Soon, Dusty is able to accomplish a great deal: she works long hours and is made senior partner at her firm, she keeps her own flat, and she falls hopelessly and irresponsibly in love with a married man. But, when her father telephones to report some disturbing news, Dusty must return home for the winter. There, heartbroken but still dutiful, Dusty finally reunites with her oldest friends.         First published in the US as part of her encouraging book of missives to aspiring writers, The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club, “Dusty’s Winter” is essential Maeve. Inspiring and down-to-earth, her stories are full of the stuff of everyday life. Ireland’s “best-loved writer of her generation,” Maeve Binchy often wrote about ordinary life in small-town Ireland, and she is fondly remembered for the warmth and generosity of her prose.   Maeve Binchy has received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Book Awards in 1999 and the Irish PEN/A.T. Cross Award in 2007 and is the author of many bestselling books including Maeve’s Times, Chestnut Street, and A Week in Winter.   An eBook short.

    But is it a mistake, where does the money come from, and can Kitkat get through New Year's Day without its owner asking for the money back?This is a 7,000-word short story.

     The mass die-offs had been a warning unheeded. Before society realized the danger, the Earth had inexorably begun a transformation into a place where life could not survive. A small group found shelter in the Arc, an underground refuge safe from the toxins ravaging the surface. After centuries of darkness, humanity’s second chance is running out—and Raven Wilder knows it. Her job fixing the machinery in the Arc makes her aware of how close everything is to breaking down. When the systems fail, the last survivors of the human race will suffocate in the tunnels meant to protect them from the deadly air outside—starting with the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, in an example of history repeating itself, those in charge dismiss her concerns. When her six-year-old begins showing signs of oxygen deprivation, Raven refuses to go quietly into oblivion. She will break every rule to keep her daughter alive.

    On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.“The Grownup,” originally appeared as “What Do You Do?” in George R. R. Martin’s Rogues anthology.

    Each story is accompanied by a ghastly illustration from the mind of Andy Sciazko... the kind of illustrations that will disturb you in the best way possible.

    But there it was, floating in the water. Still, if she’d needed a sign that she was meant to use her magic to help her grandpa solve the town’s troubles, she couldn’t ask for a better one.Except, her police chief grandfather wants her far from danger, and his assistant police chief, though too sexy to ignore, is keeping some of the evidence to himself.Either way, Opal’s having none of it. She’s going to prove she’s a valuable asset, and the best way to do that is to solve the crime. The police are dragging their feet, and Opal knows if they don’t crack the case soon, someone might get away with murder. If she needs help, she’ll call her BFF who may just be a psychic. Grab your copy of Murder and Moonstones today to immerse yourself in murder, magic and mayhem! Murder and Moonstones is the first book in the Crystal Cove Cozy Mystery series. If you enjoy lighthearted, paranormal mysteries with a fun romance, then you’ll love Cindy Stark’s mystical adventures!

    For fans of Stephen King, David Gerrold, and Richard Matheson, picture this: the world is being eaten by monsters and there’s nothing you can do about it.

    But upon arrival, they discover ravaged military equipment, a mass grave, and a platoon of hostile forces already in retreat. As the team investigates, they uncover the secret that the island has contained for centuries. For the first time, modern man will come face-to-face with a being from beyond the stars. A member of a deadly intergalactic invasive species, the beast is ravenous, cunning, lacking emotion or empathy. With his team dwindling, Seymour must fight to keep the beast from leaving the island, and to save humanity from the terrifying extraterrestrial known as The Pilot.

    Where he will almost certainly be alone in the dark.Almost.

    She started seeing them when she got on the bus that morning. She didn't know what they meant...until she saw them run out...

    A NEW NOVELLA FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE TURTLE BOY & KIN. When they were kids, Gillian and John used to visit the local cemetery every Sunday after church. It was a curious place for children to frequent, but they had their reasons. The main attraction was the lofty hill that separated the cemetery from the elementary school, and the act of tumbling down it like Jack and Jill was a ritualistic escape from the abuse they were suffering at their father's hands. It was an escape that lasted only until John's tragic death. Now, Gillian is all grown up. Married with two children, she has managed over the years to force the trauma of her nightmarish childhood into the darkest recesses of her mind. But lately there are dreams, and in them Gillian sees impossibly vivid reenactments of the horrors she endured as a child. Nightly, she sees John die all over again, only not in the way she remembers. And something else is in those dreams, stalking her, a terrible figure with wire-hanger hands and a plastic bag wrapped around its rotten face. A monster whose reach starts to extend beyond the boundaries of sleep into the waking world, threatening everything Gillian holds dear. A monster she once called Daddy.

     "Now start sawing..." Meet Jason. With his loyal band of maniacs by his side, he's living the dream - torturing, raping and slaughtering his way across the sunshine state. Depravity, debasement and death are his mantras. Meet The Girl. Abducted by Jason's freewheeling gang of murderers, she's found herself trapped in an unending nightmare of atrocity and torment. The charismatic Jason is a psychopath with a sense of purpose - to bring his victims down to his level - and The Girl is his new favourite project. But his prisoner has plans of her own... With a statewide manhunt closing in fast on Jason, he and his gang are running out of time. Their killing spree and their lives are in danger of coming to a bloody end. Sanctuary is their only hope... And they're about to find a place...a secret place, known to only a very select, esteemed few. A place that never closes its doors. A place that welcomes all, regardless of their sins. Soon The Girl, Jason and all his devoted followers will come to learn that once you've walked the hallowed, ornate halls of The Club, there's only one way out. And it'll be hell to pay...

    Little did I know that a magical calamity would threaten the big day.You know the real kicker? It was Mom—a renowned magical healer—who came down with a mystery malaise on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t remember a time where she had anything worse than a sniffle. To see her bedridden scared me to my core.To examine the facts and solve the case, I had to think fast before Mom’s condition got any worse. With a new werewolf beau in her life, half the town of Tumbling Springs were whispering behind Mom’s back, the loudest of them a hex witch with a nasty view of weres. On the other hand, a new business rival in the next town over had Mom’s healing services on the rocks. The question was—did either witch have enough motive to do something as awful as all that to Mom?If you enjoy paranormal cozy mysteries with a seasonal Christmas flare, this holiday special is for you.

    But will I escape detection down under when he gets closer to finding out just how obsessive my need for him really is?And when secrets are shared, and truths revealed, will I find out my obsession for him pales in comparison to what I discover under the Sydney sunset?*Australian Obsession is an insta-everything standalone instalove romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.