Rein's summer of dreams will soon become a season of nightmares. What begins as a farewell trip for a group of eight lifelong suburban friends becomes far more permanent than they had planned. When a four-wheeler accident in an ancient forest awakens a centuries-old curse, new friends are made and old friends die. Wrapped in a world unlike anything she ever imagined, Rein is forced to confront the demons of her family's past. As she denies the love she feels for her best friend's twin brother, Conley, they fight an array of magical beasts whose sole intention is to kill anything human and reclaim the earth for their own.
When the Cross family decides to spend their Christmas holiday at Grey Hall—the family estate in Sussex, England—the only ghosts they expect to find are the shadows of Simon’s unhappy childhood. But when twelve-year-old Charlotte discovers there are more than memories haunting the corridors of the castle and that a centuries-old curse has been laid upon the family, it will take all of Charlotte’s ingenuity and bravery to find the answers before the Christmas curse claims its next victim—her father! A story about the importance of the past and the power of love, The Christmas Curse is a heartwarming tale told with humor and charm and bursting with the true spirit of Christmas!
An exciting romantic adventure taking place in 62 AD the expanding Roman Empire has its sights set on Britannia to exploit its rich tin deposits. Rome invades the Indigenous Celts who after a while fight back in a great rebellion. A small squad of Roman soldiers is ordered to come to the small Celtic village of Gosbecks to see if it could be a future colony of retiring Roman veteran soldiers. Many quirky things happen such as a gruesome druidic human sacrifice that no one in Gosbecks will talk about, a serene healer cures the people with her healing plants, and love found with three beautiful Celtic maidens that turn the heads of the main Roman characters.
Nick Web carries something around inside him that is older than time. An ex- sniper, he lives in a world depopulated to the point of extinction. For seventeen years, he has survived alone, off the grid. Rowan belongs to a small tribe of hunter gatherers, subsisting on the residue of a long-dead civilization. They carry secrets with them. Marcus Gantt leads a growing army of religious fanatics. Heavily armed, their convoy roams the deserted countryside looking to forcibly swell their numbers. Gantt has been chosen for a great purpose, and needs defenseless civilians to complete his masterwork. In the rolling hills and meadows of England’s West Country, three fates are irrevocably entwined, and Nick starts to understand his true nature, his place in the world. As Midsummer’s Eve approaches, he must risk his life and sanity to release his dark burden upon the world and save the people he has come to love; the people who hold the key to his redemption. In The Green Man, the land is awake and the Old Gods are set free upon the world…...
Almost since the dawn of time, the image of the Green Man—the carven enigmatic head surrounded by leaves and foliage—has both intrigued and mystified viewers and folklorists alike. Appearing in churches, taverns, and even on stately buildings, the carving seems shrouded in supernatural obscurity. Is it merely a fertility symbol, or is it something much deeper, which calls for a response from us all? Though it seems a predominantly Celtic icon, does the concept of the Green Man also appear in other places and in other cultures? What is its relevance for the world today? In an absorbing new book, Dr. Bob Curran traces the many strands that make up this enigmatic image. Tracing its origins from prehistoric times, he explores its significance in the medieval world and discusses its development in the modern world. He also investigates the image’s psychological appeal, which has allowed it to continue down through the ages, and, pulling from a variety of sources, its impact upon other cultures in various parts of the world. From heroic archetypes such as Robin Hood to Demigods such as Herne the Hunter; from the King of the Woods to the Jack in the Green, Walking With the Green Man examines the interconnection of man and Nature throughout history. Whether as a man amongst the trees, a man of the trees, or a symbol of Nature used to express secrets and solidarity, the Green Man’s visage is traced throughout lands and cultures. Walking With the Green Man will appeal to all those who are interested in the image of the Green Man as an example of symbolic art, as well as to those who are interested in folklore and the interplay between folklore and culture. It is a fascinating study, which not only examines the history of the icon but also its development within human perception.
Opposites attract in this wickedly charming rom-com by Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author of Payback’s a Witch. Wild child Isidora Avramov is a thrill chaser, adept demon summoner, and—despite the whole sexy-evil-sorceress vibe—also a cuddly animal lover. When she’s not designing costumes and new storylines for the Arcane Emporium’s haunted house, Issa's nursing a secret, conflicted dream of ditching her family’s witchy business to become an indie fashion designer in her own right. But when someone starts sabotaging the celebrations leading up to this year’s Beltane festival with dark, dangerous magic, a member of the rival Thorn family gets badly hurt—throwing immediate suspicion on the Avramovs. To clear the Avramov name and step up for her family when they need her the most, Issa agrees to serve as a co-investigator, helping none other than Rowan Thorn get to the bottom of things. Rowan is the very definition of lawful good, so tragically noble and by-the-book he makes Issa’s teeth hurt. In accordance with their families’ complicated history, he and Issa have been archenemies for years and have grown to heartily loathe each other. But as the unlikely duo follow a perplexing trail of clues to a stunning conclusion, Issa and Rowan discover how little they really know each other… and stumble upon a maddening attraction that becomes harder to ignore by the day.
We belong to a gullible, partly delusional/hallucinating, self-destructive species: Homo sapiens. First, we create the conditions for global catastrophes including epidemics by following unsustainable policies, and then, as we are hit—as the COVID-19 pandemic shows—we react often too late, confused and short-sighted. Hence, we badly need a new, evolved global vision/mission to steer away from our innate and self-destructive shortcomings and flaws. This book includes two parts. Book One tells my true/legendary story with the Green Man, describing how such a vision/mission was conceived. Book Two describes a tour de force beyond Homo sapiens’s current wisdom, ultimate meaning, and fixed destiny, leading to the abovementioned new, evolved vision for a future civilization, which will focus on saving us from ourselves.
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE UPCOMING MAJOR MOTION PICTURE THE GREEN KNIGHT—STARRING DEV PATEL An epic poem of honor and bravery written by an anonymous fourteenth-century poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is recognized as an equal of Chaucer’s masterworks and of the great Old English poems, including Beowulf. It is Christmas in Camelot, and a truly royal feast has been laid out for King Arthur and his knights. And though there is plenty of good cheer to go around, the festivities hardly begin before a monstrous, axe-wielding, green-skinned knight barges in. He has come to see the famous Knights of the Round Table and offer them a simple but deadly challenge—a challenge taken on by the brave Sir Gawain—a challenge that will force him to choose between his honor and his life.... Includes a Preface by Burton Raffel an Introduction by Brenda Webster and an Afterword by Neil D. Isaacs
