What did it mean? The note with the hieroglyphs was found in the pocket of a man lying dead in an alley. The only other item of interest on him was a piece of jewellery, a reproduction of the Charlemagne talisman, but so well done that Vicky Bliss thought she was being shown the real thing. The gold work had been done by a master craftsman; the stones were of top quality synthetic...Vicky didn't know what it meant yet, but ion the sundrenched streets and moonlit courtyards of Rome, she was going to find out - if the dangerously exciting Englishman didn't get in her way!

<p>In <i>Shooting Star,</i> ninety-two-year-old poet Victoria Trumbull becomes embroiled in controversy at the community theater on Martha's Vineyard. The new artistic director has announced plans to replace local amateur talent with off-Island professionals, and the cast and crew react murderously.</p><p> </p><p>Victoria intended the theater's current production, her adaptation of <i>Frankenstein,</i> by Mary Shelley, to debunk the common farcical movie-monster interpretation by returning to Shelley's original serious commentary on the Industrial Revolution. However, after the night of the dress rehearsal, Victoria loses control over the production, and her drama begins to take a strange course.</p><p> </p><p>On that night, the eight-year-old boy playing the part of Frankenstein's young brother disappears, and before a search can begin, a killer strikes. The Vineyard's police forces...

Let go from her job and feeling lost, Navy Carrington takes a position as coffee-girl at a publicity firm. Their newest client is Carrick Kennely, the former love of her life and her fiercest adversary. She thought she'd let go of the past by playing it safe with book boyfriends—and avoiding frustratingly sexy guys like Carrick. When Navy's roommate finds the Boyfriend Book, a silly relic leftover from Navy's teens, it prompts a dare; Navy is to go on five dates and pick one to be her Valentine. Despite her reservations, she can't say no, especially if it means proving to herself and Carrick that she can move on. Navy chronicles her brief romantic entanglements with the Hottie in 7G, the Man-Bun-Barista, the Gym Stud, and the Book Boyfriend who turns out to be a toad—not the kind that when kissed turns into a prince—, on The Boyfriend Book Blog. She doesn't want to let her readers or herself down, but as Valentine's Day nears, none of the guys comes close to being her one true love. Except Carrick. He’s infuriating, attractive, confusing, catnip…and it turns out he has a secret. With a love letter and a plane ticket in hand, Navy leaves her baggage behind and must decide between love, hate, and the lies she told to protect her fragile heart. Told with humor and heart, Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told may appeal to readers who enjoy Alice Clayton, Sally Thorne, and Emily Giffin's work.

Struggling to move on after her husband's death, thirty-five-year-old Anna receives an unexpected phone call from her estranged grandmother, Goldie, summoning her to New York. A demanding woman with a sharp tongue and a devotion to fashion and etiquette, Goldie has not softened in the five years since she and her granddaughter last spoke. Now she wants Anna to drive her to San Francisco to return a collection of exquisite Japanese art to a long-lost friend.Hours of sitting behind the wheel of Goldie's Rolls-Royce soften Anna's attitude toward her grandmother, and as the miles pass, old hurts begin to heal. Yet no matter how close they become, Goldie harbors painful secrets about her youthful days in 1940s San Francisco that she cannot share. But if she truly wants to help her granddaughter find happiness again, she must eventually confront the truths of her life.Moving back and forth across time and told in the voices of both Anna and Goldie, The Secret of the Nightingale Palace is a searing portrait of family, betrayal, sacrifice, and forgiveness - and a testament to the enduring power of love.

One of the supreme masterpieces of Romantic fiction and Scottish literature,  The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner  is a terrifying tale of murder and amorality, and of one man's descent into madness and despair. James Hogg's sardonic novel follows a young man who, falling under the spell of a mysterious stranger who bears an uncanny likeness to himself, embarks on a career as a serial murderer. The memoirs are presented by a narrator whose attempts to explain the story only succeed in intensifying its more baffling and bizarre aspects. Is the young man the victim of a psychotic delusion, or has he been tempted by the devil to wage war against God's enemies? The authoritative and lively introduction by Ian Duncan covers the full range of historical and religious themes and contexts, offers a richer and more accurate consideration of the novel's relation to Romantic fiction than found elsewhere, and sheds new light on the novel's treatment of fanaticism. Copious notes identify the novel's historical, biblical, theological, and literary allusions. _______________________ It is Scotland in the early 18th century. Fear and superstition grip the land. Robert Wringhim, a boy of strict Calvinist upbringing, is corrupted by a shadowy figure who calls himself Gil-Martin. Under his influence he commits a series of murders which he regards as "justified" by God under the tenets of his faith. Hogg's book is a brilliant portrayal of the power of evil, and a scathing critique of the organized religion. Superbly crafted and deftly executed, it resists any easy explanation of events; is this stranger a figment of Robert's imagination or the devil himself? Review "One of the great works on that sinister border between the supernatural and the psychological."  —Philip Pullman "A work so moving, so funny, so impassioned, so exact and so mysterious, that its long history of neglect came as a surprise which has yet to lose its resonance."  — Times Literary Supplement About the Author James Hogg  (1770-1835) was born near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. From a young age he was determined to be a poet like Burns. He became friends with Walter Scott and in 1810 he went to Edinburgh to seek a literary career. His most well-known work,  The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner  made little impact when it first appeared (anonymously) in 1824. He continued to publish poetry and prose until his death.

Darkness series is a fantasy series about a world war between nations using magic as weapons. Many of the plot elements are analogous to elements of World War II, with countries and technologies that are comparable to the events of the real world. A duke’s death leads to bloody war as King Algarve moves swiftly to reclaim the duchy lost during a previous conflict. But country after country is dragged into the war, as a hatred of difference escalates into rabid nationalism.

Science Fiction. 141288 words long. First published in SynergEbooks, 2007