Coming of Age

The Lost Arkby J.R. Rain

In a lonely bar in eastern Turkey, ex-National Geographic photojournalist Sam Ward is hired to find an eccentric professor who disappeared high atop Mount Ararat, fabled resting spot of Noah’s Ark.

Accompanied by the professor’s beautiful daughter, archaeologist Faye Roberts, Sam soon stumbles upon a secret stronghold–a base of operation for unleashing hell on earth.

Now running for their lives, Sam and company are about to come face-to-face with the greatest archaeological discovery of all time….

The Chronothon: A Time Travel Adventureby Nathan Van Coops

Run from the past. Run from the future. Run for your lives.

He’s a novice time traveler in a big universe.

Ben just wants time with the scientist’s daughter who got him into this, but when he’s rooked into competing in a chronothon–an Amazing Race through time–getting the girl means he’ll need to make the finish line. When he finds out this competition is more than just a sprint through history, winning takes a back seat to surviving. To save the people he loves, he’ll have to conquer the real dangers hidden in the shadows of the chronothon.

The world of time travelers expands in this next installment of the In Times Like These time travel series. Fans of book one will find more to love, but new readers can jump right in and enjoy this stand-alone time travel novel. Expect action, adventure, and romance on this journey through past and future. Fresh dangers will arise for Ben and company in a quest for the finish line, where failure to keep up will cost more than just a shot at glory–it could mean the end for them all.

BELIEVE LIKE A CHILDby Paige Dearth

Home isn't always safe for children…unfortunately, neither are the streets.
Alessa is just seven years old when her uncle rapes her for the first time. As the years pass, his sexual appetite becomes more voracious and his perversion more twisted, until the abuse has become almost a daily ritual, with the unspoken involvement of the girl's mother.
At the age of sixteen, after the death of her only friend, Alessa finds herself at the mercy of her real-life monster, with no relief in sight. She flees her home to escape this hell, only to find herself descending into a more dangerous one. Alone and helpless in the streets of North Philadelphia, she encounters more human predators who want to take over her life and devour her. About to hit rock bottom, Alessa manages to break away from her new tormentors and finds refuge in a shelter for homeless and abused women.

Wherever she goes, however, trouble keeps seeking her out, until she meets three people who change the course of her life forever. Though Alessa's bittersweet journey is perpetually fraught with challenges, she does, nevertheless, manage to find fleeting moments of joy along the way. But as she begins to settle down, a ghost from the past comes to haunt her again, threatening to destroy the very foundation of her small world and plunging her back into an abyss of despair, until she makes her final bid for escape.

SOME DIRT ON THE AUTHOR:

Born and raised in Plymouth Meeting, a small town west of Philadelphia, Paige Dearth was a victim of child rape and spent her early years yearning for a better life. To escape the unwanted attentions of her molester, a pedophile uncle who lived with the family, she married at the age of nineteen and moved with her new husband to Chula Vista, California. After two years of marriage during which she struggled to make ends meet, she became pregnant, only to discover that her husband was a heroin addict. Paige waited for the birth of her daughter and when the baby was just eight months old, moved back to Pennsylvania. With no formal education or money to fall back on, she courageously set out to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and make it whole once more.

Living through the fear and isolation of her youth, Paige developed the ability to create stories that would help her cope and finally put them to use by embarking on a series of novels. Believe Like A Child, the author's debut offering, is the darkest version of who she could have become, had fate not intervened in the nick of time. It presents a fine balance between what lives on in her imagination and the evil that lurks in the real world.

Rose Petal Gravesby Olivia Wildenstein

Myth and fantasy collide in “the most haunting love story,” perfect for fans of Kagawa’s Iron Fey series.

ANCIENT SECRETS CANNOT REMAIN BURIED FOREVER.
Founded two centuries ago by a powerful tribe of Gottwa Indians, Rowan was a quiet town, so quiet that I fled after graduation. Staying away was the plan, but Mom died suddenly.
Dad said she suffered a stroke after she dug up one of the ancient graves in our backyard, which happens to be the town cemetery. Creepy, I know. Creepier still, there was no corpse inside the old coffin, only fresh rose petals.
As we made preparations for Mom’s burial, new people began arriving in Rowan, unnervingly handsome and odd people. I begged them to leave, but they stayed, because their enemies–my ancestors–were beginning to awaken.

Shadow Huntedby Jasmine Walt & Rebecca Hamilton

The third book in the instant New York Times Bestselling Series by Jasmine Walt and Rebecca Hamilton!

Once a whip-smart detective and a powerful Shadow, Brooke Chandler has been stripped of both memories and identity. She now spends her days scrubbing floors, reduced to nothing more than a servant girl.

But even with no memory of her previous life or how she ended up a slave, Brooke won’t remain trapped for long–not with friends and enemies alike vying to find her.

Her escape attempt lands her in the deadly, beautiful land of Faerie, where nothing is as it seems–possibly including her father, The Winter King. Here, she rediscovers her past life, full of allies and foes all waiting for her return.

Faced with the opportunity to flee, Brooke must decide which fate terrifies her more: staying where her enemies wants her dead, or returning to confront the ones who want her jailed for murder.

Any Means Necessary (a Luke Stone Thriller—Book #1)by Jack Mars

“Thriller writing at its best. Thriller enthusiasts who relish the precise execution of an international thriller, but who seek the psychological depth and believability of a protagonist who simultaneously fields professional and personal life challenges, will find this a gripping story that’s hard to put down.”
–Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Any Means Necessary)

“One of the best thrillers I have read this year. The plot is intelligent and will keep you hooked from the beginning. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the sequel.”
–Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Any Means Necessary)

When nuclear waste is stolen by jihadists in the middle of the night from an unguarded New York City hospital, the police, in a frantic race against time, call in the FBI. Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours.

A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined–leading all the way to the President of the United States.

With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them–using any means necessary.

Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax.

A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, ANY MEANS NECESSARY marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

Hammond Flux, Life After Fleshby Alan Killip

A dangerous innovation leads to mischief, then mayhem, then murder and the brink of Doomsday: Hammond Hinkley has unlocked the secrets of the human soul by recreating the means by which the brain creates consciousness. He hopes that his invention will cure the world’s ills and win him fame and adulation, but to fund his research he has to make a deal with a sinister organisation that thrives on conflict. Under pressure from his paymasters he uploads the contents of his own brain to the supercomputer in his lab, and spawns Hammond Flux, being that dwells in a dreamlike simulation.
Isolated in a virtual world designed to pander to his massive ego, Hammond Flux grows into a more sinister version of Hinkley, and soon he works out how to make his presence felt in the real world. Hinkley watches in horror has his alter ego moves from playful pranks to physical violence, and he is forced to confront the monster he has created before the world slips into the abyss.
This is a portrait of a soul immersed in the ultimate digital echo chamber, a world populated by demons and desires whose sole purpose is to gratify the ego. Hammond’s story is poignant, funny and tragic, but the resilience of his essential humanity offers the possibility of redemption.

When a Highlander Loses His Heartby Julie Johnstone

She was nothing more than retaliation against his enemies…until she became the woman he could not live without.

Set on revenge, Highland warrior Graham MacLeod abducts Isobel Campbell never anticipating his enemy’s daughter would awaken an irresistible hunger in him. But when his beautiful, headstrong captive challenges his will and proves her courage and honor by willingly risking her life for his, he cannot deny the dangerous passion she stirs in him. Suddenly, his agreement to deliver Isobel to the king who wishes to use her holds little appeal. Yet, with a battle for the Scottish throne brewing, he knows the king will not relinquish the pilfered prize. To everyone else, Isobel is a pawn to be manipulated, but the more time Graham spends with her, the less he sees her as an adversary and the more she becomes the forbidden temptation he must resist.

Isobel Campbell is a wanted woman, but not for who she is, only as the heiress of a castle that holds the key to power over the Scottish isles. And when she is kidnapped by her family’s bitter enemy, all she wants is to return to the father she idolizes. But she soon discovers that those she considers her protectors may in fact be her biggest threats, and the brave, fierce warrior she fears may actually be the one person she can rely on.

A chasm of distrust and an undeniable yearning flare between Isobel and Graham, along with the promise of unexpected love. However, in order to triumph, they must find a way to vanquish their doubts and build an alliance that can withstand the devastation of war and a king determined to sacrifice anything–and anyone–to keep his throne.

Drug of Choice: The Inspiring True Story Of The One-Armed Criminal Who Mastered Love And Made Millionsby Mark van Stratum

If a millionaire told you that he found success after being hit by a train, going to prison, dealing drugs and forgetting friends… would you follow his footsteps?

Mark is a successful affiliate marketer with several businesses boasting millions of dollars in profit. He has created a fulfilling life, which he shares with his beautiful fiancé and a world-wide circle of friends. But his inspiring life of today grew out of a dark and dangerous past.

In this gripping tale, van Stratum brings a once-in-a-lifetime read of his experience growing up with one arm in a small town where he developed a savage temper and a criminal mindset. After a violent robbery by rival drug dealers he had a flash of insight that his life must change, or it would quickly end.

After moving to a new country without telling a soul, Mark penetrates the secret world of pick-up artists and learns an incredible skill set that enables him to get the most desired women on the planet. In Drug of Choice, Mark offers insightful lessons about the power of choices to change your business, relationships, and life.

Drug of Choice: The Inspiring True Story of the One-Armed Criminal Who Mastered Love and Made Millions will make you believe again that it is never too late to change.

The Last Madam: A Legend of the Texas Chicken Ranchby Joy Jones

Edna Milton never planned to become a madam, but life dealt her some devilishly rough blows beginning at an early age. With very little education to sustain her, she elected to survive the only way she knew how: exchanging pleasure for hard cash, and in tough economic times, for chickens. Instead of merely surviving, Miss Edna chose to thrive, and her skills at organization and customer service – plus setting strict rules for behavior – built a fortune to match her legendary reputation.

When the tide turned against her again, The Last Madam of the Texas Chicken Ranch reinvented herself one more time.

This Madness of the Heartby C. L. Francisco

Bad religion can be deadly. So Miranda Lamden, small-town religion professor, discovers in This Madness of the Heart. The dark hollers of Eastern Kentucky offer fertile soil for shady evangelist Jasper Jarboe, new president of Grace and Glory Bible College, as he beguiles the small mining town of Canaan Wells with his snake-oil charm.

When Miranda isn’t teaching at Obadiah Durham College, she’s investigating paranormal phenomena–or enjoying a turbulent romantic relationship with backwoods artist Jack Crispen. JJ’s inquisition-style gospel has alienated her long since, but when he announces his plan to transform her forest home into a sprawling summer camp and retirement community, complete with neon cross and 40-foot statue, Miranda girds her loins for war. But JJ isn’t finished: he goes on to launch an attack on her friend and fellow faculty member Djinn Baude with an avalanche of vicious rumors. Not only does he accuse her of demonic communion with the old Voudon witch whose curse killed the college’s founding family, but he also smears her with insinuations of lechery and vice.

With JJ’s urging, hate boils over into violence and tragedy, sweeping Miranda up in its flood. One death follows another as a miasma of evil overwhelms the tiny community, and only Miranda can see clearly enough to halt its spread.

This Madness of the Heart is the first in a new series of Gothic mystery-thrillers featuring Professor Miranda Lamden, whose spiritual gifts have drawn her beyond university walls to explore the mysteries of other world beliefs. Her unique vision brings her into repeated confrontations with evil, where too often she finds herself standing alone between oblivious onlookers and impending disaster.

Sights on the SEALby Alexis Abbott

I didn’t know I was a dad…

As a Navy SEAL, I do the sh*t no one else can handle, and I’m good at it.

But I keep thinking of the one that got away. The one I let get away. A scorching hot one-night-stand, and suddenly Rebecca is in my blood. When my best friend dies in the line of duty, I realize I gotta get out if I want any hope of having a family. If I want to have a future.

So I find her. I need her to give me a second chance. When she tells me our tryst started a family for us, though? I can hardly believe my good luck.

I never expected the war to follow me home. I never expected to have to be this man again. Rebecca and our daughter shouldn’t have to see this side of me. But I can’t be just a daddy, or just a lover any more.

To protect the ones I love I need to be a cold-hearted killer, and make everyone threatening my family pay in blood.