of God. Starting with some of my earliest memories, these are stories of that place in me. That kid in me. In here you will find honest admission of my mistakes, failures, successes. Note: these are not fiction and this is not a novel.These stories are as true as I can remember. In these pages, you will hear the beginnings of my voice as a writer, the things that were troubling me — things I didn’t know how to voice out my mouth so they bubbled up and out my fingers. You will also hear my unshakable and childlike faith in a sovereign and good Heavenly Father.I wrote most all of these stories between my sophomore year in high school and my senior year in college so my temptation here and now was to edit them. To make them sound like me today, the writer I’ve become after almost thirty years with this keyboard on my lap. For the record, I have not done that. What you read today, is what I wrote then. (That doesn’t mean they’re sloppy. I’ve cleaned them up a bit.) But, as a result, you hear my early voice. And while it is ripe with mistakes and a wordiness long since edited out of me, there’s also an innocence and purity that I cherish.For those of you looking for my next novel, this is not it. But, it will give you insight into the novels you have read or might read. I’ve entitled them, “River Road,” because I grew up there. Because that hallowed ground along the St. Johns River holds a tender place in my heart. Because the valiant, sweaty kid I knew back then is still running around with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and he holds an absolute faith that fishing is a more noble pursuit than school, that he can play in the NFL, that men don’t die of hiccups, that he can still cat-walk his Schwin Mag Scrambler over sixty nine parking spaces, that swallowing Levi Garrett chewing tobacco won’t hurt him and that girls actually think it’s cool, that throwing tangerines at cars is good training for arm strength, that being a bully to a buddy hurt his heart, that a pellet to the gonads is excruciatingly painful, that when my praying mother hit her knees next to a wrecked car and bleeding man that she towered over the men around her, that forgiveness is the toughest thing that kid will ever offer another and that God can and will kill the devil. Enjoy.

Bad People: Four terrifying short novels of suspense


Jeremy Bates - 2018
    After a night out with his girlfriend in one of the country's remote provinces, he wakes to find himself in a pitch-black coffin—and quickly running out of oxygen. With only his cell phone and his own wits to rely on, it's a race against time to escape the claustrophobic death trap. SIX BULLETS The end of civilization arrived in the form of a giant asteroid thirteen months ago. For Burt James, a survivalist, it was not a complete surprise. He'd spent much of his adult life prepping for such a catastrophe. Consequently, while the majority of the population scoured the post-apocalyptic landscape for water and food, regressing into primitive killers, he bunkered down in his fortified hilltop home in a small town in the middle of the Australian Outback. But now he's out of food and down to his last six bullets, and he will have to make the most difficult choice of his life. THE MAILMAN Los Angeles, 1985. Never was the motto sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll more apt than the scene on the legendary Sunset Strip with the arrival of the underground Hollywood glam bands. While Mick Freeman, a record executive with a major label, works tirelessly to sign five toxic rockers whom he believes might flip the entire music world on its head, his wife, Jade, spends her days bored and alone at home, struggling with a midlife crisis that threatens to topple their twenty-year marriage. And then she meets the new mailman. Young and handsome, he sweeps her off her feet—straight into a nightmare the likes of which she could never have imagined. RE-ROLL In the near future, breathtakingly humanoid robots called Mechs are for sale, and they're designed to fulfill whatever role you want: husband, wife, best friend, slave. Manufacturers allow new owners one free "roll" to randomly determine their Mech's three leading characteristics. But as everybody knows, scoring your ideal traits is a crapshoot, though you can always re-roll—at a price.

Freefall


Tom Read - 1998
    This autobiography is the story of his descent into madness and his attempts to find his way out again.

No Such Thing as a Snow Day: A Collection of Reader-Submitted Medical Stories


Kerry Hamm - 2019
    First responders share unique baby names, we hear stories about clueless newbies, bitter veterans, and patients with good intentions but bad ideas. We also hear more about the not-so-happy side of this industry. Grab a blanket, a mug of hot chocolate, and cozy up in front of the fire to catch up with submissions from people like you!

Lockheed Elite


Tyler Wandschneider - 2017
    Now Anders must decide quickly—stay and fight or cut cables and run.Either way, it’s too late. Someone has other plans for them. The trap has been set, they’ve rescued the woman and taken the bait, and before long Anders and what’s left of his dwindling crew must navigate with caution through the grips of the military and an especially vile outlaw.But Anders doesn’t captain just another team flying the black. With a genius mechanic who uses his ragtag high-tech machine shop to aid them in getting in and out of trouble, they’ve earned a reputation as the best of the best. With Anders’s careful planning, this motley crew must band together and flip the military to use them on a monster heist and dig themselves out from the heat pressing in from both sides of the law.Fly with them. They are clever, they are fierce, they are Lockheed Elite.