Bio: Reading has been a part of my life always. Both of my parents enjoyed reading and instilled a love of and respect for the written word. Of course, being born along with television, I didn't have the opportunity to have the boob tube as a babysitter. I would love to be able to create a story that moves you as much as some of the ones I have read touched me. But barring that, I hope to encourage someone to download a story for a few dollars but reap such a reward from the content that they feel it was cheap at any price.

"Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum." Ship out with me mateys to an island of buried treasure. Now I won?t be tellin? ye where it?s at, cause I won?t be addin? the burden of yer death to the misery I already be carryin?. Now, if you don?t understand the introductory sentence, maybe you should watch ?Pirates of the Caribbean? once again. Or better yet, read Mr. Stevenson?s work and get a taste of pirates with even more skullduggery afoot. Although this book was written in a narrative style much softer than today?s styles, the author conveys throughout the book how truly blackhearted buccaneers were. From a diehard few that pursue a former shipmate who has something they want, to the whole cutthroat lot that throw in for the voyage to Treasure Island, these boys are mean. They carry out the business of pirating with no regard to life--neither theirs nor their victims. I found Jim Hawkins to be be a likeable enough main character, though I felt the ?boyish escapade resulting in good favor for his party? to be repeated too often. Long John Silver contradicts the image portrayed by his comrades. Where they live for the moment, he is always thinking ahead. That?s probably why he?s captain & why there were some of the HISPANIOLA crew left to tell the tale. I was completely turned around in my opinion of the Squire. Where I first pictured him as a dictator, by the end of the tale I was rooting for him. I also found the doctor to be more kindly and giving than first impression. But the best thing about the whole book is the descriptive narration of the voyage. I could hear the creak of rope and jingle of anchor chain. I could hear the high shriek of sea gulls and smell the body odor of too many man in too little space for too many days. Ahhh. The sailor?s life for me.

On a brisk autumn day, a thirteen-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America--and into another realm. One of the most influential and heralded works of fantasy ever written, The Talisman is ... more info>> 2001

Words: 125000 - Reading Time: 357-500 min.
Category: Horror

Would you hike the Appalachian Trail with your eyes shut simply to get from start to finish with no care for what you're missing in between? Then don't read King's books simply to finish them. It's the journey that's the point of his stories. And this book is a prime example. If I hear the phrase "Right here and now." It immediately invokes Wolf, and I am saddened by his loss but thrilled that he existed at all. Poor Richard Sloat. Dragged from his dorm and flipped to the territories, "Sea Island Stuff" indeed. Those mutants chasing your train are no longer imaginary Richard. Travel coast to coast with Jack Sawyer. Sometimes in this world, sometimes in the next. A wonderful story of parallel time with characters so vivid you want to stay with them long after those terrible words "The End" scroll by on your PDA screen. After 4 readings, I still start the story with great anticipation. Surely with this reading I will find my own way of "flipping" to a place where a man can smell a radish pulled out of the ground a mile away.

I remember this story from T.V. It's one of those where you're going along with the flow and wondering when the commercial break will kick in 'cause a Twinkie is calling your name, when...WHAP! Literally, the last line stops you dead. It comes out of the dark side of Mr. Knight's imagination and smacks you between the eyes. I don't remember how many years passed between my viewing of that show and finding the story on Fictionwise, but it was on it's way to my PDA as fast as I could find a credit card. I think I downloaded 8 or 10 of his other selections in the same file and none have disappointed me.

Jack the Ripper with a BIG twist. Mr. Resnick's solution to the Whitechapel murders is unique. That Teddy Roosevelt was the one to accomplish this is secondary to the story. If you have any interest in this case, be sure and read Redchapel. As Teddy would have said, "Bully for you Mr. Resnick."

I got this story based on a recommendation (That's why we do this, to help you find the gem amongst all the slag) and enjoyed 99% of it. The concept of a prison being established on the far side of time is a slick little proposition. That the prisoners are responsible for themselves once they go is even better. Here's where the 1% I didn't like steps in. These are political prisoners. And to the best of my comprehension, they are a mix of both sides. As the party in power keeps switching, so too, does the mix of prisoners. This means that the riots boil down to political debates. Come to think of it, that's pretty funny. When a prisoner arrives on the hammer his lack of political stance makes him suspect. What he's really up to has nothing to do with a prison sentence. Now I want to see Mr. Silverberg do this very same story but make the prisoners the worst of the worst.

Alright, so I fell for one. When I bought this book I was thinking "bodice ripper", and that just isn't my speed. But I do so love a good time travel story. This is a good time travel story and more than satisfied me. With all of today's products--you forget people naturally stink! Ms. Hamlett reminds you of that fact in this little gem. She also tells you that furniture is comprised of rough wood, clothing is made from rough cloth, and eating the food is just rough. Lucy and Maxine, our transported heroines, are so funny. When they can't seem to adapt to the hard lifestyle they now face, they try to introduce modern conveniences to ye old Scotland. The catered dinner party was so much fun, I read it out loud to a friend. Buy the book and settle back for a good read with a totally correct ending. An aside to the author: (thanks for telling me what Scots don't wear under their kilts.)