Examines the works of 32 artists represented in the Johnson Collection to explore the historical, social and cultural forces that influenced their aesthetic sensibilities and to deliniate the core concepts of the romantic movement in the South: the heroic individual, an idealized chivalric code of personal honor, the sublime quality of nature, and the inevitability of change in an imperfect world.
Jobless and forced home to Wisconsin, journalist Sabrina Monroe can tolerate reunions with frenemies and kisses from old boyfriends, but not the literal ghosts that greet her in this heartwarming tale of the power of love and connection from acclaimed author Amy E. Reichert. For Sabrina Monroe, moving back home to the Wisconsin Dells--the self-described Waterpark Capital of the World--means returning to the Monroe family curse: the women in her family can see spirits who come to them for help with unfinished business. But Sabrina's always redirected the needy spirits to her mom, who's much better suited for the job. The one exception has always been Molly, a bubbly rom-com loving ghost, who stuck by Sabrina's side all through her lonely childhood. Her personal life starts looking up when Ray, the new local restaurateur, invites Sabrina to his supper club, where he flirts with her over his famous Brandy Old-Fashioneds. He's charming and handsome, but Sabrina tells herself she doesn't have time for romance--she needs to focus on finding a job. Except the longer she's in the Dells, the harder it is to resist her feelings for Ray. Who can turn down a cute guy with a fondness for rescue dogs and an obsession with perfecting his fried cheese curds recipe? When the Dells starts to feel like home for the first time and with Ray in her corner, Sabrina begins to realize that she can make a difference and help others wherever she is.
A retro-modern romantic fantasy set in the age of the Kotogami! After a fearsome beast burns down her company lodgings, Akari finds herself homeless and out of a job. Luckily, the handsome yokai who rescued her from the beast offers her a job as a live-in custodian at a manor in the city. Needing a safe place to sleep, Akari accepts Tomohito’s offer but soon finds that living in a house full of eccentric Kotogami spirits isn’t exactly the sweet deal she was hoping for. With no alternative, Akari resigns herself to cohabiting with her idiosyncratic new roommates. And so begins the heartwarming tale of the trials, new friendships, and blossoming romance of a hard working young woman, living in an age where the Kotogami spirits walk among humans.
Haunted by history. Bound by mystery. Lori Chase doesn't know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings . . . right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone's mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori's parent run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers. Then Lori meets one such soldier -- the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel's soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori's help. Because Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets. At the same time, she can't help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her . . . .
Romantic Cocktails is a bewitching collection of over 100 classic and craft cocktail recipes, perfect for winning hearts—and mending broken ones, too! Inside the plush red foil cover of Romantic Cocktails, you will find the secret to mixing up more than 100 cocktails for couples, crushes, and star-crossed lovers. Simple step-by-step instructions and gorgeous full-color photographs make every drink recipe easy and truly swoon-worthy. The drinks are as fun and charming as they are intoxicating, with names including: The Afternoon Delight - a little sweet, a little naughty Boozy Milkshake for Two - two straws please Between the Sheets - a romantic variation on the classic Sidecar cocktail The Vesper Martini - synonymous with sophistication The Goodnight Kiss - the perfect nightcap for a night you don’t want to end Author and bartender Clair McLafferty offers insider tips and tricks for everything from sizing up recipes for a party to fixing a drink that didn’t turn out quite right. Throughout the book, you will find drink-related romantic quotations and toasts from the likes of Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, and James Baldwin. Whether you are looking for a romantic gift or a reliably excellent cocktail book for your home bar, Romantic Cocktails will knock your socks off!
In this personal account, one man details how his past life sins had a direct effect on his love life. Frank Mares, a successful middle-aged businessman, was always mystified why his love life was snake bitten. Others thought of him as a considerate, funny guy with good looks, but every one of his long-term relationships with attractive women ended in a fiery wreck. After the death of his father, he started a meditation practice that inexplicably rewarded him with psychic abilities. With his new gift, he discovers that reincarnation is real and he recovers facts about nine of his past lives. Most of those lives involved violent, bloody deaths. Mares goes on a spiritual journey to find out why he kept dying violently and why he couldn't find the love he was looking for in his current life. The answers do not come easily, but by using a team of three world class psychics, he tracks down the shocking reason why the Universe is angry with his soul. The psychic team finds that within the soul of this normal, small businessman resides a brutal, stone killer from the 1600's, who surprisingly was the revered founder of a gentile noble family. The killer's portrait still hangs in his tourist destination castle outside of Prague, while Mares pays his Karmic bill. Mares hopes to salvage the dark time in his soul's past into something that could help others today. Specifically, he found that everyone's long term romantic relationships were preplanned before their births. This planning was done not so that you can find love and happiness, but rather so that your soul can learn spiritual lessons through heartache. By examining his past relationships with a new perspective, he saw how the Universe set him up for romantic doom through amazing coincidental encounters and by ruthlessly preventing more suitable girls from ever meeting him. If you read this book, you will never look at Love and Death in the same way again. In addition, some of your past romantic disappointments might now start to make sense.
Shining toward Spirit Vol.I introduces communications and messages from spirits who share their experience of living with the Divine Love. This book expands our awareness about the mortal soul and the Immortality of the Divine Love, our human faith and living a spirit's life in the spirit world. The vision of this work will truly inspire the individual who in their pursuit of information about spirits and spirit communication, the Divine Love and the spirit world, Shining toward Spirit leads to a beginning.
It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits… Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act. Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who’s more comfortable with guns than ghosts—unfortunately for him, he’s the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida’s supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her... On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise…
The long-awaited new novel from the author of the global bestseller and modern classic, The Shadow of the Wind. As a child, Daniel Sempere discovered among the passageways of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books an extraordinary novel that would change the course of his life. Now a young man in the Barcelona of the late 1950s, Daniel runs the Sempere & Sons bookshop and enjoys a seemingly fulfilling life with his loving wife and son. Yet the mystery surrounding the death of his mother continues to plague his soul despite the moving efforts of his wife Bea and his faithful friend Fermín to save him. Just when Daniel believes he is close to solving this enigma, a conspiracy more sinister than he could have imagined spreads its tentacles from the hellish regime. That is when Alicia Gris appears, a soul born out of the nightmare of the war. She is the one who will lead Daniel to the edge of the abyss and reveal the secret history of his family, although at a terrifying price. The Labyrinth of the Spirits is an electrifying tale of passion, intrigue and adventure. Within its haunting pages Carlos Ruiz Zafón masterfully weaves together plots and subplots in an intricate and intensely imagined homage to books, the art of storytelling and that magical bridge between literature and our lives. 'For the first time in 20 years or so as a book reviewer, I am tempted to dust off the old superlatives and event to employ some particularly vulgar clichés from the repertoire of publishers' blurbs. My colleagues may be shocked, but I don't care, I can't help myself, here goes. The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art. I couldn't put it down. Enchanting, hilarious and heartbreaking, this book will change your life. Carlos Ruiz Zafón has done that exceedingly rare thing - he has produced, in his first novel, a popular masterpiece, an instant classic' Daily Telegraph
The physical landscape has been appropriated by artists throughout temporal and spatial history to represent (or present) political, social, and national identities. Artists have long imbued the landscape with personal and public ideologies. Indeed, landscapes can be more than simple representations of scenic beauty, when artists use the genre to convey or reflect upon various political and social concerns important in different periods. This collection of essays brings together the perspectives of scholars from a variety of backgrounds. Subjects range from Venetian Renaissance waterscapes to the rolling farm hills of Grant Wood, and from native Botswana imagery to ecosensitive Florida portraits. These examinations of landscapes consider the rich ideology and iconography that define and redefine peoples and places.
