Today’s top pick is a blend of the paranormal and urban fiction — Death Ain’t But a Word by Zander Marks. The story follows Wilkin Jones, a crackhead who is able to see dead people, including Humphrey, his best friend from age seven. The plot begins to cook when Humphrey’s killer reappears after 23 years. Wilkin steals his friend’s skull before the killer can destroy it and is plunged into a hot mess of a supernatural thrill ride.
Fantasy Review Barn called it, “The perfect example of Urban Fantasy done right…tight and focused…an amazing story…strong imagery that excels in its simplicity, smart and realistic dialog, and a never bloated, always compelling plot.”
Kirkus reviews said: “Marks delivers a sixth-sense thriller with a twist…an intriguing tale with an unlikely protagonist, and he may have also created a new urban-fantasy subgenre…Marks’ prose provides a sense of hope and humanity in bleak situations. He also delivers a thought-provoking story, with a high level of creativity and flair…just the right amount of intensity throughout. An imaginative, offbeat urban-fantasy…”
Zander studied at Rice University and the University of Texas, and now lives in Dallas.
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Death Ain’t But A Word: A Supernatural Hot Mess
Science Fiction & Fantasy > Paranormal & Urban
Author: Zander Marks
Just because Wilkin’s a crackhead doesn’t mean the shadows aren’t real.
They’re real. And they’ve been haunting him since he was seven years old. Mostly he ignores them.
But when the ghost of his best friend from childhood shows up at the local motel, Wilkin can’t ignore the call of friendship. And when his friend’s killer buys the motel so he can destroy the remains, Wilkin can’t ignore that, either.
Wilkin steals his friend’s skull before the killer can destroy it and is plunged into a hot mess of a supernatural thrill ride.
A death-race pursuit of a child’s skull. A spirit-whispering trucker hauling plush toys to Kansas. Five demonic farm-kids in a housing project. A Dodge City marshal who executes wayward ghosts. A nasty yellow jersey that takes the joy out of living. And a graveyard full of snitches.
It’s enough to make you want to hit the crackpipe. All leading to a climax where staying alive is the least of Wilkin’s worries.
Because when most of the people around you are spirits anyway, DEATH AIN’T BUT A WORD.
Harvest of Rubies
Christian Fiction > Historical
Author: Tessa Afshar
The prophet Nehemiah’s cousin can speak numerous languages, keep complex accounts, write on rolls of parchment and tablets of clay, and solve great mysteries. There is only one problem: she is a woman.
In her early childhood years, Sarah experienced the death of her mother and her father’s subsequent emotional distance and she came to two conclusions: that God does not care about her, and that her accomplishments are the measure of her worth – the measure of her self.
Sarah, the talented scribe and cousin to Nehemiah, is catapulted into the center of the Persian court, working too many hours, rubbing elbows with royalty, and solving intrigues for the Queen. Ironically, it isn’t failure but success that causes Sarah to lose her only source of external validation.
Sarah soon learns that she has something of worth to offer beyond her ability with languages and sums — her very being proves to be a blessing to others particularly the aristocrat, Darius, she
was given to in marriage.
Kingmaking
Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
Author: Helen Hollick
- $16.99 List Price
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“You are the Pendragon, rightful Lord of Dumnonia and the Summer Land; Lord of less Britain. By all that is right, you ought be seated where Vortigern sits…You ought to be King.”
Here lies the truth of the Lord of the Summer Land. This is the tale of Arthur flesh and bone. Of the shaping of the man, both courageous and flawed, into the celebrated ruler who inspired armies, who captured Gwenhyfar’s heart, and who emerged as the hero of the Dark Ages and the most enduring hero of all time.
This is the unexpected story of the making of a king — the legend who united all of Britain.
The Color Of The Soul
Christian Fiction > Historical
Author: Tracey Bateman
The story of an old woman’s need for forgiveness, a young man’s drive to succeed, and the history that links them both will keep readers enthralled from beginning to end. A Pandora’s box opens when reporter Andy Carmichael, too light-skinned for acceptance by blacks and too dark-skinned for acceptance by whites, is sent to Georgia to interview Miss Penbrook, an icon of Southern literature. From her deathbed, the mysterious Miss Penbrook gives Andy journals that reveal a surprising twist–“her story and his own meld into one.
That Girl Started Her Own Country
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Holy Ghost Writer
International Playgirl Zaydee finds herself in the midst of a crisis fueled by international intrigue, multinational corporate greed, and a convoluted legal system. Imprisoned for computer hacking, this brilliant jet-setter becomes an international media celebrity as she defends herself, an unknown girl labeled Princess Jane Doe, against unknown charges. With complicated and shadowy plots brewing, the book is lush and captivating and perhaps the best addition to the series yet.
The Heavenly Surrender
Historical Romance
Author: Marcia Lynn McClure
- $2.99 List Price
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Genieva Bankmans had willfully agreed to the arrangement. She had given her word and she would not dishonor it. But when she saw, for the first time, the man whose advertisement she had answered…she was desperately intimidated. The handsome and commanding Brevan McLean was not what she had expected. He was not the sort of man she had reconciled herself to marrying.
This man, this stranger whose name Genieva now bore, was strong-willed, quick-tempered and expectant of much from his new wife. Brevan McLean did not deny he had married her for very practical reasons only. He merely wanted any woman whose hard work would provide him assistance with the brutal demands of farm life.
The Money Code: Become a Millionaire With the Ancient Jewish Code
Business & Investing > Personal Finance
Author: H. W. Charles
Jews are estimated to make up less than 1% of the world’s population, yet approximately 25% of the world’s billionaires are Jewish. Jews are always found on lists of the world’s richest people. In 2009, 139 of the Forbes 400 were Jewish. Jews also comprise a very large number of history’s most important figures, people who have had a profound impact on humanity. Approximately 35% of Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Jews. No other ethnic group has even come close to matching the abilities and accomplishments of Jews.
You do not need to covert to Judaism or believe in religion to use The Money Code. “Religion has preserved history’s greatest wisdom teachings,” says religious studies scholar Huston Cummings Smith.
There are various methods of wealth creation; however, many are short-lived, unfulfilling, or hazardous. The ideal circumstance is to create long-lasting wealth, accompanied by peace of mind and fulfillment. This book will reveal the code that many Jews understand and use to their great advantage. The Money Code can be used by absolutely anyone to achieve long-term wealth and success in life.
The Comeback Kiss
Romantic Comedy
Author: Lani Diane Rich
The thing about being the one who got away is that you really need to stay gone.
Petty thief Dermot “Finn” Finnegan came back to Lucy’s Lake, Vermont, to do one thing—return the car he’d stolen from his high school flame, Tessa, the night he’d disappeared ten years ago. The plan was to be in and out with no one the wiser, especially not Tessa, but when a mysterious fire breaks out and he reluctantly saves the day, Finn’s plans are all shot to hell, along with his ability to resist the love he left behind.
Tessa Scuderi never expected to see Finn again, and that was fine by her. The truth about the teeny-tiny felony they committed could threaten her custody of her teenage sister, Izzy, and getting him out of town is job one. But as the mystery of everything that happened that night ten years ago—including her mother’s death in a strange fire—starts to unravel, Finn gets all weird and loyal. Can love survive lies, theft and arson? There’s only one way to tell…
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2