Many Christian women today are wearing masks. From an early age, we are taught that to be valuable we need to do more, to be more. To feel worthy, we learn to hide behind the masks of our accomplishments, physical appearance, intelligence, education, relationships—even our work in the church. But those masks separate us from God, from other people, and from our true selves. Thankfully, there is hope. We can remove our masks and trust Christ to see us as we really are . . . but it takes humility. To examine our hearts, motives, and past experiences requires honesty and confession. But beyond the masquerade, Christ can heal and transform our lives, freeing us from bondage.
On his way to deliver a splendid necklace to the Sun from the Moon, Jack Hare is diverted by a series of odd characters and when he finally reaches his destination he realizes that the necklace is missing. The reader is invited to answer several riddles and solve the mystery from clues given in the text.
The beloved and award-winning novel now available in a new format with a great new cover! When Wesley Boone writes a poem for his high school English class, some of his classmates clamor to read their poems aloud too. Soon they're having weekly poetry sessions and, one by one, the eighteen students are opening up and taking on the risky challenge of self-revelation. There's Lupe Alvarin, desperate to have a baby so she will feel loved. Raynard Patterson, hiding a secret behind his silence. Porscha Johnson, needing an outlet for her anger after her mother OD's. Through the poetry they share and narratives in which they reveal their most intimate thoughts about themselves and one another, their words and lives show what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes, beyond the masquerade.
"Mystery, murder, and romance weave a tale around characters who are Black professionals living in today's world. Phaire writes with a style that struts from start to finish." -E. Ethelbert Miller, director, African American Resource Center, Howard University"Murder and the Masquerade, demonstrates how important it is to address your unfinished business since the only true relationship begins with yourself. This book makes the point very well. I am sure it will change the way many women think and behave in their romantic experiences." -Audrey B. Chapman, author, Seven Attitude AdjustmentsWhen Dr. Renee Hayes is suspected of involvement in a murder case, she becomes conflicted about her ethical oath as a psychologist. Torn between her professional loyalty to a patient and her young lover, who is investigating the case, Renee is forced to do whatever it takes to clear her own name and rethink her purpose in life. But the most shocking secret of all is unlocked in the end, and it will change all of their lives forever.Packed with drama and intrigue, Murder and the Masquerade opens up the details of an intense love triangle, woven around a murder plot that is anything but typical.
A breathtaking geopolitical epic fantasy, The Monster Baru Cormorant is the sequel to Seth Dickinson's "fascinating tale" (The Washington Post), The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Her world was shattered by the Empire of Masks. For the power to shatter the Masquerade, She betrayed everyone she loved. The traitor Baru Cormorant is now the cryptarch Agonist—a secret lord of the empire she's vowed to destroy. Hunted by a mutinous admiral, haunted by the wound which has split her mind in two, Baru leads her dearest foes on an expedition for the secret of immortality. It's her chance to trigger a war that will consume the Masquerade. But Baru's heart is broken, and she fears she can no longer tell justice from revenge...or her own desires from the will of the man who remade her. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Steph Young has joined forces with the excellent writing skills of Dan Mitchell as he tells his personal true story. His story will shock you, terrify you, and leave you questioning everything. Dan Mitchell: 'What you are about to read in this first of two books is a narrative detailing a mysterious figure I called the Harlequin. The Harlequin was a thin, androgynous being that presented itself to me on numerous occasions throughout my life, particularly during childhood. This being was clearly not human, and seemed to be stalking me my entire life. Instead of relegating these events to an over-active imagination, I decided to pursue them wholeheartedly. I have spent over twenty years now attempting to understand it the best I could.' Cryptically, as in a Masquerade, there is more than just the mysterious Harlequin figure who makes its presence felt. There is a whole host of characters who appear in this story, and they all arrive in ways as disturbing as the Harlequin.... A parade of the hideous and grotesque and alarming, for we know not what they are.... Are they separate monsters....or all one and the same? And what do they want with Dan? 'His skin was pale, his countenance was pallid. It felt as though he was feeding off of the fear and hysteria happening inside the house. He seemed to be alive, but wasn't. He was some type of revenant and I could sense that he was very dangerous.' 'As she walked we noticed that her movements were very jerky. She seemed to notice us at that moment. With every step she took, she became jerkier, her hair seemed to bounce more violently. Once again my blood went cold. The feeling of unnerving eerieness fell over me. This time it was much worse. I was older and knew something was very wrong with what I was seeing. She began to walk toward my car. From only a few feet away I saw her clear as day through the passenger side window. From the back seat someone said, "Oh my God her eyes!" BEHIND THE MASQUERADE: THE HARLEQUIN: PART 1: Dan's true story will shock you, terrify you, and leave you questioning everything....
In Masquerade, Alfred F. Young scrapes through layers of fiction and myth to uncover the story of Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts woman who passed as a man and fought as a soldier for seventeen months toward the end of the American Revolution. Deborah Sampson was not the only woman to pose as a male and fight in the war, but she was certainly one of the most successful and celebrated. She managed to fight in combat and earn the respect of her officers and peers, and in later years she toured the country lecturing about her experiences and was partially successful in obtaining veterans’ benefits. Her full story, however, was buried underneath exaggeration and myth (some of which she may have created herself), becoming another sort of masquerade. Young takes the reader with him through his painstaking efforts to reveal the real Deborah Sampson in a work of history that is as spellbinding as the best detective fiction.
Stanley is almost fifty. He hates his job, has an overbearing mother, and is in a failed relationship. Then he meets Asher, the man of his dreams, literally in his dreams. Asher is young, captivating, and confident about his future—everything Stanley is not. So, Asher gives Stan a gift. The chance to be an extra five years younger each time they meet. Some of their adventures are whimsical. A few are challenging. Others are totally surreal. All are designed to bring Stan closer to the moment his joyful childhood turned to tears. But when they fall in love, Stan knows he can’t live in Asher’s dreamworld. Yet he is haunted by Asher’s invitation to “slip into eternal sleep.”
Sparkling Regency Romance from a Captivating New Voice Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Entering her fourth Season and approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother's old school friend, a duke--with no intention of ever sending these private thoughts to a man she's heard stories about but never met. Meanwhile, she also finds herself intrigued by Marlow, her brother's new valet, and although she may wish to break free of the strictures that bind her, falling in love with a servant is more of a rebellion than she planned. When Marlow accidentally discovers and mails one of the letters to her unwitting confidant, Miranda is beyond mortified. And even more shocked when the duke returns her note with one of his own that initiates a courtship-by-mail. Insecurity about her lack of suitors shifts into confusion at her growing feelings for two men--one she's never met but whose words deeply resonate with her heart, and one she has come to depend on but whose behavior is more and more suspicious. When it becomes apparent state secrets are at risk and Marlow is right in the thick of the conflict, one thing is certain: Miranda's heart is far from all that's at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.
Kate Mannering, a lady’s companion, is mistaken for the lady herself and kidnapped by a dashing masked highwayman. When she hears his story, however, before being released, she decides to help him recover his stolen birthright and soon gets herself embroiled in danger from smugglers and a would-be seducer. Meanwhile, an annoying, indolent guest at the home of her employer insults her at every opportunity but rescues her from every danger, even when she does not need or appreciate his help. She is alarmed to find herself falling quite inappropriately for both the highwayman and the guest.
