One of these friends is a scarecrow. The others are crows. When his father's violence goes too far, something must be done, and before the night is up the wicked will learn that vengeance comes in many shapes and sizes.Short Fiction. approx 17 pages

    Confined in an upstairs room to recuperate by her well-meaning but dictatorial and oblivious husband, the yellow wallpaper in the room becomes the focal point of her growing insanity.

    He lives in the big city and his parents are landlords of the high-rise apartment building that is his home. The many tenants in the building, along with the endless possibilities of adventures in the city itself, are the perfect setting for the young detective as he sets out to solve every case he can get his hands on. In this mystery, RJ and his younger pal Joey come upon Mr. Porter, the new tenant in 3B, while he is trying to maneuver a very large and mysterious crate into his apartment. What is inside the mysterious box and will RJ and Joey solve the mystery without blowing their cover?

    Love, passion, longing, hunger, revenge, righteousness, and truth—do all these things mean the same for the different creations of God? In this extraordinary story by the bestselling author of The Rise of Sivagami: Book 1 of Baahubali -- Before the Beginning (as also Asura: Tale of the Vanquished; Ajaya: Roll of the Dice; and Ajaya: Rise of Kali), Anand Neelakantan lets the reader into the mind of Sage Valmiki and reveals the hitherto unknown reason for his choosing the wonderfully empowered Sita as the pivot of the grand epic, Ramayana…

    From bestselling author of Little Birds, Hannah Lee Kidder's Starlight touches your heart before taking a bite with twelve pitch-dark fantasy, horror, and contemporary short stories.

    Contents:To the Far Reaches of Space (1928)Robot Nemesis (1934)Pirates of Space (1934)The Vortex Blaster (1941)Tedric (1953)Lord Tedric (1954)Subspace Survivors (1960)The Imperial Stars (1964)

    This prequel to the conspiracy thriller Isle of the Dead introduces us to the dark side of Venice - a city with secrets to rival its splendour.

    She was beautiful and quiet too. He just hoped she would be happy with him. He was his own man and wouldn't let any woman disrupt his life, but his Pa wasn't in good health and wanted a grandchild. He felt it his duty to make his Pa as happy as he could for what time he had left. Little did Caleb realize that Sissy Drake would rope his heart on their wedding night despite his reservations. Sissy Drake had no choice but to become a mail order bride. Her Pa was dead for a year when her aunt passed too, taking away her home with no other options available to her. When she met Caleb, she found him to be domineering and gruff, but she was determined to tame him and be the wife he needed. Little did both of them know that her brother, Lawson, followed Sissy to Caleb's ranch determined to find the stagecoach money their Pa hid. He had an old score to settle with Caleb too and wouldn't let anything stand in his way.

    

    

    . .LexiNow that my dad is retiring as fire chief, maybe I’ll finally be able to sleep at night. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of Dad and his service. But it’s hard spending most of your life scared someone you love could get hurt—or worse—on the job.Which is why there’s absolutely no way I’m ever going to end up with a firefighter. Not even dad’s protege and successor, Dallas, who could make a girl drool just by looking at her.And right now he’s looking at me.DallasI’d almost forgotten about little Lexi until she shows up for her dad’s retirement party. The years have been kind to this stunning, curvy beauty. Very kind.When she says she won’t date a firefighter, it only makes me want her more.I’ll show Lexi I’m the only man for her. And then, I’ll make her mine forever.Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue is a steamy, instalove short story romance series with the alpha men sworn to protect their community and the women they love. No cliffhangers! Read DALLAS if you like redeemed bad boys, younger boss’s daughters, and a love that burns hot.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    It includes – A KNIGHT’S CHRISTMAS WISH by Lana Williams – A knight’s Christmas wish is fulfilled in an unexpected way when he meets a lady in need of rescue. WISH UPON A WINTER SOLSTICE by Emma Prince – Deep in the Scottish Highlands sits an ancient well fabled to grant true-love’s wish to those who visit it near the winter solstice. To test the powers of the legendary well, Keita Cameron trespasses onto the lands of her clan’s enemy. She never expects to come face to face with the man they call the Demon of Loch Moy—or succumb to the dark heat her captor stirs within her. MISTLETOE MAGIC by Laurel O’Donnell – A confident knight arrives home to find his childhood friend grown into much more then he remembered. The lady of the castle keeps a dangerous secret that threatens all she holds dear. Will Mistletoe Magic save them? THE CHRISTMAS KNOT by Barbara Monajem – It’s bad enough being a governess, but far worse that Edwina White’s new employer is the man who deceived her years before. Richard Ballister’s estate has a ghost and a curse, and if that’s not trouble enough, the new governess is the woman who spurned him for a richer man. Richard and Edwina don't want to work together, but they have no choice. Can they overcome the bitterness of the past in time to unravel a centuries-old knot and end the Christmas curse? THE WOLF OF SKYE by Hildie McQueen – Fate's wicked sense of humor strikes Highland guard Faolan Mackinnon when he ends up betrothed to Catriona Grant, a fiery lass, who he met only minutes earlier. A heartbroken Highland guard's last desperate attempt to regain the woman he loves becomes a journey across Scotland to a mysterious well that grants wishes. However upon getting to know a beautiful lass in the village of Moy, Faolan Mackinnon questions his true feelings. A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE by Amanda McCabe – Spend the holidays in Regency England! Seeking an heir to her fortune, a widow challenges her family to a wild holiday scavenger hunt in the novella "A Partridge in a Pear Tree"--and two people find a lasting love seeking the Twelve Days of Christmas... WILD HIGHLAND MISTLETOE by Eliza Knight – A week before Christmas, snow falls gently on the Highland hills, and once more an adventure awaits the Sutherlands! Dunrobin Castle is overflowing with excitement and holiday spirit because of the upcoming Sutherland clan gathering. Arbella and Magnus’ marriage has flourished, their passion and love growing stronger daily. But when a mysterious missive arrives begging Laird and Lady Sutherland for help in a rescue mission, they leave the safety of the castle, and ride headlong into a trap. Will they thwart their enemy and make it home in time to celebrate the holiday season in good Scottish fashion? Or will warring clans prevail? ***This is a Stolen Bride novella--an extension of THE HIGHLANDER'S REWARD*** ONE KNIGHT UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Catherine Kean – Kissing Lord Renfred de Vornay, her late brother’s best friend, under the mistletoe was the last thing Lady Liliana Thornleigh ever expected days before Christmas. Seven years have passed since Ren played his foolish prank on her, but she hasn’t forgotten that humiliating incident—and neither, it seems, has he. Now a wealthy and respected lord, Ren has important information for her father, but Liliana is suspicious of Ren’s reasons for spending Christmas at her sire’s castle.

    What unfolds then are seemingly unconnected stories covering a vast array of topics—from incest to madness to a poetic competition in the court of George III. And what emerges by the end is a breathtaking tapestry in which past and present, imagination and truth, are intricately woven together into one remarkable whole.

    Swirling voices and skeins of story, laughter and rage, ferocious attention to detail and sweeping nuttiness, tears and chortling—these stories will remind readers of the late giant David Foster Wallace, in their straightforward accounts of anything-but-straightforward events; of modern short story pioneer Raymond Carver, a bit, in their blunt, unadorned dialogue; and of Julia Whitty, a bit, in their willingness to believe what is happening, even if it absolutely shouldn’t be. Funny, piercing, unique, memorable, this is a collection of stories readers will find nearly impossible to forget:... The barber who shaves the heads of the thugs in Bin Laden’s cave tells cheerful stories of life with the preening video-obsessed leader, who has a bald spot shaped just like Iceland.... A husband gathers all of his wife’s previous boyfriends for a long day on a winery-touring bus.... A teenage boy drives off into the sunset with his troubled sister’s small daughters…and the loser husband locked in the trunk of the car.... The late Joseph Kennedy pours out his heart to a golf-course bartender moments before the stroke that silenced him forever.… A man digging in his garden finds a brand-new baby boy, still alive, and has a chat with the teenage neighbor girl whose son it is.... A man born on a Greyhound bus eventually buys the entire Greyhound Bus Company and revolutionizes Western civilization.... A mountainous bishop dies and the counting of the various keys to his house turns… tense.... A man discovers his wife having an affair, takes up running to grapple with his emotions, and discovers everyone else on the road is a cuckold too.And many others.