Matte, pronounced mah-tay, is the word used in some forms of martial arts to stop a fight. It’s the Japanese word for stop or wait. Sam (short for Samantha) has made a hobby out of learning the various fighting disciplines, but she also happens to be a sexual submissive. What better safeword than matte?Sam wants to find someone to submit to who she can’t beat in a fight. She’s tried to make it work with men from the scene who know nothing about fighting, but it doesn’t feel real to her – she needs someone who can truly control her. However, after dating from the fight scene and discovering not all guys like to spank their girlfriends, she’s decided to just back away from the whole dating thing for a while… until Fate decides to step in.Warning: This title contains graphic language, consensual BDSM, bondage, and use of toys including crops, clamps, canes, and floggers. Views: 70
Meladrom is book two in the Deragan Sword Prophecy and it follows Kainan and Arweyn's adventure as they dare to go beyond the boundary. After discovering a scroll hidden deep within a chamber, Kainan unravels the clues that lead them to Meladrom, a great silver dragon. Meladrom holds the secret to their past and together they must cross the boundary into the old Malgar and seek out their missing Empire. There is one man in their way. Gemini, the Dark Lord Still rules their lands. Kainan must re-unite the twin swords in order to destroy Gemini and claim back his Empire. After making an amazing discovery within the castle of Malgar, Kainan and Arweyn dare to go beyond the boundary to seek out the truth. With the help of the dragons they re-discover their past lives, and the hidden Groundling Empire. To their horror they also find their arch enemy, the evil dark Lord Gemini, destroyer of the old world, is still alive and ruling their lands. Once again the fate of Malgar is in their hands. The full Deragan Sword Prophecy must be fulfilled. Gemini must die...... Views: 70
RetailAn improbably funny account of how the purchase and restoration of a disaster of a fixer-upper saves a young marriageWhen a season of ludicrous loss tests the mettle of their marriage, Matthew Batt and his wife decide not to call it quits. They set their sights instead on the purchase of a dilapidated house in the Sugarhouse section of Salt Lake City. With no homesteading experience and a full-blown quarter-life crisis on their hands, these perpetual grad students/waiters/nonprofiteers decide to seek salvation through renovation, and do all they can to turn a former crack house into a home. Dizzy with despair, doubt, and the side effects of using the rough equivalent of napalm to detoxify their house, they enter into full-fledged adulthood with power tools in hand.Heartfelt and joyous, Sugarhouse is the story of how one couple conquers adversity and creates an addition to their family, as well as their home.Review "Batt makes the story feel fresh through a combination of lively storytelling, some very funny misadventures, and a goodly portion of real human drama, for the decision to buy a house wasn’t a whim, being prompted by some pretty dire circumstances. A thoroughly enjoyable variation on a venerable theme." --*Booklist*"Batt’s home-rehab picaresque is hilarious, engrossing, and stocked with a cast of squirrely tradesmen and manic realtors...a charming take on domesticity . " --Publishers Weekly "Whether the focus is on the installation of a hand-cut slate floor tile or Grandpa’s new floozy girlfriend, Batt’s retelling is fast-paced. Everyone has a crazy family, but who has a crazy family and a crack house to renovate into a first home at the same time? That takes guts or insanity, and the fun of this book in finding out how it all ends up. VERDICT His description of "I don’t belong here" aisles in Home Depot feels so familiar. While it’s no how-to, this book makes it fun to follow Batt’s how-we-did-it, warts and all." --*Library Journal*"It’s hard to write funny, especially when your world is crumbling around you, but in this utterly compelling memoir, Matt Batt makes it look easy. This is a sweet and deeply memorable debut by a writer who’s clearly the real thing." — Andre Dubus III, author of Townie"Sugarhouse is hilarious. It's also sad. And uplifting. Ultimately it's a story about the most quotidian and most important thing any of us will do: make a home. Anyone who has ever argued over floor tile, loved a willful grandparent, or wondered what an orbital sander is, will enjoy this charming book." -Anthony Doerr, author of Memory Wall*"Sugarhouse is a whale of a book -- an uproariously funny and deeply affecting account of home ownership and its discontents. Matt Batt has written a must-read manifesto for anyone who's ever faced off against a fast-talking real estate agent, an impossibly stubborn varnish, or a family on the brink of heartbreak. I'm still not sure how he managed to stuff so much life into one little book, but I'm dazzled at his achievement." -Steve Almond, author of * Candyfreak **"Matt Batt proves himself an oddball cousin to Thoreau and Tracy Kidder in Sugarhouse, a charming and compelling memoir in which a professor of writing decides to renovate a disaster of a house. Read the first two chapters, and you are likely to sign on eagerly for the rest of the telling, which shuttles easily back and forth from theory to practice, from humorous narrative to deepening meditation." -Billy Collins, poet laureate of the United States, 2001-2003 "Winning, funny, and crackling with life, Sugarhouse is a can't-put-down chronicle of a bad house gone good and a good family gone in directions the author didn't expect. Batt’s book about glue, grace, gumption, and the grit it takes to keep on living is an unforgettable and sweet read." -Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild"This is one charming book, told by a self-effacing Midwesterner way over his head, who leads the reader through the quotidian experience of buying and renovating a house in such a fashion that it takes on all the dire import and difficulty of Hercules' famous tasks. While Batt doesn't have to clean the Stygian Stables to get his house in order (in every sense of that phrase), his feat seems nearly as difficult and should not go unheralded. A DIY book to end all DIY books, full of wit and generosity and mercy for the foibles of family members, friends, hucksters, and most importantly himself." - Robin Hemley, author of Do-Over!About the AuthorMatt Batt's work has appeared in Tin House and on The Huffington Post and elsewhere. The Missouri Review recently called him a "heavy hitter" of nonfiction, and he's been nominated six times for the Pushcart Prize and is the recipient of an individual Artist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Views: 70
A young woman poses for the cover of a magazine. A Canadian soldier serving in Kandahar falls in love with her photograph and sends her an email. The Darling of Kandahar tells an astonishing story of love, loss, and displacement against the background of the war in Afghanistan, of the founding of the city of Montreal – and of a city now crowded with immigrants. When Felicia Mihali's first novel appeared in French in 2002, it was compared to Marie-Claire Blais's masterpiece, A Season in the Life of Emmanuel. Making her English-language début with The Darling of Kandahar, Mihali now joins Nancy Huston as one of the few writers working in English as well as French. Views: 70
IN A TIME OF RASPUTIN'S MAGIC AND ROMANOV MYSTERY, A YOUNG GIRL FINDS HERSELF AT THE HEART OF THE ROYAL FAMILYShe was an orphan, ushered into the royal palace on the prayers of her majestry. Yet, decades later, her time spent in the embrace of the Romanovs haunts her still. Is she responsible for those murderous events that changed everything?If only she can find the heir, maybe she can put together the broken pieces of her own past-maybe she can hold on to the love she found. Bursting to life with the rich and glorious marvels of Imperial Russia, The Last Romanov is a magical tale of second chances and royal blood."A master story teller at the height of her game...weaves history and magic into a riveting page-turner."—Robin Maxwell, bestselling author of Signora da Vinci and The Seceret Diary of Anne Boleyn"This haunting tale of prophecy and redemption sweeps up into an opulent world of glamour, myth, tragedy and unforgettable... Views: 70
Why was she a target?Merci Carson doesn't have a clue--but she knows she owes her life to the quiet man who roared to her rescue in his snowmobile. EMT Nathan McCormick is used to handling challenging situations, but between the unexpected blizzard that stranded the lovely student and the desperate men chasing her, he has his hands full. Yet for Nathan, failure is not an option. Merci's bravery and kindness challenge his guarded heart, bringing every protective instinct forward and making him start to hope for the future. Together, they could be something special--if they can solve the mystery in time. Views: 70
Love will be tested, great powers will emerge, and hearts will break over a death no one saw coming…. Princess Alannah hoped that upon her arrival in Anrad, things would begin to look up. But she comes to find that the warrior fae that she has fallen in love with is truly the Prince of Anrad and has been betrothed to another by his dying father. Isibeal, his betrothed, is beautiful, strong, and hiding a secret that Alannah is determined to reveal. Adding to her worries, her sister Evyette has set off on a journey to uncover her increasingly mysterious past. Finally discovering who she is and where she came from, Evyette will find that some things are better left unknown. As Tristan and Kaleb help Eveytte through this discovery, she is yanked from their clutches by Samil who has volunteered her as the final sacrifice for him to remain in this realm. Will Alannah succeed in her training at the hands of Master Jadoc, the Elder Faerie and still make it in time to join Tristan and Kaleb in stopping Samil? Will Brennus go against his dying father's last request and follow his heart? Views: 70
Exploring a cave, Tom finds himself trapped when a series of earthquakes seal the cave entrance. Weeks later, he pulls himself out. He can't believe his eyes: there's nothing but ashes for miles. He sets out to find help, or maybe a phone to call his wife. When he finds people, he learns a terrible truth: the world as he knows it is over... Views: 70
