Ollie Turner vows to ensnare the entire population of the small town of Beckmire into his servant ranks. He will lure them beneath his sway through the boxes of chocolate cakes and the pizza slices sold from his general store's register. Those remaining to claim Beckmire home are listless, lazy and dim, and so they present little challenge to a boneshaker working to multiply his zombies.Rose Pilger wakes every morning before the crack of dawn to peek between her window’s curtains upon the zombies who shuffle down the road running passed her home. She hates the zombies, for their limping souls represent the ruin that has befallen her town of Beckmire. If Rose had her way, she would forever hide in her home’s shadows, where she could gather amid all the treasure and trash her life has accumulated upon her floor, where she could whisper to her husband’s ghost. Only Rose runs dangerously low on food, and she is forced to make her own journey along that road that runs passed her home to reach ugly Ollie Turner’s general store. There, hunger forces Rose into a transaction that will reserve her own spot in that parade that each morning shambles by her home.

As the oldest of Kay's daughters, Mary feels it her obligation to protect her sisters who crowd the tight hallways of the trailer they call home. Mother Kay's husband regards Mary and her sisters with dangerous eyes, and Mary feels the footsteps of Belle creeping up behind her. Mary knows that if she cannot protect her sisters that Belle will discard her spirit to make whatever stand Mary cannot.Mary cannot deny that danger crowds whatever space in her trailer not occupied by one of her many younger sisters. She is old enough, and weary enough, to recognize the terrible appetite burning in the eyes of her mother's most recent husband. Mary might wish to ignore the peril, but old dame Queenie burns Belle's favorite, clove cigarettes, plays Belle's favorite songs, decorates the children in Belle's favorite costume jewelry. Mary understands that Queenie has no faith that she can protect her younger sisters, and Mary knows Queenie follows all the steps to summon Belle. And Mary knows there is no room for the both of them. For if Belle arrives to fight where she cannot, Mary understands how her soul will be cast outside to flutter in the chill wind.

The stoning sickness has entered Mark Pence's home, banishing his father into the attic's secluded shadows. Stiffening as his limbs turn heavy and his skin morphs into stone, Mark's father warns not to open their door to the knock of that fool who travels the land promising healing. Only, Mark cannot forget how is father languishes in the attic, and his family's faith has never been so tested.Mark Pence serves as the head of the household after the stoning sickness falls upon his father, who suffers, isolated and hidden, in the family attic while he morphs into stone. With a stiffening tongue, Mark's father warns not to open their door to the fool who walks the land offering healing to anyone meek enough to accept such charity. Mark easily makes the promise, but the keeping of it proves difficult as his family's unity collapses. Mark struggles to respect the home his father built, struggles to find the true value in the homes of neighbors that surround him. Only Mark fears that all his father strove to build will crumble when that fool arrives to knock upon their front door.

Zoe loves living at her uncle's rescue zoo because there's always something exciting going on. And Zoe also has an amazing secret... She can actually TALK to the animals! Max the meerkat loves to dig tunnels and go exploring, and so do his baby brothers and sisters! With the big treasure hunt coming up, can Zoe find a way to keep the messy meerkat family out of trouble?

Life is a bit mad sometimes,what with weird witches,bonkers characters visiting their friends and the animals leaving me Christmas lists. But I've got my secret powers to help me - and do you like my new beard ?He comes back to stand in my closet sometimes, a shadow in the open door. He tells me stories. There was a boy. He lived at the lake, and he was Dad's friend."What was his name?" I ask him.Dad doesn't look at me. He looks anywhere else, and finally he says, "Franklin.""What happened to him?"Dad looks down at me and smiles, his eyes the color of the lake at night, dark and bottomless. "I don’t know.""Come on, Dad. I want to know.""No you don't," he tells me, and he tucks me in. But this time, he doesn’t go away."Dad, why did you go away?""You're tired," he says, and I can't stay awake anymore. I wake up a couple times, and he's still sitting there, holding down the corner of my mattress.

Lyle Davenport golfs for memories instead of birdies. The old course's clubhouse has vanished. His arms and back turn too stiff for a graceful swing, and Lyle realizes more tee drives arc behind him than fly in front of him. Still, Lyle keeps to his weekly rounds. He shares tee-times with ghosts, and Lyle would never traverse the narrow fairways of his memory from the comfort of a cart.Lyle Davenport's golf game has not changed for years. He shares his tee-time each Tuesday and Thursday morning with Ken Sutton, and the numbers penciled upon their scorecards never delineate from one round to another. Birdie always fall on the same puts as before. Water hazards and rough claim their sacrifices on the same swings as ever. But though Lyle's rounds hold a terrible measure of sorrow and pain, those rounds hold ever more exhilaration and joy. For in all his years flaying at a small, white ball, Lyle has never witnessed a swing as graceful as Ken Sutton's. And the memory is enough to keep Lyle coming back to those manicured and cruel fairways of grass.

Cedrick Pyle's tower stretches high to stand as a monument to the mogul's dominion over time. But when the wind blows cold, the desperate and the lonely trespass to find shelter upon Mr. Pyle's estate. Cedrick steadies himself for battle, for he suspects his tower and the poor surrounding it will attract the desire of his nemesis named Turner. And Cedrick knows monsters always follow that man.Ethan Pyle trembles for grandfather Cedrick’s obsession. Though the tower sways in the gusting winds, Cedrick remains adamant that his tower must continue to grow taller and taller. Only the most desperate of construction crews brave the heights and the cold to attempt to build one level more atop the Pyle spire. Ethan’s anxiety swells further when Cedrick claims monsters are gnawing at the tower’s foundations, that the homeless who shelter in his estate's warehouses have attracted monsters and a terrible enemy. Soon, Ethan can no longer deny the evidence that something wicked has its eye on the tower as grandfather Cedrick claims. Soon, Ethan’s sleep is disturbed by the sounds of teeth scraping against the tower's foundation stones.

You know what you want,right ? So sing out - there's someone cute watching you. If you don't do it,you'll lose them. They might want you too.."One thing about living in New Orleans I never could stomach...all the damn zombies." That seems to be the popular sentiment as the wild decadence and splendor of the Crescent City is underlined with the very real threat of a zombie apocalypse. In OCCUPATION, two best friends struggle to survive in a post-Katrina New Orleans in which several of the city’s residents have turned into mindless, ravenous zombies. Largely ignored by many in the city/state legislature, the city’s residents are forced to defend themselves against a mysterious epidemic that has many baffled as to the true nature of its origin.Now on the heels of a city swept in the madness and hysteria of both Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl, two friends race against time in a last ditch effort to discover the truth behind the cause of the virus before it is too late. OCCUPATION is a funny, insightful and haunting story bringing a new twist on zombie folklore.

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A thief gets more than he bargained for when he decides to steal a ring from a dragon's hoard. Short story.He was created for only one person. She was never supposed to be the One.It is 1988, Clear Lake, Texas. Lilly Garcia is not looking forward to her senior year of high school. She is a shy, studious, band geek with a non-existent social life, who lives out her romantic fantasies through the fictional characters of her books. But all that changes when she issues a spur of the moment invitation to a strange, new student.Charlie isn't happy about returning to Earth and he resents having to attend high school to blend in. His father has been recruited for another mission to spy on the Earthans and make sure they have no idea of the existence of the Sentrian civilization. The Sentrian leaders are not only paranoid and disdainful of the Earthans, but also controlling and suspicious of their own people. Almost every aspect of a Sentrian's life is under the supervision of the State. Their religious beliefs are the one exception. Sentrians do not have free will, and all the people believe in the existence of God. Their belief that God chooses your soul mate is their most sacred law. While on Sentria, Charlie never found his chosen, and when he develops an attraction to an Earthan, he is torn. Should he ignore his feelings for Lilly, feelings he knows are wrong, or should he pursue a doomed relationship with the only person who has ever mattered to him?Lilly finds Charlie interesting. They have a lot in common, especially their love of books. She's falling for him, but there's something off about him, something she can't explain. When she becomes an involuntary witness to his supernatural abilities, Charlie is forced to admit he is not from her world. Lilly is fearful at first, but soon realizes she wants to be with Charlie no matter what.Unfortunately their happiness is threatened when a Sentrian from Charlie's past is put in a position of authority over him. Evelyn, a power-hungry elite, believes it is her duty to make sure all the Sentrian youth comply with their strict code of laws. Almost immediately she becomes suspicious of Charlie and his contact with the Earthan girl, Lilly. After tracking Charlie's movements, Evelyn's worst suspicions are confirmed. A relationship with an Earthan is considered blasphemy and Charlie must return to Sentria to go on trial for his moral crimes. This leads Charlie and Lilly to a desperate choice: accept the decision of the Sentrian rulers and never see each other again, or risk everything to stay together.

'A marvellously inventive and imaginative fiction. A tremendous novel' William Boyd'A relatable and compelling read ... Anyone would love it' Dorian Cope'Funny, thought-provoking and astoundingly clever ... What will I be able to read after Villager? I'll just read it again, I guess. And again. Just cancel all other books' Adele Nozedar, author of The Hedgerow Handbook'One chapter unfolds as dialogue with a search engine; others are narrated by the moor itself. A rich potpourri that keeps us busy enough not to worry about what it adds up to' Anthony Cummins, Mail on SundayThere's so much to know. It will never end, I suspect, even when it does. So much in all these lives, so many stories, even in this small place.Villages are full of tales: some are forgotten while others become a part of local folklore. But the fortunes of one West Country village are watched over...

Gareth harbors no desire to wear the heavy Stonebrook crown. But a brother's murder wrenches Gareth from his cherished dog field and sets him upon the keep's throne. Gareth has spent his years in the training of war dogs, and he knows little about ruling a kingdom. Somehow, Gareth's loyal dogs will have to be enough as he faces the monsters a necromancer cloaks in the fog.Gareth seldom looked back towards the Stonebook throne after the falling of a forest crushed his heart and sent him into the company of his father's loyal, war dogs. Running with the dogs, Gareth flees his memories of the basilisk that slithered out from beneath the last trees of a lost forest to kill his crowned father, and to terribly transform a brother. But a thick fog has arrived to hover upon the Stonebrook kingdom, and the monsters shrouded in its midst force Gareth to shoulder the burden of the stone crown. Gareth knows best the command of his mighty, black war dogs, and he pins his hopes that their tooth and claw will be enough to resist what a fallen, necromancer brother marshalls against him within the fog.