Kara is pulled into the supernatural, where monkeys drive the elevators, oracles scurry above giant crystal balls, and where demons feed on the souls of mortals. With the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David, Kara hurtles towards an adventure that will change her life forever…

    Bullied, assaulted or psychologically abused, their road to redemption was never easy, and for some there would be no redemption, only a descent into evil.These are the stories of people you know. The settings are mostly 60’s and 70’s UK and USA, the driving themes are inclusion and social justice - but the real key to these stories is that I withhold the protagonists’ identities. This means that your job is to find them - leading to that Eureka moment when you realise who's mind you've been inhabiting for the last twenty minutes.I should also add that this is a book that operates on two levels. Yes, there’s the game of identifying the mystery activist or actor, singer or murderer, but there is then the more serious business of trying to understand them. This in turn leads to the challenge of overlaying what you now know about these famous people onto what you thought you knew – not to mention the inherent challenge to your moral compass.These are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see.This book is dedicated to the victims of violent crime, the struggle against discrimination in all its forms and making the world a better place for our children. That is why 30% of all profits will be shared between Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth.Simon Van der Velde January, 2021Backstories is published by Smoke & Mirrors Press.

    He's reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend's life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James's safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It's time for war.On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam's newly discovered half brother, won't be that easy. The Reestablishment can't tolerate a rebellion, and they'll do anything to crush the resistance... including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi's epic dystopian series. Set during and soon after the final moments of Unravel Me, Fracture Me is told from Adam's perspective.

    Ships That Pass tells the story of Tara and Shaan, near strangers to each other after fourteen years of being married, and Tara's sister, Radhika, recently engaged, almost on a whim, to someone she barely knows. Even as Radhika tries to understand how a once ideal marriage has come undone, and struggles with her own feelings for an older man, tragedy strikes: Tara dies in mysterious circumstances and Shaan is arrested for murder. In the aftermath, Radhika realizes that while life may seldom turn out as expected, the only hope lies in finding the courage to take one's chances. A meditation on the nature of love and marriage, this subtle novella is vintage Shashi Deshpande. '[A] mesmerizing writer. . .you can never walk away from her stories.' About the AuthorShashi Deshpande, daughter of the renowned Kannada dramatist and Sanskrit scholar Shriranga, was born in Dharwad. She studied economics in Mumbai, then moved to Bangalore, where she gained a degree in law. Her writing career began in 1970, initially with short stories, of which several volumes have been published. She is also the author of eight novels, the best known of which are That Long Silence, which won the Sahitya Akademi award and is considered a landmark in Indian writing in English; The Dark Holds No Terror; Small Remedies; Moving On; and The Country of Deceit.

    Well known for writing out the heartache and melancholia, this title explores the softer side of Savage, one not many are privileged to. She pours over the pages with a full love, one returned. You'll find no sadness or unrequited feelings in here. This is the real, heartfelt musings of a woman in love.

    India has faced many tragedies in her young life, but lucky for her, she has her best friends Rome and Sydney by her side. The three of them have been best friends since they were crawling around in diapers, and if you ask them, they’ll tell you that there is nothing in the world that can tear them apart. But as they grow older, and India transforms from the skinny little toothpick with too much hair, to the beautiful bombshell with curves to die for, both Rome and Sydney’s platonic love for their best friend transforms to one of the heart. This leads to a lot of heart ache and pain, secrets and lies, and a whole heaping of drama. One-Click to find out what happens when both Rome and Sydney find themselves Falling In love with India.

    

    Ontavious is perfect and treats her with respect, but when Sayveon unexpectedly returns to claim Sparkle’s heart, his entire demeanor changes and it becomes disturbing. Sparkle must decide whether the relationship is worth fighting for or if she should rekindle that old flame. Stephanie now has it all together. She’s bounced back after several misfortunes and is determined not to let anything or anyone get her down. However, she’ll once again find herself in an position that’s hard to get out of. Her strength will once again be put to the test, and she’ll be fighting for survival. Is she strong enough to make it through this one? After a serious and shocking experience, Sayveon realizes how he has taken life for granted. With a completely different frame of mind and wanting to change his old ways, he tries to become a better man. With all of the thirsty chicks surrounding him, he’s constantly tempted. When a new enemy arises and attempts to take him out of the game, he soon learns that nobody in the streets is to be trusted. Will he finally change for the better or will he continue with his Trifling ways? Find out what these characters have been up to in the third installment of the Trifling series.

    As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation—Mare Barrow.Plus a Glass Sword sneak peek!An exclusive excerpt of the hotly anticipated second book in the Red Queen series, Glass Sword, transports readers to the world of Silver tyranny, a Red dawn rising, and one girl’s resolve to break down the system that will hold her back no longer.

    Pretty awesome, right? Imagine you have the power to levitate or crush something the size of a Winnebago. Equally awesome. Now ... here’s the catch: having the power means you are bonded irreversibly to a smartass, sociopathic alien life form.Not so awesome.So, what would you do with all of that power? The way I figured it, I had one of two options: Option #1) Use it to commit crime or Option #2) Use it to fight crime. My name is Gabe Garrison and I chose Option #2. This is my story …

    Once a provincial nobody with a ruined family, Marius only had one way to power: through the sword. Years later, he writes to his protege Quintus Sertorius, explaining to him how he rose through the ranks of the Roman legions to become the most powerful man in the Republic. He wants to encourage and inspire the young man but gets lost in the retelling of his first experience of war, love, and killing. A polarizing man from the beginning, Marius was doomed to have people singing his praises or cursing his name. Now, for the first time, Marius speaks for himself.

    Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother’s death ten years ago. She and the girls’ beloved father have worked hard to keep the family together and now it’s time to celebrate as Matty turns eighteen. But their joy is short-lived when tragedy suddenly strikes and their father disappears on his way to London. The sisters have no way of knowing what has happened to him – only that he hasn’t returned home. With little money left they’re now forced to battle life’s misfortunes alone…

    In fear for her life, she must remain off the streets of DC or suffer an evil fate. Luckily Slade, who vows to avenge Knox s death, is tucked away in a cell, although his imprisonment does nothing for her broken heart. Desperate for protection, Farah, Mia and Shadow take solace with Bones, 2nd in command of The Fold, a group of modern day vampires. When her blood craving increases she makes risky moves to quench her thirst. For months she successfully avoids capture while waiting for the day the Bakers will abandon the quest and withdraw from D.C. It never happens. Surmising the plan to snuff Farah out is weakening, Audio, the youngest of the Bakers, becomes unglued. Refusing to sit idly by he moves solo, making a brash decision that causes a domino effect of consequences, which will ruin many lives. Just when your pressure settles you re struck with a revelation that will challenge everything you believe. Prepare Vamp Lovers...you re in for a bloody ride.

    But when her soon-to-be husband is arrested with federal charges on her wedding day, her life takes a turn in the unexpected. With nowhere to go, she finds herself at the mercy of her best friend, Mona, and her husband, Memphis. But with the past that Memphis and Baby share, things begin to get even more complicated, and taboo emotions that Baby buried long ago threaten to come to the light. When she finds herself weak to resist love’s call, will she be strong enough to do what is right, or will she fall victim to the urgings of her heart?

    Comfort. Defend. There is no love lost between the Radial Marines and the Hospitaller Orphan Corps. So, when Sergeant Seavers learns a platoon of Marines will be tagging along for the drop down to the surface of Gimhae, he’s certain this will doom his chances at officer candidate training.As if that wasn’t enough for one mission, the colonists on Gimhae are acting skittish and uncharacteristically rude. Sgt Seavers isn’t used to this kind of behavior. Not from people his team of Hospitallers has come to save from the terraflu.Something’s amiss. Sgt Seavers can feel it. And it may have something to do with the smuggler ships hiding over the next hill.Rescue on Gimhae is the first book in the Stories of the Orphan Corps series. It is also a standalone story in the Hospitaller universe. There is no required sequence to the books in the Stories of the Orphan Corps series. Be the first on deck to experience the beginning of the adventures with the Orphan Corps. Buy it now!