Lovely, idealistic Tracy Whitney is framed into a fifteen year sentence in an escape-proof penitentiary. With dazzling ingenuity she fights back to destroy the untouchable crime lords who put her there. With her intelligence and beauty as her only weapons, Tracy embarks on a series of extraordinary escapades that sweep her across the globe. In an explosive confrontation Tracy meets her equal in irresistible Jeff Stevens, whose past is as colorful as Tracy's.
An adventure tale for our times, the author combines real world events and supernatural elements in the style of a classical epic to tell a sometimes snarky, sometimes uproarious, and very poignant modern tale. Meet Hank Allensworth and Wilson Evans in a modern reflection of the Epic of Gilgamesh. An epic bromance between a Marine and his corpsman running around Oceanside, California . Degenerate Lance Corporals who have recently returned from Afghanistan, spending most of their time drunk at The Purple Church. One night while they're out drinking they are called back to base and the battalion is put on stand by because during the conflict with ISIS, the Islamic Republic of Iran decided to end the proxy war and get involved themselves. Soon after, Hank and Doc go with the regiment to keep the Iranians from crossing the Euphrates. The war kicks off and the Marines push across Iraq and into Iran. Hank and Doc both are wounded and sent home. The rest of the story they deal with survivor's guilt, alcoholism, PTSD, covering up for a murder, and trying to manage deteriorating love lives. I don't know if I could say there's any deeper meaning than gratuitous sex and violence, but I can guarantee you that if you've spent more than three days in an infantry battalion you will love this book.
The National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author delivers a collection of essays that serve as the perfect “antidote to mansplaining” (The Stranger). In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters. She ends on a serious note— because the ultimate problem is the silencing of women who have something to say, including those saying things like, “He’s trying to kill me!” This book features that now-classic essay with six perfect complements, including an examination of the great feminist writer Virginia Woolf’s embrace of mystery, of not knowing, of doubt and ambiguity, a highly original inquiry into marriage equality, and a terrifying survey of the scope of contemporary violence against women. “In this series of personal but unsentimental essays, Solnit gives succinct shorthand to a familiar female experience that before had gone unarticulated, perhaps even unrecognized.” —The New York Times “Essential feminist reading.” —The New Republic “This slim book hums with power and wit.” —Boston Globe “Solnit tackles big themes of gender and power in these accessible essays. Honest and full of wit, this is an integral read that furthers the conversation on feminism and contemporary society.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Essential.” —Marketplace “Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest and often scathing in its conclusions.” —Salon
Award-wining author Guy Gavriel’s sixth novel, hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, is both a brilliant adventure and a moving story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when hardening beliefs begin to remake -- or destroy -- a world. The ruling Asharites have come from the desert sands, worshipping the stars, their warrior blood fierce and pure. But over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, that stern piety has eroded. The Asharies empire has splintered into decadent city-states lead by warring petty kinds. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, adding city after city to his realm, even though Cartada is threatened by forces both within and without. Almalik is aided by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan -- poet, diplomat, soldier -- until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever. Meanwhile, in the north, the Jaddite’s most celebrated -- and feared -- military leader, Rodrigo Belmonte, is driven into exile in the wake of events following the death of the king he loved. Rodrigo leads his mercenary company south, to the dangerous lands of Al-Rassan. In the exquisite lakeside city of Ragosa, Rodrigo Belmonte and Ammar ibn Kharian meet and serve -- for a time -- the same master. Sharing the interwoven fate of these two men from different worlds -- and increasingly torn in her feelings -- is Jehane, the beautiful, accomplished court physician, whose own skills play an increasing role as Al-Rassan is swept to the brink of holy war, and beyond.
(Music Pro Guides). Today, musical composition for films is more popular than ever. In professional and academic spheres, media music study and practice are growing; undergraduate and postgraduate programs in media scoring are offered by dozens of major colleges and universities. And increasingly, pop and contemporary classical composers are expanding their reach into cinema and other forms of screen entertainment. Yet a search on Amazon reveals at least 50 titles under the category of film music, and, remarkably, only a meager few actually allow readers to see the music itself, while none of them examine landmark scores like Vertigo , To Kill a Mockingbird , Patton , The Untouchables , or The Matrix in the detail provided by Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music . This is the first book since Roy M. Prendergast's 1977 benchmark, Film Music: A Neglected Art , to treat music for motion pictures as a compositional style worthy of serious study. Through extensive and unprecedented analyses of the original concert scores, it is the first to offer both aspiring composers and music educators with a view from the inside of the actual process of scoring-to-picture. The core thesis of Scoring the Screen is that music for motion pictures is indeed a language , developed by the masters of the craft out of a dramatic and commercial necessity to communicate ideas and emotions instantaneously to an audience. Like all languages, it exists primarily to convey meaning . To quote renowned orchestrator Conrad Pope (who has worked with John Williams, Howard Shore, and Alexandre Desplat, among others): "If you have any interest in what music 'means' in film, get this book. Andy Hill is among the handful of penetrating minds and ears engaged in film music today."
From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
Comprised of the accounts of twelve heterosexual couples in which the man is on the Autism Spectrum, this book invites both partners to discuss their own perspectives of different key issues, including anxiety, empathy, employment and socialising. Autism expert Tony Attwood contributes a commentary and a question and answer section for each of the twelve accounts. The first book of its kind to provide perspectives from both sides of a relationship on a variety of different topics, Neurodiverse Relationships is the perfect companion for couples in neurodiverse relationships who are trying to understand one another better.
Romance novelist Jackie Mitchell has built a life that works: few responsibilities, friends that know she’s far from outgoing, and sex whenever she needs it. She has her past, but she doesn’t think about it. Ever. All that changes when she finds the child she gave up for adoption standing on the doorstep. Now sixteen years old, Beth Weber is resourceful, a blossoming artist, and a spitting image of her birth mom. To say Jackie is stunned is the understatement of the year. When Jackie meets Beth’s adoptive mom, Susan, they’re immediately attracted to each other, but there’s no way Jackie is getting involved with a married woman, especially Beth’s mom. But when Susan and Beth need a place to stay and end up back on Jackie’s doorstep, their lives change forever. Will these three women who share a past and face an uncertain future be able to forge a life of love together?
Psychopaths aren't capable of love. Find out what happens when they target someone who is, in this insightful and practical book by a woman who was a victim. When we're imagining falling in love none of us thinks that we might fall for a psychopath. We don't even know it's a possibility. Most victims say they believed they had met their soul mate. But as the psychopath gains power and control, what seemed like heaven becomes an ever-worsening emotional hell. Don't let it happen to you. If it already has, don't let it happen again. This book -- which contains the best material from the author's popular blog PsychopathsandLove.com -- will help you gain a clearer understanding of these harmful pathological relationships. Learn what a psychopath is and how to possibly spot one if you're being pursued. Find out what makes you vulnerable. Learn how to tell if you're being manipulated. Finally, get ideas about healing afterward and for preventing it from happening again -- or for the first time. "I wish I could have read this half year ago. Thanks a million." Liu "I cannot tell you how much this has helped me today. I cannot get anything done because I can't stop reading! My whole life has been a mess because of these men. My eyes are finally opened - maybe a bit late, but still opened." SuckerNoMore "Thank you for making me feel sane again." Tom "I wish I had read this years ago; it would have saved me money, heartbreak and pain. I met a one eight years ago and I believed I was with the man of my dreams. It's been a nightmare. I often wondered how I got caught up in this crap but reading about it has open my eyes." Michelle "I truly believe this info saved my life! I thank God I found it and I thank God you are eloquent enough to cut right thru to all the things I have been experiencing with this monster but was never able to verbalize! it felt like you were speaking directly to me! Thank you again for all the incredibly insightful info." Duped "I have no words but thank you so very much!" Anthony "After countless sessions with a therapist this makes more simplistic sense of what I had been going through in marriage. Very insightful and I wish the readers acknowledged. Wellness." Eric "I just want you to know what a valuable service you've provided by creating this site. I stumbled upon it the other day while doing some research on psychopathy in an attempt to understand how the individual I was involved with could do all the things he did. It was such a relief to realize, after reading several of your posts, that this monster who had me believing he was one in a million is actually just one OF a million... psychopaths. He's no more than a common, predictable set of symptoms and patterns. He fits the mold perfectly. I understand better than ever now that none of this was my fault; that he targeted me; and that the mental anguish he put me through was something I could not have resisted if I tried... because I could never be someone who thinks the way he does. Your information helped me realize that fully and take that last step of discarding any last little attempt to "reconcile" the unthinkable." L.B. "Thank you for a brilliant and concise definition of a psychopath. This information is the best I have seen on this topic...I now know I am not crazy. Thank you.
