Two sisters must fight to the death to win the crown in this first installment of a gripping, action-packed duology set in an ancient North African-inspired fantasy world. Now in paperback. Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of blood and marrow--a dark and terrible magick that hasn't been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina's long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne--because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive. A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush ancient North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.
Your life is not too ordinary, your world is not too small, and your work is not too insignificant to make a difference--instead, all of it is a stage set for you to glorify God. Join bestselling author Joni Eareckson Tada as she shares daily devotions designed to help you embrace your eternal purpose. Do you ever wonder why God created you? The Bible says it plainly: God created you to showcase His glory--to enjoy it, display it, and demonstrate it every day to all those you encounter. Through this award-winning, 365-day devotional, Joni will help you discover how to put God's glory on full display, no matter what challenges you're facing. A Spectacle of Glory will prepare you to take on each day with the help of: A heartfelt story A timely verse from Scripture A thoughtful prayer for deeper reflection throughout the day An inspirational figure to millions of people in the more than forty years of her ministry, Joni Eareckson Tada has shared honestly about the struggles of living as a quadriplegic and dealing with chronic pain. Let A Spectacle of Glory give you the tools you need to focus your heart on the One who longs to lead and guide you every day and every step of the way.
From a "born storyteller" (Seattle Times), this playful and moving bestselling book of essays invites us into the miraculous and transcendent moments of everyday life. When Brian Doyle passed away at the age of sixty after a bout with brain cancer, he left behind a cult-like following of devoted readers who regard his writing as one of the best-kept secrets of the twenty-first century. Doyle writes with a delightful sense of wonder about the sanctity of everyday things, and about love and connection in all their forms: spiritual love, brotherly love, romantic love, and even the love of a nine-foot sturgeon. At a moment when the world can sometimes feel darker than ever, Doyle's writing, which constantly evokes the humor and even bliss that life affords, is a balm. His essays manage to find, again and again, exquisite beauty in the quotidian, whether it's the awe of a child the first time she hears a river, or a husband's whiskers that a grieving widow misses seeing in her sink every morning. Through Doyle's eyes, nothing is dull. David James Duncan sums up Doyle's sensibilities best in his introduction to the collection: "Brian Doyle lived the pleasure of bearing daily witness to quiet glories hidden in people, places and creatures of little or no size, renown, or commercial value, and he brought inimitably playful or soaring or aching or heartfelt language to his tellings." A life's work, One Long River of Song invites readers to experience joy and wonder in ordinary moments that become, under Doyle's rapturous and exuberant gaze, extraordinary.
It is the height of apartheid in South Africa as Justin Roberts enters university with dreams of becoming a lawyer. While attending a meeting in Soweto, he encounters African students who reveal some of their shocking experiences. After Justin and the others decide to publicize details of the torture, they have their first brush with the Special Branch. These initial actions draw Justin deeper in political activism. Justin meets Colleen by way of a blind date, but this unlikely beginning eventually blooms into a fully fledged love affair. Despite the misgivings of her parents, Colleen too becomes involved in some of Justin’s activities. As events unfold, Justin and his colleagues are gradually radicalised, and drawn closer to those involved in the armed resistance. Finally matters come to a head and Justin, like others before him, is forced to flee the country. Now living in exile in the United Kingdom, he returns to South Africa with a false name and passport to undertake an undercover mission to warn his friend, Sipho, of the danger he is unknowingly facing. Will his mission be successful and will he find personal redemption? In this poignant story, South African students who decide to oppose apartheid are propelled on a journey entailing love, abandonment, yearning, betrayal, and redemption.
She was a warrior. Now she is wife, mother, and leader of her people. An exciting story of a love that transcends death and a forgiveness that brings new life.
Set in a river boat community in Arkansas in the 1930s, this poignant story chronicles Aiyana Weir's spirited determination to break away from a life, like that of the women around her, defined and dominated by brutal patriarchy. Aiyana's voice, unique, hesitant and uneducated, expresses the turmoil of her inner world through the details and rhythms of her beloved river and charts her secret pursuit of literacy - her only means of escape from the abuse of her father and the indifference of the man to whom she is casually given. Her grandmother, a mythical figure steeped in wisdom and folklore, and her brother, Lyle, are Aiyana's only allies in her struggle for survival and as shameless plans to leave the river.
Iréne gives the wealthy businessmen what they want, diving headfirst into the filthy river, thinking only of providing for her baby daughter, Marisa, as the men salivate over her soaked body emerging onto the bank. A young boy tries to befriend the reticent younger sister of the town's cruelest bully, only to discover the family betrayal behind her quiet countenance. Josefa, a young bride, is executed for murdering the man who raped her. Joy Castro's How Winter Began traces these and other characters as they seek compassion from each other and themselves. Thematically linked by the lives of women, especially Latinas, and their experiences of poverty and violence in a white-dominated, wealth-obsessed culture, How Winter Began is a delicately wrought collection of stories. The question at the heart of this riveting book is how or whether to trust one another after the rupture of betrayal.
