'The Virgin Mary had more lines but I had the better costume.' Nine year old Nyla is cast as an angel in her school play. Well, at least she’s not a sheep. So far… This school production is not pretty. It opens up the cracks in the social and religious divides, and all those dark family secrets. Told with wry humour and compassion. For everyone who's ever been in a school play.'The Virgin Mary had more lines but I had the better costume.'After the Christmas play was announced, I had been dreaming all autumn of the Virgin Mary and the essence of femininity that I knew the role possessed if I could only get it.No longer would I have to pull on pants, hide my hair, swagger around with plastic swords or sit in a chair uttering the mild regrets of middle age. No, for once I would be the centre of delight and attention, with a husband, a donkey and various deferential well-wishers from all walks of life to support my soft and vulnerable womanhood while at the same time getting the lion’s share of lines and scenes.Tender, frail, passive and beautiful, I would be the chosen one. The star. But since I had the wrong religion, this was not to be.'For everyone who has ever been in a school play, or whose daughter is in one right now. At the age of nine, Nyla runs into the hard facts of life. Her school nativity play turns out to be a pretty ugly affair. It opens up the cracks in the social divides, religious discrimination and dark family secrets.Told with wry humour and compassion for the pain of children, unseen by adults, a complex web of history unfolds underneath the rivalries and small disasters of Nyla's school play in which she is cast as an angel. Well, at least she’s not a sheep. So far…‘However, when I saw the costume, I started to love the angel.For the first time in my life, my costume white, like the costume for a princess, it even had little frills and a starchy petticoat.I stared at it and couldn’t believe I was actually going to put this on.Instinctively I looked for my sister but she wasn’t there. This costume was mine.It was shiny and smooth and soft and pliable, except for the bits where the petticoat propped it up. In those places it was grand and majestic.When I tried it on, I could feel the softness all over my skin and I wanted to swoon. Never mind that nobody was there to catch me, for me it was all in the falling.I opened my braids and my hair cascaded over my shoulders and the dress. My hair, of course, was a rich dark brown like the colour of well-polished furniture, as my mother never tired of pointing out. Not that we had a lot of such furniture, but perhaps it was part of my mother’s aspirations, garnered from the romance novels she loved to read when my father wasn’t looking. From photographic evidence I knew that I had actually started life as a blonde, like my mother and sister, and like our Virgin Mary. But now, at the age of nine, my hair had already darkened towards the dark brown that would accompany me throughout adulthood. This process was a process of failure, foreshadowing a dark fate. Luckily my sister had so far retained her honey coloured hair.’

Collection of older and new poems written by Marc Ironwood. Some of the poems pertain to life events and Pencil Sticks is a novelty place visited.Jack is a Clownfish that will say yes to any dare, no matter how sillyor crazy it is. When Ozzie the Octopus dares him to steal a tooth fromthe Great White Shark, Jack starts swimming down to his lair....The story ends with a great lesson about friendship that all parents will love.- Beautiful illustrations with many humorous scenes.- Rhyming lines help engage your child and sustain interest.- Your child will love to read this story over and over.Pick up your copy today!

A story of friendships forged in a time of crisis; of honour, and integrity. Set against the backdrop of the D-Day invasion of France, an old man’s dying confession reveals an intriguing tale of theft, unflagging loyalty, murder and soul-searching redemption. The unveiling of this family secret sparks a compelling quest as a dutiful son endeavors to complete his father’s final wish.A story of friendships forged in a time of crisis; of honour, and integrity.Set against the backdrop of the D-Day invasion of France, an old man’s dying confession reveals an intriguing tale of theft, unflagging loyalty, murder and soul-searching redemption.The unveiling of this family secret sparks a compelling quest as a dutiful son endeavors to complete his father’s final wish. The touching journeys of both father and son initiate a captivating series of unexpected life-changing events for everyone concerned; far greater than they ever imagined.

"Glasses" and Other Poems is Daniel Hargrove's third book of poetry. It contains 30 poems, some humorous, some ironic, some that rhyme, some that don't. Please feel free to review the work, positive or negative, as I would enjoy hearing any feedback.. My first two books, "At the Fallen Gate" and Other Poems, and "In a Spill of Sighs" and Other Love Poems are available for free."Glasses" and Other Poems is Daniel Hargrove's third book of poetry. It contains 30 poems, some humorous, some ironic, some that rhyme, some that don't. Please feel free to review the work, positive or negative, as I would enjoy hearing any feedback. There are four more books already compiled that await publishing. My first two books, "At the Fallen Gate" and Other Poems, and "In a Spill of Sighs" and Other Love Poems are also available for free in various formats.

The most publicized drought was during the 1930s. However, from 1950 ~ 1957 there was an equally, if not more severe drought, in the Midwest of the USA. This historical story is fiction based upon fact. It's a story of one family who experienced the hardship of those times in Los Angelo, Texas.The most publicized drought was during the 1930s. However, from 1950 ~ 1957 there was an equally, if not more severe drought, in the Midwest of the USA. This historical story is fiction based upon fact. It's a story of one family who experienced the hardship of those times in Los Angelo, Texas. Water is the life blood of the living. Without it we perish. Now more than a half century has passed by and water is becoming a precious commodity like never before. Everything we consume contains water. I hope you enjoy this short story.

In this 1939 novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith. Narrated in a mixture of biblical rhetoric, black dialect, and colloquial English, Hurston traces Moses' life from the day he Is launched into the Nile river in a reed basket, to his development as a great magician, to his transformation into the heroic rebel leader, the Great Emancipator. From his dramatic confrontations with Pharaoh to his fragile negotiations with the wary Hebrews, this very human story is told with great humor, passion, and psychological insight--the hallmarks of Hurston as a writer and champion of black culture.

Set against the epic backdrop of the battle of Troy, Troilus and Criseyde is an evocative story of love and loss. When Troilus, the son of Priam, falls in love with the beautiful Criseyde, he is able to win her heart with the help of his cunning uncle Pandarus, and the lovers experience a brief period of bliss together. But the pair are soon forced apart by the inexorable tide of war and - despite their oath to remain faithful - Troilus is ultimately betrayed. Regarded by many as the greatest love poem of the Middle Ages, Troilus and Criseyde skilfully combines elements of comedy and tragedy to form an exquisite meditation on the fragility of romantic love, and the fallibility of humanity.

Henry D. Thoreau traveled to the backwoods of Maine in 1846, 1853, and 1857. Originally published in 1864, and published now with a new introduction by Paul Theroux, this volume is a powerful telling of those journeys through a rugged and largely unspoiled land. It presents Thoreau's fullest account of the wilderness. The Maine Woods is classic Thoreau: a personal story of exterior and interior discoveries in a natural setting--all conveyed in taut, masterly prose. Thoreau's evocative renderings of the life of the primitive forest--its mountains, waterways, fauna, flora, and inhabitants--are timeless and valuable on their own. But his impassioned protest against the despoilment of nature in the name of commerce and sport, which even by the 1850s threatened to deprive Americans of the "tonic of wildness," makes The Maine Woods an especially vital book for our own time.

The nonfiction debut from beloved international sensation and #1 New York Times bestselling author Tatiana de Rosnay: her bestselling biography of novelist Daphne du Maurier. “It's impressive how Tatiana was able to recreate the personality of my mother, including her sense of humor. It is very well written and very moving. I’m sure my mother would have loved this book.” ― Tessa Montgomery d’Alamein, daughter of Daphné du Maurier, as told to Pauline Sommelet in Point de Vue As a bilingual bestselling novelist with a mixed Franco-British bloodline and a host of eminent forebears, Tatiana de Rosnay is the perfect candidate to write a biography of Daphne du Maurier. As an eleven-year-old de Rosnay read and reread Rebecca, becoming a lifelong devotee of Du Maurier’s fiction. Now de Rosnay pays homage to the writer who influenced her so deeply, following Du Maurier from a shy seven-year-old, a rebellious sixteen-year-old, a twenty-something newlywed, and finally a cantankerous old lady. With a rhythm and intimacy to its prose characteristic of all de Rosnay’s works, Manderley Forever is a vividly compelling portrait and celebration of an intriguing, hugely popular and (at the time) critically underrated writer.

Celebrated author Rudolf Herter is in Vienna to read from his masterpiece, The Invention of Love, when in a TV interview he speaks of his desire to write about evil. He is later contacted by an elderly couple who believe he should hear their shocking story. As servants at the Berghof, Hitler's retreat during the war, they looked after Eva Braun and consequently became guardians of a shattering secret and unwilling participants in a terrible crime. Burdened by his new knowledge, Herter must decide what to do with it...

A hilarious, heartfelt sequel to How to Build a Girl, the breakout novel from feminist sensation Caitlin Moran who the New York Times called, "rowdy and fearless . . . sloppy, big-hearted and alive in all the right ways." You can’t have your best friend be famous if you’re not famous. It doesn’t work. You’re emotional pen-friends. You can send each other letters—but you’re not doing anything together. You live in different countries. Johanna Morrigan (AKA Dolly Wilde) has it all: at eighteen, she lives in her own flat in London and writes for the coolest music magazine in Britain. But Johanna is miserable. Her best friend and man of her dreams John Kite has just made it big in 1994’s hot new BritPop scene. Suddenly John exists on another plane of reality: that of the Famouses. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Johanna hatches a plan: she will Saint Paul his Corinthians, she will Jimmy his Pinocchio—she will write a monthly column, by way of a manual to the famous, analyzing fame, its power, its dangers, and its amusing aspects. In stories, girls never win the girl—they are won. Well, Johanna will re-write the stories, and win John, through her writing. But as Johanna’s own star rises, an unpleasant one-night stand she had with a stand-up comedian, Jerry Sharp, comes back to haunt in her in a series of unfortunate consequences. How can a girl deal with public sexual shaming? Especially when her new friend, the up-and-coming feminist rock icon Suzanne Banks, is Jimmy Cricketing her? For anyone who has been a girl or known one, who has admired fame or judged it, and above all anyone who loves to laugh till their sides ache, How to Be Famous is a big-hearted, hilarious tale of fame and fortune-and all they entail.

THEY CALLED IT THE KILLING DAY. Twelve people dead, in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn't even know why she killed—or whether she'll do it again. Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world. West, the golden boy at war with himself. Daniel, desperate for a different life. Cass, who's not sure she deserves a life at all. Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, who believes in fate, who believes in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far. They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means that they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves. 

Edible, delicious, delectable. Rachel Langley is more than familiar with those three words in her line of work. After all, she spends her afternoons and evenings creating desserts so divine that your mouth will water and your taste buds will tingle. They aren’t, however, the words she would have ever expected to think of when she locks eyes with a certain lawyer she knows only as Cole. With each encounter, the infuriatingly persistent man becomes more impossible to resist, and edible is the exact word that comes to mind. Crave, demand, covet. Cole Madison knows exactly what he wants, and Rachel Langley is it. From the moment he spotted her at Whipped, he knew he wanted to grab hold and take a bite. However, the woman has enigmatic moves, avoiding him at every turn. But not for much longer. Rachel’s time is up, and as far as Cole is concerned, he’s waited too long for a taste of what he desires. Nothing, including the woman herself, will stop him from consuming what he hungers for. The only question left is: Who will take the first bite?