Of what things were like for me when everything was normal. Of what every teenager’s life is like. Clothes. Parties. Boys and summer vacation. What’s so wrong with that?I liked it. I was happy.Until things changed. I changed.I didn’t know that lies and secrets were about to take over my existence. I didn’t know there was someone out there, someone meant just for me. I didn’t know that I was about to go on a journey, a journey that would lead me to the girl I am today.This is the beginning of the worst year of my life. Would I go back and change things? Erase everything that has happened to go back into these moments?Not a chance.This is a story of before.

    Smith. The latest assignment request presented to her from Mr. Smith, is the request to retrieve a man's heart. Once this revelation is disclosed, Elise has serious reservations and declines the assignment, that is until her employer Mr. Smith assures her that it is not for the retrieval of an actual human heart, and that the assignment pays a generous commission fee of two million dollars.Against all her better judgement and intuition, Elise accepts the assignment, where she finds herself suddenly wrapped up in a bizarre set of circumstances. She questions both her sanity, as well as whether or not her mysterious employer Mr. Smith has set her up against her will to participate in some strange time travel experiment.The assignment goes terribly wrong, and Elise finds herself being held captive by a pair who act as if they are living in a different era, and feed her a time travel story dating back one thousand years ago that they are convinced Elise was a part of. Elise begins to question whether she's being fed mind-altering drugs during her captivity in order to play along with the pair's outlandish timetravel scheme, until a series of incidents start to trigger an overwhelming feeling of deja vu.With two failed escape attempts, Elise is mentally frustrated and physically weakened, and to make matters worse, she finds herself strangely drawn to her captor Mr. Andris Blackstone, the very same man who had commissioned her services through her employer Mr. Smith.Desperate to be released, Elise makes a deal with Mr. Andris Blackstone. His request is simple, and if she complies, he will allow her to leave, along with the full two million dollars she was promised. Things don't go quite as Elise had planned, and a memory from one thousand years ago is suddenly returned to her, along with something else she certainly wasn't expecting. A time travel romance and a return of something so sacred, it took the clandestine efforts of those she knew in a previous lifetime to fulfill.Chapter 1: Assignment of the HeartChapter 2: Manor MissionChapter 3: Meet Lord BlackstoneChapter 4: No EscapeChapter 5: RevelationsChapter 6: Silver Box

    The only thing you need to know is that Wild Cards is set in our world, and an alien virus has been infecting people in rare outbreaks. It kills 90% of victims, makes ugly monsters of 9% (Jokers) and gives 1% random superpowers (Aces).A very personal short story that I'm proud of and want to find a wider audience for.There is a sequel story free on the Tor website, The Visitor: Kill or Cure.

    There are places unknown, magic lures you in and love spands lifetimes. Don't resist. It's in the blood...Evangeline is a short story prequel to Ever Shade.

    Every grave, its secrets. Enter the world of Amanda Stevens's Graveyard Queen series--where forbidden passion and secrets from the past are as restless as the ghosts--in the series prequel novella, The Abandoned.There are rules for dealing with ghosts. Too bad Ree Hutchins doesn't know them.When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her.Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as the Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest--before she is locked away forever....Look for the other books in The Graveyard Queen series: The Restorer, The Kingdom and The Prophet, available now.

    But the journey was not an easy one.Featuring narrow escapes, thrilling boat races and at least one deadly volcanic wasteland.

    Forced to transfer schools mid-year, she wasn't trying to make new friends. In that same month, sophomore Nate Wilson's girlfriend broke up with him. Searching for someone to fill the void left by his first love, he meets Emi in his art class. Nate knows he wants Emi from the moment he sees her. Emi knows she needs Nate after one night together. A life-long friendship is born, and a pact is made to ensure that nothing will come between them. This novella is the prequel to the Emi Lost & Found series. After the 3-volume series was published, readers wanted more. This is for them – the story of how Nate and Emi met – and although it’s a prequel, it can be enjoyed before or after the series.

    The city is under threat from a sorcerer and his armies, and Darik plans to use the chaos to escape. When a pair of scoundrels—the elderly, seemingly buffoonish Markal, and a tall barbarian named Whelan—offer to help him flee the city, Darik has no idea that he’s about to be swept into a larger game. The two men are spies, a wizard and a paladin from the Free Kingdoms on the other side of the mountain. Whelan and Mark are in the city to observe the sorcerer;s advance, and are alarmed at his growing strength, as he brings giants, dragons, and undead warriors into his ranks to brutally sack and enslave the khalifates of the plains. And they know that if he isn’t stopped before he reaches the mountains, he will carry his war all the way to the heart of the Free Kingdoms. Now in a complete omnibus for the first time, the Dark Citadel is a five book series of dragons, wizards, and griffins by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Michael Wallace.

    They call him the October Boy, or Ol' Hacksaw Face, or Sawtooth Jack. Whatever the name, everybody in this small Midwestern town knows who he is. How he rises from the cornfields every Halloween, a butcher knife in his hand, and makes his way toward town, where gangs of teenage boys eagerly await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death.Pete McCormick knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in this one-horse town. He's willing to risk everything, including his life, to be a winner for once. But before the night is over, Pete will look into the saw-toothed face of horror - and discover the terrifying true secret of the October Boy...

    When he drives out to the lake to tell an old friend that he's fallen in love with a girl named Jennifer, Marty encounters three sadistic killers who have some twisted games in store for him. But Marty has dark secrets of his own buried deep inside him. And tonight, when all the pain from the past is triggered, when those secrets are revealed, blood will flow and hell will rise.

    Magic’s memory is longer, and far more dangerous. After a century spent as a tree, Finn awakens into a world she barely recognizes. Dark shapes lurk just out of sight, watching her every move as she tries to regain the memories of her past. As if by fate, travelers are drawn to her side. Scholars, thieves, and Iseult, a sellsword who seems to know more about her past than he’s letting on. When one of Finn’s companions is taken by the Faie, she will be forced to make a choice: rescue a woman she barely knows, or leave her newfound friends behind in search of an ancient relic that may hold the answers she so desperately seeks. Enter a world of Enchantment, filled with Celtic lore, magic, and just a touch of romance. Now a complete series! This set includes: -Tree of Ages -The Melted Sea Other books in the series: -The Blood Forest -Queen of Wands -The Oaken Throne

    The first ten chapters of ‘Alone’ have also been included for your enjoyment.It is the year 1898, the year of the Spanish-American War, and Sebastian Bandores is aboard a ship, returning home to Spain. After serving his country, he hopes only to be reunited with his wife and young daughter after two years of separation.But someone else is waiting for Sebastian at the port, a vampire. As her obsession with Sebastian grows, so both his mortal life and that of his family is threatened.

    A digital original novella set in the twisted world of the Untamed City created by Melissa MarrCarnival of Secrets fans will be thrilled for this never-before-seen moment between Aya and Belias, set in the Untamed City universe.

    (Approximately 7,000 words)Reliving the night before Jonathan and Franklin leave for Basic Training.You do not need to read "Down the Rabbit Hole" before enjoying "River's Recruit."

    She searched her soul but she could not figure out why she would feel this way. Georgia’s husband, Hank, was tall, dark and handsome. He had money and power and broad shoulders. To make matters even worse, Beth liked him.Enjoy!