This is the dark but humourous tale of Sarah Pemberton, who is not a happy woman. A down to earth, inventive soul who despises her stuck up pompous husband Neil, who believes he is much more intelligent and important than she is. When he refuses her a divorce and emotionally blackmails her into staying with him by threatening to take custody of their daughter, she's decides to make life a little more entertaining for herself, by subtly torturing him at every available opportunity. Creative and adaptable by nature, with a wicked sense of humour, she comes up with more and more ways to ridicule him, without him ever knowing she has a hand in it. ...."During 1993-1994 amongst other things, I cooked him a meat pie with pedigree chum; Stole his car more times than I can count; put chilli powder in his underpants, sent a stripagram to his work (a fat one), and subscribed him to a gay porn mag! (Our paperboy avoided him like the plague after that.)"..... Finding accomplices in the form of her Aunt May, who lives in a crumbling old former hotel which was damaged during WWII, and May's two lodgers, a shy young hippy named Darren, along with his brother Matthew a former life model, they try to get rid of her husband by either 'Plan A', which consists of 'frame him for a crime so that he gets incarcerated', or 'Plan B' drive him to a nervous breakdown. Both plans are designed to discredit Neil in case of a custody battle for their daughter. There is only one little prerequisite for every little torturous idea though, and that is, IT HAS TO MAKE THEM LAUGH! Unbeknown to Sarah at first, she isn't the only one with a vendetta against her husband, his entire workforce hate his guts and exploit any opportunity to make him look bad. When plans A & B go disastrously wrong, Sarah and co set their sights on a new target, her in-laws. Interwoven throughout the story is the tale of Aunt May, the lynch pin of her little make shift family, who harbours secrets of her own that go back to the night the bomb fell on the east wing of the hotel. This is not a tale of a submissive woman suffering at the hands of abuse; this is the tale of a strong courageous woman having one last laugh at other people's expense. Contains very occasional strong language, and scenes that should not be repeated at home. Volume One of 'The Cuckoo' series

     War is about to be declared in Europe. Roger Hallowes, an RAF sergeant pilot returns to the hangars with his comrades from B Squadron to see who else had returned from the latest attack. Only one more Blenheim had come in. Of the nine that had taken off, three had been shot down. One crashed on landing. One captain, one second pilot and two wireless operator-air gunners had been killed in the six which had survived the battle. The mental arithmetic Roger did to calculate his chances of surviving another half-dozen operations gave him no comfort. Three young men, Roger and his two cousins, share the last few precious days of peace with their families and friends. Their carefree, comfortable lives are about to be shattered by the hardships and horrors of the Second World War. ‘Trial by Fire’ follows these men through the dramatic first year of war; the fall of France and the triumph of the Battle of Britain. It gives a comprehensive view of the early air operations whose outcome affected the whole future course of the war. ‘Trial by Fire’ is a gripping war story told from first-hand experience and a wide knowledge of the R.A.F in all its facets. Praise for Richard Bickers: 'A thrilling page turner.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Trade Off'. Richard Townsend Bickers volunteered for the RAF on the outbreak of the second world war and served, with a Permanent Commission, for eighteen years. He wrote a range of military fiction and non-fiction books, including ‘Torpedo Attack’, ‘My Enemy Came Nigh’, ‘Bombing Run’ and ‘Summer of No Surrender’. Originally published as 'The Gifts of Jove'. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

    J. Thurbin, a new writer to the fictional crime scene. He has a unique and fast moving style that will appeal to the reader who likes mysteries that are in the genre of those by John Grisham and M.C. Beaton. His book has all the ingredients that one would expect to find in a classic murder mystery. It is centered on an ivy covered Victorian house set within the campus of a modern University just outside London. A group of five academics find themselves embroiled in a series of vicious attacks that are linked to incidents that took place 100 years earlier. The main character, Ralph Chalmers, a Professor of International Business, attempts to unravel the links between a 100 year old skeleton found on the site and a series of recent attacks in the University, while at the same time courting an old flame from his days as a student at Cambridge University. Inspector Linham and his Sergeant Wilson also strive to apprehend the villains and lend an air of authenticity to the investigations. As the plot thickens, various members of the academic staff are seen to have motives that would also implicate them in the events that unfold. The atmosphere of jealousy and mistrust is stimulated by the character of the head caretaker, Jack Welsh, a retired army Master at Arms who has compelling reasons for wanting to unravel the mystery. The book is fast moving in that the plot moves to Australia, France, Monte Carlo, and the world of diamond trading, while delving into the backgrounds and lives of the main characters. A final twist will leave the reader surprised at how greed and desperation can result in tragedy. Thurbin manages to entertain by depicting the frailties of his main characters in all too familiar ways, while at the same time adding just enough intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages. This novel is for anyone who likes the thrill of a good mystery with plenty of action coupled with the element of surprise. -------------------------------

    An American idealist defects to North Korea in the 1970's only to discover the true horrors of this Stalinist state. What happens next would shock even those familiar with authoritarian regimes. The author, an American Foreign Service worker in china, meets a man by the name of "David". David entrusts the author with his diary and makes the author promise him that the diary will be shown to the world as "evidence of what North Korea is really like". Following this encounter, the author never sees David again.The author discovers that within the pages of this diary lies an incredible story of defection, survival, and an eventual escape by the man he knows only as "David". After staying up and reading the entire diary, the author is convinced that David's story must be told to the world.The diary details David's life from his fairly comfortable upbringings, through his rebellious youth, and into his extraordinary decision to defect to North Korea. At first, David enjoys an elevated status in North Korea as a "hero" and a "patriot" of the socialist cause.During two decades as an English professor at the most prestigious North Korean University, David experiences love, seduction, betrayal, and violence.

     For fans of the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Series, the story is narrated by the amateur sleuth in that series, Jessica Huntington. The love story is Bernadette's--Jessica's confidant and sidekick. A tragic, but ultimately uplifting story of love, lost and found again. In Bernadette's words, "it's a real happily ever after story." Her story is not so different than that faced by anyone who takes that leap of faith into love. A love that lifts us up about a foot above the ground, leaves us vulnerable to loss, but can push us toward something more lasting.

    Alen and Joan Arny happily left law enforcement behind in exchange for traveling and new adventures. They never expected their new job as house and pet sitters to lead them back to crime and intrigue.Ian Bennett has a secret. He’s in big trouble if it’s exposed and someone is threatening to do just that. The American couple house sitting next door might be the answer to his prayers.Alen and Joan question if it’s possible to solve a mystery and capture a criminal with no police department, authority, jurisdiction, crime scene analysis, forensics, or modern crime-solving technology.Will Alen be able to trust his intuition through his self-doubt, will Joan consider crime-solving a bucket list-worthy adventure, and can a canine named Sherlock Holmes help at all?Read it today, because we love a cozy mystery where the good guys prevail and dogs help save the day. Exposed in Edinburgh is the first book in the series. A clean cozy mystery. No graphic violence, sex, or strong language. Available in Large Print. The House Sitters Cozy Mysteries will take you on adventures and land you in the middle of crimes in different international cities in each book. Enjoy travel photos and recipes from each destination along with charming dogs in each country. Look for corresponding journals. Each book can be read as a standalone and you can read them in any order.

    An Indian boy by adoption, J. W. Schultz has told his paleface brothers many good Indian tales. "Apauk, Caller of Buffalo", was a lad in the land and the days of the great buffalo herds. Apauk. a Blackfoot boy. was taught when young the art of calling buffalo. A new type of the wooly, wild west Indian story appears in "Apauk, Caller of Buffalo." More thrilling than Action, the life story of the greatest of the Blackfeet medicine men, not only possesses an enthralling interest but gives the reader an authoritative historical picture of the life of the American Indian on the great western plains before the invasion of the white man. The biographer, James Wlllard Schultz, is an adopted member of the Blackfeet tribe and has lived the life of an Indian for forty years. Schultz writes: "ALTHOUGH I had known Apauk A—Flint Knife—for some time, it was not until the winter of 1879—80 that I became intimately acquainted with him. He was at that time the oldest member of the Piegan tribe of the Blackfeet Confederacy, and certainly looked it, for his once tall and powerful figure was shrunken and bent, and his skin had the appearance of wrinkled brown parchment. "In the fall of 1879, the late Joseph Kipp built a trading-post at the junction of the Judith River and Warm Spring Creek, near where the town of Lewistown, Montana, now stands, and as usual I passed the winter there with him. We had with us all the bands of the Piegans, and some of the bands of the Blood tribe, from Canada. The country was swarming with game, buffalo, elk, antelope, and deer, and the people hunted and were care-free and happy, as they had ever been up to that time. Camped beside our trading-post was old Hugh Monroe, or Rising Wolf, who had joined the Piegans in 1816, and it was through him that I came to know Apauk well enough to get the story of his remarkably adventurous and romantic youth. The two old men were great chums. Old as they were —Monroe was born in 1798, and Apauk was several years his senior—on pleasant days they mounted their horses and went hunting, and seldom failed to bring in game of some kind. And what a picturesque pair they were ! Both wore capotes ——hooded coats made from three-point Hudson Bay Company blankets—and leggins to match, and each carried an ancient Hudson Bay fuke, or flint-lock gun. They would have nothing to do with cap rifles, or the rim-fire cartridge, repeating weapons of modern make. Hundreds—yes, thousands of head of various game, many a savage grizzly, and a score or two of the enemy—— Sioux, Cree, Crow, Cheyenne, and Assiniboine, had they killed with the sputtering pieces, and they were their most cherished possessions. "Oh, that I could live over again those buffalo days! Those Winter evenings in Monroe’s or Apauk’s lodge, listening to their tales of the long ago! Nor was I the only interested listener: always there was a complete circle of guests around the cheerful fire; old men, to whom the tales brought memories of their own eventful days, and young men, who heard with intense interest of the adventures of their grandfathers, and of the “ calling of the buffalo,” which strange and wonderful method of obtaining at one swoop a whole tribe’s store of Winter food, they were never to witness. For the luring of whole herds of buffalo to their death had been Apauk’s sacred, honored, and danger-fraught avocation.

    

    When an ambitious colleague, Nolan Lemay, discovers that the announcement involved disclosure of a first century letter claiming the disciple Thomas to have been the literal twin of Jesus of Nazareth, Lemay attempts to acquire the manuscript and finds his own life in danger. >>>Three Women Dedicated to Protecting the Secret Three young women, trained from their youth to safeguard the secrets of an ancient text held by a small sect of St. Thomas Christians in southern India, track Lemay across Southeast Asia as he first attempts to make public the letter’s startling contents, then flees to escape the zealous pursuit of the Guardians of the Second Son. >>>Will the truth be revealed, or be lost forever? Scroll Up and Grab Your Copy Today!

    Bewildered and afraid, she finds comfort in an unexpected new relationship.In a family caught in the throes of lies, infidelity, death, and eventually the Civil War, Ethan is struggling with changes in his own life, and with his faith. In 1856 he is just beginning his last summer of adolescence at Catahoula Plantation before going off to school at the Virginia Military Institute. Falling in love was not part of his plans—until Rachel came into his life.Spirited and daring, she is unlike any woman he has ever known. He didn’t expect she would turn his world upside down like she does, nor did he anticipate how strongly his father would react to how they feel about each other, or the extremes to which he will go to keep them apart.

    The former librarian has developed her first hybrid, a plant with unusual deep blue flowers, and hopes to win a first place ribbon. Maybe even best in show. But her excitement turns to dread when the aggravating Bette Tesselink, her fiercest rival, turns up dead, and she becomes the logical suspect. There’s never been a murder in the village of Rainbow Ranch, and it soon becomes apparent that the young Chief of Police is in over his head. Under pressure from the mayor, Lilliana is afraid he’ll arrest her in order to close the case. Her only option is to begin her own investigation and find the murderer before she winds up in jail. The first in a new cozy mystery series sure to engage you with its fascinating characters and twisty plot.

    This is a don't-miss debut." -Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of Pluto's Snitch and Sarah Booth Delaney  ~*~  2016 Kindle Scout Winner ~*~ Macey's first day in the college employee relations department ends with a knife at her throat. Macey is certain things can't get any worse. She's wrong. An angry employee vows to put her on an online hit list. When he turns up dead, she's a suspect--and on the hit list.  To keep her secrets and her life, Macey partners with two unexpected allies who cause her pulse to race with steamy attraction--and exasperating annoyance. Vince, a handsome, driven lawman, digs up more than just clues to the brutal murder. Brett, a fun-loving pathologist with a deadly sense of humor, drives everyone crazy with his fart machine-will travel. Macey's supersized black cat Wikket, possessing courage, curiosity, and crankiness in equal portions, assists in his own grumpy, feline fashion, golden eyes open and claws extended.

     Family secrets. A murdered mother. An estranged aunt. A diary. A vandalized high school. Holly knows nothing about her biological family living in Missouri. When her aunt invites her to stay with them for two weeks after her mother’s murder, she has mixed feeling but decides to accept the invitation. Once she’s there, she’s determined to find out why her mother chose to live alone and at a distance from her family. What happened, and why won’t her aunt talk about it? Does the diary she finds hold the key? And who’s been vandalizing the high school? Her cousin’s friend has been accused, but is she guilty? Holly has to use her skills solving mysteries both at the high school and in her family.

    Follow along as unconventional Lexi Taylor navigates the minefield that is menopause in this fast-paced fun spin on aging. She had it all ... and lost it in a hot flash.Lexi Taylor had the picture perfect life--fame, fortune, beauty, and a loving family. But Lexi's hit the big five-o and now everything has changed. In one year, she's managed to lose her husband, her figure, her friends … and she just might have lost her mind. After her second incarceration for acts committed while in the throes of menopausal madness, a family intervention convinces Lexi she needs some professional help, and she checks herself into Sunnyvale Sanitarium, Home for the Mostly Menopausal, for a ninety-day stay. With the help of an army of doctors and one very therapeutic nun, Lexi manages to reclaim her sanity, her self-respect, her sex-drive, and learn the true purpose of her colorful life. The Middle-Aged Hottie series: HOTTER THAN EVER (Book 1) TOO HOT TO HOLD (Book 2) HOT TO TROT (Book 3)

    It is our hope that in this anthology you will find a story to love. We come from as varied backgrounds as we do locations. Hawaii to New York, California to Texas, and Texas to Tennessee; we have come together to share our love of storytelling. The characters within these pages are a wondrous mix as well. A flamboyant Knoxville designer, a 1900s investigative reporter, a neurosurgeon, a coroner, a woman dripping of Russian opulence and Parisian elegance, a detective that has simply had enough, and a Tennessee Police Chief all fill the pages and the imagination in Death of Choice. Come along with us to a Children’s Cemetery, 1920’s London, a daisy fresh diner in L.A., a fog shrouded barn, a small town in Tennessee, a Honolulu beach, and meet a collection of short stories from writers that will give you chills, thrills, and a set of tales you will long remember. Our hope is through these intriguing introductions you will discover an author or two you will want to read more of, and get to know better. Each of the authors in this anthology have many more books for you to enjoy. So find that spot where you love to curl up and read, and enjoy this collection of murder, mayhem and mystery. Micheal Maxwell Editor and Compiler September 2015