BIG NUMBERS, an Austin Carr Mystery by Jack Getze. 1st in series. "Darkly comic, with an engaging protagonist." — T.J. MacGregor, Edgar Award winner, author of The Tango Key Mysteries.Who wants to kill Austin Carr? Everybody. After all, he's a stockbroker.About to be ingeniously murdered — snatched off a private fishing yacht by a live, six-hundred-pound giant bluefin — a down-on-his-luck stockbroker recalls the events and bad choices that precipitated his gruesome end. His killer — Mr. Blabbermouth — might be any of a dozen suspects, including a steroid-crazed wrestler angry over Austin's poor investment recommendations, a jealous sales manager often the target of Austin's jokes, and a widow with long red hair, sexy curves, and plenty of secrets. Or could there be another suspect Austin overlooked entirely until he stepped on board that yacht?Praise for BIG NUMBERS …"Darkly comic, with an engaging protagonist." — T.J. MacGregor, Edgar Award winner, author of The Tango Key Mysteries"BIG NUMBERS is a gritty, sexy, violent, and funny book." — Liz Clifford at Reviewed by Liz"Wonderful characters … well-written, entertaining … a good read." — Connie Anderson for Armchair Interviews"Indiana Jones has his whip and Luke Skywalker has his light saber, but for Austin Carr, his full-boat grin is the weapon of choice." — Melissa for Lou Reads"Jack Getze started his career as a newspaper reporter. As a result, BIG NUMBERS is lean and mean, with not a word wasted. A truly fun, genuinely funny read." — Lisa Guidarini for Bluestalking Reader"Served up with an edginess reminiscent of good noir, sprinkled with a salty dash of pulp fiction plot twists, and delivered in a sardonic voice that bites like the afterburner of a Herradura Gold shooter, Jack Getze hands us a new series it's impossible to ignore." — Susan Goodwill, author of Brigadoom

The Story of Haybaler, is a book about the lives of the Stiles family in hill country Texas. The author portrays the drama of individual lives as they unfold on life's stage. There are many pearls of wisdom to be gained from chapter to chapter. In fact, the book can be seen as a string of pearls, which begins and ends on a piece of land called Acorn Ridge.This book was written to entertain sick children at The Royal Children's Hospital in Victoria by a team from Riverside School in Tasmania, Australia, competing in ‘Write-a-Book-in-a-Day' Authors: Elouise Lethborg, Sarah Greenhouse, Ella Booth, Nicola Marshall, Robin Verhoeff, Ashley Badkin, Emma Brown, Charlie O’Toole, Connor Brophy, and Aishwarya Sudhakaran.We encourage you to pay for this book as all proceeds go to children's hospitals.

Evilution is comprised of The Sacred Protocol, Divine Extinction and The Ice Wars of Dominia. The first is an alternate history, scifi thriller. Two pivotal events in history lead to the collapse of the internet. It becomes a race against time to prevent global implications of meltdown. Divine Extinction takes the story on. The threat of extinction is back, then total war looms in book three.Set in the urban area of Tokyo in the near future, the story revolves around Touka Kimizuki and her twin brother, Yuuto. Both of them are just like a typical 16-year old high schooler. But they're actually recruited by Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) to become a secret agent due to their ability to kill skilled assassins while they were still in the middle school.Together with their father who is the Head of Special Activities Division in PSIA and his squad, they receive a mission to ensure the safety of the last remaining researcher for Transhuman Development Project, Dr. Nobuhiko Hayama. He's their only hope to unfold the mystery behind the other researchers' deaths.Little they know that their first encounter with Dr. Hayama leads to something they least expect. And this is just the beginning.

This story is kinda sad (awww) but it has this one part with the smoking remains of a burnt car driven by a char-black skeleton, so there's that. Also, there are gnomes lurking about :DSet in the urban area of Tokyo in the near future, the story revolves around Touka Kimizuki and her twin brother, Yuuto. Both of them are just like a typical 16-year old high schooler. But they're actually recruited by Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) to become a secret agent due to their ability to kill skilled assassins while they were still in the middle school.Together with their father who is the Head of Special Activities Division in PSIA and his squad, they receive a mission to ensure the safety of the last remaining researcher for Transhuman Development Project, Dr. Nobuhiko Hayama. He's their only hope to unfold the mystery behind the other researchers' deaths.Little they know that their first encounter with Dr. Hayama leads to something they least expect. And this is just the beginning.

A new breed of assassins. And they're called mind control assassins.Set in the urban area of Tokyo in the near future, the story revolves around Touka Kimizuki and her twin brother, Yuuto. Both of them are just like a typical 16-year old high schooler. But they're actually recruited by Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) to become a secret agent due to their ability to kill skilled assassins while they were still in the middle school.Together with their father who is the Head of Special Activities Division in PSIA and his squad, they receive a mission to ensure the safety of the last remaining researcher for Transhuman Development Project, Dr. Nobuhiko Hayama. He's their only hope to unfold the mystery behind the other researchers' deaths.Little they know that their first encounter with Dr. Hayama leads to something they least expect. And this is just the beginning.

Somewhere on the lake, far down the highway, a gunshot echoed across the water. Birds took off from the trees, their fluttering silhouettes dark against the sunset, and then both my parents were gone. I was completely alone in this world, with no one to shield me from the oncoming voids of death and old age.Sometimes, when I don’t recognize the ghost looking back at me in the mirror, I think of the fireworks on the lake. I think of the whistling right before the explosion, spider webs of light streaking across the sky, the water coated in a thin film of ash and memory. I think of my brother in his hoodie, staring up a night sky that was alive with the burning remains of freedom. He was the fireworks, and I was the ground: bathed in his light, in awe, lucky to be burned by his embers.I think of the ghosts I always assumed were waiting in the woods to haunt someone, too, and I realize that I can relate to them. I haunt the trees around our house, the furniture in our bedroom, the dishes in our kitchen. I stand on the back steps and stare at the trees, and I’m no longer a human, not quite a memory, but somewhere in between, some limbo that I share with Harvey and all his flaws. He’s a gas giant, glowing red and hot in the emptiness, and I am the cold, rocky world that can’t quite escape his gravity. I’m happy here. I’m okay with falling slowly toward the surface, the fiery death of a satellite.I've thought about going back to the lake, but after that year, there were no more fireworks. Eventually, the whole park closed and everyone went home and never came back. All that’s left are the stars overhead, the distant band of the milky way, explosions of white hot heat so far away now that we’ll never know them again.

A fanta-thriller in a world in which magic does departs some daily life and the technology it is nearly absent."The Goddess of the Sea no longer cares just for sacrifices; she’ll punish all those tainted by blood on The Feast of Darkness."On this cursed night each year, The Goddess’s powerful magic lingers in the air. The moon and seas turn red, stirring violence in all those creatures dark of soul. Lady Dessi Quinn has vowed not to leave the castle on such a dangerous night. Instead, she longs to explore the strange connection between Lord Smit Croswell and herself, even as she tries to deny it.But as the night progresses, events outside of her control force her to make an impossible choice. A choice that will throw her into danger and change the course of her life forever.If she can survive it.Note: “The Goddess of the Sea” takes place in the world of Tarak, but readers can either enjoy this short story before or after "To Kill a Wizard."

On this cursed night each year, The Goddess’s powerful magic lingers in the air. The moon and seas turn red, stirring violence in all those creatures dark of soul. Lady Dessi Quinn has vowed not to leave the castle on such a dangerous night. Instead, she longs to explore the strange connection between Lord Smit Croswell and herself, even as she tries to deny it."The Goddess of the Sea no longer cares just for sacrifices; she’ll punish all those tainted by blood on The Feast of Darkness."On this cursed night each year, The Goddess’s powerful magic lingers in the air. The moon and seas turn red, stirring violence in all those creatures dark of soul. Lady Dessi Quinn has vowed not to leave the castle on such a dangerous night. Instead, she longs to explore the strange connection between Lord Smit Croswell and herself, even as she tries to deny it.But as the night progresses, events outside of her control force her to make an impossible choice. A choice that will throw her into danger and change the course of her life forever.If she can survive it.Note: “The Goddess of the Sea” takes place in the world of Tarak, but readers can either enjoy this short story before or after "To Kill a Wizard."

Merry Christmas! Your child will enjoy this cute Christmas book full of fun stories and Christmas jokes.* Excellent for early and beginning readers* Great for reading aloud with friends and family* Christmas stories and adventures about Christmas* Funny and Hilarious Christmas jokes & illustrations for kids* Christmas coloring book downloads includedMerry Christmas! Your child will enjoy this cute Christmas book full of fun stories and Christmas jokes.This is an excellent read for early and beginning readers. Big and bright illustrations for younger readers!* Excellent for early and beginning readers* Great for reading aloud with friends and family* Christmas stories and adventures about Christmas* Funny and Hilarious Christmas jokes & illustrations for kids* Christmas coloring book downloads includedThese stories are great for quick bedtime stories and cute tales to be read aloud with friends and family!

The tale of Mathias Auer's change from human to vampire. Eternal Sun is a short story prequel to the novel Mourning Sun.Fear constricts Mrs. Queen’s life. Anxiety turns her to stone. And all of Mrs. Queen’s worry overflows into the hum forever spilling from the trembling woman. Recognizing how the nervous habit has consumed his mother, Maven refuses to let his son David visit his grandmother until Mrs. Queen promises to follow the prescribed steps required to regain control over her trepidation. Mrs. Queen forces herself to cease fretting over her diet. She volunteers throughout her community to again socialize with her peers. She even tosses her emergency radio into the silence of her closet. Yet the woman's environment seems to unravel all the more furiously with each of Mrs. Queen’s efforts, until the world itself shakes in an attempt to make Mrs. Queen return to her humming.

The world's troubles make Mrs. Queen hum. But when her son threatens to separate her from her grandson unless she gains control of her behavior, Mrs. Queen vows to master her nervous habit of humming. The world's wars and famines, storms and earthquakes, fail to cooperate with Mrs. Queen, and the sweet woman must decide if chasing away her hum is worth placing her neighbors in peril.Fear constricts Mrs. Queen’s life. Anxiety turns her to stone. And all of Mrs. Queen’s worry overflows into the hum forever spilling from the trembling woman. Recognizing how the nervous habit has consumed his mother, Maven refuses to let his son David visit his grandmother until Mrs. Queen promises to follow the prescribed steps required to regain control over her trepidation. Mrs. Queen forces herself to cease fretting over her diet. She volunteers throughout her community to again socialize with her peers. She even tosses her emergency radio into the silence of her closet. Yet the woman's environment seems to unravel all the more furiously with each of Mrs. Queen’s efforts, until the world itself shakes in an attempt to make Mrs. Queen return to her humming.

Junior necromancer, Roger, and zombie sniffer, Cindy, from Mortimer’s School of Dark Arts come to the rescue in order to sing the dead back to sleep. When Roger’s plan backfires and he coughs loud enough to wake the dead, they conclude they need someone to rescue them! Can their blossoming romance survive a zombie uprising—and more importantly, will they survive? This is a humorous short story.When a videographer decides to record a “Thriller” video with real zombies, he quickly finds out dead men can’t dance—and are much more inclined to eat brains. Junior necromancer, Roger, and zombie sniffer, Cindy, from Mortimer’s School of Dark Arts come to the rescue in order to sing the dead back to sleep. When Roger’s plan backfires and he coughs loud enough to wake the dead, they conclude they need someone to rescue them! Can their blossoming romance survive a zombie uprising—and more importantly, will they survive? This is a 3500 word humorous fantasy/horror story.

‘The Parcel’ is a collaborative novella written by the attendees of the 2015 winter-term ‘Creative Writing – Intermediate’ ten-week class hosted by co-contributor Morgen Bailey. The authors wrote their chapters while knowing only the size, weight and destination address of the parcel, together with the chapters’ starting and ending locations – chosen by the authors themselves.‘The Parcel’ is a collaborative novella written by the attendees of the 2015 winter-term ‘Creative Writing – Intermediate’ ten-week class hosted by co-contributor Morgen Bailey.The authors wrote their chapters while knowing only the size, weight and destination address of the parcel, together with the chapters’ starting and ending locations – chosen by the authors themselves (some of whom have other books available here on Smashwords). They chose their own characters – the lead of which entitle each chapter – and plot.Morgen then collated the stories and made minor edits to turn each chapter into a cohesive novella before designing the cover and upload the finished package between weeks nine and ten of the course so all the contributing attendees left the course as published authors!We all hope that you enjoy reading this novella and that it feels seamless to you. We would love to know what you think and would also be very grateful if you left a review as an encouragement for others to read the novella.Thank you again for downloading this eBook – your support is much appreciated.

Left for dead by a band of strange, dark warriors, John Hedekira sets out on a quest to get revenge and to rescue his siblings from the hands of his attackers. Joining him is the kind, innocent Faith Pinck, and together they must stop the evil warriors before they can complete their mission: a dark plot to collide humanity with the world of an unholy, supernatural being.The Golden Lands, one of the three worlds of Terra, is supposed to be a place of peace, light, and happiness. But the Golden Lands hasn't exactly been such a place for John Hedekira, a jaded, hot-headed teenager. His parents disappear when he is thirteen, and he's left to look after his younger sister and brother. One evening, John decides that he has had it with the distant, self-pitiful dispositions of his siblings, and resolves to shut them out of his life for good...or so he thinks. That same evening, a band of warriors of a dark race invade his home, kidnapping John's siblings...and leaving him to bleed out on the floor of his own house. But John is not undone so easily. Compelled by his own hatred of the warriors that left him to die, and a sense of duty towards his siblings, John sets out on a quest for vengeance. Joining him is Faith Pinck, a caring, innocent girl who doesn't yet understand the true motives behind John's desire to track the evil band of warriors.And in the midst of their adventures as they journey to rescue John's siblings, they begin to uncover a deeper, darker plot that will endeavor to collide the world of humanity with the world of an unholy, malicious, supernatural being.

Very short stories. Bite sized fiction to entertain, thrill, amuse, or perhaps scare you in a small package. Stories that attempt to really go places in only a few sentences.This is the second in the series of five novelette eBooks providing stories relating directly to the New Voyages: Phase II series of fan-films, True To His Oath is a short story based on a concept developed by Charles Root (who played Scotty in the series) and used with permission. The events take place after the live-action episode “Enemy: Starfleet” and before the live-action episode “The Child.”Captain’s log, stardate 7254.3: With repairs to the Enterprise having been completed ahead of schedule—fortunately, the Peshan lasers were barely powerful enough to scratch our hull, and although the Eagle was once as formidable as the Enterprise, neither Alersa herself nor any of her crew knew where to hit us to inflict maximum damage—we were barely two hours out of Starbase Four when we were diverted to the Federation planetoid Memory Alpha. Our mission is to deploy a team of computer specialists to troubleshoot and then repair a major malfunction that has crippled much of the equipment we delivered here last year, rendering the facility all but useless. Commander Spock has completed a preliminary examination of the system and has identified the root cause of the problem. He informs me that repairs and reprogramming should take about three days, so I’ve authorized rotating shore leave for all personnel. On a personal note, Chief Engineer Scott has, not surprisingly, decided to take leave and spend all three days down there in hopes of reacquainting himself with a friend.