The Cast of Characters includes …Tama...A beautiful fugitive determined to live free.Elinore...An active abolitionist on a mission to find happiness.Julee...A girl with no past who seeks a future among the Indians. Hakan...A proud man entrusted with the survival of his people.Thorne...A man obsessed with claiming what he owns.From the snow-covered mountains of North Carolina to the untamed wilds of Indian Territory, A Thousand Steps takes readers on a perilous quest for freedom, truth, and love.

    

    Why else would he be so talented at expertly crafting stories that defy expectations? For me there is no greater joy than seeing an artist excel at his craft." - Aintitcoolnews.com Quite literally, no escape. Because he's always with you. And in the real world -the world of you, the reader - HE WAITS will stay in your mind in a way that you won't expect ...PLUS THE SECOND STORY, 'KEEP YOUR CHILDREN CLOSE'A campsite. A family holiday. A broken down car. And an approaching breakdown truck that is just the start of Shelley's nightmare. By the time the sun sets, someone in that field will be dead, and Shelley must somehow make sure it isn't one of her children ... KEEP YOUR CHILDREN CLOSE is a story that you will find impossible to predict.PRAISE FOR LUKE SMITHERD'S WRITING:"... a novel that intrigues, enthralls, horrifies, thrills, and hits the reader with an emotional resonance as only the best stories can." - Ain't It Cool News.com"... strong characterization, moral quandaries, mystery, and a whole lot of tense moments. Reading the final sentence was truly a bittersweet moment." - SFsignal.com, Hugo award-winning websiteWant to download the first few pages of this book for FREE so that you can try before you buy? Click the 'Send sample now' button on the upper right hand side of this page to do just that!AMAZON REVIEWS OF LUKE SMITHERD'S WORK:"I couldn't help myself and read this is one sitting." - simon211175, Amazon Vine Voice"It was one of those books where you tell yourself you will read just one more page, then look at the clock and realise that it's 2 hours later. I would thoroughly recommend it." - Elaine Hosegood"I have owned a Kindle for about 2 years and downloaded some excellent books for very little cost but Luke Smitherd's works beat the lot." - Silversmith, Amazon UK Review"As soon as I started reading I was completely sucked in, which very rarely happens for me. I couldn't wait to get home and read it each night. I laughed. I cried. I did actual real life gasps of horror." - Katie, Amazon Review

    When he is lost in battle she loses everything, even their children. Her fight to win them back recalls the terror of the shield wall, the harsh lives of convict slaves, and the enormous difficulties a lone woman must face in a male dominated heroic age."This is a really excellent read, a page turner that gives a vivid, convincing picture of 7th century Mercian England." The Historical Novels Review

    But a policeman is about to make a horrible mistake.There is despair and hope, loss and recovery, guilt and romance; and a world of characters who spring to life around the central tragedy of the ensuing car crash and it is through Karen's organ donation that a woman with liver disease may be given a second chance.But what happens when a pilot aborts the transplant team's flight? And what becomes of the hurricane-battered dog who escapes the crushed metal pile into the blowing sand and gusty wind?And above all, what happens in the operating room during one of the most difficult surgeries performed in medicine?

    Step behind the scenes of the Jack Rogan Mysteries and discover the intriguing world of an international historical thriller writer.As a young boy, Gabriel Farago was given the key to his grandfather’s attic. This magical place opened a world of literature, music and history to the inquisitive boy. Gabriel spent many hours in the attic listening to his grandfather’s records, reading his books, and trying to unravel his cryptic journals which many years later inspired the writing of The Empress Holds The Key.What goes on in the mind of a thriller writer? Where do authors draw their inspiration from? Becoming a writer doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is a journey in itself that provides the material for the stories, and the rich tapestry of characters and settings that bring those stories so vividly to life.

    Take a walk into this riveting true story of terror,survival,faith and finally forgiveness as Nikki reveals explicit first-hand accounts of her memories.

    He has created a fulfilling life, which he shares with his beautiful fiancé and a world-wide circle of friends. But his inspiring life of today grew out of a dark and dangerous past.In this gripping tale, van Stratum brings a once-in-a-lifetime read of his experience growing up with one arm in a small town where he developed a savage temper and a criminal mindset. After a violent robbery by rival drug dealers he had a flash of insight that his life must change, or it would quickly end.After moving to a new country without telling a soul, Mark penetrates the secret world of pick-up artists and learns an incredible skill set that enables him to get the most desired women on the planet. In Drug of Choice, Mark offers insightful lessons about the power of choices to change your business, relationships, and life.This story teaches that your choices are both the cause of your problems and the key to your success. It will make you believe again that it’s never too late to change.

    This is for the mothers out there that want to run the home and raise the children in a stress-free and affordable way. This is for the wife that would like to be the hostess with the mostess, but not toil and fret all day and has no talents in making radishes into roses. This is for the real housewive's that are a little funky, want to be frugal, want the adorable home, maybe a little farm in their Urban backyard, purposely don't match their sheets, like fun accent walls in each room, want to homeschool their children, need to do a major household budget, and downsize, but won't compromise on a good life. This is for the families that want to cut the grocery bill big time and still have their organics and non-GMO popcorn. This is also for the families happy to ditch the car and walk to save money and the environment but won't give up their entertaining and gatherings. This book is loaded with great advice and tips on everything from a household budget, making your own cleaners, going a little country in the city, throwing parties with a few dollars, and having a good life on very little.

    She was older, college educated, professional, affluent, a lifelong achiever . . . and lonely. Trent was a divorced father, a freelance construction worker with a high school diploma, and, due to a learning disability, a slow reader. He was more comfortable in a swamp than in a city. He was scarred, in more ways than one.But she saw that his eyes were kind and deep, and he saw that she was wounded but wanting. Could they learn to see past the scars and beyond the labels? Could they open themselves to love? And if they did, would that be enough?This unflinching memoir explores love between two people who have failed at love at least once. It measures the costs of love, the joys of loving, and what can happen when everything changes in a heartbeat."I have never felt so deeply like opening my throat and allowing love to pour down it as I did reading your words."Shanna MannReader

    A legendary island where anything is possible, everything except telling him the truth. Black, my destiny is keeping me from revealing my true identity to you; I have to find the Emerald Tablet so we can finally be together. My dream is for enchanters and humans to live together in peace and harmony, or at least to avoid this war that is looming on the horizon. I'll go to Atlantis with my team to uncover the first clue in our quest. I’m sure my friends will be able to help me accomplish this extraordinary mission! Atlantis! Can you believe it? Will you join me on my adventure?

    In the remote village of Izumi five high school friends died within the space of a fortnight.The circumstances were never explained. Four years later a British paranormal researcher travels to Izumi in an attempt to unravel the mystery. There he encounters much more than culture shock. He encounters the dark side of Japanese culture – the side they don't talk about in guidebooks. He encounters Reiko.

     Simon delivers live bodies to a psychic creature in the water. He has a natural ability for the work and is even beginning to think he might enjoy it, until the creature asks for the life of his sister. He has less than 24 hours to save both their lives.

     He would remain part of the French Foreign Legion for the next five years. After swearing to the cause of liberté, égalité, fraternité Manington was immediately transported away from France to begin his training in Algeria. But Africa was not where he would be fighting, instead he and his comrades, from Germany, Scotland, America and the rest of the world, were sent to south-east Asia. Tonquin in French Indochina was their destination, to help quell the rebels against colonial rule that had emerged after the Sino-French War. The Yên Thế Insurrection had been continuing for twenty-two years in this area before Manington arrived, and he entered into the midst of this of this vicious war. Manington’s work A Soldier of the Legion is a fascinating account of life in one of the most famous regiments in history. Although loyal to the legion, he saw many faults in the colonial administration and developed friendships with the locals. This work gives brilliant insight into the guerrilla warfare used by the Tonkinese rebels. Methods of warfare that would be once again used in this area in the twentieth century, first against the French and later against the Americans during the Vietnam War. George Manington left the French Foreign Legion in 1895. Prior to joining he had been a student in France and Germany and a prospective doctor in Paris. After his time serving under the French flag he continued to live in Southeast Asia as an interpreter, traveller and journalist. This work was published in 1907.