My name is Zabdas: once a slave; now a warrior, grandfather and servant. I call Syria home. I shall tell you the story of my Zenobia: Warrior Queen of Palmyra, Protector of the East, Conqueror of Desert Lands ... The Roman Empire is close to collapse. Odenathus of Palmyra holds the Syrian frontier and its vital trade routes against Persian invasion. A client king in a forgotten land, starved of reinforcements, Odenathus calls upon an old friend, Julius, to face an older enemy: the Tanukh. Julius believes Syria should break free of Rome and declare independence. But his daughter's beliefs are...

KIDNAPPED BY THE ENEMY...
Raised in a convent, innocent Beatrice Giffard never imagined she would be stolen away by the fierce Saxon warrior, Edmund of Lindsey. Her handsome abductor is going to use her as a political pawn because she is Norman
After his brother is killed in a massacre, Edmund is thirsty for vengeance. Using Beatrice will bring him closer to his enemy, but he is unprepared for the strong attraction to this beautiful maiden. Her gentle ways are laying siege to his heart...but how will he choose between protecting his family and loving her?
"A passionate and...

My name is Zabdas: a brother, protector, soldier and sacrifice. I am a defender of Syria. I shall tell you the story of my beloved Zenobia: fearless woman, determined wife, Warrior Queen of Palmyra ... Seventy-thousand Roman soldiers have marched to Syria in a bid to scourge the land of Persian invaders. But Emperor Valerian fails to win the war raging on the eastern frontier, and both Syrian and Roman forces are pushed back behind the walls of Antioch, their protection and their prison. Crushed between two warring empires, Zenobia and Zabdas are ordered on another mission, deep into enemy...

A third volume of prize-winning short stories from the Words with JAM BIGGER Short Story Competition 2014. The annual BIGGER Short Story Competition, with a sizeable prize fund, draws entries from far and wide, and An Earthless Melting Pot is the result - a collection of winning entries and runners up in each category. Judged by Emma Darwin (Bridport Prize winner and author of The Mathematics of Love), Sam Jordison (columnist for The Guardian and founder of Galley Beggar Press) and Debbie Young (reviewer for Vine Leaves Literary Journal and Commissioning Editor of the Alliance of Independent...