What is not so well known, however, is that the gentle, lovelorn Shakuntala immortalized by Kalidasa is very different from the original Shakuntala of the Mahabharata—a strong, fiery woman who stood up for her rights when she was spurned by her beloved.In this thoughtful retelling of the story of Shakuntala, Utkarsh Patel brings to the fore the original heroine, the bold and beautiful daughter of Menaka and Vishwamitra who fights to get herself and her son the recognition they deserve. She does not surrender to anyone, not even the king of Hastinapur. Retold to suit the modern-day context, Shakuntala: The Woman Wronged is a must-read to understand one of the most powerful yet underrated female characters of the Mahabharata.

    This suspenseful novel takes us into a community and reveals the life and happiness—as well as the fear and sorrow—of those who call it home.

    When a free recording session is the prize for one lucky lady, he knows her voice is the one to seal his fate at the studio.She's a country girl, having fun with her sister in Nashville, but has no plans to stay. She misses the Hill Country of Texas, and her horses. After recording her CD, she heads home and never looks back, even though the man behind the glass caused her heart to flutter as she sang.Determined to find the girl with the perfect voice, Jeremy heads to Texas to try to convince her that she's the next big thing. But when he sees her in her own world, as more than just a pretty face and a beautiful voice, he realizes that maybe his life in the big city isn't what he really wants. Maybe the Hills of Texas and in the arms of sweet Kennedy is where he truly belongs.

    After reluctantly taking over his family’s party supply store following his father’s death, he is approached by a terminally ill family friend who’s had enough. The friend, a retired policeman, has an intricate plan involving something Eli has ready access to – helium. Eli is initially shocked and repulsed by the proposal, but soon begins to soften his stance and, after much deliberation, eventually agrees to lend a hand.It was supposed to be a one-time thing. How could Eli have known euthanasia was his true calling? And how long can he keep his daring underground "exit" operation going before the police or his volatile new girlfriend get wise?

    Just because Jenny was born without a head doesn't mean she isn't still annoying to her older brother, and just because the Man of the Future's carefully planned extramarital affair ends in alien abduction and network fame doesn't mean he can't still pine for his absent wife. Romping through the fantastic with big-hearted ease, these stories cut to the core of what it means to navigate family, faith, and longing, whether in the form of a lovesick kraken slowly dragging a ship of sailors into the sea, a small town euthanizing its grandfathers in a time-honored ritual, or a third-grade field trip learning that time travel is even more wondrous--and more perilous--than they might imagine.Andreasen's stories are simultaneously daring and deeply familiar, unfolding in wildly inventive worlds that convey our common yearning for connection and understanding. With a captivating new voice from an incredible author, The Sea Beast Takes a Lover uses the supernatural and extraordinary to expose us at our most human.Our fathers at sea --Bodies in space --The sea beast takes a lover --The king's teacup at rest --He is the rainstorm and the sandstorm, hallelujah, hallelujah --Rockabye, Rocketboy --The saints in the parlor --Andy, lord of ruin --Jenny --Rite of baptism --Blunderbuss

    But I didn’t just leave my past behind—I left Callie McIntyre, the good girl I was never good enough for.Now Callie’s mayor of our town, and I’m back too, a European-trained chocolatier with a proposal for a new facility I need her approval on. One that will redeem my family name, and hopefully me, in her eyes.But Callie still hasn’t forgiven me for breaking her heart. And if she vetoes this project, she’ll never know it was all for her.Valentine Veto is a standalone steamy second chance novella, part of the Man of the Month Club multi-author series.

    The bridge holds many secrets.Two hurting women face each other on this night, destinies merging. Mistakes have been made, people have been hurt, and these two are the victims. After the many years, they are ready to give up, ready to end it all. But one thing keeps them from giving up.The bridge holds many secrets, and the city breeds scum. But together, they can heal and help.This passionate, emotional story about the power of forgiveness takes you far away, to a city you'll always remember and never forget. Follow me to the place where mercy and grace mingle, where love and pain go hand-in-hand. Follow me to the bridge.

    He's one of the country's up-and-coming young jockeys and this season his sights are set on getting right to the top, but his demons threaten to overwhelm him. Duncan was taught everything he knows by his father, Charlie, a former trainer whose career and reputation were destroyed when a series of bitter rivalries got out of hand. It ruined him and Charlie hasn't been able to set foot on a racecourse since. Now, with his father's health rapidly declining, Duncan is desperate to beat the best and at the same time take down the men responsible for Charlie's ruin. But can he do both or must he choose between his family and his future?

    Four sizzling insta-love stories. One irresistible box-set. This collection by Cassandra Bloom includes the following books: Heartache ‘Mr. Anaconda,’ they call me. I don’t chase women, they chase me. I’ve made my fortune, I’ve built my empire. I play to win and live by my own set of rules. If I toy with my desires, will she steal my heart? Billionaire’s Secret Baby F*cking Pregnant! Giles Pendragon is business royalty. Smoking hot all over, a bad boy demeanor, and my boss. Instant attraction. Can you blame me? A dirty office romance is harmless enough…right? Now comes the hard part. How do I live in the same town as him without him finding out I’ve had his baby? Big Bad Boss Sexy, Dangerous, Rich – Talk about HOT! I joined the adult messaging website for some harmless fun. I didn’t think I would like it when ‘RipRoarer’ started messaging me. The anticipation made me squirm with a naughty kind of enjoyment. He’s everything I imagined he would be and so much more. And now? Now he’s my Boss… Should I make a run for it? It began as some harmless fun, nothing serious. I don’t think that’s how he wants it to end… One Night Only She wants me to follow my animal cravings to their limits. But if I follow my lust… Will she steal my heart? I want to claim the girl who can’t be tamed for myself. One night of wild sex later -- could this be a New York dream come true, or the greatest disaster ever? *Beauty and the Billionaire is a box set containing Heartache, Billionaire’s Secret Baby, Big Bad Boss, and One Night Only, in this limited time bundle! The books feature alpha male billionaire’s who find their happily ever after with a beautiful curvy women. They are steamy standalones, and contain no cheating and no cliffhangers. Includes 2 bonus books for your reading pleasure... Grow your Cassandra Bloom collection today!

    Amy Hempel is the writer who makes me feel most affiliated with other humans; we are all living this way—hiding, alone, obsessed—and that’s ok.” —Miranda July From legendary writer Amy Hempel, one of the most celebrated and original voices in American short fiction: a ravishing, sometimes heartbreaking new story collection—her first in over a decade.Amy Hempel is a master of the short story. A multiple award winner, Hempel is highly regarded among writers, reviewers, and readers of contemporary fiction. This new collection, her first since her Collected Stories published more than a decade ago, is a literary event. These fifteen exquisitely honed stories reveal Hempel at her most compassionate and spirited, as she introduces characters, lonely and adrift, searching for connection. In “A Full-Service Shelter,” a volunteer at a dog shelter tirelessly, devotedly cares for dogs on a list to be euthanized. In “Greed,” a spurned wife examines her husband’s affair with a glamorous, older married woman. And in “Cloudland,” the longest story in the collection, a woman reckons with the choice she made as a teenager to give up her newborn infant. Quietly dazzling, these stories are replete with moments of revelation and transcendence and with Hempel’s singular, startling, inimitable sentences.

    No one expected the end of the world to start with a tea disaster, but in these nine brand new fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi romance stories, that's just what happened.Enter eight post-apocalyptic worlds filled with witches, shifters, aliens, and more in these tales steeped in adventure, love, and magic.Grab yourself a brew and one-click this limited edition collection from nine USA Today Bestselling authors today! All proceeds from the sale of the Teapocalypse anthology will be donated to the Tea Leaf Trust.Includes:All The Tea In Texas by Margo Bond Collins, New York Times Bestselling AuthorAlien Abduction For Milkmen by Skye MacKinnon, USA Today Bestselling AuthorNymph's Trust by Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape, USA Today Bestselling AuthorsWhy Yes There Are Witches by Rebecca Royce, USA Today Bestselling AuthorDo It For The Tea by Erin Bedford, USA Today Bestselling AuthorTotally Steeped by Zoey Indiana, USA Today Bestselling AuthorA Cup Of Sin by Demelza Carlton, USA Today Bestselling AuthorRefresh by Jade Waltz, USA Today Bestselling Author

    The eighteen stories of Manuel Gonzales’s exhilarating first book render the fantastic commonplace and the ordinary extraordinary, in prose that thrums with energy and shimmers with beauty. In “The Artist’s Voice” we meet one of the world’s foremost composers, a man who speaks through his ears. A hijacked plane circles a city for twenty years in “Pilot, Copilot, Writer.” Sound can kill in “The Sounds of Early Morning.” And, in the title story, a man is at war with the wife he accidentally shrank. For these characters, the phenomenal isn’t necessarily special—but it’s often dangerous. In slightly fantastical settings, Gonzales illustrates very real guilt over small and large marital missteps, the intense desire for the reinvention of self, and the powerful urges we feel to defend and provide for the people we love. With wit and insight, these stories subvert our expectations and challenge us to look at our surroundings with fresh eyes. Brilliantly conceived, strikingly original, and told with the narrative instinct of a born storyteller, The Miniature Wife is an unforgettable debut.

    That changes though, after she finds herself tied up on the ship of Falax, an alien smuggler with a great body but a bad attitude. Becca can’t stand his mysterious vibe he’s giving off, but when he touches her for the first time, something lights up inside of her, a burning want that she’s scared to endulge in…Falax is hotheaded and doesn’t apologize for it. In all his years of delivering potential mates to his king on Kellion, he lives by one rule: Don’t fall in love with the cargo. He’s more than willing to break this rule after a sexy encounter with his delivery, and struggles with wanting to fulfill his duty or fulfill Becca’s most sensitive needs…While traveling along a treacherous desert path, something fiery awakens inside cargo and smuggler. Under Falax's hard shell is a secret Becca longs to unearth. But fate makes them walk a thin line between life and death, and a betrayal is on the rise. Will Becca and Falax make it out alive? Or will their love crumble in the sands?

    A filmmaker and now a dry alcoholic, he's lived life to the full - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Here, struggling to survive cancer, Noah evaluates his chequered past life, and as a picture builds of a brave and foolish man, gradually it becomes clear that he's a modern-day hero.

    Ranging from tiny sketches and prose poems to longer, more conventional narratives, the stories included here are:A Country Doctor - In the Gods - An Old Folio - Before the Law - Jackals and Arabs - A Visit to the Mine - The Next Village - An Imperial Message - A Paterfamilias Perplexed - Eleven Sons - A Fratricide - A Dream - Bucket Rider - Of Metaphors - The Silence of the Sirens - Gracchus the Hunter - The Knock on the Courtyard Door - Advocates - The Vulture - At Night - A Little Fable.This e-book has a total length of around 16,000 words.