Katie and Rusty are heading East. Fresh from their thrilling adventures in Alberta, facing down devious developers, the cousins have made their way to Aunt Margaret's farm in Saskatchewan. After rescuing her aunt when she is trapped under a piece of farm equipment and learning of other acts of possible sabotage, Katie decides that she has found another mystery to solve. Puzzled by the changes they notice in their cousin Megan, and alarmed by a series of threatening phone calls, Katie and Rusty embark on another adventure. With no shortage of suspects — from Cousin Megan to the jilted boyfriend and the controlling farmhand — the two detectives find themselves in deeper than they thought and are soon in real danger. Views: 59
Aren has fled the palace, terrified that Av will one day take her life. She tells no one where she is going, no one sees her leave. Too far from the throne for it to be felt by others, Aren find herself in a small village that the rest of the world has forgotten about.Back at the palace, Av is at his wit's end. With court winding down, he has the perfect excuse to explain Aren's absence. When Para brings Anue to court to winter with Aren, Av takes the opportunity to leave the palace before his frustration gets the best of him.Winter is a time of little travel, but how long can Av wait?And why, in the long, dark nights, does he hear queens crying in the darkness, begging for help? Views: 59
Week in and week out, McAllister remorselessly followed his quarry across the Wind River Country and down into the arid flats of the Humboldt Basin.Their final duel would be a clash of giants, one master pitting his skill against another's. For they were two men at the peak of their professions—one a lawman, the other a thief and killer.Cunning against cunning...Gun against gun ...Totally without pity. Views: 59
When the armies of the First Crusade wrested Jerusalem from control of the Fatimids of Egypt in 1099, they believed their victory was an evident sign of God's favor. It was, therefore, incumbent upon them to fulfill what they understood to be God's plan: to re-establish Christian control of Syria and Palestine. This book is devoted to the resulting settlements, the crusader states, that developed around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and survived until Richard the Lionheart's departure in 1192. Focusing on Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa, Malcolm Barber vividly reconstructs the crusaders' arduous process of establishing and protecting their settlements, and the simultaneous struggle of vanquished inhabitants to adapt to life alongside their conquerors.Rich with colorful accounts of major military campaigns, the book goes much deeper, exploring in detail the culture of the crusader states—the complex indigenous inheritance, the architecture, the... Views: 59
An exclusive ebook short story from top ten bestseller Milly Johnson. Also includes a sneak peek of her new novel Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe. Angie Silverton and Selina Molloy have not always been friends. Best pals at school, they fell out over a man, and it was only when they both missed a ship in Here Come the Boys that they found friendship again. Now they are reunited again and life since their adventure on the Mermadia has been anything but boring. Did Selina stick with her horrible husband Zander? What happened to Angie and Gill when they stepped off the ship? And what does the future hold for the friends? Join Selina and Angie as they take afternoon tea at The Sunflower Cafe to find out. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A SHORT STORY OF AROUND 15 PAGES, WITH A SAMPLE OF FOUR CHAPTERS OF MILLY'S NEW NOVEL INCLUDED IN THE BACK. THE STORY IS A SEQUEL TO MILLY'S PREVIOUS SHORT STORY, HERE COME THE BOYS. Praise for Milly Johnson:... Views: 59
'Without quite realising that I would do it until it happened, I raised myself on my toes and kissed his frozen cheek. In Paris, it would have been an unremarkable gesture. In Alexandria, an invitation. I still had no idea about London.'The London winter of 1947. As cold as St Petersburg during the Revolution. The Karenins keep their vodka under the layers of snow in their suburban garden, in bottles entombed like their Russian past. But when a young Frenchwoman arrives to work as a companion to the aged 'Monsieur Ka' he begins to tell his story...Albertine is the wife of a British army officer who is often abroad on covert government business. Lonely, yet eager to work, she begins to write Monsieur Ka's life story a as a secret gift to him, and even learns his mother tongue. To her ear it is like 'the sound of falling snow'. As she is drawn into Ka's dramatic past, her own life is shaken to its foundations. For in this family of former princes, there are... Views: 59
It is the hot prairie summer of her twelfth year and Elsie is at a crossroads. Her beloved mother who is mentally ill has been hospitalized, and Elsie thinks that the breakdown is all her fault. Mental illness is simply not discussed in Elsie's close-knit Mennonite community and she is rudderless. Nothing Elsie does seems to go right: there's no pleasing her bossy older sister; she forgets to feed the cat, so her father gives it away; she's supposed to watch out for her younger sister, but she lets her come home alone from the swimming pool (despite the lurking menace of a weird stranger around town); and she bargains with God to make her mother well again -- to no evident avail.Elsie's conversations with God, her struggle to overcome guilt, and her honest desire to prove herself are laced with a wicked wit and clarity of vision. Almost Eden is a beautiful portrait of a town, a family, and a young woman willing to challenge the things that don't make sense to her, and... Views: 59
Now in an exclusive ebook edition comes Winter's Night, two previously published fantastic Christmas stories, now in a 2-in-1, with A Dark-Hunter Christmas and Santa Wears Spurs, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon. From demons to cowboys, from werewolves to mistletoe, this 2-in-1 will keep you warm during cold December nights. Set in Kenyon's imaginative world, A Dark-Hunter Christmas shows Gallagher, in New Orleans, at Christmastime, without his family. Missing the ones he loves is a powerful force, and threatens to cast a pall over the Big Easy's Christmas cheer. But Simi has a few tricks up her sleeve, intent to show him that even though he is apart from his loved ones, he still has people to lean on... In Santa Wears Spurs, the wanted outlaw O'Connell was forced years ago to abandon his spitfire of a woman-his wife, Catherine-before his enemies hurt her to get to him. Now he's ready to turn himself in... Views: 59
The enticing world of Valkyrie Rising, Ingrid Paulson's debut teen novel, is introduced in Valkyrie Symptoms, a prequel short story.This twenty-page original story introduces the characters from the perspective of the ever-flippant, if undeniably alluring, Tucker Halloway. It also includes a teaser to Valkyrie Rising, a novel in which deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together into an unexpectedly epic adventure when seventeen-year-old Ellie travels to Norway with her big brother and Tuck, his best friend, and encounters Valkyries: the legendary women warriors of Norse mythology.HarperTeen Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month. Views: 59
Following the eruption of the bloody Clone Wars at the battle of Geonosis, both sides remain deadlocked in a stalemate that can be broken only by elite warrior teams like Omega Squad, clone commandos with terrifying combat skills and a lethal arsenal... For Omega Squad, deployed deep behind enemy lines, it's the same old special ops grind: sabotage, espionage, ambush, and assassination. But when Omega Squad is rushed to Coruscant, the war's most dangerous new hotspot, the commandos discover they're not the only ones penetrating the heart of the enemy. A surge in Separatist attacks has been traced to a network of Sep terror cells in the Republic's capital, masterminded by a mole in Command Headquarters. To identify and destroy a Separatist spy and terror network in a city full of civilians will require special talents and skills. Not even the leadership of Jedi generals, along with the assistance of Delta squad and a certain notorious ARC trooper, can even the odds against the Republic Commandos. And while success may not bring victory in the Clone Wars, failure means certain defeat. Views: 59
This first short fiction collection by a prominent Canadian journalist paints vivid word pictures of the world and these canvasses superimposes people in all their human imperfections. Russell Wangersky's characters, caught in a variety of human circumstances, make some outstandingly bad decisions. A labourer enjoys new-found popularity among his co-workers after losing several fingers in a work accident. So, in the face of returning invisibility, he makes a desperate decision. An elderly shut-in chooses to believe the lies of her own life and the world view she absorbs from talk radio and finds the scapegoats that both those distortions of reality require. A man on an ill-conceived vacation decides to stay in a hot tub all day and all night, rather than face his disintegrating family. In these stories, some people seem to escape the consequences of their bad decisions, some people wind up being redeemed, and some are left to fates the reader can only imagine. As a backdrop, often a counterpoint, to these very human struggles, Wangersky paints the most exquisite canvasses with his words. Whether it be landscape or seascape of his long-time home in Newfoundland, startling weather, fine woodworking, or the workings of a factory, he presents us with note-perfect descriptions of the often-stunning world in which we imperfect humans live. Wangersky reminds us, even bad decisions can be cause for celebration, of what it means to be human.From BooklistThe images in this debut collection of short stories are such that one can only wonder at the creative imagination of the writer, marveling at his ability to find the perfect metaphor to describe an atmosphere, a setting, or a character. The stories are about individuals, many separated, several unhappy, perhaps living marginal lives. How does a writer dwell on the loneliness, the separateness of people, without pushing the reader away in despair? Through his art, and Wangersky succeeds in doing exactly that. These stories provide glimpses into the psyches of people whose lives have turned in unexpected directions. Reading this collection means gaining insight into personalities; it means seeing new geographies, primarily in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. It means being bathed in adept images, at times beautiful, at times horrifying, but ultimately satisfying. A particularly memorable story is "No Apologies for Weather," in which the occasional rages of a beloved wife are seen as violent northeasters, which one eventually learns how to weather. The stories do not often have a resolution, but then, oftentimes, neither do lives. Maureen O'ConnorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedFrom the PublisherRussell Wangursky’s characters, caught in a variety of human circumstances, make some outstandingly bad decisions. A labourer enjoys new-found popularity among his co-workers after losing several fingers in a work accident. So, in the face of returning invisibility, he makes a desperate decision. An elderly shut-in chooses to believe the lies of her own life and the world view she absorbs from talk radio. And finds the scapegoats that both those distortions of reality require. A man on an ill-conceived vacation decides to stay in a hot tub all day and all night, rather than face his disintegrating family. In these stories, some people seem to escape the consequences of their bad decisions, some people wind up being redeemed, and some are left to fates the reader can only imagine. As a backdrop, often a counterpoint, to these very human struggles, Wangursky paints the most exquisite canvasses with his words. Whether it be landscape or seascape of his native Newfoundland, startling weather, fine woodworking, or the workings of a factory, he presents us with note-perfect descriptions of the often-stunning world in which we imperfect humans live. That we are capable of doing more than acting instinctually, of making decisions, marks us as human among the living creatures of this world. Thus, Wangursky reminds us, even bad decisions can be cause for celebration, of what it means to be human. Views: 59
