When Mitalla turns three, she learns that her mother has kept a dark secret from her: Mitalla is a slave.Being a member of an intelligent feline species, she has never seen a "pink and furless" human until a cruel overseer takes her and her siblings from their seemingly safe home and into a life of bondage.Even though, as the runt of the litter, Mitalla has struggled to survive, she is unprepared for the harshness of the desert where her enslaved species is forced to mine a p...

"I wanted to become a scientist. But not just any scientist. A mad scientist."For Betty Sue Collins, being a doctor would never be enough. While her parents dream of their daughter saving for medical school, Betty has a deep desire to join her tortured misfit heroes and turn her intelligence into imperium.A waitress in a wig, Betty's life isn't exciting, but when she saves enough to take the Blessmenthol Scale Mad Scientist Aptitude test, she finds that there's more mad scien...

A 12-year-old orphan, Devin has never met another living human—not that he remembers. But he has seen too many of the other kind.The virus is to blame—the outbreak that killed the whole crew of his spaceship when he was practically a baby. Now all he knows of humans is dead ones he has seen, terrifyingly encased in glass.The spaceship is as silent as a tomb. Ghosts seem to pervade its silent corridors. But the ship is the only home he knows.Just like the only friends h...

The forest is dying. The food supply is going away. And the humans refuse to leave.But a lamb called Apple Bone, a scrawny cross-eyed misfit, may have an answer.When cornered by a ravenous lion, Apple Bone has a sudden, desperate vision. He imagines an elaborate prank, one ingenious enough to make the human invaders leave forever.The lamb struggles to sell his solution to the hungry predator, arguing that his plan will save them both—and in fact the whole forest—from t...

Writing is hard. Some writers believe they need a magical mindset. Others believe you must force yourself to write.Such pressures cause pointless suffering.A Trail of Crumbs to Creative Freedom proposes a more playful and forgiving approach."Trail" tracks the creative recovery of the author, who—right after a manic episode—becomes creatively numb and plunges into a depression.Desperately blocked, she longs to re-experience the creative rush of writing her first ...

Two years after losing his baby brother, 13-year-old Caleb only wants a home that feels warm and friendly, not cold and vacant, and a mother who will be there for him.But just as he starts to recover from his grief, a strange man tries to kill Caleb too, plunging him into a desperate search for answers.The strangeness, however, just gets deeper.Ethereal lights beckon Caleb down a twisted path, leading—at last— to the most bizarre sight of all: a purple monster from his...

A collection of short stories by L.E. Henderson ranging from personal prose to fantasy and science fiction.Fictionally addresses questions such as:What if you could write your way into a new life?What if the only way to cure mental illness was math?How would a cat who had just become human react when she runs into a Christian determined to save her soul?How would the human race react if they made first contact with extraterrestrials only to find that the aliens hav...

What if you could write your way into a better life? What if the only way to cure your mental illness was by doing math—a whole lot of math? How would a cat-turned-human respond to a Christian determined to save her soul? What would become of human dignity if we finally discovered intelligent extraterrestrials—only to find that the aliens have no interest in us at all?Explore these questions, along with the author, in Becoming the Story, a collection of short stories, ranging from p...

This short, ten-page, article derived from bestselling author Julie Hyzy's popular presentation on writing dialogue, is available now. New and seasoned authors have paid up to $50 to hear Julie's tips on how to make your character's conversations zing. If you're interested in crafting dialogue that is both realistic and snappy, don't pass this up.Better cover coming soon!

Help isn’t coming.When Carise wakes up on an alien planet running is her only chance at escape, even if being caught means death.She’d rather die than face whatever her captors plan to do to her.Guerran is no safe place for healing and every moment is fear. Until Jaek, a gentle giant of an alien, makes himself her protector. But when their fragile bond is tested, Carise knows she must find strength within herself to become brave enough to survive Guerran.Thi...

Nimi was a nobody. Then he was the chosen. Now he's the sole survivor.Nimi Korble endured a meteoric rise to fame, one that culminated in a tragic event seldom seen in the universe. Amazingly, he takes it all in stride, as he never sought the notoriety that doomed his species. This short interview explores what happens when a civilization completely botches first contact.Praise for Puki Horpocket Presents:"A work of sheer g...

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.