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The Abandoned Orphanageby John Carter

On the first day of summer a young girl Lauren disappears after climbing through a broken window into an abandoned building that was once an orphanage. Now Jacob, her brother and only witness to her disappearance, Jose, a newspaper reporter and recent widower, and Anna, a woman with her own connection to the old orphanage, along with three paranormal researchers, will try to untangle the secrets and mysteries of the place they call the Home.

The Aladdin Trilogyby J.R. Rain

Return to the magical land of the Arabian Nights! The complete bestselling Aladdin trilogy by Piers Anthony and J.R. Rain, now available in one volume!

ALADDIN RELIGHTED
The end of "Aladdin of the Lamp" finds the cunning Aladdin ruler of a great kingdom. Now, many years have passed. Aladdin is older, richer and wiser… and heart broken, and after losing his beloved wife and son to foul play, he resigns from being king and sets out to do what he does best. Now working as an anonymous relic hunter using the name Niddala (Aladdin spelled backwards), he's hired by a desperate-and beautiful-noble woman named Jewel to rescue her kidnapped son. Prince Zeyn, a powerful wizard from the magical land of Djinnland, has designs on Aladdin's kingdom, and Jewel's son is to be the final piece of a bloody plot to rule two worlds.

ALADDIN SINS BAD
Life as the king of Agrabah is never boring, especially when the dashing Sinbad the Sailor requests a ship to save his kidnapped wife. Aladdin, never one to run from danger, agrees to help and accompanies Sinbad as they set sail to accumulate enough treasure to ransom the sailor's wife. Soon they run afoul of zombies, sirens, demons, nymphs, evil djinns, and a dastardly plot to take over his kingdom. But Aladdin has a few tricks up his sleeves… including one very magical lamp.

ALADDIN AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
When Aladdin is summoned to save the magical Sirens from a ruthless and mysterious enemy, he soon discovers that the Key to Hades has been stolen from the sea nymphs' lair. Now the King of Agrabagh must venture deep into the heart of the Dark Continent in search of the legendary entrance to the Underworld. But when a costly mistake unknowingly bestows upon their flying ship all the knowledge of the Universe, plans radically change. What follows is a game of gods and demigods that pits Aladdin against Hades himself. At stake is not only his immortal soul but the lives of everyone he loves. Luckily, Aladdin has a few tricks up his sleeve―and friends in high places, including one very powerful djinn.

Paper or Plastic?: The Grocery Store Chroniclesby Rick Bylina

This is my memoir, a senior-citizen night cashier chronicling the odd, uplifiting, and sometimes sad slices of life in a chain-based grocery store in the 'hood from July 2013 to November 2014. You might just be surprised.

When I paid off our house in January 2013, I put aside money for federal taxes but forgot about state taxes. On April 3, I realized with horror, my mistake. The next day, the pump for our 400-foot deep well died. A week later, the car demanded extensive repairs, depleting the remainder of our emergency funds. I didn't want to tap our retirement monies. I did want to keep writing my novels, but royalties didn't cover unexpected bills. I needed a job with a steady paycheck.

Being older, finding a good job in the early 2000s proved difficult. Interviews were few regardless of an excellent work history. My expectations plummeted until any job seemed acceptable. For me, that job was as a night shift grocery store stocker, a job better suited for a teenager.

I take a Zen approach to work. Regardless of what I'm asked to do, I do it with pride, and then try to do it better, to exceed expectations. I might not always succeed, but if I didn't try, I'd just be punching the clock without making a difference. And another thing: one of the penalties you pay for not trying your best in any situation–time drags. I hate that.

Despite my best efforts, I failed at re-stocking. The physical demands of the job and arthritis trumped my best efforts. Management must have liked my attitude though and made me a night cashier. In retrospect, it was the ultimate win-win. I was not a fast cashier, but I hated being idle and did all the required night cashier work, plus those little things I thought would make the store function better.

Writing on Facebook about what happened during work began as a lark. Small blurbs mutated into stories about my life, the customers, and after dark adventures. People seemed to like my mostly quirky postings about a different sort of nightlife. I edited the early blurbs so they would reflect a certain style, but the true stories remained. And I've included links to story enhancing information and entertainment.

I hope readers enjoy my experience as a night cashier, the lives I touched, and those that touched me.

Even More Ketchup than Salsa: The Final Dollopby Joe Cawley

A must-read reality check for anybody who has ever pondered making a new life abroad

“Pure enjoyment!”

“Another corker from Mr Cawley”

“Couldn’t put it down. Made me happy, made me sad, made me happy some more. Really, really good book. Can’t wait for the next installment!”

“Funny, emotional and identifiable, loved every minute…”

The first six months of running the Smugglers Tavern had been a baptism of fire. The subsequent years were about as much fun as bobbing for apples in a vat of acid.

Having swapped the tin roof of a cold British fish market for the sunny skies of Tenerife, one of Spain’s holiday islands, Joe and Joy succeeded in thwarting the first wave of attacks from bungling bureaucrats, bewildered holidaymakers and their own spectacular ineptitude.

What they didn’t realise was that their enemies were regrouping. Not only that, but those enemies had made camp a lot closer to home, enemies that would make their encounters with exploding gas bottles, East European squatters and big-time Charlies seem like chapters from a children’s picture book.

Dreams are shattered, relationships left in tatters and sanity is tested in this prize-winning travel and humour memoir in this revelation about what it’s really like when you try to make a better life for yourself overseas.

Recent reviews

• “Beautifully observed, laugh-out-loud funny in parts and heartbreakingly emotional in others. If you’ve ever lived abroad, particularly in Spain, this book has something in it for you.”
• “Hilarious all the way through and tinged with the slightest of sadness in parts.”
• “The humour reminds me a lot of Deric Longden’s equally poignant books and plays, especially the bits about Joe’s gran and Buster the cat. Would make a great film.”
• “Loved this book! Laughed and cried… Honest and compelling read.”

The Lone Dragon Knightby D.C. Clemens

His memories only go as far back to his days slaying starved beasts and mad men in a dark pit, but soon after he’s sold to a criminal syndicate, Mercer gains a chance to avenge the life he lost. Helping him take advantage of the opportunity is an enchanted longsword he finds deep within a mountain, whose power links to that of an ancient dragon. If Mercer hopes to achieve retribution against his formidable foes, he must become something not seen in centuries–a dragon knight.

Griff Montgomery, Quarterbackby Jean Joachim

He wanted a wife. She didn’t want to get married, again — ever! Not a match made in heaven, or are they? Griff was a substitute dad for his sister’s kids until she remarried and moved to California. Now his life was empty. He wanted a family of his own.
Lauren was devastated by the loss of her pregnancy and her husband. She vowed to leave men in the dust and focus on her career.
Drawn together in a tug-of-war over a dog — was it hate-at-first-sight or lust? Could these polar opposites ignore the electricity growing between them? Would stubbornness win out over attraction?

The Red Furyby Kathryn Le Veque

If you loved The Wolfe, Rise of the Defender, and The Dark One: Dark Knight, welcome to the original Le Veque epic Medieval saga of THE RED FURY. England and Scotland collide in this blockbuster tale of revenge, betrayal, hope, and passion.

1233 A.D. – A young woman forced to command her father’s battered Highlander army upon his death. Her only hope in saving her home, and her life, is with a fearsome mercenary called The Red Fury.

Josephine de Carron is a young woman with a massive legacy weighing on her slender shoulders. As heiress to the Earldom of Ayr, she is a cousin to the king through her mother, and the king considers her a most valuable bargaining tool in the politics of Scotland. But Josephine isn’t a willing pawn for the king – she’s only concerned with saving her family home, Castle Torridon, from the repeated attacks of a former ally. After a particularly nasty siege, Josephine realizes that they cannot withstand another and she is forced to summon the most feared mercenary in Scotland, a man known as The Red Fury.

Andrew d’Vant is a paradox – an English knight, he escaped his wicked brother years ago and fled to the highlands of Scotland, forming one of the most rag-tag and fiercest mercenary armies the world has ever seen. He has become very rich by fighting – and winning – other men’s battles. Summoned by Josephine, Andrew’s price is too high for the beaten castle but his instant attraction to Josephine has him accepting the task for far less than his usual fee. There’s something about the strong, battered, and beautiful woman that draws him in.

But The Red Fury gets more than he bargained for.

A simple task of defending a castle becomes an enormous and complex tale of adventure, suspicion, royal intervention, and dark family secrets. When Josephine is thrust into the king’s politics in spite of her resistance, she finds herself pledged to none other than Andrew’s wicked brother. Now, Josephine finds herself at the heart of the Kingdom of Scotland and deeply in love with Andrew, and he with her. Andrew must join with former adversaries in order to save the woman he loves from the man who ruined his life.

The Red Fury is in for the fight of his life with the prize being Josephine.

Hammond Flux, Life After Fleshby Alan Killip

“Killip has the ability to create and tell stories that are radically different than the ones we heard in the past.” – Israel Drazin, VINE VOICE

The threat of a funding cut from the shadowy government agency supporting the Lazarus Project – a quantum machine that can emulated the human mind -leaves scientists Hammond Hinkley and Addison Royale in a predicament: demonstrate quick (and militarily useful) results to their backers or watch the plug pulled on the project that has preoccupied them for so many years. This leads to the hasty decision to digitise Hammond’s mind into Flux, his own largely untested machine, despite the risks known and unknown.

After some initial orientation complications, Hammond’s virtual-world journey starts well enough. London is transformed into a lurid psychedelic dreamscape of shiny towers and sex orgies as Hammond finds growing confidence living as his cyber self. The Shard becomes his office replete with rooftop helipad, while the Dungeon of Unrestrained Desire allows him to explore all the perverse pleasures he can imagine, free from the constraints of real world relationships (and physics). But this heady pleasure trip doesn’t last long in this contemporary British science fiction story and one of the most exciting debut novels of 2017.

Fueling digital Hammond’s ascent to megalomania is the assistant Gary, the remnant of an earlier experimental subject digitized into Flux who becomes his Man Friday. Also within Flux a commanding boss like character called Shinkley, weirdly distorted versions of his wife, his best friend and an Irish Wolf Hound who represents his animal soul.

Back in the real world, there is an undercurrent of sexual tension with Hammond’s desire for colleague Addison Royale, who seems oblivious to his mildly flirtatious behavior. This passion looms large in the Flux version of Hammond, while his actual wife and newborn child are relegated to a mere robotic nuisance. When Flux’s funders, represented by the overbearing bully Jack Rance, and his paymasters – the governmental powerplayer Chinnery – threaten to close down Flux, this apocalyptic AI tale takes an innovative twist on the man vs machine narrative.

This gripping tale leaves you wondering just how far from our current reality the story is.

“…a powerful dystopian yet parodic vision…” – The BookLife Prize in Fiction

Dawning Ascentby Jen L. Grey

Power comes with a price.

Treated like an outcast in her own kingdom, Ariah learned to live in the shadows. But as she comes into her powers, she catches the eye of her life long crush and an unlikely ally. Trusting either of them could help her along a dangerous journey… or could bring her journey to a dangerous end.

When enemies come to light and distrust spreads, Ariah’s safety is put in jeopardy. If she places her trust in the wrong people, her hidden powers will be unveiled to those who wish to use them against her.

To survive, Ariah must learn who has her best interests at heart. If she chooses wrong, it could mean not only her own death, but the crumbling of the entire country.

Game of Thrones meets Practical Magic in DAWNING ASCENT, a coming of age fantasy read for adults and young adults alike!