Arianne Leone, a mountain lion shapeshifter, owns an art gallery in Deep Ellum, a popular tourist attraction and haven for musicians for decades. Together, they are charged with guarding the one who bears the Hermit's Stone, an ancient artifact that has held worlds together—and kept them separate—for eons. Possession of the stone falls to Ari's friend and art student, nineteen-year-old Nico Garcia. When Nico's parents are killed in an attempt to destroy him, Ari and Mac must set aside their differences and work together, protecting Nico at all costs…

    Follow his adventures as he faces ruffians, dragons, the wrath of the Clergy, the intrigue of the nobles and fends off invading armies as he tries to win the heart of a girl he never had the courage to speak to.

     Retired stage magician turned professional mystic debunker, John Barker, finds his sceptical beliefs under fire when he encounters a strange man who claims to be Merlin. After several unsuccessful attempts to rid himself of his increasingly unpredictable companion, John finally relents and agrees to assist in the man’s crazy mission, to find the true grave of the mythical King Arthur. Following a hidden code contained within the text of a soft porn novel, they gather a growing entourage of hippies, mystic seekers and alien hunters as they leave a trail of chaos across the south west of England. When the group comes to the attention of a TV Reality Show producer looking to make a fast profit out of harmless eccentrics and fading celebrities, John decides it’s time to take charge and prove one way or the other, the identity of this mysterious person who claims to be a fictional wizard. “Whose reality is this anyway?” is a warm-hearted tale of what it means to be an individual and to follow one’s dreams. With his trademark cast of oddball characters and absurd situations, David Luddington once more transports us into a world where who you are is more important than what you are. “David Luddington epitomizes the elusive quality of writing that he perpetuates - the British Comedy.” – Grady Harp

    This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

    Please read all the way through.)) Alex is dead. Dead, and apparently with a one way ticket to a place that only the worst of the worst go. All for a simple choice he made about a product his company owned. Damned for all time. Luckily for him, he’s about to be given a chance. Another choice to make. He can instead, return to the land of the living, though his soul would belong to another. Except the world he’s being sent to, isn’t the same one he came from. It’s not even a similar period in time, but from something long past in history. The dark ages. And part of the deal to live again, is to make pacts with others. Pacts that would bind others in secrecy. That they could never speak of what they'd done. Deals for anything, and everything. From things as simple as a meal, to their very lives. How much would you give of yourself to live on in the world is an easy question. The better question, is how much would you take from others? If Alex wants to keep living, to keep his soul from being sent to the darkest corner of hell, he’ll have to ask himself that question. Daily. Warning: This novel explores dark subjects, and what people will give up of themselves, and each other, to get what they want. The main character is written as a real person in a tough situation, and will not make choices that line up with societal and cultural norms. It contains adult themes and moral ambiguities. As with my previous work, explicit scenes are found within. It has violence and a harem relationship. This is the Omnibus edition of the 1st Fostering Faust Trilogy. It contains all three books of the first trilogy. Only the description of the first book has been included to prevent spoilers from occurring. (Product Page for Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...) (Product Page for Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...) (Product Page for Book 3: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...)

    No job. No prospects. He lives in one of the most crime-ridden apartment blocks on the west coast. His girlfriend uses him for a place to stay. His father is on life support. Rent is due next week… Games are Nick’s passion. He's played them all - well, the old screen ones anyway. He's never been able to afford an Immersion tank and the amazing games that come with them, but he's seen the web casts. He knows the names of every superstar pixel runner. His heroes. So when he's picked out of the crowd to participate in a competitive, quest-driven dark fantasy RPG, his brain melts. Could this be his opportunity to get ahead? Or will he be chewed up by the machine, just another failed pixel runner by the side of the road? STRENGTH BUILD is a LitRPG serial. The Fields of Durandor is the first episode, with more to come in the coming weeks!

    The Empire, the structure that held civilization together for a thousand years, is collapsing. Trying to hold things together is the Corps of Imperial Gladius, one of the pillars originally created to support and protect the Empire throughout its long life. A Gladius is a genetically bred ultimate soldier, the best soldier that ever existed. Despite that, the Emperor, a deeply paranoid sociopath, fears the Corps and is trying to destroy them, regardless of what that will do to the Empire's security.A surviving portion of a devastated Gladius legion arrives on the isolated and decadent world of Cauldwell to be confronted with the fact they must once again take up their ancestral trade, war. The appearance of the legion is probably the most newsworthy event on Cauldwell for the last century and star reporter Shana Ettranty decides to do a series of stories about them for her network. That decision radically changes her life when she decides to undergo Gladius recruit training to get a better perspective on the Corps. As she continues, Shana learns deeply buried secrets about Cauldwell... and about herself. Those secrets will change the course of human history. In the end, they destroy the Empire.This is a military science fiction book written by a retired Army officer whose viewpoint has ranged from being in the ranks to general staff, not just an action book. The story asks some very tough questions about survival and sacrifice made to let humanity survive. In it, the Corps and Shana are forced to make some hard decisions. Are their answers right or wrong? In the end, only the reader can decide.

    When an opportunity to join the Mechanized Infantry presents itself, Pete is first in line. He knows that he's going to get shot at one way or another, but the idea of sitting in a warm and more importantly, dry mechanized suit appeals to him almost beyond reason. While still training in the jungle, Pete's squad is called out to intervene in a skirmish in a nearby village. Of course, the Marines haven't seen fit to certify his squad with ordnance. The fact that they'll be up against a platoon of squishies doesn't convince him that's it's any better of an idea and things turn quickly to crap when they discover the squishies are protected by grav-tanks. Pete, Popeye and Olive is a fast paced, short-story with plenty of action.

    Unfortunately, the Bispham is on duty, and he's taken exception to the Rove Captain and his men."Master of the Winds," by Sharon Lee follows two hopeful young people during their test to become the Kitemaster's apprentice. Only one can succeed.Lee and Miller join forces in "Candlelight," the story of a family-by-intent, and the craft that holds them together.

    Within its winding streets and shadowy back alleys, merchants deal in raw prophecy mined from an ancient fragment of the World That Was, and even the poorest man may earn a glimpse of the future. Yet not all such prophecies can be trusted. When Corporal Armand Callis of the city guard stumbles upon a dark secret, he finds himself on the run from his former comrades, framed for a crime he did not commit. Only the Witch Hunter Hanniver Toll knows the truth of his innocence. Together the pair must race against time to save Excelsis from a cataclysm that would drown the city in madness and fear.

    The weather is fine as well as their surroundings. But their peaceful living was suddenly disrupted by something dark and sinister. Shelby is struck by a strange creature that made the dog ill while also absorbing some of the creature’s powers. Steve is forced to travel far and wide in search of a cure. During this time he discovers that Herobrine is behind sending the strange creature to Steve’s village. li> Will Steve be able to find a cure for Shelby before it becomes too late? Find out the answers in this new story of adventure and friendship brought to us by Mark Mulle, one of Amazon’s best-selling author. Grab this book now and be amazed as you enter the exciting journey of Steve and Shelby in the Over World. This unofficial Minecraft book is not authorized, endorsed or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or any other person or entity owning or controlling the rights of the Minecraft name, trademark or copyrights. All characters, names, places and other aspects of the game described herein are trademarked and owned by their respective owners. Minecraft®/ /TM & ©2009-2016 Mojang/Notch.

    Joined now by a team of Special Forces operators from an alternate and skewed timeline with their own agendas and motivations, Hunter now finds himself without direction. Since escaping Ancient Rome four years earlier, his only goal was to survive long enough to enact his scheme to remove Agrippina from power and place Vespasian, a once and future emperor of Rome, on the throne in her place. But all his well laid plans came to a fruitless end when he and his friends narrowly escaped a grisly fate at the hands of Agrippina. However, there was one thing that survived Hunter’s encounter with the empress to focus his mind. The orb. He has often thought on it, but has never really understood it, yet now comes the moment when he must come to grips with the fact that only by understanding its nature will he be able to harness its power and send everyone home. The orb should have been his sole source of focus from the very beginning, but it was only after his recent failure to apprehend Agrippina that this fact was fully realized. Found in the rubble of Agrippina’s villa was a note left for him by his deceased friend Marcus Varus, tasking him with a mission to track down ancient Druids who may be able to help him. Now, after years trapped in Antiquity, Hunter must finally seek answers to the central mystery that has plagued him since becoming history's first recorded time traveler. Armed with fresh clues and a final destination, Hunter and his company embark on a new quest, one that will take them beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire in search of centuries old information about a relic few even know exists. But a darkness accompanies them. While the orb is a powerful tool, it is also a deadly device in the hands of those who underestimate or do not understand its dark potential. With its ability to grant certain users the ability to manipulate time, also comes a degenerative property that can reduce an individual into a simpering, doddering fool, or warp him into a tyrannical despot. The orb’s ability to do this is well documented in both Caligula and Claudius, and perhaps Agrippina too, but it is Hunter who should be most concerned by its influence. He has interacted with it far more than anyone else, and as he and his friends begin their odyssey, his challenge will be greater than simply discovering the truth about the orb’s origins, but overcoming and surviving its ill effects as he struggles to maintain control of his mind.

    Four mini-subs are sunk or captured. The fate of the fifth sub, I-16, is unknown.Late at night, nearly three quarters of a century later: Marine biologist Jack Ferrell sails into a mysterious fog off of Kauai’s Na Pali coast.Dense fog banks don’t form in Hawaii . . . or so he thought. They certainly don’t glow in the dark.Concealed within the mist is the sloop Julie Ann floundering in a rogue remnant of drift net. A young woman’s scream pierces the damp air, and he rushes to her rescue.The next morning, Jack dives to check the damage done to the reef by the net and discovers a sunken WWII Japanese mini-sub and the answer to a Pearl Harbor enigma: the fate of I-16. But in a depression in the coral, lies a greater mystery: a human skull the size of a grapefruit.Through a colleague, he learns the skull is from an extinct species of child-sized human being that lived 12,000 years ago on the remote Indonesian island of Flores. But this skull is no 12,000-year-old fossil.In search of answers, Jack, the woman from the Julie Ann, two close friends, and a select team of scientists plunge into a subterranean world deep within the rugged mountains of the mystical Na Pali coast. And what should have been a routine scientific excursion becomes a deadly encounter with the unknown and a race against time when the expedition battles the elements, personal fears, and even one of their own to unearth the key to the origin of the skull and the surprising truth behind one of Hawaii’s famous legends: The Menehune. This is a new release of a previously published edition.

    As far as his eyes could see, he was the only one left alive. You might think he was pretty upset about the whole situation and he was, for awhile. There were dead bodies and nothing but desolation and it's true that he sat around a lot and wished that he was dead, too. For a long time he wondered why he remained and all the others were taken. Then he thought, it doesn't matter. It just is. Anyway, sitting around just got boring. So he equipped himself with tools and weapons and set out with his faithful sidekick so see what there was left to see and do what there was left to do. He wasn't disappointed, because since the fall of Humanity, the world had changed in a thousand different ways too small to notice at first and some so fantastic he couldn't believe it. As the days passed into weeks, he discovered something amazing: there really are monsters in the dark." What if a pandemic plague struck the planet and when you woke up one morning, everyone else was dead? What if you were a fourteen year old boy with an excellent imagination and the will to survive? What if you found that something else was out there, hunting you? This is the story of Brady, a teenager who quickly discovers that although people may be scarce in the world of the Abandonment, other things are arising to take their place. He is master of all he surveys but discovers that the world has changed and that he has gained some new exciting abilities. With no adults to tell him what to do and no peers to judge him, Brady discovers that he is capable of great deeds and this is a good thing, because things long quiet are waking up from the sleep of ages. With his faithful dog, Max, and a host of non-human assistants, Brady discovers that there are monsters in the dark and that deep within his own heart, a hero dwells. This post-apocalyptic novel straddles the line between fantasy and magic surrealism and is intended for teenage audiences and beyond. Half survival tale and half magical odyssey, this is a hero's journey into the darkness of the monster's lair and back out again. Action, horror, and mystery blend together with a sense of wonder and loss at a world gone forever. If the world ended tomorrow and you were still alive, then what? In this novel, the main character decides to survive and finds that, aside from food, water and a safe place to sleep, his most necessary tool for survival is imagination and a good, sharp sword! This novel is lavishly illustrated with 50 beautifully crafted drawings by Brian Estes. The story is set in the present-day cities of Bangor and Brewer in central Maine after the advent of an airborne virus has destroyed all but a few humans on earth. Unless these people can find each other, the species is doomed to extinction. This reconnection of the few straggling survivors becomes one of the central themes of the story. Perfect for readers looking for adventure, ghosts, werewolves, and things coming to life that were never meant to do so. A ripping good tale!

    He strikes in broad daylight, yet no one ever sees him.His target?Garden gnomes ...