It's been said a man falls in love an average of three times in his life. If that's an accurate assessment, it stands to reason two of those three must end in heartbreak. Author RjCook had the misfortune of experiencing two of his three heartaches before the age of twenty - both within the same year separated by only a few months. The Road behind Me narrates his story of lost love, a tale of a journey, and a late-in-life epiphany all predicated on a single deception that he lived with for the better part of forty years. This memoir tells how, from the summer of 1974 to the summer of 1975, he traveled from New Jersey to California to escape the pain of a broken heart, only to discover that distance did nothing to diminish his memories. A true story of the author's failed attempt to create a new life for himself, The Road behind Me shares the adventures he encountered almost a continent away from home. It's a story of growing up and falling in love in suburban New Jersey; of losing love and seeking refuge in the land of milk, honey, and Disney; and of returning home a defeated and forlorn road warrior-all during the time of peace and love, Woodstock, Nixon, and Vietnam.

After some unexpected life detours, Callie Lewes is determined to complete her PhD program and figure out what to do with the rest of her life. Her laser focus is finely tuned and she’s ready for total immersion in literature, subpar student essays, and all the joys that come with being a graduate teaching assistant. She has no time for, or interest in, anything else. Especially not dating. Even if Callie were to entertain the idea of dating, she’s certain it would be with someone vibrant, open, and close to her own age. Definitely not someone like Dr. Kate Jory, a new member of Pennbrook College’s English department. Kate is both intimidating and a closed book. And the age difference between them is not small. But Kate is also brilliant and fascinating, and Callie is drawn to her in ways she’d never imagined possible. Not that Kate notices. Or does she? Callie can’t tell. Even though they develop an engaging and flirtatious friendship, Callie struggles to work up the courage to put herself directly in Kate’s romantic path—wary of the type of fire she suspects their sparks could ignite.

Insightful, humorous and often moving, Simon recounts his 1,500-mile journey, much of it on foot, between his mother's origins in Germany and his father's roots in Romania. He enjoys a very personal entrée into the lives of those around him and learns unexpected lessons about his physical limitations. He makes surprising discoveries about his unknown father and, at the same time, attempts to grasp the reasons for the bitter conflict in Bosnia which is still raging on the edge of his trajectory.

In 1983, at nineteen, Greg Nolan was hired (reluctantly) by his older sister’s boyfriend—a treeplanting contractor based in Northern British Columbia. His crewmates didn’t know what to think of the wide-eyed kid whose mom drove him the 750 kilometres to hook up with his first job. But within a week, Nolan was hitting the thousand-trees-a-day mark. By the end of his first rookie season, he gained the status of top producer among a crew of extraordinary young men and women. Over the course of his twenty-seven-year career, he planted over two-and-a-half-million trees. Planting large numbers of trees, Nolan excelled at. Surviving in some of the more remote, isolated and technically challenging regions in BC and Alberta, that was trickier, often requiring resourcefulness... and luck. Nolan was stalked by a large black bear on his first contract near Purden Lake, BC. He all but lost his mind supervising his first project deep in the wilds of Northern Alberta. He was nearly mauled by grizzlies while tenting out in the wilds of Bute Inlet. Nolan survived hurricanes, landslides, hostile loggers, Woodstock-like tent camps, whirlwind romances, the madness of the subculture and life-threatening situations of nearly every conceivable kind. Despite many escapes, Nolan was not immune to tragedy and he grappled with guilt over his own indirect role in a multiple-fatality vehicle accident, throwing him into a deep depression. Only by returning to the challenge of planting trees in remote wilderness settings, did he manage to find peace. For Nolan, the job offered far more than mere financial reward; it opened the door to a world that very few people, especially those in urban centres, ever get the chance to experience. As he writes, “Shit tends to happen, with the craziest of frequency, when you place yourself in the path of a tribe of roaming treeplanters. The adventure never seems to play out the same way twice. You come together in the middle of some of the most remote and pristine wilderness on the planet, and once there... you live, work and experience things that will entertain your thoughts and haunt your memories for the rest of your days.” Hair-raising, cocky and a blast to read, Highballer is an exuberant record of a time in the silviculture arena when the industry was largely unregulated, and the wilderness was still wild.

Ties of blood … ties of land Some live for duty and honour. Some seek power, whilst others hear the siren calls of fame, glory or wealth. Some though, in whom the passions of youth have mellowed over time, heed strongest the pull of family ties. As the confrontation between rival kings, Aethelfrith and Edwin, draws closer, the two brothers Cerdic and Hussa both believe that the boy Hal is their son. Can the fate of one boy and the rivalry of estranged brothers influence more than their family? And if men have begun this strife, can women help bring resolution?

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets The Education of Margot Sanchez in this Caribbean-set story about four friends who experience unexpected changes in their lives during the summer when a hotel developer purchases their community’s beloved beach. Change is coming to Pinder Street… Eve is the rock in her family of seven, the one they always depend on. But when her dad is diagnosed with cancer, she wants nothing more than to trade her worries for some red lipstick and a carefree night. Faith is the dancer all the boys want, but she only has eyes for the one she can’t have. Only thing is, all the flirting in the world can’t distract her from her broken home life...or the secrets that she hides. KeeKee is the poet who won’t follow the rules, not even to please her estranged father. But after a horrible betrayal, she’ll have to choose between being right and losing everyone she loves. Nia is the prisoner longing to escape her overprotective mother. A summer art program might be her ticket to freedom, yet it comes with a terrible price—and the risk may not be worth the reward. Ready or not, it’s time for these four friends to face the sun.

The gripping true story of bomb disposal work that won Ivison a George Medal - and started a living nightmare... When two of his colleagues are killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, young bomb disposal officer Kevin Ivison is called in to defuse a second even deadlier bomb just a hundred yards from the bodies of his friends. To make things worse, the entire area is under fire from snipers, and a crowd of angry Iraqis have begun to hurl petrol bombs... With little chance of living through this impossible task, Kevin leaves final messages for his loved ones and sets out alone towards the bomb that he is sure will be the last thing he sees. In this gut-wrenching and terrifying true story of heroism and survival, Kevin Ivison explains why he chose to be a bomb disposal expert in the first place, how he found the courage to face his death, and the unendurable stress that has given him nightmares ever since.

This is what I see exaggerated. That is why this is fiction! With me a new twist of the conscious. We think but never speak about the sensitive side. Place in metaphors and statements, presenting reality and a bonus of fiction. Welcome to my sighting, vision, and exaggeration of what could be true. Become my eyes, as you focus on the words. Now can you see what I see? Twisting scenes, transferring thoughts to an emotion, touching the unseen, holding hands with fear, realizing it's truth to an open opinion. This is why I felt compelled to tell the story. A plan from deep within set a sail for my new adventures of what I see, and what I think I see, and to learn the difference. Taught speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil, so I wrote it instead. These rules were never clarified outside the main ingredients. So telling the story this way makes it easier for my conscience, releasing a poison that was slowly trying to kill a humble soul. Sins and unwanted memories can be at peace, through the conclusion of a fictional story. Or is it? My gift of a fictional horror with an inspirational meaning. Read my exaggeration, and form your opinion of a book called "Can You See What I See?" I'm not a big fan of gambling, but I bet a pocket full of coins that this book is different, heads or tails. P.S. Remember three is a charm. Two more will follow.

Tad Dameron's assignment was routine enough: escort Bjonn, the alien from Farhome, on the final leg of his journey to Earth - and learn what he could about the alien's culture. But from the beginning Dameron realized that there was something strange and ominous about Bjonn - something in his eyes and the way he spoke, even the way he help himself, that forewarned of danger. Then Bjonn was gone, slipped away to mingle with Earth's teeming millions, and with him the beautiful Dian, Dameron's woman. When next he surfaced, Bjonn was heading a new religion - one which threatened to subvert all humanity. Dameron found himself embarked upon the most dangerous, most isolating job of his career in an attempt to halt the... ALIEN MENACE

Voices from the Napoleonic Wars reveals in telling detail the harsh lives of soldiers at the turn of the eighteenth century and in the early years of the nineteenth - the poor food and brutal discipline they endured, along with the forced marches and bloody, hand-to-hand combat. Contemporaries were mesmerised by Napoleon, and with good reason: in 1812, he had an unprecedented million men and more under arms. His new model army of volunteers and conscripts at epic battles such as Austerlitz, Salamanca, Borodino, Jena and, of course, Waterloo marked the beginning of modern warfare, the road to the Sommes and Stalingrad. The citizen-in-arms of Napoleon's Grande Armée and other armies of the time gave rise to a distinct body of soldiers' personal memoirs. The personal accounts that Jon E. Lewis has selected from these memoirs, as well as from letters and diaries, include those of Rifleman Harris fighting in the Peninsular Wars, and Captain Alexander Cavalie Mercer of the Royal Horse Artillery at Waterloo. They cover the land campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1739-1802), the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) and the War of 1812 (1812-1815), in North America. This was the age of cavalry charges, of horse-drawn artillery, of muskets and hand-to-hand combat with sabres and bayonets. It was an era in which inspirational leadership and patriotic common cause counted for much at close quarters on chaotic and bloody battlefields. The men who wrote these accounts were directly involved in the sweeping campaigns and climactic battles that set Europe and America alight at the turn of the eighteenth century and in the years that followed. Alongside recollections of the ferocity of hard-fought battles are the equally telling details of the common soldier's daily life - short rations, forced marches in the searing heat of the Iberian summer and the bitter cold of the Russian winter, debilitating illnesses and crippling wounds, looting and the lash, but also the compensations of hard-won comradeship in the face of ever-present death. Collectively, these personal accounts give us the most vivid picture of warfare 200 and more years ago, in the evocative language of those who knew it at first hand - the men and officers of the British, French and American armies. They let us know exactly what it was like to be an infantryman, a cavalryman, an artilleryman of the time.

Perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Connie Berry, Tricia Esden's series debut is sure to please. After her mother is sent to prison for art forgery, Edie Brown returns to Northern Vermont to rebuild her family’s fine art and antiques business. She’s certain she can do it now that her mother is gone. After all, butting heads with her mom over bad business practices was what drove Edie away three years ago, including a screwup that landed Edie on probation for selling stolen property. When Edie scores a job appraising a waterfowl decoy collection at a hoarder’s farmhouse, she’s determined to take advantage of the situation to rebuild the business’s tarnished reputation and dwindling coffers. In lieu of payment, Edie intends to cherry-pick an exceptional decoy carved by the client’s renowned Quebecoise folk artist ancestors. Only the tables turn when the collection vanishes. Accused of the theft, Edie’s terrified that the fallout will destroy the business and land her in prison next to her mom. Desperate, she digs into the underbelly of the local antiques and art world. When Edie uncovers a possible link between the decoy theft and a deadly robbery at a Quebec museum, she longs to ask her ex-probation officer, and ex-lover, for help. But she suspects his recent interest in rekindling their romance may hide a darker motive. With the help of her eccentric uncle Tuck and Kala, their enigmatic new employee, Edie must risk all she holds dear to expose the thieves and recover the decoys before the FBI’s Art Crime Team or the ruthless thieves themselves catch up with her.

They don’t hear you when you’re in trouble. Now, they will never forget you. When teen-aged Adriana tells her parents about a family friend who violated her, they insist that she misinterpreted him. Fueled with anger, Adriana seeks revenge. Soon the family friend will be the one no one believes. Buy this short young adult thriller because every one has been gaslit and wants to be heard.

I always thought when the apocalypse finally began I would be swinging my baseball bat at the zombies with the best of them. I was prepped and ready to smash in some undead heads if the need ever arose. The problem is—no one ever warned me that I would have to dread the humans even more. The ones who still remember their names and how to put a gun to your temple when they want something. Do not fear the Withered Ones. Fear the ones still human. This is an omnibus edition featuring the first three books in The Withered series: Wither, Resurrect and Affliction. Wither After an epidemic swept across the nation, the government foolishly rushed the creation of a vaccine—but what was meant to bring salvation instead brought damnation. Human mutations birthed a new species, but Avery Whitlock soon learned that the top threat against her survival was not the Withered Ones—but the ones still human. Resurrect After enduring a kidnapping, brutal gang attacks and the death of the man she loved, Avery Whitlock believed she could survive anything—until she discovered that she was being hunted. The Withered had mutated and she had reason to believe that evolution couldn’t be stopped—especially when it was genetically engineered. Affliction No longer fully human, but unwilling to accept her fate as a flesh-eating zombie, Avery Whitlock abandoned the only place she could call home in order to save the man she loved from herself. Driven to prevent anyone else from suffering her fate, she stalked the doctor's responsible for the mutations—but with each life she took, her cravings amplified and her grip on humanity slipped.

"Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley ... (4 June 1833 – 25 March 1913) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada, and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign (1873–1874) and the Nile Expedition against Mahdist Sudan in 1884–85. His reputation for efficiency led to the late 19th-century English phrase "everything's all Sir Garnet", meaning "all is in order ... In 1865, he became a brevet colonel, was actively employed the following year in connexion with the Fenian raids from the United States, and in 1867 was appointed deputy quartermaster-general in Canada ... In 1870, he successfully commanded the Red River Expedition to establish Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories and Manitoba. Manitoba had entered Canadian Confederation as the result of negotiations between Canada and a provisional Métis government headed by Louis Riel. The only route to Fort Garry (now Winnipeg), the capital of Manitoba (then an outpost in the Wilderness), which did not pass through the United States was through a network of rivers and lakes extending for six-hundred miles from Lake Superior, infrequently traversed by non-aboriginals, and where no supplies were obtainable..."--Wikipedia, Oct.13/2011.

Chike, a businessman at Alaba International Market, dies in a car crash and then finds himself alive again, inhabiting the body of a streetwise goat. But Chike has a driving force for survival: his family. He must locate them. Will he find them? Will he be welcome?