Business Fiction

Business as Usual covers an eventful period in the life of Tampa police homicide detective Mike Ash. Before Mike investigates three separate deaths, while teaching in a statewide seminar in Orlando, he learns of the death of his friend, fellow Army Ranger veteran Dennis Stokely. In the course of an opportune meeting with his friend, crime scene investigator Candace Pennington, Mike shares about Dennis’ life and how he came to be in Tampa. Upon returning to Tampa, Mike searches for Band-Aid, the cat that he helped Dennis rescue in Afghanistan.

Collected here are 10 Western short stories by Richard S. Wheeler, the award-winning author who makes storytelling look easy. In "Mugs Birdsong's Crime Academy", celebrated criminal Mugs Birdsong decides to found an academy that will instruct lawmen on the ways and means of lawlessness. "The Last Days of Dominic Prince" is the tragic tale of a cattle baron and his final conflict with the forces of political correctness. "Dead Weight" introduces us to a coffin maker who constructs a work of art.

Apex Racing is expanding and absorbing Pilot and his lovers. Everyone is happy with it...except for Johnny. He's constantly feeling left out and more alone than ever before. It's time to seek out his own win and find his holeshot, even if it’s off the track and away from Pilot. Gavin is determined to put together the hottest Supercross team, and he wants that to include Bryce Nickels. But that seems almost impossible since Bryce signed with Apex. Perhaps he needs a new angle, like the sexy business partner of the bodyguard, Johnny Killebrew.

Ytan på Stockholms media, och reklamvärld är skinande blank och avundsvärt glamourös, men bakom dess kulisser gömmer sig svek, hat och kriminalitet. Årets första arbetsdag börjar som vanligt för Camilla Segerstedt, som är anställd på en av Stockholms mest ansedda reklambyråer. Barnen görs i ordning och lämnas på dagis, och Camilla gör sig i ordning för jobbet. Men detta ska inte komma att bli som vilken dag som helst. Camilla har ett möte med chefen, eller rättare sagt chefens chef, som ger henne ett erbjudande hon inte kan tacka nej till.

King Cullin may be known as "the Dragon Slayer", but he fears his son’s legacy will be as "King Maurice Who Speaks with Proper Grammar". The boy keeps his nose buried in parchments, starry-eyed at the idea of noble knights and eager to hand royal gold to any con man hawking a unicorn horn. Tonight, though, Cullin will educate the prince in the truth behind minstrels’ silly songs of glory….

Bailey inherits her grandfather's business, Maid For You, but cleaning up dead body parts wasn't part of the job description. Bailey hopes to wipe out crime with the help of Nate, her computer hacker assistant, despite protests of their involvement in the case from Detective Max Wellington. As the threads of deceit unravel, the murders begin to break out like a case of Bubonic Plague. Bailey uncovers deception, corruption, and a few secrets that may forever change her life.

Sam had closed his latest case, and now his biggest worry was his friend Harry, who had almost died. Doctors had actually pronounced him dead, in fact, but Sam was too stubborn to let them give up and the cantankerous old man came back. But was the case really closed? One of the perpetrators was being protected by the British government, and someone else had stepped up to replace the assassin who had been running the operation. When one of the clients from the case is kidnapped, Sam knows that it isn't really over yet.

Although she excelled in school and believes she is doing a good job at work, Bianca is struggling to rise through the ranks. Now in her third year at the Lincoln Beverage Company, she faces an ultimatum from her manager—get promoted soon or leave! What is the problem? What does her employer want from her?

A strange blue envelope greets the kids of Coral Canal right before their spring break. Inside it contains a riddle and a set of instructions. Nobody, not even their parents, seems to know who sent the riddle, and the children only have nine days to solve it and send photographic proof.

As the boss of a high-end nightclub in the West End and with a never-ending string of gorgeous women on his arm, Tony is the darling of the tabloids. However, despite his success, the little boy who lived on the streets is never far away. Desperate for respect, he’s driven to achieve more and more. Most of all, he craves the acceptance of Ralph Gold and to become a bigger part of his extensive web of organised crime.

Decades ago, the Visitors descended on Earth. They claimed to bring peace and prosperity. Their real goal was the total subjugation of humankind. But humanity did not give up its only home without a fight. After a devastating war, the Visitors were driven back to Mars. Their millions of willing human collaborators were left behind. The task of hunting down these former alien collaborators and bringing them to justice falls to Federal Recovery Agents like Nathan Foster.

Much has happened in the five years since Reagan disappeared through the curtain of time, taking Cullen McKinnon with her in the hope of saving the young knight's life. The least of those events is Henry's awarding Connor the titles of duke of Featherstone and earl of Rockport. Upon Connor's request, the earldom was passed into his care to hold until the rightful heir can take possession. No one but Nic, Morgan, and he knew that the heir is Reagan O'Riley.

Book two (parts 1 & 2) of this eight-part series focuses on the characters who are rough around the edges: Connor Holden and the fiery Irish physician, Reagan O'Riley. Both characters introduced in book one, The Beginning, have come back together in a dynamic love story full of misunderstanding, deception, and ultimately forgiveness. The growth they experience through the journey comes at a great cost, as is usually the case when lessons are learned the hard way.

Maurice, a small-town librarian, dies one Monday morning in a fiery car crash. Finding himself in a very unexpected afterlife, he befriends Kit, who knows more than he should about Heaven - and about Maurice's life on Earth. Meanwhile, Maurice's daughter Andy struggles to come to terms with the death of her ineffectual father. Tasked with preparing his eulogy, she starts writing letters to him, trying to make sense of her family's history.

Katie's desire to help others helps her find a valuable asset: a young blacksmith whose family might have the secret to weapons that can help change the war. The only problem? The government might want what she has if they learn about it.

We all have things to do until we die. When you die, your "to-do" list gets cancelled. Unless your corpse is prepared for burial by Meg Hargrave. For 13 years, Meg has prepared corpses at the Peaceful Slumber Funeral Parlor. When she prepares the corpse of a World War II veteran, something extraordinary happens. She becomes aware of a task that had been weighing heavily on the man's mind and she feels compelled to finish it. Her next client is a woman killed in a car crash while driving to see her suicidal brother.

We've all heard the saying "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Luckily, for Jack, this collection offers more than 20 stories filled with the art of sexual play at work to make even Jack more lively. Here the most mundane 9-to-5 job can lead to a rowdy romp that's sure to leave people talking by the water coolers.

A relentless evil possessing an already depraved man...gruesome and perverse acts of brutality... Will anyone survive? Centuries ago the natives captured and imprisoned a life force of pure evil and unending hunger. Thirteen years ago, an eight-year-old boy woke the darkness. It grows in strength every day and now the boy is a man. A man skilled in terror and violence, the very things the darkness needs to finally break free.

Flowers have always been the best communicators. They’ve mastered falling over one another in the perfect way to announce exactly what they need: sunlight, water, space. They do not rush. They do not bloom before their time. They do not take without giving in return…

Faith Watkins loves Christmas, which is why she’s thrilled that her new hotel in the Lake District will be open in time for the festive season. But what she didn’t bank on was her first paying customer being someone like Adam Hunter. Rugged, powerfully built and with a deep sadness in his eyes, Adam is a man that Faith is immediately drawn to - but unfortunately he also has an intense hatred of all things Christmassy. As the countdown to the big day begins, Faith can’t seem to keep away from her mysterious guest: just what happened to Adam Hunter? And why does he hate Christmas?