Most citizens are immune to it, but a few, always born with physical disabilities, can bend it to their will. For fifty years, the ruling Eagle Knights, who fly on the back of giant birds, have killed these Imperfects, fearing the return of the old royal family, who used icefire to cut out people's hearts, turning them into ghostly servitors. The old king's grandson Tandor only sees the good things icefire brought: power and technology now forgotten while the people of the south live in dire poverty. He's had enough of seeing his fellow kinsfolk slaughtered by ignorant Knights, of Imperfect babies being abandoned on the ice floes to be eaten by wild animals. His grandfather's diary tells him how to increase the beat of the Heart the first step to making the land glorious once more. Arrogant as he is, he sets the machine in motion. All he needs is an army of Imperfect servitors to control the resulting power.Isandor is Imperfect, an ex-Knight apprentice, betrayed by his best friend and running for his life. The queen Jevaithi is Imperfect, living like a prisoner amidst leering Knights, surviving only because the common people would rebel if their beloved queen were harmed. Both are young and desperate and should be grateful that Tandor wants to rescue them from their hopeless situations. Or so he thinks. The youngsters, however, have no inclination to become heartless ghosts, but while they defy Tandor, the Heart beats, and he alone cannot control its power.

    All she wants is her late father's dream to come true by making his beloved King's Department Store thrive again. However, her stepmother has other ideas. Charlie agrees to help her stepmother find grooms for her sheltered stepsisters. In exchange, the stepmother will release her stronghold on the store's budget. After all, one good deed deserves another, right? But, Charlie has no idea what her heart's in for when... Alexander (Alex) Royale, dubbed by society newspapers as Prince Charming, arrives for dinner to meet the all-female King family. His ailing grandparents yearn for his marriage and then the baby carriage. Well, that and running the family company. Having unsuccessfully searched for months, Alex doesn't hold out any hope in finding his future bride among the King sisters. However, all his expectations, including his idea of a business-like marriage of convenience, vanish the moment Charlie crashes into him. When Alex sets out out to win over Charlotte, he has no idea he has to bargain with the stepmother, secretly buy the store, court Charlotte after the wedding, and, oh yeah, be featured in Charlie's new fairy tale ad campaign, The Charmings, based on them. Can a guy ever get a break? The couple never factored in falling in love with each other. Now, faced with losing all their families ever wanted, Charlie and Alex must choose: Do they live their families' dreams or do they finally live their own?

    With her mom in prison, and her father AWOL, Katie is sent to live with a squeaky-clean family who could have their own sitcom. She launches a full-scale plan to get sent back to the girls’ home when she finds herself in over her head...and heart. When Katie and her new "wrong crowd" get into significant trouble at school, she finds her punishment is restoring a historic theater with a crazy grandma who goes by the name of Mad Maxine. In the midst of her punishment, Katie uncovers family secrets that run deep, and realizes she's not the only one with a pain-filled past. Katie must decide if she'll continue her own family’s messed up legacy or embrace a new beginning in this place called In Between.

    Knight, artillerist, swordsman. Mercenary for hire. Ill-starred lover.Mister Fitz. Puppet, sorcerer, loremaster. Practitioner of arcane arts now mostly and thankfully forgotten. Former nursemaid to Hereward.Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz. Agents of the Council of the Treaty for the Safety of the World, charged with the location and removal of listed extra-dimensional entities, more commonly known as gods or godlets.Travellers. Adventurers. Godslayers . . .For the first time, the two award-winning novellas and a short story featuring Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz’s exploits are gathered together in a single volume. From the New York Times-bestselling writer Garth Nix, author of The Abhorsen Trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen), Shade’s Children, The Seventh Tower series, The Keys to the Kingdom series and Troubletwisters (with Sean Williams).Reader Advisory: Though some of Garth Nix’s books and stories are for children, this one is not. It is for adult readers.

    He’s never flown a spaceship before, but at least he’s not alone; none of his crewmembers have, either. To make matters worse, the ship’s computer thinks it’s a comedian.So the last thing jixX needs is an encounter with aliens, particularly a nutty bunch of religious fanatics. They believe in the existence of The Ultimate Inferior Beings, a species so totally inept at everything that, according to an ancient prophecy, their incompetence will bring about the end of the Universe. One alien becomes convinced that humans are this bungling species and that the only way of saving the Universe is by destroying them.So it comes down to jixX to save Humankind.

    Henry Bins is awake for one. He wakes up each day at 3 a.m. then falls asleep at 4 a.m. Life is simple. Until he hears the woman scream. And sees the man leave the house across the street. But not just any man. The President of the United States.

    I nod stiffly to give no indication I know exactly, who that is. I’m shocked to hear that name in this setting, at this stage of my life, the one far away from Cambridge, Massachusetts over five years later.”Advertising Exec, Clarity Parker thought she’d never see Baron Ford again. Five years ago, they shared the date of her life and then he literally vanished into thin air. Now he’s back and has asked that she, exclusively, be assigned to his multi-million dollar account.On the day the fog rolls in, not only can she no longer avoid him but she can no longer avoid herself. See, Clarity has an ability that she’s run away from her entire life. She’s learning an ability like hers doesn’t come for free, and something or someone is trying to make her pay for it with her life.Her world is soon turned upside down after she escapes to a place called Enu. It’s here Clarity learns who and what she truly is. She also learns that Baron Ford is Baron Ze Feldis; he’s a vampire, and what bonds them runs deeper than anything she can ever imagine. Their bond is further tested when they end up not only battling Baron’s psycho ex-vampire girlfriend, who wants Clarity dead but also “the evil” as they journey in search of the book which holds the Prophecy of the Seven Seeds. One thing’s for sure, from this point on, their lives will never be the same.**Edited on 10/24/2011 – If you have the previous version, please email Customer Service to request the most updated version. If you purchased the Ebook on Smashwords, you can simply download the most up-to-date version.

    Now, in this original short story, available exclusively as an eBook, Picoult introduces Serenity Jones, one of the fascinating characters from her eagerly awaited new novel, Leaving Time. Even as a child, Serenity Jones knew she possessed unusual psychic gifts. Now, decades later, she’s an acclaimed medium and host of her own widely viewed TV show, where she delivers messages to the living from loved ones who have passed. Lately, though, her efforts to boost ratings and garner fame have compromised her clairvoyant instincts. When Serenity books a young war widow to appear as a guest, the episode quickly unravels, stirring up a troubling controversy. And as she tries to undo the damage—to both her reputation and her show—Serenity finds that pride comes at a high price.

    Leaving her life up to fate, Zoey closed her eyes and pointed. She would serve out her career exile in the small mountain town of Moonshine Hollow where moonshine flowed as freely as a mountain stream. Giving up the law to become a baker in Moonshine Hollow turned out to be the best thing Zoey had ever done. She was happy and enjoying life in her new small town. But Zoey should have learned the first time . . . one night can change your whole life. After unknowingly crashing a battle between witches, Zoey accidentally becomes a witch herself. That’s all before Zoey stumbles over a murder victim and the town’s sheriff becomes involved. Now she’s trying to find a murderer, stop two old witches from playing matchmaker, and learning she’s way more than a mere accidental witch. And that’s all before fate turns up one more sexy hunk of a twist . . .

    Her gift: prophetic dreams of people about to die.Their mentor, the four-hundred year old Vampire, William Wakefield. Charming, ridiculously handsome, and walking a dangerous line between sinking into darkness and living in the light. In constant temptation to declare his love for the one woman that could be his undoing.The story begins with an unsolved murder. One that will change everything...Come stalk the streets of The Demon Isle... you'll go up against witches, vampires, werewolves, demons, shapeshifters, ghosts, mermaids, faeries and a host of other devious supernatural creatures waiting to wreak havoc on The Demon Isle. Where fans of the paranormal come to vacation and immerse themselves in fantasy. Where magic comes to life, mysteries abound, and you might just find yourself laughing, crying, and most definitely, falling in love.In Book One:Melinda Howard is the Demon Isle's weird girl... the one that's been holed up in the Howard Mansion for the last four years. Why? No one knows the truth except her family... a long line of witches charged with protecting the Demon Isle, along with their mentor, the four-hundred year old Vampire, William Wakefield.Another reason Melinda doesn't mind her self-inflicted imprisonment. She gets to spend her days with the charming vampire, who also happens to be her best friend. Only now, she's spending her night's with him too. He just doesn't know it...Any other girl would enjoy the nightly thrill of a sexy vampire invading her dreams. But not Melinda as her dreams have a tendency to come true. Although typically, they don't include the handsome vampire she's crushing on, but rather horrifying visions of people about to die.But she cannot stay under self-inflicted house arrest forever. And if her brothers or William get their choice in the matter, Melinda will be out of the house partying with her friends, giving her affections to a human, not a vampire, and digging into her role as a witch.A role her eldest brother Charlie lives for and a role her second brother Michael would rather live without. Nevertheless, when duty calls, usually from the local sheriff needing help with some tourist who's gotten themselves into trouble, life screeches to a stop, and duty takes over.Such is the case when the sheriff needs help with a four-year-old murder investigation; one she fears has a supernatural cause. To assist her in the case, she calls upon the skills of The Howard Witches.However, what they learn might be more than any of them can deal with, or accept. Worse yet, they fear what this discovery will do to Melinda, as it returns them all to the core of her self-imprisonment.Back to the lives, she could not save...Wicked Good Witches...Book 1: Demon Street BluesBook 2: Alpha Knows BestBook 3: Bye Bye BloodsuckerBook 4: Ghast Me GentlyBook 5: A Nightmare to RememberBook 6: A Stake With a ViewBook 7: Bite Me, Baby!

    With her new powers, how was she going to give herself the birthday gift she'd really set her heart on--P.I. George Taylor? But George was looking for an average Jane--he could never love a superhero-to-be, could he?

    His ex-fiancee is deader than a door nail and everyone thinks he dun did it. His house is haunted. His mother is running an illegal gambling ring. His dog likes to bite people too much. And he's got to find out who really did it before the sheriff throws him in jail...again.

    Who am I? My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen and I'm about to die. I'm buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I'm lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won't stop shaking.Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I'm delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I'm the one buried in a grave. My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen. I'm about to die.So who are you?In a return to the kind of storytelling that made Black, Showdown and Three unforgettable, New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker drags that question into the light with this modern day parable about how we see ourselves. Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open is raw adrenaline from the first page to the last pure escapism packed with inescapable truth. Not all is as it seems. Or is it? Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally.

    Despite secreting himself on the edge of the Wild, Wistril finds himself battling an army of relentless mercenaries while the entire population of the nearest village takes refuge in his home. Even Kern, Wistril's long-suffering, sharp-tongued apprentice, isn't sure whether the army or the houseguests will prove to be Wistril's undoing!Wistril Afloat --Wistril doesn't believe in lake monsters -- until they invade the lake that just happens to provide Wistril's favorite fish dinners. Faced with the choice of adjusting his menus or daring the wilderness around Lake Ovinshoon, Wistril and Kern soon have bigger problems than mere lake monsters on their hands. Because while Wistril wishes only to study the beasts, others wish to hunt them and skin them. Will Wistril's peaceful White Chair magics prevail against a ruthless band of wyvern-hunters who have only profit on their minds?Wistril Betrothed --If ever there was a determined bachelor, thought Kern, his name was surely Wistril.So when Wistril's wife-to-be shows up with a pursuing army on her heels, life at Castle Kauph is turned upside down. And when another suitor for Lady Emmerbee's hand arrives, with a dark and menacing wizard of his own in tow, it's up to Kern and the rest of Castle Kauph to get Wistril wed without losing his head!White Chair wizard, gourmand, beer fancier, scholar. Wistril of Kauph is all that, and more. Join him for a taste of classic high fantasy well seasoned with humor and a dash of adventure!

    Keira is content in her small, medieval village - well, sort of. Her mother is pressing her to marry, but her suitors are less than desirable. So when handsome Aaron Drake arrives in the village and focuses his attention on Keira, she cannot help but be interested. But Aaron is not the only new arrival in the area - a fire-breathing dragon has also taken up residence in the mountains, not far from the remote alpine castle that Aaron calls home. What exactly is the connection between Aaron Drake and the dragon? Why is his arrival coincident with the arrival of a beast? And when the dragon rescues her from the unwanted attentions of some village boys, who will set out to rescue her from the huge, scaly, fire-breathing monster? Bound by a Dragon sweeps the reader far from the modern world into a world of castles, medieval markets and fantastical romance.