Bread is a good start for sustenance.Don Eyr and Serana were survivors who came to Low Port – it gave them air, water, a place to stand and a place to make bread. The place to sleep meant they needed a certain amount of safety and to get that they founded a bakery at the corner of Crakle and Toom, brought in others seeking to survive in the midst of the poverty and ignorance, and built a tiny bastion of a self-sufficient community dedicated to raising competent, alert children who understood decency.Low Port toughs tried to break the bakery and a planet-shaking blast from the skies nearly did it in, but the bakery was hope, and people who have hope will fight to keep it.This chapbook collects four stories about sustenance, all about the bakery, its people, and its influence. ″Degrees of Separation,″ ″Fortune’s Favors,″ and "Block Party" are reprints. The novelette ″Our Lady of Benevolence″ appears here for the first time.

    Jenny's mother was a healer from the East who has taught her well and from whom she inherits her exotic looks. But this difference means that she faces suspicion and distrust as she is drawn into a plot to throw the world into chaos. Not only does Jenny have to fight to stay alive amid the treachery and intrigue that surrounds the court of the Duke, but she finds her friendships and loyalties tested to the full. Forced to seek the key to the greatest secrets of the alchemists, Jenny discovers the power that lies within her - skills which could make her the greatest alchemist of any age.(Vietnamese) Chưa tròn mười lăm tuổi, Jenny Swift đã bị một người đàn ông xa lạ mang khỏi tổ ấm thân yêu của mình. Richard Antrobus là nhà giả kim lỗi lạc nhất thế giới và ông đã chọn cô - một cô bé mang dòng máu lai non trẻ - làm người học việc của mình. Khi vừa đến thành Vale tráng lệ, Jenny đã phải đối mặt với sự chết chóc, âm mưu và phản bội. Để cứu lấy mạng sống của những người thân yêu, Jenny phải khám phá ra những kỹ năng mà cô chưa bao giờ tưởng tượng là mình có được. Để sống sót, cô phải vực dậy lòng can đảm hiếm người có được của bản thân.

    Scared out of his wits, he soon discovers that the aliens, Simon and Leonidas, aren’t planning to probe him… huge relief. Instead, after injecting Luke with nano-translators so he can understand them, they tell him that his parents, both astronauts who were pronounced dead during a failed mission to Mars, are still alive... and they need his help to rescue them from an evil spider-alien dictator named Drac Moor. There’s just one itsy bitsy catch. Luke will first need to be “reconditioned” so that he can withstand the harsh alien atmospheres that he’ll be subjected to. Oh… and it’s probably going to hurt a little. Follow along as Luke stumbles through one disaster after another, in an attempt to pull off a daring prison break and free his parents before it’s too late.

    Hopefully you’ll enjoy a few laughs along the way.(1)Scribe’s Notes:1. Mulogo’s Treatise on Wizardry is a largely farcical text making light of wizardly conventions within the larger fantasy, gaming, and roleplaying traditions, assorted related communities and offshoots, memes, and various cultural derivatives. (2)2. If you do not like satire, or laughing, this book is not for you. (3)3. Perhaps a more exciting tome like Navel Lint, Its Permutations and Harvesting would be more to your liking. (4)4. Mulogo does not condone laughing.

    Together, he and his elegant lady friend Madame moved from The Motor City of Detroit and into Atlanta, GA with a million dollar blueprint. The only thing about the plan was that it required a few down ass women in order to seal the deal. Gucci Red, Trish, and Moet all fit the description to do the deed: Fly enough to please the eye, slicker than sly with the mouthpiece to fit any occasion, and ready to get paid.

    They might be Musicians or Artists, gifted with the Elements, like Stone, Light or Air, learn a language in minutes or have Speed, Strength or a million other possibilities. They’re not mutants. They’re not aliens. They’re just extraordinarily talented.One of the rarest gifts is Reading the auras that surround every living thing: understanding the patterns of light that reveal a person’s thoughts and feelings, their very being. The rarest gift of all, though, is the ability to not just Read an aura but manipulate it, control it or even destroy it… to Shape it. It’s no wonder ancient lawmakers decreed Aura Shapers be wiped out or that Shaping is still punishable by death.A Shaper’s Promise begins with Anna. She’s just eighteen and possibly the first Aura Shaper born in The Kingdom in centuries. Her Healer mother's always warned her to never let anyone know what she is, but she's determined to head to Ionantis to try to join the Quorum of Gifted. Fate seems to think she should follow a different path and she soon finds herself embroiled in events beyond her wildest dreams. For there is evil heading towards The Kingdom and Anna's gift might be the only weapon that can save them."An entertaining and exciting tale from a convincing and attractive fantasy world”“The finale is crashingly epic. I read it at the speed of sound. People! This is an excellent read!”“Absolutely loved this book. Cost me some sleepless nights cause I couldn’t drag myself away from it!""The whole concept of this magical world is enchanting. Would thoroughly recommend and can’t wait for the next instalment!!”“The first in a trilogy, that draws you in to a wonderful world of fantasy. Great characters, well thought through plot, page turning.”The Aura Shaper Series is dedicated to the author's friend, Ann Clark, who passed away much too early after a lifetime dedicated to healing others.Please note that Karen MacRae is a British author who writes in British English.

    . . or the perfect lie.Teen witch Rosamunde thinks she has it all: friends, parties, a happy family, and magic at her fingertips. But something dark lurks underneath the surface. When Rosa uncovers strange spells in her house, the illusion of the perfect life begins to crack, hinting at family secrets she never imagined.With the help of her friends and the handsome kitsune Kai, Rosa peels back the layers of lies. Her search for the truth will take her far from home, into the dangerous Land of Faerie . . . but if the truth threatens her family’s apparent happiness, will she choose to live with the lie or break the enchantment that binds them all?

    Jane decided to make her extra pointy teeth work in her favor. She hires herself out for a good cause, as a vampire assassin. In this story she takes you with her on one of her jobs and through the intriguing tale about how she became immortal.

     ...but what the salvage crew finds on their mission will change their lives forever. Colonel Tucker Petersen, retired five years from the military, is suddenly recalled to active duty and is put in charge of the Salvage-5 mining/recovery mission.Four previous civilian salvage missions have gone missing from the Kirkwood Gap. Tucker is sent, with his crew of eight, to discover what went wrong with the Self-contained mining dredge, the Euna-1, at Asteroid 15 Eunomia... Find out what discoveries are waiting for the crew of Salvage-5. ˃˃˃ Join Colonel Tucker Petersen, and the crew of Salvage-5, for this new Techno Thriller ˃˃˃ This will be sure to keep you biting your nails and on the edge of your seat. Scroll up and grab a copy today.

    Success, love, marriage – they’ve all come at no cost. But David is about to find out that the things he takes for granted aren’t all what they seem.

     A chance to turn the tide in their favor is all legendary Captain Nicholas Driscoll needs to hear to lead an expedition behind enemy lines to the Chimera Nebula - a region of space so unstable it remains largely uncharted. Lieutenant Michael Summers sees an opportunity to matter, a chance to let future generations exist in a universe without constant war. He and other brave young cadets join the Manhattan for its first dangerous mission - to penetrate the Chimera Nebula and discover what it is the Draxx are doing in there. But first the ship and her crew will be tested by enemies both outside and within...

    Can one girl close the portal in time to protect her world from the destructive powers of darkness?Set two hundred years after the world has been destroyed by a terrifying faerie invasion, Fayth Blackman is busy studying for her final exams. She has no idea that a gateway has opened to the land of Faerie and that dark haunting creatures are filtering through into her own world. But then tragedy strikes and her life turns upside down. She finds out that she is the descendent of a powerful faerie, and that the key to closing the gateway is in her blood. She must embark on a dangerous quest to find the Bell Stone, and with it stop the world from being destroyed once more. But can she make it in time?Follow Fayth on her quest for the Bell Stone in 'Gateway to Faerie.'

    The Fae took that from me when they tore me from my crib and turned me into a creature of blood and shadow. My kidnappers raised me, taught me magic, and made me their Hound. For years I served them, venturing out from Underhill to do their bidding, stealing magical artifacts, hunting down their enemies, and spying on humankind.But a cur can only be brought to heel for so long. I've broken my chains by betraying my adoptive mother, the powerful sorceress Fuamnach. Since then her assassins have been hunting me, and if I'm captured I'll be taken back to Underhill to face a crueler fate than death.So, I spend my days in my tower, conducting magical experiments to help me control the dark entity that Fuamnach grafted onto my soul. As for my nights, they’re spent capturing the deadliest of supernatural creatures. I must have ingredients for my research, after all.Now, one of those creatures claims he witnessed my abduction. Yet, the supernatural races are a treacherous lot, and there’s little to convince me he’s telling the truth.But if there’s even a remote chance that my family is alive and well…I’ll cut a swathe of destruction through an army of Fae, if it means gaining back a piece of the humanity they stole from me.My name is Crowley, and if I can’t have my life back, then vengeance will have to do.Shade Cursed is the first entry in The Shadow Changeling Series, a Colin McCool Junkyard Druid spin-off series set in M.D. Massey's Druidverse urban fantasy setting.If you enjoy dark urban fantasy books featuring haunted antiheroes in the tradition of Snape, Walker Boh, and Constantine, you'll love this story about a human changeling prince fighting to overcome the tragedy of his tortured past.Grab your copy of the first novel in this urban fantasy trilogy today!What Readers Are Saying:MD Massey's stories are excellent! The research on the Fae is excellent and helps the story flow and provide things to look up. All round fantastic literature for a really good price." ~Johns F."The Junkyard Druid series are really fun reads. Well thought out, engaging, with a cast of characters you can get behind! 100% recommend!" ~Nick H."An amazing world building author. The characters and plot lines have you sucked in and begging for more! Love it!" ~Andrea L."His books are great, the Junkyard Druid series is amazing. I've read them all and hope there's more." ~George C."The Colin McCool series is amazing. Found myself enthralled by the action, storytelling and comedy from start to finish. desperately awaiting the next installment!" ~Mic R."...among the best urban fantasy you're going to find." ~Todd C.Review"M.D. Massey's skillful storytelling and entertaining plot twists combine to deliver a page-turning experience that's sure to delight urban fantasy fans everywhere. If you're looking for your next riveting, supernatural adventure, this series delivers in spades!" ~ New York Times bestseller Joseph Nassise"M.D. Massey's action-packed novels take the reader on a rollercoaster ride into an immersive universe of quirky gallows humor, nightmarish supernatural creatures, and high octane urban fantasy adventures. The pages are filled with paranormal suspense and a host of monstrous grotesques in plots that teem with twists and turns. And in all this perfectly streamlined chaos, one thing's for sure; Colin McCool's never going to stop fighting until he's saved Austin, Texas, and most likely the entire world."~ Kit Hallows, Author of The Order of Shadows Series"MD Massey's Druidverse is the perfect playground for urban fantasy fans who enjoy what we've come to expect in excellent storytelling from the genre. Fast pacing. Relatable characters you want to root for. 'Bad guys' you love to root against. With plenty of supernatural elements, mythology, and non-stop action, his world is richly crafted and complex, never feeling bogged down in the details--just how urban fantasy should be told. Master storytellers are able to balance excitement, anticipation, and suspense over a long series--and that's exactly what MD does in the Colin McCool books. A must-read!"~ Paul Sating, Author of the Zodiac series"M.D. Massey offers bantering humor and action-packed adventure reminiscent of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files... a wonderful read with a snarky hero, quirky characters, bizarre creatures, and dangerous situations."~Liz Konkel, Readers' Favorite Reviews

     With hydraulics, armor and advanced vision, Navigators are soldiers of the future, and in the game of survival of the fittest, they become the only hope man has to fight for their right to dominate. Enemy Lines After nearly being executed in a war zone, Staff Sergeant Leon Shield finds himself urgently recalled from deployment, and lands back home to a defeated country. In a matter of days, and without a single shot being fired, a new species has taken over the world. Determined to survive Armageddon, the only chance to fight back is to find a man called Ark, and use an untested technology to become Navigators. Blind Sighted Leon and Ark elect to train their new Navigator squad outside the wire, while Bill works with the weapons engineers to solve the bigger problems. The medical team are taking the critters apart, desperately looking for anything that will give them an edge. Killer Edge Our team match the enemy by creating a little critter magic of their own. New forces join them, and survivors add their weight to the fight, further changing what becomes possible. First contact is made, and believing they are running headlong into failure, Ark learns to take the lesser loss. Broken Arrow The aliens take a step too far and Ark decides it's time to go all in. Sending all of their Navigator battle teams to the nests, they uncover unexpected allies in a final showdown that will determine which side will rule earth.

    Humanity is on the brink of extinction. Iounelle, last of the elves, embarks on a dark journey of revenge for the eradication of her race by the garond army. One of the humans she rescues from the small village of Bittel knows how to find the sword of power, the Mattear Gram, the edge in the coming battle. Now if they can only stay alive long enough to get it...