Everyone in the church has a story to tell, but some of these stories may be too painful to share with others. Can you live a godly Christian Life with a broken heart? Sam Peterson, a heartbroken man decided to live a Christian life in solitude. Unable to open his mind to anyone, he chose to stay away from church. Can the power of love heal a broken heart? Lisa Gabriel, a widow with two kids saw the pains in Sam’s eyes. She kept praying for him. Gradually, Sam and Lisa would fall in love but can the power of love heal the pains in his heart? Can Sam ever enjoy a good Christian life and also find the peace he needs? Will the scars of his past prevent him from finding peace and sustaining the love between him and Lisa?
"As Mercury dwelleth near the Sun, so I abide in the heart of my Lord. My feet run upon His errands and by my mouth are His words spoken." Thus wrote Brother XII in the preface to "The Three Truths," describing his role as the divinely-ordained agent of an ancient mystical Brotherhood known as the Great White Lodge. As the agent of this mysterious fraternity, Edward Arthur Wilson, aka Brother XII, a slight, soft-spoken former English sea-captain, embarked on a dramatic and sensational career that established him as one of the most fascinating figures in the history of modern religion. "Brother XII: The Strange Odyssey of a 20th-century Prophet" chronicles the life and exploits of the enigmatic figure who established a utopian community in southern British Columbia in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The tales of gold, sex and black magic associated with Brother XII and his flamboyant mistress, a whip-wielding devotee of ritual magic with the pulp-fiction name of Madame Z, have gripped people's imaginations for years, and the story has been described as a "Gone with The Wind" of the occult, an evocative mixture of the sacred and profane. Though other religious figures may be better known, for pure drama, nothing rivals the story of Brother XII. Though Brother XII largely fell through the cracks of history, his amazing chronicle is being rediscovered, for it rings with contemporary relevance; not only was he a prototypical cult leader, he was a genuine mystic and seer, while also writing on political issues in a way that eerily foreshadows the world today. Brother XII was both a forerunner of the New Age and one of the few spiritual teachers of his time to give expression to the geopolitical and conspiratorial concerns that dominate the cultural debate today. Both mystic and mountebank, seer and charlatan, he was a complex, contradictory individual, the ultimate "man of mystery." The story of Brother XII features an intriguing cast of characters who find themselves irresistibly drawn to the power of this classic rogue messiah, a spiritual anti-hero possessed of a Nietzschean will to power. After the destruction of his colony, Brother XII and Madame Z fled with nearly half-a-million dollars in gold, outwitting the authorities and escaping justice. Brother XII's fate is uncertain, for his death in Switzerland remains a matter of speculation. For all that is known about him, he's still an elusive figure, leaving his metaphysical teachings and the provocative legend that has grown up around him as his legacy. Praise for "Brother XII: The Strange Odyssey of a 20th-century Prophet " "I found myself totally absorbed...a book that will become a classic of its kind. I know of no more fascinating or better researched study of a 'false messiah.'" From the Foreword by Colin Wilson "Sex, sadism, black magic and mystery upon mystery. It sounds like the recipe for a Stephen King potboiler, and author John Oliphant has made the most of it. The difference is that Oliphant's Brother XII is a true story...a marvelous web of suspense and intrigue...riveting stuff." "The Vancouver Sun" ""Brother XII" is a fascinating read " William Gibson "A tremendously exciting story of the religious mania in extreme form. Brother XII is a type who recurs throughout human history, and Oliphant provides not only a great horror tale, but a warning as to how we can recognize such types and be armed against them. I heartily recommend this book." Robert Anton Wilson "Sharing the brilliance of an L. Ron Hubbard, the destructiveness of a Jim Jones, and the hypnotic hold of a Rasputin, E. A. Wilson ranks as one of the most intriguing, mysterious, and infamously charismatic and prophetic cult leaders to grace the annals of North American history...a well-documented...thoroughly fascinating book." "Theosophical History "
From the NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, & USA TODAY bestselling series Hunches, horse races, and heartbreak Ten years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe Winston wants is a doughnut. He’d also like to forget her entirely, but that’s never going to happen. Roscoe Winston remembers everything—every look, every word, every single unrequited second—and the last thing he needs is another memory of Simone. Unfortunately, after one chance encounter, Simone keeps popping up everywhere he happens to be . . . Ten years after Roscoe Winston dropped out of her life, all Simone Payton wants is to exploit him. She’d also like some answers from her former best friend about why he ghosted her, but if she never gets those answers, that’s a-okay. Simone let go of the past a long time ago. Seriously, she has. She totally, totally has. She is definitely not still thinking about Roscoe. Nope. She’s more than happy to forget he exists. But first, she needs just one teeny-tiny favor . . . Dr. Strange Beard is a full-length romantic comedy novel, can be read as a stand-alone, and is the fifth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Winston Brothers series. ***** Read the entire Winston Brothers series! Beauty and the Mustache Book #0.5 USA Today Bestseller Truth or Beard Book #1 USA Today Bestseller Grin and Beard It #2 USA Today Bestseller Beard Science #3 USA Today Bestseller Beard in Mind #4 USA Today Bestseller Dr. Strange Beard #5 New York Times Bestseller Beard with Me #5.5 (Coming September 2019) Beard Necessities #6 (Coming October 2019) ***** Topics: contemporary romance, romantic comedy, southern romance, small town, series, geek romance, nerdy girl romance, nerdy girl, geek girl, romantic comedy series, comedy, comedy series, funny romance, laugh romance, modern romance, urban romance, Tennessee, Tennessee romance, USA today, new york times bestselling author, USA today bestseller, USA Today bestseller, small town romance, friends to lovers romance, enemies to lovers romance, smart romance, something funny to read, lighthearted romance, light romance, hot romance, Penny Reid, penny reid romance, beard romance, bearded, wanderlust romance, romance novel, romance book, romantic comedy books, romance for adults, romance books, funny romance, funny romance, funny books, comedy books free, rom com, hilarious, romance series, romance books, beach reads, new adult, college, funny, female, stories, sensual, sensual romance, alpha male, hot guy, racy, sexy, heartwarming, heart-warming, family, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, contemporary, contemporary romance, romance series, long series, long romance series, bearded hero, sassy, captivating romance, hot, hot romance, mistaken identity romance, sparks, loyalty, swoon, interracial romance, African American heroine, childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance, virgin romance, bearded brothers, saga
A true tale of changing New York by Franz Lidz, whose Unstrung Heroes is a classic of hoarder lore. Homer and Langley Collyer moved into their handsome brownstone in white, upper-class Harlem in 1909. By 1947, however, when the fire department had to carry Homer's body out of the house he hadn't left in twenty years, the neighborhood had degentrified, and their house was a fortress of junk: in an attempt to preserve the past, Homer and Langley held on to everything they touched. The scandal of Homer's discovery, the story of his life, and the search for Langley, who was missing at the time, rocked the city; the story was on the front page of every newspaper for weeks. A quintessential New York story of quintessential New York characters, Ghosty Men is a perfect fit for Bloomsbury's Urban Historicals series.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature. As he steadfastly journeys toward his mysterious destiny, Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.
The original uncut edition of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Hugo Award winner Robert A Heinlein - one of the most beloved, celebrated science-fiction novels of all time. Epic, ambitious and entertaining, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND caused controversy and uproar when it was first published and is still topical and challenging today. Twenty-five years ago, the first manned mission to Mars was lost, and all hands presumed dead. But someone survived... Born on the doomed spaceship and raised by the Martians who saved his life, Valentine Michael Smith has never seen a human being until the day a second expedition to Mars discovers him. Upon his return to Earth, a young nurse named Jill Boardman sneaks into Smith's hospital room and shares a glass of water with him, a simple act for her but a sacred ritual on Mars. Now, connected by an incredible bond, Smith, Jill and a writer named Jubal must fight to protect a right we all take for granted: the right to love.
Winner of the 2018 Ohioana Book Award for Nonfiction The little-known but uniquely American story of the unlikely friendship of two famous figures of the American West—Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull—told through the prism of their collaboration in Cody's Wild West show in 1885. “Splendid… Blood Brothers eloquently explores the clash of cultures on the Great Plains that initially united the two legends and how this shared experience contributed to the creation of their ironic political alliance.” —Bobby Bridger, Austin Chronicle It was in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883 that William F. Cody—known across the land as Buffalo Bill—conceived of his Wild West show, an “equestrian extravaganza” featuring cowboys and Indians. It was a great success, and for four months in 1885 the Lakota chief Sitting Bull appeared in the show. Blood Brothers tells the story of these two iconic figures through their brief but important collaboration, in “a compelling narrative that reads like a novel” (Orange County Register). “Thoroughly researched, Deanne Stillman’s account of this period in American history is elucidating as well as entertaining” (Booklist), complete with little-told details about the two men whose alliance was eased by none other than Annie Oakley. When Sitting Bull joined the Wild West, the event spawned one of the earliest advertising slogans: “Foes in ’76, Friends in ’85.” Cody paid his performers well, and he treated the Indians no differently from white performers. During this time, the Native American rights movement began to flourish. But with their way of life in tatters, the Lakota and others availed themselves of the chance to perform in the Wild West show. When Cody died in 1917, a large contingent of Native Americans attended his public funeral. An iconic friendship tale like no other, Blood Brothers is a timeless story of people from different cultures who crossed barriers to engage each other as human beings. Here, Stillman provides “an account of the tragic murder of Sitting Bull that’s as good as any in the literature…Thoughtful and thoroughly well-told—just the right treatment for a subject about which many books have been written before, few so successfully” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
"A brilliant, powerful elegy from a living brother to a lost one, yet pulsing with rhythm, and beating with life." --Marlon James "Highly recommend Brother by David Chariandy--concise and intense, elegiac short novel of devastation and hope." --Joyce Carol Oates, via Twitter WINNER--Toronto Book Award WINNER--Rogers' Writers' Trust Fiction Prize WINNER--Ethel Wilson Prize for Fiction In luminous, incisive prose, a startling new literary talent explores masculinity, race, and sexuality against a backdrop of simmering violence during the summer of 1991. One sweltering summer in the Park, a housing complex outside of Toronto, Michael and Francis are coming of age and learning to stomach the careless prejudices and low expectations that confront them as young men of black and brown ancestry. While their Trinidadian single mother works double, sometimes triple shifts so her boys might fulfill the elusive promise of their adopted home, Francis helps the days pass by inventing games and challenges, bringing Michael to his crew's barbershop hangout, and leading escapes into the cool air of the Rouge Valley, a scar of green wilderness where they are free to imagine better lives for themselves. Propelled by the beats and styles of hip hop, Francis dreams of a future in music. Michael's dreams are of Aisha, the smartest girl in their high school whose own eyes are firmly set on a life elsewhere. But the bright hopes of all three are violently, irrevocably thwarted by a tragic shooting, and the police crackdown and suffocating suspicion that follow. Honest and insightful in its portrayal of kinship, community, and lives cut short, David Chariandy's Brother is an emotional tour de force that marks the arrival of a stunning new literary voice.
There are times when strange things change hands. There are forces coming on the stage to claim their supremacy over the reality. There are colours beyond black and white, so meaning of good and evil has been lost in the game of those forces. There are moments when worlds balance on the edge of existence, when the game comes to the end, and everything depends on a handful of people who feel they are not the ones who they were before. Can they withstand this change and change everything, and turn the wheel another time? Will their moves be strange enough to break the trap of predestination?
Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt’s brother is missing. And when she discovers that the Dead are rising in Philadelphia and wreaking havoc throughout the city, she knows that her brother is involved. So Eleanor enlists the help of the Spirit-Hunters. This motley crew, hired to protect the city from supernatural forces, is after the necromancer who has been reanimating corpses. Their skills can save her brother. But as Eleanor spends time with the Spirit-Hunters, and their handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. Now not only is her reputation at risk, but her very life may hang in the balance. In Something Strange and Deadly, the first book in a trilogy, Susan Dennard weaves together vividly imagined scenes of action, adventure, and gorgeous Victorian fashion to create an entertaining steampunk tapestry of humor, horror, and romance. Readers who love Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices series will be intrigued from the start.
