It was first published in the Easter supplement of Prager Tagblatt on 20 April 1924. During his final illness Kafka corrected the proofs of the story for the inclusion into collection A Hunger Artist (Ein Hungerkünstler) published by Verlag Die Schmiede after his death.

    'I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!"And thumped him on the head.'Conjuring wily walruses, dancing lobsters, a Jabberwock and a Bandersnatch, Carroll's fantastical verse gave new words to the English language.

    The author of 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' isn't, after all, a Shakespeare scholar, a playwright, or even a biographer. Reading 'Shakespeare The World As Stage', however, one gets the sense that this eclectic Iowan is exactly the type of person the Bard himself would have selected for the task. The man who gave us 'The Mother Tongue' and 'A Walk in the Woods' approaches Shakespeare with the same freedom of spirit and curiosity that made those books such reader favorites. A refreshing take on an elusive literary master.

    In reality, mythology is more screwed up than a schizophrenic shaman doing hits of unidentified. Wait, it all makes sense now. In Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes, Cory O’Brien, creator of Myths RETOLD!, sets the stories straight. These are rude, crude, totally sacred texts told the way they were meant to be told: loudly, and with lots of four-letter words. Skeptical? Here are just a few gems to consider: � Zeus once stuffed an unborn fetus inside his thigh to save its life after he exploded its mother by being too good in bed. � The entire Egyptian universe was saved because Sekhmet just got too hammered to keep murdering everyone. � The Hindu universe is run by a married couple who only stop murdering in order to throw sweet dance parties…on the corpses of their enemies. � The Norse goddess Freyja once consented to a four-dwarf gangbang in exchange for one shiny necklace. And there’s more dysfunctional goodness where that came from.

     The Companion’s worst fears are realised when she is woken in the middle of the night and told that she will be leaving Archdale. Having grown bored of his Companion, Prince Pandarus is handing her over to the formidable King Jayr of Zoelin. Forced to give up her life and the people she has grown to love; she must now mentor the women sold into the newly formed Companion trade. Can she find a way to survive the foreign life and the capricious man who now owns her? This short read is part of 'The Companion' series and is best read after The Royal Companion. Interview with the Author: Q - So, why did you write this book? A – Hali was one of my favourite characters in The Royal Companion. She is warm and big-hearted. I really wanted to tell her story. Q – Is this book part of a series? A – Yes, it’s a short read that forms part of The Companion Series. The second book, The Common Girl, is due to be released later this year. Q - So, why should readers give this series a try? A – The Companion Series is a collection of tender and fierce stories centred around an impossible love. Readers will lose themselves in this alternate-world, and the characters will remain with them long after they finish reading. Q – Who will this book appeal to? A – This book will appeal to people who have read The Royal Companion. While its court setting and royal characters will appeal to regency romance readers, the story also contains medieval and fantasy elements. The series is quite the Romance hybrid. And thanks for reading!

    Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island's Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl's fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.*pangram: a sentence or phrase that includes all the letters of the alphabet