In the Ancient Lands of the Pemiwegasset consists of two short stories about life in the Pemigewasset wilderness of central New Hampshire. The stories surround the misadventures of the author and two young men as they explore the rugged wilderness along the Kancamagus River.The church choirs of St. Cyril's and St. Cyprian's are run by former friends, now bitter rivals since their school days. Forced by a threatened clash of performance dates to co-ordinate arrangements, they are induced to co-operate more closely by an offer of sponsorship from a local business. Their first joint engagement at the home of an émigré Russian oligarch gains not entirely unwelcome publicity from the murder of their host during the evening. A later joint performance, with an orchestra supported by their own sponsor's American counterpart, leads to a discovery ending the quarrel between the two choir leaders.

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Scared of spiders? This short story will help you to overcome this fear and maybe you'll even begin to take an interest in the spiders in your garden and document your findings. Its all about how a little bit of knowledge can change our perceptions of the things we fear most.Lola, the spider lady, came to the club to introduce the women to the world of spiders. She knew she would have to win them over by telling them about some of the interesting techniques that spiders used to catch their prey but it threw her a bit when one woman screamed at the sight of a big hairy spider and another person got up and ran from the room. Trying harder now, she showed them some slides and soon a few of the women came over to view Goldie, the big hairy spider that had initially scared them.The woman who had run from the room returned and soon asked a few questions and in no time at all she became Lola's biggest fan and even started a spider diary of her own. Here she recorded the activities of the spiders in her own garden and also introduced her family to the world of spiders.So if you have a fear of spiders, this short story might help you to overcome it.

Jack Straw is leaving Guatemala, while his girlfriend is staying behind in Central America. After a pleasant farewell Jack heads north into the sometimes violent state of Chiapas. Poor travel planning forces Jack to make a risky border crossing into Mexico.Follow humankind as they enter and live through the Singularity.

Lexi's kids love the Jared Strong novels, written by Kyle, who beheads a snowman to hide his villain’s ‘weapon’ inside. Unfortunately, the snowman was for Lexi’s TV show. Can there be more than unlikely friendship for a woman afraid to get close and a man with childhood shadows? Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller. For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer’s block--until he sees the snowman on his lawn and he realizes this is the perfect place for his villain to hide the weapon. He digs into the snowman to discover two things: the weapon fits in the body just under the head, and the snowman was supposed to be the back drop for Lexi’s next show. From this improbable beginning comes friendship. Can there be more for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood? Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

Their mission? Save the world—and each other!A Military Precision Heroes romanceDr. Caitlin Willows must create a cure for a terrifying new biological weapon. Zak Ramsey's assignment? Keep her alive long enough to do it. As part of an elite squad, he knows how to respond to deadly threats, but nothing prepares him for falling for Caitlin. They hold the fate of humanity in their hands. Controlling their desires is the more difficult task...

"The Tree of Life" is a classic science fiction novelette by Catherine L. Moore (pen name C. L. Moore). This is a great story, offering a good sampling of Moore\'s "Weird Tales" output from the 1930\'s. C. L. Moore wrote alongside her husband, Harry Kuttner. The two became acquainted after Kuttner wrote her a letter, thinking (due to her pen name) that she was a man. Going by her initials was largely a practical matter; at the time Catherine Moore was writing, there was a strong prejudice that science fiction writing should be masculine, and female authors had a very difficult time getting an audience. Most notable female science fiction authors either used initials or gender-neutral pseudonyms, for a good many years after that era. It wasn\'t until fans dug up the obituary of James Tiptree Jr.\'s mother that "he" was identified as Alice Sheldon. After all these years, "The Tree of Life" remains a great read, and excellent introduction to the works of Catherine, or C. L. Moore.

Amelia usually loves Christmas, but this year is her first one alone since her husband passed away – though she's not quite by herself. Somehow, she's been lumbered with a menagerie of pets over the holidays, no thanks to the new village vet closing the local kennels. Between a parrot, two tortoises and god-knows-how-many baby mice, Amelia ends up seeing a lot more of Jules the vet than she planned to. And despite her neighbours' fury for the man who shut down a local institution, she can't help enjoying every moment she spends with Jules. She tells herself it doesn't really matter as surely Jules will be driven out of the village by this time next year. But as Amelia's about to discover... ...love isn't just for Christmas!

A fantastic collection of thirteen witty short stories from the British-Canadian short story writer and novelist Robert Barr.