“Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us.”—Hilary Mantel Simonides of Keos lived during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, a fertile period for the arts, when myths were being acted out and verse had just begun to be written down. In this evocative portrayal of Simonides, the poet is learning to master his craft and secure fickle patrons, and his travels place him at the scene of many central historical events. This fact, along with his friendship with gallivanting, brilliant Anakreon, makes him a perfect guide to the age. The Praise Singer is faithfully grounded in history, with all the immediacy of Mary Renault’s acclaimed novels of the ancient world, offering an unforgettable portrait of such events as the Persian invasion of Ionia, the reign of Pisistratos in Athens, and the fall of Hippias and Hipparchos.

In less than a year, Kelsea Glynn has grown from an awkward teenager into a powerful monarch and a visionary leader. And as she has come into her own as the Queen of the Tearling, she has transformed her realm. But in her quest to end corruption and restore justice, she has made many enemies - chief among them the evil and feared Red Queen, who ordered the armies of Mortmesne to march against the Tear and crush them. To protect her people from such a devastating invasion, Kelsea did the unthinkable - naming the Mace, the trusted head of her personal guards, Regent in her place, she surrendered herself and her magical sapphires to her enemy. But the Mace will not rest until he and his men rescue their sovereign from her prison in Mortmesne. So, the endgame has begun and the fate of Queen Kelsea - and the Tearling itself - will be revealed... With The Fate of the Tearling, Erika Johansen draws her unforgettable story full of magic and adventure to a thrilling close.

Irish author and playwright Sebastian Barry has created a powerful new novel about divided loyalties and the realities of war.In 1914, Willie Dunne, barely eighteen years old, leaves behind Dublin, his family, and the girl he plans to marry in order to enlist in the Allied forces and face the Germans on the Western Front. Once there, he encounters a horror of violence and gore he could not have imagined and sustains his spirit with only the words on the pages from home and the camaraderie of the mud-covered Irish boys who fight and die by his side.  Dimly aware of the political tensions that have grown in Ireland in his absence, Willie returns on leave to find a world split and ravaged by forces closer to home. Despite the comfort he finds with his family, he knows he must rejoin his regiment and fight until the end. With grace and power, Sebastian Barry vividly renders Willie’s personal struggle as well as the overwhelming consequences of war.

Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. And she's never known any others of her kind. Until now. As Mercy comes to terms with this new information, an evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River. Something deadly is coming, facts are thin on the ground and Mercy feels ill at ease.

Gold is the final and crowning achievement of the fifty-year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of science fiction for its practitioners, its millions of readers, and the world at large. The first section contains stories that range from the humorous to the profound, at the heart of which is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality: a gamble Asimov himself made -- and won. The second section contains the grand master's ruminations on the SF genre itself. And the final section is comprised of Asimov's thoughts on the craft and writing of science fiction.

Betsy Taylor thought entering the world of the undead was a big adjustment. Being a new bride isn't much easier. The blush has only been on for two months, and Betsy has a lot to do: set up the new house, finish writing thank-you notes, and raise BabyJon, her half brother and legal ward. Just another happy American family adjusting to marital bliss. Betsy's husband, Sinclair, has been perusing the Book of the Dead, and Betsy's visited by a ghost who's even more insufferable, stubborn, and annoying in death than she was in life. She not only blames Betsy for her condition but insists she fix it. It's all just a prelude to the fun and games awaiting Betsy and Sinclair when a pack of formerly feral vampires, hungry for blood and power, pays a visit to the happy couple.

The house on the hill showed lights only upon the first floor -- in the spacious reception hall, the dining room, and those more or less mysterious purlieus thereof from which emanate disagreeable odors and agreeable foods. From behind a low bush across the wide lawn a pair of eyes transferred to an alert brain these simple perceptions from which the brain deduced with Sherlockian accuracy and Raffleian purpose that the family of the president of The First National Bank of -- Oh, let's call it Oakdale -- was at dinner, that the servants were below stairs and the second floor deserted. The owner of the eyes had but recently descended from the quarters of the chauffeur above the garage which he had entered as a thief in the night and quitted appareled in a perfectly good suit of clothes belonging to the gentlemanly chauffeur and a soft, checked cap which was now pulled well down over a pair of large brown eyes in which a rather strained expression might have suggested to an alienist a certain neophytism which even the stern set of well shaped lips could not effectually belie.

This collection of the early works of Jane Austen uniquely displays the emerging talent of a brilliant and observant young woman. Completed before Austen was fifteen, the works are astonishing in their maturity. Blending the exuberance of youth with the sharp wit and devastating social criticism of her later novels, Love and Friendship is a collection not to be missed.

An ad in the students’ union—“2 females seek flatmate. No bigots”—leads Maria to a home with warm Ruth and wickedly funny Jael. But one day, something Maria glimpses by accident forces her to question everything she thought she knew.

The fifth book in the Bride Saga from the #1 New York Times bestselling author. Winifrede disguises herself as a male valet to Grayson St. Cyre’s aunts, but when Grayson discovers the truth, he uncovers feelings he never imagined he possessed.

On the dunes west of Bruges, two-year-old Ydette is found wrapped in a blanket and taken back to live in a small grocer's shop. Opposite the shop live the wealthy van Roeslaere family and their son, Adriaan, a spoilt boy, plagued by ugliness. With overtones of Beauty and the Beast, their romance matures as they grow up together and learn what should truly be valued in life.

For two tiny, bewildered people, it was a struggle for survival in a world of toys

Karen's neighbors are on vacation, and their house-sitter is acting strange. Using a clever snooping scheme, Karen catches the sitter in a computer crime.

When he ran, I gave chase...The bracelet around my wrist iss a permanent reminder of my mission. The silver charm attached to the leather cord iss stamped with my birth sign. Mission: Unite with my twin flame soulmate.When he ran, I gave chase...The bracelet around my wrist is a permanent reminder of my mission. The silver charm attached to the leather cord is stamped with my birth sign. Mission: Unite with my twin flame soulmate. My siblings and I are named after the star sign we were born under. Each one of us has to find our soulmate before our enemy gets to them first.Antony is my bodyguard. A man who is supposed to protect me, not make me want to run. How did knowing him make me face myself? Being kidnapped by my enemy makes me doubt if he's my twin flame. I had always known my mission but was I ready for love?Pisces is the first book in an epic twelve book young adult romance series called Zodiac Twin Flames. If you love character driven romance with a hard fought for happily ever after, you don't want to miss this series.Download instantly to meet Pisces and her interesting siblings.

The Primary 7's of Campie Primary School (Musselburgh, Scotland) have come together to create a fantastic collection of short stories. If you're interested in adventure, fantasy and imagination then be sure to read this epic book.WARNING! This is a Zed Lab Experiment!"The legacy" description: The death of Simona in a tragic accident in the summer of 2006, seems to have no other explanation that a trivial distraction to the guide. But her husband Roberto is not entirely convinced. After a terrible dream and a strange call, his suspicions are a below. You will indeed alive Erika, an old friend of the victim, who he says he is aware of his important secret. In reality Erika is aware of the minimum part of a terrible truth that has its roots in 1400, in a village of the modenese shocked by the mass at the stake of a woman accused of being a witch. Thanks to a last testimony that Simona had left fearing its own to be killed, and that Bob found himself with the help of Erika, her daughter Cristina discovers all the details of a absurd destiny, the inheritance that from the past came up to her and it threatens to destroy it. But, as her mother, she too will choose the path of rebellion.

Daytime TV's first and only new hot e-zine: Weekly summary of soap opera's hottest news, stories, humour, gossip, blind items, fearless predictions, top stars/stories/couples/characters to watch, snark galore, review and analysis.INSIDE OUR SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE — CATCHING UP WITH…. BOBBIE EAKES A YEAR AFTER AMC’S MURDER ! WHY AGNES NIXON IS STILL DEVASTATED OVER AMC’S CANCELLATION; HOW ABC “DISSED” DAYTIME; HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT SUSAN FLANNERY’S DAYTIME EXIT; WOULD SHE RETURN TO B&B; HER MEMORIES OF DARLENE CONLEY; HER NEW PROJECTS; IS MACY ALIVE?, AND THE UPCOMING MARTIN FAMILY HOLIDAY PARTY/REUNION — Casting Exclusive: Four “New” Roles on B&B, DAYS and Y&R! Details Inside! — UPDATE: FIND OUT IF THE DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS ARE AIRING IN 2013! — DAYS: Brady and Kristen Have Sex! — CLAIM: IS TONY GEARY BLOCKING GENIE FRANCIS’S GH RETURN? — Is Y&R Recasting Chance? Plus: Tricia Cast On Her Y&R Future Only In UNCENSORED! Exclusive: Inside Y&R’s Toronto Tea! —LARRY HAGMAN DEAD AT 81! HOW DALLAS WILL CONTINUE — Exclusive: Deidre Hall On How She Feels About Working With Eileen Davidson Again! — WHAT’S FAILING RIGHT NOW ON THE Y&R STORY FRONT — Is Darin Brooks Returning to DAYS? — ONE LIFE’s ROBIN STRASSER QUITTING TWITTER? — Exclusive: Katherine Kelly Lang: Emmy Update! Plus: Is She Toronto-Bound? — IS GH IN DANGER AGAIN? ABC DEVELOPING A REALITY SPIN-OFF OF GH! — Prime Suds: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’S Kristin Kreuk Is All Grown Up! Exclusive Interview Inside! — LAST WEEK REVIEWS! — Casting Coach! SOAP PORN! UNCENSORED Quotes Of The Week!

A companion short story to Playing with Matches. Katharina Ackermann's diary entries marking the turn of WW2, and her heart for the boy heading for battle.It is 2012. A new year, and a new era of counter-terrorism. Magnet Securities, the largest private security firm in America, leads the fight against rising domestic terror groups in the country. But do their methods make them better than the very people they hunt?Project 6 is an interactive short story. Take on the role of agent 6, a Magnet Securities operative ordered to take out terrorists who have stormed LAX. Mission discretion is yours alone. How the mission proceeds, and how it ends, is up to you.Requires Amazon Kindle or Mobi for reader input to work.