Cinder Torley is an intelligent young woman who yearns to escape the stifling yoke imposed by her small town upbringing and unhappy marriage, but that doesn’t mean she killed her husband. When he goes missing one night, Cinder quickly learns who—and how few—her friends really are in this darkly comic tale of dueling schemers and incompetents.
The sheriff thinks this might be his only ticket out of back-country law enforcement. Coffee house barista Clark Norris knows a sordid, true-crime story could jumpstart his stalled writing career. Glamorous correspondent Bailey Weems sees a ratings bonanza that can make her a cable news star. And as for Velma and Naomi, who may or may not be part of the notorious Manitoba Six Canadian crime ring, they’re only in it for the black market Phen-Fen. The surprising truth about what happened to Cinder’s husband will lay waste to all these agendas, but will it prove Cinder’s innocence.
What a fun read - dark comedy that will remind you of Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen and Jennifer Crusie at their best…Read this book and brag to your friends that you’ve discovered the “Next Big Thing” in fiction.
– J. Schisler, on Amazon.com
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Queen Onja has called for Shan’s head and her Kezanada agents stalk him with enchanted weapons. For Dreibrand Veta, his growing list of victories has increased his influence in circles of power, but his fame has not endeared him to everybody.
The rebellion proceeds slowly for Miranda who cannot rescue her children until Shan defeats Onja. Shan has learned much since beginning the rebellion. His powers are growing. He has used his magic to kill, and, when the spring comes, his armies will fight the armies loyal to Onja.
Despite Shan’s mounting confidence in his battle magic, Onja will tenaciously defend her throne, and Shan will discover that he does not know the powerful secrets of the Goddess Queen.
“Author Tracy Falbe makes a stunning debut in epic fantasy sagas with the first two books of The Rys Chronicles, Union of Renegades and The Goddess Queen.”
“A grand saga of intrigue, betrayal, magic, power, and dominance unfolds. An exciting treat for fantasy buffs…”
– Small Press Bookwatch
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Inspired by true events, Global Collusion: The Cover Up is a taut and suspenseful novel about big business and lengths some will go to ensure financial gain. Anthony Brina is a Fortune 500 operations executive with a highly successful career. His involvement with the production of a revolutionary product is certain to secure his future and reap astronomical financial gains for the company. His friend, Mina, is a business reporter from California and she’s on board to report the biggest find of the century.
But when Anthony discovers a flaw that sets the product 2000% higher than its actual cost, he starts receiving anonymous notes and finds himself trapped in a sinister ordeal that hides a massive conspiracy. Will Mina betray him like others or will she help him reveal the biggest business cover up of the century? Who can the other trust and who is plotting to take down an international giant?
With adept twists and turns and an insider’s look into the world of the most powerful movers and shakers, Global Collusion: The Cover Up is an exhilarating roller coaster ride through the most influential and powerfully financial cities of the world.
Author Franklin Riga offers you a sharp mystery that looks at big business, government, sci-fi technology, the media, covert activities and intense seduction. He takes you to New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Geneva, and Rome in this pseudo-fiction account.
(2 votes, average: 7 out of 10)
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How can a country conceal defense-related research in an era of computer-assisted pattern recognition and twice-daily satellite over flights?
David Marston has the answer: A top-secret research center constructed beneath an ordinary college campus, and a tiger town staffed by security personnel. Alas, David is fired when he forgets the college is only a cover, not an end in itself.
Goreff is also at odds with his Russian bosses. When he discovers an unusual pattern of enrollment at a U.S. college, his superiors in KGB intelligence won’t listen. He goes underground in the U.S.A. to check out the new college for himself.
Beverley spends her days in counter-intelligence beneath the new science building, her evenings unwinding at the Bar-B dance hall. She thought J.D. and David would help her stop the leak, but J.D. is dead and Dave’s houseguest, Professor Goreff, is a known Soviet agent!
Can Beverly keep Goreff from finding out the truth about the College? Can she reform David? And will she find and stop the Red Queen from contacting the Russian, Chinese, and Arab agents that are converging on the campus?
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“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein
The recent economic recession has a lot of people worried, about their jobs, their businesses, their homes and their bills. When your income is dropping or in jeopardy and you still have a mountain of bills to pay, things can get pretty scary.
However, tough economic times do not have to be a time of struggles! If you look for the opportunity in the middle of difficulty, as Mr. Einstein suggested, then tough economic times become an opportunity to transform your life.
Table of Contents
Introduction
- A Simple Lifestyle
- Focus on the Essentials
- Thriving on Less, Not Struggling
- Focusing on Enough, Not More
- Make Small Financial Changes First
- Look at Large Expenses for the Long Term
- Changing Your Spending Habits
- A Guide to Getting Out of Debt
- Tools for a Frugal Life
- Resources
(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)
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Working graveyards in a stop & rob seemed a small price for Cory to pay in order to get her degree and get the hell out of Nor-Cal. She was terrified of disappearing into the aimless vortex that awaited the lost and the young that haunted her neck of the woods. Until the night she actually stopped looking at her books and looked up. What awaited her was a world she had only read about—one filled with fantastical creatures that she was sure she could never be.
And then Adrian walked in—and she discovered that risking your life was nothing compared to facing who you really were. And then falling in love.
As I have stated in my Amazon and B&N reviews, Vulnerable is like a good punk-rock band: yes, it may be obscene noise, but it sure is good, spunky fun! Ms. Lane’s lead character is a nineteen-year-old college student who works the late-night shift at a Chevron gas station and convenience store. She has been holding her private little leather-and-piercing persona together in her quiet world in the middle of nowhere while she studies to prove herself to the world. In walks a giant, six-foot elf with a silver, plaited ponytail to light up her world. His best pal, and bisexual lover, is a vampire the elf rescued from sexual slavery when he was still a young human. Before you know it, Cory the punkette is in love with both of them. Off she rides prior to the sunrise to begin her new life with a very large passel of elves, vampires, and shapeshifters. In case you want to know, Cory remains human throughout the story, but boy, does she have spunk!
– Floyd M. Orr
(2 votes, average: 10 out of 10)
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No matter where you may be in your leadership, recruiting volunteers can be one of the most difficult tasks you will encounter. Even if you are able to teach a room full of kids, design a website, or manage hundreds of youth, recruiting may not come easy.
This FREE, easy-to-read eBook provides a simple approach to recruiting more volunteers for your non-profit or church ministry. Whether you are a new leader or have been leading for years, there is something new and fresh to learn about recruiting volunteers.
A simple process to volunteer recruiting
This book is designed to open your eyes to new ways of thinking about recruiting. It will provide some ideas, inspiration, and a 5-step process that will help you to improve your ability to recruit new volunteers for your team:
Volunteer Recruiting Step 1: Prepare
Volunteer Recruiting Step 2: Find
Volunteer Recruiting Step 3: Interview
Volunteer Recruiting Step 4: Integrate
Volunteer Recruiting Step 5: Retain
This free book also includes a 5-step action plan for applying this simple volunteer recruiting process. View examples of job descriptions, create simple training materials to help your new volunteers, and create a recruiting plan to guide you through your recruiting process.
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It’s three thousand miles from the green fields of glory, where Henry “call me Hank” Thompson once played California baseball, to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where the tenements are old, the rents are high, and the drunks are dirty. But now Hank is here, working as a bartender and taking care of a cat named Bud who is surely going to get him killed.
It begins when Hank’s neighbor, Russ, has to leave town in a rush and hands over Bud in a carrier. But it isn’t until two Russians in tracksuits drag Hank over the bar at the joint where he works and beat him to a pulp that he starts to get the idea: Someone wants something from him. He just doesn’t know what it is, where it is, or how to make them understand he doesn’t have it.
Within twenty-four hours Hank is running over rooftops, swinging his old aluminum bat for the sweet spot of a guy’s head, playing hide and seek with the NYPD, riding the subway with a dead man at his side, and counting a whole lot of cash on a concrete floor.
All because of two cowboys, two Russian mafia men, and some of the weirdest goons ever assembled in one place. All because of Bud. All because once, in another life, in another world, the only thing Hank wanted was to take third base—without getting caught.
Make This Into a Movie Tarantino. It Rocks! - James J. Yohe
(2 votes, average: 8 out of 10)
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Stephane Grenier sent me a print copy of his latest book Blog Blazers a while back as a thank you for announcing the ebook version of Blog Blazers. I’ve just finished reading it and thought I’d share my review.
In the book Stephane interviews 40 of the top bloggers, asking each the same set of 24 questions. This approach has both its positives and its negatives.
On the negative side, some of the questions didn’t elicit very interesting answers. For example the majority of answers to the following questions were very similar.
Q: What makes a blog successful according to you?
A: It depends.
Q: When did you decide you finally reached success with your blog?
A: Success is a journey, not a destination.
Q: How long does it take to become a successful blogger?
A: Ask me when I get there - but at least 6 months.
In some cases the repetition of the questions was a good thing. When 39 out of the top 40 bloggers agree on something (e.g. headlines are very important) then you know you’re onto something.
The questions that I found generated the best answers were
Q: What’s your most interesting story related to blogging?
Q: What’s your most successful blog post?
While most of the interviews are of a high standard, some fall a little short. It’s obvious that a few interviewee’s just banged out a series of stock answers without putting in any real thought or effort. These should probably have been cut entirely from the book but then I suspect Stephane’s too nice a guy to go through with this. Thankfully these are in the minority and there are a number of gems in the book.
Surprisingly I found some of the best interviews were by bloggers who blog on topics I have no interest in. Manolo Blahnik of the Manolo Shoe Blog is a case in point. For instance, take a look at part of his answer to the question ‘What makes a blog successful?’
Too many people focus on building the giant mega-blog that crushes all in its path, using complete market dominance as the standard of success.
Other highlights for me were Asha Dornfest of Parent Hacks, Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror, Pamela Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation and Patrick McKenzie of MicroISV on a Shoestring. Each provided thoughtful, entertaining answers.
What’s missing from this book is any sort of final analysis of the answers. I really hope that Stephane analyses the wealth of great information in the book and publishes the results on his blog in the coming months. This may already be happening as he’s just written a post on the 10 Most Popular Books recommended in Blog Blazers.
What made this book worth reading for me was not just the tips on blogging but the fascinating stories behind some of the most successful people in the blogosphere. If you’re thinking of starting a blog or feel your blogging is becoming a little stale, then reading Blog Blazers is a great way to take inspiration from some of the blogging greats and rekindle your enthusiasm for 2009.
(1 votes, average: 10 out of 10)
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Why, Vasher thought, do so many things begin with me getting thrown into prison?
The guardsmen laughed to one another outside, slamming the cell door shut with a clang. Vasher stood and dusted himself off, rolling his shoulder and wincing. He glanced about. While the bottom half of his cell door was made of solid wood, the top half was barred, and he could see the three guards open his duffle and rifle through his possessions.
One of them noticed him. The guard was an oversized beast of a man with a shaved head and a dirtied uniform that just barely showed the bright yellow and blue colorings of the T’Telir city guard.
Bright colors, Vasher thought. I’ll have to get used to those again. In any other nation, the vibrant blues and yellows would have been ridiculous on soldiers. This, however, was Hallandren: land of Returned Gods, Lifeless servants, BioChromatic research, and–of course–color.
The large guard sauntered toward the cell, leaving his friends to amuse themselves with Vasher’s duffle. “They say you’re pretty tough,” the man said, sizing up Vasher.
Vasher did not respond.
“The bartender says you beat down some twenty men in the brawl.” The guard rubbed his chin. “You don’t look that tough to me. Either way, you should have known better than to strike a priest. The others, they’ll spend a night locked up. You, though. . .you’ll hang. Colorless fool.”
Read author Brandon Sanderson’s story on how Warbreaker came to be released as a free e-book
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The Hal Spacejock competition closed last night and today I’m happy to announce the winner. It was not an easy task and I didn’t envy our expert panel of judges. After a long and hard deliberation, Simon Haynes, Hal Spacejock author and head judge (well in fact, sole judge) delivered this verdict.
I’m sorely tempted to pick Rob’s entry (”To be completely honest, I’m totally put off by the name.”) but I fear he might throw the books away unread.
I also liked Sean’s entry but I haven’t quite upgraded to Humor 2.3 yet …
So, the one which really stood out for me was Shane’s, which begins “It’s not every day that a book comes along …” I particularly liked “It’s also the story of a run down robot trying to pick up the pieces, where hopefully all the pieces aren’t his.”
Congratulations Shane! I’ll send the books out ASAP. Simon has also been kind enough to donate some Hal Spacejock bookmarks and fridge magnets which I’m giving away as consolation prizes (yours are already on their way Rob;).
Thanks very much to everyone who entered and thanks also to Simon for helping out! I’ve really enjoyed running this competition.
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Amusing and entertaining nostalgic incidents from the life of planters: Tea and Coffee, between 1959 and 1992 and covering NE India(Dooars and Assam)and Papua New Guinea.Planters and their families lived in remote areas of the country where they made their own entertainment and lived lavish lives in large bungalows.The Managers were considered minor Gods by the labor who held them in high esteem.A Managers word was ‘law’ and incontrovertible.
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Awakening from a severe head injury and amnesia in an allied hospital during World War I, “John Smith” quickly realizes he is not like other men. John can travel to parallel worlds, seemingly through the power of his own mind. In this first serial, he not only learns of his power when it is triggered in the stress of combat, but visits an Earth still trapped in the midst of an ice age. On the ice age planet, John encounters not only humans, but another species locked in conflict with them.
I downloaded the mobi version and read this book on my Cybook in one sitting. I enjoyed it very much and I wish there were more chapters available.
The author writes in a style that is very easy to read, fluent and entertaining.
I really like the story line and I can’t wait for the next book! I want to know what happens next - soon, please.
Thank you, Smashwords, and thank you, Patrick. Well done!
- cbell
Parts 1 & 2 Free, Part 3 you set the price
45+ pages
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Mulled wine, roasting chestnuts… and murder. This is the eighteenth murder mystery featuring M C Beaton’s imperfect heroine Agatha Raisin.
Agatha is dreaming of a white Christmas, but who will be joining her under the mistletoe? During the dark, grey days of early December Agatha is obsessed by only two things: Christmas, and her ex, James Lacey.
Although she says she feels nothing for James now, she feels sure that planning the perfect Dickensian Christmas for all her friends will somehow reanimate her love. Even the murder of a Mrs Tamworthy, poisoned with hemlock at the local manor house, does little to distract Agatha from organising her perfect yuletide celebrations.
And yet it should do, as Mrs Tamworthy had written to Agatha, telling her that one of her family wanted to see her dead before the year was out. Slightly guiltily (and belatedly), Agatha sets out to solve the case with the help of her new recruit, young Toni Gilmour.
(3 votes, average: 6 out of 10)
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In this enlightening book James Boyle describes what he calls the range wars of the information age—today’s heated battles over intellectual property. Boyle argues that just as every informed citizen needs to know at least something about the environment or civil rights, every citizen should also understand intellectual property law. Why? Because intellectual property rights mark out the ground rules of the information society, and today’s policies are unbalanced, unsupported by evidence, and often detrimental to cultural access, free speech, digital creativity, and scientific innovation.
Boyle identifies as a major problem the widespread failure to understand the importance of the public domain—the realm of material that everyone is free to use and share without permission or fee. The public domain is as vital to innovation and culture as the realm of material protected by intellectual property rights, he asserts, and he calls for a movement akin to the environmental movement to preserve it. With a clear analysis of issues ranging from Jefferson’s philosophy of innovation to musical sampling, synthetic biology and Internet file sharing, this timely book brings a positive new perspective to important cultural and legal debates. If we continue to enclose the “commons of the mind,” Boyle argues, we will all be the poorer.
All my early excitement about this book’s release was absolutely justified. This is a hell of a book. It starts with a thorough, charming, and extensive grounding in the history and contours of copyright, moving from the 17th century to the DMCA. This is familiar ground, but Boyle gives it new life with witty asides, novel comparisons and clear writing.
- Cory Doctorow, boingboing.net
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Andrews McMeel Publishing and Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strips and #1 best-selling author of Dilbert humor books, have agreed to publish Mr. Adams’ new project called God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment. God’s Debris is Scott’s first non-Dilbert, non-humor effort. The author describes the book as “a thought experiment wrapped in a story. It’s designed to make your brain spin around inside your skull.” Some content of the book is nonfiction because the opinions and philosophies of the characters might have lasting impact on the reader. Others believe it is fiction because the characters don’t exist.
Imagine that you meet a very old man who—you eventually realize—knows literally everything. Imagine that he explains for you the great mysteries of life—quantum physics, evolution, God, gravity, light, psychic phenomenon, and probability—in a way so simple, so novel, and so compelling that it all fits together and makes perfect sense. What does it feel like to suddenly understand everything? God’s Debris isn’t the final answer to the Big Questions. But it might be the most compelling vision of reality you will ever read. The thought experiment is this: Try to figure out what’s wrong with the old man’s explanation of reality. Share the book with your smart friends then discuss it later while enjoying a beverage.
(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10)
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