Regina Puckett

Even though Lady Grace only knows a few vulgar phrases in French, once taught to her by a mischievous childhood friend, she somehow pulls off pretending to be a seamstress from France to The Dowager Duchess of Greystone. Fortunately for Mademoiselle Blancher, as she styles herself, the Dowager doesn't speak a word of the language. So Grace is able to hide her true identity until her dear cousin Beatrice sends her a message, begging her to return to London. The poor woman, it seems, needs saving from the same fate Lady Grace had found herself facing two years earlier: a forced marriage to the ever-so-vile Duke of Chesham.From afar, Viscount Worthington has admired the Dowager Lady Jane's feisty, foul-mouth seamstress, Mademoiselle Blancher, but a man of his rank doesn't socialize with a woman of her class-unless he means to make her his mistress. But Robert wants so much more than a brief fling. Since such a thing would prove impossible, he keeps his distance, only exchanging glances as they occasionally pass one another in the hallways of Greystone Hall. When Lord Worthington discovers the seamstress needs his help, though, he's quick to offer his aid. And so, on the road to London, he get to learn all of Grace's secrets. Unfortunately, some come with danger, others with heartbreak, and-if Robert and Grace are lucky enough-some will come with love.

Our Heart's Drum Humble hearts reach outWithout hesitation or doubtThey give before they takeEven if it means they breakBig hearts grow and growIt's the only way they knowThey never stumble or fallOver hate or temptation's wallGlad hearts smile in spite of painThey run like children in the rainThey share sunshine through smilesThey hold our hands during our trialsPure hearts only want the best for usThey offer us hope and untainted trustWe run to them when the monsters comeEach beat booms from our hearts' drum

Only I Hear Only I hear the air kisses and giggles I missedWhen I was too busy marking off my checklistOnly I hear the words he might have saidAs my father fought for life on his death bedOnly I hear time laughing as it slips awayAdding wrinkles and gray hair into the frayOnly I hear my sorrows as they gather aroundTheir cries and moans create the saddest soundOnly I hear the moments I threw away like trashBecause I didn't understand or was too rashOnly I hear the things I wished I could redoI would cherish the time I hurried throughI would stop and listen to my babies coos and criesI would linger over conversations, hugs and sighsI would stop and smell the flowers and fresh airI would accept my failings and loose every careSo the next time I think I'm the only one who hearsI won't be ashamed to expose my heart or show my tears

A Collection of PoetryI fly away in my dreams and thoughtsFlying backward to my mind's snapshotsIt's there I linger with my beloved recollectionsAnd walk hand and hand with these lovely reflectionsUntil reality sharply taps me on the shoulderPushing me back to where things are so much colderBut one day I'll refuse to shred my hard-earned wingsAnd nothing can stop me from flying to where my heart sings

Meet a man called Rat...When a storm sends Rat's airship off course, he lands smack dab in the middle of a group of dimwitted kidnappers. With the help of his two best friends, a nine-hundred-year-old robot and a droid who always believes they're on the verge of dying, Rat escapes the kidnappers' clutches before rescuing the women being held against their will.While the rescue should have been the end of the story, Rat soon discovers the women are hiding something from him. When he uncovers their secret, it turns his life upside down and sets the entire world on a different course.

Plucked and Tasted Every day, so I don't flounder and drownI plant another daydream into the groundI stand back and wait for them to take rootEvery fantasy a delicate, sprouted shootThey climb until they become entwinedThese exquisite revelations growing inside my mindBut it isn't until the fruit is plucked and tastedI know my life wasn't needlessly wasted

A collection of poetry I No Longer Belong They say that time is not our friendBut sometimes I feel like I'm a child againBack when I never had a voiceBack when I never had a choiceBack when no ever really heardBeyond my pleading first wordI can still feel that pat on the headAnd remember that terrible feeling of dreadWhen I knew they were never going to hear meWhen I recognized they would never really seeThat I had something worth hearing to the endInstead of only receiving that smiling condescendI have the sudden urge to scream and stomp my feetAnd show the world I no longer belong in the backseat

Mother Duck is quick to adopt Baby Kitten after finding him all alone in his milk dish. Little Duckling is excited to have a new brother, and even though the other barnyard animals laugh because Baby Kitten has fur and purrs while Little Duckling has feathers and quacks, the two brothers couldn't care less what the other animals think of them. Little Duckling wants to teach his new brother to swim but Baby Kitten is afraid of the water. He is content to sit on the riverbank and watch his brother swim until a summer storm blows in and floods the farm.

Mary, Mary Mary, Mary, how does your garden growIn this world troubled by so much woe?Tears rain until they flood the earth's surfacePain and hungry distract us from our purposePoliticians are so busy planting choking weedsEnjoying the party while the entire world bleedsMary, Mary, put away your seeds and run awayAnd we'll try to plant a better garden another day

Another thrilling anthology of short stories by some of the rising stars in independent publishing. In this second collection of short Speculative Fiction we bring you another treasure chest of great Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here you will find stories of intergalactic policemen, virtual soldiers, spirited princesses, lonesome spacemen and even megalomaniac dogs and kleptomaniac goats.So dust off your old suit of armour and grab your blaster pistol and come join us in exploring more 'Spectacular Tales'.

As the son of two famous actors, Coty is used to the unfaltering scrutiny of the media. But even though he's been in and out of the spotlight his entire life, he is totally unprepared for the public's harsh judgement when he's forced to kill a teenager in the line of duty.Amanda is the love of Coty's life. She wants to stand by his side and weather his current crisis, but he's determined to create a distance between them in the hope of protecting her. His biggest fear is that, if the media makes a connection between them, the reporters will turn their focus from him and onto her. That would most certainly bring the media to rehash the lurid scandal that had erupted after the attempted rape of his sister by Amanda's own deceased brother.Coty has no intention of letting his problems hurt Amanda. He only wants her happiness, and if that means he has to let her go - then so be it.