The six stories in Outside show Barry Lopez's majestic talent as a fiction writer. Lopez writes in spare prose, but his narratives resonate with an uncanny power. With a reverence for our exterior and interior landscapes, these stories offer profound insight into the relationships between humans and animals, creativity and beauty, and ultimately, life and death.In Desert Notes," the narrator says, All my life I have wanted to trick blood from a rock." The story proceeds to instruct the visitor on how to experience the desert but continues like no ordinary field guide. At stake here is what is at the furthest edge of our grasp. You will think you have hold of the idea when you have only the hold of its clothing." Rattlesnakes, the shell of a beetle, a few twigs, silence—out of these spare elements Lopez conjures a realm that shimmers with an elusive but palpable presence.The Search for the Heron" and Within Birds' Hearing"... Views: 15
Ten classic stories from the master of Hindi literature Nearly a century after they were written, Premchand's numerous short stories, novels and plays, written both in Hindi and Urdu, continue to be a mirror to Indian society and its traditions. A Winter's Night and Other Stories brings together, for young readers, some of his most powerful short stories. This is a world inhabited by people like Halku, forced to spend the bitterly cold winter night in the open, without a blanket; Kaki, the old invalid aunt, ill-treated by her own relatives; and Shankar, reduced to being a bonded labour for the sake of a handful of wheat. Premchand describes their plights with unflinching honesty. Yet all is not hopeless in this world. There is also little Hamid, who buys tongs for his old grandmother rather than toys for himself; Ladli, who saves her share of puris for her blind aunt; and Big Brother, trying in vain to remember the strange names of English kings and queens. Greed, dishonesty,... Views: 15
When Lola comes home to her parents’ house to find a horde of relatives mourning her death, no one is more surprised than she is. The news had reported that one Lola Cruz, PI, was found murdered in an alley, causing great alarm in the Cruz family.Before Lola can say “boo,” a cop comes to the house. It turns out the dead woman had a driver’s license with Lola’s information. Between avoiding an unsavory ex-boyfriend, sorting out mixed signals from the very interested but not yet committed Jack Callaghan, and filling in as a waitress at her parents’ Mexican restaurant, Lola tries to find out who the woman was and why she stole her identity. Was the woman hiding from someone who meant her harm, or is there someone out there who wants Lola dead? Views: 15
Something sinister happened to Mackenzie's twin sister Breanne the last time the two girls were in Ireland. Now they're back and the winter solstice is approaching. Breanne scoffs at their elderly relatives' tales of fair folk and banshees and the thin barrier between two worlds, but Mackenzie remembers what happened to Breanne five years before—at the summer solstice. Mackenzie is convinced the Otherworld is real, but is it a place of enchantment or enslavement for humans? Views: 15
Trouble . . . Chelsea Ross's acting career has been a total bust. The closest she ever came to stardom was her brilliant performance as "Pretty Dead Girl #1." But leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player could be her stupidest career move ever. More trouble . . . Injured superstar Mark Bressler's glory days are over. The bad-boy ex-jock could at least be civil to the pint-sized, pink-haired bombshell who the Seattle Chinooks hired to be his P.A. If Chelsea didn't need the money, she'd be running from the world's biggest jerk as fast as her feet could carry her. Big trouble! Chelsea can deal with Mark's rotten attitude and dark moods. The problem is those biceps and that red-hot bod! And when the bad boy starts to put the moves on her, Chelsea knows it's time she banished him to the penalty box . . . if only she could resist the kind of trouble he has in mind! From BooklistThe Seattle Chinooks have won the Stanley Cup, but it’s a bitter win for superstar player Mark Bressler. Injured in a car crash months earlier, he woke up immobilized in the hospital and unable to play hockey ever again. Cranky and gloomy, he is not a very good patient, pushing away every assistant the team sends him within hours of arrival. When they send him Chelsea Ross, he is not as successful. Chelsea, a former B-movie actress, is working as a personal assistant between roles in horror films and commercials. Though she is irritated with Mark, she is determined to stick it out, if only for the massive bonus the team will give her if she makes it through three months. Neither the scream queen nor the hockey player expects to get along, let alone be attracted to each other. The newest in Gibson’s series about the Seattle Chinooks is a classic opposites-attract romance with action hot enough to melt ice. --Hilary Hatton Review“Gibson’s straightforward story of “the one,” and the one that got away, is wrapped in sexual tension so hot your palms will sweat.” (Booklist on Not Another Bad Date )“With humor an deloquent prose, Gibson brings substance and depth to this loving, modern romance.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) on True Love and Other Disasters )Lively, hot, and full of sassy wit, Idaho-based Gibson’s latest hilarious hockey turn combines nonstop fun with a touching dash of authenticity. (Library Journal ) Views: 15
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL, MAN AND DEMON, SHE’S ABOUT TO FACE THE ONE THING SHE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE. Welcome to the world of Kara Gillian, a cop with a gift. Not only does she have the power of “othersight” to see what most people can’t even imagine, but she’s become the exclusive summoner of a demon lord. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The fact is, with two troublesome cases on her docket and a handsome FBI agent under her skin, Kara needs the help of sexy, insatiable Lord Rhyzkahl more than he needs her. Because these two victims, linked by suspicious coincidence, haven’t just been murdered. Something has eaten their souls. It’s a case with roots in the arcane, but whose evil has flowered among the rich, powerful, and corrupt in Beaulac, Louisiana. And as the killings continue, Kara soon realizes how much there’s still to learn about demons, men, and things that kill in the night—and how little time she has to learn it. Views: 15
