Eleven-year-old Noi is learning to paint like her grandmother. She and her older sister, Ting, spend many rapt hours in the jungle watching as Kun Ya paints delicate silk umbrellas to sell at the market. But one day Kun Ma and Kun Pa announce that Ting must start working at a local radio factory to help support the family. As the days and weeks pass, Noi anxiously sees her own fate reflected in her sister's constricting world. Can Noi find a way to master her fear of failure and stand up for her gift—and Kun Ya's tradition—before the future masters her? Views: 48
Mystery/Crime. 111663 words long. Views: 48
Wyoming Territory 1869 Being kidnapped into a bordello has a way of changing a woman's focus. On the day Mara Kincaid escapes the Pleasure Emporium, she vows to start living for herself. Rebuilding her life isn't easy as the town isn't fond of reformed fallen doves, but she's a Kincaid and Kincaids are known for their stubbornness. She's successful right up until the notorious ex-marshal Cougar McKinnley comes into town. As big as a mountain, dark as sin, and wearing a reputation as deadly as the knife strapped to his thigh, McKinnley is a man who knows what he wants. By rights, Mara should be shaking in her shoes when he approaches her. But when the powerful half-breed turns his dark gold eyes on her, it isn't fear that has Mara trembling, but rather an overwhelming desire to be the kind of woman Cougar needs to satisfy his deepest desires. Views: 48
Would you subject yourself to humiliation or torture to land a man? Or turn your frustration on the man to hide the of pain his constant rejection? Jennifer Wade did. At twenty-five,she is gorgeous, successful, confident and exudes a sensuality that grips you in the spine. And it is all a lie. Fire In Her Lies is a 21,000-word erotic novella that contains heart pounding trysts, figging and humor. Views: 48
Winner of the Frances Lincoln 'Diverse Voices' Children's Book Award 2014Karen thinks she's not proper white.Her dad is Pakistani and her mother is white Christian, and somehow she feels as if she doesn't quite fit in... anywhere. So she's made a choice: she's switching sides.Karen's going to convert to Islam to find her true identity.But Shamshad, her Hijab-wearing school mate, isn't making things easy for her. What's her deal, anyway? Is Shamshad really any more proper than herself?Trouble and turmoil await in the old textile mill town of Boardhead East, as school battles are replaced by family troubles, name calling turns to physical confrontation and cataclysmic secrets are unveiled.Set against a backdrop of seething Islamaphobia, You're Not Proper is the first in the Striker series, written by Tariq Mehmood and Pete Kalu to shine a light on issues of identity, religion, politics and class affecting young people today –... Views: 48
The sequel to the 1972 cult classic Motorman.Part political allegory, part sci-fi dystopia, the world Ohle creates is disturbing, yet humorous and oddly compelling. After the most recent Forgetting, Ohle’s luckless protagonist Moldenke is in possession of only his name and the bare facts of his former life. He finds himself cruising on the Titanic through a bizarre alternate reality where elective deformation is a fashion trend, neucs and human settlers do their best to live together in relative harmony, and the only available sustenance is stomach churning.Everyone agrees the Stinkers are troublesome and something must be done. President Ratt not only fails to control the Stinker problem, but he also has a penchant for decreeing absurd laws and issuing random vouchers of innocence. Violators with valid vouchers defer their punishments to guiltless bystanders—regulations that land Moldenke and his fellows in prison more than once.Rumors are circulating that another Forgetting is imminent and that the Forgettings are induced by Ratt’s radio broadcasts. The prison guard Montfaucon emerges as Ratt’s political rival, and Moldenke, ever the yes-man, finds himself inadvertently involved in a plot to assassinate the president. The rebels hope to return to the Age of Sinatra, “when happiness was not only considered achievable, but hailed as the ideal state of being.”Review “The legendary author of Motorman is back. In The Age of Sinatra, David Ohle is so attuned to reality that he has invented a brand new world to reflect it. Whereas what is generally called realistic fiction is busy cataloging what we wear and buy, Ohle is documenting our last secrets, and he’s doing it with droll hilarity, brilliance, and a genuinely original vision.” —Ben Marcus, author of Notable American Women, The Father Costume, and The Age of Wire & String “Ohle’s visceral world splices together such diversities as Rabelaisian humor, schizophrenia, science fiction, a twisted version of the Kennedy assassination, necronauts, conspiracy theory, aphasia, genetic manipulation, surrealism, the Titanic, cyperpunk, the French sewers, gland eating, hair smoking, pig hearts, and a constantly shifting system of law to create a hilarious yet compelling dystopia. A beautifully strange novel, imbued with nervous laughter and serious social critique, The Age of Sinatra is a startling book, excessive in all the right ways.” —Brian Evenson, author of Altmanns Tongue and The Wavering Knife "In The Age of Sinatra, Ohle has seemingly concocted some sort of covert Oulipian recipe regarding the fantastic versus realism. Readers should take note of this insurgent fiction writer, David Ohle, who flays the human condition to singular, hallucinatory effect." - The Village Voice "Delicate and grotesque, tragic and hilarious, precarious but perfectly balanced...The Age of Sinatra, a litany of symptoms, is less like an ordinary novel than it is like a patient history. But those might be the stories we feel most keenly of all." - Shelley Jackson "Ohle continues to construct an intoxicatingly vivid and demented world that is both reflective and revolutionary." - LA WeeklyAbout the AuthorDavid Ohle's first novel, Motorman, was published by Knopf in 1972. His short fiction has appeared in Harper's, Esquire and the Paris Review. A native of New Orleans, Ohle now lives in Lawrence, Kansas, and teaches at the University of Kansas. Views: 48
Blake Roberts just wants to buy some wrapping paper and go home. That changes when he's surprised by a supercenter employee keeping the Christmas spirit alive by singing and doing some impromptu dance moves. Ryan Jolly is bouncy and a little flamboyant... and Blake is immediately smitten with him. Despite being total opposites, Blake's heart is captured by Ryan’s bubbly personality and sweet smile, and when attraction flares between them, Blake starts to hope his new Christmas wish--to spend more than the holiday with Ryan--might come true. Views: 48
Now more than ever, Americans are troubled by questions. As sweaty modernity thrusts itself upon us, the veil of ignorance that cloaked our nation hangs in tatters, tattered tatters. Our "funny bones" are neither fun nor bony. Glum is the new giddy, and the old giddy wasn't too giddy to begin with.What can be done to stop this relentless march of drabbery? Nothing. But perhaps this book can be used to dull the pain. Included herein:The Ten Worst Films of All Time, as Reviewed by Ezra Pound over Italian RadioUnused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One.How Important Moments in My Life Would Have Been Different If I Was Shot in the StomachMy Beard, ReviewedCircumstances under Which I Would Have Sex with Some of My Fellow JurorsWords... Views: 48
imes New Roman is a true account of lifelong dreams to live abroad, experience another culture, complete an education and alter two career paths. When Martha first met John she overheard him musing about quitting his job and living in a box on a beach in Mexico. She was immediately skeptical, but secretly intrigued. Fast forward two years and they are enjoying their honeymoon in Mexico. Before marrying, they had discussed the "box on the beach" idea endlessly. The "box" was upgraded to a more stable dwelling and European countries were included in their pool of choices.They had enough money saved to bum around for a while, but then what? John was 42 and Martha was 37, too old to throw caution to the wind, too young to retire. Martha wanted to live somewhere and not feel like a tourist in city after city. She wanted to know her neighbors and understand what their lives were like. They needed a plan that would allow them to experience another culture, but also prepare them for... Views: 48
Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author Rose Connors returns with Cape Cod attorney Marty Nickerson in a riveting new legal thriller.At the urgent request of Harry Madigan, Marty takes on the defense of Louisa Rawlings, a woman suspected of murdering her wealthy husband. Harry is Marty's law partner. He's also her lover -- but he used to be Louisa's.Marty is simultaneously intrigued and disturbed by her new client. Louisa Rawlings is Marty's polar opposite. Glamorous and charismatic, she's entrenched in the good life, openly coveting every luxury money can buy. District Attorney Geraldine Schilling believes Louisa was motivated by greed, and to Marty, that motive seems all too plausible. It also seems too tidy. Marty's gut tells her the murderer was motivated by something far more personal.As the evidence against Louisa mounts, though, Marty begins to doubt her own judgment. The people she normally turns to for perspective are incapable of helping her. Her young a... Views: 48
From Publishers WeeklyIn her 10th comic Robert Amiss mystery, Dudley Edwards (The Anglo-Irish Murders) mercilessly skewers the book publishing world. The poisoning death of a peer, who served as the chairperson for the eccentric selection committee for a new British literary prize to outshine the Booker, causes a crisis. Panel member Amiss, an aspiring mystery novelist, recruits his friend, Baroness Jack Troutbeck, to fill the breach. The baroness, a politically incorrect bisexual who might remind some readers of John Dickson Carr's legendary Sir Henry Merrivale, quickly moves to impose her view that literature should be judged on its literary merits, steamrollering over her outraged colleagues who award points to entries based on the author's ethnic, economic and political backgrounds. As one judge after another meets an untimely end, the police place the remaining panel members under guard. Edwards is unabashedly cynical about publishing and the methods authors use to get ahead. The byplay between the baroness and her rivals is often amusing, though less acidly memorable than Robert Barnard's dialogue in works like Death of an Old Goat, which satirized academic politics. Those interested in solving the puzzle should be forewarned that there's no rational basis for anyone to deduce the identity of the killer, who ultimately mails a confession to the police. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ReviewIn deplorable taste and wickedly funny, this, the tenth in the Robert Amiss series, will consolidate the author's reputation for scurrilous humour. Sprightly, saucy and ingenious. -- Sunday Times Dudley Edwards is an equal opportunities satirist. She's rude to every persuasion. -- Daily Telegraph Marvellously entertaining and iconoclastic series of satires on the British establishment. Ruth Dudley Edwards is a crime writer whom we should treasure -sharp, intelligent and gloriously politically incorrect. -- Mail on Sunday Views: 48
Laura Lippman meets Megan Abbott in this suspenseful literary debut about three generations of neighbors whose lives intersect in the aftermath of a crime.Bernard White is a curmudgeonly widower who has lived in Seven Springs, Florida for decades and has kept to himself since his wife passed. When his neighbor is murdered, he emerges from his solitude to reconnect with his fellow octogenarians. These connections become a literal lifeline as a second, and then a third, elderly woman is murdered, and "the originals" as they call themselves, realize that they are being targeted. Amy Unger is an artist and cancer survivor whose emotional recovery has not been as successful as her physical one. After the woman next door is murdered, she begins to paint imagined scenes from the murder in an effort to cope with her own loss. But when her paintings prove to be too realistic, her neighbors grow suspicious, and she soon finds herself in the crosshairs of the police. And... Views: 48
