Raist was genetically engineered to be smarter, faster, stronger, and a leader of the most elite Solarian military team that has never lost. His group is contacted with a mission worth the risk of such a valuable asset: recovering the enigmatic secret known only as AKRA. With a horrifying discovery that threatens to affect the very framework of reality, everything he has may not be enough.Raist was genetically engineered to be smarter, faster, stronger, and a leader of the most elite Solarian military team that has never lost. His group is contacted with a mission worth the risk of such a valuable asset: recovering the enigmatic secret known only as AKRA. Given unlimited resources, his team must assault a hostile planet that has staved off all attacks. With a horrifying discovery that threatens to affect the very framework of reality, everything he has may not be enough.***This story is part of the VayneLine series that explores humanity’s near future of living across the stars and under foreign occupation. After Earth was environmentally devastated amidst a nuclear war, the Aelisha step and save us at a high cost. In return for being uplifted and given their advanced technology, humanity becomes a subservient race for their empire. The stories blend fast-paced action with deep philosophical questions regarding time, fate, and individual will. The stories do not need to be read in order but each story ties together in a larger narrative.Visit www.Vayneline.com for more information on this story and all of the other stories in the VL universe. It contains information on technology, characters, concepts, and much more regarding the expansive canon. There you can read more in-depth information about every story, as well as see the connections between them along with additional facts beyond the books.

A collection of stories written by characters living unknown horrors that will change them and their families forever.How can simple days in one's life can turn into a supernatural event so bizarre? How can one deal with the unknown right under their noses? How can one survive events with the interference of the darkest side of reality?When American Indians from the future of an alternate Earth move their entire island nation to our Earth, Ell Harmon makes the first alien contact. The take-charge Seattle biologist has always yearned to find intelligent aliens, and her dream comes true when she meets Prince Tro Eaglesbrood.Ell and Tro are quarantined together, while the fearful world awaits news of the aliens. She yearns to help the newcomers settle peacefully, so she and Tro broadcast a show daily, on which she interviews Tro and tries to humanize Kwadrans. Although Ell shrinks from the limelight, she forces herself, for peace’s sake…and for Tro’s. The show is wildly popular. More importantly, the romance developing on-screen reassures the world. If a smart woman like Ell can fall for a Kwadran, they must not be monsters.But Tro’s duty lies with his people, and soon that duty threatens not only the show but Ell’s heart—as well as the peace and survival of our world.

A tale of a young man and the new world he finds himself thrust into. What Kiyan knew about himself comes into doubt, his peaceful life must be left behind for a war. His heritage makes him an important element in the war that ravages the known universe. His actions can alter the futures for the better of for the worse. Some desisions could mean the fate of our universe. Kiyan is caught up in a war that he didn't start because of a vision seen through the mists of time. It is decreed that he will be the one who will end the war once and for all. Along the way he makes friends and enemies. Explores his powers and learns of the known races. Time becomes a weapon but it is a sword that can cut both ways. What is, what was and what might have been or yet will be hang in the balance. In the end, there is only one choice.

This is a collection of nine flash fiction “prologues” for the book Heart of the Raven, the fifth novel in the Amaranthine vampire series. These stories are not intended to stand on their own, but as a supplement to the novel.Meet Cyrpus, Neil, Sadihra, Wolfe and others as they go about their business not knowing that their actions may have consequences that will echo for a lifetime.This is a collection of nine flash fiction “prologues” for the book Heart of the Raven, the fifth novel in the Amaranthine vampire series. These stories are not intended to stand on their own, but as a supplement to the novel.Meet Cyrpus, Neil, Sadihra, Wolfe and others as they go about their business the day before Heart of the Raven opens. None of them know that their fates will soon become intertwined, or that their seemingly unimportant actions may have consequences that will echo for a lifetime to come. BONUS: read the first chapter of the Heart of the Raven.

An historical novel of the armaments industry during the Napoleonic Wars.A time of restoration and 18th Century drama revealing five men who created the biggest industrial city, civilisation had ever seen. They were the Iron Masters, masters of metal and men. Their cannons saved a kingdom, forged the greatest empire in the world and changed the history of the human race.Intrigue, bribery, adultery and murder were common in Merthyr Tydfil, a town where the furnaces burned day and night, the sun seldom pierced the soot filled sky and the Iron Masters ruled without pity.Nye Vaughn, a humble farm boy, walked to Merthyr to find his destiny, unaware that a war was coming which would engulf the known world and make bold men rich. To fight Bonaparte, Britain needed cannons, thousands of them. Vaughn built the largest foundry of them all and made his fortune but, when the world changed, the iron behemoth he constructed turned on him.Graham Watkins joins the ranks of historical authors as he weaves fiction and fact together with a pace that makes the reader turn the pages. The Iron Masters is a story of family, greed, betrayal and war. It's scope is epic from Wales, to Baltimore, from the age of sail to steam railways, from the Battle of Trafalgar to the defiant raising of the American flag over Fort McHenry, signalling the confidence of a new, powerful nation. Many of the characters and events are true and reveal an amazing time in our history. In his American book review, Alex Dunbar compares The Iron Masters with the writing of C.S. Forester and Margaret Mitchell, and adds, 'The Iron Masters is an epic tale covering half a century as Nye Vaughn fights his way from humble beginnings to create one of the most powerful families in Wales. Vaughn isn't Rhett Butler, he's a more complex character, but his story is equally compelling.' Gone with the Wind was written by one of the great classic authors and Forester's Hornblower sea stories are considered to be some of the best fiction written.Above all, The Iron Masters is a book about extraordinary men and women and how they deal with life’s challenges. If you enjoy a classic novel, are interested in the Napoleonic wars or Georgian Britain this is one of the best books to read.

Pyramid 76 is a research facility, dedicated to studying one of the most fascinating creatures ever discovered. Its scientists eagerly delve into its secrets, but what will happen when one of them makes the one conclusion the people funding the facility don’t want made?Pyramid 76. A research facility, studying one of the most fascinating creatures ever discovered in microbiology. Two scientists are eagerly delving into its secrets, but what will happen when one of them leaps to a dangerous conclusion? More specifically, the one conclusion the people funding the Pyramid facility don’t want anyone to make?

On the planet of Endonsha, a traveler named Alita gets caught in the middle of deadly tension between two settlements. The woman of action will have to set aside her usual straightforward ways to play diplomat while keeping her traveling companion and guardian Axen - a dragon - out of trouble. But somehow, trouble always seems to find them...Welcome to Endonsha, a planet inhabited by many races of people filling its single landmass. Oh yeah, and there are dragons. And magic. You know. Alita is content with her life of travel, never staying in one place for long, mostly to avoid drawing attention to the fact that she has a rather unusual traveling companion and guardian: a dragon named Axen. But Alita gets caught in the middle of deadly tension between two settlements, forcing her to set aside her normal life and stay put until they come to a resolution which will allow her the freedom to move on. The longer she stays, the more unsettled she feels, sensing that she’s forgotten about something important. About some reason why she stays in motion. About something that could destroy her entire world.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and the Eclective feels fine. With stories by Heather Marie Adkins, PJ Jones, M Edward McNally, Alan Nayes, RG Porter, Tara West, and Emma Jameson.It's the end of the world as we know it, and the Eclective feels fine.The Shifting Sands by Tara West: When a jealous goddess threatens to destroy all of humanity, a young woman and her family must overcome impossible odds to survive.Light by Emma Jameson: In the zombie apocalypse, the hope for humanity's survival is pinned on Daniel. Unfortunately, Daniel is an android. And humanity may be past all hope...Alien Butt Plugs by PJ Jones: The aliens are coming! And Jeb's first line of defense may be worse than the anal probe he fears.Seeds by M. Edward McNally: For Meats and his fellow Guns, life was simple. Keep your respirator clear, your weapon ready, and an eye on your neighbors. Until one day Meats found some seeds, and everything got complicated.Cleavers by Heather Marie Adkins: Creatures such as the Cleavers should never exist. But in Tora's world, they're real, and death is more likely than survival.The Last Christmas by Alan Nayes: On the verge of the Apocalypse, a young couple wish to spend one last Christmas together.Combustion by RG Porter: Kate wakes to find her world scorched and survivors in short supply. She needs to unravel the cause before time runs out.

Shana has always had a blind spot for boys. Can she trust the one who's right in front of her? Sixteen-year-old Shana Wilde is officially on a Boy Moratorium. After a devastating breakup, she decides it's time to end the plague of Mr. Wrong, Wrong, and More Wrong. Enter Quattro, the undeniably cute lacrosse player who slams into Shana one morning in Seattle. Sparks don't just fly; they ignite. And so does Shana's interest. Right as she's about to rethink her ban on boys, she receives crushing news: Her dad is going blind. Quattro is quickly forgotten, and Shana and her parents vow to make the most of the time her father has left to see. So they travel to Machu Picchu, and as they begin their trek, they run into none other than Quattro himself. But even as the trip unites them, Quattro pulls away mysteriously... Love and loss, humor and heartbreak collide in this new novel from acclaimed author Justina Chen.

What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the 20th century? In the past decade, Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves: The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers. Now, in What the Dog Saw, he brings together, for the first time, the best of his writing from The New Yorker over the same period. Here you'll find the bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill, and the dazzling creations of pasta sauce pioneer Howard Moscowitz. Gladwell sits with Ron Popeil, the king of the American kitchen, as he sells rotisserie ovens, and divines the secrets of Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer" who can calm savage animals with the touch of his hand. He explores intelligence tests and ethnic profiling and why it was that employers in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to hire the same college graduate.

Sam just wanted to be normal. To be able to wake up every morning knowing she was safe. To no longer be the girl who was hunted.Jamie just wanted to learn more about where he came from and where he could find more like him.Now their lives have become entangled as Jamie gets taken deeper and deeper into Sam’s world of Magic, Demons, darkness and war.Sam just wanted to be normal. To be able to wake up every morning knowing she was safe. To no longer be the girl who was hunted.Jamie just wanted to learn more about where he came from and where he could find more like him.Now their lives have become entangled as Jamie gets taken deeper and deeper into Sam’s world of Magic, Demons, darkness and war.Unaware that she is the key to stopping a war that has lasted a millennia, and he is the key to her downfall.