Bøger udgivet af Loconeal Publishing, LLC

Pirates, Pirates, Everywhere Pirates. Not your everyday Hook and Peter Pan. This year's LocoThology pays homage to that ever mysterious, swashbuckling, sometimes hero, yet more often villain, the Pirate. Follow the adventure and explore piracy in its varied form. Chase away soul stealing pirates, find a stolen pirate map, and prove that girls really can be pirates too. Fight against manuscript piracy with the help of a vampire, and live or die with the regrets of a lifetime of corporate raiding. Then, attend an unhappy birthday party before retiring to fight aliens and pirates in space.

From Hairballs to Hair Straightening . . . Women face certain challenges when they reach, um, a certain age and who doesn't enjoy a funny cat story? With essays, really bad poetry and ridiculous photos of the author and her cats (as well as some unsuspecting family members), "Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady . . . And Othe Possibly Demented Meanderings" offers the best of both worlds. Topics cover the full gamut of two- and four-legged dilemmas-divorced and dating after many years of marriage, purse envy, weight loss and gain, body image (human) and escape attempts, euthanasia, and rock-swallowing (critter), among other subjects. Culled from a massive literary database (aka the rather demented mind of author Sandra Gurvis), some writings appeared in publications such as Columbus Monthly, I Love Cats, and the anthology CAT'S MEOW, while others are completely original. This book is a must-read for cat ladies, aspiring cat ladies and/or people who love cats and/or women. It can also serve as precautionary guide for those wishing to avoid cat ladydom. But like potato chips and sometimes felines themselves-the stories may be hard to stop reading after just one!

THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF BAD BETWEEN KANA AND BAZZ . . . That's what they say on Bazz, that the "Deep Sea", the open space between the two planets, is cursed and full of bad dreams-but nobody ever listens to people from Bazz, do they? Paymaster Stenstrom, Private Taara and Lord A-Ram struggle to navigate the Seeker, an old warbird, through the shipping lanes to Bazz. If the Paymaster can't get to Bazz with his cargo of brandy, he loses the ship and will probably end up in jail as well. Jail? If only . . . The three adventurers are about to discover the old farfetched mariner stories are very real and that the Devil himself waits for the unwary in dark places where there is no help. The Circle closes in on Stenstrom, Taara and A-Ram, and its judgment for them is far worse than any jail cell. The Seeker is about of become just another ship that set sail from safe shores and was never heard from again, unless . . . The Belmont Saga concludes in this heartbreaking and action-packed tale of friendship and dedication, of vile evil and hopeless terror, and that sometimes help for those gone astray comes from the most unlikely of places.

How wonderful can Wonderland be if there's more danger than a visitor can see? Allie's got a secret that she hasn't shared with hers friends, Janie Grimm and Mia Andersen. Someone from her past is after her, and she's got to keep them safe. When she realizes her childhood in Wonderland is putting her friends at risk, she jumps through a rabbit hole to lead the danger away from them, but it lands her back in the same situation she'd tried to escape just a few years before. Janie, Mia, Bert, Aiden, and all the rest are getting more experienced with magical dangers, and they can't let their friend sacrifice herself if they can help. They organize a trip to Wonderland to look for Allie, and meet the White Rabbit, the Queen, the Jabberwocky, the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter and others along the way. They find deadly nightslip mushrooms, magic gone awry, a magical realm trial for stolen tarts, and further relationship drama. But, will they save their friend before it is too late?

Hans Christian Andersen might be a cool name on a family tree, but the meaning of that relationship might be more dangerous than it seems . . . Janie Grimm and her best friend Mia Andersen survived their first year of law school, and are now heading into summer internships at the local courthouse. Between their work for the judge and their part-time jobs at the theater, Janie and Mia have a mystery to solve. The Seawitch has escaped from faerie court lockdown and is out for revenge on relatives of Hans Christian Andersen. Along with the help of Aiden, members of F.A.B.L.E.S., a street girl named Allie, Bert the frog, and a theater employee named Jonah, the girls must find the target of the Seawitch's ire, deal with the reappearance of an absentee father, deflect an unwanted crush, nourish a new romance, work for a very eccentric judge, and find out why there is magic in the courthouse. Janie and Mia must first figure out the answer to the puzzle and then protect the person in the most danger . . . but who is the Seawitch's intended prey?

Being the descendent of the Grimm Brothers doesn't make life a fairy tale . . . it's a curse. Once upon a time Janie Grimm thought she led a normal life, but within the first week of law school she's started losing her mind. Her father just died, her stepmother Evangeline is evil, her professors already hate her, and a frog named Bert keeps talking to her. Then, there's her growing attraction to the accident-prone Aiden, who tries to explain magic murdered her father and it was trying to kill her, too. Janie learns her father's death was due to a fairy trying to restore the magic bound by Janie's ancestors, the Brothers Grimm. Now the target of this fairy's bid to regain power, Janie has only the protection of the mysterious Holder of the Legacy, the members of the F.A.B.L.E.S. organization, and the promises Evangeline made to Janie's father before his death . . . but will it be enough?

THE 3rd TURN OF THE SHADOW TECH GODDESS The quest of Paymaster Stenstrom spans the planes, taking a bizarre turn in the 3rd universe, as there he is not an affluent man but a woman in desperate circumstances. Lady Stenibelle is imprisoned for her role in the Seeker Affair, is penniless, and her House of Belmont-South Tyrol is on the verge of extinction. Her spirit broken, Stenibelle is resigned to perform her sentence without fuss, do as she is told, and fade away in obscurity. However, fate is not yet finished with her. Stenibelle is in the gaze of hidden benefactors with ulterior motives. People claiming to be her dear friends come forward, yet she does not know them. The Quests of the Shadow tech Goddess proceed, and she must discover the hero that lies within or face total oblivion. The disgraced 30th daughter of the House of Belmont will either be the final stake driven into its dying heart, or the ray of light that comes to save it and all else that follows.

Convincing those in power to believe that Abi is a queen seems daunting. Then again, Abi has grown a good deal since leaving her father's cabin as a naïve peasant seeking no more than the next day's comfort. Mostly she has learned that the Goddess provides and has her own way of doing things, often not timely. The details of royal recognition hardly matter. No, there is a noble marriage to arrange, a fiancé's parents to coerce and an enormous Farstand army to stop from decimating her reluctant allies. We shall start with a kidnapping and get bloody in a hurry.

Conozca a los niños de los espíritus cósmicos, Carahil y Mabs. La más joven de los siete, Atha de La Busqueda, ella es curiosa, independiente, y tiene una atracción poco común a causar el caos a quienes la rodean. Acompaña a Atha en sus aventuras y sus ocurrencias únicas de ella, para conseguir que sus hermanos y hermanas jueguen con ella. Únete a ella y todos sus hermanos y hermanas para aprender a salvar las apariencias y la importancia de cumplir las promesas. English Translation: Meet the children of cosmic spirits, Carahil and Mabs. Their youngest of seven, Atha of the Quest, is curious, independent, and has an uncommon tendency to cause chaos for those around her. Join Atha as she comes up with a unique way of getting her brothers and sisters to play with her. Join her and all her brothers and sisters as they learn the importance of saving face and keeping promises.

Life ends, new life is born. Everything balances. When Carahil, an Elemental Spirit, witnesses the destruction of an entire world, he's faced with the ultimate question: how far is he willing to go to save it? Carahil will gather friends-like Lord and Countess Blanchefort, renowned Fleet Captain and ex-Black Hat, to help. He'll destroy lives, like that of Captain Davage's best friend and first officer, Lt. Kilos, who is made to quit her job aboard the Seeker and go into the dreaded Hazards of the Old Ones: a place where only she can stand. Carahil will also search out disreputable sources like the scalawag Duke of Olyn, who has something malicious and wailing locked away in his dungeon. To make matters worse, hidden forces threaten to destroy everyone Carahil needs to help him. Ominous messages appear from nowhere, surprise visits, phantom people and taunting voices complicate matters. However, the most dangerous threat to this mission could be Carahil himself, who faces demonic transformation for getting involved and may upset the cosmic Scales of the Universe in a bad way. Carahil, though struggling to achieve a greater good, might be the cause of a horrific tragedy instead. Hell awaits should he fail.

Beware the woman who does not exist, yet is everywhere. Paymaster Stenstrom and his Countess-in-Waiting, Lady Gwendolyn of Prentiss, are paid a bounty of riches to perform a simple task, and then everything changes. The weight of the Universe comes down upon them. Paymaster Stenstrom learns he is in the gaze of the destroyer of universes, the Shadow tech Goddess, and also that he is in a race with sinister forces hoping to curry her favor and bring about the end of all things. It is a race he and Gwendolyn must win. They will investigate ancient places hidden in plain sight and travel to long lost worlds unseen in ages. They will feel fear such as they have never known and walk in a Garden of Horrors where all is revealed and Stenstrom comes to know the truth of his place in the universe. The Shadow tech Goddess silently watches the doings from her throne in the Hall of Mirrors, seeing all, collecting information, and her verdict might finally be cast one way or the other.

In the far distant future, man is no longer man-he is Elder, awash in life-long youth, health, and Gifts of the Mind. Serving celestial beings known as the Elders, man formed the League, a collection of Great Houses scattered on numerous worlds dedicated to defending life and serving the benevolent will of the Elders. For ages League mothers have told their children terrifying stories about the Black Hats: the enemy. A sect of Xaphan murderers eager to slay anyone who falls into their grasp, always searching for their next victim. Only the League's ruling body, the Sisterhood of Light, has been able to counter their evil. When a Black Hat is taken prisoner aboard Captain Davage's ship, the Sisters have every intention of executing her, to put her to a slow, painful death. That is what's done to Black Hats, and no one dares challenge the Sisters' authority. They are astounded when the Captain refuses to allow it. Using his Gift of Sight, Captain Davage, the Lord of the Great House of Blanchefort, has gotten a glimpse of the Black Hat's face, and is shocked. Though no one but a Sister would ever willingly face a Black Hat and hope to survive, he enters her cell.

In the ruins of a distant castle, a light comes on signaling the end of everything... Kabyl, son of the famed Captain Davage, discovers the world around him is not as it seems. His beloved is a haunted woman full of secrets. She looks over shoulder at things that are not there and dread's the dark. What is she so afraid of? The Dead hold hands, they say, and lend the living their power. Will they hold hands for Lord Kabyl as he ventures into the unknown? Temple of the Exploding Head, a League of Elder series.

Neither science fiction nor fact has explained all that we know of our world. How then can we expect them to explain that which we only believe or hope to be real? Where might the answers be? Are they in the machines or cures we have created? Are they with those who left this life but not this world? Or are they not even on this planet but out in space or in the hands of gods we have not met? In this collection of tales today's newest science fiction and fantasy writers explore these questions and share the answers they have discovered.

A God In His Temple Is Invincible. An outlaw and evil spirit, the Horned God confronts the gods themselves. From his Temple deep in the ground he is finally ready to act. Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort returns to his home with the pieces of The Machine in hand. He expects his love, Lady Sammidoran, will return to begin their life together as man and woman at last. However, the Horned God has other ideas and he pursues Lady Sammidoran without pause. As Lord Kabyl seeks to save his love from an insane god, all roads lead to the dreaded Temple of the Exploding Head, where none emerge alive. Elsewhere, Captain Davage and his Countess, Sygillis, find themselves lost deep in enemy territory where the Horned God's horrific servants hold sway. Even if the Captain and Countess manage to return home to Kana, what will they find when they arrive? The Temple of the Exploding Head saga concludes in this action-filled adventure of love and loss. In a place where even the gods fear to tread, how can naught but a tragedy be the outcome?

Farstand is a place where it's illegal for peasants to bear weapons, read books, worship gods other than Sho, and move beyond life's station. Women are disallowed employment without the sanction of men. Abi's worthless father hopes to kick her out of his peasant holding without a dowry. She beats him by a day, leaving on her own, though forced to do so under threatening calls of witch and murderess. Those aren't the only sins they're likely to burn her for, as she takes up her weapons and book of Goddess-given spells, naively facing the empty world beyond her mother's door. And the Goddess laughs, sending a dream: "A thousand men shall fall before your sword."

Sex. Money. Murder. Drama. Housewives...And homeless animals! All run amok in the affluent suburb of New Wellington! Tish McLean has been left high and dry, both financially and emotionally, by Brian, her husband of over 20 years. To make matters worse, Brian is about to marry the social chameleon Susan, Tish's one close unattached friend. As Tish struggles to realize her dream of opening a shelter for homeless animals-and her love with a very married veterinarian who has big problems of his own-she strips away the cubic zirconium studded underbelly of country club society. What she finds may shock you-and make you laugh!

The Temple of the Exploding Head Saga continues... Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort, his cousins Sarah and Phillip and their friend Lord Lon of Probert quest to recover the three pieces of a fabled machine lost for centuries: The Oberphilliax. Their quest will take them beyond the safety of the League to the Xaphan city of Waam where an ancient Black Hat and her vile army of Spectre henchmen await their arrival with great anticipation.

GET THE BRANDY TO BAZZ . . . That's all Paymaster Stenstrom, the Lord of Belmont-South Tyrol, has to do and the old warbird Seeker is his. He has dreamed of captaining a Fleet ship his entire life. Little does Paymaster Stenstrom realize that he is in the grip of an old Vendetta and the short trip to Bazz might very well be his last. Faced with a dead ship and a lost crew, Paymaster Stenstrom finds help in the strangest places: the thief Marine and the milquetoast young man from the Admiral's office, and, though he just became acquainted with these two strangers, he discovers they have been influencing each other's lives for a very long time. Something sinister hovers over Paymaster Stenstrom and his two new friends, something they are only now becoming aware of. The SANDS OF THE SOLAR EMPIRE stretch out before them in an endless gulf brimming with the unknown. Can a masked Paymaster, a thief, a coward and a once great warbird face what awaits them?

While looking for a missing queen, it's good to have a sharp sword, fast horse and a hateful spirit. Everyone in the world anticipates Abi's hanging, spitting, flaming and things far worse. After all, she has murdered the King's brother. It is in the midst of this trouble that the Goddess whispers the absurdity, "Compassion is best," and even stranger words: "Listen to others," even if they are only a maid, a landless lady in waiting and a hungry wolf. These utterances leave Abi dizzy, moments after learning the Baron holds her mother in the deepest and most foul pit. No, heads are meant to fall. People are supposed to die. This includes every man, woman, child and fatted calf, should they be ignorant enough to stand in her path. And somehow, in spite of all the bother, taking her in the opposite direction from the leanings of her heart, Abi is searching for a queen.

This year we honor Leap Year, that phenomenon that comes around every four years allowing us to regain lost time. We dedicate this year's LocoThology to the Leap. Join a hitch-hiking vampire, space traveling religious alien, and a brain jumping philosopher on this rollercoaster ride through fantasy, space, and time. Whether jumping from the mouth of a dragon or leaping across dimensions to an alternate earth, this year's anthology has something for everyone. Now put down the cards and quit gambling with the card shark wildlife, climb on board, and settle in for a great read.

After years of neglect from its cruel and unstable king, the kingdom of Orenck is on the verge of collapse. Conspirators from within plot the king's overthrow while neighboring countries prepare to invade. In the midst of this turmoil petty thief, Shankla, is mistaken for the king. Can he escape assassination, save his country from invasion, and solve the mystery that fate has written in his own image?