Gemma didn’t expect her life to look like this. She’s still living with her mother, who steals her leggings and tells her off for leaving crumbs in the butter. After twenty failed interviews she thought she’d bagged her dream job as a journalist – except it turns out to be writing articles about cats that look like George Clooney. Luckily she has her...

Deep in the Burgundy countryside, a murder case is perplexing Inspector Pel. The body was found in the salon, an elegant room with a grand piano and a Louis XIV escritoire. The shutters were still closed and the dead end of a record of Rigoletto was still turning.

There are some obvious suspects, yet the clothes of none of them show any signs of blood. And...

It's 1829 and Dr. William Whitcraft has his hands full. When he's not trying to dream up a cure for hysteria—the scourge of London's polite society—he juggles a busy medical practice, a lovely but demanding fiancée, an over-enthusiastic patient seeking his affections, and the emergence of an ominous rivalry with a dashing fellow professional. Not to...

The war of words at Wyndover College begins with a single shot: a taboo placed on the word “moist,” to placate a first-year student who finds the word repulsive. But then things escalate, when an anonymous voice of opposition takes on the college’s strongly pro-student president and his latest innovative program to keep students happy. As the initially well...

Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is the most idle and avaricious hero in all of crime fiction. Why should he even be bothered to solve the case?

One February evening in northern England, a young woman is shot in the head and left in a coma. Eight months later she dies, thus becoming a welcome excuse to dispatch the odious Inspector Dover as far as...

Mariuccia Umbellino is a young woman living in the remote mountain village of Montemonaco, Italy, in the early years of the 19th century. Nearby, the secret recesses of the Grotto of the Fates—home to an ancient oracle of Apollo—are about to be invaded and destroyed, on orders from the Pope. But the men sent to do the dirty work don't know who (or what)...

A novel of jealousy, muddy shoes and giant barbecues.

Dave Brookman’s new next-door neighbour is ruining his life. Because in a bizarre coincidence, he’s also called Dave Brookman, he’s the same age and he even grew up in the same town. There is one big difference, though – this new Dave is vastly more successful in every way.

As Dave starts questioning...

Andy Marshall finds himself at a crossroads in life.  

After thirty years of continuous employment in the Civil Service, his deteriorating health led to months of unemployment. With a family to look after, Andy was beginning to feel the strain.

Against his wife’s better judgement, he decides to join a struggling minicab firm which catapults him into...

This short reader tells stories that I hope lets others take a look back into their own lives and wonder, "How did I make it this far?".

We all have those events and situations in life that we wish could be struck from the records, but everything seems to happen for a reason. From injuring my ego to physical injury and broken bones, you never know until you...

With her life on the rocks, it is going to take a whale sized miracle to keep her afloat.

Event planner Fiona Reeves did not have her husband's sudden departure on her schedule. However, she’s certain that it's only a hiccup and he'll be back in no time, begging for forgiveness. Fortunately there’s a distraction of mammoth proportions swimming in the River...

Corruption, criminality, misogyny and racism inside the United States establishment! Ronald Crump is an unlikely president – spoilt as a child, difficult in school and a natural heir to his father’s real estate business. His activities in boarding school, sometimes with the connivance of his friend, Christopher Johnson, result in his single-handed rape and...

Chickenlandia, Home of Fifty Happy Hens and one very tired rooster, is under attack. Dewey, the prize rooster is missing, and so too is Ginger, queen of the laying hens. Ruby Jane and Veenie, gal pals, and retired women sleuths in-training at the Shady Hoosier Detective Agency, take on the chicken-napping case. Their mission: track down the chicken thieves...

Three scientific adventurers face strange creatures, lost civilizations, and supernatural threats—when they’re not too busy being complete jerks to each other.

Written by Tom Peyer (The Wrong Earth, Hourman) with art by Chris Giarrusso (Mini-Marvels, G-Man). This volume collects all the HASHTAG: DANGER stories from issues #1-5, plus the back-features...

Leonardo is a genius. Full of boundless energy, he spends his days tinkering with his inventions and trying to solve life's scientific mysteries… often to the detriment of his poor 'disciple', who is willing to go to the most extreme lengths in the service of science. Welcome to a world of discovery, fun and pure madness!

After being strong-armed into selling his tech company, Myron, a world-renowned computer programmer, slips into a depression he fears he won’t get out of. Overcome by the rapid beats in his chest, the anxiety locking up his arms and legs, and the voices telling him he’s physically ill, he realizes he’s nearing a breaking point.

…until a familiar foe, the...

Cowboys, Indians, and outlaws. It may be 1892 but the Old West is still alive and kicking in the dusty west Texas town of Abalone. When a bad batch of coleslaw kills Texie Cortez’s father she takes over his old job: Sheriff. She’s proud of how she keeps the gunslingers away and the cowpokes in order. Then HE comes to town. Gambler Alec Malone...

Raowl is not a hero for the faint of heart: he slices, dices, and decapitates anyone standing between him and a kiss from a princess. Unfortunately for Raowl, the first princess he encounters doesn’t find him to her liking. So when Raowl rescues a second princess, he doesn’t take no for an answer—and as it turns out, the two have a lot in common! Raowl’s...

Hannah Murrow is thrilled to announce that she's expecting! But being pregnant for the first time at 55 isn't what she expected at all!

Hannah's disappointed that no one—not her husband, eager for retirement; not her longtime friends from her infertility support group; and least of all her moody, difficult adopted daughter Natty—seems to share her...

Paddy Moran, a former cop from Brooklyn, is a newly licensed attorney in Houston with dreams and aspirations to make it big. He survives early rough bumps and ethical challenges. Then, through networking, he lands two high-profile clients. With his brash moxie and brilliant legal strategy, he gets outstanding outcomes that put him on the success trajectory...

Laugh and Learn with These Life Lessons

Insights from a veteran psychologist: Dr. David Levy is a media consultant who has appeared on over 70 television and radio broadcasts, from CNN to National Geographic, to provide psychological perspectives on current events. His previous works have been published internationally, many of them becoming bestsellers. In...

Leah hates thong underwear as much as she hates being middle-aged and fighting to stay relevant in her job. What freedom when she unexpectedly purchases a gun. It’s enough to make her consider an act of terrorism at a certain lingerie store. Though she may need the help of her “he-moll,” the handsome 22-year old across the street. Her shrink wants to help...

Golfers the world over know their game is a microcosm of life.

Golf and life require patience and courage, persistence and honesty, focus and self-belief. They present similar challenges, involve the weighing up of risk and reward and demand the making of hard decisions. In both, we must learn to deal with triumph and disaster. In this updated...

A night at the Melbourne Zoo drinking champagne seems a fine idea, until an animal’s death throws milliner and sleuth Catherine Kint into another mystery. Before you can say ‘monkey business’ Catherine and her trusted barman Boris are annoying everyone from zoologists to police. The investigation would challenge the best detectives, but this is Catherine...

This is the 21st-century successor to Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary.
This new edition of the Heretic's Dictionary includes over 650 mordant definitions by Bufe—twice as many as in the original edition—and 60 illustrations by San Francisco artist and filmmaker J. R. Swanson.
The definitions skewer such targets as religion, government, euphemisms...

Conrad is a monk, but he has become a monk through trickery and against his will. So, it is fair to say that his heart isn't really in it.

Conrad is also clever, charming, entirely self-serving, self-absorbed and almost completely without scruple — but in Anglo-Saxon England, when the Danish invaders come calling, those are very helpful attributes to...

Set in a dystopian society in the not-too-distant future, this darkly humorous sci-fi novel follows the misadventures of a bar musician and army vet who's set up on terrorism charges and deported to a single-continent prison planet. After a fight in which he nearly kills a neo-Nazi, he flees to the other end of the continent with a prisoner he knew from...

Xavier Crenshaw discovers his life’s calling when he devises an elaborate prank that goes badly wrong. Enlightened by this experience, Xavier creates “snardling,” which is subtly but crucially different from ordinary pranks. For starters, snardlers never get caught. Crisis comes when Xavier and his two partners snardle the whole school, and the wrong person...

*Award-Winning Series!

Sarah Hastings' life is chaotic. Between running her organic farm, her yurt-style holistic B&B, and her vegan café Eat Me!, she barely has time for an aura cleanse. What's more, her spirit guide just announced the universe is sending her a man.

Suddenly, a sexy pro-football player, a hipster photojournalist, and fellow organic...

To Arthur Conway, not long out of school, the offer of an opening in a small family bank by his cousin Alastair proves a welcome haven to an aspiring writer faced with mounting bills.

Alastair sees his arrival as an opportunity to enlist his help in unlocking the fortunes of the bank while the manager is away. When his scheme fails, a new manager takes...