READ FIRST CHAPTERS / EXCERPTS

Cook, Matilda and Mr. Glenfiddich stood at the door, while Giles helped me to carry the one suitcase I had, to the waiting car. The car that would drive me all the way to Edinburgh. Admittedly, I was afraid of what waited for me beyond the mist. My g...

Distracted he pushed through the frosted glass door of the pristine, brilliant white room. The reception desk was large and imposing, even the large letters on the front of the white surface were white. He was in the offices of AoD: Irish Operations....

The first month at my new school pass without any drama, and after public school, it is all very mundane. It seems as if nothing exciting ever happens—no fights after school, no rude behaviour, any swearing, or cussing. Johnathan sits next to me most...

A YOUNG GIRL weighed down by a suitcase and keeping her head down to protect herself from the downpour of rain, knocked into Maggie hard.The girl looked up at Maggie in panic and then looked back over her shoulder afraid.Maggie lifted her arms to ste...

It should have been quiet in the class for at least the next forty minutes or so of the period, while everyone had his or her head bent down toward the stack of papers on the desk in front of them. Some students even had their arms curled protectivel...

There was nothing special about the night Hannah was born. It was a normal night, maybe a little windier than usual, and it was one out of three hundred and sixty-five days that year. The alignment of the stars on that star-studded evening determined...

The boy pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to Megan as soon as the faded, wooden door of the building closed behind her. He was much taller than her, but he kept his distance so she would not have to crane her neck to look him in the e...

AMANDA AND I arrive at the run-down, sad and ruined château late in the afternoon. When we drive down the dirt road between the tall trees and past the derelict, once white, wooden fencing, I have a sad feeling of dread. We drive through the overgrow...

TWO HUNDRED YEARS ago, a week before I turned sixteen, I became seriously ill. I remember waking up as if it was yesterday. Most of my memories over the years have faded. There are just too many things to remember, but some moments have burnt into my...

THE SQUARE RIGGER, weighing ninety tonnes, glides across the still waters, towed along with the tides. The waves lap at its sides lazily, while seagulls swoop languidly onto its deck. The sun beats down upon it relentlessly. Should another boat pass ...

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, just before Christmas Break, I pull on my jacket and wrap my winter scarf around my neck a few times. Wrapped up warmly, I go out for a walk. Jane has gone off with Kevin and being alone in the empty apartment, althoug...

The day of leaving flies at me with unexpected speed and I am sad to say goodbye to my room, my house, my street and most of all my friends. I cry discreetly in the taxi, all the way to the airport. At the airport, I walk a few steps behind my family...

Jacob saw the Earth speed toward him. He cradled his head between his arms as he braced himself for the impact. The silver, bullet shaped pod landed on the soft beach sand in an explosion of dust. The wind twirled the sand into tendrils and dispersed...

Once upon a time, not so long ago, I never thought I would be one of those people.Actually. To be honest, I never even thought people like that existed in real life. How many times does a person meet a person in the Witness Protection Program? Grante...

She rubs the back of her hands against her eyes again and then, confused, she looks around. She was still going to... What was she still going to do? There was something, she knows there was, but no matter how hard she tries to remember, she cannot r...