Penny: 1780 books

The Code Busters are excited for their class field trip to Angel Island, known as the Ellis Island of the West. One of Mika's ancestors passed through the island's immigration station in the early twentieth century, and Mika thinks he may have left behind some secret messages . . . plus a very special...

At 4:00 a.m., April 29, 1903, Nathalie lies awake in the booming coal town of Frank, at the base of Turtle Mountain, listening for the whistle of a train - the Spokane Flyer, bringing her American cousin Helena for a visit. Instead, Nathalie hears rocks tumbling down the mountain onto the town and...

“Hey, hey, hey!” A familiar pudgy framed German Shepherd called out in pure full on recognition and reference to one of all-time favorite phrases from late nights in front of the flat screen. “It’s faaat AL gore!” We both chanted comically in unison as the pads and toenails of her bare feet...

I sat heavy-hearted alongside my sister and cuz in the funkily cramped waiting room of the trauma ward at Keystone med, my mind racing and my heart pounding on awaiting just the tiniest sliver of news from the doc on my good old coworker and longtime friend’s progress while his sister, Rhonda was nearly down to the cuticles of her nails in extreme rhinoceros anxiety.

So, I had finally decided to leave my former life running nearly four years with the Water Street Haitians behind for a brand new and new formal one with the local Hystericals and Golden Thunder Pack uptown, only to find out a rather short while later after my first proving ground mission that a secondary...

Donna Linton and Detective Leslie Thompson take a rather unexpected and sickening punch to their gut as one of their closest and dearest companions now departs, leaving the whole rest of the group in a state of turmoil and remorse in what they thought would at least be step one to a feeling of well earned...

They say your coming of age is supposed to be a time of rejoicing and moving proudly onto the next age, just the same as sunset would be the more laid back version of celebrating the silent and peaceful journey from my current life into the very next hippopotamus one all the same of my very choosing....

“Hey! JayJay, how’s it hangin’?” The brown bear desk sergeant cooed as we strolled in through the main entrance doors of the Philadelphia PD’s West Calhoun district precinct on the corner of 5th and Monsoon. “What’s all this huh, bring your gang to work day? I thought that wasn’t all until the sixteenth of January.”

“It’s done.” I said, after the brief pause and response of a simplistic “Yeah?” at the end of the line from chief Inspector, Flint Gisselbrecht’s over in the Savannah Heights district on the south side of town. “The fifth district now looks little more than a cherry bomb and I definitely...

I awoke once again to the good old beeping of my little fifteen year old alarm clock; which I was deeply surprised and overall shocked that it unbelievably still worked like a charm after the passage of all these years, and in damn near perfect condition along with all the rest of my little trinkets in my wonderful little jail cell sized bedroom.

“Yoohoo!” The cynical voice of an all too familiar striped hyena called, striding in giddily through the oddly unlocked front entrance door. “Aren’t you guys ruefully forgetting about little old me?”               

I gave a slow and steady pump of my twelve gauge, readying myself fully for any and all as made our way tightly in formation toward the main entrance doors of arena; which rather surprisingly for a campaign rally remained completely unguarded as we silently flooded in one by one and began steadily making our way down the alley and up the inclined ramp to the upper floors.

Tim was small and not happy about it, nor about the way his schoomates teased him. Although he didn’t really believe in Santa, Tim’s mum had encouraged him to write a Christmas list. He had only two wishes on his list but would they be too difficult for Santa to carry out? An adventure...

Life doesn't stop being complicated just because you're dead. In the old days, vampires were sexy, ruthless, and evil. They could, and would, compel the living to do whatever they wanted. They owned the night. Unfortunately, being undead in modern times has unexpected and disturbing challenges. Now...