You are Kellen Moore, the best pitcher at West Burbank High. It isn't your arm that makes you successful, but your cool head. You've always had an uncanny ability on the mound to tune out the crowd, the opposing team, and the pressure. Well, almost always. . . The state championship game forces you to revisit one moment you let the pressure get the better of you—an embarrassing day you'd rather forget. This time, can you make the choices that will help bring home the trophy for your team? Views: 67
From the much-loved Milly Johnson comes three new short stories, exclusive to ebook, along with a sneak peek at her new novel, A WINTER FLAME.If you have not yet had the pleasure of reading WHITE WEDDING, beware that the title story, THE WEDDING DRESS, is a mini sequel and contains spoilers! Views: 67
Amazon.com ReviewIn 1996, 26-year-old Peter Hessler arrived in Fuling, a town on China's Yangtze River, to begin a two-year Peace Corps stint as a teacher at the local college. Along with fellow teacher Adam Meier, the two are the first foreigners to be in this part of the Sichuan province for 50 years. Expecting a calm couple of years, Hessler at first does not realize the social, cultural, and personal implications of being thrust into a such radically different society. In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Hessler tells of his experience with the citizens of Fuling, the political and historical climate, and the feel of the city itself."Few passengers disembark at Fuling ... and so Fuling appears like a break in a dream--the quiet river, the cabins full of travelers drifting off to sleep, the lights of the city rising from the blackness of the Yangtze," says Hessler. A poor city by Chinese standards, the students at the college are mainly from small villages and are considered very lucky to be continuing their education. As an English teacher, Hessler is delighted with his students' fresh reactions to classic literature. One student says of Hamlet, "I don't admire him and I dislike him. I think he is too sensitive and conservative and selfish." Hessler marvels, You couldn't have said something like that at Oxford. You couldn't simply say: I don't like Hamlet because I think he's a lousy person. Everything had to be more clever than that ... you had to dismantle it ... not just the play itself but everything that had ever been written about it.Over the course of two years, Hessler and Meier learn more they ever guessed about the lives, dreams, and expectations of the Fuling people.Hessler's writing is lovely. His observations are evocative, insightful, and often poignant--and just as often, funny. It's a pleasure to read of his (mis)adventures. Hessler returned to the U.S. with a new perspective on modern China and its people. After reading River Town, you'll have one, too. --Dana Van NestFrom Publishers WeeklyIn China, the year 1997 was marked by two momentous events: the death of Deng Xiaoping, the country's leader for two decades, and the return of Hong Kong after a century and a half of British rule. A young American who spent two years teaching English literature in a small town on the Yangtze, Hessler observed these events through two sets of eyes: his own and those of his alter ego, Ho Wei. Hessler sees China's politics and ceremony with the detachment of a foreigner, noting how grand political events affect the lives of ordinary people. The passing of Deng, for example, provokes a handful of thoughtful and unexpected essays from Hessler's students. The departure of the British from Hong Kong sparks a conversational "Opium War" between him and his nationalist Chinese tutor. Meanwhile, Ho Wei, as Hessler is known to most of the townspeople, adopts a friendly and unsophisticated persona that allows him to learn the language and culture of his surroundings even as Hessler's Western self remains estranged. The author conceives this memoir of his time in China as the collaborative effort of his double identity. "Ho Wei," he writes, "left his notebooks on the desk of Peter Hessler, who typed everything into his computer. The notebooks were the only thing they truly shared." Yet it's clear that, for Hessler, Ho Wei is more than a literary device: to live in China, he felt compelled to subjugate his real identity to a character role. Hessler has already been assured the approval of a select audience thanks to the New Yorker's recent publication of an excerpt. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 67
A NEW HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS?He came to Sweetwater to repay a debt. Chance Taylor didn't expect to have feelings for his new landlady, Tanya Bolton. He can see newly widowed Tanya works hard to put the pieces of her world back together, caring for her wheelchair-bound daughter and taking a job at the local bank.Chance's arrival interrupts Tanya's routine...and brings unexpected happiness to her life. But the secret obligation he struggles with means Chance could lose Tanya—and his chance for a fresh start—foreverOriginally published in 2006 Views: 67
Sold into slavery!
A hardened survivor of more than a dozen gladiatorial combats, Valens's raw masculinity fuels many women's sexual fantasies. He is outside polite society, and Roman noblewoman Julia Antonia knows she should have nothing to do with a man who is little more than a slave.
But with a wisp of scandal clinging to her stola , Julia is drawn inexorably toward the forbidden danger he represents. For Valens, Julia is a tantalizing reminder of the life he'd been torn from. To claim her, he must fight one final time—and win! Views: 67
RAINBOWS ARE GOD'S PROMISESI learned that in Sunday school. That's why I draw rainbows. I love Bible stories, especially Noah and the ark...'cause Daddy's name is Noah McKnight. I thought it would be nice to make a rainbow for his new boss, Dr. Beth Brennan, to welcome her. She joined her family's medical clinic and painted animals two by two on the walls! Daddy comes home smiling every night, when he used to be so sad. Beth's smart and pretty. She goes to church with me, likes cookies, knows how to fix a little girl's hair and would make a perfect mommy. I just have to convince Daddy of that! Views: 67
Tom Cord was within three months of retirement when bushwhack lead cut him down. No lawman ever allowed one of his fellow officers to be murdered without making every effort to get his killer. Deputy Sheriff Bradford Counter, a modern-day gun wizard, had been Tom's partner; Woman Deputy Alice Fayde was Tom's niece.Together they began the hunt for the old deputy's killer. The search took them across the Rockabye County rangelands, through the slums of Gusher City's Bad Bit and into the upper-crust district of Upton Heights. At last the trail ended, with Brad Counter's gun-skill matched against the two professional killers who shot his partner down. Views: 67
It's Valentine's Day, and Cam is at school when she learns her mother is about to give birth. Cam and her best friend, Eric, rush to the hospital with his mom. There, in the waiting room, something valuable disappears. Click, click! Cam starts to unravel the mystery. Will Cam solve it before her Valentine sibling is born? Views: 67
Our cats make us smile every day, but some days they really outdo themselves! This book is full of those hilarious and heartwarming stories about the many ways our mischevious feline friends surprise us, make us laugh, and touch our hearts.Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That Did That? will have readers asking the same question as they read these 101 humorous and heartwarming stories about these lovable, goofy, and friendly felines. Whether funny or serious, or both, this book will make readers laugh, and it will undoubetdly touch their hearts. Views: 67
