The world of fan memberships for sports business are explored.The world of fan memberships for sports business are explored. While international sport has relied on fan memberships for almost a century, the U.S. professional sport model is beginning to grasp onto the membership concept, ushering in a brave new world of sports revenue.

Two thieves find a mysterious man spying upon them and decide to kill him but they are in for a big surprise.Deep in the dark depths of the archaic dystopian city of Dubh, a young man begins his battle against a being with no soul. With all his family murdered by the sadistic Silus Flax, Jonathan Postlethwaite begins his campaign to avenge his family and destroy his evil nemesis and the foul city that has spawned him. Flax soon senses Jonathon’s presence and the threat he poses to his plans to rule Dubh …and break out of a captive dimension to present day Earth and beyond.So begins a battle against time for Jonathon as Flax puts his plans into action to claim Dubh as his domain and its corrupted citizens as his slaves; and find a way to Earth. Day by day Flax seeks out the young Postlethwaite and his unlikely and contrasting group of allies, while Jonathon slowly formulates a plan that will create the Destruction of Dubh – unless Flax finds him first.Full of splendid, believable characters and dark humour, the Seed of Corruption is set against the gloom and misery of the City of Dubh and the deep struggle that takes place there. David Denny creates a novel which is an intense and entertaining story which explores human nature at its extremes. Page after page of tense drama unfolds in a hurtling narrative taking the tale to a scintillating and apocalyptic finale….but with a twist.

Deep in the dark depths of the dystopian city of Dubh, a young man begins his battle against a being with no soul. With all his family murdered by the sadistic Silus Flax, Jonathan Postlethwaite beings his campaign to avenge his family and destroy his evil nemesis and the city that has spawned him. Page turning plot propels the story to a scintillating and apocalyptic finale ...Deep in the dark depths of the archaic dystopian city of Dubh, a young man begins his battle against a being with no soul. With all his family murdered by the sadistic Silus Flax, Jonathan Postlethwaite begins his campaign to avenge his family and destroy his evil nemesis and the foul city that has spawned him. Flax soon senses Jonathon’s presence and the threat he poses to his plans to rule Dubh …and break out of a captive dimension to present day Earth and beyond.So begins a battle against time for Jonathon as Flax puts his plans into action to claim Dubh as his domain and its corrupted citizens as his slaves; and find a way to Earth. Day by day Flax seeks out the young Postlethwaite and his unlikely and contrasting group of allies, while Jonathon slowly formulates a plan that will create the Destruction of Dubh – unless Flax finds him first.Full of splendid, believable characters and dark humour, the Seed of Corruption is set against the gloom and misery of the City of Dubh and the deep struggle that takes place there. David Denny creates a novel which is an intense and entertaining story which explores human nature at its extremes. Page after page of tense drama unfolds in a hurtling narrative taking the tale to a scintillating and apocalyptic finale….but with a twist.

As a member of the Singsord delegation on the massive Galaga Alpha, Eldon gathers reactions to the Okron disaster.He also is given an inside view of other disasters and perhaps their meaning, if any. This the My Stars version of the OKC bombing and of 9/11.A retired MLB pitcher finds love and redemption via a hurled can of humble soup. Refusing to obey signals cost him his career, once--but this time--a beanball is exactly what's called for, and the signs all make sense. Making a hero often requires a "zero" to balance the equation. Seeing life from both sides of the fence, the protagonist reconciles his past, finds humility, and creates a new beginning. This story isn't about about baseball, though it makes significant commentary on contemporary status, thereof, and incisively nails what's wrong with the sport...where greed has driven it awry. This narrative is primarily about what's truly important in life--what's solidly pure and what's vacuously hollow--what's important when looming largely in front of us, but insignificant in the rear-view mirror with distance applied. Dreams and aspirations loudly drive us when young, while wisdom softly chuckles from the quiet perch of maturity. Each has its time and purpose.

This month we have a few trips into the surreal, with a workplace fight, a shape-shifting shopper, and an unidentified no-longer-flying object. There are plenty of great ideas and storylines to enjoy, so have a seat in the shade and get started.A retired MLB pitcher finds love and redemption via a hurled can of humble soup. Refusing to obey signals cost him his career, once--but this time--a beanball is exactly what's called for, and the signs all make sense. Making a hero often requires a "zero" to balance the equation. Seeing life from both sides of the fence, the protagonist reconciles his past, finds humility, and creates a new beginning. This story isn't about about baseball, though it makes significant commentary on contemporary status, thereof, and incisively nails what's wrong with the sport...where greed has driven it awry. This narrative is primarily about what's truly important in life--what's solidly pure and what's vacuously hollow--what's important when looming largely in front of us, but insignificant in the rear-view mirror with distance applied. Dreams and aspirations loudly drive us when young, while wisdom softly chuckles from the quiet perch of maturity. Each has its time and purpose.

Another part of the series, this time with more welcoming material and a personal favorite (or at least one of the few).A retired MLB pitcher finds love and redemption via a hurled can of humble soup. Refusing to obey signals cost him his career, once--but this time--a beanball is exactly what's called for, and the signs all make sense. Making a hero often requires a "zero" to balance the equation. Seeing life from both sides of the fence, the protagonist reconciles his past, finds humility, and creates a new beginning. This story isn't about about baseball, though it makes significant commentary on contemporary status, thereof, and incisively nails what's wrong with the sport...where greed has driven it awry. This narrative is primarily about what's truly important in life--what's solidly pure and what's vacuously hollow--what's important when looming largely in front of us, but insignificant in the rear-view mirror with distance applied. Dreams and aspirations loudly drive us when young, while wisdom softly chuckles from the quiet perch of maturity. Each has its time and purpose.

(This is a short story of approximately 12 pages.)The Medical Society requests the pleasure of your company as it presents the journals of the esteemed vampire and physician, Dr. Dunham. These brief entries chronicle his theories and observations of his immortal progeny, Miss Harper Marwick, and her descent into despair.A retired MLB pitcher finds love and redemption via a hurled can of humble soup. Refusing to obey signals cost him his career, once--but this time--a beanball is exactly what's called for, and the signs all make sense. Making a hero often requires a "zero" to balance the equation. Seeing life from both sides of the fence, the protagonist reconciles his past, finds humility, and creates a new beginning. This story isn't about about baseball, though it makes significant commentary on contemporary status, thereof, and incisively nails what's wrong with the sport...where greed has driven it awry. This narrative is primarily about what's truly important in life--what's solidly pure and what's vacuously hollow--what's important when looming largely in front of us, but insignificant in the rear-view mirror with distance applied. Dreams and aspirations loudly drive us when young, while wisdom softly chuckles from the quiet perch of maturity. Each has its time and purpose.

The Police are stumped by a baffling dismemberment case. They turn to Akkadia, the Abracadabrical hero of "The Cowering Inferno" for help."I laughed so hard I fell to pieces." -- Patsy Cline, The Seance City NewsIn an alternate steamfunk Haiti, at the height of General Toussaint's revolution, two lovers separated by class and a young woman whose love is forbidden, are thrust into war, sorcery and a quest for liberation on their own terms. . .On the island of Saint-Domingue, in the dead of night, thousands of slaves crept silently along the path through the trees and wiry brush to Bois Caïman. In the clearing the Houngan Dutty Boukman, a huge, self-educated slave with a fierce countenance, and Mambo Cecile Fatiman, a mulatto slave woman, waited to led them in ceremony. They petitioned the Loa for protection, for deliverance from slavery’s lash—calling upon the darkest spirits. . .

In an alternate steamfunk Haiti, at the height of General Toussaint's revolution, two lovers separated by class and a young woman whose love is forbidden, are thrust into war, sorcery and a quest for liberation on their own terms. . .On the island of Saint-Domingue, in the dead of night, thousands of slaves crept silently along the path through the trees and wiry brush to Bois Caïman. . .In an alternate steamfunk Haiti, at the height of General Toussaint's revolution, two lovers separated by class and a young woman whose love is forbidden, are thrust into war, sorcery and a quest for liberation on their own terms. . .On the island of Saint-Domingue, in the dead of night, thousands of slaves crept silently along the path through the trees and wiry brush to Bois Caïman. In the clearing the Houngan Dutty Boukman, a huge, self-educated slave with a fierce countenance, and Mambo Cecile Fatiman, a mulatto slave woman, waited to led them in ceremony. They petitioned the Loa for protection, for deliverance from slavery’s lash—calling upon the darkest spirits. . .

Of Wanting and Rain is a collection of over one hundred and sixty love poems spanning three years of work by poet Paul Hina. In his follow-up to 2007's Such Deliberate Loveliness, Hina continues to explore the richness of man's desire using playful imagery and unique, impressionistic language.The gateway has been shut and broken for hundreds of years. A fired apprentice, a local witch, bookseller, the witch of the mountain and a native witch attempt to re-open it before the apprentice dies trying to.

Oh look, Half-finished stories :) these will have to do until I can finish something substantial. Soon! I promise. These aren't meant to be taken seriously.Quartet OverviewThe Earth Woman Tree Woman Quartet is a near future fantasy with a progressive political bent, a diverse set of characters, and links to recordings of many original songs.Ninas Twei is the mystical place where all of Earth’s species dance and sing together to ensure the continuance of life on Earth – all, that is, except Homo sapiens. Greed and the lust for power has barred them from the dance.Giselle, an activist school teacher, finds herself called to a small rural community to join a group of people who, becoming their Tla Twein (mythical animals or gods), are able to travel to Ninas Twei.Gathering an increasingly diverse group of people from the city, the country, and the world, the Tla Twein engage in a life and death struggle to heal the rift in the natural order and defeat the forces of greed.Giselle, the Earth Woman Tree Woman, joins with the Wolfwind, and together they become all things – earth, air, and water; flora and fauna – a compassionate force for the well-being of the earth.Book One: Journey to Ninas TweiA stray cat struts into Giselle’s apartment bringing an elusive melody? A majestic homeless woman sings her a prophesy and a red-tailed hawk silently urges her to travel north from the city to a rural farming community on the north coast, where she finds an ocean-side house next to a hilly forest, and a new job.Three people in Arundel have been waiting for Giselle, believing that she, and two children, Enid and Jésus, are missing pieces in their attempt to bring humans back to the dance of life. Yameno, 30, the last member of the Tuwillian nation living in Arundel, is guardian of the sacred spring. His nation has a tradition of transforming into their Tla Twein and traveling to Ninas Twei to watch and guard the dance. Yameno’s Tla Twei is a large grey wolf. Dan, 50, a black gardener and scholar, is the hawk. Hazel, 47, a librarian, becomes the cougar. With subtle, often musical encounters, Giselle and the children are drawn into the group. Yameno, carves a sculpture of Giselle’s Tla Twei, the Earth Woman Tree Woman and transform to their Tla Twein and join, becoming all things – wolf and tree, earth, water, and air.But Enid’s grandfather, Gunther, who learned the secrets of the Tla Twein when married to Hazel’s sister, blames Hazel and the others for his wife’s death. When he stumbles on an encounter between Enid and the cougar he knows is Hazel, he arouses the town and a cougar hunt is planned.Ninas Twei is in imminent danger. Hunt or no hunt, the Tla Twein must travel there. On the day of the cougar hunt they meet in a forest clearing where, singing their songs, they transform to their Tla Twein, journeying to Ninas Twei through a vortex splashed with color – and sometimes pierced by tremors and sharp pain. In Arundel Jésus and Enid are reported missing and the townspeople’s hunt for the cougar turns to one for the children.In Ninas Twei they watch the incredible dance of life and find the Weaving Tree where Giselle can trace people’s stories and see the relationship between the problems on earth and the absence of humans from the dance. The source of the tremors and pain is somewhere beneath this tree and it is dying.Suddenly the ground shakes and a gapping crevice opens up swallowing the screaming children. The others are tossed back to earth in their human form just as the hunters come down the path into the clearing. Obsessed with anger, Gunther raises his gun accusing Hazel of being “the devil”. Hazel and Dan have only a moment to transform to their Tla Twein as he shoots. Hazel and Dan disappear, leaving behind the bodies of a cougar and a hawk.The children are missing. Giselle and Yameno are accused of kidnapping them. They walk back down the hill back of Giselle’s house in the custody of the sheriff.Hazel and Dan call to each other, their voices growing fainter and fainter as they float away from each other in a gray empty place.

When a stray kitten struts boldly into Giselle’s life, the restless young teacher finds herself compelled to “go north.” She’s drawn from the city to rural Arundel where, with the help of a man who prowls the forest as a grey wolf, a librarian who slips through the night as a cougar, and a gardener who rides the wind as a red tailed hawk, she sets out to save the world.Quartet OverviewThe Earth Woman Tree Woman Quartet is a near future fantasy with a progressive political bent, a diverse set of characters, and links to recordings of many original songs.Ninas Twei is the mystical place where all of Earth’s species dance and sing together to ensure the continuance of life on Earth – all, that is, except Homo sapiens. Greed and the lust for power has barred them from the dance.Giselle, an activist school teacher, finds herself called to a small rural community to join a group of people who, becoming their Tla Twein (mythical animals or gods), are able to travel to Ninas Twei.Gathering an increasingly diverse group of people from the city, the country, and the world, the Tla Twein engage in a life and death struggle to heal the rift in the natural order and defeat the forces of greed.Giselle, the Earth Woman Tree Woman, joins with the Wolfwind, and together they become all things – earth, air, and water; flora and fauna – a compassionate force for the well-being of the earth.Book One: Journey to Ninas TweiA stray cat struts into Giselle’s apartment bringing an elusive melody? A majestic homeless woman sings her a prophesy and a red-tailed hawk silently urges her to travel north from the city to a rural farming community on the north coast, where she finds an ocean-side house next to a hilly forest, and a new job.Three people in Arundel have been waiting for Giselle, believing that she, and two children, Enid and Jésus, are missing pieces in their attempt to bring humans back to the dance of life. Yameno, 30, the last member of the Tuwillian nation living in Arundel, is guardian of the sacred spring. His nation has a tradition of transforming into their Tla Twein and traveling to Ninas Twei to watch and guard the dance. Yameno’s Tla Twei is a large grey wolf. Dan, 50, a black gardener and scholar, is the hawk. Hazel, 47, a librarian, becomes the cougar. With subtle, often musical encounters, Giselle and the children are drawn into the group. Yameno, carves a sculpture of Giselle’s Tla Twei, the Earth Woman Tree Woman and transform to their Tla Twein and join, becoming all things – wolf and tree, earth, water, and air.But Enid’s grandfather, Gunther, who learned the secrets of the Tla Twein when married to Hazel’s sister, blames Hazel and the others for his wife’s death. When he stumbles on an encounter between Enid and the cougar he knows is Hazel, he arouses the town and a cougar hunt is planned.Ninas Twei is in imminent danger. Hunt or no hunt, the Tla Twein must travel there. On the day of the cougar hunt they meet in a forest clearing where, singing their songs, they transform to their Tla Twein, journeying to Ninas Twei through a vortex splashed with color – and sometimes pierced by tremors and sharp pain. In Arundel Jésus and Enid are reported missing and the townspeople’s hunt for the cougar turns to one for the children.In Ninas Twei they watch the incredible dance of life and find the Weaving Tree where Giselle can trace people’s stories and see the relationship between the problems on earth and the absence of humans from the dance. The source of the tremors and pain is somewhere beneath this tree and it is dying.Suddenly the ground shakes and a gapping crevice opens up swallowing the screaming children. The others are tossed back to earth in their human form just as the hunters come down the path into the clearing. Obsessed with anger, Gunther raises his gun accusing Hazel of being “the devil”. Hazel and Dan have only a moment to transform to their Tla Twein as he shoots. Hazel and Dan disappear, leaving behind the bodies of a cougar and a hawk.The children are missing. Giselle and Yameno are accused of kidnapping them. They walk back down the hill back of Giselle’s house in the custody of the sheriff.Hazel and Dan call to each other, their voices growing fainter and fainter as they float away from each other in a gray empty place.

Life couldn’t be better for Steve and Alex – they have a thriving stronghold and with the help of the Obsidian Cube they have banished Herobrine millions of miles away.But their time of peace is threatened with Steve’s discovery in one of the mineshafts a device that makes zombies. Who is responsible for creating a monster spawner? Could Herobrine be back to avenge his defeat?GENRE: Children’s Adventure(An Unofficial Minecraft Book for Kids Ages 9 -12)Life couldn’t be better for Steve and Alex – they have built a thriving stronghold in the village, the Mobs feared them, and with the help of the Obsidian Cube they have banished Herobrine millions of miles away.But their time of peace is threatened with Steve’s discovery in one of the mineshafts a device that makes zombies. Who is responsible for creating a monster spawner? Could Herobrine be back to avenge his defeat? Steve and Alex know that it would be impossible to put an end to Herobrine. But Luinda, the witch, tells them otherwise. Herobrine could be destroyed. In fact there is a weapon that can destroy anything. The weapon could be forged using materials that can be found only in the Nether.Join Steve and Alex as they travel and face the different perils of the Nether world. Author’s Note: This short story is for your reading pleasure. The characters in this "Minecraft Adventure Series" such as Steve, Endermen or Herobrine...etc are based on the Minecraft Game coming from Minecraft ®/TM & © 2009-2013 Mojang / Notch

Its truth forgotten in the mists of time, the old bridge harbors a lethal secret. Neither marble statues awakened for battle nor an ancient roadbed grown hungry, something darker and more primal haunts the stones and the wild river below. Kimmer knows the stories, but she doesn't know why the crumbling span feels so fraught with menace. Her way home lies across the ruin. Dare she take it?Its truth forgotten in the mists of time, the old bridge harbors a lethal secret. Neither marble statues awakened for battle nor an ancient roadbed grown hungry, something darker and more primal haunts the stones and the wild river below. Kimmer knows the stories, but she doesn't know why the crumbling span feels so fraught with menace. Her way home lies across the ruin. Dare she take it? Or will horror from the lost past rise up to claim her, when she does? PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM "...the world depicted is magical, but the people are very real." - Mary Anna Dunn, Smashwords review of Troll-magic "...left me craving more." - Paty Saternye, Amazon review of Sarvet's Wanderyar "She has an ethereal sort of quality to her writing which is extremely effective-all the more so because I can't pin down exactly why. It's almost mystical. This ephemeral tone is what sets her work apart from anything else I've read-it's absolutely unique, and absolutely engaging." - James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review of Perilous Chance "Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her!" - Mira, Amazon review of Troll-magic PRAISE FOR CROSSING THE NAIAD "A quick, refreshing piece of literature. Like a cool sip of water after a grueling endurance marathon . . . It's swift and concise, but the prose is eloquent and deft, to the point, yet gracefully articulate . . . again I am enthralled with the completeness of the picture the author is painting. The world comes to life . . ." - Goodreads review EXCERPT FROM CROSSING THE NAIAD She stood looking across the bridge, feeling the cool breeze and . . . something wrong. The bridge was old - the leached stones worn by weather and time, a structure of ancient Silmaren. But that wasn't it. Something - sinister? - rose from its broken paving. A miasma of despair and defeat that had nothing to do with its gap-toothed balustrade, the holes in its surface giving wide views of the forested ravine and fast river below, or the crumbling statue of a toga-draped maiden from the past ages of the world. Kimmer hesitated. The new bridge, upstream and crossing low to the water rather than high from one steep brink to the other, was flooded and unsafe. Oga and Chedli and Deas - the goats - had balked. Likely they knew, and . . . only a fool would risk a span immersed in a swift current. But she had to get home somehow. ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

Aubrey and Neville had always wanted to have an adventure of their own. Like those they had heard about in stories or read about on the rare occasions a book was available. They even knew what adventure they wanted to pursue. Since they were very young boys, they had always spoken of one day journeying beyond the Crystalline Sea!Aubrey and Neville had always wanted to have an adventure of their own. Like those they had heard about in stories or read about on the rare occasions a book was available. They even knew what adventure they wanted to pursue. Since they were very young boys, they had always spoken of one day journeying beyond the Crystalline Sea. They had even gone so far as to train themselves in some of the tasks they would need on their journey; walking long distances, using stout branches as swords to develop their hero-like blade work, and sailing a small homemade boat on the lake to develop the seamanship they would need to cross the great ocean. Yes, they were certain they had prepared themselves completely.The summer of their fifteenth year was swiftly approaching and they deemed it was nearly time for the adventure they dreamed of to become reality.