From the lone rebellion of a WorldCoding Cyrbiid, to a besieged, remote Federation Outpost, to the dark magics of the Elite Echelon Military, and to Earth, where more and more awaken; Off-Worlders is an absorbing collection of sci-fi stories. A companion collection to the edgy Sci-Fi Action Thriller, Rise Siren Five.From the lone rebellion of a WorldCoding Cyrbiid, to a besieged, remote Federation Outpost, to the dark magics of the Elite Echelon Military, and to Earth, where more and more awaken; Off-Worlders is an absorbing collection of sci-fi stories.Fans of Rise Siren Five will love this; as they journey deeper into the characters, worlds and concepts of the first novel of the Disclosure Series. But these stories stand on their own, as a treasure trove of sci-fi gems; sometimes dark, sometimes sensual, sometimes humorous, S.S. Delaunay takes the reader on sudden twists and unexpected turns. A companion collection to the edgy Sci-Fi Action Thriller, Rise Siren Five."Even if you've never read the series before, these are short sci-fi stories. That's always a nice time-spender. The stories alternative from funny to suspenseful to dramatic to meaningful. You're getting a full meal out of this thing.”"This writer delivers her tales of adventure with a unique, cryptic writing style that readers will either love or hate. Myself, I find it addictive, and plan to read the next full length novel.”"The "special edition" includes an origin story for the series, and it points to a wide-open world that I can't wait to read more about."

At the peak of the global economic meltdown, veteran professor of economics, Ola Williams, is invited to address world leaders, economists, financial analysts and other pertinent experts at the World Economic Summit in Geneva.Known for his proven economic theories and brilliant postulates, expectations are high that his carefully researched data and in-depth analysis would chart a course that...At the peak of the global economic meltdown, veteran professor of economics, Ola Williams, is invited to address world leaders, economists, financial analysts and other pertinent experts at the World Economic Summit in Geneva.Known for his proven economic theories and brilliant postulates, expectations are high that his carefully researched data and in-depth analysis would chart a course that can be followed through to solve the looming economic problem that has swept through major economies of the world.It is 8:15PM and Professor Williams is welcomed to the podium with a rousing applause that takes a little while to die down. The hall is soon in perfect silence. Professor Williams clenches the sides of the lectern with both hands; he has no notes, no slides, no charts, no graphs, just a warm smile on his 76-year-old face, and a heart that is ready to speak.

**He makes the rules...** Mafiya enforcer Aleksei “The Siberian” Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss knows no bounds, until he meets the boss’s long-lost daughter, a curvy, feisty redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Aleksei will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms. **Rules are made to be broken…** Grad student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the dark and breathtaking Sevastyan before the professional enforcer whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. Every day under his protection leads her deeper under his masterful spell. **Are you ready to play?** Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true...

**From the author of *Naughty Bits*, “one of the best authors of erotica,”* comes *Naughty Wishes Part IV: Soul*, when the hunger for ultimate fulfillment between three young lovers comes to a breathtaking climax...** It’s everything their hearts desire—but Samantha, Geoff, and Chris crave even more. With their feelings for one another out in the open and explored beyond their wildest dreams, other questions must be faced. Is it really love they feel? Or have they just been blinded by a relationship as intense and extreme as it is so profoundly intimate? For Sam, Geoff, and Chris the world of Dominance and submission is more nuanced than they imagined, and they are far more vulnerable than they believed. Now, while looking for answers to a lasting happiness amid their deepest emotional and sexual needs, Sam, Geoff, and Chris discover how much innocence they’ve yet to shed. Because they’re about to make a play for the most unrealized fantasy of all...true love. **Includes a teaser for *Unrestrained*** ** ** **Praise for Joey W. Hill** “This is one hell of a writer.”—Angela Knight, *New York Times *bestselling author “Everything Joey W. Hill writes just rocks my world.”—Jaci Burton, *New York Times *bestselling author “When a reader asks me to recommend an author that authentically relays the Dom/sub relationship with all of its physical and emotional facets, my first response is always Joey W. Hill.”—Fiction Vixen *Risqué Reviews **

Alternate cover edition for 9780440337843. Five hundred years ago, Highland laird Drustan MacKeltar was felled by a powerful spell, and trapped in an enchanted slumber. He was hidden by faithful clansmen, who were determined to keep him safe from a prophecy of doom. American tourist Gwen Cassidy has come to Scotland to escape (for a week or two at least) from her humdrum life in the States. She's also hoping to find a man to relieve her of her virginity, since she seems destined to spend her life alone. When she tumbles into the arms of the sexy Highlander, awakening him from his enchanted slumber, she's swept into the 16th century by his absolutely unforgettable kiss. When she started this trip, Gwen was only hoping for a roll in the heather, and a few good memories -- not a life in the past. But she finds little time for boredom or regrets as she's caught up in treacherous plots that have little to do with bringing her handsome Highland laird to her bed. Kiss of the Highlander is an engaging time-travel romp.

RAIN ALREADY KNOWS HOW HARD LIFE CAN BE. BUT SHE IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER A SHATTERING SECRET FROM THE PAST THAT WILL CHANGE HER FUTURE FOREVER.... Growing up in the ghettos of Washington, D.C., the cards are stacked against a hardworking dreamer like Rain Arnold. Rain has fought to be the best daughter she can: she studies hard and gets good grades; she helps her mother cook and clean. And unlike her defiant younger sister, she avoids the dangers of the city streets as if her life depends on it...and it does. But Rain can't suppress the feeling that she has never truly fit in, that she is a stranger in her own world. Then one fateful night, Rain overhears something she shouldn't: a heartbreaking revelation from the past, a long-buried secret that is about to change her life in ways she never could have imagined. In the blink of an eye, everything Rain has ever known -- the family she has loved and the familiar place she has called home is left behind, and Rain is sent to live with total strangers, the wealthy Hudson family. But just as she did not belong to the troubled world she was raised in, Rain is also out of place in this realm of luxury and privilege. With nowhere to turn, Rain finds an escape in the theater, inside the walls of an exclusive private school. But will it be enough to fulfill her heart's deepest wish -- and give her a place to call home?

Dina DeMille may run the nicest Bed and Breakfast in Red Deer, Texas, but she caters to a very particular kind of guest… the kind that no one on Earth is supposed to know about. Guests like a former intergalactic tyrant with an impressive bounty on her head, the Lord Marshal of a powerful vampire clan, and a displaced-and-superhot werewolf; so don’t stand too close, or you may be collateral damage. But what passes for Dina’s normal life is about to be thrown into chaos. First, she must rescue her long-distant older sister, Maud, who’s been exiled with her family to a planet that functions as the most lawless penal colony since Botany Bay. Then she agrees to help a guest whose last chance at saving his civilization could bring death and disaster to all Dina holds dear. Now Gertrude Hunt is under siege by a clan of assassins. To keep her guests safe and to find her missing parents, Dina will risk everything, even if she has to pay the ultimate price. Though Sean may have something to say about that!

Once upon a time in Botswana in Africa there was a little girl who would later grow up to be a famous detective: Precious Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Having already cracked the case of the missing cakes at school, she now has a new mystery to solve. Precious Ramotswe has two new friends at school and they have the funniest and most resourceful pet you can imagine. But they are upset that their family's most valuable possession, their cow, has gone missing. Precious has a plan to find the missing animal but she needs the help of another in her search. Will she succeed and what obstacles will she face on her path? Find out as Alexander McCall Smith tells the story of Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill. Once upon a time in Botswana in Africa there was a little girl who would later grow up to be a famous detective: Precious Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Having already cracked the case of the missing cakes at school, she now has a new mystery to solve. Precious Ramotswe has two new friends at school and they have the funniest and most resourceful pet you can imagine. But they are upset that their family's most valuable possession, their cow, has gone missing. Precious has a plan to find the missing animal but she needs the help of another in her search. Will she succeed and what obstacles will she face on her path? Find out as Alexander McCall Smith tells the story of Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill.

Pulitzer Prize winner and American master Anne Tyler brings us an inspired, witty and irresistible contemporary take on one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies Kate Battista feels stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she's always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their parents don't always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner. Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There's only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost. When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he's relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he's really asking too much. But will...

Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect. The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster. There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge. There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute. Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

The “Dexter” series—bestselling books, acclaimed TV show, worldwide phenomenon—continues with Dexter’s deadliest case yet. After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he’s devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies are nicely under control. But old habits die hard—and Dexter’s work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice.  Not to mention that his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight.  The discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a Miami beach chair) naturally piques Dexter’s curiosity and Miami’s finest realize they’ve got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business. This edition includes an excerpt from Jeff Lindsay's Dexter's Final Cut.  

Durrell's hilarious and warm My Family and Other Animals (1957) began a trio of reminiscences of his life growing up with a slightly dotty family—the overbearing and omniscient Larry; the affectionate and loving siblings, Margot and Leslie; and, of course, the overburdened and patient Mother—on the island of Corfu in the 1930s, when a pound could buy a villa and life was conducted as a series of riotously high (and sometimes low) adventures. But what shines through these five vignettes is the author's engagement with and immense affection for animals in all their forms. From fish to fowl, from lizards to little water fleas (daphnia), Durrell's eye is acute and his prose is tart. You can read this book for the humor alone (for he did perceive his family as some rare and rarefied species), but between the lines you can discern the makings of a world-class naturalist and a cultivated and engaging writer.

Dangerous. Ruthless. Savage. And she's the good guy. Abby Sinclair had a desperate childhood until she was rescued and adopted by a retired army ranger who molded her into a master of self-defense. Now, she's a cunning and fearless assassin thrust into assignment after dangerous assignment, using everything she has-nerve, resilience, strength, sex-to come out on top. Her only rule: trust no one. Abby's latest assignment is in Columbia: go undercover and snuff out a dangerous arms dealer active in the underground sex trade. But when Abby purposely blows her cover in a last-ditch attempt to free the helpless victims, deadly mercenary Kane Woodland is recruited as back-up. His mission: get Abby out of that hell hole. The last thing Kane expects is to feel a primal attraction for Abby. But when she convinces him to join her on her perilous mission, their newfound passion could put the lives of their whole team at risk.

Cora Matthews grew up with the Adams’ boys, twin brothers and best friends who wouldn’t let anything come between them—except for her. One of them became her best friend; the other, her fiancé. She always knew she’d wind up marrying one of them, and Jacob Adams is the epitome of Mister Right. At least until he fails to show up for their wedding. As Jacob’s best man, and identical twin, Matt makes a split-second decision that will affect the three of their lives forever—he steps in to take his brother’s place. In front of the altar, exchanging vows with the woman he’s secretly been in love with for years. But Cora finds out about the groom swap. The morning after the wedding. As if realizing she just slept with her fiancé’s brother isn’t disturbing enough, she’s forced to confront the feelings for Matt Adams she thought she’d buried years ago. Through the course of her real honeymoon with her fake husband, she uncovers truths both Adams brothers were hoping to keep hidden, for opposite reasons. One to protect himself, the other to protect her. She married the wrong brother, but what if he’s been the right one all along?

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Master and apprentice. Chosen by fate. Destined for conflict. When Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are sent to the Galactic Games, they are meant to be keepers of the peace. Then they discover an illegal event that Anakin knows all too well: Podracing. Even though Obi-Wan forbids it, Anakin cannot resist the thrill of the race—and the chance to face off against his childhood rival, the loathsome Sebulba. As a Jedi, Anakin is supposed to let go of his past. But his past will not let go of him.

My name is Danielle. I'm eighteen. I've been stealing things for as long as I can remember. Dani has been trained as a thief by the best--her mother. Together, they move from town to town, targeting wealthy homes and making a living by stealing antique silver. They never stay in one place long enough to make real connections, real friends--a real life In the beach town of Heaven, though, everything changes. For the first time, Dani starts to feel at home. She's making friends and has even met a guy. But these people can never know the real Dani--because of who she is. When it turns out that her new friend lives in the house they've targeted for their next job and the cute guy is a cop, Dani must question where her loyalties lie: with the life she's always known--or the one she's always wanted.

The War That Wizards Dread Across the mountains called Dragon's Teeth, beyond the chill reach of the Werewind and the fires of the world's beginning, above the walls of the castle Fangdred, stands Windtower. From this lonely keep the Star Rider calls forth the war that even wizards dread, fought for a woman's hundred-lifetime love. A woman called Nepanthe, princess to the Stormkings...

Highly praised anthology of 100 years of Finnish literary fantasy. The latest volume in the Dedalus European fantasy series, this anthology of short stories includes a wide range of texts covering the period from nineteenth century until today. The richness and diversity of the stories reflects the long tradition of fantasy in Finnish literature, ranging from the classics to experimental literature, from satire to horror. This is the first collection of Finnish short stories of its kind and almost all are translated into English for the first time. It includes work by the leading Finnish authors Aino Kallas, Mika Waltari, Arto Paasilinna, Bo Carpelan, Pentti Holappa, and Leena Krohn as well as contributions by the rising stars of Finnish fiction.

Trapped within the dead city of Marandur, Master Mechanic Mari and Mage Alain must escape both merciless barbarians and the pitiless Imperial Legion. Beyond those dangers lie the mightiest and most unforgiving powers in the world of Dematr: the Great Guilds that rule the world with iron fists. Mari's Mechanics Guild and Alain's Mage Guild have always been enemies, but they are united in wanting to kill their rogue members before Mari can fulfill the ancient prophecy of being the one who will finally overthrow their power. Mari and Alain must risk those dangers because halfway across their world lies a place where truth has long been hidden. A place that could explain why their world's history begins abruptly, with no hints of what came before. A place where they might learn how the Mechanics Guild came to control all technology and how the Mages manage to alter reality temporarily. A place that might tell them how to achieve a task that appears to be impossible. Never before have a Mage and a Mechanic worked together, and their combined talents offer their only hope. But she and Alain must first survive the deadly and implacable Assassins of Altis.

Desire Casts A Dark Spell. . .Savanah Gentry's life was so much simpler when she was a reporter for the local newspaper. That was before her father's sudden death drew her into a mysterious new world she was just beginning to understand. A Vampire hunter by birth, Savanah has been entrusted with a legacy that puts everyone she cares for in danger--including the seductive, sensual Vampire who unleashes her most primal desires. . .Rane Cordova has always been alone, half hating himself for his dark gift even as he relishes its extraordinary power. But one look at Savanah fills him with the need to take everything she has to give and carry her to heights of unimagined ecstasy. And though he never intended their relationship to go this far, now Savanah is in more danger than she knows--and facing a relentless enemy determined to eliminate Rane and all his kind. . .

While developing a new system to maintain the town's defenses, genius student Claire Danvers discovers a way to use the vampires' powers to keep outsiders from spreading news of Morganville's "unique" situation. But when people in town start forgetting who they are-including the vampires-Claire has to figure out how to pull the plug on her experiment before she forgets how to save herself. . . and Morganville.