New Fiction Release

Selected for the 2009 Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers program, finalist for the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award in 2009, longlisted for the 2009 Story Prize, and shortlisted for the 2010 Frank O’Connor Award
The stories in Laura van den Berg’s rich and inventive debut illuminate the intersection of the mythic and the mundane: a failed actress takes a job as a Bigfoot impersonator; a botanist seeking a rare flower crosses paths with a group of men hunting the Loch Ness monster; a disillusioned missionary in Africa grapples with grief and a growing obsession with a creature rumored to live in the forests of the Congo; and in the title story, a young woman traveling with her scientist mother in Madagascar confronts her burgeoning sexuality and her dream of becoming a long-distance swimmer.
Rendered with precision and longing, the women who narrate these starkly beautiful stories are consumed with searching—for absolution, for solace, for the flash of extraordinary in the ordinary that will forever alter their lives.

A trilogy that contains three high quality mind-boggling action-packed thriller novels, and pioneering contributions to modern action thrillers!
In The Deadliest Menace the execution of immense atomic explosions, the assassination of leading politicians, and hijacking of a new space vehicle reveals an unknown terrorist group has acquired the world's deadliest atomic weapons and is executing the deadliest attacks on civilization.
In The Alien Artifact 3 a newly invented voyager explores the deepest depths of the universe, and leaves space and time when it encounters one of the deadliest menaces of all creation, hidden away in a colossal void since the dawn of time, and it starts killing them all, and on a world in the depths of a new minding-bending universe encounter another of the deadliest menaces in existence, which travels through time and has supernatural origins.
In The Lost Alien Artifact a secret chamber is buried away in a castle with something of alien origins inside, waiting to be revived, with the deadliest of powers, creating the most haunted castle in existence, with gateways going beyond the universe, and a group of people are forced to stay there for a week, and are fanatical with discovering the chamber, which they think has hidden treasure.

Jenny Wales is a local television star who has everything she needs: good friends, a great career, and a gorgeous apartment with an outstanding shower. The only thing missing in her life is love, something that she hasn't made time for in her quest to be the best reporter in town.

An international soccer star, Paolo Gutierrez is a reluctant celebrity looking for a quieter life away from the glitz and glamour of Europe. He longs for chance to remember the game he loves and build a life for himself far from the paparazzi’s lens.

When Jenny and Paolo meet, it’s love at first sight. It should be a simple story of boy meets girl, but the team, the town, and the entire world seem to have an opinion on their love affair. Up against a losing streak, Victoria Beckham wannabes, and the risk of losing their careers, Jenny and Paolo will have to fight to win this game of love.

Mountain Justice is a short story about friendship and justice, with just a touch of the paranormal. How far would you go to save your friend’s life?

They have been friends since childhood.. He lives in the mountains, and she lives in on a farm. Rob is a veterinarian, and Annie is an animal whisperer.
When circumstances thrust Annie into a dangerous situation, Rob is inexplicably compelled to go to the site of the threat. Was his feeling of dread merely a coincidence, or was it a premonition? What if it happens more than once?

A detailed look at the fascinating and enigmatic world of J.R.R. Tolkien, covering ground from his friendship with C. S. Lewis to pipe smoking in his life and fictional worksExamining Tolkien's place in literary history, his books, and his iconic characters, this miscellany presents readers with facts, trivia, and quotes from his life and works. It covers his early life in southern Africa and Birmingham, his part in the two World Wars, his religious faith, and his fame and its problems. It also discusses Tolkien the illustrator, the places that inspired his fictional world of Middle-earth, and Tolkien on the silver screen. Lighthearted and extremely informative, this guide has something for fans both old and new.

With a Proustian knack for recalling the smallest detail—from a superficial conversation to the exquisite pain of the perfect kiss—Hunter Flanagan deftly navigates past and present, simultaneously analyzing, deconstructing and torturing himself with memories of every girl he’s lost or loved. For Hunter, writing is easy; it’s love that comes hard. Even as he prepares to leave family, friends and Chicago—the city that made him—he never gives up on his pursuit of love and meaning.
The Week You Weren’t Here is a poignant and wry portrait of a young writer closing in on the last of his undergraduate days. Charles Blackstone’s prose is a seamless match for Hunter’s fragmented stream-of-consciousness. From encounters with the persistent “stalker” Kate, to the elusive Dewey, and the surprisingly independent sorority girl, Lila, Hunter exemplifies our longing for the defining moment—as fragile and quixotic a dream as life itself.

He was a perfect soldier until he became the enemy

After six months in the city, Mary MacDougall returns to the Scottish Highlands to finalize her divorce. Because of a past tragedy, she doubts her husband Jamie can possibly love her with the same unbridled passion as before and insists ending the marriage is best for both of them. But Jamie has other ideas….

Jamie MacDougall has no intention of letting his bonnie lass go. At least not without a fight. Aye, they’ve suffered heartache, and she may be ready to call it quits, but he refuses to throw away the partnership they’ve built since they were children. Instead, he’ll remind her they were meant to be together, forever.

Can this marriage survive pride and grief to allow love to carry them home?

Eighteen-year-old Jared Chambers vanished in broad daylight. The police have no leads, no suspects and no persons of interest. One eyewitness has come forward. She was twenty miles away when it happened. Amy Dylan is a psychic with a loyal following on WXYZ-FM. She experiences a disturbing vision of Jared's abduction and captivity by a brutal, unseen assailant. Her offers to assist the police and the Chambers family are met with skepticism and hostility. Undeterred, she conducts an independent investigation and produces the first solid lead, thrusting herself into the media’s spotlight. Jared's elusive captor challenges her on the air and provides chilling proof that Jared is at his mercy. To save Jared, Amy must take the battle to his captor and live to tell.

SOMETIMES YOU’RE BETTER OFF DEAD…

When Royce Bruyere chose to be cryogenically frozen upon death, he figured coming back to life would be exciting. Neat. Bonus time. The world he awakes to is nothing of the sort.

A Chinese invasion has crippled the United States, dividing the country in a decade-long stalemate along the Mississippi. Royce’s successful reanimation is unprecedented, making him the Chinese regime’s most prized possession?but not for long. Eager to control life and death, the Chinese reanimate other “cryonics,” until something goes horribly wrong.

Royce travels through a future wrought with violence and despair, only to discover the cure for the disease lies within him. It’s a race against time as he flees the Chinese and the bloodthirsty victims of a terrifying epidemic in the hope of saving the country from apocalypse and creating a life worth living.