ABOUT THE SHORT STORY’S PRICE: Hello, you lovely people. Odd to talk about money straight up, but I know that some of you might be thinking, £1.99/US$2.99/CDN$3.99/A$3.99 is a lot for a short story. Let me explain how it works in the UK. A rate of 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) applies to eBooks. This doesn’t apply to ‘real’ paper books. That means 33p of the £1.99 goes straight to the British government. Amazon takes around 2p to deliver the story to your Kindle, then takes another 48p as its cut. The remainder, £1.16, goes to me. That's not a great deal, I hope you agree. A roughly similar story applies in foreign territories. In these times of falling sales, and authors losing their contracts, and only one in seven traditionally published authors being able to write fulltime, stories like this are a vital way of YOU supporting the authors whose books you enjoy. So THANK YOU for your support! Think of it in terms of a pint of beer or a cup of coffee: they cost £2-4, depending on where you live in the UK. This story will give you more enjoyment (I think!) than either of those things, and last for a longer time, and cost you less money. This is the third time I have self-published a short story. (Massive thanks here to Pete Simpson, who designed the cover for me!) It’s been an exciting project since the day I did the poll on Facebook, asking you lovely people which of my characters you wanted me to write about. Centurion Tullus won out, narrowly, and this is the result. The one hundred and something people who backed the Kickstarter campaign got to read this story almost 7 months ago, but now you can too. Oh, what's it about? The war of the Batos, or the Pannonian War, which took place between AD 6 and 9, a general emergency that had almost 100.000 legionaries sent to modern-day Croatia to sort out the rebels. Enjoy the story, and please email me if you have any questions about it or anything else – ben@benkane.net Ben

    With her mother locked up for murder, all Julie cares about is protecting her younger sister, Frankie. But penniless and alone on the streets of Liverpool, Julie realises that there’s only one sure fire way to make cash fast – the oldest trade.The men mean nothing to Julie, until she meets Ralph Goldstein, an ex-con who’ll do whatever it takes to make his way to top. And the only man Julie can trust.Separately, Ralph and Julie’s lives are filled with risk and danger. But when they meet, their blend of personality and ambition could be the best thing that ever happened … or the worst.Will their pasts be their downfall, or will they make it big...together?

    Each day, victims are found stabbed with their clothes removed and their faces ripped off. A verse from the carol is daubed on the wall in blood. Will Quigg find the killer before he is forced to resign? Also, Quigg must choose between two women, or must he? And can he persuade the Chief to let Sergeant Begone be his partner on a permanent basis?

    SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But after narrowly escaping a hostage situation, she yearns to return home to Avalon. There, Sophie discovers the surprising rewards of small-town life—including an unexpected passion for Noah Shepherd, the local veterinarian. FIRESIDE Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. But when life throws him a curveball in the form of AJ, the son he's never met, Bo and his newly hired publicist Kimberly van Dorn begin to realize that they both have a lot to learn about the game of life…and putting love first. LAKESHORE CHRISTMAS Maureen Davenport is finally getting her shot to direct Avalon's annual holiday pageant, but her storybook notion of Christmas is disrupted when Eddie Haven is assigned to assist her. As they spar over every detail of the pageant, their passion for the perfect performance begins to blossom into something more.

    

    A WARPED LEADER. THE PROMISE IS TOO MUCH… DI Tracy Collier is about to find out that some people are as damaged as she is. With someone going around killing, she struggles to find the link, the one clue that will break the case wide open and send her straight to the evil person who has led her on a merry dance. Crossword clues left at the scenes are confusing. Are they a smoke screen? Then the real reason behind them becomes clear, and Tracy is faced with one of the most hideous criminal masterminds she has ever dealt with to date. ‘The Lamp’ has formed a cult and is getting ‘the tribe’ to do the dirty work for them with a promise that is so ludicrous it should be laughable. But the tribe believe it—or do they? Regardless, for their own twisted reasons, they agree to the murder plan, but only one of the players in this wicked scenario will actually see all the light.

    DJ feels he can't trust anybody...not his right hand man, not his down ass bitch, not even his little brother, who wants nothing more than to follow in his very footsteps. DJ, like most gangstas, runs his empire with death at the end of his trigga finger, taking no shorts and no slips. Even though JJ is the cause of him being on top, envy and ill feelings in his heart, towards his baby brother influences him to just enough to justify his actions. Didi, DJ's main chick, does everything in her power to get DJ's ass to reach back for JJ, who's now homeless, living on the streets of Waterloo, Iowa, as a bum at the age of fourteen. Hate, envy, and pride, set in his eyes, blinding him of seeing past DJ's wants; and his wants only. JJ, refusing to ask for his brother's help, takes it upon himself and jumps into the drug game, learning as he comes up. No matter what JJ does, he can't hide his rapid come up from his brother. DJ, having so much hate and envy in his heart towards JJ, he puts his focus more on keeping JJ broke, than running his own empire, which crumbles, right beneath his feet. What will the end of such an ordeal bring?

    This is an exciting and funny story about a geek girl named Maya. Yes, she is a geek, a very cool geek at that, and when Maya and her family move into the old three-story house that belonged to Maya’s grandpa, she is not prepared for what lies waiting. Before long, her life becomes an incredible new adventure. With the encouragement of her best friend, Tammy, Maya learns to tackle many challenges, including Dexter Rose, the boy Maya has a little crush on (a very little one), and who is also her biggest class rival. If you’re a fan of the Diary of a Super Girl series, you are sure to enjoy this series too! It’s a fabulous series for girls 9 – 12.

    Run for cover, the Menaces are back in action! There's a BONE-anza of Menacing on offer after a rare dinosaur bone goes missing and Dennis's best pal, Gnasher, gets the blame! Can Dennis find Gnasher and get the bone back to the museum, or are the Menace team going to end up like everything else in the museum..? HISTORY! Menaces Unite!

    Unwilling to add to their burden any longer, Sadie travels west as a mail order bride—only to find that the man does not want her anymore. Alone and hundreds of miles from home, Sadie takes a job at the town’s General Store. And there she meets Dakota Blake, a handsome young Indian whose kindness immediately soothes Sadie’s broken heart. Although Dakota Blake and his tribe are tolerated by the town, they are far from accepted. Still, Dakota finds himself falling in love with this gentle and gracious woman. But prejudices run deep, and Dakota fears that he could never give Sadie the life she needs—even if it comes with all his love. Nor would the town allow it. But the heart is strong, and prejudice cannot withstand the force of true love.

    Some came to him in sleep while others seemed to appear at random through his musings. He had time travelled, in a way, to a place where the darkness of his abusive childhood occurred and alongside, also came the dark and sometimes painful reflections.These are the second collection of such thoughts, a continuation of The Dark Ramblings of the Phoenix.They are real and raw; emotionally explicit and even occasionally, healing. Walk with him through his poetic journey as he takes you to those tiny cracks that most of us will never see.Note: Please take special care that the writings in this book may be explicit in nature. If you have been abused in any way they may be triggering for you. Be considerate to yourself while you read.

    Ten years later, they’re all billionaires, but they’re still alone. Follow the three men through their journeys to find true love as they each find their perfect bride.Steven: When the younger sister of a woman he used to date shows up at his house with a child she claims is his, he convinces her they’d be better off living with him than simply taking child support from him. He finds himself wildly attracted to the new “nanny” and sets out to win her heart.Justin: When a relatively new employee comes to his office to talk about some trouble in the Human Resources department, Justin feels such a strong physical attraction to her, he’s ready to throw all his beliefs about dating a subordinate out the window. Sarah takes one look at Justin, and knows she wants nothing more than to be his. Will they be able to get past the fact they work closely together and make the relationship work?Cody: After being rear-ended by a beautiful woman on his way home from the Super Bowl, Cody realizes he’s found the only woman in the world who is just right for him. How could he possibly have fallen for the only woman in the world so independent that his billions are a liability?

    On his way home to Texas and their family’s cattle ranch, he stops to investigate a single-vehicle accident. The driver is missing, the SUV abandoned and a search into nearby woods brings him closer to a woman he tried to forget. Are you ready for more exciting suspense featuring Aiden of the Quinn family from USA TODAY Bestselling Author Barb Han?

    Set in the Irish Catholic community of 1950s Liverpool and in Ireland, this is a saga of working class families, living on the edge of poverty yet bound together by humour and loyalty, gossip, grumbling and endless cups of tea. It is also the gripping, moving - and shocking - story of a girl betrayed by a man trusted and revered by the people of the Four Streets and of that community’s revenge, played out over the course of a drama in three acts: THE FOUR STREETS, HIDE HER NAME and THE BALLYMARA ROAD.

    Show me what I own. She has a not-so-little secret. No guy has ever been able to get her off. They try to cross that line with her. They might get close but ultimately they fail. They leave holding the bag. ...Or, should I say, holding the cuffs and whips. Rinse. Repeat. Until she met me: A self-made billionaire who’s into BDSM. I want to make her mine. I want to own her beyond just as my one night auction prize. I want to give her all the pleasures any man can offer a woman. I want her to surrender and submit to my commands. I love hearing her say..."Yes, Sir...Yes, Daddy" She wants to trust me. She wants to have faith in me. But how could she? With all the men in her life constantly taking advantage of her and disappointing her. I know deep down she wants me. But things aren’t that simple. Nothing worth fighting for ever is. ***This is a full length, stand-alone, dark billionaire romance with a happily ever after ending. This edition includes an epilogue to the main story along with several hot bonus books for your continued reading pleasure. Come along for the ride ;-)***