Publisher: Sheba Blake Publishing
Set in the aftermath of the French Revolution, this short story from the Scenes of Political Life section of Honore de Balzac's The Human Comedy immerses readers in the terrifying tumult of the period. Brimming with mystery and suspense, this is historical fiction at its very best.
A New Myth for a New Age!Enjoy the origins of the universe from a new perspective, combining aspects of Christian, Norse, Egyptian, and Greek cosmology.*Primordium, Latin for the first beginning and used in Biology to mean the earliest developmental stage for an organic substructure. These same Latin roots are combined to describe the theoretical swamp where life first began, the primordial soup.Show book
COMETS delivers stunning prose perfect for the times. The settings, both personal and universal, are not only tangible in the imagination, but they invite the reader in to experience stories from the heart. The twelve-story, linked collection, COMETS, follows through-line protagonist, Roberto, as he grows from a working teenager influenced by the men in his father’s cabinet shop, to a disillusioned 42, unwittingly trying to fill his father’s shoes, while searching for a deeper understanding of himself and his life. Set in Ybor City, Tampa’s Latin Quarter, the stories capture a microcosm of blue collar problems, with implications that go beyond racial, economic and cultural boundaries, illuminating a greater understanding of the human experiences we all share, while loss of childhood resonates as an overarching theme.Show book
An engineer, Victor Hatherley, attends Dr Watson's surgery after his thumb is chopped off, and recounts his tale to Watson and Holmes. Hatherley had been hired for 50 guineas to repair a machine he was told compressed Fuller's earth into bricks. Hatherley was told to keep the job confidential, and was transported to the job in a carriage with frosted glass, to keep the location secret. However, when they arrive, the house is on fire, and the criminals have escaped.Show book
O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862 – 1910), an American writer. O. Henry's short stories are loved for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings."The Ransom of Red Chief" is a tale of a kidnapping. A couple of desparadoes abduct the ten year old son of the richest man in a village in the deep south. But the pair soon discover that they have taken on far more than they had bargained for. The boy's energy, curiosity, creativity, sense of mischief and total lack of respect for his kidnappers soon has him running rings around them. And it turns out, the boy is a chip off the old block. His father is by no means a soft touch for a ransom and offers them a deal which they cannot refuse....Show book
William Wymark Jacobs was born on 8th September 1863 in Wapping, East London. He was educated at a private school and then Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, now part of the University of London. In 1879, Jacobs began work as a clerk in the civil service, in the Post Office Savings Bank. In 1885 his first short story was published but it was not until almost the turn of the century that he would abandon his post office career to that as a full-time writer. By then he was a very popular author, his collections selling extremely well and with an excellent income. His best-known work is the macabre ‘The Monkey's Paw’ and he is also highly regarded for his ghost stories although much of his remaining short story output is streaked with humour. His characters are immediately identifiable and we all know that life will take chunks out of them in no time at all. Jacobs married the noted suffragette Agnes Eleanor Williams in 1900 at West Ham, Essex. They went on to have two daughters and three sons as they settled down to life. By the outbreak of the First World War his literary output had declined and he now mainly spent his time rewriting his earlier stories for the stage. In all he wrote 18 plays. W W Jacobs died on 1st September 1943 at Hornsey Lane, Islington in London. He was 79. 01 - W W Jacobs - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 02 - The Monkey's Paw by W W Jacobs 03 - Jerry Bundler by W W Jacobs 04 - Three Sisters by W W Jacobs 05 - Captain Rogers by W W Jacobs 06 - The Money Box by W W JacobsShow book
A great recurring character in a series you love becomes an old friend. You learn about their strange quirks and their haunted pasts and root for them every time they face danger. But where do some of the most fascinating sleuths in the mystery and thriller world really come from? What was the real-life location that inspired Michael Connelly to make Harry Bosch a Vietnam vet tunnel rat? Why is Lee Child's Jack Reacher a drifter? How did a brief encounter in Botswana inspire Alexander McCall Smith to create Precious Ramotswe? In The Lineup, some of the top mystery writers in the world tell about the genesis of their most beloved characters—or, in some cases, let their creations do the talking. The following characters (and their creators) are featured in this collection:Jack Taylor by Ken BruenJack Reacher by Lee ChildHieronymus Bosch by Michael ConnellyCharlie Parker by John ConnollyElvis Cole and Joe Pike by Robert CraisLincoln Rhyme by Jeffery DeaverInspector Morse by Colin DexterCharlie Resnick by John HarveyBob Lee Swagger by Stephen HunterPeter Decker and Rina Lazarus by Faye KellermanAlex Delaware by Jonathan KellermanDismas Hardy by John LescroartTess Monaghan by Laura LippmanRambo by David MorrellMallory by Carol O'ConnellSpenser by Robert B. ParkerLou Boldt by Ridley PearsonCharlotte and Thomas Pitt by Anne PerryAloysius X. L. Pendergast by Douglas Preston and Lincoln ChildJohn Rebus by Ian RankinPrecious Ramotswe by Alexander McCall SmithShow book
