Ranging from the 19th to the 20th centuries, writers include James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, Richard Edward Connell, Henri Nathaniel Hawthorne, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Jack London, Henri Ringgold Wilmer Lardner, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant and Edgar Allan Poe.

    However, though I think some of them are great, some aren’t, and some are profoundly dated. I am aware that there are those out there, who will just buy these without a second thought, so I have to edit, be selective, and I damned well have to show some respect for my readers. Kindle in this respect can be a danger for a known writer, because you can publish any old twaddle and someone will buy it. Time and again, I’ve had fans, upon hearing that I have this and that unpublished in my files, demanding that I publish it at once because surely they’ll love it. No they won’t. A reputation like trust: difficult to build and easy to destroy. I’ve therefore chosen stories other people have published here and there, and filled in with those I really think someone should have published. Here you’ll find some Polity tales, some that could have been set in the Polity (at a stretch) and some from the bleak Owner universe. Enjoy! Neal Asher 04/06/18

    Army Scout'Escaping from the Oto Indians who brutally slaughtered his whole family, fifteen-year-old Jarel Wade runs aimlessly into a snowstorm. On the verge of death he's rescued by a pair of cantankerous old mountain men as rugged as the mountains off which they live. Taken under their wing, Jarel proves himself worthy of the trail, but something's coming; something far more sinister that will test every ounce of his newly earned skills and mettle. A rogue former British Army officer is systematically exterminating the free trappers. He wants to corner the fur trade for himself, and he commands a pack of thieves, murderers and outcasts who know the mountains as well as they know how to dig Jarel a grave."RED RUNS THE PLAIN is a crackerjack story written by a craftsman at the top of his form. A whirlwind of a tale that will keep you turning pages."— Matt Braun

    This winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award features Stanley Yelnats, a kid who is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake: the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment-and redemption..

     Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection If You Liked School, You'll Love Work.

    He was my everything. We knew he would be joining the service when we graduated. Just like his dad and grandfather did before him. So, no matter how much I wanted him to stay, he had to go. He had to leave me. My mom was once in the same situation and she waited her whole life for my dad to come back to us. I saw what she went through and how it destroyed her. I couldn’t do that to myself. So, I ended it with Tank. Tank Emily thinks I will never come back to her. But what she doesn’t realize is, I don’t have a choice. No matter what happens, no matter how far away I go, I’m coming back to her. Where I Belong (Alpha Men, 5) An Alpha Man and BBW, Steamy Sweet Romance Kim I fell for Rich in a picture. He is in my brother’s army unit and twelve years older than me. Although I dreamed about him all the time, I never imagined that we would ever meet… and he would live up to my fantasy. Rich My army brother asked me to check in on his sister. I told him I would and then he gave me her picture. I fell for her just by looking at her, and I knew the minute I saw her, I was where I belong. Do Over (Alpha Men, 6) An Alpha Man, and BBW, Steamy Sweet Romance Madison Jase and I were in love and going to be together FOREVER! And then he had to leave me. I spent the last five years dealing with a broken heart. I tried to move on, I met someone else and we had a baby together. But now, Jase is back and says he’s here to get what is his. Jase I had to leave her. At the time I didn’t think I had a choice. But I worked all this time to get back to her. She thinks since her body has changed and she has a little girl now that I don’t want her. She couldn’t be more wrong and I’m going to prove it to her. I’m going to get my second chance… my do-over. Note: This is a steamy, sweet, SHORT romance. It has a HEA with alpha male and a plus-size woman that makes him hers! If you love short romances with insta love, hot love scenes, and a sweet story, then this one is for you.

    Instead of black bag drops in Bangkok, she now spends her time leading a young Girl Scout troop. But Merry's new simple life turns not-so-simple when an enemy agent shows up dead at scout camp. Suddenly Merry is forced to deal with her former life in order to preserve her future one. It doesn't help matters that the CIA sends in her former, sexy handler to investigate…or that the hot new neighbor across the street turns out to be the local detective in charge of her case. And when Merry is forced to take on a roommate in the voluptuous form of a turned KGB agent/bimbo, things become trickier than wet work in Waukegan or cookie sales in the spring. Nothing in the CIA or Girl Scouts' training manuals has prepared her for what comes next… Mint Cookie Murder (book #2) Ex-CIA agent turned suburban scout leader, Merry Wrath, is just trying to live a normal, quiet life. But all that goes out the window when a convicted traitor (who’s inconveniently not in his prison cell) dies on her doorstep, and an obese cat, who bears a disturbing resemblance to Hitler, decides to move in. To make things worse, it’s time for the annual troop cookie sale, her new boyfriend’s old college flame shows up to win him back, and someone’s shooting at Merry in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. Is the assassin after her or the cat? Is Riley, her hot former CIA handler, hitting on her? Is Rex, her boyfriend, going to dump her? Will she sell enough cookies to take her troop to Winter Sniper Camp? If Merry doesn't find answer to these questions soon, it may be too late! Marshmallow S'More Murder (book #3) What could be better for former CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath than taking twelve little girls to Washington DC for a bit of summer fun? Almost anything. Unfortunately, between her girls terrorizing the Secret Service and "accidentally" destroying the hotel pool, Merry has her hands full with this troop. And when her former handler, Riley, is kidnapped Merry has to turn to an old friend from her spy days and her parents, Senator and Mrs. Czrgy, to help her wrangle the troop and rescue the man she once briefly called her boyfriend. Armed only with a perpetually AWOL parent, stalked by a runaway King Vulture, and plagued by a mysterious death from her past, Merry's mayhem weaves a wacky trail from moonshiners in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the bowels of the Japanese Embassy, to the ductwork of the International Spy Museum. With things heating up with current boyfriend, Detective Rex Ferguson, can Merry decipher clues from her past to find ex¬-boyfriend Riley and finally solve the murder of Yakuza boss, Midori Ito, before the target on her back is filled with lead?

    Follow the flailing escapades of maverick music manager Campbell Ouiniette at the Calgary Folk Festival, as he leaves a trail of empty liquor bottles, cigarette butts, bruised egos, and obliterated relationships behind him. His top headlining act has abandoned him for the Big Time. In a fit of self-delusion or pure genius (or perhaps a bit of both), Ouiniette devises an intricate scam, a last hurrah in an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his girlfriend, the music industry, and the rest of the world. He reveals his path of destruction in his own transparently self-justifying, explosive, profane words, with digressions into the Edmonton hardcore punk rock scene, the Yugoslavian Civil War, and other epicentres of chaos.

    The Godling Chronicles Book Four - A Trial of Souls Book Five - Madness of the Fallen Book Six - The Reborn King

    Right up until he broke her heart six years ago. Now that she’s returned to Wyoming for good, what she wants more than anything is to save her family’s ranch. Even if that means swallowing her pride and asking Dave to marry her.Matty’s up to something – Dave knows that much. Just as he knows that Matty needs help, so of course he’ll provide it. Doing what’s best for Matty is second nature. Even when it comes to marrying her in name only. Although he can’t resist one hot-blooded kiss after the I-dos -- a kiss as fiery as the flame-red Indian Paintbrush that's always reminded him of Matty.Maybe – just maybe – his Matty will become more to him than Almost a Bride.MATCH MADE IN WYOMINGWhen fire ravages Wyoming land, fireweed is among the first plants to return, brightening the blighted area with the joy of its blooms. Can Taylor Anne Larsen pull off a similar miracle for the pain-ravaged heart and disbelieving soul of ranch foreman Cal Ruskoff? Armed with the same grace and grit as the wildflower fireweed, Taylor also has allies – a matchmaking friend, the Wyoming winter, high-octane mutual attraction, and a rescued puppy who slips past Cal's defenses.Cal might give in to passion temporarily, but from behind the wall he's built around his past and his secrets, he's certain Taylor is all that he can't let himself have. And he'll use all his weapons to keep her out.MY HEART REMEMBERSLisa Currick was once as bright and open as the sunny Bur Marigold wildflower of her native Wyoming. That’s how New York City Detective Shane Garrison has remembered her since she figured in his first investigation eight years ago. But when he arrives in her hometown determined to resolve the final element of that case, he discovers the girl he's remembered has become a very different woman.

    Recently, Kessinger Publishing's rare reprints has re-issued the book. The protagonist, Roger Stetworth, unwillingly joins a slave ship called the -Golden Hind- captained by Luke Chilton. (When Chilton demanded that Roger -sign aboard- he refused and was clubbed on the head and thrown overboard.) He is rescued by the -Hurst Castle- and doctored by a painfully stereotyped Irishman. The -Hurst Castle- is abandoned but does not founder in a gale and the crew, unable to get to him, are forced to leave Stetworth marooned aboard. The ship drifts into the center of the Sargasso Sea where Stetworth finds himself in a ships' graveyard in which survivors of previous shipwrecks still inhabit the forgotten ships. Stetworth must rely on his own ingenuity to get free from the choking sargasso weeds........ Thomas Allibone Janvier (July 16, 1849 - June 18, 1913) was an American story-writer and historian, born in Philadelphia of Provencal descent. Early life and marriage: Janvier received a public school education, then worked in Philadelphia for newspapers from 1870-81. In 1878 he married Catherine Ann Drinker (May 1, 1841- July 19, 1922), an artist who was the first woman teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and first teacher to Cecilia Beaux. Later in life, she accompanied her husband on his travels while writing books and translating books from the Provencale language. Many of Janvier's published works would be dedicated -To C. A. J.- New York: Janvier went to New York in 1881. From 1884-94, he lived in the Washington Square district of New York. A few years after arriving, he published the Ivory Black Stories, tales of artist life, which were reprinted in book form in 1885 as Color Studies. In them he pictured the life and color of what was then considered the Latin quarter of the city, with the old-fashioned French restaurants, the artist colony to the north, and the studios in Tenth Street where Abbey, Millet, F. Hopkinson Smith, Laffan and others made the Tile Club famous. He published many stories and articles in Harper's Magazine.[2] Travels and death: Janvier spent several years in Colorado, New Mexico and Mexico, thereby gaining inspiration and material for much of his literary work. His travels in Mexico produced the Aztec Treasure House and his stories of Old New Spain. He and his wife also lived for three years in Avignon, Provence, France, where they became friends with Mistral and Felix Gras. Catherine A. Janvier's translations of the latter's work introduced him to English-speaking readers.His books from this period include An Embassy to Provence, Christmas Kalends of Provence and The South of France. He was made an honorary member of the Felibrige society in France, and of the Fol Lore Society of London, where he and his wife lived from 1897 to 1900, and the Century Club in New York. Janvier died in New York on June 18, 1913. He is interred in Moorestown, New Jersey. Literary family: Janvier's sister, Margaret Thomson Janvier (1844-1913), was born in New Orleans. Under the pen name Margaret Vandergrift she wrote many juveniles, among which are: The Absent-Minded Fairy, and Other Verses (1884); The Dead Doll, and Other Verses (1900); Under the Dog-Star (1900); and Umbrellas to Mend (1905). Janvier's niece, Emma P. Spicer, going by the stage name of Emma Janvier, was a well-known comedian on Broadway and elsewhere from the turn of the century until her death in the early 1920s. Janvier was also related to Philadelphia businessman and poet Francis De Haes Janvier.

    He killed them…. in the name of justice.” From Robert Hanlon, the bestselling author of “Texas Bounty Hunter,” “Bounty For The Preacher” and “Pecos Bounty Hunter” comes his best Western… “Clint Cain – Texan Avenger.” Vengeance, repentance and justice come in many forms. For Clint Cain, it comes in the form of his gun—a gun he knows how to use better than almost anyone else. Filled to the brim with action, adventure, plot twists and gunsight justice—Clint Cain is not a man to be crossed. This is a book filled with the dead, the dying and those who don’t get in his way—because those who do cross Clint Cain end up dead. Real dead. If you like your Westerns written in the style of A.H. Holt, Bruce G. Bennett and Paul L. Thompson—you will love “Clint Cain – Texan Avenger!” Download your copy today and start a read filled with action, adventure and drama—and the bodies of dead bad guys.

    Leaving behind his life in Fletcherford in northern England, his friends from Fletcherford Writers’ group and Sally, his foul-mouthed, best friend, colleague and confidante from Fletcherford Community College, he embarks on an adventure that will transform his life forever. As the larger than life,Yiorgi and the womanising Vangelis, friends of the deceased Martha, help him, in their own ways, to settle into his new life Bob begins to piece together the details of his aunt’s life and that of her mysterious husband Dimitri. The dark secrets of Martha’s Vineyard take Bob on a harrowing journey of self-discovery revealing the true meaning of love, belonging and revenge.

    That day comes suddenly when his grandfather dies leaving him the floundering business. With the help of Becky Salmon, an enterprising young woman, Charlie sets out to make a name for himself as "The Honest Trader". But the brutal onset of World War I takes Charlie far from home and into the path of a dangerous enemy whose legacy of evil follows Charlie and his family for generations.The Prodigal DaughterWith a will of steel, Polish immigrant Florentyna Rosnovski is indeed Abel's daughter. She shares with her father a love of America, his ideals, and his dream for the future. But she wants more to be the first female president.Golden boy Richard Kane was born into a life of luxury. The scion of a banking magnate he is successful, handsome, and determined to carve his own path in the world-and to build a future with the woman he loves. With Florentyna's ultimate goal only a heartbeat away, both are about to discover the shattering price of power as a titanic battle of betrayal and deception reaches out from the past-a blood feud between two generations that threatens to destroy everything Florentyna and Richard have fought to achieve.

    Grieving the loss of her parents, and on the verge of being homeless as the bank threatens to repossess her home after her father’s loan is forfeited, Sally knows she has to find a way to stay strong for her little brother, Enos. When Enos tells her of a mail-order bride he saw in town, Sally immediately writes to Blue Holloway in Nacogdoches, Texas.Blue responds immediately and soon, Sally and Enos are off to meet Sally’s new fiancée. Only … Blue has a surprise in store for them. Or rather, Blue’s friend Aleta has a surprise for them all! Will Blue and Sally’s fledgling relationship survive the shock of Aleta’s revelation? Will Enos fit in with his three new sisters? Will the bully making little Miriam’s life miserable finally be brought to justice? Tis the season for family, faith, and friends. Join us for the wintry ride!Frontier Christmas Brides and Babies SeriesBook 1: Sally’s ChristmasBook 2: Amelia’s ChristmasBook 3: Jenny’s ChristmasBook 4: Margaret ChristmasBook 5: Jane Brown’s ChristmasBook 6: Bessie’s Christmas ....“a story of hope, fear, romance, suspense and true love.”.... Katie Wyatt: #1 Best Seller in New Release Romance #1 Best Seller in 90 Minute Short Reads #1 Best Seller in Frontier & Pioneer Western Fiction #1 Best Seller in Western & Frontier Christian Romance #1 Best Seller in Christian Westerns #1 Best Seller in Historical #1 Best Seller in Collections & Anthologies #1 Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult #1 Best Seller in Religion & Spirituality #1 Best Seller in Children's Christian Books Katie Wyatt Clean and Wholesome novelette American Mail Order Bride historical Western romance series is enjoyable for all ages.