There's Lila, the landlady of the forest who shoulders a terrible guilt; the young, beautiful and carefree Violette, who bears deep childhood scars, and the boy Jeremy, who whispers his confessions to the frogs and ants in the forest. There's Claire, who writes murder scenes, and Simon, who cares for his brother's son while pining for various women.Each character has come to this forgiving Eden to escape some private trauma; forced to interact through loneliness and proximity, they learn each others� secrets, with stunning consequences.Told from the perspective of each character, shifting between the past and the present, Wildlives takes the reader on a fantasy ride of intrigue and character exploration. With its existential mystery, evocation of unspoiled nature and spectacular characters, the novel brings to mind Paul Auster, Henry David Thoreau and Isabelle Allende.

    It was selected by Deb Olin Unferth as the winner of the 2010 Caketrain Chapbook Competition and is currently available from Caketrain Press.

    He's been avoiding her for weeks, but when one of the football players starts failing her class, Jill decides to corner Liam in the locker room one night after hours, vowing to fight her attraction to the obnoxious man. However, she doesn't count on Liam being able to give as good as he gets, or the steamy seduction of a shower built for two...Liam can't help it if Jill Langer's prickly exterior turns him on, but he knows that the brainy literature professor must want better than a lowly football coach. His preconceptions are shattered the day he discovers that the prim Ms. Langer has a love of steamy, hardcore erotica. When she corners him in the locker room one night, he sets out to prove to her that they may have more in common that she thinks, and that he might just be the man to bring all of her naughty fantasies to life.

    They will catch me. I am only delaying the inevitable, postponing my fate if you will. I know what will happen when they catch me. It’s the same ending every time. Still, I push my legs as fast as they will go, my body aches from the exertion.I can hear them behind me. They are closing in. This is part of a twisted game. The goal, to catch their Prey.Me.I am the prize for the Hunter. I am the Hunted.The Hunted is book one of a three book interconnected series. This book is intended for mature audiences as it contains adult themes and situations. 18+ Only Due to Adult Content

    A pizza shop worker goes on a series of visceral dates with her gynecologist; a slighted lover coughs up a forgotten childhood toy; an artist unknowingly becomes the subject of an intrusive admirer’s lust; a woman has a heated staring contest with the world’s oldest man. Powerful and precise, Rivas’s stories highlight the unreality within the real, simultaneously evoking humor, outrage, and awe.Contest judge Rigoberto González writes: “With this marvelous collection of short stories, Rivas places her finger on that pressure point, where adventure and dangerintersect, where fantasy and reality cross wires, and where desire ebbs and flows to the delight—or chagrin—of her female protagonists. Each story, unpredictable and startling,leaves a lasting impression. A Bright and Pleading Dagger is truly a compelling and unforgettable journey into the dark but poignant experiences of women.”

    Logan was the person she turned to when Jace died, and she never imaged that would leave her with the biggest dilemma she could face.He makes her question everything. She makes him a better person. They push the limit between right and wrong.Unfortunately, Chloe and Logan are perfect together.

    Infinite Possibilities.Sleep-deprived Faith Daniels is desperate for help to plan the charity bachelor auction for the fall festival. Surprisingly, her best friend agrees to chip in, but the offer comes with strings attached. Faith must toss a coin into the infamous “Fountain of Love” and then undergo a complete makeover. She knows it’s all just a ridiculous ploy to get her back into the dating pool, but she would be crazy to say no. Besides, it’s not like wishes in that fountain come true.Or do they?Like magic, men begin to appear out of nowhere. There’s a doctor, a lawyer, a firefighter, and a swimwear model, for starters. All of them kind, generous, successful, and drop-dead gorgeous. All of them interested in Faith. But what happens when she starts to enjoy the attention? Is it really possible to get a second chance at love?A feel-good romantic comedy novel about love, friendship, and living life to the fullest!

    An incredible wizard. One boy must do the impossible to change his life forever… Ozel wonders if he'll ever escape his angry, fat caretaker. As the orphan hopes for a better future, a mysterious wizard gives him the gift of an apprenticeship and some unbelievable magic. But when Ozel discovers he's the lone heir to a massive fortune, he'll need more than a few spells to claim it. After learning his portly caretaker plans to steal the money first, Ozel races through a forest of blacksmiths, witches, and even the undead to protect his birthright. If he survives the treacherous Tangul forest, the orphan and his wizard may just have to stop a twisted mage to go from zero to wealthy hero. Apprentice Quest is a young adult fantasy novel full of action and humor. If you like powerful wizards, twists and turns, and coming-of-age tales, then you'll love Jim Hodgson's worthy successor to the magical genre. Buy Apprentice Quest to cast an entertaining spell today!

    But she also wants more. To see the world. To own her own home. To fall madly in love.But those are fairy tales, and if her life is a fairy tale, then she’s the ugly duckling. Her deformed lip, her crooked limbs and her weak heart have kept her from taking chances. But that’s about to change.When Grayson Potts comes to stay, he’s unlike anyone Thomasina has ever met. He’s aloof, eccentric and exceptionally kind. He’s also totally unconcerned with the physical flaws that have always defined Thomasina.The two form a bond that neither has had before. It’s possible that it could become something more, but Thomasina also wonders if it’s too good to be true. By putting her heart on the line, Thomasina may open herself to heartbreak. But she may also open herself to so much more.

    Lying, cheating bastards. All of them. I had a great boyfriend, a great job, and a promising future. Until the redheads started ruining everything. In an instant, my life changed. My boyfriend cheated on me, I was forced to quit my job, and my father went and had a massive heart attack. Before he died, he left me something: His company, Winslow Wines. I was the newly appointed CEO of my family-owned business, which was in the midst of financial ruins until one man, who I met under awkward circumstances, stepped in and offered to save me. He was sexy, bold, rich, a womanizer, and your typical corporate ass. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and that was all I was willing to give, until I was faced with a problem. I fell for him. He was a game player and I was more than willing to play.Nathan:Women. Too complicated. Relationships. Too many expectations. No thanks. I didn’t have time for any complications in my life. My work and my company were my priorities and women were my hobby. Have sex, say goodbye, and never look back. Life couldn’t be simpler. Then I met Fiona Winslow. A beautiful, strong, independent, sassy, and always-telling-me-no kind of woman. I thrived on being in control and she was uncontrollable. I had met my match.

    On a perpetual hunt for the next adrenaline hit, she discovers a passion for flying and becomes a hard-edged stunt pilot, verging on obsession. In the sky, following her most daring airshow, she encounters a mysterious storm and almost collides with another aircraft, sending her into a perilous dive. Guided by a mysterious voice, she manages a safe landing but finds herself transported to another time. Eight months before she was born. One week before her father was murdered. Though baffled by her circumstances, Skylar soon arrives at a single certainty: Before her lies a remarkable chance to change her family's destiny drastically for the better -- or possibly even worse -- depending on the choices she makes, before her window of opportunity closes.

    Mary Miller's BIG WORLD is the second book and first work of fiction to come out of Short Flight/Long Drive Books, a publishing arm of the independent literary journal Hobart. The characters in Mary Miller's debut short story collection BIG WORLD are at once autonomous and lonesome, possessing both a longing to connect with those around them and a cynicism regarding their ability to do so, whether they're holed up in a motel room in Pigeon Forge with an air gun shooting boyfriend as in "Fast Trains" or navigating the rooms of their house with their dad after their mother's death as in "Leak." Mary Miller's writing is unapologetically honest and efficient and the gut-wrenching directness of her prose is reminiscent of Mary Gaitskill and Courtney Eldridge, if Gaitskill's and Eldridge's stories were set in the south and reeked of spilt beer and cigarette smoke.

    These 11 profoundly moving and finely crafted stories encapsulate wildly divergent themes of love and loss, containment and exclusion. In the title story, a parks & rec worker faces an assailant who does not leave the altercation intact. A medical researcher and his claustrophobic fiancée are locked in the trunk of their car after a failed carjacking (the thief can't drive standard). A young woman enters a pharmaceutical trial in the outer reaches of suburbia and slips between sleeping and waking with increasingly alarming ease. Pairing the cultural acuity of Lost in Translation with the compassion and reach of The World According to Garp, Heighton breathes new life into the short story, a genre that is finally coming into its own.

    Now, not only must she come to terms with his secret world, but she must use what she learns to help save his life. Part Paulo Coelho, part Lee Child... The Beekeeper of New York twists from philosophical and mystical to a more earthy thriller as Yusra's quest to discover the truth and save her brother heats up. Yusra's earliest memory is from the vibrant marketplace in Al Hudaydah, when her autistic brother Someer is savagely beaten by a crowd who believe he is possessed by demons. Since that moment she has protected Someer and rejected gods and monsters, and all of the invisible forces that make people do cruel and unthinking things. But now Someer is lying unconscious in a New York hospital bed, and Yusra is discovering his secret, invisible world that she had never imagined possible. But can she come to terms with her discovery and put her trust in Someer in time to save his life? Slowly Yusra discovers that nobody in her life is exactly who she thought they were, and that help can arrive from the most unexpected places, if only she can develop a little faith.

    Forced to move forward with her life, Anna was reeling as she enrolled in college. There she made a friend who had been there and done that, hired a sexy younger man to tutor her in math, who also taught her how to have fun again, and she met a man to love her, whether she wanted him to or not. The lessons in life Anna received over her first year of college gave her the strength to live again.