Participate in the winter season: the wonder, the solemnity, the power, and the miracles. These readings reflect on the winter world around us, drawing joy from winter days, hope from Christmas celebrations, and promise for the New Year.This elegant collection is the natural outflow of the long-standing friendship between Madeleine L'Engle and Luci Shaw. Sharing similar themes and a reflective style of writing, they combine their two rich literary worlds.Newbery Award Winner Madeleine L'Engle is widely known for her children's books, and adult fiction and nonfiction. Her most recent book is Live Coal in the Sea. Renowned poet Luci Shaw's most recent book is The Green Earth: Poems of Creation. Both women are widely known throughout the United States and Canada for their workshops on writing and journaling, lectures, and retreats.

    A decision that jeopardizes her brother and their guests when a killer dressed like Santa opens fire at their annual Christmas Eve party. Lincoln Smith spent his life guarding his country, his clients, and his heart. He denied himself everything else – including Serra. He only wants a glimpse of her at the party. Nothing more. But when Santa tries to kill the only woman he ever loved, Lincoln does what he was trained to do. Seeking refuge in his cabin in the town of Winter, Lincoln vows to protect Serra even if it means dropping the shield around his heart. She had never wanted to see him again, but Serra can’t escape her true feelings. Just as passion finds a new path the killer finds them. With only hours to spare, Lincoln must forgive himself for past mistakes or he and Serra will lose their last chance for survival – and love.

    It demands mental resilience and resistance to pain. It explores character, beyond a capacity to endure punishment. Dylan Hartley, one of England's most successful captains, tells a story of hard men and harsh truths. From the sixteen-year-old Kiwi who travelled alone to England, to the winner of ninety-seven international caps, he describes with brutal clarity the sport's increasing demand on players and the toll it takes on their mental health, as well as the untimely injury that shattered his dreams of leading England in the 2019 World Cup.The Hurt is rugby in the raw, a unique insight into the price of sporting obsession. 'Few have had more twists and turns in a pro rugby career' Robert Kitson, Guardian ' Anyone who cares about the game, in which he won 97 caps for England and played 250 times for Northampton, should read Hartley's book' Don McRae, Guardian

    Contracted to wed from birth, she welcomes a union with the love of her life, the greatest lancer in England, Titus Saint-Germain. When her father delivers news of her betrothed’s untimely demise, and demands she marry another, Desi must choose between her heart’s desire and family loyalty. Will Desi trust her instincts or yield to paternal authority? Harboring a secret, the truth of his parentage, imparted by his mother on her deathbed, Titus Saint-Germain finds himself trapped between two warring factions with no escape. A loyal Yorkist, the warrior knight serves with distinction and valor, until his own men, in the heat of battle, betray him. It is a scene eerily similar to the one that claimed the life of his father, the great Titus de Wolfe, at Towton, with a singular exception. Help arrives in the form of an unlikely ally—an uncle unaware of his brother’s progeny. Will Titus resist fate and deny his destiny, or will the Lone Wolfe, at long last, journey home to the Lair? Books in the Heirs of Titus de Wolfe series by Barbara Devlin: Lone Wolfe The Big, Bad de Wolfe Talk, Dark, and de Wolfe

    This could be due to the nearsightedness that presented itself in third grade when she became known as four-eyed Smelly Kelly, but it’s not. According to her high school Journalism teacher, Potter has a unique perspective and outlook on life. She still doesn’t know if that was a compliment or an insult – or perhaps, just a nice way to say she’s weird. In this collection of essays, Four Eyes Were Never Better Than Two…and other observations, Potter offers a candid look at the human condition with tales recounting the past and present. From her younger days of dreaming about being a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader so she could own pom-poms to sex education taught by a Joyce Dewitt look-alike, Potter confesses all – including the ironic account of throwing up on a dog named Ralph. No stranger to embarrassment, she writes of cold sores that require an exorcism and the torture that was seventh grade gym class, capturing the angst, humiliation, and absurdity in those moments that often define us as individuals. Observations include: desperation can make a person do some pretty stupid things like answering a personal ad, hot wax is best left in the hands of a professional if you value your lips, and nothing is so surprising as the man who claims to hate dancing busting a move in a hospital recovery room. Even if you’ve never had to admit in a public setting that you’re having your period, passed out at the eye doctor’s office, or had an illogical fear of a lawn mower, Potter’s self-deprecating wit and sometimes bizarre sense of humor will make you glad these things only happen on sit-coms… or to her.

    

    They've been having some serious problems with the white stuff—not snow, but cocaine—and their highly-paid, isolated, somewhat stir-crazy employees have been overdosing at an alarming rate. Kate's job is to identify the dealer and staunch the flow before more people die. It's never that simple, of course.In Play with Fire, Kate and friends stumble across a naked, decaying corpse in the woods. Judged death by misadventure by the Troopers, Kate's sense of justice demands that she launch her own investigation, leading her to ask some very uncomfortable questions of a frontier faith community. Questions that might drive someone to kill…again.In Blood Will Tell, Kate is forced to involve herself in Native politics, attending the annual Federation convention in Anchorage and investigating the deaths of several board members. Opposition to a new development project seems to have been the link tying the victims together, but when Kate poses the question that all detective work begins with—cui bono?—she finds there are more suspects on the list than not.Also included: the two Kate Shugak short stories, "Wreck Rights" and "Cherchez la Femme."

    s/t: Plato's original story of the lost city, continent, empire

    When inexperienced entrepreneurs ask my advice about their idea for a tech startup, they often worry "What if Google decides to compete with us? They will crush us!" I respond that far more startups die of suicide than homicide. If you can avoid hurting yourself, then you are already better off than most of your competitors. Startups are a chance to build something entirely original with brilliant and ambitious people. But startups are also dangerous. Limited money means there is little room for mistakes. One bad decision can mean bankruptcy. The potential payoff attracts capital, which in turn attracts scam artists. The unscrupulous often lack the skills needed to succeed, but sometimes they are smart enough to trick investors. Even entrepreneurs who start with a strong moral compass can find that the threat of failure unmoors their ethics from their ambition. Emotions matter. We might hope that those in leadership positions possess strength and resilience, but vanity and fragile egos have sabotaged many of the businesses that I’ve worked with. Defeat is always a possibility, and not everyone finds healthy ways to deal with the stress. In this book I offer both advice and also warnings. I've seen certain self-destructive patterns play out again and again, so I wanted to document one of the most extreme cases that I've witnessed. In 2015 I worked for a startup that began with an ingenious idea: to use the software techniques known as Natural Language Processing to allow people to interact with databases by writing ordinary English sentences. This was a multi-billion dollar idea that could have transformed the way people gathered and used information. However, the venture had inexperienced leadership. They burned through their $1.3 million seed money. As their resources dwindled, their confidence transformed into doubt, which was aggravated by edicts from the Board Of Directors ordering sudden changes that effectively threw away weeks' worth of work. Every startup forces its participants into extreme positions, often regarding budget and deadlines. Often these situations are absurd to the point of parody. Therefore, there is considerable humor in this story. The collision of inexperience and desperation gives rise to moments that are simply silly. I tell this story in a day-to-day format, both to capture the early optimism, and then the later sense of panic. Here then, is a cautionary tale, a warning about tendencies that everyone joining a startup should be on guard against."

    These are tales that can be read in their entirety in only a handful of minutes. The stories are submitted by dozens of authors who often set them in the larger worlds of their other books.Stories and Authors in the collection:Mistletoe Cowboy by Trish MilburnAn Ugly Sweater Christmas by Heather McGovernClose to Perfect by Suzanne FerrellTo Santa with Love by Lindsey BrookesA Perfect Party by Anna SugdenThe Miracle of the Child by Bridget HodderMistletoe Magic by D.B. SiedersOn This Christmas Day by Natalie J. DamschroderFashionably Late for Christmas by Tanya MichaelsA SEAL’s Proposal by Tawny WeberWhite Christmas Pizza by Donna MacMeansThe Christmas Before Hell Froze Over by Sally KilpatrickSnowflake by Monica McCabeAn Unexpected Guest by Beth PattilloNew Year’s Magic by Jody WallaceGiving Thanks by Jeanette GreyA Holiday Miracle by Michelle MonkouA Bluestone Christmas Homecoming by M.J. FredrickHaintsgiving by Maureen HardegreeAll She Wants for Christmas by Janice LynnThe Solstice Ball by Nancy NorthcottZombie of Good Cheer by Gretchen StullSnow and Ghosts by Nicki SalcedoA Candle in the Window by Dorien KellyIn Which Miss Gardella Receives Three Gifts by Colleen GleasonA Miracle for Molly by Trish Milburn

    Now you can get the inside story from their secret diaries, flick through Good Day! magazine for some nineteenth-century gossip, and find out all about the writers whose tall tales have changed the world.

    It's practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are. And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home.

    Now at last, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Klingon Language Institute, this powerful drama by the legendary Klingon playwright, Wil'yam Shex'pir, can be appreciated in the elegance and glory of its original tongue. This invaluable volume contains the complete text of the play, along with an English translation for easy consultation and comparison. In addition, an incisive introduction explains the play's crucial importance in Klingon culture, while copious notes illustrate how the debased English version diverges from the original, often distorting and even reversing the actual meaning of the verses.Khamlet, the Restored Klingon Version, is a work that belongs in the library of every human who hopes truly to understand what it means to be Klingon.

    Madden When Veterinarian Willow James' office is broken into, it's natural that she turn to her soul mate, former Navy SEAL K9 handler Joe Flynn, to track down the culprits. The trail leads to a notorious Pit-Bull fighting ring. It may take a Christmas miracle and a helpful nudge from an old partner to get everyone home safely. Noel's Puppy Power by KaLyn Cooper Tanner Hill is better at communicating with animals than women. That might be why he hasn’t had a second date in over two years. He’s also been extremely busy with his kennel that has become the premier training facility, specializing in supplying dogs to veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Then again, there is this psychologist he can’t get out of his head, or his heart. Dr. Bailey Conrad would never allow the loss of half her right leg to an IED in Iraq to stop her. Every day at the VA hospital, she sees patients who have lost so much more to the war effort. It’s her goal in life to help as many vets as possible to find a 'new normal', because she knows firsthand, it’s the internal scars that can be the most difficult to heal. Snowflake’s Gift by Lindsay McKenna Two veterans—one human,one canine—have returned to Montana to recover from the traumas of war. FormerArmy Ranger Nick Conway depended on his WMD dog Snowflake to help him navigateIEDs on the battlefield. Now he needs his best friend to help him cope with hisPTSD and acclimate to civilian life. When he meets Holly McGuire and agrees to help her deliver meals to the elderly, her inner light calls to him, but his demons hold him back from giving in to his attraction. But Snowflake takes an immediate shine to the kindhearted Holly—and he has never led Nick down the wrong path.

    At the top of the sport's list of star players is Mia Hamm. Her speed, aggressive play, and ability to "read the field" have sparked every team she's ever played on. At the University of North Carolina, she helped the Tar Heels capture four NCAA championships. Her continually stellar performances with the United States national team led them to win two out of three Women's World Cups, first in 1991 and again in 1999. And as a member of the 1996 gold medal-winning Olympic team, she played an outstanding final game on a sprained ankle. The holder of the world record for most goals scored in a career, she is the hero of thousands of soccer fans worldwide. Readers will devour every detail of this insightful biography of the best women's soccer player in the world. Get an up-close look at this superstar athlete with Matt Christopher, the number one sports series for kids. For more information on the Matt Christopher Sports Bio Bookshelf, please turn to the last pages of this book.