The Gauntlet

A trio of friends from New York City find themselves trapped inside a mechanical board game that they must dismantle in order to save themselves and generations of other children in this action-packed debut that’s a steampunk Jumanji with a Middle Eastern flair. Nothing can prepare you for The Gauntlet… It didn’t look dangerous, exactly. When twelve-year-old Farah first laid eyes on the old-fashioned board game, she thought it looked…elegant. It is made of wood, etched with exquisite images—a palace with domes and turrets, lattice-work windows that cast eerie shadows, a large spider—and at the very center of its cover, in broad letters, is written: The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand. The Gauntlet is more than a game, though. It is the most ancient, the most dangerous kind of magic. It holds worlds inside worlds. And it takes players as prisoners.

Tony Stark is known throughout the world as many things:billionaire, inventor, Avenger. But mainly for being the Invincible Iron Man. Just when Tony is about to add his pizzazz to an international eco-summit in Ireland, someone close to him forces him to question his role in making the world a more dangerous place with his high-techweaponry. But Stark doesn't have much time to reflect before an old enemy presents him with an even greater challenge: the assassination of all the eco-ministers, and Iron Man himself. Just how invincible Iron Man is when he is stripped of everything remains to be seen in this breathless adventure by the best-selling author of Artemis Fowl.

Jim Ward tells the detailed story of discovering his own fascination with body piercing, his founding of Gauntlet (the first body piercing studio), and the beginning of the modern body piercing industry.

Roger Vadim directs this remake of his own 1956 film starring Rebecca de Mornay as a wilful woman determined to have a good time. After her exuberant and carefree nature lands her in jail, Robin Shea (de Mornay) is advised by the prison governor (Frank Langella) that marriage to a respectable man will win her freedom. She duly weds carpenter Billy Moran (Vincent Spano), a responsible family man who seems certain to have problems keeping his new bride in check. Robin sets about pursuing her dream of rock stardom with the accompanying reckless behaviour, but will Billy help her develop a new perspective on life?

Private Jacob Murray, a twenty-six-year-old Pennsylvanian volunteer in the ranks of George Washington’s Virginia Provincial Militia, is scouting the dense, almost impassable Ohio Valley wilderness in May 1754. Together with his twin brother, Israel, and two Mingo warriors, Jacob searches for a party of French troops encroaching on British soil. Back at home, Murray’s wife, Maggie, and their four children carve out a meager existence until a group of French and Huron war parties raid their small farm. Taken captive, they are unsure if they will live to see their husband and father again. With word spreading that French-backed Huron raiding parties are decimating the Pennsylvania countryside and taking white captives, young Major Washington, Murray, and a French officer bent on revenge are destined to cross paths. As three hostile powers continue to vie for control of the coveted Ohio Valley, a war soon begins that will engulf them all. The Gauntlet Runner tells a tale of fractured lives, broken treaties, and the stark realities of the struggles faced by early American settlers as they risk their lives to cultivate the young, formidable nation.

Morgan the Wizard, Layla the Valkyrie, Korb the elven archer, Orlando the Warrior, and Phineas, Knight of the Order of Skye-adventurers all-must seek out and destroy the evil that is haunting the land of Viridus. In order to accomplish that, they need to gather up the four shards of the Gryphon Window, a mystical portal to the ethereal realm between the physical and the spirit worlds-that is where the great dark lord behind all their problems is hiding. But finding the shards won't be an easy task-not when the dark lord's minions are waiting in every shadow, behind every tree and stone, waiting to kill at their master's bidding!

Fight. Protect. Survive. The Ferron Empire once took slaves from across the world to work the mines and fields. After the Empire fell, the freed slaves founded the Undal Protectorate. This brutal militant state became obsessed with its independence, protecting the Undal Protectorate's borders from the remnants of Ferron no matter the cost. After one too many harrowing battles, Flore retired from the Stormguard Commandos. To escape the horrors she wrought in the name of protecting her people, she accepted a simple posting in the Forest Watch. Flore's peace is shattered when blazing orbs of light disturb the night sky, descend on her village and her daughter is abducted. Flore is forced into a cross-country chase in pursuit of the mysterious orbs, whose presence hints at a return of the overthrown Ferron Empire. Now, Flore must take up a role she had sworn to put aside and become the weapon they trained her to be, and save not only her daughter, but her people.

Reality check. No good-luck charm can help Captain Glint Starcrost out of this no-holds-barred reality show. The Iron Gauntlet pits competitors against four of the most fearsome, fang-filled, alien fighters in the universe. He's one of the few human challengers ever chosen to contend, but he's not alone. A fan, a mysterious benefactor, offers Glint and his ragtag team support. The catch? If Glint loses or withdrawals from the competition, it will mean a permanent game over for his crew and the woman he loves. Will he have the mettle to medal? Or is the game too much of a gamble?

Concealing, my psychic 'Gifts' is exhausting.I'll be happy when my brother Dusty grows up and finds a girlfriend. I'd be grateful for Dusty's offer to help me move if we weren't trading favors. Traipsing around a Renaissance fair is an agonizing price to pay. Epic fail, Mama and I miscommunicated on the dress size, and it leaves me a little...exposed. But at least I'm not naked. Right? There's nothing left for me to do but own my curvy sensual side as if I meant to tease the tantalizing knights and wizards at the event. A lunatic poisons the crowd, and a nasty epidemic of Montezuma's revenge wreaks havoc. Sneaky cowards make me madder than a wet hen. If that's not enough to knock the shine off the trip for me, it turns out a little known secret about a ghost in the castle is true. How do I know? Because I'm sleeping in the tortured spirit's room and she wakes me each night with a bloodcurdling scream. Assuming we survive this nightmare, Dusty best not give me any lip about my furniture being heavy. 'Throw the Gauntlet' is the 6th installment in the April May Snow Psychic Mystery Shorts. The stories are stand-alone, but the current, complete list is below. If you enjoy Colleen Helme, Erin Huss, JB Lynn, Jana DeLeon, Angie Fox, Elizabeth Hunter, or Amanda M. Lee, 'Throw the Gauntlet' will keep you turning pages to the end! #1 Throw the Bouquet #2 Throw the Cap #3 Throw the Dice #4 Throw the Elbow #5 Throw the Fastball #6 Throw the Gauntlet If you enjoy April's story, please sign up for the mail list at https: //www.mscottswanson.com/ (New release notifications only.)