In the real world, many women are still struggling for equality, but science fiction and fantasy provide a stage for the portrayal of women who have come fully into their own. Here, a talented group of writers has taken up the challenge of creating strong, well-rounded female protagonists, more than able to defend themselves and take the helm—whether in space, on distant worlds, in our own future, or in fantasy realms where a civilization's fate hangs in the balance. Views: 6
Born with Down syndrome, Ruby Jean Sharp comes from a time when being a developmentally disabled person could mean growing up behind locked doors and barred windows and being called names like "retard" and "moron." When Ruby Jean's caregiver and loving grandmother dies, her mother takes her to Woodlands School in New Westminster, British Columbia, and rarely visits. As Ruby Jean herself says: "Can't say why they called it a school -- a school's a place you go for learnin an then after you get to go home. I never learnt much bout ledders and numbers, an I sure never got to go home." It's here in an institution that opened in 1878 and was originally called the Provincial Lunatic Asylum that Ruby Jean learns to survive isolation, boredom, and every kind of abuse. Just when she can hardly remember if she's ever been happy, she learns a lesson about patience and perseverance from an old crow. Views: 6
Erotica/Historical Fiction. 36680 words long. First published in 2006, 2007 Views: 6
WHO'S THE BOSS? Commissioner Shauna Cartwright knew she was stirring up a hornet's nest by reopening the Baby Jane Doe murder case. Now she faced the further wrath of the KCPD by recruiting the much-maligned Eli Masterson to get the job done. After witnessing the handsome, hard-nosed detective in action during a botched bank robbery, she sensed he would face down her enemies. However, she was overpowered by her scandalous sexual attraction to the IA investigator who pushed the limits of her authority in his die-hard need to protect her from a sadistic killer. Surrendering to temptation broke every departmental rule imaginable...but as the case of Baby Jane Doe emerges from the shadows, would they risk their badges for love--and systematically stop a lethal traitor in his tracks? Views: 6
Four years after the Revolutionary War, America's independence was still in doubt. To survive, the new nation needed money and a vital surge in trade. In the back rooms of Boston, a daring plan was launched by a group of merchants and ship owners: to send two ships on a desperate mission around Cape Horn and into the Pacific Ocean. They wanted to establish new trade with China, settle an outpost on territory claimed by the Spanish, and find the legendary Northwest Passage—the fabled waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The adventure would bring the world to the brink of war.The man chosen to lead the expedition was John Kendrick—a master navigator and a charismatic captain of privateers during the Revolution. On the far side of the world, Kendrick would have to rely on his bravery, his charm, and most of all his remarkable resolve to navigate unknown waters, negotiate with cutthroat imperialists from England... Views: 6
There's one corpse too many in this ingenious mystery featuring husband-and-wife sleuth duo PI Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham The residents of the bucolic Massachusetts hamlet are up in arms. A developer has bought the sprawling Quigley homestead, and his construction crew is causing a ruckus digging up the land. The noise stops abruptly when a female skeleton is found buried in the garden. Hired to find out who killed Jane Doe—and why—cop-turned-investigator Rosco Polycrates and his wife, crossword editor Belle Graham, discover an insular community that doesn't take kindly to outsiders. With the local police labeling it a cold case, they have their work cut out for them. Add arson and a double homicide, and the grid is set for a brainteaser that just might stump two of New England's most dedicated crime busters—if it doesn't kill them first. This ebook includes six crossword puzzles that can be downloaded as PDFs,... Views: 6
As a gun-wielding bank robber, Noel 'Razor' Smith was top of the criminal tree, enjoying the excitement and benefits of a dangerous and adrenalin-filled career. But he'd also spent the greater part of his adult life in prison, an environment where respect and basic survival were guaranteed only to those prepared to use the most brutal violence. In his new book, Smith takes the story on from his highly acclaimed memoir A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun, and describes how he came to realize that the game wasn't worth the candle. In his mid-forties he applied to enter Grendon, then the only prison in Britain offering intense therapeutic treatment to hardened criminals. He went from a brutal high-security prison, HMP Whitemoor, to an institution where he was encouraged to investigate just why his life had been given over to violence and crime. Smith paints an unforgettable portrait of the hardened and severely damaged inmates of Grendon, many of them guilty of famous crimes, and... Views: 6
When his ex-lover moves to The City, Basileios "Baz" Kostopoulos is torn. He wants and still loves Nick, but hurt over the past holds him back until a nightmare from long ago prompts him to reconcile with his longtime love. For centuries, Baz tried to forget the day he and his lover, Galen, were murdered. He thought he'd done a good job of moving on by meeting and falling in love with Nick, but when his murderer shows himself, Baz is swept back to the morning of his death. The memories of his long-buried love threaten to destroy the peace he's finally found in Nick's arms. When Baz realizes his murderer is out to seek revenge by claiming not only Galen but Nick as well, Baz is forced to come face to face with a past he never wants to relive. Views: 6
Teens who get pregnant and raise their babies are often in the news. But what about those children who are growing up with parents scarcely half a generation older than themselves? In this wise and funny first novel by Carole Lazar, Lucy is a sensible, perhaps even rigid, thirteen year old who is convinced that Grandma, God, and the Catholic Church are on her side. She tries hard to make her twenty-eight-year-old mother see the error of her ways. It's not that her mother is wild - in their household even a fancy coffee causes a scene - but she has had to put off her own teenage years and she's chaffing at the restraints on her life. Lucy is faced with the loss of her family, her home, her school, and even her best friend. As she struggles to preserve what she can from her past life, she finds that while Grandma, God, and her church are still there for her, there are problems she has to solve for herself.From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 6
More than a thousand years in the future a divided mankind has spread throughout the solar system. As the factions of humanity struggle just to live among the stars a new and mysterious threat emerges. Political intrigue, fights for survival and secrets hidden at every turn. Views: 6
