Those Who Serve


Marcia Willett - 1995
    But after all the glamour of naval balls and white weddings, passing beneath the arches of naval swords had not led Kate down the pathway to marital bliss. Not even her cherished twins can compensate for her husband's coldness and mental cruelty and she yearns for the peace of her beloved West Country. Cass, on the other hand, revels in the freedom of movement her husband's long absences on the submarines provide - even with the arrival of the first of her four children, she is not to be denied the frenzied activity of the 1960s sexual revolution! But it is a dangerous game that Cass is playing, and as the decades roll by, Kate may not always be around to pick up the pieces...

T.H. White's the Once and Future King


Elisabeth Brewer - 1993
    Is it for children, or for adults? Is it fantasy or a psychological novel? In its great range, it encompasses poetry and farce, comedy and tragedy -and sudden flights of schoolboy humour. White's `footnote to Malory' (his own phrase) resulted in the last major retelling of the story based on Malory's Morte Darthur, and Elisabeth Brewer explores the literary context of White's finest work as wellas considering his aims and achievement in writing it.White's story of Arthur begins with his `enfances', set in an imaginary medieval England, but it is far removed from the conventional historical novel. White was writing in wartime England, a country increasingly absorbed by a need to find an antidote to war. Through the medium of the Arthurian story he found his own voice, his unique contribution to keeping alive the flame of civilisation. Malory's chivalric virtues are rejected in favour of White's own twentieth-century values; the love affair of Lancelot and Guenever is interpreted in terms of modern psychology.The books which eventually made up The Once and Future Kingof 1958 appeared in distinctly different editions. In discussing these, Elisabeth Brewer looks at some of the ways in which White drew on his own personal experience at a deep psychological level, while also incorporating into his story material inspired by his antiquarian pursuits and by his years as a schoolmaster. She completes her study with an account of White's use of historical material, and the relationship of The Once and Future King to the Morte Darthur.ELISABETH BREWER lectured in English at Homerton College, Cambridge. She is the author of books and articles on Chaucer and the Arthurian legends

More Stories We Tell: The Best Contemporary Short Stories by North American Women


Wendy Martin - 2004
    The second collection drawn together by editor Wendy Martin, these twenty-four exquisite examples of contemporary writing feature stories by Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Mary Gaitskill, Alice Munro, Sandra Cisneros, and Lorrie Moore (to name a few).We Are the Stories We Tell is also available from Pantheon.

The Sword of Ages


A.L. Issett - 2015
    The Tavorians for their part, have wizards much stronger than those found in Ket, men and women who could flay the skin right off you with nothing but a few words. 16 y/o Tanner is among those recruited and right away it is found he possesses a unique gift. Join Tanner as he does his part to defeat the Tavorians and win the day for the people of Ket,

First Infraction


Wendi L. Wilson - 2020
    Don’t make any enemies. And whatever you do, never let them see your wings.I’ve lived my whole life in a gilded cage, protected by my family but never able to show my true face to the world. So I did what any rebellious, hot-blooded teenage faery would do—I tricked them all and took off to live my own adventure.Too bad it ended in murder.Now I’m locked up inside the walls of Oberon Faery Reformatory, where no one knows my true identity. Well, almost no one.A note written by an anonymous author, calling me out for who I really am, wrecks my plans for escaping this awful place. Because if it gets out that Princess Aurora Finley Oberon was locked up for murder and has been Glamouring her true appearance her whole life, it could ruin the cohesive world my parents have worked so hard to build.So, until I figure out who wrote this note and neutralize the threat, I have to stay here. I have to keep my true self hidden, which means no one can see my power or my wings—both of which would be a dead giveaway that I’m not the normal faery I appear to be.I also have to keep my mind off a certain smoking-hot inmate with a huge chip on his shoulder who seems determined to knock me off my proverbial throne. Asher calls me Princess, like it’s the ultimate insult. If he only knew…There’s something off about this place and the archaic faery who created it. I just have to figure out what it is, who wrote that note, and find a way to escape, all while resisting the magnetic pull of Asher York.Easy, right?

Zuzu's Petals: A True Story of Second Chances


Lauren Ward Larsen - 2010
    Shortly after she entered the ninth month of what had been an easy pregnancy, her husband, Jeff, followed a sudden and inexplicable urge to bring her flowers in the middle of a busy workday. Within hours of his visit, their lives would change forever.The rapid onset of a pregnancy-related disorder nearly claimed the lives of both Lauren and her baby. After more than a month in intensive care, and with years of recovery work ahead of her, Lauren was left with the question: What now? Amidst the wreckage of her near-fatal illness, an opportunity emerged—the chance to rebuild a different life, one that was more personally meaningful and fulfilling. With absolute clarity about their limited time on earth, Lauren and Jeff changed their priorities, their careers, their lifestyle, and even where they lived.As her physical strength grew, so too did Lauren’s understanding of just how many people — nurses, doctors, friends, family, and anonymous blood donors — had contributed to giving her a second chance in life. An overwhelming sense of gratitude emerged and found expression through her fundraising campaigns and national speaking tour. And along the way, Lauren became a shamelessly proud mother, who sought to live as joyfully as possible no matter the circumstances.At times heartbreaking, at times laugh-out-loud funny, Zuzu’s Petals is a story about human resilience, living authentically, and the power of turning gratitude into action.

Love Us Both (A Calendar of Love Novel Book 5)


Lexy Parker - 2019
    Start over. Easy words for everyone else, but not me. My wife died on my operating table, and moving on just isn’t going to happen. Not until I decided to go back to the small town where I grew up. My boy and I needed different scenery to try to reboot life. And we did. Until one day, a beautiful woman walked into my office and everything changed. She was from one of the oldest families in Tennessee and needed my help. With the way she made me and my son feel, I was more than happy to offer it. Love wasn’t supposed to show up again, and certainly not this soon. But it did. It has. I just hope she knows that she has to love us both. Forever.

The Wraith's Story


Natalie K. French - 2015
     THIS BOOK CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT DANGEROUS BEAUTY... This first novella in an exciting new series will take you to a future unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The world of BRIGAND is as beautiful as it is cruel - a landscape of sharp edges and sharper characters. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes harsh, always sexy, it's a world filled with people who play power games that span multiple planets and the life of a scut can be bought for a few ounces of fresh water. Genetically modified and cybernetically augmented before she even left the womb, Subject 11 was to be one of the Mandate of St. Nicolo's most potent tools of statecraft. With her contract bid out to one of the great families of Marajo Lift, she would become a crucial wheel within the many thousands of wheels that formed the Mandate's legendary engine of intrigue. But 11 had other plans... NOTE: The cover illustration for this novella has been changed to more accurately reflect the main character. DO NOT buy it if you have already purchased The Wraith's Story. ~22,000 words

Samurai's Apprentice


David Walters - 2011
    All this seems far removed from Kami, a boy who quietly goes about his everyday life in his farm village until one day he trips over the unconsious body of a warrior hidden in the long grass.That discovery will lead him on an adventure across the warring kingdoms, facing assassins and enemy soldiers as he journeys to the capital to face the new Shogun. Through his travels he aspires to become a samurai, and in his many challenges he eventually comes to understand what it means to be one.

News from Lake Wobegon: Summer


Garrison Keillor - 1991
    Funny and touching, these monologues from original live broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion focus on the summer season.Includes: "The Living Flag," "The Tollefson Boy Goes to College," and "Tomato Butt."

Forbidden Doctor (Forbidden Fairy Tales #4)


R.S. Elliot - 2020
    Adrian Price.As in my boss.Yes, another thing I didn’t know besides his name was that I’m his new intern.Imagine my shock when I walk into his office Monday morning.Adrian thinks he owns each of his employees.He might be a renowned cardiovascular surgeon but he sure as hell has no power over me.He doesn’t.Am I lying to myself? Maybe.Am I in trouble? Definitely.I know I'm falling for the one guy I absolutely cannot have.Let’s wait until my dad finds out that we’re fooling around.That I’m sleeping with a man who is 11 years older than me.Once that happens, I’ll have to ask myself this one question…Adrian might be my obsession, but is he worth losing my career over?AdrianI shouldn’t have looked into those beautiful eyes.Now I can’t get enough of her.They say I'm too bossy and arrogant.I call it confidence.I’m going through the best phase of my life.Then I see her one night at the bar.Sitting all alone.I shouldn’t have walked up to her.I shouldn’t have talked to her.I shouldn’t have looked into those beautiful eyes.I shouldn’t have gone home with her.But I did….Now I see those same eyes looking at me.She looks just as stunning as that night.But we are no longer lovers.I am her boss and she is an intern assigned to me.I know she’s completely off-limits.But I will do whatever it takes.To get another taste of that night, and I know she’s going to give it to me.This standalone is Stevie and Adrian's story! Get ready for a fun, emotional and steamy romance with a happily ever after and absolutely no cheating!

Falling For My Best Friend


Dee James - 2018
    They'd been friends ever since he taught her to ride her bicycle when she was five. To Rhea, who fell for Vikram over the years, he was perfect, her own 'Prince Charming' who could do no wrong. Or so she thought! Until he brought his fiancée home to introduce to his parents.For Vikram, Rhea was that best friend with who he could talk about anything. Orphaned at a young age, Rhea lived with Vikram's family and they had grown up together. While he held her on a pedestal, he wasn't aware of his best friend's love for him. That was until the day he kissed her. Will their friendship survive the attraction? Where did Tanya, Vikram's fiancée, fit into all this?

Quilt of Souls


Phyllis Lawson - 2015
    It wasn’t long before hardships left them unable to provide.Soon, four-year-old Phyllis is plucked off her front porch, ripped away from the only family she knows, and sent to live with her grandmother Lula on an Alabama farm with no electricity, plumbing, or running water.Heartbroken by her mother’s abandonment, Phyllis struggles to acclimate to her new surroundings. Thanks to the unconditional love of Grandma Lula and the healing powers of an old, tattered quilt, she is finally able to adjust to her new life.In Quilt of Souls, Lawson documents her childhood growing up with the incredible woman who raised her and the powerful family heirloom that served as the cloth that would forever stitch their lives together.With its tales of family, despair, freedom and hope, the true story behind this deeply personal memoir serves as the inspiration for http://www.quiltofsouls.com, where individuals share relics and stories from their own family histories.

Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane - For Fans (Trivia-On-Books)


Trivion Books - 2015
     You may have liked the book, but not be a fan. You may call yourself a fan, but few truly are. Are you? Trivia-on-Books is an independent quiz-formatted trivia on the book for readers, students, and fans alike. Whether you're looking for new materials to the book or would like to take the challenge yourself and share it with your friends and family for a time of fun, Trivia-on-Books provides a unique approach that is both insightful and educational! Features You'll Find Inside: • 30 Multiple choice questions on the book, plots, characters and author • Insightful commentary to answer every question • Complementary quiz material for yourself or your reading group • Results provided with scores to determine "status" Promising quality and value, grab your copy of Trivia-on-Books!

The Other Side of the Mountain - Part 2


E.G. Valens - 1978