Even a robot dog can sniff out trouble...USAF Lieutenant Samantha Spade is in the heat of the west Texas desert testing a dog-like robot for military use, when the device leads her and her team to a pick-up truck. The driver comes at them with a gun-and is shot in self-defense by Sam's friend. And then a gruesome discovery is made: three human heads in a cooler in the back of the truck.Because the dead man was on the FBI's most wanted list, Sam stands to get a hefty reward. Too bad the technology to keep her shady ex-husband from sniffing out cash has yet to be invented. His appearance, along with frightening issues from her boyfriend's past, make it hard to tell just who is responsible for the pipe-wielding thug who attacks her. All Sam knows is that her luck has taken a doggone turn for the worse... Views: 59
Writing nearly 1000 years ago, Nizami captures the lightness of heart that falling in love can bring, the thrill of shared affection, the sorrows of separation, the pains of jealousy and the grief that comes with loss. Nizami inspired rock star, Eric Clapton, to write his song "Layla". Views: 59
Product DescriptionHeather Lynn Rigaud is a debut author coming out of the fandom for Jane Austin's Pride & Prejudice. Her novel, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star was Internet phenomenon, inspiring tee shirts, CD's and thousands of loving fans. Available for the first time in print, this sexy, adult romance is ready for a wider audience. Fast music, powerful beats and wild reputations on stage and off have made Slurry the band of the year--and the media's newest bad boys. Described as temperamental by their kindest critics, they've just lost their latest opening act and their red-hot summer tour is on the fast track to disaster.Fitzwilliam Darcy, Slurry's tall, dark, and enigmatic virtuoso guitarist, knows that this is no time to be picky, but he never expected what was waiting when he, Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam crashed the Meryton Public House. Elizabeth Bennet, the fiercely independent and talented lead singer of Long Borne Suffering has serious reservations about joining such a trouble laden tour with the bad boys of Rock and Roll, but the opportunity is just too good to pass up!On the Slurry tour, the music's hot, but backstage is an inferno. About the AuthorHeather Lynn Rigaud spends much of her time thinking about how Regency-era characters would exist now, and how a wife and mother would have lived in the past. She is a professional writer with degrees in music therapy and teaching who lives with her husband and two sons in Kingston, New York. Views: 59
Inspired by the same musical form that Martha Graham used to underpin her groundbreaking modern dance choreography, Denise Roig has created a beautiful sonata in stories. Views: 59
Unjustly sentenced to death, Eilidh ran--away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything.
Caledonia Fae, Book 1 Views: 59
Which is the odd one out:An ex-call girl wife of a wealthy crook, who has kept one step ahead of the law, a struggling artist married to Stansfield's prospective Conservative party candidate, or the telephone line which links them?Answer: the telephone line. It isn't dead.A double murder investigation brings Chief Inspector Lloyd and the newly promoted Inspector Judy Hill together again as colleagues. But the case is a severe test of both Judy's professionalism and Lloyd's ego, and soon threatens their more private relationship . . . Views: 59
The Alden children have discovered another mystery close to home! The old boxcar where they once lived is now a playhouse in their backyard. One night, Benny sees a strange light in the boxcar, and the children begin to find clues to the boxcar's past. Could something that happened long ago be haunting the boxcar now? Views: 59
Amazon.com ReviewPractical Advice for Gamers by Jane McGonigalReality is Broken explains the science behind why games are good for us--why they make us happier, more creative, more resilient, and better able to lead others in world-changing efforts.But some games are better for us than others, and there is too much of a good thing.Here are a few secrets that aren’t in the book to help you (or the gamer in your life) get the most positive impact from playing games.This practical advice--5 key quidelines, plus 2 quick rules--is scientifically backed, and it can be summed up in a single sentence:Play games you enjoy no more than 21 hours a week; face-to-face with friends and family as often as you can; and in co-operative or creator modes whenever possible. 1. Don’t play more than 21 hours a week.Studies show that games benefit us mentally and emotionally when we play up to 3 hours a day, or 21 hours a week. (In extremely stressful circumstances--such as serving in the military during war-time--research shows that gamers can benefit from as many as 28 hours a week.) But for virtually everyone else, whenever you play more than 21 hours a week, the benefits of gaming start to decline sharply. By the time you’re spending 40 hours or more a week playing games, the psychological benefits of playing games have disappeared entirely--and are replaced with negative impacts on your physical health, relationships, and real-life goals. So always strive to keep your gaming in the sweet spot: 7–21 hours a week.2. Playing with real-life friends and family is better than playing alone all the time, or with strangers. Gaming strengthens your social bonds and builds trust, two key factors in any positive relationship. And the more positive relationships you have in real life, the happier, healthier and more successful you are.You can get mental and emotional benefits from single-player games, or by playing with strangers online--but to really unlock the power of games, it’s important to play them with people you really know and like as often as possible.A handy rule-of-thumb: try to make half of your gaming social. If you play 10 hours a week, try to play face-to-face with real-life friends or family for at least 5 of those hours.(And if you’re not a gamer yourself--but you have a family member who plays games all the time, it would do you both good to play together--even if you think you don’t like games!)3. Playing face-to-face with friends and family beats playing with them online. If you’re in the same physical space, you’ll supercharge both the positive emotional impacts and the social bonding.Many of the benefits of games are derived from the way they make us feel--and all positive emotions are heightened by face-to-face interaction.Plus, research shows that social ties are strengthened much more when we play games in the same room than when we play games together online.Multi-player games are great for this. But single-player works too! You can get all the same benefits by taking turns at a single-player game, helping and cheering each other on.4. Cooperative gameplay, overall, has more benefits than competitive gameplay. Studies show that cooperative gameplay lifts our mood longer, and strengthens our friendships more, than competing against each other.Cooperative gameplay also makes us more likely to help someone in real life, and better collaborators at work--boosting our real-world likeability and chances for success.Competition has its place, too, of course--we learn to trust others more when we compete against them. But if we spend all our time competing with others, we miss out on the special benefits of co-op play. So when you’re gaming with others, be sure to check to see if there are co-op missions or a co-op mode available. An hour of co-op a week goes a long way. (Find great co-op games for every platform, and a family-friendly list too, at Co-Optimus, the best online resource for co-op gaming.)5. Creative games have special positive impacts. Many games encourage or even require players to design and create as part of the gameplay process--for example: Spore, Little Big Planet, and Minecraft; the Halo level designer and the Guitar Hero song creator. These games have been shown to build up players’ sense of creative agency--and they make us more likely to create something outside of the game. If you want to really build up your own creative powers, creative games are a great place to start.Of course, you can always take the next creative step--and start making your own games. If you’ve never made a game, it’s easier than you think--and there are some great books to help you get started.2 Other Important Rules:* You can get all of the benefits of a good game without realistic violence--you (or your kids) don’t have to play games with guns or gore. If you feel strongly about violence, look to games in other genres--there’s no shortage of amazing sports, music, racing, puzzle, role-playing, casual, strategy and adventure games.*Any game that makes you feel bad is no longer a good game for you to play. This should be obvious, but sometimes we get so caught up in our games that we forget they’re supposed to be fun.If you find yourself feeling really upset when you lose a game, or if you’re fighting with friends or strangers when you play--you’re too invested. Switch to a different game for a while, a game that has “lower stakes” for you personally.Or, especially if you play with strangers online, you might find yourself surrounded by other players who say things that make you uncomfortable--or who just generally act like jerks. Their behavior will actually make it harder for you to get the positive benefits of games--so don’t waste your time playing with a community that gets you down.Meanwhile, if you start to wonder if you’re spending too much time on a particular game – maybe you’re starting to feel just a tiny bit addicted--keep track of your gaming hours for one week. Make sure they add up to less than 21 hours! And you may want to limit yourself to even fewer for a little while if you’re feeling too much “gamer regret.”FromPeople who spend hours playing video or online games are often maligned for “wasting their time” or “not living in the real world,” but McGonigal argues persuasively and passionately against this notion in her eminently effective examination of why games are important. She begins by disabusing the reader of some inherent prejudices and assumptions made about gamers, such as that they’re lazy and unambitious. Quite the opposite: McGonigal finds that gamers are working hard to achieve goals within the world of whatever game they are playing, whether it’s going on a quest to win attributes to enhance their in-game characters or performing tasks to get to a higher level in the game. Games inspire hard work, the setting of ambitious goals, learning from and even enjoying failure, and coming together with others for a common goal. McGonigal points out many real-world applications, including encouraging students to seek out secret assignments, setting up household chores as a challenge, even a 2009 game created by The Guardian to help uncover the excessive expenses of members of Parliament. With so many people playing games, this comprehensive, engaging study is an essential read. --Kristine Huntley
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Their human form is ephemeral, but their sexual desire is endless. Enter the mysteriously sensual world of the shapeshifters and share in their erotic passion. . ."Dream Catcher" by Kate DouglasShe comes to him at night in dreams of carnal pleasure. Real or imagined, Mac doesn't know and doesn't care. For his body throbs with a need that only his mystery lover can satisfy. . ."Taken Between" by Crystal JordanKira lives to protect her queen, but the king's brother is the one who commands her desire. She longs for him with a feral sexuality and ferocious passion she can barely control. . ."The Right Number" by Lynn LaFleurJay may have dialed the wrong number but the right woman answers. She is the mate he's been looking for all his life. And when he hears the sexy purr of her voice, it arouses the hungry wolf inside. . . Views: 59
