This is the brilliant short story that featured in the back of the special edition ebook of CONN IGGULDEN’S bestselling novel EMPEROR: BLOOD OF GODS.As the effects of age creep up on Augustus Caesar, he is left with the whispers of his wife Livia in one ear and the echoes of his youthful dreams in the other, as he tries to come to the rescue of his beloved grandson, Marcus.

    Each day brings worry and struggle for her mam and da and Ellen works hard as a factory girl to help her family. Together, they get by. She has never imagined any other existence until one night she joins a gathering of suffragettes. Suddenly anything seems possible. But she's soon to discover how much courage it takes to fight for better. And, just when all seems lost, Eddie Shaw walks into her world... Includes the first chapter of Lyn's captivating new novel FROM LIVERPOOL WITH LOVE.

    She’s an aspiring, young seamstress who is enchanted by a charming new suitor. His worldly ways and grandeur captivate her—until secrets, lies and unsavory behaviors bring her harm.Uncovering more than she ever imagined, Lillie is pushed to make decisions that she never expected. With the help of a close family friend and her brother Frank, Lillie tries to leave behind her mistakes.The discovery of a 1951 convertible dragged out of its watery grave leads reporters to the doorstep of Lillie Mae. The Cotton Blossom is a spellbinding journey about finding your power, learning from your mistakes and trusting your heart.

    Naked Pueblo, his absolutely maximalist, throw-everything-in-and-shake-it-up short story collection, buzzes like some kind of whacked-out fever dream." (Esquire)

    Daisy's valentine --A romantic weekend --something nice --An affair, edited --Connection --Trying to be --Secretary --Other factors --Heaven

    In novels such as The Small Backs of Children and The Book of Joan, she has captivated readers with stories of visceral power. Now, in Verge, she offers a shard-sharp mosaic portrait of human resilience on the margins.

    Megan Mayhew Bergman's twelve stories capture the surprising moments when the pull of our biology becomes evident, when love or fear collide with good sense, or when our attachment to an animal or wild place can't be denied. In "Housewifely Arts," a single mother and her son drive hours to track down an African Gray Parrot that can mimic her deceased mother's voice. A population control activist faces the ultimate conflict between her loyalty to the environment and her maternal desire in "Yesterday's Whales." And in the title story, a lonely naturalist allows an attractive stranger to lead her and her aging father on a hunt for an elusive woodpecker. As intelligent as they are moving, the stories in Birds of a Lesser Paradise are alive with emotion, wit, and insight into the impressive power that nature has over all of us.

    In Fight No More, Nina, a lonely real-estate broker estranged from her only relative, is at the center of a web of stories connecting a community through the houses they inhabit. With crackling satire and surprising tenderness, Millet introduces an indelible cast of untidy teens, beastly men, and strong-minded women whose stories begin to outline the fate of one particular family being torn apart by forces they recognize but cannot control. Millet’s intellect and beautiful prose deliver profound insight into human behavior, from the ordinary to the bizarre, and draws startling contrasts between house and home.

    Some are darkly humorous—from two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids’ backpacks, to the young girl contemplating how best to notify her Facebook friends of her impending suicide—while others are devastatingly poignant—a new mother and funeral singer who is driven to madness with grief for the young black boys who have fallen victim to gun violence, or the teen who struggles between her upper middle class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with black culture.Thompson-Spires fearlessly shines a light on the simmering tensions and precariousness of black citizenship. Her stories are exquisitely rendered, satirical, and captivating in turn, engaging in the ongoing conversations about race and identity politics, as well as the vulnerability of the black body. Boldly resisting categorization and easy answers, Nafissa Thompson-Spires is an original and necessary voice in contemporary fiction.

    The writer has a fertile imagination and an attractive narrative style.' '...one of the best reads I have had this year. Gripped by the grizzled Irish detective.....plenty of twists and turns Bravo!' '...I thoroughly enjoyed Black December - it's a very good "who done it" - and so often!' '...Top drawer crime fiction...' --Amazon  Scott Hunter is a CWA shortlisted author.

    Made-to-order for those with a taste for inventive idiosyncrasy, this book promises to provoke and entertain in equal measure. About the author: Ishavasyam took a sabbatical from her career in marketing to fulfil her childhood dream of writing a book. Besides weaving tall tales, she loves playing board games and belly dancing. She is a hoarder of art supplies, and has an alarming number of incomplete DIY projects. Ishavasyam lives with her husband, whom she adores to bits, to the point where she may soon give in to his incessant plea to get a dog.

    Although social realities -- racial and ethnic tensions, sexual harassment, and abuse -- make up their background, these are really love stories in which people discover and forgive one another. A daughter finds her father's kindness extends beyond her and their family; a wife discovers and forgives the affair between her husband and best friend; and, in the title story which takes the form of a letter to an almost-lover, the narrator winds through swirling eddies of memory and language to relate her present and past lives and the loves that have informed them.Written with a masterful sureness of hand and heart, these captivating, intimate stories display Sena Jeter Naslund's extraordinary presence as one of today's most rewarding writers of fiction.

    The NP had done remarkably well in elections in four states. It was the party’s heroic return. It was an even larger triumph for the Dalal family, who had survived several calls for their ouster from party leadership. The fireworks started at 11:59 and four bottles of champagne were uncorked, as the ‘Nationalists’ and few staff members watched the night sky from the garden below.BOOM. Huge explosions razed most of 10, Lokpath, the entire Dalal lineage reduced to body parts and blood splatter on the grass. Though the explosion was restricted to the property, the tremors would soon be felt throughout the country.Naresh Mistri was woken up at 1:08 a.m. His national security team had reached his residence. The PM saw the news on TV. Even BP’s staunchest supporters would suspect the party. First the dreadful electoral performance and now this! It could be the biggest threat to his political career. As the world’s gaze would firmly be on Mistri, would he lose his greatest asset of all, public opinion?The IB and RAW had more often than not failed to provide intelligence on such attacks. And there was no ‘national’ police force that could investigate and solve this crime and bring the culprits to justice quickly. No, the PM had to turn to someone else. He said, “I want ISSCO to investigate this.”Realising that India needed an agency like the USA’s FBI, Russia’s FSB, and UK’s MI5, which could work with surprise, speed, and intensity, Mistri had three months ago approved ISSCO, a covert, privately run but government-funded intelligence and security organisation. He had told ISSCO they were to do everything that IB, RAW, DIA, NIA, and NSG said couldn’t be done, and do it better, faster, and quieter.

    Then, the breathtaking sequels, Sara's Past and Sara's Fear, continued the terrifying journey where no one was safe and evil played by its own rules. Now, Lindsey returns with a final chapter, One More Game, the thrilling spin-off from The Sara Winthrop Series. **Novella-length title.**Teddy Rutherford, former coworker and arch nemesis of Sara Winthrop, now turned trusted friend and multi-millionaire, has left the United States behind for the supposed safety of Moscow. His beautiful and tolerant wife, Irina, pregnant and thrilled to once again be back in her homeland, has only one word of advice: "Relax." As if anything were really ever that easy in the life of Teddy Rutherford, especially when his closest in-laws are aren't shy about their connections to the Russian mafia. When Teddy tries to help, and the delivery of a small briefcase goes terribly wrong, he may find out just how many lives he has left.

    NippleJesus was his own contribution, featuring "a bruiser (who) finds out that guarding modern art is far more hazardous than controlling the velvet ropes at a nightclub".