Ts Rhodes

In the small Illinois town of Geneva, forty miles outside of Chicago and nearly a thousand miles from the nearest ocean, a longboat lies at rest. She is the last of her kind to navigate across the North Atlantic. In 1893 she sailed alone from Norway to Chicago, crewed by 12 brave men, bent on a mission to prove that the Norse - not Columbus - were the first Europeans to find and settle the Americas. She attracted thousands at the World's Columbian Exhibition, the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. She has sailed the Mississippi River to New Orleans. She has spent decades docked near what is now Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, has been sheltered under a wooden structure in the city's Lincoln Park. Today, she rests in Good Templar Park, Geneva, under a canopy. The State of Illinois has listed her as one of the state's 10 most endangered landmarks. But she is protected by Friends of the Viking Ship, an organization dedicated to her preservation. Hundreds see her every year, and learn about her construction, her adventures, and the ongoing efforts to preserve her. Her name is Viking.

Treasure Island, Robert Lewis Stevenson's classic novel, complete and unabridged, with additional material explaining vocabulary, nautical terms, social norms of the time, and Stevenson's inspiration for the book. Bonus - The complete song "Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Chest" with commentary.

Pirates were real, and the Golden Age of Piracy was a time when they robbed from the rich and gave to the poor (starting with themselves ) Here's a perfect introduction to the real lives of real pirates, from Henry Avery to Charles Vane. Learn what their real lives were like, what drove them to become pirates, their adventures, triumphs and eventual ends. Three hundred years of history.

Sometimes when the dead are laid to rest in peace, they refuse to go into that dark night. Instead, they lie in the cold earth, agitated and restless, angry about the past, conjuring up lists of wrongs to right and enemies to fright In Familiar Spirits, you will find previously untold tales of ... rainy graveyards ... musty attics ... domestic abuse ... love unending ... speaking with the dead ... vengeful ghosts ... infatuation gone wrong ... and lonely spirits. And, you will meet a mother who refuses to abandon her child ... a jealous ex ... a sailor who seeks to escape his watery grave ... and your deepest fears. Says Galaxy's Edge: Gathered in this book are a number of really excellent ghost stories. This is not a book full of friendly or gentle ghosts. The "bump in the night" for most stories is really a solid smash. The collection begins with Sarah Hans's tale of revenge by an abused and murdered woman and ends with Jean Rabe's highly original story giving a ghost dog's eye view of a murder set in one of the most fascinating locales ever, the Coon Dog graveyard in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Not a collection for the younger reader, Familiar Spirits will appeal to you with its darkness. Says Anton Cancre on CemeteryDanceOnline: "plenty of good ghastly tales" and, concerning Wren Roberts tale, "I made the mistake of reading this one while walking the dog and ended up weeping right there on the sidewalk." Includes stories from Sarah Hans, Dolores Whitt Becker, William Pack, Lynne Handy, Wren Roberts, Kate Johnson, Cathy Kern, Ric Waters, TS Rhodes, Melanie Waghorne, and Jean Rabe. What makes ghost stories give readers shivers more than any other stories? After all, vampire and werewolf and monster tales can be plenty creepy, too. Perhaps it's because we always know, deep in the back of our subconscious, that vampires and werewolves and monsters aren't real. They're fiction. But, the same isn't true for ghost stories. Almost every culture believes in ghosts and has myths and tales about them. Almost everyone has had, or personally knows someone who has had, a ghostly or supernatural experience. We believe in ghosts, so we believe in ghost stories. And that makes it so much harder to go to sleep after we've read what those familiar spirits may be up to in the midst of deepest night in the woods, down the street, and in our own homes. Magician and story-teller William Pack conceived of Familiar Spirits as an outgrowth and supplement to his spell-binding performances of magic and ghostly tales. Connecting with Writer on Demand Donald J. Bingle, they have invited a specially selected group of extremely talented writers to craft short tales and vivid manifestations to unsettle, spook, terrify, and haunt you in your dreams and in brightest day. Join with these authors to bring Familiar Spirits to life ... or, perhaps, unholy afterlife from beyond the grave. Death is only the beginning for a familiar spirit, but it may be the end for those it seeks out on the mortal plane.

Book two of the Pirate Empire series. Once again pirate captain Scarlet MacGrath is on the run with a hold full of refugees. All she wants is to find safe haven, but before she knows it she's locked in battle with bloodthirsty natives, armed merchants and even the Royal Navy. With her very survival on the line, Scarlet must lead her crew with greater courage than ever before. Join Scarlet in her most desperate moments, marshalling muskets, cannon and luck against forces bent on her destruction as she and her crew sail The Bloody Seas of the Caribbean during Piracy's Golden Age.

Book One of The Pirate EmpirePirate captain Scarlet MacGrath wants three things - a decent meal, a glass of rum, and a good man waiting for her in the next port. Too bad life never seems to work out that well.First the notorious Red Ned Doyle tried to steal her ship. Then Henry Avery, the pirate king, sends her off on a mission of diplomacy and danger. And finally she ends up on the Island of Martinique with a Frenchman who wants to carry her off to his rose arbor.What's a girl to do? If it's Scarlet, she'll draw pistol and cutlass, fight her way clear and then have a drink. Join Scarlet as she fights, robs and loves her way across the Caribbean during piracy's Golden Age.