For one thing she didn't knit and for the other...well being single probably discounted her from the love category too. But a free holiday is a free holiday and it's the perfect escape from her lacklustre life.Michela didn't think she'd be returning home to Italy so soon, a new job at her cousin's restaurant on the harbour of Positano was a dream gig, miles away from the grey London clouds. This time though, she vowed not to fall into old habits, Stefano was the past and now her future in her old hometown beckoned.But under the Italian skies a whole host of possibilities await and maybe happy-ever-after is just a plane-ride away...

     The Cosy Cottage Café is at the heart of the picturesque English village of Heatherlea. Through summer, autumn, winter and spring, café owner Allie Jones and her friends, Dawn, Camilla and Honey, share their hopes and dreams, ups and downs, and a few surprises along the way. Join them at The Cosy Cottage Café and enjoy this bestselling series. ** PLEASE NOTE: THE FOUR STORIES WERE PREVIOUSLY RELEASED AS SINGLE TITLES. **

    My job wasn’t quite done, yet. I still had to make Luchi and Luna something to eat before it was time for us to call it a night. I had worked a twelve-hour shift at Thornton’s. I was thankful when seven o’clock hit. Thanks to my sister and granny, I had a great support system for the twins. Their father hasn’t been much of any help since I got pregnant at seventeen. I wasn’t pressuring my kids’ father Lance to help too much with them, because anytime he came around, he was a huge pain in my ass. The only good thing that came out of me and Lance’s relationship were Luchi and Luna. I was a single mother, struggling, but by the grace of God, I always found a way to get by. I lived in a three-bedroom house, thanks to being on section 8, I got a decent amount in food stamps, although I worked like a slave at Thornton’s, and I’ve had the same Blue Toyota Camry since I was seventeen, but it was getting me and my babies where we needed to go, so I couldn’t complain. “Are you tired, mama?” Luna asked, climbing in my bed. My eyes were getting heavy, but I needed to make sure my babies were straight before I could close them. “Yes, my Luna, my feet are killing me, but it’s all worth it knowing, I can buy you everything you need.” I tickled Luna’s belly. “Mama, while you're in here playing with Luna, I’m in the other room hungry.” Luchi said, walking into my room. It was clear to me he had an attitude. “Luchi, your hot dogs are on the stove now.” I explained to my child, as if he was my parent and not the other way around. “Hot dogs? You’re not going to fry me some chicken?” “No, Luchi, I’ve been standing on my feet all day. I’m tired. I’m off tomorrow. I promise to make you a nice meal. Tonight, it’s chili dogs on the menu.” “Man, okay.” Luchi climbed into my bed with an attitude. “Mama, can we watch Home?” Luna asked, curling up under me, resting her head on my breasts. “Naw, man, I’m tired of watching that movie. That’s all you want to watch.” Luchi yawned, curling under me as well. “Sorry, Luna, I agree with your brother. Let’s give Home a rest tonight.” “Okay.” Luna pouted. Kissing her forehead, I took in my kids’ features, and my babies looked nothing like me. Everything about them screamed Lance. My skin was the color of a Hershey bar, but the twins inherited their daddy's light-skinned complexion. Luna had long curly hair that I often styled in a bun on the top of her head. My baby had the most beautiful smile that could melt even the coldest heart. My Luchi was the most handsome little boy I had ever laid eyes on. I knew he would break many of hearts one day. Although I struggled day-to-day, I made sure my kids never went without, and I made sure their wardrobe was the latest. At six, Luchi already thought he was a trendsetter. I kept his curly fro tapered on the side. My handsome baby rocked a big diamond in his ear. Luchi's vision wasn’t quite a hundred percent, so he wore glasses. At first, he hated the thought of wearing glasses until I bought him a pair of Ray Bans. I didn’t have much in this world, but my twins were everything to me. Watching the twins sleep peacefully under me, my eyes slowly closed. Sliding myself and the twins under my cover, I tried to get as comfortable as possible in my bed, the best way I could with my two little tiny monsters glued to me.

    Numbering four hundred thousand strong, soldiers of the Red Army pour across the borders of the Soviet Union’s small neighbor. Outnumbered and outclassed the world expected Finland to quickly succumb to the Communist juggernaut. Hale grew up farming, and hunting the frozen forest of his northern home. Taught from a young age by his father to hunt and trap, Hale has grown into master woodsman. Not yet twenty summers in age, he is most at home in the wilderness. Utilizing his gifts, especially his uncanny aim with a rifle, he has helped put food on the table and to earn a living by selling valuable pelts. When invasion threatened, he put his growing love for Nea on hold, and answered his nation’s desperate call to stem the Soviet tide. Now alone in Finland’s vast southern forest, he hunts prey of a different kind. Will his skills and the rifle his father gave him be enough against the countless numbers, tanks, and air craft of the Soviet Union?

    A monster, responsible for unspeakable acts, not limited to this world. Set in the aftermath of September 11th, the city of Chicago feels a sense of impending danger, fearing a similar tragedy could occur. A fast paced horror odyssey, which all begins on Halloween.Part of a series of interconnected horror novels that can be read in any order. Each book serves as a stand alone story, yet builds a greater picture behind a sinister mystery in Chicago.

    

    Unable to care for him any longer, and wanting to hide the fact that she was dying from cancer, his mama sent him away, hoping to save her son from a life of trouble. Determined to get back to his mother, Khaution deals with the abuse he faces in foster care, but when his mother dies before he can get back to her, he turns to a life of crime to survive. Not knowing who his father was, Khaution hits the streets as Savage, and it’s not long before he ends up in jail. During a ten-year bid, he is suddenly released early from jail by none other than his father! Things between the two start off strained after not having him around in his life, but eventually, the two create a bond. A bond that enables them to take over the city of New York. But it comes with a price that Khaution wasn’t ready to pay, nor did he know he had to pay! With a queen on his arm that he doesn’t want, Khaution meets the mysterious, Autumn Kennedy. Never being in love before, he wants nothing more than to smash and walk away. However, Autumn pulls him in a way he didn’t see, and he finds himself in love for the first time. But Sybil is not going to let the empire and her king go so easily, and she gives him an ultimatum that he agrees to in order to spare Autumn. But what Sybil failed to remember was they called him Savage for a reason! In the end, she pushes him into making a decision that sends him on a path of truth that he wasn’t expecting. Savage by name and savage by nature. Follow this man as he embarks on a world of love and lies; some more devastating than others!

    Just a few months after their wedding, and a few weeks after running a 10K, a rare autoimmune disease landed Joclyn in the hospital with a failing heart. Enduring four open heart surgeries, rounds of experimental chemotherapy, a punctured lung, a lost voice, a pacemaker, an unsympathetic nurse, bedpans, and legitimately gruesome hospital food, it seemed the bad news would never end. But with the help of a top-notch medical team, supportive and loving friends and family, courage, a will to live, and a desire to just go home, they learned the true value of love, hope and life. Joclyn, an occupational therapist, Jeremy, a public school administrator, live in Sacramento, California with their dog, Ramsay. Their experience received national attention and helped facilitate legislative reform surrounding “surprise medical bills,” out-of-network bills received when a patient has done everything he possibly can to remain in-network.

    Plato isn’t an ordinary cat. He’s a magical lynx with extraordinary powers.When a series of dangerous activities break out in a small city in Mexico, is it by design that the magical creature is present? Is Plato really coordinating everything?Plato isn’t the only one staying in this Mexican city or at the boutique hotel. Other magical creatures are working to stop the bad guys.That’s what Beaufonts and their sidekicks do.Can Plato, a dragon, and a talking squirrel save this coastal city?Scroll up and grab your copy of The Mysterious Plato, the first short story in this Beaufont collection, to find out.

    The idea of his wife working at the infamous club turns him on as much as it makes him nervous. Lynn cultivates a new, alluring personality for her job, and their stale married life gets a much-needed infusion of passion and excitement. But when the ownership of Liquid Kitty changes hands, Lynn’s alter-ego gets up to more than Rick bargained for... is it more than they can handle?

    Races operating within their own planetary systems are to be left alone until they begin to develop the ability to travel at FTL (faster than light speeds). When the ability to travel at FTL becomes apparent, one of the members of the Federation is nominated to help ease the newcomer through the Galactic citizenship process. Unfortunately, not all the galaxies systems belong to the Federation, and some of those systems are much less than friendly. The last several decades have seen the development of war like societies that systematically loot developing planets. They take the water, and other precious resources, including slaves, leaving the remaining native inhabitants a barren planet. Without resources the population simply dies a slow death. The Egolari are here because we, meaning the people of Earth, happen to possess a skill set and an aptitude that is critical to the needs of the Federation. The major problem within the Federation is that virtually all the members have, for centuries been living in peace. They have developed a society that is not well suited to counter the growing violence presented by the nonaligned races. In short, they have no way to protect themselves, let alone protect the fledgling races just arriving on the galactic scene. Enter Earth. Of all the emerging races to become future galactic members, one has a superior potential to face the violence threatened by the nonaligned races. You guessed it, Humanity. The Federation realized that to continue to function as an organized galactic society, they would have to develop a military arm that could provide the Federation and emerging systems the protection of a fleet of space vessels and marines. Humanity was the race most capable of leading the development of that military organization because we had not progressed so far that our war like tendencies had begun to erode. Although we were not yet ready for galactic membership, we were a necessity that could fill the need, thus we were getting a crash course in how to travel the galaxy, protecting ourselves and the Federation with the full expectation that we would go where no human has gone before, and kick some alien ass.

    

     With all that has been said about Dodge City no true account of conditions as they were in the early days was accessible until publication of Robert Wright's 1911 book "Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital." The author was especially well qualified to write a history of the "wicked city of the plains" since he had lived on the frontier for many years previous to the founding of the city and lived in the city from its opening. He had all the experience gleaned as a plainsman, explorer, scout, trader and as mayor of the town. His is a most interesting narrative of early days, as well as a very valuable contribution to western history. Prior to founding Dodge City in 1868, at 16 years old Wright came West to Missouri. In 1859 he made the first of six overland trips across the plains to Denver. He was later appointed post trader at Fort Dodge in 1867, when Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and Prairie Apache abounded there. Wright was acquainted with old-school Western sheriff and gunfighter Bat Masterson, of whom he said, "Bat is a gentleman by instinct. He is a man of pleasant manners, good address and mild disposition, until aroused, and then, for God's sake, look out! "Bat was a most loyal man to his friends. If anyone did him a favor, he never forgot it. I believe that if one of his friends was confined in jail and there was the least doubt of his innocence, he would take a crow-bar and 'jimmy' and dig him out, at the dead hour of midnight; and, if there were determined men guarding him, he would take these desperate chances...." Wright describes a typical day in Dodge: "Someone ran by my store at full speed, crying out, 'Our marshal is being murdered in the dance hall!' I, with several others, quickly ran to the dance hall and burst in the door. The house was so dense with smoke from the pistols a person could hardly see, but Ed Masterson had corralled a lot in one corner of the hall, with his sixshooter in his left hand, holding them there until assistance could reach him...." Wright also describes one hair-raising encounter he witnessed from a roof on his ranch: "The savages circled around the poor Mexican again and again; charged him from the front and rear and on both sides. Presently the poor fellow's horse went down, and he lay behind it for awhile. Then he cut the girth, took off the saddle, and started for the river, running at every possible chance, using the saddle as a shield, stopping to show fight only when the savages pressed him too closely

    Their babies. The stories of friends that all unexpectedly became a Viking’s bride. Book 1 – The Viking’s Bride I tried to run. But there’s nothing he won’t do to have me. I was forced to marry a ruthless Viking Warlord. Now, I’m carrying his twins. Grim is big, fierce, and handsome beyond words. But he's a killer, feared by all. I can’t believe my father would force me to marry this barbarian. Could a man like that ever love anyone, let alone me? We’re from two different worlds. Being with him in fantasy is far different than reality. A happy marriage seems impossible. So, I ran. But he found me, put me over his shoulder. And brought me back to be his bride. I hate how his gruffness makes my body yearn. I hate how his touch drives me wild. But what if there's more to him than a broken and vicious warrior? Could I get the happily ever after I've dreamed off? Or will I always be his captive bride? Book 2 – The Viking’s Wedding Big, gruff, dominant… and utterly dangerous. Einarr Thor is a beast of a man. A beautiful savage. And not to mention we’re different in every way. The fierce Viking Warlord wants me to be his bride. And there’s nothing he won’t do to have me. Book 3 – Beowulf’s Claim I was left in the woods unconscious, on the brink of death. He brought me to his cabin and saved me. I became a caretaker to an orphan boy that he was raising. But when I recovered my memory and discovered his dark secret, I ran. I don’t care that he’d search the world for me. I’d never be Beowulf’s Claim. Book 4 – The Viking’s Captive I’m the daughter of his enemy. In one night, I became his captive Princess. A way for him to beat my family. Who is he? Trident’s a man that takes what he wants. A gorgeous, giant brute. At every turn, I fought him. But there’s a side of him that only I know. A protective side that made me safer than I’ve ever felt before. I fell for all of him. I couldn't deny him any longer. Marrying him and giving him my innocence is insane and forbidden. Once our families find out about our news... It could end this feud or destroy us all.