The story covers Maggie Clarke's upbringing in the tenements close to the docks, the River Mersey and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal: an area notorious for having the worst slums in Britain, yet the closest community as well.At the tender age of 11, Maggie Clarke finds herself the matriarch of the family when her Irish mother runs off with another man. Leaving school at 14 to work at a local factory putting sticks into lollies, she is determined to make a better life for herself and her family - before starting her own family with her childhood sweetheart, who she marries at 19 after 'falling in the family way'. She has one night of married life with her husband before he is sent to India with the Navy and is devastated when she never hears from him again, presuming him a casualty of the war that is raging at home and abroad. Another tragedy strikes when Maggie's brother Tommy is also claimed by the war, leaving her father inconsolable, but Maggie knows life has to go on and falls in love with Joseph, an Irish settler who she has 8 children with. But her happiness is short-lived as her first husband suddenly appears out of the blue demanding a divorce, and her new husband drinks away what little money they have, returning in fits of rage that leave Maggie and her children hungry and afraid. Many times she is only able to feed her brood by the kindness of neighbours putting a 'pan of scouse' on the range for her, or feeding her kids jam butties to help out. Maggie's story sweeps across the changing face of Liverpool, from its squalid dock streets, the tenement blocks and cobbled roads to the decline of the docklands, new council housing, the rise of the Mersey beat, the Beatles and the energy and passion of a city that is home to a cast of colourful characters with the resilience to withstand the heartbreak and hardships that only the poorest can know.

    The younger roommate, Sherry has boyfriend troubles and cannot find a break when it comes to love. The older of the two roommates, Danielle is a traveling business management consultant and often finds herself at odds in her relationship with Jon. She doesn’t trust Jon when she is out of town and believes that he might be a bad boy at heart.After an eviction from his house, Jon needs somewhere to stay until he can get back on his feet. Against her better judgment, Danielle allows Jon to move in while she is away on a business trip.Sparks fly when Sherry runs to Jon for emotional support and advice. Will they resist their carnal pleasures for each other? Can Danielle trust Jon well enough to leave him alone with her longtime friend and roommate, Sherry? If Jon screws up, where will he go to live if his girlfriend kicks him out for his indiscretions? And, will someone get hurt in the end?Author's Note: Mature audiences only.

    Neither has a clue of the devastation and heartbreak their actions have caused. Neither understands the damage they have done to their own offspring; one by deserting her family, one by staying. But both are the same; greedy and demanding. They both wanted more, and they pushed their husbands to the brink to get it. Rings of Smoke is a crime thriller set in 1970's northern England, where the Fallon family, recently emigrated from Ireland, now live. When the mother, Helen, leaves her husband for another man, eldest daughter Erin sets off to search for her, unaware that she has been stalked by a serial killer for the last six weeks. All Erin wants is to find her mother and bring her home. What she encounters is Leonard Fitch, an eminent surgeon with a deep, dark secret. Now, in a secluded forest ranger's lodge, Erin must fight to survive or never see her family again.

    Chosen by no fate. Guided by no one. Bound by no destiny. As the world will soon learn. Talaos is a tough young man in a vast, ages-old city. Orphaned in the teeth of a storm at sea, his origins lie in lands far to the north. A rising gangster on the rough streets he calls home, he lives by his blades. A trail of blood and broken hearts lies behind him and an unknown future ahead. Wondering what more life might have to offer, he feels the call of change. When an immortal sorcerer sends acolytes to kill him, he discovers his true nature. His roots are far older and deeper than he ever imagined. His choices will lead farther than he ever thought possible.

    He is a construct and an employee of the Galactic Organic Development Corporation, which searches the galaxy for primitive sentient species to save from extinction, and then transplants colonies of them to Corporation agricultural planets where they can live happily and safely. The transplanted species survives, and its members produce some of the most expensive and sought-after food in the galaxy, which the Corporation profitably sells to developed worlds with this guarantee:Caringly grown, cultivated and harvested by simple sentient life forms.No artificial ingredients, pesticides, herbicides, or mechanized equipment used in processing.Guaranteed 100% organic. Of course, keeping the primitives primitive enough to ensure the Corporation’s promise of natural purity can be a challenge, especially when they’re like those it found twenty thousand years ago huddling in caves and scraping a meager and precarious existence on a pale blue planet in the Milky Way’s Orion–Cygnus spiral arm. The humans keep trying to change things.An Android Dog’s Tale is the 15,000-year episodic story of one canine mobile observer android who must make choices about what he wants to accomplish in his artificial life. Does he accept the wisdom of his makers or does he dare to question?This book is available in eBook and trade paperback editions.

    Hope can lie dormant in the tiniest of seeds. . .In the blink of an eye, Daniel’s world spirals out of control. He watches helplessly as the bodies of his father and friends are buried in stone. Those he loved would never know the breath of life again. In this overwhelming loss, he despairs. Was this the end of hope? The rest of his family and the others in their small alliance had already fled the destruction of society, headed for the northern wilderness. Can he possibly reach them on his own?Salvation can be found in the most unlikely place . . .If he does, will the wilderness be the sanctuary of which they dream? Are their skills good enough to survive in the wilds on their own? Will it be possible to survive the evils that emanate from the decaying world they left behind? And if they do, is it truly possible for something beautiful to grow from the damaged seeds of society?The heart is the doorway to any dream...Their journey is one filled with beauty and peril. Their dream; to create a better world, one in which future generations will live with peace, love and kindness. of society?

    There are too many gaps in his code, too many mistakes left unfixed.Could Barry's programmers really have been so lax? Or does he have a greater purpose, some secret mission buried in his source code? He has another eighteen thousand years to find the answer. In the meantime, he's growing bored, and idle hands are the devil's playthings...

    This collection of delightfully twisted, supernatural short stories will captivate your imagination and entertain your darker side. A monster with a love of bakery, an old woman living in fear with her ex-con nephew, a widow with only one chance left, and a demon with a dark and powerful heart, are some of the characters wrestling with their darker selves in this enjoyable collection.

    For all her skills, Deenah is unable to identify the strange forces at work on the injury.To save her master's life, Deenah must join the young Warder for the area, Kaern, and an aging veteran tracker, as they set out on a manhunt into hostile lands.Rating: PG (some violent scenes)7000 words (approx. 21-28 pages)

    She’s hoping the natural beauty there will lift her spirits. But soon she discovers that her impulsive move lands her in a city with one of the highest violent-crime rates in the region.Astray in Couper introduces you to this cozy mystery series with a criminal edge, but the story is told with a dash of humor and fun. If you like a smart, brave heroine who must quickly reinvent herself—or else, quirky, colorful characters, and dark villains, you’ll love R. Marquez’s slightly skewed version of the Pacific Northwest.Buy Astray in Couper today, and get a taste of how Matty learns to survive a city that too many psychopaths love to call home.

    But the used trailer they purchase from a shady dealer and their first weekend of camping on Halloween bring them more adventure than they bargained for.

    When she learns the buyer is Price McCord, things become even more complicated. Just being near him after all these years has rekindled her feelings for him. And Price, now a successful architect and real estate developer, is amazed to discover that the shy teenaged girl he used to ignore is now an amazingly pretty woman. Amanda knows she should walk away, but old dreams die hard. Soon it becomes impossible to ignore the growing attraction between them. Caught up in the heat of desire, they make love. Afterwards, Amanda dreams of a future with Price, while Price vows to get as far away from her as he can. He cannot give her what she wants. Later, when she realizes his plans for the home that is no longer hers are not at all what he promised, tempers sizzle and emotions flare, leaving no doubt that the passion they have each tried to hide is on the verge of igniting.

    Left with no source of income, she smuggles medical supplies for Lieutenant Colonel William Jackson and the Confederacy. Although a rogue, Wil is a man of courage and fiercely loyal to Amanda. Lieutenant Samuel Prescott, a soldier of honor and former comrade before the war, fights forthe Union. As opposing forces move into Virginia, Sam clashes with Wil on more than the battlefield, when both men fall in love with Amanda. Torn bygrief and loyalty, Amanda struggles with the harsh reality that her way oflife has been altered forever by the growing storm...

     Maria Ward. Lover. Hedonist. Countess of one of the richest sectors of the Kingdom. As a matter of honor, she must use everything at her disposal to break the back of the rebellion, no matter what the cost to herself or her love, her husband Count Ward. To save their honor, she’ll have to embark on a series of adventures that will take her to places few have ever gone. To do things that only the most imaginative would even dream of… This, then, is the story of how she, with little more than her wits, and ability in the bed chamber, did exactly that. *Warning: This is an erotic novel based in the world of The Young Ancients. It has a highly charged and graphically sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

    Which one is drinkable? Ayani has definitely been through the worse. One tragic incident turned her life upside down forever, leaving her sister, Kamille, to hate her. Kamille is now out to wreak havoc on her already messed up life. Ayani is trying her best to hold on to her fragile relationship with her longtime boyfriend, Kash, in the heat of it all. She’ll end up paying the ultimate toll for her scandalous and childish behavior. Will she take heed when her reality sets in or will she just be a product of her circumstances?