when the belligerent Sugambrian tribe leaves their beloved forest to cross the Rhenus River into Gaul. While on their foraging rampage meant simply to gather supplies for the coming winter, they cross paths with the Roman Fifth Legion. An ever-so brief battle ensues. Though short, this encounter will set in motion a conflict lasting more than two decades with the tribes struggling under the might of the professional legions. The outcome of these wars, in forthcoming works, will prove to have lasting repercussions. In fact, we still feel them today in the global order.The Wald is chock full of heroism, brotherhood, adventure, wit, and even history. Read it today to find out how tribesmen Berengar and his friend Ermin will fare against the likes of Drusus, Tiberius, and Augustus.

    when the Devil walked into my office and had a seat. Bounty hunter Victor McCain always wondered how his brother, Mikey, went from down-n-out loser to one of Louisville’s richest men. Now he knew: his brother sold his soul to the Devil. And in twenty-four hours, Mikey would die and spend eternity in Hell unless Victor agreed to hunt down a thief, a woman as deadly as she is beautiful. On a journey of murder and betrayal, Victor must now put his own soul at risk to save his only brother, battle a dark underground organization with the goal of nothing less than global war between Christians and Muslims, and fight creatures from man’s darkest nightmares. Then there’s the Hand of God, God’s own bounty hunter. In the end, will he be friend or enemy? Only Heaven knows.

    A warrior come to Earth to kill. On his own planet he was a prince. On Earth he was a murderer. On Earth, he was her owner. But Cassi's no passive, frightened girl. She stands up to him the first time she ever sees him. She's going to stand up to the Vampyren every time. Even if it kills her. But neither of them is quite what they seem. Maybe, what fate has sown together shouldn't be torn apart.

    Intelligent, well-educated, perfectly isolated in his lofty rank, responsibilities, and privilege of the divine Imperial Dynasty. He's the most powerful boy on Atlantis and he's going into the real world for the very first time. . . .Now just another student in Fleet Cadet School, Aeson must learn everything normal people take for granted—including the basics of how to look after himself, how to interact with others his age, how to laugh, and how to make friends.As if that wasn't enough to boggle the mind of a confident but shy boy who's never had a real conversation with anyone but his mother, Aeson has one more lesson ahead . . . what it's like to fall in love.Get inside Aeson's mind and learn his story from the inside out as he forms the bonds that will change him forever—with Elikara, Xelio, Oalla, Keruvat, Erita, and other favorite Atlantean characters, long before they took to the stars as astra daimon! AESON: BLUE is the first in The Atlantis Grail Novella Series.

    A man finds his remote cabin being terrorized by a woman who only says the same three words over and over... Billions of miles from Earth, a computer must make a difficult decision about a spaceship's last surviving crew-member... As she struggles to look after her dying daughter, a mother notices strange noises in the house... In the ruins of a planet ravaged by alien invasion, a young girl must decide whether to fight, or to simply try to stay alive... After moving into a new house with her parents, young Cally Taylor realizes that perhaps one of the previous occupants never left... On a remote mountain road, a woman comes face to face with a dead, frozen woman in a wrecked car... The Vampire of Downing Street and Other Ghost Stories contains the new stories The Vampire of Downing Street, The Decision, Pets, Frozen Charlotte, When Ghosts Dream and Let Me In, as well as a revised version of Tenderling.

    Now, payback is coming after them. And she’s a bitch in every sense of the word. Bethany Anne Nacht was changed on Earth almost two hundred years in the past. The Kurtherians engage in the cosmic great game, where whole worlds are torn asunder in their efforts to prove their own supremacy.For hundreds of millennia, the Kurtherians at the top have reigned unfettered as they destroyed countless civilizations time and time again. Now, a new group is entering the game. Bethany Anne and her people are playing against extreme odds, but when has that EVER stopped the Queen Bitch?It’s time to fight for the future of the Universe…  ARE YOU READY? -- Set includes: Payback is a Bitch Compelling Evidence Through the Fire and Flame All's Fair in Blood and War NOTE: This book contains cursing. Perhaps humorous cursing, but cursing nevertheless. If this offends you, I don't suggest reading this book.

    Undo what she is. Brainwash her.And when the brutal conditioning's over she'll treat people like him as her equal and teach others to do the same.That's the plan.But when she starts to take a liking to him, emotion gets in the way. Lust. Weakness.He's never been wanted before.No one will sympathise with him if he takes advantage of her.Somehow he has to fight the consuming urges and stay focused.Or no one will follow the revolutionary new religion he's created, a religion that will change and unite us all.*E-thriller headlining Thriller of the Month April 2013**Featured on 42 Books to Read for Towel Day*A dark, disturbing and thought-provoking psychological thriller that explores the effects of social exclusion, THE MORTAL RELIGION takes you deep inside the soul of self-discovery, desperation, and obsession. Unique and perceptive, it will grab you from the first page and not let you go until the last.

    Imagine a drug that flips the valleys and makes them peaks, too. You react now to an event based not on the pleasure or pain that it brings, but solely on the intensity of the emotion created. Pain brings pleasure, grief gives joy, horror renders ecstasy.Now give this drug to a soldier. Tell them to kill. Not in the historically acceptable murder of war, but in a systematic corporate strategy--of xenocide.They will kill. And they will revel in it.Welcome to the world of Scream.Jason Trelayne is a Screamer, a soldier forced to take part in the destruction of entire races. But when Trelayne falls in love with a beautiful Scream Angel, an alien who produces the addictive drug, he sets off a chain of events that pits him and a small group of followers against an empire.An award winning novelette of rebellion, love, and an unlikely hero."A dark and powerful story with a first line that sets the tone for what is to come: 'They stopped beating Trelayne when they saw that he enjoyed it.' (A++)" --Fantasy Book Critic"A visceral work. A true pearl of the fantastic literature. Breath-taking." --Café de Ontem"...the book's most skillfully crafted story...quickly becomes one that holds the reader's attention until the very end." --SpecFicWorld"...remind me of the reasons I love the author's writing: his characterization, attention to detail and recurring themes of love, faith and redemption." --SF Crowsnest Reviews"The story has so many layers that I'm still sorting them out. And like an onion, I'm not sure if I'll ever find the final layer." --Tangent Online"One of those rare ideas that seems at once so perfect and so natural that someone must have come up with it before; but if someone has, I haven't heard about it, and regardless Smith exploits the potential of the idea extraordinarily well here." --Strange Horizons

    The Lost Coast is a six-part novella, written to accompany the six episodes of the second season of Homecoming, an audio series starring Catherine Keener, David Schwimmer, and Oscar Isaac.The two works are designed to be read in alternating installments - Episode One of the podcast, then Chapter One of the book, then Episode Two, and so on - but other sequences are probably fine too.

    If you enjoy small 'bite-size' stories, or are a fan of micro-fiction and flash fiction, you'll appreciate these sharply written, miniature creations from a "masterful wordsmith."

    A locked front door is to an adult what a duvet it is to a child. Once the key is turned in the lock, and once the child is safely snuggled under the duvet, the monsters are kept at bay.Except they’re not. A closed door won’t keep out the boogeymen… And a blanket won’t keep away the monsters. The safety of our cosy homes is a lie. There are bad people out there, who want to do bad things to you in the dead of night, and a locked door isn’t going to stop them. There are bad things already lurking IN our homes; monsters that live in the shadows and in closets, just waiting for you to close your eyes at night.From the real to the supernatural, this collection of stories, held together with a wraparound story, explores all manners of evil that can invade our homes at night.Lock your doors, bolt your windows and sleep with the light on, because THEY are coming to get you….

    He's confronted the HOA. He's even taken on Santa himself. He doesn't usually win. These are the tales of the Dumb White Husband and they are all available here in this collected edition.This handsome volume includes:Dumb White Husband vs. the Grocery Store - John would rather sit and watch the game, but his wife needs some things at the store. Can he complete the list and get back in time to see the end of the game?Dumb White Husband vs. Halloween - Every Halloween, Chris has the scariest house on the block and gives out the best candy. But, this year, someone is showing him up and he'll stop at nothing to find out who.Dumb White Husband vs. Santa - Erik has planned the perfect Christmas for his family. The plan is foolproof, bulletproof and flame retardant. Nothing can undo the hours of planning and preparation. Nothing except maybe odd-shaped packages, ill-timed fruitcakes or an errant neighborhood Santa Claus.Dumb White Husband vs. the Tooth Fairy - Erik always has a plan and he's sure he would have figured out the whole Tooth Fairy thing eventually. But, when his three-year-old son takes a frisbee to the mouth, he's forced to speed things up. Between neighborhood kids with big mouths and unhelpful dentists he's going to need to improvise. Will he bend to the pressure of inflation? Will he get caught in the act? And, what do you do with those teeth anyway?Dumb White Husband for President (A novella) - There comes a time in every man's life when he must stand for the things he believes in. John doesn't believe in bagging his grass. So, when a new allergy-prone neighbor gets the HOA to require it, there's only one thing he can do - run for President of The Creeks of Sage Valley Phase II.John, Chris and Erik put aside most of their differences to run a campaign that they hope will see John elected as President and end the meddling of the rule-loving new kid on the block. Will they succeed? It's doubtful.

    She transforms herself into the longed-for princess, but the spell is broken and… read the story to find out what happens.Illustration from one of the thirty-one stories present in the first collection of “Fairytales and Fables Never Told”.

    But there is one little girl who begs to be different. They call her The She-Devil. She absolutely adores them. So much so she keeps them as pets…to torture later. But behind the wall, fugitive house spiders Bateman, Parker and Carmen have bigger problems. They must take on the vicious Spider Army, led by the sinister General Raimi, and attempt to take back their home… With no plan, no help, and absolutely no hope whatsoever. Everything you thought you knew about spiders is about to change forever…

    She will fight for the oppressed. She will destroy evil. This digital box set contains eight action-packed science fiction adventures: Justice is Calling Valerie must flee a brother who leaves her for dead. Because, if there is one thing Valerie understands? It's that Justice Doesn't Turn the Other Cheek. 150 years after a near apocalypse, the world is rebuilding. Survival has become the only rule, and justice is in short supply. Now, Justice has come calling.  Claimed by Honor The New York City-State wakes up and their world has been shaken to its core. The Enforcers have been scattered, but they aren't finished. This vampire is but a bump in their road to keeping the city-state in the hands of the CEO's.The Were's are involved, some leave, some stay and new alliances are made and an old one broken.However, in the end, it always comes back to heart and determination. Judgment has Fallen The City Has Changed... but not always for the better. Some love her, some hate her, but the one thing that is causing the city problems is Valerie herself. As a lightning rod, she needs to get out of the public's eye and allow the emotions to cool without her presence.Whether she wants to, or not. Angel of Reckoning For this vampire, it's time to die... a second time.Valerie understands that to take the fight to those who are attacking in New York, she needs to leave the spotlight. Both for the city, and for herself.Her enemies are relentless in their attacks to get to her. Since they have relocated to the Chicago City-State area, that is where she must go. Born Into Flames When Valerie and Robin head north to take on an army of post-apocalyptic pirates, the deadly duo find themselves on a thrill-ride of air-ship battles and full-on assaults against pirate strongholds.Her friends back in Old Manhattan discover an attempt at mutiny, while Sandra learns that being an expecting mother doesn't mean she has to stop kicking ass and taking names. Everyone must step up their game, or be consumed by the flames of this new world. Defending the Lost A time of reckoning has come for the council of Toro, a bandit city about to burst with corruption and injustice. Valerie refuses to allow her world to rot, and she's brought friends to help her teach the council a lesson. Saved By Valor A dream of peace. A hand of justice. A time for closure. Valerie has found her way full circle, heading back to Europe, where it all began. New enemies await, calling themselves The Gods, and the journey to put an end to the atlantic pirate problem means dealing with the local trouble makers as well as these false gods.