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  How Treason Came to Russia -...

  Rainer Maria Rilke

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  René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke was born into a troubled marriage on the 4th December 1875 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  His mother, having previously lost a baby girl, would dress the young boy up in girl’s clothing.   
  Later his father dispatched him to a military academy at age 10 but after a miserable 5 years the young Rilke left due to illness and instead entered first Prague and then Munich and finally Berlin university to study art history, philosophy and literature. 
  His initial forays into literature was in poetry.  His intense, mystical and lyrical style was much admired and over time inspired many in succeeding generations.    
  His short prose collection ‘Stories of God’, written in an impassioned burst over several nights was published in 1900 and offers a beguiling view of much of Rilke’s influences and outlook.  
  The following year he married the pioneering sculptor and artist Clara Westhoff.  The union produced one child, a daughter Ruth.   
  He lived in Paris for most of the Century’s first decade where he mixed with many great minds of the time.  Although he continued to write he also worked as a secretary to the sculptor, Rodin.   
  It was only after they settled in Switzerland in 1919 that his writing output was in full flow.  Here he wrote profusely in both German and French, which included much on his previous travels, his left-wing sympathies, his religious and existential thoughts, all part of a unique and consummate style. 
  From 1923 on, Rilke increasingly struggled with his health which was now in constant decline and often spent time rehabilitating at a sanatorium.   
  Rainer Maria Rilke died of leukaemia on the 29th December 1926 in Montreux, Switzerland.  He was 51.

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  Life is a Story

  D.A. Bennett

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  In Life is a Story, D.A. Bennett takes readers on a captivating journey through a collection of short stories that explore the universal themes of adolescence, adulthood, and the complexities of human relationships.
  Set in southern Louisiana during the mediators, the initial stories follow hard-working rural families as they navigate life's challenges and opportunities. From there, the book ventures into the scandalous and confusing world of 21st century bourgeoisie, where misunderstandings, heartbreak, and even crime lurk around every corner.
  Bennett's writing is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking, resonating with readers of all ages and backgrounds. With a keen eye for detail and a unique voice, the author expertly weaves together tales that are both poignant and insightful, leaving a lasting impact on the reader's heart and mind.
  As a new and adventurous author, Bennett delivers a formidable read that will captivate and inspire readers from beginning to end. Life is a Story is a must-read for anyone seeking a fresh and unique perspective on the joys and challenges of the human experience.

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  Museum of the Omniverse: Dragon...

  David Lee Summers, Patrick...

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  Welcome to the Museum of the Omniverse where you can safely experience actual events from every possible part of time and space. The museum is having some technical difficulties, however. Space time rifts have been opening throughout the museum and everyone has disappeared except for Mirandum, an exhibit curator. When a small group of visitors appears, Mirandum gives them a tour of the museum's Dragon Exhibit while searching for clues to the museum's ultimate fate.
  This full cast cinematic audio experience features an original musical soundtrack by Nashville recording artist Jeff Moon and an immersive soundscape.
  Stories include:
  
  - Curator at the Rift's Edge by David Lee Summers (Space Pirates' Legacy series, Scarlet Order Vampires series): Mirandum searches for answers to the Museum's technical issues. Everything will be fine… probably.
  - Stone and Fire by Timothy Zahn (Star Wars Thrawn trilogy, Quadrail series): Dax the Dragon and the young human Katrina investigate the alleged crimes of a nearly unstoppable stone troll.
  - The Slayers by David Lee Summers: Rado, a young man looking to find his fortune, joins the dragon hunting airship The Slayer.
  - The Dragon's Keepers by David Lee Summers: Captain Tawnos, a former dragon hunter, and his crew accompany young conservationist Maelyn on a quest to save a dragon from nearby villagers.
  - The Banks of the City Thames by Patrick Thomas (Murphy's Lore series, Mystic Investigators series): A thief and a huge mechanical dragon rob the banks in the City Thames. Steam Table knights Lady Thistle, and her mentor Sir Bult, are called to stop them.
  - Heart of the Dragon by Carol Hightshoe (Chaos Reigns Fantasy series, Omega series): The great goddess of the dragons sends young warrior Andrinor on a quest to test his heart and learn his true dragon nature.
  - The Dragons by Jeremiah Lynch: A young woman who lives in a group home struggles to overcome her "delusional" dragon visions until she meets an old man in a park who asks if she can see dragons.

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  The Water Took Us Away

  Priyanshu Sinha

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  On a rainy day, an earthquake strikes, followed by a tsunami warning for the Digha region. Chaos erupts as people rush to escape. Umla and her family flee in their car, taking a shortcut through a forest. The road is blocked by a fallen tree, and they're forced to continue on foot. Suddenly, the tsunami hits. In the panic and rising waters, Umla is separated from her family and trapped under a log. She's injured, bleeding, and alone in the forest. 
  As the tsunami waves return, she's swept away, suffering severe injuries, including the loss of her arms. She briefly regains consciousness in a destroyed house, only to realize her dire state—and that the severed hand beside her is her own. The final wave hits, and she is consumed completely by the water. 
  This haunting story highlights the terrifying power of natural disasters and the heartbreaking fragility of life in their path.

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  The Lonely Road - From their...

  H D Everett

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  Henrietta Dorothy Huskisson was born in January 1851 in Gillingham, Kent. 
  Little reliable information on her life is available and almost nothing on her early life.   
  The first concrete information concerns her marriage at age 18 to the solicitor Isaac Edward Everett. 
  It was only at the age of 44 that she began her literary career under the pseudonym of Theo Douglas, a popular device in a society that still frowned upon women writing for income. 
  During her lifetime she was a popular author and wrote 22 books and those were published by 17 different publishers. 
  Although she wrote some historical novels her main output was centered on fantasy and supernatural themes. 
  Henrietta Dorothy Everett died in Weston-on-Trent in Derbyshire in September 1923.

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  To Avenge a Dead Glacier

  Shane Tivenan

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  Winner of the RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Prize and the John McGahern Award, Shane Tivenan is a remarkable new talent. This debut collection simmers with style, verve, tension and humour. Throughout the stories in To Avenge a Dead Glacier, Tivenan explores the lives of rural Irish outsiders. His characters are artists, sean-nós singers, members of the queer community, the gifted, the neurodivergent, the environmentally concerned, people with memory problems, the spiritual people, the non-human.
  In the title story, a man attends the funeral of a glacier in Iceland without fully knowing why he is there. In another, a midlands graffiti artist warns his townspeople through his throw-ups about the dangers of the way they are living, but neglects his own mind in the process. In 'Honey Brown', a ninety-two-year-old woman who suffers from Charles Bonnet syndrome tries to celebrate her birthday in a nursing home in Roscommon while fighting back the hallucinations brought on by her condition. In 'Resurrection of a Corncrake', a semi-retired plasterer is haunted by the silencing of the birds in his townland, a silencing which he knows he took part in.
  These are stories rich in the essential detail of human life, in the fraught exchanges that make up our every relationship, and very often of life lived beyond the confines of safety or simplicity.

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