Abigail Argent is a skilled craftsman working in the world of sculpture. Her particular talent lies in seeing the beauty in a plain piece of metal and being able to draw it out. When she comes across a book that links her craft with the ancient myth of alchemy, she's intrigued. Digging deeper, she discovers that some types of research can be dangerous. Delving into one of Italy's oldest secret societies, curiosity comes at a price that no-one should have to pay. If you like a conspiracy theory that walks the line between myth and science, you'll love A Rarer Gift Than Gold. A Rarer Gift Than Gold takes everything you think you know about alchemy and turns it on its head Treat yourself to A Rarer Gift Than Gold as featured on Radio 4, BBC World Service & Timeout Magazine Interview with the Author Will you share a little about your book?  It’s a conspiracy theory about alchemy.  Set in the art and craft world, it’s low fantasy with high stakes. Readers who enjoy the Da Vinci Code should like it.   Will you share how you came up with the idea for this book?    I am a sculptural restorer specialising in metals. I wanted to convey my love of metals and the idea came to me when a historian friend was doing some research and calling up some pretty rare volumes. He got a warning to stay away from the material he was looking at. I wondered why anyone would be so protective of something so dry and academic. I wondered what motivation they could possibly have and what might happen if he ignored the warning. I built this book around this event.   Who or what was your inspiration for this book?   Every day, I work with historic objects and one of the questions I always ask myself when restoring them is ‘what is missing from this object. What can I not see?’ and ‘why might evidence have been lost?’ It has made me very interested in what’s absent from history and why.  This story is about how history can be manipulated by the removal of physical evidence for personal gain.   It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?   The only part of the lead character that is like me is her love of metals. That we share.   Have you been influenced by the writing style of other authors?   I adore and devour books, but trying to imitate someone else would just be too hard. Your own voice has to be authentic otherwise I think you come off as a hack.    Do you have plans to write another book?   Girl in A Golden Cage will be out at the end of 2016 – it’s another book in The Gold Gift Series

    CIA Case Officer Bradislav Lensky doesn't care what it is, as long as she can help track down a smuggling ring and the terrorists in their safe house in Austin. The other magicians nearby don't agree, and don't care for new rivals either! Now Thalia and the rest of her misfit crew are in a race against time, terrorists, common sense, grackles, and their graduate advisor to save the day!

    Live well, laugh often, love much and share God's blessings. We all know that laughter is the best medicine, and this is true, Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. Read our collection of jokes and funny short stories. These jokes and funny stories are collected from different sources in the Internet. Download our book now, and laugh out those stress away. Please note that this book is categorized under Jokes for Adults and may contain some offensive jokes and stories, and it is your discretion as a customer whether to share the jokes and stories with others.

    Banks shut down under the weight of their bogus investments, and the financial sector failed. People looked to the government to make it all better. They couldn't! Hyper-inflation, mass unemployment and infrastructure started to breakdown. The food trucks didn't show up at the stores and the shelves went empty.Things turned ugly fast when there was no power for long parts of the day... then forever. Cops, doctors, and trash collectors just stopped showing up for work when the paychecks were delayed too often, or just never came. Things started falling apart quicker after that. Whole regions declared a "State of Emergency" in an effort to maintain order and civility, but it wasn't always enough. Starvation, looting and murder became the norm. Then, our American civilization collapsed completely.The Fall of America: Book 1 Premonition of Death is the beginning of a new series, about an average man who's life goes downhill fast, once society breaks down. Set in the rural south, a scorched-earth showdown with some local thugs leaves John and his wife homeless, and on the run. He hears rumors of a survivalist group made up of former military personnel, and finding them may be his only hope. Just basic survival becomes vicious, resistance at any cost, as the devastated country comes under new siege—invading Russian troops.

    She lives in a world where vampires, werewolves, and androidians roam the streets as the tyrannical government attempts to capture and exterminate them. Her father, Colonel Arnold LaVoe, is the head of the division tasked with the job of eliminating them. She also lives with a big secret: her boyfriend James is a vampire.As the government starts to come closer, Juliet tries to hide her boyfriend's true identity from her father. What will happen as she is caught in an odd love triangle with Marcus, an androidian boy that seeks the challenge to destroy the very fabric of her relationship with James?The adventure and romance awaits!

    A middle-aged woman, alone and broke on the eve of Christmas Eve, finds new hope when she gives hope to a stranger.

    Forced to play other competitors to survive, can they make it to the end?All your favorite characters are here, Notch, Herobrine, Captain Sparkles, Sky and a few new one's. All will battle for the ultimate title, but who will win?Book #1 in the exciting new Masters of Minecraft series - The Awakening, will keep you guessing the outcome.

    What he didn't count on was seeing Marla, his childhood sweetheart and his best friend's wife. And when emotions overwhelm them and a few months later Marla is pregnant, Yuri wants the impossible: his best friend's wife and the baby they made together...

    When she asks him who he is, he says that his name is 'God'. Security and social services can't find a mother or a father in the vicinity, and there are no reports of a missing child that match his description. Jennette offers to watch over the young boy for the weekend, and she is actually granted permission by the authorities to do so. The little boy takes the name, Alpha, because he says he likes it better than Omega. Strange occurrences begin to happen, almost immediately, starting with a gathering of whales and dolphins just off the coast of the Hotel Del Coronado...

    A glimpse into the life....Hoodrat- A female that exhibits trifling behavior and partakes in scandalous activity. Sierra is a trifling hoe that cares only for herself despite the fact that she has three children who depend on her. Sucking, fucking, scheming, and living off of her children consume her life as she attempts to skate through life for free. When a scheme goes wrong and things come to a screeching halt, Sierra soon learns that every bridge she’s crossed has burned and no one is coming to her rescue. Walk with us, talk with us, and see things, through the eyes of a Hoodrat.

    One being her older sister, Myriah, who hates Iyana more than she loves herself. To make mattes worse, Iyana is stuck in a dead end relationship with her prejudice college sweetheart, Elijah, while Keys, one the leaders of the Come Up Boys crew, is ready to turn in his Kingpin status proving that their desire for each other can conquer all. That would be easy if someone in his crew also didn’t threaten his happiness. Find out what happens when family ties and secrets threatens what Keyz sacrificed to build but also run the risk of him losing the one who got away.

    However, Her Dirty Little Secrets 2 will be released on May 1st! *** Pierce is young, beautiful, intelligent and seemingly perfect. A promising young medical student with a passion for helping others, she's trying desperately to forget the abuse of her past by selflessly serving others. Her life is going as planned until she meets Gabe, a handsome street-smart businessman who sweeps her off her feet. In the midst of their love affair, the pair soon learn that blood is thicker than water, lust is a weapon more deadly than any bullet, jealousy is a potent poison and money is truly the root of all evil. They each hold secrets of their own that could ruin their relationship and change their lives forever. As friends become foes, the past comes back for a second chance and secrets are revealed, can their love pass the test when skeletons start to come out of the closet?

    A possession of Sakkin Industries, she is being honed into a surgical weapon, trained to infiltrate and exterminate. Slowly, day-by-day, they try to erode her humanity and replace it with blind obedience and determination. For operative Eight Two, Sakkin is a second chance at life. Rescued from a massacred village, she's given a new home among their deadly trainees at the Institute. But as she's indoctrinated, the brutal training reveals she’s not like them. Conflicted, she’s torn between graduating to join Sakkin's elite ranks or lashing out against the injustice they bring to the world. Part 1 in a new series, 2055 - Escape follows on from the PRIMAL books of hard-hitting global vigilantes. It gives a glimpse into a not so distant future where security conglomerates protect the privileged few, Lascar has evolved into a sophisticated humanitarian aid outfit, and a shadow war is looming.

    They test their friendship with their wickedly fun Seduction Game. Each woman implores the use of a different method of seduction in hopes of proving they are the better catch. The only problem is they practice their game on ONE very lucky man. Things get sticky when feelings get involved and backstabbing and foul play are sure to muddy the playing field. Is their friendship strong enough to survive? Or will they find out that matters of the heart are better left unplayed?

    One, new to the game, sees himself as a gift to the world of assassins. The other, a veteran of the craft, is a feared and respected hitman for one of the biggest crime families in the city.When their worlds collide, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Every hit has to be carefully prepared – but they never planned on each other.Don't miss the first in a five – episodes serial full of thrills, conflict and intrigue! Episode 2: The CleanerTwo killers. One brings death. The other is Death.A Mafia’s score – settling went wrong. Two hitmen who have nothing in common must partner to handle it, despite their mutual contempt.Assassins don't usually work in pairs, and Eddie is no different. Worse, Eddie boss's boss puts him with Liam, an impulsive young hotshot who almost screwed up his last case, and neither one is happy. When Eddie finds out that the mark is an old friend, he has to decide where his loyalties lie – but if he makes the wrong decision, Liam will be there to fix it by any means necessary. That is, unless they kill each other before the hit.Don't miss the second installment of this five – episodes series of murder, mayhem and mystery. Buckle in as things take off for our protagonists, setting things in motion that will change their lives forever.-- The Assassins series --Enjoy suspenseful crime fiction with some dark humor and irony? Check out The Assassins, a fast-paced fun series about the “bad” guys.In the vein of LT Ryan’s Jack Noble series and Remington Kane’s Tanner books, action-packed The Assassins series introduces readers to Eddie and Liam. Fans of anti-heroes from early Tarantino movies like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs will enjoy riding along with these two gritty hitmen.Warning: this material contains strong language and violence. Recommended for mature audiences only.Note: This bundle is Part 1 out of 2. It contains episodes 1 and 2 of the Assassins series. It’s a free preview of the five-episodes series. If you enjoy it, you can complete the experience with the three remaining episodes (The Target, Killing Floor and Face Off) in a go, and at a discount rate here: www.amazon.com/dp/B013J9QX7C (just copy and paste into your browser).(You can also read them for FREE with Kindle Unlimited)." This story had me turning the pages and I was disappointed when it ended. You're going to want to read the next one! It's certainly a thrill ride and plenty of insight into the characters to build the series." ~Amazon Reviewer, Nickinic – Ebooks Galore (Ep. 1 - Face Off)" Very tense and full of action. I look forward to reading more of this series." ~Amazon Reviewer, Saintly1 (Ep. 1 - Face Off)" A good read. Fast, good action, great characters." ~Amazon Reviewer, Moser (Ep. 1 - Face Off)"Really enjoyed this book, it ended at the right time (not over done drawing it out). I was pretty gripped throughout, but towards the end I literally could not put it down.