Tag: Stories

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Crime Stories: Twenty Thriller Tales

This collection features twenty short stories from humorous thriller writer J.A. Konrath. Included are a few hardboiled tales, some noir, some parody and satire, a few straight-out comedy pieces, and a few stories that didn’t fit into Konrath’s other two collections, Horror Stories and Jack Daniels Stories.

The twenty stories include:

The Big Guys – Flash fiction, winner of the Derringer Award.

A Fistful of Cozy – A satire of the mystery cozy genre.

Cleansing – An ancient crime of biblical proportions.

Lying Eyes – Solve it yourself, given the clues.

Perfect Plan – Another solve it yourself. Don’t you remember One Minute Mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown?

Piece of Cake – Another solve it yourself, originally featured in Woman’s World.

Animal Attraction – Solve it yourself.

Urgent Reply Needed – A cautionary tale about dealing with spammers.

Blaine’s Deal – A parody of hardboiled noir.

Light Drizzle – A light-hearted send-up of hitman stories.

An Archaeologist’s Story – How digging up old bones leads to fresh corpses.

Don’t Press That Button! – An essay about the gadgets in the James Bond universe, and which you need to buy.

Piranha Pool – A writer seeking criticism pays the ultimate price.

A Newbie’s Guide to Thrillerfest – Never been to a mystery conference? Here’s the in-depth dirt.

Inspector Oxnard – He’s either brilliant, or too stupid to breathe.

One Night Only – A sports fan ends up in jail, all for the love of the game.

Could Stephanie Plum Car Really Get Car Insurance? – An essay about Janet Evanovich’s famous character.

Cozy or Hardboiled? – Take the test to find out which type of book you’re reading.

Addiction – What’s the worst drug you can get hung up on?

Weigh To Go – A humor column about health clubs.

Specially formatted for Kindle with an interactive table of contents, this ebook also includes excerpts from Whiskey Sour and Disturb by J.A. Konrath.

About the Author

JA Konrath is the author of eight novels in the Jack Daniels thriller series. They do not have to be read in chronological order to be enjoyed, but for those who want to know it is: Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, Shaken, and Stirred.

Jack also appears in the novels Shot of Tequila, Flee, Spree, Three, Timecaster Supersymmetry, Banana Hammock, and Serial Killers Uncut, as well as the short story collection Jack Daniels Stories, and the novellas Floaters and Burners.

Last Call, the ninth Jack Daniels novel, will be available in spring of 2013.

Other novels include Origin, The List, Disturb, Shot of Tequila, and Serial Killers Uncut.

Konrath writes horror under the name Jack Kilborn, including the bestsellers Afraid, Trapped, and Endurance.

He has sold over a million ebooks.

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No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories

Jack ‘No Middle Name’ Reacher, lone wolf, knight errant, ex-military cop, lover of women, scourge of the wicked and righter of wrongs, is the most iconic hero for our age. This is the first time all Lee Child’s shorter fiction featuring Jack Reacher has been collected into one volume. A brand-new novella, Too Much Time, is included, as are those previously published only in ebook form: Second Son, James Penney’s New Identity, Guy Walks into a Bar, Deep Down, High Heat, Not a Drill and Small Wars. Added to these is every other Reacher short story that Child has written: ‘Everyone Talks’, ‘Maybe They Have a Tradition’, ‘No Room at the Motel’ and ‘The Picture of the Lonely Diner’. Together, these 12 stories shed new light on Reacher’s past, illuminating how he grew up and developed into the wandering avenger who has captured the imagination of millions around the world.

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What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything

New York Times best-selling author Rob Bell, using his inspired and inquisitive approach, focuses on the most widely read book of all time. He provides surprising insights and answers about how the Bible actually works as a source of faith and guidance, showing a brand-new way of interpreting this sacred text.

Rob Bell, the beloved author of Love Wins and What We Talk About When We Talk About God, goes deep into the Bible to show how it is more revelatory, revolutionary, and relevant than we ever imagined – and offers a cogent argument for why we need to look at it in a fresh, new way.

In Love Wins, Rob Bell confronted the troubling questions that many people of faith were afraid to ask about heaven, hell, fate, and faith. Using the same inspired, inquisitive approach, he now turns to our most sacred book, the Bible. What Is the Bible? provides insights and answers that make clear why the Bible is so revered and what makes it truly inspiring and essential to our lives.

Rob takes us deep into actual passages to reveal the humanity behind the Scriptures. You cannot get to the holy without going through the human, Rob tells us. When considering a passage, we shouldn’t ask, ‘Why did God say…?’ To get to the heart of the Bible’s meaning, we should be asking, ‘What’s the story that’s unfolding here, and why did people find it important to tell it? What was it that moved them to record these words? What was happening in the world at that time? What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God was at that time?’ In asking these questions, Rob goes beyond the one-dimensional question of ‘is it true?’ to reveal the Bible’s authentic transformative power.

Rob addresses the concerns of all those who see the Bible as God’s word but are troubled by the ethical dilemmas, errors, and inconsistencies in Scripture. With What Is the Bible?, he recaptures the good book’s magic and reaffirms its power and inspiration to shape and inspire our lives today.

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Three More Jack Reacher Novellas: Too Much Time, Small Wars, Not a Drill and Bonus Jack Reacher Stories

Lee Child once again demonstrates his mastery of the thriller genre with an unbeatable collection of three Jack Reacher novellas and six short stories, together for the first time in one pulse-pounding collection from the #1 New York Times bestselling author

Too Much Time: In this original novella featuring Jack Reacher after his time in the army, Reacher finds himself in a hollowed-out town in Maine. He witnesses a random bag-snatching but sees much more than a simple crime, in a tale that leads into Lee Child’s new Reacher novel, The Midnight Line.

Small Wars: Lee Child goes back to 1989, when Jack Reacher is an MP assigned to solve the cold-blooded murder of a young officer. 
     The telex is brief and to the point: One active-duty personnel found shot to death ten miles north of Fort Smith. Circumstances unknown. The victim was shot twice in the chest and once in the head. A professional hit. The crime scene suggests an ambush. Military police officer Jack Reacher is given the case. He calls his older brother, Colonel Joe Reacher, at the Pentagon for intel and taps Sergeant Frances Neagley to help him answer the big question: Who would kill a brilliant officer on the fast-track to greatness?
 
Not a Drill: Jack Reacher is on the road, hitching a ride with some young Canadians who are planning a hike through the dense forests of Maine. They part ways after sharing a hot meal, and Reacher checks out a quiet town surrounded by countryside serene enough to cool even his raging wanderlust. But not for long. First the trail is suddenly closed. Then the military police show up in force. Maybe it’s a drill. Or maybe it’s trouble—the kind of trouble that always finds Reacher, no matter how far he travels off the beaten path.
 
And for the first time on audio, additional stories featuring Jack Reacher, including: James Penney’s New Identity, Everyone Talks, Maybe They Have a Tradition, Guy Walks into a Bar, No Room at the Motel, and The Picture of the Lonely Diner
 

Praise for Lee Child

“There’s a reason [Lee] Child is considered the best of the best in the thriller genre.”—Associated Press

“This series [is] utterly addictive.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Jack Reacher is today’s James Bond, a thriller hero we can’t get enough of. I read every one as soon as it appears.”—Ken Follett

“The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going.”—NPR

“Reacher’s just one of fiction’s great mysterious strangers.”—Maxim

“Irresistible Reacher remains just about the best butt-kicker in thriller-lit.”—Kirkus Reviews

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Never Give Up: 7 Inspirational Thoughts and 21 Stories That Will Motivate You to Accomplish Anything (Motivational Quotes, Motivation, Determination, Willpower Instinct Kindle, Don’t Give Up)

Get inspired by the thoughts and stories in this book, so that you’ll NEVER give up! In this book, you’ll find motivational thoughts and inspiring stories. These examples are encouraging and help you face your struggles. The thoughts are statements that can help you move forward, despite of challenges and mistakes. The stories are about historical or successful figures who accomplished what they wanted because they didn’t let failure stand in their way. Each story shows you something you can learn. So if you want to feel more motivated to achieve your goals, download this book. You’ll be able to: See the purpose of failure Turn failure into success Have inspirational stories in mind that motivate you daily Improve your self-esteem Discover how refusing to give up can end in fame and fortune Have more determination Get ready to feel inspired and motivated by the truths you should tell yourself and the successful people you can look up to. Download this helpful ebook now! Discover how they did it and what you can learn from the example they gave.

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Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom

From the former secretary of state and best-selling author – a sweeping look at the global struggle for democracy and why America must continue to support the cause of human freedom.

From the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the ongoing struggle for human rights in the Middle East, Condoleezza Rice has served on the front lines of history. As a child, she was an eyewitness to a third awakening of freedom, when her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, became the epicenter of the civil rights movement for black Americans.

In this book, Rice explains what these epochal events teach us about democracy. At a time when people around the world are wondering whether democracy is in decline, Rice shares insights from her experiences as a policymaker, scholar, and citizen, in order to put democracy’s challenges into perspective.

When the United States was founded, it was the only attempt at self-government in the world. Today more than half of all countries qualify as democracies, and in the long run that number will continue to grow. Yet nothing worthwhile ever comes easily. Using America’s long struggle as a template, Rice draws lessons for democracy around the world – from Russia, Poland, and Ukraine, to Kenya, Colombia, and the Middle East. She finds that no transitions to democracy are the same because every country starts in a different place. Pathways diverge and sometimes circle backward. Time frames for success vary dramatically, and countries often suffer false starts before getting it right. But, Rice argues, that does not mean they should not try. While the ideal conditions for democracy are well known in academia, they never exist in the real world. The question is not how to create perfect circumstances but how to move forward under difficult ones.

These same insights apply in overcoming the challenges faced by governments today. The pursuit of democracy is a continuing struggle shared by people around the world, whether they are opposing authoritarian regimes, establishing new democratic institutions, or reforming mature democracies to better live up to their ideals. The work of securing it is never finished.

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers: 101 Stories about How You Make a Difference

Teachers inspire students every day, and this new collection provides some much-needed inspiration for these dedicated educators. With great stories about teaching from teachers and stories of thanks from students, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers makes for a great teacher gift all year round!

Teachers will love the book’s heartfelt, inspiring, and humorous stories from inside and outside the classroom. Stories from teachers and students about their favorite memories, lasting lessons, and unforgettable moments will uplift and encourage any educator.

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Women Who Rock: Inspirational Stories of Success by Extraordinary Women

In this unprecedented collaboration, Natasha Duswalt, author, speaker, and founder of Peak Models & Talent and 33 other extraordinary women share their personal and inspirational stories of success.  These empowering and uplifting stories by women from all walks of life, have overcome challenges, solved problems, or changed their lives for the better will help you find your own inner strength, empowerment, and resilience, and remind you to think positive, count your blessings, and use the power that you have within you to inspire others.  Real stories from real women. Readers will enjoy featured stories from authors that include NY Times Best-Selling Author, Dr. Barbara De Angelis, the Queen of Sales Conversion, Lisa Sasevich, co-founder of Beyond Diet, Isabel De Los Rios, and the owner of FrankieB. Jeans, Daniella Clarke.