A young boy, Victor, is collected from school by a stranger in a bowler hat - the stranger says he has won Victor in a game of backgammon with Victor's father. The stranger, known as the Captain, takes Victor to live with the sweet but withdrawn Lisa, where he serves as her conduit to the outside world. From mysterious beginnings, Graham Greene's final novel becomes a twisting thriller of smuggling, jewel theft and international espionage which culminates in a dramatic showdown in Panama.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LYNNE TRUSS 'Stella Gibbons is the Jane Austen of the twentieth century' The Times Set in wartime London, Westwood tells the story of Margaret Steggles, a plain bookish girl whose mother has told her that she is not the type that attracts men. Her schoolfriend Hilda has a sunny temperament and keeps her service boys 'ever so cheery'. When Margaret finds a ration book on Hampstead Heath the pompous writer Gerard Challis enters both their lives. Margaret slavishly adores Challis and his artistic circle; Challis idolises Hilda for her hair and her eyes and Hilda finds Gerard's romantic overtures a bit of a bind. This is a delightfully comic and wistful tale of love and longing.

Inmore than forty essays and articles that range from Paris to Ceylon, Thailand to Kenya, and, of course, Morocco, the great twen-tieth-century American writer encapsulates his long and full life, and sheds light on his brilliant fiction. Whether he’s recalling the cold-water artists’ flats of Paris’s Left Bank or the sun-worshipping eccentrics of Tangier, Paul Bowles imbues every piece with a deep intelligence and the acute perspective of his rich experience of the world. Woven throughout are photographs from the renowned author’s private archive, which place him, his wife, the writer Jane Bowles, and their many friends and compatriots in the landscapes his essays bring so vividly to life. With an introduction by Paul Theroux and a chronology by Daniel Halpern

In Modern American Memoirs, two very discerning writers and readers have selected samples from 35 of the finest memoirs written in this century, including contributions by such diverse writers as Margaret Mead, Malcolm X, Maxine Hong Kingston, Loren Eisely, and Zora Neale Hurston. Chosen for their value as excellent examples of the art of biography as well as for their superb writing, the excerpts present a broad range of American life, and offer vivid insight into the real-life events that shaped their authors. Here, readers can learn about the time when Harry Crews, playing as a boy, fell into a vat of boiling water with a dead hog; Chris Offutt joined the circus and watched a tattooed woman swallow a fluorescent light; and Frank Conroy practiced yo-yo tricks.

Steve Martin has always been one of the most intelligent of comedians (you won't find Adam Sandler writing a play about Einstein and Picasso anytime soon), but this intelligence is manifested in gymnastically absurdist flights of fancy, rather than the politically informed riffs typical of performers like Lenny Bruce. Pure Drivel is a collection of pieces, most of them written for the New Yorker, that demonstrate Martin's playful way with words and his unerring ability to create a feeling of serendipitous improvisation even on the printed page. Here's a passage from a piece that announces a shortage of periods in the Times Roman font: "Most vulnerable are writers who work in short, choppy sentences," said a spokesperson for Times Roman, who continued, "We are trying to remedy the situation and have suggested alternatives, like umlauts, since we have plenty of umlauts--and, in fact, have more umlauts than we could possibly use in a lifetime! Don't forget, umlauts can really spice up a page with their delicate symmetry--resting often midway in a word, letters spilling on either side--and not only indicate the pronunciation of a word but also contribute to a writer's greater glory because they're fancy, not to mention that they even look like periods, indeed, are indistinguishable from periods, and will lead casual readers to believe that the article actually contains periods!" Although some of these pieces flirted with topicality when they first appeared, Martin is most successful when he leaves the real world behind and gives his wit free rein. This collection preserves the best (so far) of his glorious improvisations. --Simon Leake

Even if you have choices, sometimes you only have one worth making. The war had been raging for as long as anyone could remember. The secret, endless war between two opposing sides—one good, one evil. Neither side knows which is which; it is kill or be killed in an invisible conflict where assassination is the weapon of choice. When she was just seventeen, Maria was pulled into this secret war and they killed her lover and stole her child. Now they are telling her to go home. To ignore what she knows is going on in the shadows all around her. They told Maria to forget all she’d lost. The trouble is, some things simply can’t be forgotten. Now, with a loose-cannon killer at her side, Maria is going to do whatever it takes to get back what belongs to her. And that means starting a war of her own…

Lily Bennett is less than thrilled to be the new kid as she starts her junior year in high school. But soon after classes begin, she meets a classmate, Cole Drepeau, with whom she forms an immediate and intimate bond. As Cole and Lily grow closer, Lily learns about the murder that divided the town more than thirty years before. In 1985, graduating senior Amber Greeley snapped, killing her boyfriend Ben—Cole’s uncle—and taking her own life. Lily feels inexplicably linked to Amber, and she can’t help but think that there’s more to the girl’s story. Determined to investigate the truth about Cole’s uncle’s death, Lily and Cole are pulled into a dark mystery—one that shakes the constraints of the world they’ve always believed in. Masterfully told by best-selling author Victoria Laurie, this novel alternates voices between Lily and Amber, a generation apart, as decades of dark family secrets and treacherous betrayals are woven into the most epic of love stories.

What could tomorrow be like if we all sacrificed for something we believe in?She’s a cutting-edge travel blogger—he’s a fishing guide with strong ties to their small hometown.She thought they were arch enemies—he always thought they’d end up together.Autumn grew up in her parents’ fishing resort in backwoods Oregon, listening to wild travel stories from around the world. Now she’s broken free and living her dream as a travel blogger, that is until her mom talks her into coming home and writing a blog about the Rugged Resort. Autumn’s very surprised to find Cory still there. He was the thorn in her side growing up, and now he’s buddy-buddy with her parents. She plans to write her blog and hit the road, but Cory has other ideas.

This piece of flash fiction follows Gordon Burchfield's account of his first week of work at a facility for the mentally ill and questions the line between sanity and delusion.A short story. A "branch" off of The Roots of Evil. A young man, already down on his luck, experiences a series of strange and mysterious events which escalate into a telling trauma.

The Doxie family, Minnie, Hershey, and Jo-Jo, are getting ready for Halloween, one of their favorite nights of the year. As the kids head out for trick or treats, they have no idea that before the night is over, they will have to face down the scariest creature they have ever met.On October 14, 1943, over 700 Jews carried out a daring escape from the Nazi extermination camp at Sobibor, Poland. The standard histories of the event, however, leave out a crucial detail about how they managed such a feat against overwhelming odds. It turns out that they got some outside help from a completely unexpected source.

"This book had a lot of good things that helped me repair my credit." - Direck Chatman "The best credit repair book I have ever read." - John Davis Are you tired and frustrated of being denied credit? Are high interest rates robbing you of your hard earned income and preventing you from getting out of debt? Your low credit score may even be stopping you from getting a new job or home. Take heart.Bio: After suffering from a poor credit report for years, Mark Clayborne went on a mission to study everything he could on restoring his credit. Concluding the extensive research, he repaired his credit report and learned various hidden secrets on how to improve a bad credit file. Because of this no found tested knowledge, Mr. Clayborne helped over a hundred consumers repair their credit and take their financial life back. Now, he wants to share these strategies with the world and as a result HIDDEN CREDIT REPAIR SECRETS was created which has sold over 1000 copies as of today. Mark is a certified credit consultant with over 100 articles written in the area of credit repair. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. He also holds a paralegal diploma. He currently lives in sunny California with a beautiful wife and lovely daughter.

With all the narrative power and emotional immediacy that have made her novels acclaimed international bestsellers, Anita Shreve unfolds a richly engaging tale of marriage, money, and troubled times-the story of a pair of young newlyweds who, setting out to build a life together in a derelict beach house on the Atlantic coast, soon discover how threatening the world outside their front door can be.

If you love fantasy, magic or parallel worlds then Anica Storm & The Wand of Time is for you. This easy read will have you wondering what will happen next as Anica finds herself in a world of wonder, filled with fantastic creatures like were-dragons, elementals, fairies and more. There's also plenty of action, adventure, and humor to give you a thrill ride from beginning to end.Anica Storm just wanted to have a nice quiet vacation in Europe. She saved up all her hard earned cash for what she thought was going to be a dull, ho-hum trip, but instead will turn out to be one she'll never forget. Filled with excitement, action, adventure and more, Anica Storm & The Wand of Time will keep you reading past your bed time because you'll never know where the book is going. Filled with magic, monsters, laughter and tears, fall in love with Anica and her companions as she struggles to survive and protect the ones she loves.

Communication becomes so hard in the teenage years. Families can fall apart over misunderstandings. If only we could all learn to listen to each other.Erin began drawing dragons on her clothes to hide the stains from free-box finds. Now they are her trademark as she walks the halls of Hamilton High School. She’s puzzled by the actions of the students around her, especially Tony and David, cousins who are constantly fighting. Her own mysteries catch up to her unexpectedly and the consequences will change Erin’s life forever.

1950’s Cold War tension; anything can happen during the Atomic Summer. Amanda struggles with the era’s sexist restraints, her fugitive Russian Communist grandparents, and the appearance of a bizarre creature at Secret Pond. Book 2, "Time Before Color TV" series1950’s Cold War tension. Anything can happen during the Atomic Summer. Amanda struggles with the era’s sexist restraints, her fugitive Russian Communist grandparents, and the appearance of a bizarre creature at Secret Pond. How are all these disturbing events related? Everything comes to light under the first ring rainbow. Book 2, "Time Before Color TV" series