For the readers of the Zoë Martinique Investigation Series, this short introduces Jason Lawrence, Revenant (Vampire). Attacked for the mythic youth his blood promised, he must now face the thief...his ex-lover, Rene. But that is all it is, a myth. Revenants cannot be made by drinking the blood, only a ghoul can. And ghouls, when not fed from the blood of their makers, go mad. Views: 17
She can heal her own wounds. She can nail a monster to a wall. But there's one danger Evangeline Stone never saw coming. Been there. Done that. Evy Stone is a former Dreg Bounty Hunter who died and came back to life with some extraordinary powers. Now all but five people in the world think she is dead again, this time for good — immolated in a factory fire set specifically for her. Evy and Wyatt, her partner/lover/friend, can no longer trust their former allies, or even the highest echelons of the Triads — the army of fighters holding back from an unsuspecting public a tide of quarreling, otherworldly creatures — they can trust only each other. Because when the Triads raided a macabre, monster-filled lab of science experiments and hauled away the remnants, they failed to capture their creator: a brilliant, vampire-obsessed scientist with a wealth of powerful, anti-Dreg weaponry to trade for what he desires most of all — Evy Stone: alive and well, and the key to his ultimate experiment in mad science. Views: 17
In the beginning a small girl runs into a wood, and two years later walks out of it and into the nearest house. Gracie, the childless spinster who finds her curled up on her armchair, takes her on as her own, seeing her as a feral gift of fate. Known as Joy in the Cotswold village that adopts her, there is endless speculation about her wild past and comical ways. In this moving and passionate tale, Joy grows into a young woman at the advent of World War II, and when she becomes romantically involved with a fighter pilot the extraordinary mystery of her past slowly unravels. Views: 17
"This is a most joyful and clever whimsy, the kind that lightens the heart and puts a shine on the day," raved Kirkus Reviews in a starred review.Is it possible to eat snowballs doused in ketchup--and nothing else--all winter? Can a washing machine wash dishes? By reading the step-by-step instructions, kids can discover the answers to such all-important questions along with the book's curious narrator. Here are 12 "hypotheses," as well as lists of "what you need," "what to do," and "what happened" that are sure to make young readers laugh out loud as they learn how to conduct science experiments (really!). Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter--the ingenious pair that brought you 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore--have outdone themselves in this brilliant and outrageously funny book.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 17
Mike has fallen deeply in love with his best friend, Lindsay. And he's pretty sure she feels the same way... until a simple misunderstanding destroys Lindsay's trust. Devastated and feeling betrayed, Lindsay leaves town for the summer. In the fall, she returns to school a different person and she's suddenly tight with the "in" crowd. When Lindsay gets intoxicated at a party and ends up in a compromising situation, she has no idea that someone is filming the whole thing on his phone. When the footage goes viral around their school, Mike has to dig deep within himself to find the courage to help Lindsay in her time of greatest need. Views: 17
Decline can be avoided.Decline can be detected.Decline can be reversed.Amidst the desolate landscape of fallen great companies, Jim Collins began to wonder: How do the mighty fall? Can decline be detected early and avoided? How far can a company fall before the path toward doom becomes inevitable and unshakable? How can companies reverse course?In How the Mighty Fall, Collins confronts these questions, offering leaders the well-founded hope that they can learn how to stave off decline and, if they find themselves falling, reverse their course. Collins' research project—more than four years in duration—uncovered five step-wise stages of decline:Stage 1: Hubris Born of SuccessStage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of MoreStage 3: Denial of Risk and PerilStage 4: Grasping for SalvationStage 5: Capitulation to Irrelevance or DeathBy understanding these stages of decline, leaders can substantially reduce their chances of falling all the way to the bottom.Great companies can stumble, badly, and recover.Every institution, no matter how great, is vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. Anyone can fall and most eventually do. But, as Collins' research emphasizes, some companies do indeed recover—in some cases, coming back even stronger—even after having crashed into the depths of Stage 4.Decline, it turns out, is largely self-inflicted, and the path to recovery lies largely within our own hands. We are not imprisoned by our circumstances, our history, or even our staggering defeats along the way. As long as we never get entirely knocked out of the game, hope always remains. The mighty can fall, but they can often rise again. Views: 17
