“Pretty, overdressed, jewel-bedecked Octavia Bassett," of Nevada, is one of the most fascinating characters that Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett ever drew. The story of the visit of this dashing young American girl to her father's sister in the staid, respectable, ultra-conservative English village of Slowbridge, and of the consternation which she produced in the society of that place by her frank speech, her dazzling toilets and her unconventional ways, is told with uncommon freshness and spirit in ‘A Fair Barbarian’. The sharp contrasts suggested by the presence amid the stiffness and primness of Slowbridge society of this breezy, brilliant, self-possessed young beauty, whose mother was an actress in San Francisco, whose father is a silver mine owner and who has passed a portion of her life in the mining camps of Nevada, are made the most of by Mrs. Burnett. Views: 524
Dora: A Headcase is a contemporary coming-of-age story based on Freud’s famous case study-retold and revamped through Dora's point of view, with shotgun blasts of dark humor and sexual play.
Ida needs a shrink . . . or so her philandering father thinks, and he sends her to a Seattle psychiatrist. Immediately wise to the head games of her new shrink, whom she nicknames Siggy, Ida begins a coming-of-age journey. At the beginning of her therapy, Ida, whose alter ego is Dora, and her small posse of pals engage in "art attacks." Ida’s in love with her friend Obsidian, but when she gets close to intimacy, she faints or loses her voice. Ida and her friends hatch a plan to secretly film Siggy and make an experimental art film. But something goes wrong at a crucial moment-at a nearby hospital Ida finds her father suffering a heart attack. While Ida loses her voice, a rough cut of her experimental film has gone viral, and unethical media agents are hunting her down. A chase ensues in which everyone wants what Ida has. Views: 524
A salesman, a would-be divorcée, and an insurance policy turn toxic in Reno
Vegas is a city of lovers, but in Reno, the business is divorce. Six weeks in Reno can erase the darkest marriages, and the only question is how to pass the time—craps or roulette? Jane Delavan is a roulette woman, a stately beauty from back East who’s too classy for the motel where she’s shacked up. She’s come for a divorce, but her husband has other ideas. He wants an annulment, and in exchange offers to take out a $100,000 insurance policy on himself—just in case something happens to him before their paperwork goes through. Jane is cunning enough to make sure that, if she wants something to happen, it will. Ed Horner is the insurance agent sent to settle the agreement, and it doesn’t take long for Jane to settle him. They fall in love over twenty-five-cent roulette, and soon get a bigger score in mind. In the Biggest Little City in the World, a king-size scheme is brewing. Views: 524
“[Yolen is] the Aesop of the twentieth century”
—The New York Times
Fantasy legend Jane Yolen (The Emerald Circus, The Devil’s Arithmetic) delights with this effortlessly wide-ranging offering of fractured fairy tales. Yolen fractures the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets, holding them to the light and presenting them entirely transformed; where a spinner of straw into gold becomes a money-changer and the big bad wolf retires to a nursing home. Rediscover the fables you once knew, rewritten and refined for the world we now live in—or a much better version of it.
**Review
Praise for Jane Yolen
“The Hans Christian Andersen of America”
―Newsweek
“The Aesop of the twentieth century”
―The New York Times
“Jane Yolen is a gem in the diadem of science fiction and fantasy.”
―Analog
Praise for *The Emerald Circus*
“A brilliant example of short-form storytelling by one of the treasures of the science fiction community.”
―Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of Mistborn
[STARRED REVIEW] “After more than a decade, Yolen (Briar Rose; Sister Emily’s Starship and Other Stories) returns with 16 stories that take readers sideways and upside down through beloved fairy tales and classic tales such as Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz, while also reimagining the lives of famous storytellers such as Hans Christian Anderson, Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. Verdict: These delightful retellings of favorite stories will captivate newcomers and fans of Yolen as she once again delivers the magic, humor, and lovely prose that has attracted readers for years.”
―Library Journal, starred review
[STARRED REVIEW] “VERDICT: These highly entertaining retellings are perfect for teens fans of fairy tales and classic literature, though they are easily enjoyed without any background knowledge.”
―School Library Journal
“Ever the wordsmith, Yolen dazzles with her first short story collection for adults in years.”
―Booklist
“An impressive overview of the author’s breadth and career, this collection will appeal to the author’s existing devotees―or to anyone who has ever thought that “happily ever after” left too many questions.”
―Kirkus
“Jane Yolen’s [The] Emerald Circus may be my favorite book of the year, period, with apologies to Jeff Vandermeer’s Borne. Many years ago, when I had my own blog, I wrote a post celebrating the versatility of Yolen―one of the few authors who can write top-shelf books at any age level. [The] Emerald Circus is a perfect example of her fluid but rock-solid prose.”
―Adult Books for Teens, School Library Journal
“Jane Yolen’s The Emerald Circus is full of marvels. From Snow Queen to spaceship, The Emerald Circus is a delight.”
―Patricia A. McKillip, author of the Riddle-Master trilogy and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
“With over 350 books, Jane Yolen is a legend in the world of children's and young-adult literature, but her acerbic and witty adult fiction and poetry offer their own pleasures. The 16 stories here, each accompanied by a related poem and notes, revisit some iconic classics, but always from a new, thought-provoking angle.”
―Chicago Tribune
“Jane Yolen facets her glittering stories with the craft of a master jeweller. Everything she writes, including The Emerald Circus, is original and timeless, deliciously creepy and disturbingly lovely.”
―Elizabeth Wein, author of Code Name Verity
“In this masterful collection, Jane Yolen draws upon myth, fairy tales, history, poetry, and children's classics from Alice to Oz to fashion new tales from the bones of the old. There is simply no better storyteller working in the fantasy field today. She's a national treasure.”
―Terri Windling, author of The Wood Wife and The Essential Bordertown
About the Author
Beloved fantasy legend Jane Yolen published her 365th book in 2018. Her work includes children’s fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Her publications include Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Starship, * The Emerald Circus, and Sister Light, Sister Dark*. Among her many honors are the Caldecott and Christopher Medals, multiple Nebula, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Golden Kite, and Jewish Book awards; as well as the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Science Fiction Poetry Grand Master Award. Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She lives in Western Massachusetts and St. Andrew, Scotland.
“[Yolen is] the Aesop of the twentieth century” —*The New York Times*
Fantasy legend Jane Yolen (*The Emerald Circus*, *The Devil’s Arithmetic*) delights with these effortlessly wide-ranging transformed fairy tales. Yolen fractures the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets, holding them to the light and presenting them entirely transformed, from a spinner of straw as a money-changer and to the big bad wolf retiring to a nursing home. Rediscover the fables you once knew, rewritten and refined for the world we now live in. Views: 524
It's Thanksgiving, and the Carlyle triplets are thankful to be escaping the New York City cold-they're jetting to the tropics and bringing all their friends along for the ride. The sun isn't the only thing that's sizzling on this vacation getaway--I'm forecasting sultry poolside encounters, too. So, don't forget to pack the sunscreen...you don't want to get burned. You know you love me,
Gossip Girl Views: 524
Lightning Shell marks the dramatic conclusion to the People of Cahokia sub-series by bestselling authors W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear.Spotted Wrist's squadrons are about to launch an assault on Evening Star Town. Meanwhile, the new Keeper's loyal squadrons have taken control of central Cahokia.Blue Heron's enemies have declared her dead, a supposed victim of the fire that consumed her palace. She's alive and in the end it will be her wits, Seven Skull Shield's licentious cunning, and a desperate gamble that determine who lives and who dies in Cahokia.Meanwhile, in the distant east, a desperate three-way race is underway. Walking Smoke—the Lightning Shell witch—hastens to make his way back to Cahokia, understanding that the cure for his impotence lies atop Morning Star's Mound.Night Shadow Star means to stop him before he can get to Morning Star. Following in her wake, Fire Cat is merciless. He will stop at nothing to ensure that... Views: 524
A simple case of blackmail gets lethally complicated when "Nameless," exposes a nasty scam that involves junior accounts executive Jay Cohalan, his unhappy wife, and a mistress with a serious drug problem. It's the kind of case "Nameless" likes, because bleeders—the blackmailers, extortionists, small-time grifters, and other opportunists who prey on the weak and gullible—sit near the top of his most-worthless-human-beings list. So he contemplates with pleasure the prospect of putting another one or two of these parasites out of commission, and then returning the $75,000 in cash to its rightful owner. "Nameless" discovers, though, that he is not going to be able so easily to close his Cohalan file—not when he finds his client face down in the middle of a four-poster bed with a bloody, powder-scorched hole behind the right ear. And only by a hair's breadth does "Nameless" himself escape a similar fate. Aggrieved, cut to the psychological quick by his close brush with death, "Nameless" embarks on a relentless hunt for his unknown assailant in San Francisco's shadowy underworld. There he encounters bleeders of every ilk—like the loan shark Nick Kinsella, drug dealer Jackie Spoons, punch-drunk boxer Zeke Mayjack, and crankhead Charlie Bright—before he tracks down his quarry. At a deserted backcountry road stop "Nameless," packing his long-unused .38, attends to the last of a bad business and, in a climax as powerful as it is unexpected, finally confronts his own demons. He maybe even conquers them. Views: 524
Examines the events of the Civil War through the eyes of General Robert E. Lee's closest companion and devoted horse, Traveller. Views: 523
In his first collection of short stories, Barnes explores the narrow body of water containing the vast sea of prejudice and misapprehension which lies between England and France with acuity humor, and compassion. For whether Barnes's English characters come to France as conquerors or hostages, laborers, athletes, or aesthetes, what they discover, alongside rich food and barbarous sexual and religious practices, is their own ineradicable Englishness. The ten stories that make up Cross Channel introduce us to a plethora of intriguing, original, and sometimes ill-fated characters. Elegantly conceived and seductively written, Cross Channel is further evidence of Barnes's wizardry.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 523
On her 16th birthday, Savannah is consumed by overwhelming power. She must choose between two loves; the one who taught her to smile or the darkly seductive stranger who tempts her towards another path. Suddenly, an unspeakable evil comes to claim a debt. How will she survive the greatest evil she has ever witnessed… long enough to have a choice to make?A witch raised in a cage of darkness...Savannah Cross was born into a life of isolation and abuse.As a child, she witnessed her parents perform acts of malevolent evil,and now feels permanently tainted by their dark deeds.When a coven discovers a tear stricken child, wounded on their elders lawn,they offer her a sanctuary she has never known.Savannah spends the next several years shattered,continuously looking over her shoulder,waiting for the darkness to claim her.On her 16th birthday,Savannah’s life takes a drastic turn.She is consumed by overwhelming powerthat forever alters her emotionally and physically.She must choose between two loves;the one who taught her to smileor the darkly seductive stranger who tempts her towards another path.Savannah must decide between the coven that was her havenand another one vying for her initiation.Just as Savannah begins to grasp what fate has in store for her,an evil looms over her loved ones;coming to claim an unbreakable debt.How will she survive the greatest evil she has ever witnessed… long enough to have a choice to make? Views: 523
“See paints a fascinating portrait of a complex and enigmatic society, in which nothing is ever quite as it appears, and of the people, peasant and aristocrat alike, who are bound by its subtle strictures.”
–San Diego Union-Tribune
While David Stark is asked to open a law office in Beijing, his lover, detective Liu Hulan, receives an urgent message from an old friend imploring her to investigate the suspicious death of her daughter, who worked for a toy company about to be sold to David’s new client, Tartan Enterprises.
Despite David’s protests, Hulan goes undercover at the toy factory in the rural village of Da Shui, deep in the heart of China. It is a place that forces Hulan to face a past she has long been running from. Once there, rather than finding answers to the girl’s death, Hulan unearths more questions, all of which point to possible crimes committed by David’s client. Suddenly Hulan and David find themselves on opposing sides: One of them is trying to expose a company and unearth a killer, while the other is ethically bound to protect his client. As pressures mount and danger increases, Hulan and David uncover universal truths about good and evil, right and wrong–and the sometimes subtle lines that distinguish them.
“[See] illuminates tradition and change, Western and Eastern cultural differences. . . . All this in the middle of her thriller which is also about greed, corruption, abuse of the disadvantaged, the desperation of those on the bottom of the food chain, and love.”
–The Tennessean
“Sophisticated . . . graceful . . . See’s picture of contemporary China’s relationship with the United States is aptly played out through her characters.”
–Los Angeles Times
“Immediate, haunting and exquisitely rendered.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 523
Secret Service Agent Oakes Weaver is in the midst of the biggest assignment of her career—leading the advance team for President Andrew Powell’s impending trip to Philadelphia where everyone expects he will be nominated to run for a second term. The last thing she needs is a tragedy among the president's inner circle that might not be an accident, or the sudden recruitment of Ari Rostof, a woman who might be a lot more than she seems. But Oakes doesn't get a say in policy. She only has to secure the president’s safety—at all costs.
First Daughter Blair Powell and her spouse, Cameron Roberts, are among the reelection campaign members accompanying President Andrew Powell to Philadelphia. While the president may be protected by his Secret Service agents, those close to him are literally in the kill zone, and his adversaries will stop at nothing to further their cause—even mass murder. Views: 523
First came Running with Scissors. Then came Dry. Now, there's Lust & Wonder.
In chronicling the development and demise of the different relationships he's had while living in New York, Augusten Burroughs examines what it means to be in love, what it means to be in lust, and what it means to be figuring it all out. With Augusten's unique and singular observations and his own unabashed way of detailing both the horrific and the humorous, Lust and Wonder is an intimate and honest memoir that his legions of fans have been waiting for. Views: 523
A story collection full of a fantastic and whimsical assortment of odd characters only Dylan Thomas could have conceived.This collection of the poet Dylan Thomas's fiction––and what an extraordinary storyteller he was!––holds special interest because it ranges from the early stories such as "The School for Witches" and "The Burning Baby," with their powerful inheritance of Welsh mythology and wild imagination, to the chapters he completed before his death of the alas unfinished novel Adventures in the Skin Trade. Adventures is the story, written in a shrewd, sly, deadpan vein of picaresque comedy, of young Samuel Bennet, who runs away from his home in Wales to seek his fortune in London. Views: 523
