This is the third book in the trilogy on Seamus OReilly the cats exploits. He can talk and still has plenty to say, despite growing older and seemingly more mature. But mature is a dirty word in Reillys opinion. As far as hes concerned, hes ageless. To the adorable and yet chauvinistic Reilly, the world is a fascinating place and he is the most fascinating part of it. Reilly manages to ingratiate himself with many of the people around him, provided he leaves his claws retracted. Caught in the middle of the big pussycats capers is Reillys owner, who already knows that there is no one the ornery feline is more protective of than her. In this semi-fictional story, accompanied by illustrations and poetry, Reilly continues with his carefree adventures, entertaining antics, and witty repartee, initially with girlfriend Katie and later on with his new girlfriend, Chloe Arabella, and his owner.
When Allison McGrath, a pretty young prostitute working Hollywood Boulevard, encounters an old bag lady, she foolishly dismisses the hag's ranting as mere drunken babble. Months later, long after Allison has forgotten the chance encounter, the ancient powers of the Druid curse cast upon her by the old hag, begin to set in motion a tragic chain of events that span some thirty years. In death, Allison gives birth to identical twin boys. The curse doesn't end however, and in fact, it has really just begun. Her bastard sons, separated at their orphan birth are not aware of one another and live parallel to one another on opposite sides of the law, until their lives violently come 'Full Circle.'
When you were a child did you ever put a tooth under your pillow hoping the tooth fairy would come to take it and leave a coin in its place? Did you ever worry that there might be goblins in the woods? Have you ever seen a moth fly by and wondered if it just might be a pixie? Have you stepped inside a ring of mushrooms and experienced the magic of the mushroom circle? Step into the circle now. Off the coast of Maine lies Terrapin Island, shaped like a tortoise whose seaweed-covered head disappears at high tide. Rings of Marasmius Oreades mushrooms have been growing on the island for hundreds of years. Each year the rings grow larger, like droplets in a puddle, until they reach the boundary of rocks that lets them go no further. The entire island lies within the magic circle. Terrapin Island is inhabited by giants, who are people rather like yourself, and by wee folk, who are tiny fairies and goblins of the sort most giants cannot see, and certainly do not believe in. The wee folk, however, are very aware of the giants, and for the most part, take a dim view of the way they live. You will be introduced to Fearbabe, the mesmerizing king of the goblins. His dysfunctional band of hooligans includes Obsequia, Hotspur, and Whipcad, the trio most recently banished to goblinhood by the fairies. You will meet the fairy architect, Aerial Fog, an ethereal pale green sprite who glows with the power of love, and who has a friend among the giants: Marian Fuller, an eccentric and ageless artist, winters in Mexico and spends her summers as librarian on Terrapin Island. Marian provides Aerial Fog with building materials in exchange for information about the wee folk. You will get to know Marian´s seven-and-a-half-year-old friend, Dawn McKay, who suspects that Marian is a witch. Dawn loses a tooth in Marian´s kitchen early one morning. That night two fairies, Featherbell and Fiddlehead, are sent to fetch the tooth from under Dawn´s pillow. Their efforts are hampered by Dawn´s father, Boo´s attempt to play the role of tooth fairy himself. You will encounter Harriet Gracewell, an eighty-three-year-old bird watcher who dresses only in black and takes care of her cranky invalid sister-in-law, Estelle. Harriet accidentally finds herself in possession of a tiny cloak belonging to Osmosis the gnome. She shows the little garment to Marian Fuller, who tells her it must be returned to its owner. Complications arise when the cloak falls into the hands of Fearbabe the goblin. Harriet, Marian, and Dawn join forces with the fairies to make a trade with Fearbabe. Because of their helpful interactions with the wee folk, Marian, Harriet, and Dawn are invited to attend the fairies´ Summer Solstice celebration, at which a particularly surprising event transpires.
I wake up in the middle of the night, reach for my writing pad and start writing in the dark. It is difficult to figure out all the scribbling the next morning. If I would turn on the light, these thoughts would disappear in a hurry, reality will set in. My best thoughts are at night, my brain is clear and I can remember the smallest details. Mostly about my early childhood, my war experiences and the struggles that accompanied that period of my life. During the daytime these thoughts are tucked away, deep in my brain and I avoid remembering those years. It’s now all in the past, but it should be remembered, because if I don’t remember my past, I cannot enjoy my future.
From the author of Looking for It, a heart attack forces three gay friends to reunite, and one to reflect on their five dramatic decades of friendship. History professor Ned Brummel is living happily with his partner of twelve years in small-town Maine when he receives a phone call from his estranged friend—Jack—telling him that another friend—Andy—is very ill and possibly near death. As Ned boards a plane to Chicago on his way to his friend’s bedside, he embarks on another journey into memory, examining the major events and small moments that have shaped his world and his relationships with these two very different, very important men. Growing up together through the restrictive 1950s and confusing ‘60s, Jackson “Jack” Grace and Ned Brummel took solace in their love for each other. But once they arrive at college in 1969 and meet handsome farm boy Andy Kowalski, everything changes. Despite Andy’s apparent heterosexuality, both Jack and Ned fall hard for him, straining their close friendship. Soon, the three men will become involved in a series of intense liaisons and bitter betrayals, coming together and flying apart, as they alternately hurt, love, shape, and heal one another over the course of years. From the heady, drug- and sex-fueled days of San Francisco in the wild seventies to the haunting specter of AIDS in the eighties and the righteous activism of the nineties, their relationship transforms and grows, reflecting the changes going on around them. Now, together again in the most crucial and intimate of settings, Ned, Jack, and Andy have another chance to confront the damage of the past and embrace the bonds of friendship and love that have stood the test of time. Praise for Full Circle “Impactful . . . Real . . . Ford’s beautiful story makes it all seem possible and believable . . . T
Welcome to the colourful Ulster village of Ballybucklebo, where two doctors work hand in hand to mend the bodies and spirits of the town's diverse and engaging inhabitants. But who is looking after the wounded hearts of the doctors? After less than a year, young Barry Laverty, M.B., is settling in to the village, with only a few months to go before he becomes a full partner in the practice. He's looking forward to becoming a fixture in the community, until an unexpected romantic reversal gives him second thoughts. Will he truly be happy tending to routine coughs and colds for the rest of his career? After all, even when a more challenging case comes along, like a rare tropical disease, all he can do is pass it on to a qualified specialist or big-city hospital. As much as Barry enjoys the rough and tumble of life in County Down, is running a humble GP's shop all he wants out of life? Barry's mentor, Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, is going through some personal upheavals as well. After mourning his deceased wife for decades, he's finally allowed a new woman into his life. But this budding courtship is not going over well with Kinky Kincaid, the doctors' redoubtable housekeeper, who fears having her position usurped by O'Reilly's new flame. Tact, diplomacy, and a fair amount of blarney may be required to restore peace to the household. Meanwhile, life goes on in Ballybucklebo, presenting both doctors with plenty of distractions from their own troubles. From a mysterious outbreak at the local school to a complicated swindle involving an unlucky racehorse, the two partners will need all of their combined wit and compassion to put things right again--just in time for their lives to change forever. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Stranded on a strange planet with a race of alien vampires! Red O'Reilly, the hero, is among three prisoners being transported by car with a guard and a social worker on a rainy night in contemporary California. Suddenly, in a flash, the car is off the road and into the middle of a jungle - which disappears as the rain ceases, leaving them stranded in a trackless desert! After a trek across the desert, evidently on an alien planet far from earth, they discover a strange, ruined city inhabited by a race of vampire aliens - whom they must battle for survival.
The very learned, intuitive and crafty Dr Ulan Kavoski and his dodgy friends Grannie O’Shaunessy and Jock McFadden continue their humorous story in this second book set in the beginning of the new millennium. They are three very unlikely friends and as part of their modus operandi with others, that interaction is either for good, or more likely for bad...
This is a book of poetry about much loved cats; their individual photographs included. From tiger tabbies and tortoiseshells, to red tabbies, Orientals, little black cats, Persians, a Blue Cream Shorthair Persian, a Norwegian Forest Cat, a Himalayan and others. All are precious and have their individual personalities that enrichen our lives so much.
A data-rich study of the difficult partnerships between the colleges, universities, and businesses of Silicon Valley. Universities and colleges often operate between two worlds: higher education and economic systems. With a mission rooted in research, teaching, and public service, institutions of higher learning are also economic drivers in their regions, under increasing pressure to provide skilled workers to local companies. It is impossible to understand how current developments are affecting colleges without attending to the changes in both the higher education system and in the economic communities in which they exist. W. Richard Scott, Michael W. Kirst, and colleagues focus on the changing relations between colleges and companies in one vibrant economic region: the San Francisco Bay Area. Colleges and tech companies, they argue, have a common interest in knowledge generation and human capital, but they operate in social worlds that substantially differ, making them uneasy partners. Colleges are a part of a long tradition that stresses the importance of precedent, academic values, and liberal education. High-tech companies, by contrast, value innovation and know-how, and they operate under conditions that reward rapid response to changing opportunities. The economy is changing faster than the postsecondary education system. Drawing on quantitative and historical data from 1970 to 2012 as well as 14 case studies of colleges, this book describes a rich and often tense relationship between higher education and the tech industry. It focuses on the ways in which various types of colleges have endeavored—and often failed—to meet the demands of a vibrant economy and concludes with a discussion of current policy recommendations, suggestions for improvements and reforms at the state level, and a proposal to develop a regional body to better align educational and economic development.
