What do you get when you mix a dead child, a movie buff, a chiromancer-anthropologist, a school shooting, and what appears to be a series of unrelated, everyday events? What you get is a disturbing possibility that exists in the present tense.

Soulless is a book that walks a fine line between horror, mystery and science fiction. However, if you are looking for laser-gun-toting aliens, mother ships and fast-paced action, you will not find them here. In spite of that, you must not let those absences lure you into a false sense of security. Just look around yourself and remember that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

The most disturbing thing about Soulless is precisely that you will not find impossible circumstances in its pages. What you will find is a different perspective on familiar facts. In this book the line that separates fantasy and reality is gradually blurred until it finally disappears, good and evil merge into one, as do hope and hopelessness. Before it is over you will be looking for a way to prove to yourself that this is just a work of fiction.

Before you go any further let me warn you that this book does not play fair. You will find fourteen stories here... or should I say twenty-eight half stories? The thing is that none of these stories is complete. This is, to be truthful, a collection of beginnings that you can continue in any way you want. There is no right or wrong way to end these stories, they can go on for as long as you want them to, and you can finish them in more than one way.

And why would you want a collection of beginnings to begin with? Well, let me answer that question with another question: Has it ever happened to you that you don't like the way in which a particular story ends? That will never happen to you with a collection of beginnings because finishing the stories is up to you. This book puts you in the driver's seat, it allows you to control the stories and to decide what happens next.

In this book's pages you will find fairies and dragons, starships and secret caves, kings and wizards, forgotten cities and distant worlds, enchanted books and children with mysterious powers, and all of these characters are yours to play with.

Do you think that the words "music theory"refer to a kind of torture? If it does, you are not alone, and Scales at a Glance, Setting Music Theory on Its Ear is for you. This book starts from absolute zero, but it reaches a fairly advanced level, and, in the process, it does away with the traditional approach to music theory. Its emphasis is on the understanding of the organizing principles governing scale construction not on memorizing countless scales.

The visual approach used in Scales at a Glance, Setting Music Theory on Its Ear means that you will be able to recognize any given scale regardless of its key or its mode with a single glance.This system will enable you to instantly visualize its structure, and it will render even the most complex structure you can possibly find into something that will be understandable for a person that has never encountered a scale before.

Even though Scales at a Glance, Setting Music Theory on Its Ear was written with beginners in mind, its fresh perspective can also be extremely useful for more advanced students and for music teachers everywhere. For the most part, you won't find a single staff lurking in this book's pages (with the exception of a single appendix, but feel free to perform an appendectomy if even this turns out to be more than you can take).

A couple of years ago I was looking for a publisher for my first book. I found one, but I figured that my research on the subject of POD publishers could possibly benefit others, so An Incomplete Guide to Print On Demand Publishers was born. In time the guide continued to grow and I added a number of additional resources dealing with various issues related to the publishing process.

Eventually I realized that there were a number of subjects I wanted to cover, but that were clearly out of the scope of the site, so writing a book became the best option. The articles that were featured in the Guide were edited, updated and expanded, and others were written especifically with the book in mind. The Clearly Confusing World of Self-publishing & POD is the result of that effort.

No more... please... stop... I confess. My name is Clea Saal and I was born on this planet, however I am not certain whether or not that would have been my first choice. I was born at an early age somewhere in the Southern hemisphere, although I was dragged to the other side of the equator by my parents when I was only a few years old. I began writing when I was six and, to some people's annoyance, I haven't stopped yet. I endured twelve years of basic education (or rather thirteen, I did flunk once) and then by reason of tradition, masochism or insanity, I went on to devote several more years of my life toward obtaining a degree in English Literature. The day I finally graduated was loudly celebrated... by my teachers.

Ever since I can remember, I have been surrounded by books. I saw them, smelled them, chewed them, tore them to pieces, scribbled on them, heard my mother reading them to me, and, as I got a little older, I read them myself and I even had a few books thrown at me. So, under the circumstances, becoming a writer seemed to be the next logical step.