Author's note: this story has been re-edited to bring it up to my current standards as part of an effort to make Ebooks. It features improved editing, grammar, and punctuation. Please see my bio for more information. CHAPTER 1: INTO DARKNESS Jules sat in his crash couch as he fiddled with the bulky, black combat armor that he was wearing over his two-piece...
CHAPTER ONE MIKE AND TRUDY "Michael, I've made up my mind! How long have we been sleeping together? It's over a year now and you've told me I'm your mistress since June. If Crystal is ever to have a brother or sister, if I'm ever to have more kids, and you know I want to, then we should start now. Don't you want to have a baby with me? I know we've been wa...
MIKE CLAYMORE MYSTERY #3: PAULINE ***** Chapter 1 "I am Richard, son of Michael, son of Mary Morris and Duncan Claymore. I don't understand, Dad. Why is Grandma as important in my lineage as Grandpa? Why is Grandma Claymore more important than Mom or her parents?" Father and son are bonding in a way they seldom have time to do daily. "Because your Gr...
Prologue The villagers were terrified of the wolf. They feared the wolf's unusual white pelt. The strangeness of such a creature in a bland, flat land of nothing but dull greens and browns was seen as a bad omen. Draught plagued their crops. Disease stole their children in the night. The wild game they depended on to survive the long winter still ahead of t...
CHAPTER 1: ENDLESS SUMMER The sun beat down on Caden as he made his way through the narrow, winding alleys, its harsh light baking the paved streets enough that he could feel it through the soles of his boots. He wrapped his cloak more tightly about his shoulders, its drooping hood casting a dark shadow over his face. There were few who would brave the stre...
Book III: Inside The Shuuraku Gates =====Chapter 41===== I sat in the papa-san chair staring out the window. Rachel packing that morning stunned everyone in the house. There was a rush into my room, but no one asked any questions after I told them to give Rachel whatever help she needed. The Siblings' return from helping Rachel move her stuff to the sorori...
PROLOGUE (present day) As I walked down the grassy bank and approached the lake I barely noticed the gay collage of joggers, bicyclists, strollers and children. I was in a pensive mood, and this familiar place opened doors to my past that I'd kept closed for a long time. It was right here where my former life had come to an end and where my new one had begu...
Five hundred Years Ago... The night could not have been more perfect for a wedding. The breeze whispered through the leaves. The moon was full and not a single cloud dared to mar its light. The warm summer air in the clearing was heavy with the scent of dew and fresh cut grass, which took the men of the village most of the morning to cut. Rachel Williams...
Passegiatta I have no words -- alas!-- to tell, the loveliness of loving well! Poe, Tamerlane [Log entry of the SailingVessel Springer: 31 October, 0920 hrs local time. COG: at anchor; SOG: 0.0 kts; Temp: 41˚ f; Winds: NE at 12 knots, viz +3 NMI; Barometer 29.91 steady since 2300 hrs last night; GPS: 44°18'11.36"N by 9°12'35.24"E. Just anchored in...
By Philip Johnson Prologue Dolce Giardino. It means sweet garden in Italian, and that was the name of their estate, and an apt description. The year was nineteen twenty six, and Charles and Kathryn Philips lived on that estate, and in that new grand and sturdy looking brick home. Charles and Kathryn loved the somewhat isolated location. They really were...