For ten long years young Dirk Blackthorn has followed his drunken father from one city to another, always having to cheat and steal for his next meal, and never knowing what the future might hold. A magician turned con artist, Dirk’s father Thad has taught him everything he knows. After being driven out of just about every southern city in Agora, they have come to Kell-Torey in search of a new beginning. With winter on its way, and all but a rusty coin spent on his father’s drinking, Dirk must make full use of his skills if they are to survive the harsh northern cold. As Thad descends deeper into his drunken delirium, Dirk becomes determined to make a name for himself in the city’s criminal underworld. Featuring two of Legends of Agora’s most beloved characters, Blackthorn Rising is a fast-paced coming of age tale wrought with sword and sorcery, it is a story of failure and triumph, and a testament to the unrelenting spirit of defiance and adventure within us all. FROM THE EDITOR Blackthorn Rising is a book that sticks with you. Michael Ploof’s stimulating prose and evocative cast of characters are incapable of boring you on any single page. The plot is sharp, charged with dark wit, adventure, intrigue, and emotion. Enjoy Dirk Blackthorn’s bumbling journey to manhood as he rises to become a great thief, and an even greater man. I loved every minute of editing this tale, and I know you’ll love every minute of reading it. --Holly M. Kothe, espressoeditor.com

    

     Praise for Anne Baker's Merseyside sagas: 'A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition' Liverpool EchoIt's 1937 and for sisters Lizzie and Milly Travis there's nothing quite like the thrill of the funfair at New Brighton. Amid the bright lights and whirling rides, Lizzie wins a lucky sixpence on a stall - as well as the heart of a handsome stallholder.Ben McCluskey isn't the type of man Lizzie's respectable parents had in mind for her, nevertheless the young couple embark on a whirlwind romance. Lizzie's mother worries that history will repeat itself when Ben introduces her daughter to a world she never knew existed. And, as war looms, Milly realises that her sister's luck can't last for ever...

    When Alice attracts the attention of a kind man who wants to marry her, Ellen follows her to Fort Worth without a second thought… not even about where she will stay in this new town. Fearless and determined, she quickly comes up with an outrageous plan; she disguises herself as a man and gets a job at Alice’s husband’s ranch. Yet she never counted on meeting a handsome man there who complicates her thoughts and feelings. Should she risk telling him who she really is? Or should she keep her secret and never even have the chance to be with him?Ben is happy helping at his best friend’s ranch, learning a lot and guiding the new ranch hands. When his best friend finds a wife from a newspaper ad, Ben thinks he’s quite careless to marry someone he has never met. His thoughts are completely forgotten though the minute he meets a mysterious woman in town and becomes determined to learn more about her. Much to his frustration, she disappears and reappears at the ranch out of nowhere, visiting a friend and always seeming to keep her distance from him. Where did she come from and why doesn’t she allow him to spend more time with her? Can Ben solve this riddle and earn her trust?Both Ellen and Ben feel a strong pull to each other from the very first moment their eyes meet. Ellen’s heart flutters during their fleeting moments together but sinks as soon as she has to disguise herself again. When everything inevitably comes to light, will it shatter their growing connection forever? Or could their feelings be enough to keep them together?

     A grief-stricken candy-striper serving in a VA hospital following her brother’s death in Viet Nam struggles to return home an anonymous veteran of the Great War against the skullduggery of a congressman who not only controls the hospital as part of his small-town fiefdom but knows the name of her veteran. A name if revealed would end his political ambitions and his fifty-year marriage. In its retelling of Odysseus’ journey, Revenants casts a flickering candle upon the charon toll exacted not only from the families of those who fail to return home but of those who do. “...Revenants will not fade quickly as less substantial novels do but will resonate in the reader’s heart and mind for years to come.”—Mark Spencer, Dean, School of Arts and Humanities, Professor of Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts Program, University of Arkansas at Monticello. “Kauffman writes with a divinely inspired descriptive power that draws you in and leaves an image in the reader's mind to muse upon long afterwards.”—John H. Byk, Writers Alive. “The true damage of war is ... the damage done to the survivors and their families. … we see this damage portrayed movingly in his characters. This is a book you must read to see the truth of war.”—Robert Mustin, Sam’s Place: Stories. “... beautifully written … an intriguing story which will linger in the reader's mind far after the final page has been turned.”—Florentine, Readiculously Peachy Blog. “...compelling … skillful character development … makes us see just exactly what it is like to be wounded, in soul and spirit .... "—Brian Francis Heffron, Poet/Filmmaker, Author of Award Winning Novel Colorado Mandala.

    When her parents found out, they decided to uproot them to another city. After losing contact with Dreon, she experienced her first heartbreak and decided to shift her focus back on her education. Now twenty-three, Niya is in her final year of law school, but over the years she continued to experience the short end of any relationship she was in, including the relationship with her parents. She finally accepts that her heart has never fully healed, but that all changes once she sees Dreon again. She doesn’t know how he will feel about the secret she’s been keeping from him. Dreon Carter was known for the havoc he wreaked growing up. But after being abandoned by his mother on his grandmother’s steps, he was angry and released that anger on other kids. Sometimes, even letting Niya tag along. Barely graduating high school, due to poor attendance, he went into the streets full time and was now known by the street name Menace. He ended up serving some time in prison, but now at twenty-five, he is the king of the dope game in Cleveland, running the streets with his right-hand man, Renzo. He has a two-year-old daughter by a crazy baby mama who’s set on being a pain in his ass and causing friction between him and Niya. Along with running the streets, he’s trying to run his home, but with the streets and his home life trying to cross, he runs into problems. The bond of Menace and Niya is undeniably unbreakable, but is Niya strong enough to be the woman of a thug, going against everything she’s about, and dealing with the drama that comes along? Can Menace avoid the pressures of the street life and be the man Niya wants him to be, while also not giving up his streets, or will it all be too much?

    She was there throughout my childhood and into adulthood. Her words were a secret I wasn’t supposed to know. Truths and pain bled onto papers that shredded my innocence and carved a hole in my heart only she could fill. Her words were my first kiss. They were the uneven breaths I took when I saw her, and my hands between her thighs inside the dreams she haunted. She was my best friend’s older sister and, even though she didn’t know it yet, she was the pen that would ink our destiny into the stars. Dean tempted me to cross a line I never thought I would. It had been so long since someone looked at me the way he did. Five years since his starry gaze caressed my words and I ran from a kiss I couldn’t shake. He was everything I should stay away from, but how could I resist the beautifully broken man whose touch stoked a fire within my soul?Dean was the missing words to my fairy tale. The parchment I could safely put my most intimate thoughts to. But when secrets from the past catch up with us, how could our perfectly plotted ending survive?

    He did not speak. He just kept looking into my eyes without as much as a blink."And then...?" he said, in his arrogant voice. "You want to be my girlfriend next?"Merge yourself in the world of... Aryan, Trisha, Rohan, Danny and Aysha.An inescapable story of love and tears that gets your heartbeat racing.

    But Ryder, her nineteen-year-old stepson, is bitter and wants nothing to do with her. And she can’t keep the grief at bay. Sometimes, it’s so strong, she wonders if life is worth living. A call from a cave diver in Mexico gives her hope of mending the relationship with her stepson. Before his death, her husband arranged a diving expedition as a birthday gift for his son. Kendall persuades Ryder to honor his father’s last wish. From the campus of Western Maryland College to the woods of Camp David and the caves of the Yucatán, Kendall and Ryder take a journey to discover what her husband worked so hard to hide, and to protect his treasured secrets from falling into the wrong hands. The choices they make will decide their fate and the future of others. Will they risk everything for the truth?

     Digging into the victim's past leads Lorne across the county border to team up with an old friend, DI Sally Parker. What they reveal is mind-blowing. Grown men are terrified, too terrified to speak out. So how will Lorne and Sally bring the culprit to Justice? Determination and putting their lives on the line will be the key to solving this case. Prime Justice A killer, an abductor, and a villain intent on revenge. Just a normal day in the life of intrepid policewoman DI Lorne Warner. A rural idyll should be everyone's idea of paradise, it is... until a murderer strikes. The mystifying case, situated on Lorne's doorstep is about to intensify when an abduction occurs in the same vicinity. Are the two cases connected? Lorne's world is about to come to a grinding halt when a recent adversary threatens her career. Will Lorne succeed in restoring the tranquillity to a sleepy community? More importantly will she still have a job at the end of the investigation? Heroic Justice (a joint investigation between DI Lorne Warner and DI Hero Nelson) One killer. Several gruesome murders... Two hundred miles apart! A complex issue that will take two exceptional detectives to solve. Who is targeting his victims in public places? What is his motive? Lorne is prepared to lose sleep and to travel the length of the country searching for clues. But the killer is canny... ups his game with devastating consequences. Lorne shakes her head in confusion when the truth is revealed...

    

    They never seem to get along but their hearts always pound faster when they lock eyes. How will they let themselves love each other?Oregon Trail, 1860s.Ellie is a gentle young woman who must take care of her deaf younger brother after the sudden death of their parents. To avoid poverty and her unfortunate debts, she escapes on a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. Meeting Mark, the loner but witty guide of the party, causes her heart to pound faster. How can she cure his wounds and fears and show him that true love means when he’s just so detached?Mark is an excellent scout and a trail guide who has suffered the loss of love. He should stay focused and get the job done but when he sees Ellie in danger, he instinctively saves her. After that, they always seem to bump into each other, and they never stop bickering. How can he let his heart show him the way when he’s just too stubborn to love again?Life on the trail is challenging and filled with pain, poverty and loss. When Ellie is discovered to own money and her brother is in peril, party members will threaten them. How will Mark save the woman that stole his heart when the two always hit walls instead of breaking them down?

    Freedman as Herself."

    Harshwardhana, the leader, believes they will win…Until he falls upon a sinister secret of the dark forces.Centuries later… Prithvi Sen is a regular college-going boy. His growth from childhood to adulthood has been plagued by an uncanny disease. Although medicines have it under control, Prithvi feels that the illness hasn’t revealed its truest nature yet. During his existential crisis, a drastic series of events occur and bring the most unexpected twist into his life. Could there be a link between Prithvi and the Dharmayodhas?

    Tossed into a storm of media buzz and bullying, the teen draws the attention of a serial killer who’s targeting the obese. Soon the boy, the nurse, and their loved ones take center stage in a delusional man’s drama. Through fiction, "Eating Bull" explores the real-life issues of bullying, fat-shaming, food addiction, and the food industry’s role in obesity.