Showing results for "Mark Winter" in Literature & Fiction

We've all heard the tale of the Mate's Mark, and how we're destined to find our fated mate. One human, one monster foretold to be the cure to this cursed world, and to repair the damage that has been done. What was once the cause of curiosity and intrigue has turned into nothing more than a mockery. Decades have passed, and not a single pair of fated mates has been found. Until now. Until me.

From Dickens's A Christmas Carol to the ghost stories of M.R. James, the tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. The twelve stories of The Winter Spirits are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, and drawing inspiration from festive traditions from all around the globe, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

For almost a century, we've believed the prophecy to be a hoax. The promise of Fated Mates being the cure to this ruined world was a beautiful story, a romantic lie told to keep us in line. Nothing more than an idyllic promise to make us work together. Only we never did, and the world only suffered more. Joining the military has turned my life into a monotonous cycle of schedule, routine, and order. Day after day, I wake at the same time, wear the same uniform, and stare at the same power-hungry faces I've been commanded by for decades.

With the heady days of COVID-19 well and truly in our rear view mirror, that modern-day plague just an awful memory, we at HellBound Books decided it was high-time to revisit the horror enthusiast’s’ unfaltering love affair with tales of pandemic terror. We have here, for your delight, two-dozen horrific short stories of sickness, plagues, sinister microbial outbreaks, killer viruses, demonic infections, the devilpox, cannibals, and, of course, the ultimate in pandemic terror: zombies!

After bank manager Jonathan Ward inherits an old manor, strange things begin to happen. During his first night at the property, a beautiful young woman appears outside his door, pleading for help. Moments later, she has disappeared. Strange apparitions and unearthly sounds follow, as does the young woman seeking refuge.

The thrill of fairytales mixes with the deeper story-lines that appeal to adults and gives the listener of Fairytales and Shorts for Grownups a different experience than when reading stories written for children. Some are fairy tales without magic, and others are the retelling of old and loved fairy tales, but with an unexpected twist. Some of the stories are simply short stories or novelettes, allowing for those who have only a little time for books to enjoy stories like everyone else.

For over a century, Logan Cade has been nothing more than a ghost—a cursed Guardian bound to the frozen peaks of Black Hollow, forced to wield the power of ice and endure an endless winter. But when Avery Monroe, a determined journalist, arrives to uncover the legend of the Frost Guardian, she shatters the fragile balance keeping Logan’s world intact. What begins as a search for truth quickly spirals into a fight for survival. Avery becomes entangled in a war centuries in the making, one where ancient forces clash, and elemental power threatens to consume everything in its path.

November 1853. Inspector Field has summoned his friends Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins to examine a body found in an attic studio, its throat cut. Around the body lie the lacerated fragments of canvas of a painting titled A Winter of Despair. Wilkie realises he recognises the victim, for he had been due to dine with him that very evening. The dead man is Edwin Milton-Hayes, one of Wilkie's brother Charley's artist friends. With his own brother under suspicion of murder, what secrets lie among the close-knit group of Pre-Raphaelite painters who is the killer in their midst?

When a simple home invasion turns out to be not so simple, Ron Granger must put aside his quiet rural life and return to the Central Intelligence Agency.

Das Land befindet sich mitten in einer Pandemie und die Kanzlerin sieht sich gezwungen, dem Volk eine unerfreuliche Mitteilung nach der Anderen zu machen. Als wären das nicht der Widrigkeiten genug, steht auch noch eine Wahl bevor und jeder sägt an ihrem Stuhl. Sind der Karnevalsprinz, der Bienenversteher oder der Mann des Mittelstandes eine ernsthafte Bedrohung ihrer Regentschaft oder lauert dieses Mal der Feind außerhalb der eigenen Reihen.

Während das Cortana-Virus munter weiter mutiert, mutiert der beste Freund des Exkanzlers zum Oberlippenbartträger und überfällt ein Nachbarland. Von kalten Duschen und hohen Dönerpreisen bedroht muss man sich bald zwischen Gewissen und Gas entscheiden. Als die Friedensmission des Exkanzlers und des Friedensfliegers Märzens scheitern, droht die harmlose Spezialoperation in einen globalen Atomkrieg zu eskalieren.

Hot hockey superstar Brent Oliver has it all--good looks, charm, dozens of endorsement deals, and a spectacular career. Uh, nix that last one. Brent has the talent and skill that should have his career soaring. But something is wrong. He's lost his hockey mojo and can't get it back. Enter Aubrey Shelburne, life coach to the stars.

The winter around Cheyenne, Wyoming, is devastating, killing both people and livestock. John Henry Cole lives three miles out of town on his small ranch, where he waits out the storm that is quickly killing his cattle and horses. Everything he owns is dying before his eyes, and there isn't anything he can do about it. His dreams of a settled life are as dead as everything else. He knows it's time to move on, and move on he does - but not in the direction he expected.

On a farm in Jutland, Fredrik Gregersen struggles to keep his children fed, supplementing his income by smuggling refugees through Denmark into Sweden. Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, Polina, a young Polish Jew, has been forced into prostitution by the Nazis. When Fredrik steals an heirloom necklace from a helpless Jewish family, his fate becomes intertwined with Polina's, entrapping them both in a complex web that takes decades to unravel.

Delightful Chanukah tales your family will enjoy again and again. Spell it however you like, this audiobook is more than one Hanukkah story! It goes to 11! A rediscovered classic for children and adults, that feels fresh, read by an Audie Award nominee. Once again, Izzy Abrahmson takes us on a visit to The Village. This collection of linked and overlapping stories about Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, culminates in a thrilling novella. As Mrs. Chaipul says, "It's like rye bread. You don't need to be Jewish to enjoy it".

Every year, the Ponticello Stockpile and Seed Store and the Crimson Creek Seed Company, both owned by green-living dreamer, George Crimson, put on an annual celebration of all things non GMO, heirloom, organic, fair trade and planet-friendly—known as the International Heirloom Faire.

And every year, fair manager, Christine, deals with cursing composters, botherable beekepers, and fiddler fraud, while security manager Chucky deals with seed thieves and seedy seed swappers. Now the Faire is about to start, but where is George? He's in Mexico chasing down a rare heritage breed of rooster. Will George make it back to the Faire on time?