The storyman came to the park every day to spin wondrous tales of the past, amazing fantasies that held the children in thrall. At least that was what Ryan thought they were—until his little sister, Stevie, disappeared into a mysterious trunk in the old man’s attic. So begins an enchanting and sometimes-harrowing journey for Ryan and Cimmy as they go back in time to retrieve his sister and find themselves embroiled in the politics of an America they never knew existed. Racing against impending war, they find themselves battling king and clergy in a desperate attempt to rescue Stevie and return to their own world. But before they can find Stevie, they must find each other... and themselves.

Interwoven between scathing indictments of the American president and international jihadism, is a story of terrorism, foreign intrigue, incompetence at the highest levels of the American government, and creative patriotism. Vespa Jiggs, the presidents puppeteer, is not who she seems to be. Following the secretive path of her own agenda, she is planning a catastrophic event that will forever change the worlds political course. But the killing of Osama bin Laden an action she vehemently opposed causes her to change her plans when one of her angry operatives talks a little too freely about her planned terrorist event to the wrong people. And once again, Johnny Skull and his friends rise to the occasion to save the world from the forces of evil. ________________________________________ The newest book in the Johnny Skull series is fast-paced and hard to put down. It has everything from espionage to suspense to political diatribes all mixed in with a variety of interesting characters, including women capable of slaughter. Keep em coming, Cenzo! Mary Jones, Literary Consultant Once again, Spiaggi has whipped up an incredible scenario that will have you turning the pages until the very end. Anthony Cantu, Literary Consultant

In the harsh New Mexico Territory, Hannah Wade was captured and enslaved by avenging Apaches. Only her steel-edged will to live kept her alive. Finally rescued, she returned to a husband who shunned her touch, and to white women friends who found her stained and disgraced. But Hannah fought for her honor with the help of one man who valued her strength and spirit...one man who walked by her side in a land strewn with hate and injustice.

At the end of the previous book in The Johnny Skull Series – “The Great Sicilian Rabbit Hunter” – Johnny discovers a fortune in gold and cash in an abandoned coal mine. He then proceeds to give many of his friends a gift of $20,000, but he remains the anonymous gift giver. “A Tribute To His Heroes” – the fifth in The Johnny Skull Series – follows the recipients of the gifts and how their new wealth affects their lives. Returning to the story line are many of the characters from the previous four books of the series, including Emily and Cimmaron, Rocky, Diego, Trudie and Marlie, Sheriff Webb, Helga, Sarah and Vanessa, Richie, Omaline, Saundra and Jenny, Greta, and Xerxes, the Persian. New characters include an ex-Marine and an undercover Israeli operative. A sub-plot of the story is the murder of a radical Muslim cleric, how that murder intertwines the lives of several of the characters, and the international intrigue that builds upon that incident. * * * “Reading this book was like taking a trip down memory lane and visiting old friends. The Johnny Skull Series just keeps getting better and better.” – Jack Paige, Ph.D., Literary Consultant

In this sensitive collection of poetry and prose, the essence of the writer's life is revealed. This is not a biography based on dates and events. Chronology is here measured by a man's inner growth, by the things he holds most dear. We are told of the attitudes, ideals, hopes, and dreams that make Dean Nichols unique and lend depth and power to his poetry. Drawing upon personal experience, as all poets must, Mr. Nichols admits us into a world that is enveloped with love. We feel it in tender notes to a friend, in brief phrases expressing his awe of nature and love of God, in lines that illumine his deepest feelings for his family, and in images that reflect his deepest understanding and most soaring aspirations. Many of the pieces in 'A Poet's Sketch of His Biography' are devoted to the author's beloved Alaska - the people, the harsh and beautiful land, and the sense of raw power and urgency in this pioneer state. He writes of the fishermen of Cordova, of the FAA air-controllers working a vast area of wilderness, of the warmth of home, of love. In his previous book, Dean Nichols told us that he would invite no one to share the mainland of his life; rather, he shared with us a few islands of his experience - a glimpse of an untraveled world. That his world has grown since he wrote those words is happily apparent in 'A Poet's Sketch of His Biography'.

“Starlings isn’t really a short-story collection. It’s something better: a written showreel, illustrating yet again that [Walton’s] imagination stretches to the stars (or the starlings), and that she’s endlessly inventive in finding new methods to express it.”—NPR Books An ancient coin cyber-spies on lovers and thieves. The magic mirror sees all but can do nothing. A cloned savior solves a fanatically-inspired murder. Three Irish siblings thieve treasures with bad poetry and the aid of the Queen of Cats. With these captivating initial glimpses into her storytelling psyche, Jo Walton shines through subtle myths and reinvented realities. Through eclectic stories, subtle vignettes, inspired poetry, and more, Walton soars with humans, machines, and magic—rising from the every day into the universe itself.

The black-sheep brother was home! Lovely, carefree "Annie" entranced him for three pleasure-filled days and nights, then disappeared. When Wade Hardison met frumpy, straitlaced Anne Chatsworth, he almost didn't recognize his Annie. With her smile locked away inside, Anne denied that they'd ever shared a soul-deep passion. The stubborn cowboy set out to prove her wrong…. Seeing the prodigal Hardison brother back in his family's embrace made Anne certain they couldn't be together. Wade wasn't the footloose lover she'd thought, but a marriage-and-kids man to the bone. The secret she'd kept from him was unforgivable. But resisting Wade proved impossible, because inside, she was Annie—and she loved him with all her reckless heart.

To observe an eclipse is to witness a rare and unusual event. Under darkened skies the sun becomes a negative image of itself, its corona transforming the landscape into a strange space where anything might happen, and any story may be true... In the spirit of classic science fiction anthologies such as Universe, Orbit, and Starlight, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year) presents the non-themed genre anthology Eclipse: New Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here you will find stories where strange and wonderful things happen--where reality is eclipsed by something magical and new. Continuing in the footsteps of the multiple-award-nominated anthologies Eclipse One, Eclipse Two, and Eclipse Three, Eclipse Four delivers new fiction by some of the genre's most celebrated authors, including Andy Duncan's tale of a man's gamble that he can outrun a bullet; Caitlin R. Kiernan's story of lovers contemplating the gravity of a tiny black hole; Damien Broderick's chronicle of a beancounter who acquires a most curious cat; Michael Swanwick's tale of the grey man who pulls an unhappy woman from the path of an oncoming train; Nalo Hopkinson's story of ghosts haunting a shopping mall; and Gwyneth Jones's story of an alien priest who suffers a crisis of faith...