Band of Gold is the exciting story of singer and actress Freda Payne. While she is best known for her 1970 Number One hit "Band of Gold", and her 1971 Grammy nominated album, Contact, her story is an inspiring adventure, lived alongside the "who's who" of the show business world including Duke Ellington, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Omar Sharif, Quincy Jones, Liza Minneli, and Sarah Vaughn. Freda's compelling memoir is a celebration of a glamorous life well-lived.
"Robert Clive's suicide (1774), Rajah Nandakumar’s hanging (1775), to Ellenborough’s grabbing of the Gwalior throne (1843), and Ram Mohan Roy's embassy on behalf of Akbar II, and his untimely death in England (1833); the Gurkha Wars (1814-16) and the First Afghan War (1838-1842) — started, unnecessarily, in the midst of the ferocious famine of 1837— One ring and one narrative, binds them all together. The stage is set in 19th-century India—a time when racial prejudice is beginning to harden with the support of the law makers. What seems to be an innocent circus performance presentation turns into a real life police arrest and the account of the struggles of an English-Indian boy starts to unfold. Accused of being a thug and of murdering an Englishman, an officer of the East India Company army, Jonathan Lord, aka Gora Mirza, is forced into signing a confession under the Thugee Act of 1836, made a fugitive from British justice, and hunted down and hanged. Gora Mirza’s tragic end is not his alone, but one bound up with several other individuals—a senior officer, two English soldiers, a teenaged Indian widow, a nawab, a rajah and many others. Marcus, a German diarist, records it all. The story—the mystery and the chase; and the spine-chilling end—is in the matrix of the historical events of the time. Does the ring find its rightful owner…? "
The McCallister family settles in the northern section of the Oregon Territory in the year of 1853. There they settled and, through many tribulations and sacrifices, they came to love this wild and undeveloped country. Author Patricia N. Richards delivers an auspicious fiction debut that is romantic, compelling, and graceful.
Book three in the best-selling Smuggler's Wife series by one of our leading historical novelists. Kitty Farrell, headstrong and passionate as ever, is heartbroken over the apparent death by drowning of her husband Rian. Alone and grieving on the goldfields of Ballarat she turns to Rian's long-time shipmate Daniel, who has loved her from afar for many years. The consequences will be disastrous and challenge every character in this brilliant third instalment in Deborah Challinor's extraordinary Smuggler's Wife series. Vividly drawn, meticulously researched and driven by a powerful page-turning narrative, Band of Gold will resonate in the hearts of readers for a long time. 'Challinor is extraordinarily talented.' - New Zealand Books
Kelsey Waters, a wedding consultant to the stars, doesn’t believe in love or marriage. But that all changes when she catches the bouquet at her cousin’s wedding, and her life takes a magical turn worthy of some romantic fairy tale. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last. To her dismay, her prince charming is already married. To make matters worse, she has to spend the next two weeks working closely with him on his sister’s private wedding. Can Kelsey survive two weeks beside this handsome romantic? Or will she succumb to her inner desires with reckless abandon?
Julia Donaldson tells the tale of the misfortunate characters Bonny and Sandy, who are forever arguing. One day a little man comes to stay, and it looks as though their luck has changed. Julia Donaldson tells the tale of the misfortunate characters Bonny and Sandy, who are forever arguing. One day a little man comes to stay, and it looks as though their luck has changed. Pages 14-15 contain a flow chart, giving the opportunity to summarise and discuss the events of the story. Purple/Band 8 books offer developing readers literary language with some challenging vocabulary. Ideas for Guided Reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Stevie Nicks is a legend of rock, but her energy and magnetism sparked new interest in this icon. At 68, she's one of the most glamorous creatures rock has known, and the rare woman who's a real rock ‘n' roller. Gold Dust Woman gives "the gold standard of rock biographers" (The Boston Globe) his ideal topic: Nicks' work and life are equally sexy and interesting, and Davis delves deeply into each, unearthing fresh details from new, intimate interviews and interpreting them to present a rich new portrait of the star. Just as Nicks (and Lindsay Buckingham) gave Fleetwood Mac the "shot of adrenaline" they needed to become real rock stars—according to Christine McVie—Gold Dust Woman is vibrant with stories and with a life lived large and hard: —How Nicks and Buckingham were asked to join Fleetwood Mac and how they turned the band into stars —The affairs that informed Nicks' greatest songs —Her relationships with the Eagles' Don Henley and Joe Walsh, and with Fleetwood himself —Why Nicks married her best friend's widower —Her dependency on cocaine, drinking and pot, but how it was a decade-long addiction to Klonopin that almost killed her — Nicks’ successful solo career that has her still performing in venues like Madison Square Garden —The cult of Nicks and its extension to chart-toppers like Taylor Swift and the Dixie Chicks
The New York Times–bestselling debut story of four superfan friends whose devotion to their favorite band has darkly comical and deadly results. Just know from the start that it wasn’t supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near them. That’s why we got a room in the hotel where they were staying. We were not planning to kidnap one of them. Especially not the most useless one. But we had him—his room key, his cell phone, and his secrets. We were not planning on what happened next. We swear. Praise for Kill the Boy Band “Moldavsky’s sharp, shocking debut is like no other.” —Entertainment Weekly “Fiercely entertaining . . . One of the smartest YA releases of the year.” —New York Daily News “Misery for the Belieber generation.” —Observer.com “Boy bands gets the Heathers treatment in this madcap macabre . . . A sendup of the artificiality of the fame-making machine from both sides, the novel’s humor is mercilessly black, and no one comes up smelling like roses.” —Kirkus Reviews “Wickedly funny.” —NPR.org “Bitingly satirical.” —Publishers Weekly “[For] anyone who’s ever had the fortune-or misfortune-of being a fan.” —Booklist “Hilarious . . . A must-have.” —School Library Journal
