Modern Fiction

Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia's father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the "wedding of the century," Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe. The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy.

DESPRE AUDIOBOOK. Pașii pierduți e un roman magistral al literaturii hispano-americane și, după părerea unor critici, cel mai important din creația lui Alejo Carpentier, reprezentând o ilustrare perfectă a teoriei sale despre "realul miraculos”. Publicat în 1953, romanul a inaugurat perioada de plenitudine creatoare a scriitorului.

Territory of Light is the radiant story of a young woman living alone in Tokyo with her two-year-old daughter. Its 12 chapters follow the first year of the narrator's separation from her husband. The novel is full of light, sometimes comforting and sometimes dangerous: sunlight streaming through windows, dappled light in the park, distant fireworks, dazzling floodwater, desaturated streetlamps and mysterious explosions. The delicate prose is beautifully patterned: the cumulative effect is disarmingly powerful and bright after-images remain in your mind for a long time afterwards.

In 1935, Dottie Krasinsky is the epitome of the modern girl. A bookkeeper in midtown Manhattan, Dottie steals kisses from her steady beau, meets her girlfriends for drinks, and eyes the latest fashions. Yet at heart, she is a dutiful daughter, living with her Yiddish-speaking parents on the Lower East Side. So when, after a single careless night, she finds herself in a family way by a charismatic but unsuitable man, she is desperate: unwed, unsure, and running out of options.

Gordon Comstock loathes dull, middle-class respectability and worship of money. He gives up a 'good job' in advertising to work part-time in a bookshop, giving him more time to write. But he slides instead into a self-induced poverty that destroys his creativity and his spirit. Only Rosemary, ever-faithful Rosemary, has the strength to challenge his commitment to his chosen way of life. Through the character of Gordon Comstock, Orwell reveals his own disaffection with the society he once himself renounced.

Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He's the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went . . . And wished he hadn't. Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler's life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic is responsible.

It has been 10 years since the police had charged him with the murder of his wife - an accusation that almost destroyed Jason’s life before finally being declared innocent. Now, all he wants is to retire and disappear into oblivion. Jason liked his plan, and it should have worked. Then, a strangely dressed man blew up his plan and sent him to training - warlock training.

Within the first Modern Madness collection, Gateway to the Grotesque, the modern-day dark-hearted master of horror Tim Chizmar introduced the world to his quality tales of terror. Now, in The Screaming Virgins, he seeks to usher in a brand-new group of masterful storytellers to shock, disgust, and scare you out of your mind!

Everything is going Jason’s way, and he should be happy. He has slain his tormentors, returned home to his family, and his dream of being magical has finally been achieved. But with his return, so comes the news that his former love is still alive, and she is out to destroy not only Jason, but the entire Warlock nation. To make matters worse, she has now pitted Jason and the entire Warlock nation between two powerful forces. The question he must now answer: To save his people, can he kill the woman he may still love?

Cindi Ella Lass didn't have a career in Paris, Texas in mind when she graduated with a degree in fashion, but her grandmother's offer of a place to live (free rent!) entices her to the small town. When she arrives, she notices the most beautiful pair of crystal shoes in the shop next door...and she can't get them out of her head.

After dumping her cheating fiancée, straight-laced Julia Hopkins decides to focus on herself for a change. A weekend getaway with a friend and one-night stand with a sexy stranger was exactly what she needed to kick off her new life. It was her chance to be someone else, if only for a little while. But Julia's wild night comes back to haunt her when she discovers the identity of her sexy stranger.

Beth Riley wasn't looking for commitment. She thought a hot no-strings-attached vacation fling would help her forget her latest dating disaster, and the sexy guy she'd met on the plane seemed like a perfect candidate. But Matt wasn't what she expected.

Best-selling urban fantasy and paranormal suspense author M.D. Massey welcomes listeners back to the world of the Junkyard Druid for his third short story collection. Blood Bound includes "Voodoo Ball", "Prince Mark's Price", and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do".

I hate Nicholas Banfield, Viscount Longwood. He's cocky. Annoying. And most of all, he's a liar. So why is he living rent-free in my head every hour I'm awake, and sometimes when I'm asleep? It may have something to do with the fact that I'm working on his historic estate. And . . . I may have had a crush on him that one summer when we were teenagers. But I've never forgiven him for betraying me on that fateful night in Dorset.

When a woman with perfect memory sets out to solve a riddle, the threads she tugs on could bring a whole city crashing down. The God-King who made her is at risk, and his other servants will do anything to stop her. To become the God-King's Amanuensis, Manet had to master all seven perfections, developing her body and mind to the peak of human performance. She remembers everything that has happened to her, in absolute clarity, a gift that will surely drive her mad.

He wanted to bring his fiancée back from the dead. If he's not careful, he'll join her. Evans's world was turned upside down when he lost his fiancée Senna in a tragic accident. He misses her so desperately that he's resorted to the dark arts to bring her back. Frank Altemus is a doctor with strange connections to the occult who promises to revive Senna from the afterlife in exchange for Rohan's help on a "special" expedition.

Arthur Pendragon, the once and future king, has pursued his political career all the way to the White House. Then tragedy strikes, in the form of an assassination attempt that leaves his wife Gwen at death's door. To save her, Arthur must once again seek the Holy Grail, the Cup whose magical powers can heal her body and soul.... And as Arthur knows from experience, grail-hunting can be a very dangerous occupation.

More than 1,500 years after his disappearance into the mists of Avalon, King Arthur has returned. This time, he's prepared to rule the Camelot of a new millennium: New York City. Handsome, charismatic Arthur Penn is running for mayor on a platform of common sense, humor, and knightly virtues. His advisors include a gifted 10-year-old named Merlin; Percival, an immortal accountant; and Gwen, a lovely young woman with no end of problems.

Lucy Morrigan, a young genetic researcher, decides to clone her grandmother in this modern, heartwarming twist on Mary Shelley's classic. Lucy lives with her boyfriend, Gray, in her crumbling family mansion and works in the high-tech basement lab she inherited from her father. Frustrated by her unsuccessful attempts to win tenure and bear a child, she takes drastic measures to achieve both. Hoping for a baby, she instead brings to life 22-year-old Mary.

Petra and Henry’s marriage has gone flat. However, after a chance meeting with a new lover, Alain, Petra discovers a fresh side to her sexuality. With his encouragement she explores her feelings of dominance and begins to subject husband Henry to a regime of discipline and control.