A literary tribute to the turn of the century’s pop punk revival bands, this collection of original short stories more closely resembles a musical album than a traditional novel. Jump in for a light, self-sufficient story or read its entirety for the complete underlying narrative, following two adoptive brothers on their adventures up and down the rugged Northern California coast.A literary tribute to the turn of the century’s pop punk revival bands, this collection of original short stories more closely resembles a musical album than a traditional novel. Jump in for a light, self-sufficient story or read its entirety for the complete underlying narrative, following two adoptive brothers on their adventures up and down the rugged Northern California coast. Moses and Lee, accompanied by their trusty mutt, Killer, stand fearless in the face of conflict, but life is beginning to change. With the influx of danger and new threats on the horizon, it’s only a matter of time before the boys discover their limits…

Ms. Halo is a unique, comical look at what colonization and first contact could mean for human life. No cities are destroyed, no federations are formed. For the alien overlord Ms. Halo, humans are valued for their companionship and cuteness, but that love comes with a price.Centuries of history are coming to an end. Food is scarce. Space is dwindling. And the beloved alien overlord is getting too old. After generations of dependence, the leaders of a small colony realize that they have to escape. How will they get a group of inbred, inexperienced, terrified people to venture into the great unknown?Ms. Halo is a unique, comical look at what colonization and first contact could mean for human life. No cities are destroyed, no federations are formed. For the alien overlord Ms. Halo, humans are valued for their companionship and cuteness, but that love comes with a price.As Bob Barker said, "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered."

Life as a galactic minion can be tough - you have to be cunning, wise, patient, conniving; and above all, willing to kiss a lot of backside. That's where Grench comes in. Not only is he the ultimate suck-up, but he has a foolproof plan to move up in the kingdom...I'm not who they think I am. A docile girl who meekly obeys her stepmother and stepsisters. Some kind of sick angel who cheerfully bears their mistreatment. That's what I WANT them to think. Because then they won't suspect what I'm really up to.The ball, the prince - it's all part of my plan to come out on top. Stepmother and her demented daughters will pay for every floor I have scoured, every sneer I have borne. They don't know about the white magic, how I use it to enhance myself. They can't see that my heart is black as midnight, rotten as a poisoned apple.They're about to find out.Book Description•Length: Novella (about 100 pages)•Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale•Mood: Dark / Humorous•Content: Moderate violence. A few mild sexual references. No sex scenes or erotica.•Audience: Teens and Adults

A fractured fairytale that twists the story of Cinderella into a dark and sinister retelling.I'm not who they think I am. A docile girl who meekly obeys her stepmother and stepsisters. Some kind of sick angel who cheerfully bears their mistreatment. That's what I WANT them to think. Because then they won't suspect what I'm really up to.The ball, the prince - it's all part of my plan to come out on top. Stepmother and her demented daughters will pay for every floor I have scoured, every sneer I have borne. They don't know about the white magic, how I use it to enhance myself. They can't see that my heart is black as midnight, rotten as a poisoned apple.They're about to find out.Book Description•Length: Novella (about 100 pages)•Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale•Mood: Dark / Humorous•Content: Moderate violence. A few mild sexual references. No sex scenes or erotica.•Audience: Teens and Adults

Raife Crenshaw is tasked with taking down the world's most powerful and brutal intellect: Cain, a lab-created monster of a man who's poised to murder tens of millions. But Raife's handlers want Cain brought back alive. Can an ingenious disguise make the difference in time, or will it be Raife's ultimate undoing?They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.Only those with strong nerves would survive.Refugees, a part of David Dalglish’s 2010 anthology A Land of Ash under the author’s former pseudonym, is now complete with its original opening as well as foreword from Dalglish.

In the tropical region of Horinth, Rodeena's water meditation is disturbed by the appearance of a rugged local concealing a formidable secret.They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.Only those with strong nerves would survive.Refugees, a part of David Dalglish’s 2010 anthology A Land of Ash under the author’s former pseudonym, is now complete with its original opening as well as foreword from Dalglish.

A tribal old man, after the demise of his beloved wife considered an age old giant mango tree as his lone friend in the world. Unfortunately, to get a job for his unemployed son on whose income his family depended, he had to fell this vast tree. The story describes the pain and agony of the old tribal in course of murdering his only friend in the world.They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.Only those with strong nerves would survive.Refugees, a part of David Dalglish’s 2010 anthology A Land of Ash under the author’s former pseudonym, is now complete with its original opening as well as foreword from Dalglish.

They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.They were coming, and no one could stop them.The Yellowstone Caldera has exploded, and survivors who fled the devastation made their way east. Cities such as Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. prepared for their arrival. It meant rationing – and rational thought. People on both sides would face tests of their nerve and resilience.Only those with strong nerves would survive.Refugees, a part of David Dalglish’s 2010 anthology A Land of Ash under the author’s former pseudonym, is now complete with its original opening as well as foreword from Dalglish.

Emily wants to be sure that Santa gets her Christmas wish, and according to schoolyard rumor, that's a job for snow angels. Trouble is, there's not much opportunity to make snow angels in Florida. So Emily has to come up with Plan B..... A short, short story.In a world devastated by corruption, Father Darcy has lost his faith. After letting down the very people he had pledged to protect, he decides to take a pilgrimage across the dangerous English countryside in an attempt to find his mission again.There he meets men hungry for his blood. A vicious, relentless landscape. And two boys more dangerous than anything he has ever seen before. But can he save these children, or will they his cause change forever?This is a Reacher short story set before the events of The Running Game.

Father Darcy has lost his faith and takes a pilgrimage to find his mission again. There he meets men hungry for his blood. A vicious, relentless landscape. And two boys more dangerous than anything he has ever seen before. But can he save these children, or will they his cause change forever?In a world devastated by corruption, Father Darcy has lost his faith. After letting down the very people he had pledged to protect, he decides to take a pilgrimage across the dangerous English countryside in an attempt to find his mission again.There he meets men hungry for his blood. A vicious, relentless landscape. And two boys more dangerous than anything he has ever seen before. But can he save these children, or will they his cause change forever?This is a Reacher short story set before the events of The Running Game.

Having served in the Royal Navy, Police force, and currently working for MI5. Dave Slater finds himself found guilty of murder. A crime he did not commit. A couple of years later and after his release from prison, he is once again accused of committing another murder. Is it a Coincidence or just bad luck? Being in the Right Place at the Wrong Time.Legal mystery, suspense, smart fictionDion demands justice and a rewarding career making a difference in people's lives, but... be careful what you demand. Nothing is ever as it seems with his clients and they drive him crazy. His girlfriend and clients try to be good, but it's hard work keeping them all out of jail. Justice narrowly prevails at this nexus of the individual and larger questions about justice.A chance encounter in a lounge gets Dion involved with a "come here, get away" new girl friend. She's an ex-police detective who seems to have a warehouse full of problems. She is running because of a death threat from her corrupt husband, who could attack her at any time.She involves Dion in interrelated cases in which an injured veteran is accused of hacking, and his friend is accused of vehicular homicide. "Of course" both are innocent, even though they hide multiple secrets protecting others, that Dion must unravel.A complex legal mystery with subplots, this is "smart fiction," in which very few liberties are taken with the realistic experience of law. The reader is challenged to figure out the mystery - nothing is completely hidden. In the courtroom it emphasizes real legal practice. In the field, it's down to earth. It's a solid and entertaining probe of justice, with a little humor mixed in.This story takes its inspiration from "Boston Legal" with its unique defenses and humor, with a splash of "Ally McBeal" with its romance, and "Perry Mason" with its attention to investigation and law, and "Conviction" with its emphasis on thoroughness and justice. It is similar in complexity to the British TV series, "Broadchurch." If you like authors like James Grippando and Lincoln Child, you might like this story.

A funny short story about an artist, Cyra O'Grady, her beautiful new extension, bumbling bureaucrats and disappointing friends, featuring plenty of idiots. Cyra contacts her boyfriend in the hope of some help and support, but he too is unable to help. However, things are not as they seem.Eventually she decides on a novel plan of action.Artist Cyra O'Grady is very pleased with her life, one might almost say smug, until that fateful day when a dumper truck, complete with idiot driving it, demolishes part of her new extension. Cyra's efforts to interest the police, fire service and council come to naught in a fog of incompetence and bureaucracy.Cyra is distraught until she thinks of her friends. Surely they will rally round to help her in this time of crisis. Won't they?

When Gayle and Sander meet on an environmental pirate ship, they promise each other to work against the evils aboard ship. Meanwhile, each has some issues to take care of: Gayle is obsessed with mermaids, and Sander is determined to discover the last remaining biological treasures of the ocean before his dad destroys them all.Gayle has mommy issues. Her mom left when she was eight, abandoning her in the hands of a drunk and unstable father. Oh, and her mom was also a mermaid. Sander has daddy issues. His dad is the CEO of KrakenGo, the largest renewable fuel company on the planet. Oh, and he's also destroying the planet. When Gayle and Sander find themselves on an environmental pirate ship, bound for the four corners of the earth to pillage and plunder what's left of the ocean's magnificent creatures, they agree to band together to stop this madness. Oh, and they still have parent issues...

It starts with a single bite, a morsel, a taste and then it builds to a dish, to a meal, to a banquet.Who is Spider Latham? Think John Wayne meets Miss Marple. When Spider is hired to do some private detective work for the Red Pueblo Museum, he doesn’t suspect it will cause a rift between his wife, Laurie, and himself. Museum Director Martin Taylor is desperate, and his son, Matt, is angry. Some wicked, faceless organization is bent on destroying the museum financially, and it’s about to succeed. After Spider arrives, the situation turns deadly when a killer uses an Anasazi ax from the museum’s tourist shop to bash in the skull of a charismatic playboy. Everyone has a motive for the murder, even Laurie’s handsome, rich relative who cozies up to her every chance he gets. The local Barney-Fife-type deputy arrests volatile Matt Taylor, whose only real crime is putting his trust in the wrong woman. Can Spider untangle the web of secrecy and lies surrounding the museum and save its Anasazi treasures before the Taylors lose it all? And in the process, can he save his own marriage? A cozy mystery with an edge, Trouble at the Red Pueblo is Book #1 in Liz Adair’s Spider Latham Red Rock Mystery Series set in Southern Utah’s spectacularly scenic canyon country. From InD’Tale Magazine (four-and-a-half star review): Spider Latham has a new fan! This scrumptious story by Liz Adair is a marvelously easy to read mystery, seasoned with rich descriptions of the red rock area of Arizona and Utah. The author draws in the reader with uniquely realistic story lines involving existing businesses and landmarks in the area. The characters are complex—so fleshed out and genuine, one would expect to see them firmly ensconced at the Museum, the local diner, or patrolling the area in an orange Yugo with flames painted on it. Readers will love the bantering dialogue between Spider and Laurie, and they’ll pull for the Stetson wearing cowboy deputy from Nevada. Well written, well researched, and well done, Ms. Adair!

Insects swarm. Fish swarm. Birds swarm. Even mammals move in mass migrations of complex intelligence. Professor Jankowiak believes that he can access that intelligence in humans, using computer gaming, to solve problems that threaten mankind. His success is early and profound but the more he and his protege, Ryan, try to manage the course of their games, the more likely they will lose control.Insects swarm. Fish swarm. Birds swarm. Swarms exhibit a complex intelligence wherein collective thought protects the species. Professor Jankowiak believed that he could access that intelligence, using the compelling excitement of computer gaming, to have humans solve problems that threaten mankind.From his university appointment, Jankowiak devises gaming platforms and invites the world to tackle a pharmaceutical problem. His success is early and profound--earning the highest accolades--but it also attracts unwelcome pressure from his peers, rivals, and the government. After Jankowiak takes his idea to industry, he and his successor-protege, Ryan, find themselves under continuous attack, and the more they try to manage the course of the games, the more likely that their control and destiny will be wrestled from their hands.