For four university students, it was all about fun. They had a week's holiday away from their studies and they intended to get completely wasted on the Suffolk coast. But when they drove though the Cambridgeshire Fenlands, things turned nasty. That was when they drove into the worst nightmare imaginable. An horror that no young people should have to endure.For four university students, it was all about fun. They had a week's holiday away from their studies and they intended to get completely wasted on the Suffolk coast. But when they drove though the Cambridgeshire Fenlands, things turned nasty.That was when they drove into the worst nightmare imaginable. An horror that no young people should have to endure.What began as a fun weekend soon becomes a fight for survival!Sudden Death is a novelette that will grip you from the start to the finish. Pray it never happens to you.

Imagine your life as a vampire. How would you survive? What would you eat? How could you handle yourself around other humans who have beating hearts? How would you face the one you really love? Would you tell them that you are a vampire? Would you change them? Or would you lead them on with a web of lies?“I was in love again for the first time in a long time. Her beauty intrigued me and I was bound and determined to win her affection.”Ryan O’Connell is a 600-year-old vampire. He knows all about the ins and outs of being a vampire. He has been living this way for a while now. He has been through love and loss on his journey of survival. Ryan has fought in many big important battles within his time of being a vampire. He has met countless of people throughout his long life. One of the people he has encountered is Rosella. She is a fellow vampire as well. She has had her fair share of love and loss also. She has gone through many guys in her years of being a vampire. Ryan has recently turned his attention on a new suitor by the name of Victoria. Her long brown hair, tan skin, and green eyes have sparked something within Ryan’s body. He has to have her. He cannot stop thinking about her. She just has to be his. Victoria was recently fired from her job due to a bad encounter with a project she was working on for the Middle East. She had yet to find another job, but she was definitely looking. One day she decided to go to a coffee house that she frequently went to. While there, she noticed a handsome gentleman. Not knowing that the handsome man was Ryan, she leaves the coffee shop. She needed to get ready for a concert. But while getting dressed, she noticed the handsome man, but realized she must have been mistaken. Instead, she sees a bat, which is indeed, Ryan. Ryan was in love with Victoria. Even though they had never spoken to each other. But he knew, with due time, she would become his.

If a young man is ditched by his girlfriend, could he fall in love with a cat?After a series of mishaps, Rose finds herself in an alternate realm, brought there to hone the magical power she was born with. Even here, though, Rose feels set apart. The Academy Masters treat her differently than the others. Her assigned soul mate avoids her when he should be working with her. Despite all this, Rose begins to grow into something no one could’ve seen coming; a hero.With her, nothing is as it should be, and she decides to find out why. Soon she discovers that not everything about this new world is what it seems.Least of all her.

Stories ranging from the romantic (Hair), to the skeptical (The Last Rational Man) and a few macabre ones (do not read Anatomy Lab just before going to sleep)IMAGINE . . .living in a constant state of yesteryear, when the worst days of your past were the “good ol’ days.”MEET . . .Milton—a man so burdened with guilt and shame that he is unable to find peace; and worse yet, he cannot remember any real happiness.Annette—the woman whose love for Milton remained pure for an entire lifetime...even as he carried on an illicit and at times torrid affair with her closest friend before, during, and after her marriage to him.Sheila—the fiery, irresistible lover who staked a claim on Milton’s lust that never subsided. Her roller-coaster, lifelong friendship with Annette would torment her, even in death.A tumultuous story of love, deceit, and the dark side of humanity...When We Were Young!

A funny and nostalgic look at my first job. I will not forget some of those things I did and learned for the job. It was cool all in all even with the problems all jobs have. I hope to not disappoint the people when reading this.it is about the first job I had at 20 years old and it goes on to describe some of the things I did and learned as I went on to over six years at that job. it is witty and has some good times in there as well as the small, but sobering affect of the ups and down of the job. I focus more on the good things for the most part because there was some fun things I have done while working for a dry cleaners in my neighborhood and beyond. I truly felt that job was the job that gave me freedom in ways no one could ever know as I had went onto other things afterwards.

The tales of a not-so-ordinary Jack Russell dog. Just a sample of my work.Nearly 500 years ago, the War of Wizards almost destroyed the world of Melarandra. The Order of Maget was created to ensure this never occurred again. For five centuries, they have destroyed any creature, or human, who possessed magical abilities. Even as this went on, a prophecy had foretold magic's return.Royal twins Koral and Eric Traven had been told since they were children the prophecy pertained to them. The prophecy told both were needed to complete the task of returning magic, but Eric had other ideas. Always wanting to go down in history as a great hero, he planned to do it alone. Now, as their sixteenth birthday approached, the betrayal which the prophecy had foretold has occurred, setting everything into motion. Eric has gone off on his own, leaving Koral to scramble to find him. If they do not achieve the task set before them together, magic would return chaotic, and destroy the world as they know it.Now, with the help of Gillock, a wizard from the old days, and beings that are no longer supposed to exist, Koral sets out into the Central Lands. Time is already against her and she wonders if she will find her brother in time. And more importantly, before the Order does.

This accessible, opinionated essay is an attempt to respond to some common antifeminist arguments.Journey Through the Planets is a hilariously funny one act play suitable for children to perform. The plot follows a crew aboard a star cruiser shuttling a vacationing collection of comical passengers on a trek through the solar system. You'll laugh as each performer brings their interpretation and energy to the script in their own interpretive way. The story is imaginative and funny and is definitely okay for children of all ages. There is no fee for downloading or performing. You'll love this one.

Siblings, Hunter and Elly, lose their parents in a terrible accident and are forced to move in with their mysterious God Father Dr. Calenstine, the owner of the eerie Belmonte Manor. Follow the children through an adventured riddled with crytptid monsters, secret societies, and the truth about their heritage as modern day monster hunters!Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro follows the young protagonists Hunter Glenn, and Eliza Lynn through an adventure ripe with adversity, paranormal monsters, secret societies, and most haunting of all, a life without their parents.It all happened one fall afternoon when they learned that their parent’s plane had gone down overseas, never to be seen again. The book follows the siblings as they are dropped off at their new guardian’s home, an ancient and creepy mansion known only as the Belmonte Estate. Here they unravel the secrets of their parent’s true identities, the origin of the mysterious Mansion, and their inheritance into an ancient secret society of monster hunters known as Seekers.

There are the invisible members of society; they exist all around us. Most of the time, we walk by them, seeing but not seeing. Augustus Purce learned long ago that the best means of avoiding unwanted attention was to become one of the invisible.There are the invisible members of society; they exist all around us. Most of the time, we walk by them, seeing but not seeing. Augustus Purce learned long ago that the best means of avoiding unwanted attention was to become one of the invisible. He does it so well that even in his tiny village, everyone runs to the other side of Main Street to avoid him. For if they bothered to look more closely, which Augustus emphatically does NOT want, they might see him.Everyone knows that Augustus went off to war against the South, and came back when their sons, fathers, and brothers did not. He knows it too. Hiding is the only way he can survive.But now it is eleven years on from the end of the war, the nation is celebrating its Centennial soon, and someone has the poor taste to turn up dead in the house of one of the more esteemed families in the village. Augustus forces himself from hiding in order to catch a murderer, only to find that he must confront the unpleasantness of the past.

61 people live on a remote South Pacific island.Why are they there?What does this place have to do with a drug rehabilitation institute in Birmingham, England?And why are both of these places consuming the thoughts of the British Prime Minister? For every answer this story affords you, you'll be another step away from where you thought you'd be.Welcome to Ducie!Cheeps the Chick is a gorgeous illustrated children's book about a silly little baby chicken named Cheeps. Cheeps is very adventurous and loves to explore! One day he decides to find out what is on the other side of the fence (with the help of his best friend, Chuck). Little do they know, there's a fox nearby. What happens next? The illustrations in the kid's picture book are optimized to be superior quality and vivid for tablets and e-readers to improve the story and bring it to life for early and beginner readers!This is an excellent read for beginning and early readers.This book is great for a quick bedtime story or a cute tale to be read aloud with friends and family.* Excellent for early and beginning readers* Great for reading aloud with friends and family* Cute short story that is great for a quick bedtime story* Big and beautiful illustrations for kidsThis books is especially great for traveling, waiting rooms, and reading aloud at home!

Lynn doesn't know why she has to go all the way to Canada to save someone, but when Rhea tells her it's important, she listens. Even if it means facing the man of her nightmares.Cheeps the Chick is a gorgeous illustrated children's book about a silly little baby chicken named Cheeps. Cheeps is very adventurous and loves to explore! One day he decides to find out what is on the other side of the fence (with the help of his best friend, Chuck). Little do they know, there's a fox nearby. What happens next? The illustrations in the kid's picture book are optimized to be superior quality and vivid for tablets and e-readers to improve the story and bring it to life for early and beginner readers!This is an excellent read for beginning and early readers.This book is great for a quick bedtime story or a cute tale to be read aloud with friends and family.* Excellent for early and beginning readers* Great for reading aloud with friends and family* Cute short story that is great for a quick bedtime story* Big and beautiful illustrations for kidsThis books is especially great for traveling, waiting rooms, and reading aloud at home!

When the war between the Hunwei and the humans ceased without warning, not many people had survived. Those survivors lost much of the technology that had been commonplace in their society, sending them back to the dark ages. than a thousand years later, when most thought the Hunwei to be a myth, Adar believed that the Hunwei would return and resume the fight.Adar Rahid and his son Jorad have been on the run for fifteen years, chased by servants of Adar’s father who are intent on finding and killing Adar. Even while a fugitive, Adar continues to search for the secrets of their forefathers because he fervently believes that an ancient alien race known as the Hunwei are about to attack. When Adar stumbles upon large cloaked creatures in the woods, he determines that the Hunwei have returned and that drastic action needs to be taken. Just as Adar and Jorad are leaving town to seek out an ancient weapon, men sent from Adar’s father show up to kill him. Readers are taken on an adventure as the Hunwei attack and a father and son struggle to find a way to fight back in this tale of epic fantasy and science fiction. This action packed story is the first volume in the War of the Fathers series. Buy your copy today!

Forgiveness is the most attractive of the virtues. Until you actually have someone to forgive.And when Melissa Stonelea’s born-again Christian husband Grant is found strangled in the bondage room of the city’s classiest brothel she needs revenge.This acclaimed Christian thriller is the first in the private eye Johnny Ravine series.Praise for "Prophets and Loss":"Roth, an accomplished financial writer, takes his readers on a thrilling ride that begins as a story of murder and revenge and ends as a reflection on loss and forgiveness....Fast-paced and edgy."- SydneyAnglicans.net"Wow! .…When 'Prophets and Loss' arrived…I certainly wasn’t expecting a meaty murder mystery cum terrorist plot. And when I realized that’s what it was, I certainly wasn’t then expecting Roth’s Johnny Ravine mystery to deliver such a fabulous gospel message….This is a great book for a Christian or as a starter for a non-Christian. A fabulous surprise." - The Presbyterian PulseBook Description:Forgiveness is the most attractive of the virtues. Until you actually have someone to forgive.When Melissa Stonelea’s born-again Christian husband Grant is found strangled in the bondage room of the city’s classiest brothel, a page of the Bible stuffed in his mouth, she doesn’t need to hear more of her pastor’s sermons on the healing powers of forgiveness. She needs revenge.Enter private detective Johnny Ravine, seeking the quiet life in Australia after more than twenty years as a freedom fighter in East Timor. The murdered man was his best friend. But, as he starts to investigate the slaying, a mysterious phone call and then a bullet through his window plunge him into the heart of a deadly terrorist conspiracy.Suddenly he finds himself locked inside a shady world of stock market manipulators, sex workers and underground militia, while desperately hunting the killers. But Johnny is concealing a violent past and demons of his own. Can he crack the mystery before he himself cracks?In Johnny Ravine we have a brilliant but flawed hero who is plunged into the far reaches of the human psyche - forced to confront a cycle of evil that could destroy him and all he loves. But also forced to confront the evil that lurks in his own heart.This exciting book is everything a hard-boiled, private eye thriller should be - relentlessly powerful, fast-paced, full of twists and with a climax that will leave you gasping.About the Author:Martin Roth (www.authormartinroth.com) is a veteran journalist and foreign correspondent whose reports from Asia have appeared in leading publications around the world, including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun. He is the author of many books.The first three thrillers in his Johnny Ravine private eye series are “Prophets and Loss,” “Hot Rock Dreaming” (Australian Christian Book of the Year finalist) and “Burning at the Boss.” He is also the author of the Brother Half Angel series, with "The Coptic Martyr of Cairo," "Festival in the Desert," “Brother Half Angel,” “The Maria Kannon” and “Military Orders.” The first two novels in his Feisty Ferreira series of financial thrillers are "Tokyo Bossa Nova" and "The Kalgoorlie Skimpy."He lives in Australia with his Korean wife and three sons.

Gem is one of the unlucky ones, the one child in every seven that Magic forgets. Years later, her Gift finally surfaces, but to claim her Magical inheritance means rewriting her past. Then there’s Buddy, who died one night in a car accident, but is still turning up on Gem’s doorstep, asking for his Fortune to be read, desperately seeking a future when his life is already over.Gem is one of the unlucky ones, the one child in every seven that Magic forgets to bestow a Gift upon. And, as an extra unhappy bonus, she gets to be terrified of birds. Years later when her Gift finally surfaces and she should be happy that Magic didn't forget her after all, she discovers that to claim her Magical inheritance she must revisit and conquer her old childhood fears. Then Gavin, her son, manifests his Magic while little more than a baby, but his peculiar ability to restore youthfulness to the old brings its own problems, not to mention hordes of old people. And worst of all, there’s Buddy, who died one night in a car accident, but is still turning up on Gem’s doorstep, day after day, asking for his Fortune to be read, desperately seeking a future when his life is already over.

A sampler of the mystery adventure novels of Richard L. Wren, including two never before published stories and excerpts from his four (thus far) published books.This is a sampler including excerpts from four mystery-adventure novels, and two never before published stories featuring the main characters of the other novels. The author of four novels thus far, Richard L. Wren's main characters are Joshua Rogan (a Park Ranger with championship martial arts skills who solves unusual mysteries) and Casey & Smitty (Casey Alton -- young sailboat captain; Smitty Smith -- semi-retired motorcycle gang leader).Included are the brand new stories "Casey & Smitty Go Fishing (and Catch Something They Don't Want)" and "Yellowstone Justice," featuring Joshua Rogan. Plus, excerpts from the two Casey Alton Mysteries (CASEY'S SLIP and MURDER MADE LEGAL) and the two Joshua Rogan adventures (JOSHUA'S REVENGE and JUSTICE FOR JOSHUA).

In this story, park ranger and martial artist Joshua Rogan has to use all of his abilities to catch a murderer who's been evading capture for two years, a man who is the ultimate woodsman and jungle fighter.A short ebook featuring Joshua Rogan: World champion Karate, Ninja and Parkour expert and a walking lethal weapon, doubles as a married Yosemite Park Ranger to avoid unwanted publicity. He spends his spare time with the remaining Native American Indians in the valley, absorbing their forest survival, tracking and fighting techniques. He’s continuously confronted with dangerous situation that only he can solve.In this story, Joshua Rogan has to use all of his abilities to catch a murderer who's been evading capture for two years, a man who is the ultimate woodsman and jungle fighter.

Told that she has inherited none of her parents' powers, not knowing what she really is, Tyrnill escapes from the school that intends to demote her from prized student to kitchen drudge ... only to stumble upon the one person who can teach her how to access her potential and become more than she - or anyone else - ever could have imagined.It's easy to overlook your own worth when no one else cares to look for it either ... Told that she has inherited none of her parents' powers, not knowing what she really is, Tyrnill escapes from the school that intends to demote her from prized student to kitchen drudge ... only to stumble upon the one person who can teach her how to access her potential and become more than she - or anyone else - ever could have imagined. **originally published in 1994, in Volume XI of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress**

“The one story that could destroy all the gods!”When Hercules saves Sparta from the human devouring one hundred foot tall four faced fire breathing monster-Haderus, the jealous gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus become infuriated with Greece's favorite praise stealing demigod. King Zeus retaliates by blessing all Greece with four deadly curses.“The one story that could destroy all the gods!”When Hercules saves Sparta from the human devouring one hundred foot tall four faced fire breathing monster-Haderus, the jealous gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus become infuriated with Greece's favorite praise stealing demigod. King Zeus retaliates by blessing all Greece with four deadly curses that will surely turn the desperate citizens back to worshiping the true gods. Heartbroken Hercules races to find the cures that will save his people, but finds a deep hidden secret along his journey that could doom all the deity of Mount Olympus. Humble Hercules only desires to win his father's affection, but the quest to save his people turns in to his most dangerous rescue mission; to steal and heal his father's ailing heart.

Do you remember who I am?Do you remember my name?I guess I’m to blame.If I am, If I’m to blame,I’ll push it away again and Into the holes in my veinsWhere my blood has spilled to nearly kill meOnce and for all, for all of the same,Because I’m the one to blame, I guessI’m the one to blame, so,If I’m to blame,So be it as it may, becauseIf I’m to blame,It no longer matters what I say.I’m bruised enough toBe no more used too much,And… if I’m to blame,Do you remember who I am?Do you remember my name?I guess I’m to blame.If I am, If I’m to blame,I’ll push it away again and Into the holes in my veinsWhere my blood has spilled to nearly kill meOnce and for all, for all of the same,Because I’m the one to blame, I guessI’m the one to blame, so,If I’m to blame,So be it as it may, becauseIf I’m to blame,It no longer matters what I say.

A handful of random thoughts/poems centered around love and the trials that come along with it. Very familiar to those who have loved, lost a loved one or are dealing with relationship issues. Some believe that love does not hurt. Truly, at some point we will hurt. But we heal, become stronger and continue to love or love again. The pleasure of love will always outweigh any pain.A handful of random thoughts/poems centered around love and the trials that come along with it. Very familiar to those who have loved, lost a loved one or are dealing with relationship issues. Some believe that love does not hurt. Truly, at some point we will hurt. But we heal, become stronger and continue to love or love again. The pleasure of love will always outweigh any pain

The “master storyteller” (Publishers Weekly) and bestselling author of Gates of Fire, The Afghan Campaign, and Killing Rommel returns with a stunning, chillingly plausible near-future thriller about the rise of a privately financed and global military industrial complex. The year is 2032. The third Iran-Iraq war is over; the 11/11 dirty bomb attack on the port of Long Beach, California is receding into memory; Saudi Arabia has recently quelled a coup; Russians and Turks are clashing in the Caspian Basin; Iranian armored units, supported by the satellite and drone power of their Chinese allies, have emerged from their enclaves in Tehran and are sweeping south attempting to recapture the resource rich territory that had been stolen from them, in their view, by Lukoil, BP, and ExxonMobil and their privately-funded armies. Everywhere military force is for hire.  Oil companies, multi-national corporations and banks employ powerful, cutting-edge mercenary armies to control global chaos and protect their riches.  Even nation states enlist mercenary forces to suppress internal insurrections, hunt terrorists, and do the black bag jobs necessary to maintain the new New World Order. Force Insertion is the world's merc monopoly. Its leader is the disgraced former United States Marine General James Salter, stripped of his command by the president for nuclear saber-rattling with the Chinese and banished to the Far East.  A grandmaster military and political strategist, Salter deftly seizes huge oil and gas fields, ultimately making himself the most powerful man in the world.  Salter's endgame is to take vengeance on those responsible for his exile and then come home...as Commander in Chief. The only man who can stop him is the novel's narrator, Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme, Salter's most loyal foot soldier and as close to him as the son Salter lost. As this action-jammed, lightning fast, and brutally realistic novel builds to its heart-stopping climax Gent launches his personally and professionally most desperate mission: to take out his mentor and save the United States from self destruction. Infused by a staggering breadth of research in military tactics and steeped in the timeless themes of the honor and valor of men at war that distinguish all of Pressfield’s fiction, The Profession is that rare novel that informs and challenges the reader almost as much as it entertains. From the Hardcover edition.

** June 5, 1967. **The nineteen-year-old state of Israel is surrounded by enemies who want nothing less than her utter extinction. The Soviet-equipped Egyptian Army has amassed a thousand tanks on the nation’s southern border. Syrian heavy guns are shelling her from the north. To the east, Jordan and Iraq are moving mechanized brigades and fighter squadrons into position to attack. Egypt’s President Nasser has declared that the Arab force’s objective is the destruction of Israel.” The rest of the world turns a blind eye to the new nation’s desperate peril. June 10, 1967. The Arab armies have been routed, ground divisions wiped out, air forces totally destroyed. Israel’s citizen-soldiers have seized the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan. The land under Israeli control has tripled. Her charismatic defense minister, Moshe Dayan, has entered the Lion’s Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem to stand with the paratroopers who have liberated Judaism’s holiest site—the Western Wall, part of the ruins of Solomon’s temple, which has not been in Jewish hands for nineteen hundred years. It is one of the most unlikely and astonishing military victories in history. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with veterans of the war—fighter and helicopter pilots, tank commanders and Recon soldiers, paratroopers, as well as women soldiers, wives, and others—bestselling author Steven Pressfield tells the story of the Six Day War as you’ve never experienced it before: in the voices of the young men and women who battled not only for their lives but for the survival of a Jewish state, and for the dreams of their ancestors. By turns inspiring, thrilling, and heartbreaking, The Lion’s Gate is both a true tale of military courage under fire and a journey into the heart of what it means to fight for one’s people.

The author of the international bestsellers "Gates of Fire" and "Tides of War" delivers his most gripping and imaginative novel of the ancient world-a stunning epic oflove and war that breathes life into the grand myth of the ferocious female warrior culture of the Amazons. Steven Pressfield has gained a passionate worldwide following for his magnificent novels ofancient Greece, "Gates of Fire" and "Tides of War." In "Last of the Amazons," Pressfield has surpassed himself, re-creating a vanished world in a brilliant novel thatwill delight his loyal readers and bring legions more to his singular and powerful restoration of the past. In the time before Homer, the legendary Theseus, King of Athens (an actual historicalfigure), set sail on a journey that brought him into the land of "tal Kyrte," the "free people," a nation of proud female warriors whom the Greeks called "Amazons."The Amazons, bound to each other as lovers as well as fighters, distrusted the Greeks, with their boastful talk of "civilization." So when the great war queen Antiope fell in love with Theseus and fledwith the Greeks, the mighty Amazon nation rose up in rage. "Last of the Amazons" is not merely a masterful tale of war and revenge. Pressfield has created a cast of extraordinarilyvivid characters, from the unforgettable Selene, whose surrender to the Greeks does nothing to tame her; to her lover, Damon, an Athenian warrior who grows to cherish the wild Amazon ways; to the narrator, Bones, a younggirl from a noble family who was nursed by Selene from birth and secretly taught the Amazon way; to the great Theseus, the tragic king; and to Antiope, the noble queen who betrayed "tal Kyrte" for the loveof Theseus. With astounding immediacy and extraordinary attention to military detail, Pressfield transports readers into the heat and terror of war. Equally impressive is his creation of the Amazonnation, its people, its rituals and myths, its greatness and savagery. "Last of the Amazons" is thrilling on every page, an epic tale of the clash between wildness and civilization, patriotism and love, man and woman. "From the Hardcover edition."

In the Depression year of 1931, on the golf links at Krewe Island off Savannah's windswept shore, two legends of the game - Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen - meet for a mesmerizing thirty-six hole showdown. They are joined by another player, a troubled war hero called Rannulph Junah. But the key to the outcome lies not with these golfing titans but with Junah's caddie and mentor, the mysterious, sage and charismatic Bagger Vance - for he is the custodian of the secret of the Authentic Swing... Written in the spirit of Bernard Malamud's The Natural and sharing the magic of the celebrated Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, Steven Pressfield's first novel - never before published in the UK - reveals the true nature of the game. Page-turning, spellbinding and affecting, it is a novel for golfers and non-golfers alike - a story in which the search for the Authentic Swing becomes a metaphor for the search for the Authentic Self. 'A marvellous, life-affirming book' Mark McCormack 'Golf and mysticism...a dazzler and a thought-provoker' Los Angeles Times 'Good stuff...a philosophical fantasy imagined on a golf course, heavy with fog, storm, fireworks and the howling winds of supernatural forces' New York Times Book Review 'Memorable...a page-turner...golf played a foot or so from Alice's looking glass, with mystical realms poised to engulf the reader at every turn' Sports Illustrated

BONUS: This eBook edition contains an excerpt from THE PROFESSION: A Thriller by Steven Pressfield. On sale June 2011. 2,300 years ago an unbeaten army of the West invaded the homeland of a fierce Eastern tribal foe. This is one soldier’s story . . . The bestselling novelist of ancient warfare returns with a riveting historical novel that re-creates Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Afghan kingdoms in 330 b.c. In a story that might have been ripped from today’s combat dispatches, Steven Pressfield brings to life the confrontation between an invading Western army and fierce Eastern warriors determined at all costs to defend their homeland. Narrated by an infantryman in Alexander’s army, The Afghan Campaign explores the challenges, both military and moral, that Alexander and his soldiers face as they embark on a new type of war and are forced to adapt to the methods of a ruthless foe that employs terror and insurgent tactics. An edge-of-your-seat adventure, The Afghan Campaign once again demonstrates Pressfield’s profound understanding of the hopes and desperation of men in battle and of the historical realities that continue to influence our world.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Steven Pressfield's The Profession. Brilliant at war, a master of politics, and a charismatic lover, Alcibiades was Athens’ favorite son and the city’s greatest general. A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory. But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies. For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides — and ended up trusted by neither. Narrated from death row by Alcibiades’ bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens, Tides of War tells an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Steven Pressfield's The Profession. I have always been a soldier. I have known no other life. So begins Alexander’s extraordinary confession on the eve of his greatest crisis of leadership. By turns heroic and calculating, compassionate and utterly merciless, Alexander recounts with a warrior’s unflinching eye for detail the blood, the terror, and the tactics of his greatest battlefield victories. Whether surviving his father’s brutal assassination, presiding over a massacre, or weeping at the death of a beloved comrade-in-arms, Alexander never denies the hard realities of the code by which he lives: the virtues of war. But as much as he was feared by his enemies, he was loved and revered by his friends, his generals, and the men who followed him into battle. Often outnumbered, never outfought, Alexander conquered every enemy the world stood against him–but the one he never saw coming. . . .

Steven Pressfield's quintet of acclaimed, bestselling novels of ancient warfare-- Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, The Virtues of Wa, r and The Afghan Campaign-- have earned him a reputation as a master chronicler of military history, a supremely literate and engaging storyteller, and an author with acute insight into the minds of men in battle. In Killing Rommel Pressfield extends his talents to the modern world with a WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox. Autumn 1942. Hitler's legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan--send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks. Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte--Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this band of brothers as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies' victory in North Africa. As in all of his previous novels, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield. A vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war, Killing Rommel brilliantly dramatizes an aspect of World War II that hasn't been in the limelight since Patton. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, this galvanizing novel heralds Pressfield's gift for bringing more recent history to life.

Emma Ross is a hard-working, quiet girl who tries to stay off the radar. It's all going okay for her until she starts getting along with one of the 'It' boys. Having this happen, comes with drama and pain, is it all worth it? Or it is just best to stay out of it all? As Emma battles with the conflict, which will she choose? It might just be the best thing for her...

After all the big kerfuffle and jumble of life, Emma seemed to never catch a break. After stealing the heart of an "It" boy, trouble seemed to be everywhere she turned. Decisions and shocking revelations leave her unsure of her future, And as she makes the big decisions with her life, will she ever find out what will be the best thing for her? A sequel of a Wattpad book with over 20 million views, will this nobody get her happily ever after?

In this landmark book on the creative process, the bestselling author of The Artist's Way reveals the intricate soul work artists must undertake in order to find inspiration. In The Sound of Paper, Julia Cameron delves deep into the heart of the personal struggles that all artists face. What can we do when we face our keyboard or canvas with nothing but a cold emptiness? How can we begin to carve out our creation when our vision and drive are clouded by life's uncertainties? In other words, how can we begin the difficult work of being an artist? Drawing upon her many years of personal experience as both an artist and a teacher, Julia Cameron guides readers to a place where they can find the strength and courage to create. Demonstrating how this involves a process of constant renewal, of starting from the beginning, she writes, "When we are building a life from scratch, we must dig a little. We must be like that hen scratching the soil: 'What goodness is hidden here, just below the surface?' we must ask." With exercises designed to develop the power to infuse one's art with a deeply informed knowledge of the soul, this book is an essential artist's companion from one of the foremost authorities on the creative process. Julia Cameron's most illuminating book to date, The Sound of Paper provides readers with a spiritual path for creating the best work of their lives.

This hilarious look at creative blockage and blunder is a laugh-out-loud tribute to artist procrastination. In How to Avoid Making Art, the bestselling author of The Artist's Way delivers a (tongue-in-cheek!) guide to doing anything and everything you possibly can to avoid making art. Anyone who is engaged in a creative pursuit will no doubt identify with these wonderful cartoons by award-winning artist Elizabeth Cameron of creative wannabes doing everything except actually getting down to work. "For most people creativity is a serious business," says Julia Cameron. "They forget the telling phrase 'the play of ideas' and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play." Ultimately, the characters in this book show us how we can turn our procrastination into play and our play into great work. With this delightful volume, Julia Cameron once again hits the nail on the head on the subject of creativity.

An unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university. A maverick English teacher at odds with the young and shrewd supply teacher. A headmaster obsessed with results; a history teacher who thinks he's a fool. In Alan Bennett's new play, staff room rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence provoke insistent questions about history and how you teach it; about education and its purpose. The History Boys premièred at the National in May 2004. 'Nothing could diminish the incendiary achievement of this subtle, deep-wrought and immensely funny play about the value and meaning of education .. In short, a superb, life-enhancing play.' Guardian

From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winningThe History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of readingWhen her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.

The Ransomes had been burgled. "Robbed," Mrs. Ransome said. "Burgled," Mr. Ransome corrected. Premises were burgled; persons were robbed. Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. Though "burgled" was the wrong word too. Burglars select; they pick; they remove one item and ignore others. There is a limit to what burglars can take: they seldom take easy chairs, for example, and even more seldom settees. These burglars did. They took everything.This swift-moving comic fable will surprise you with its concealed depths. When the sedate Ransomes return from the opera to find their Notting Hill flat stripped absolutely bare--down to the toilet paper off the roll (a hard-to-find shade of forget-me-not blue)--they face a dilemma: Who are they without the things they've spent a lifetime accumulating? Suddenly the world is full of unlimited and frightening possibility. But just as they begin adjusting to this giddy freedom, a newfound interest in sex, and...

Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional screen writing.Bennett concedes that "One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation", but as the plastic bags build up, the years pass by and Miss Shepherd moves into Bennett's driveway, a relationship is established which defines a certain moment in late 20th-century London life which has probably gone forever. The dissenting, liberal, middle-class world of Bennett and his peers comes into hilarious but also telling collision with the world of Miss Shepherd: "there was a gap between our social position and our social obligations. It was in this gap that Miss Shepherd (in her van) was able to live". Bennett recounts Miss Shepherd's bizarre escapades in his inimitable style, from her letter to the Argentinean Embassy at the height of the Falklands War, to her attempts to stand for Parliament and wangle an electric wheelchair out of the Social Services. Beautifully observed, The Lady in the Van is as notable for Bennett's attempts to uncover the enigmatic history of Miss Shepherd, as it is for its amusing account of her eccentric escapades. --Jerry Brotton

The inimitable Alan Bennett selects and comments upon six favorite poets and the pleasures of their worksIn this candid, thoroughly engaging book, Alan Bennett creates a unique anthology of works by six well-loved poets. Freely admitting his own youthful bafflement with poetry, Bennett reassures us that the poets and poems in this volume are not only accessible but also highly enjoyable. He then proceeds to prove irresistibly that this is so.Bennett selects more than seventy poems by Thomas Hardy, A. E. Housman, John Betjeman, W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, and Philip Larkin. He peppers his discussion of these writers and their verse with anecdotes, shrewd appraisal, and telling biographical detail: Hardy lyrically recalls his first wife, Emma, in his poetry, although he treated her shabbily in real life. The fabled Auden was a formidable and off-putting figure at the lectern. Larkin, hoping to subvert snooping biographers, ordered personal papers shredded upon his...

Alan Bennett's first collection of prose since Writing Home takes in all his major writings over the last ten years. The title piece is a poignant family memoir with an account of the marriage of his parents, the lives and deaths of his aunts and the uncovering of a long-held family secret. Also included are his much celebrated diaries for the years 1996 to 2004. At times heartrending and at others extremely funny, Untold Stories is a matchless and unforgettable anthology. 'Funny, moving and true.' Blake Morrison, Guardian 'I have never read a book of this length where I have turned the last page with such regret. It is intelligent, educated, engaging, humane, self-aware, cantankerous and irresistibly funny. You want it to go on forever.' John Carey, Sunday Times 'I can only join the mighty chorus of praise.' Nicholas Hytner, Sunday Telegraph 'Alan Bennett, with his combination of pitiless observation and gentle understatement, is perhaps the best loved of English writers alive...

Amazon.com ReviewWith his actor's ear for dialogue, his dead-on pacing, and his talent for social comedy, British playwright Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) is hardly lacking in literary gifts. The three stories in The Laying On of Hands, two of which have been filmed by the BBC, are funny in different ways. The title piece is a slow-to-ripen satire set at the Anglican funeral service of a handsome young masseur, whose clients turn out to include cabinet ministers, soap opera stars, and the presiding clergyman. The second story, "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," describes the odd relationship a pure-minded middle-aged woman develops with her charming chiropodist (podiatrist). And the final story, "Father! Father! Burning Bright," follows a mousy schoolteacher named Midgley through the self-searching and nurse-hunting days preceding his father's death in Intensive Care. The range and subtle coloration of Bennett's humor will appeal, especially, to readers of Robertson Davies and Muriel Spark. --Regina MarlerFrom Publishers WeeklyBennett hits the mark in the title novella of this brief collection, which also features a second, shorter novella as well as a single short story. The funeral of a masseur who serviced British celebrities in a variety of ways becomes the setting for a cheeky comedy of manners in the title yarn, as a young gay priest fails his first big test when he lets the final testimonials turn into an outrageous debate over whether the masseur died of AIDS or contracted an obscure disease while traveling in South America. The punch line falls flat in the second effort, "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," when a woman finds a mutual outlet for her unusual sexual fetish in her ongoing appointments with her podiatrist. The final novella, "Father! Father! Burning Bright," gets off to a murky start as a married, middle-aged schoolteacher struggles to sort through his mixed emotions when a stroke leaves his father at death's door, but the ending, involving the teacher's strange attraction to his father's comely nurse, closes the narrative with a nice satiric twist. Bennett's multileveled approach makes the title story work, as he slowly layers his conceit with observations on the celebrity scene in Britain and the priest's recollections of his romantic interaction with the deceased. Unfortunately, the quality of craft drops significantly in the other two efforts, with the second novella in particular focusing more on manners than comedy.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This second volume of plays by Alan Bennett includes his two Kafka plays, one an hilarious comedy, the other a profound and searching drama. Also included is An Englishman Abroad and A Question of Attribution. The fascination of these two plays lies in the way they question our accepted notions of treachery and, in different ways, make a sympathetic case for Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt.

The Laying on of Hands, the painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous. The Clothes They Stood Up In, the comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped completely bare. Father! Father! Burning Bright, the savage satire on the family of a dying man who rules over them from his hospital bed. The Lady in the Van, the true story of the eccentric old woman who is invited to live in a homeowner's front garden. She stays there, in her van, for fifteen years. The home is Alan Bennett's. It became a West End hit, starring Maggie Smith.Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics.

George III's behaviour has often been odd, but now he is deranged, with rumours circulating that he has even addressed an oak tree as the King of Prussia. Doctors are brought in, the government wavers and the Prince Regent manoeuvres himself into power. Alan Bennett's play explores the court of a mad king, and the fearful treatments he was forced to undergo. It is about the nature of kingship itself, showing how by subtle degrees the ruler's delirium erodes his authority and status.

Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W. H. Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first in twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, among others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Alan Bennett’s new play is as much about the theater as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion’s spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.**

This collection of Alan Bennett's work includes his first play and West End hit, Forty Years On, as well as Getting On, Habeus Corpus, and Enjoy. Forty Years On 'Alan Bennett's most gloriously funny play ... a brilliant, youthful perception of a nation in decline, as seen through the eyes of a home-grown school play ... a classic.' Daily Mail Getting On Winner of the Evening Standard Best Comedy Award in 1971, Getting on is an account of a middle-aged Labour MP, so self-absorbed that he remains blind to the fact that his wife is having an affair with the handyman, his mother-in-law in dying, his son is getting ready to leave home, his best friend thinks him a fool and that to everyone who comes into contact with him he is a self-esteeming joke. Habeus Corpus 'After two elegiac comedies about the decline of old England, Mr Bennett has now written a gorgeously vulgar but densely plotted facre that is a downright celebration of sex and the human body ... a combination of hurtling action...

Now a major motion picture starring Maggie Smith, Alan Bennett's famous and heartwarming story "The Lady in the Van," and more of Bennett's classic short-form workAlan Bennett has long been one of the world's most revered humorists. From his acclaimed story collection Smut to his hilarious and sharply observed The Uncommon Reader, Bennett has consistently remained one of literature's most acute observers of Britain and life's many absurdities.In this new collection, drawn from his wide-ranging career, you'll read some of Bennett's finest work, including the title story, the basis for a new feature film starring Maggie Smith. The book also includes the rollicking comic masterpiece "The Laying on of Hands" and the bittersweet "Father! Father! Burning Bright," Bennett's classic tale of the tense relationship between a man and his dying father.