She never needed a man for anything. Not until he came back into her life… Roberta Wilkes is a brilliant, focused, and successful artist with a thriving career. But when Rogan MacDonald strolls into her gallery exhibit, old feelings hit Robbie hard. She may have left her awkward teenage self behind, but her crush on Rogan, with his dark red hair and brilliant golden eyes, is more tenacious. Rogan vaguely remembers Robbie, but can this breathtaking, bohemian artist be the same coltish geek he once knew? Then, she was a nerdy child prodigy with coily hair, random zits, braces, and gray eyes. Now she was an alluring woman with long locs, warm whiskey skin, and the same mesmerizing gray eyes. Rogan wants Robbie to work on an art project in his new restaurant. And if he can woo her in the meantime, that’s a bonus! There are two problems with his plan. One, Robbie doesn’t commission the type of work Rogan wants, and two, she’s stubbornly immune to his charms. As Rogan works to win Robbie over, she finds it more difficult to ward off his flirtations. Finally, Robbie's teen dreams are coming true. But adult Robbie doesn’t have time for games. She refuses to compromise herself for any man, especially one she’s not sure she can even trust. Delve into Rogan’s Robbie, the first luscious installment of the Love Happens in Vegas series. And remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!
*Shortlisted for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize 2019* ‘A strange and joyous marvel.’ Richard Flanagan *Shortlisted for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize 2019* In Robbie Arnott’s widely acclaimed and much-loved first novel, a young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his sister, Charlotte—who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire. The answers to these riddles are to be found in this tale of grief and love and the bonds of family, tracing a journey across the southern island. Utterly original in conception, spellbinding in its descriptions of nature and celebration of language, Flames is one of the most exciting debuts of recent years. Robbie Arnott was born in Launceston in 1989. He was a 2019 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist, and won the 2019 Margaret Scott Prize, the 2015 Tasmanian Young Writers’ Fellowship and the 2014 Scribe Nonfiction Prize for Young Writers. His widely acclaimed debut, Flames, was published in 2018. The Rain Heron, his second novel, will be published in 2020. Robbie’s writing has appeared in the Lifted Brow, Island, Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin and the anthology Seven Stories. He lives in Hobart. ‘Ambitious storytelling from a stunning new Australian voice. Flames is constantly surprising—I never knew where the story would take me next. This book has a lovely sense of wonder for the world. It’s brimming with heart and compassion.’ Rohan Wilson ‘Arnott confidently borrows from the genres of crime fiction, thriller, romance, comedy, eco-literature, and magical realism, throws them in the air, and lets the pieces land to form a flaming new world.’ Sydney Morning Herald ‘This is a startlingly good first novel, stylistically adventurous, gorgeous in its descriptions and with a compelling narrative that should find a wide readership.’ Australian ‘An Australian literary fabulist classic – well, it certainly deserves to be.’ Avid Reader ‘Visionary, vivid, full of audacious transformations: there’s a marvellous energy to this writing that returns the world to us aflame. A brilliant and wholly original debut.’ Gail Jones ‘Robbie Arnott is a vivid and bold new voice in Australian fiction.’ Danielle Wood ‘Arnott skilfully switches between different voices and genres in a trick reminiscent of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. The range he displays is impressive, swinging from fable to gothic horror to hardboiled detective story.’ Books+Publishing ‘Flames is an exuberantly creative and confident debut. This is a story that sparks with invention...Invigorating, strange and occasionally brutal.’ Australian Book Review ‘This is the kind of book that you’ll be able to read a second, third, even fourth time, and it will still never reveal all its secrets. Composed with meticulous attention to detail, and a mastery of form rarely found in a debut novel, Flames will keep you stewing long after you’ve finished reading it.’ Readings 'A surprising story with a definite feminist edge...the novel’s playfulness and poetry make for a fresh and entertaining read.' Saturday Paper ‘It will be immediately apparent to anyone even vaguely familiar with Tasmania that Arnott is on intimate terms with his island, and his exquisite descriptive prose definitely does this gem of a place justice...More please, Mr Arnott.’ BookMooch ‘A gloriously audacious book. It runs astonishing risks and takes on the biggest emotions...It bowled me sideways.’ New Zealand Herald
The reappearance of Rogan signaled she needed protection. They'd lived together for months in a safe house, her life in this mysterious detective's hands. Dark haired and heavyhearted, Rogan had allowed his and Jasmine's fates to be intertwined, just as someone from her past sought to kill her.… Rogan and Jasmine had ended their romance because of the danger it had brought. Now, if they hoped to stop the killer, they would have to revisit Raven's Cove, the birthplace of the ancient legend he twisted to suit his dark mission. And uncover the secrets still left between them…
A classic, the baby name countdown (over 120,000 copies sold) is now fully revised and updated for the first time in a decade. Featuring more names than any other guide and based on more than 2.5 million birth records, the book includes brand-new data, a new introduction, a revised section on the most popular baby names of the past year and decade, and updated popularity ratings throughout. Discover at a glance the most popular given names from each decade of the 20th and 21st centuries, meanings and origins of the 3,000 top names, and thousands of rare and exotic monikers. Whether your taste in names is trendy, traditional, or international, The Baby Name Countdown is the ideal resource for every parent searching for the perfect name.
Presents thousands of classic, traditional, and modern names along with information on the meanings, origins, and derivations of each name; tips for making the right selection; name trends; popular names of the past and present; and ethnic names.
A couple of generations ago, the movie industry ran on gut instinct--film schools, audience research departments and seminars on screenwriting were not yet de rigueur. Today the standard is the analytical approach, intended to demystify filmmaking and guarantee success (or at least minimize failure). The trouble with this method is that nobody knows how to do it--they just think they do--and films are made based on models of predictability rather than the merits of the script. This insider's look at the craft and business of screenwriting explodes some of the popular myths, demonstrating how little relevance the rules have to actual filmmaking. With long experience in film and television, the author provides insightful how-not-to analyses, with commentary by such veterans as Josh Sapan (CEO of AMC Networks), bestselling author Adriana Trigiani and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas).
A riveting memoir by former MMA champion and Olympic wrestler, Ben Askren, who cut a polarizing path through amateur wrestling and professional mixed martial arts as a firebrand figure who fans loved or hated—but could never keep down. “This is a wonderful and revealing look at one of the greatest American athletes of the last twenty years.” —Ariel Helwani? One of the most dominant college wrestlers in history, Ben Askren became a folk hero during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, before going on to become a multiple time MMA champion and one of the sport’s biggest stars. Through it all, he emerged as a cult figure in combat sports. Here, in the pages of Funky, this record-breaking wrestler and polarizing UFC fighter shares how he came to dominate opponents while blazing a trail through competitors in unprecedented ways. Not blessed with natural athleticism, he revolutionized folkstyle wrestling by innovating his own technique, developing a scrambling, unorthodox style, which earned him the famous nickname, “Funky.” “While legendary wrestler Ben Askren’s memoir Funky is not a self-help book, it is one of the most helpful books you can read if you want to achieve more in life. Unlike the superficial portraits of success that most self-help books give, Funky explains in unvarnished detail the thoughtful persistence that is required—persistence that can take a long time to be rewarded, with plenty of setbacks along the way.” —Alex Epstein, philosopher, energy expert, bestselling author, and BJJ Black Belt What ensued was an improbable takeover of combat sports by a firebrand who defied tradition, becoming the University of Missouri’s first ever national champion while twice winning the prestigious Dan Hodge trophy. Now, Askren opens up about how he bucked convention, how he used his wrestling base to seize the world of cage-fighting, and how he eventually forced UFC president Dana White to end their decade-long public feud via a historic trade to give the fans what they wanted: Ben Askren in the UFC. Love him or hate him, win or lose, Ben Askren showed what determination means by staying true to one of his earliest revelations on the mats: “I was never going to let anybody outwork me.” “Whether you are an elite level athlete or the furthest thing from it, Funky is an inspiring read for all.” —Laura Sanko, broadcast analyst and reporter
From award-winning journalist and author of the “methodical, earnest, and insightful” (The Guardian) Panic Attack, an examination of recent kneejerk calls to regulate Big Tech from both sides of the aisle. Not so long ago, we embraced social media as a life-changing opportunity to connect with friends and family all across the globe. Today, the pendulum of public opinion is swinging in the opposite direction as Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and similar sites are being accused of corrupting our democracy, spreading disinformation, and fanning the flames of hatred. We once marveled at the revolutionary convenience of ordering items online and having them show up on our doorsteps overnight. Now we fret about Amazon outsourcing our jobs overseas or building robots to do them for us. With insightful analysis and in-depth research, Robby Soave offers “a refreshing dose of sanity and common sense about big tech” (David French, author of Divided We Fall) and explores some of the biggest issues animating both the right and the left: bias, censorship, disinformation, privacy, screen addiction, crime, and more. Far from polemical, Tech Panic is grounded in interviews with insiders at companies like Facebook and Twitter, as well as expert analysis by both tech boosters and skeptics—from Mark Zuckerberg to Josh Hawley. You will learn not just about the consequences of Big Tech, but also the consequences of altering the ecosystem that allowed tech to get big. Offering a fresh and crucial perspective on one of the biggest influences of the 21st century, Soave seeks to stand athwart history and yell, Wait, are we sure we really want to do this?
