For Kimiko�s parents, America is land of shame and immorality. A swift return to Japan is the only way they believe their daughter will grow up with the morals and principles instilled in Japanese culture. The journey back to her homeland is a trip that will leave a lasting impression on young Kimiko �� an impression that takes root deep within her soul. Kimiko�s strength and resiliency are tested as World War II surrounds the nation. Survival and taking care of her children are the only things Kimiko keeps in focus. America forever on her mind and in her heart, Kimiko is a heroine far ahead of her time. Follow her journey in The Dragon Sheds No Tears.
Becoming a dragon is a dangerously subtle process. You make a long chain of bad choices. The chain gradually wraps around you. Layer by layer, it begins to take on the aspect of scales. One day you glance at yourself in the mirror and a monster is staring back at you. You aren't who you used to be. You aren't who you want to be. You're not who you were created and designed to be. Instead, you're a dragon. When Jim Burgen was nineteen years old, he realized how easy it had been to become a dragon. He knew he didn't want to be one anymore . . . but how? No More Dragons is the story of our common, hopeful journey from dragonhood back to personhood. As Pastor Burgen narrates the remarkable process of reclaiming himself from himself, he implores modern church goers to shake off the trivialities of churchiness in favor of the substantive questions that make a spiritual transformation: “Is Jesus the only one who can undragon people?” “Why don't I like most churches?” “Where is God in difficult times?” “How do you shed decades of gnarly scales?” Some choices will lead you to a better life. Some will kill you. Some choices will add a new layer of scales to your dragon, and some will slough them off. No More Dragons is about asking Christ to deliver you and learning how to obey him.
Dive deeper in the world of the Dragonfire Novels! This companion guide to the world of Deborah Cooke's bestselling Dragonfire series of paranormal romances includes summaries of all fourteen stories, along with comments from Deborah. There's a glossary and a list of characters, as well as eleven family trees for the Pyr and six interviews with the Pyr. The short story Harmonia's Kiss is also included in this volume. *** The Dragonfire Series of Paranormal Romances Each Dragonfire Novel is a complete romance, but you would probably prefer to read them in order to follow the story of the Dragon's Tail Wars, the final battle for supremacy between the Pyr and the evil Slayers. The series is complete with fourteen stories. 1. Kiss of Fire (Quinn and Sara) 2. Kiss of Fury (Donovan and Alex) 3. Kiss of Fate (Erik and Eileen) 4. Winter Kiss (Delaney and Ginger) 5. Harmonia's Kiss (a short story about the Dragon's Tooth Warriors) 6. Whisper Kiss (Niall and Rox) 7. Darkfire Kiss (Rafferty and Melissa) 8. Flashfire (Lorenzo and Cassie) 9. Ember's Kiss (Brandon and Liz) 10. Kiss of Danger (a Dragon Legion novella featuring Alexander and Katina) 11. Kiss of Darkness (a Dragon Legion novella featuring Damien and Petra) 12. Kiss of Destiny (a Dragon Legion novella featuring Thad and Aura) 13. Serpent's Kiss (Thorolf and Chandra) 14. Firestorm Forever (Sloane and Sam, plus Drake and Veronica, and Marcus and Jac. Yes, this book has THREE firestorms and is the big finish.) The three Dragon Legion novellas are also available in a bundle called The Dragon Legion Collection. There is a world guide Here Be Dragons: A Dragonfire Companion. The Dragonfire books are also available in three boxed sets of three books each: 1. Dragonfire Quest (Kiss of Fire, Kiss of Fury and Kiss of Fate) 2. Dragonfire Elixir (Winter Kiss, Whisper Kiss and Darkfire Kiss) 3. Dragonfire Reunion (Flashfire, Ember's Kiss, Harmonia's Kiss, Kiss of Danger, Kiss of Destiny and Kiss of Darkness) 4. Dragonfire Triumph (Serpent's Kiss, Firestorm Forever) *** slow burn, dragon, dragon shifter romance, destined mate, action adventure, urban fantasy romance, dragonfire, romantic comedy, outsider, opposites attract, destined lovers, fated mates, protector, guardian, Ann Arbor, medieval France, Cathars, band of brothers, blacksmith, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Donna Grant, Thea Harrison, Jennifer Ashley, Christine Feehan, Lara Adrian, G. A. Aiken
For almost thirty years, David Thomson’s Biographical Dictionary of Film has been not merely “the finest reference book ever written about movies” (Graham Fuller, Interview), not merely the “desert island book” of art critic David Sylvester, not merely “a great, crazy masterpiece” (Geoff Dyer, The Guardian), but also “fiendishly seductive” (Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone). This new edition updates the older entries and adds 30 new ones: Darren Aronofsky, Emmanuelle Beart, Jerry Bruckheimer, Larry Clark, Jennifer Connelly, Chris Cooper, Sofia Coppola, Alfonso Cuaron, Richard Curtis, Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Michael Gambon, Christopher Guest, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Spike Jonze, Wong Kar-Wai, Laura Linney, Tobey Maguire, Michael Moore, Samantha Morton, Mike Myers, Christopher Nolan, Dennis Price, Adam Sandler, Kevin Smith, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlize Theron, Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski, Lew Wasserman, Naomi Watts, and Ray Winstone. In all, the book includes more than 1300 entries, some of them just a pungent paragraph, some of them several thousand words long. In addition to the new “musts,” Thomson has added key figures from film history–lively anatomies of Graham Greene, Eddie Cantor, Pauline Kael, Abbott and Costello, Noël Coward, Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Gish, Rin Tin Tin, and more. Here is a great, rare book, one that encompasses the chaos of art, entertainment, money, vulgarity, and nonsense that we call the movies. Personal, opinionated, funny, daring, provocative, and passionate, it is the one book that every filmmaker and film buff must own. Time Out named it one of the ten best books of the 1990s. Gavin Lambert recognized it as “a work of imagination in its own right.” Now better than ever–a masterwork by the man playwright David Hare called “the most stimulating and thoughtful film critic now writing.”
Myths & Legends of Japan is a comprehensive anthology of folklore from Japan, ranging from creation myths, to animal stories, to legends of mountains, along with discussions and opinions on them. Some might find the presentation a bit dated, with Davis giving his very 'early twentieth century' take on Japanese culture. Stories include: Heroes And Warriors; The Period Of The Gods; Buddha Legends; Jizō, The God Of Children; Legend In Japanese Art; Legends Of Mount Fuji; Yuki-Onna, The Lady Of The Snow; Animal Legends; Bird And Insect Legends; Legends Of The Sea; Supernatural Beings, and more. Full chapter list
Dragons Don’t Cry By: Tamera Zerby Kiearah, the last changeling, lived in an isolated village in Dracasos. She had never seen a dragon until the night her parents were murdered on the orders of Dreven. Dreven learned how to harness the mystical tear of the dragon to enslave many and wreak havoc throughout the land. Now, Kiearah must trust a dragon to help her to retrieve the tear, defeat Dreven, and free the land from his tyrannical rule. But how can one small woman fight an enemy so strong all the forces of Dracasos could not defeat him? As she journeys to the dragons' lair, she finds friends to help her along the way, but it is up to her to fulfill an old prophecy and free Dracasos from Dreven’s evil reign.
An acclaimed anthology of original short novels by some of the greatest writers in fantasy fiction, including Terry Brooks, Diana Gabaldon, Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, and Anne McCaffrey Legends II picks up where its illustrious predecessor left off. All of the bestselling writers represented in Legends II return to the special universe of the imagination that its author has made famous throughout the world. Whether set before or after events already recounted elsewhere, whether featuring beloved characters or compelling new creations, these masterful short novels are both mesmerizing stand-alones—perfect introductions to the work of their authors—and indispensable additions to the epics on which they are based. ROBIN HOBB returns to the Realm of the Elderlings with “Homecoming,” a powerful tale in which exiles sent to colonize the Cursed Shores find themselves sinking into an intoxicating but deadly dream . . . or is it a memory? GEORGE R. R. MARTIN continues the adventures of Dunk, a young hedge knight, and his unusual squire, Egg, in “The Sworn Sword,” set a generation before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire. ORSON SCOTT CARD tells a tale of Alvin Maker and the mighty Mississippi, featuring a couple of ne’er-do-wells named Jim Bowie and Abe Lincoln, in “The Yazoo Queen.” DIANA GABALDON turns to an important character from her Outlander saga—Lord John Grey—in “Lord John and the Succubus,” a supernatural thriller set in the early days of the Seven Years War. ROBERT SILVERBERG spins an enthralling tale of Majipoor’s early history—and remote future—as seen through the eyes of a dilettantish poet who discovers an unexpected destiny in “The Book of Changes.” TAD WILLIAMS explores the strange afterlife of Orlando Gardiner, from his Otherland saga, in “The Happiest Dead Boy in the World.” ANNE McCAFFREY shines a light into the most mysterious and wondrous of all places on Pern in the heartwarming “Beyond Between.” RAYMOND E. FEIST turns from the great battles of the Riftwar to the story of one soldier, a young man about to embark on the ride of his life, in “The Messenger.” ELIZABETH HAYDON tells of the destruction of Serendair and the fate of its last defenders in “Threshold,” set at the end of the Third Age of her Symphony of Ages series. NEIL GAIMAN gives us a glimpse into what befalls the man called Shadow after the events of his Hugo Award–winning novel American Gods in “The Monarch of the Glen.” TERRY BROOKS adds an exciting epilogue to The Wishsong of Shannara in “Indomitable,” the tale of Jair Ohmsford’s desperate quest to complete the destruction of the evil Ildatch . . . armed only with the magic of illusion.
In The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora, Kin-Yan Szeto critically examines three of the most internationally famous martial arts film artists to arise out of the Chinese diaspora and travel far from their homelands to find commercial success in the world at large: Ang Lee, John Woo, and Jackie Chan. Positing the idea that these filmmakers' success is evidence of a "cosmopolitical awareness" arising from their cross-cultural ideological engagements and geopolitical displacements, Szeto demonstrates how this unique perspective allows these three filmmakers to develop and act in the transnational environment of media production, distribution, and consumption. Beginning with a historical retrospective on Chinese martial arts films as a diasporic film genre and the transnational styles and ideologies of the filmmakers themselves, Szeto uses case studies to explore in depth how the forces of colonialism, Chinese nationalism, and Western imperialism shaped the identities and work of Lee, Woo, and Chan. Addressed in the volume is the groundbreaking martial arts swordplay film that achieves global success-Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- and its revelations about Hollywood representations of Asians, as well as concepts of male and female masculinity in the swordplay film tradition. Also investigated is the invigoration of contemporary gangster, thriller, and war films by John Woo, whose combination of artistic and historical contexts has contributed to his global success. Szeto then dissects Chan's mimetic representation of masculinity in his films, and the influences of his Chinese theater and martial arts training on his work. Szeto outlines the similarities and differences between the three artists' films, especially their treatments of gender, sexuality, and power. She concludes by analyzing their films as metaphors for their working conditions in the Chinese diaspora and Hollywood, and demonstrating how through their works, Lee, Woo, and Chan communicate not only with the rest of the world but also with each other. Far from a book simply about three filmmakers, The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora investigates the transnational nature of films, the geopolitics of culture and race, and the depths of masculinity and power in movies. Szeto's interdisciplinary approach calls for nothing less than a paradigm shift in the study of Chinese diasporic filmmakers and the embodiment of cosmopolitical perspectives in the martial arts genre.
Book One of the heroic fantasy adventure series The Way of Wolves 4 STARS! "Fast paced and epic, this book will take you on a journey that will keep you on the edge of you seat and turning the pages. I absolutely adored this book..." - Crossroad Reviews Tyyr is a member of Valsair’s secret police. As part of the House of Ravens, she is the first to gather information for her king. She’s a killer, a spy; efficient and self-reliant. Rumors of a dissenting lord passes through the Houses, and Tyyr is sent to investigate. The heart of the matter is a mysterious jewel known as the Dragon’s Tear. Tyyr must take the gem back to the capital, but the escape becomes a game of cat-and-mouse when the new owners want their possession to remain a secret. Half the kingdom is all that separates Tyyr from survival. In the cross country trek, Tyyr’s greatest enemy is her own doubt; that this time she doesn’t have what it takes to hold herself together. Google Keywords: fantasy, epic fantasy, dragons, swords, fantasy series, speculative fiction, action, adventure, magic, alternative history, low fantasy, free first in series, strong female lead fantasy, coming of age fantasy, Action Adventure, parallel world, freebie, free series starter, free novel starter
