side at the top, and shot into the next hollow, twisting in the descent. A huge swell pushed up exactly under her middle, and her bow and stern hung free with nothing to support them. Then one joking wave caught her up at the bow, and another at the stern, while the rest of the water slunk 251 away from under her just to see how she would like it; so she was held up at her two ends only, and the weight of the cargo and the machinery fell on the groaning iron keels and bilge-stringers. "Ease off! Ease off, there!" roared the garboard-strake. "I want one-eighth of an inch fair play. D' you hear me, you rivets!" "Ease off! Ease off!" cried the bilge-stringers. "Don't hold us so tight to the frames!" "Ease off!" grunted the deck-beams, as the Dimbula rolled fearfully. "You've cramped our knees into the stringers, and we can't move. Ease off, you flat-headed little nuisances." Then two converging seas hit the bows, one on each side, and fell away in torrents of streaming thunder. "Ease off!" shouted the forward collision-bulkhead. "I want to crumple up, but I'm stiffened in every direction. Ease off, you dirty little forge-filings. Let me breathe!" All the hundreds of plates that are riveted to the frames, and make the outside skin of every steamer, echoed the call, for each plate wanted to shift and creep a little, and each plate, according to its position, complained against the rivets. "We can't help it! We can't help it!" they murmured in reply. "We're put here to hold you, and we're going to do it; you never pull us twice in the same direction. If you'd say what 252 you were going to do next, we'd try to meet your views." "As far as I could feel," said the upper-deck planking, and that was four inches thick, "every single iron near me was pushing or pulling in opposite directions. Now, what's the sense of that? My friends, let us all pull together." "Pull any way you please," roared the funnel, "so long as you don't try your experiments on me. I...

    Cheerful Pug, proud Greyhound, calm Great Dane, friendly Dalmatian, and many others. Each spread is a story about an extraordinary dog’s personality, written with humor and drawn with love, giving details that children love so much!But the most important part is the end of this story. It will make your heart beat faster and moisten your eyes.This is a short story in verse that your little dog lover will ask to read again and again at bedtime. Or maybe you will take it to the park and find each breed described?

    Funny and engaging stories that are perfect for beginning readers. J-Tech Creations’ Learn to Read books are designed to improve a beginning reader’s confidence with short sentences, word repetition, and familiar words. Chicken does not want to be a chicken. She wants to be a dog. Chicken has come up with a four step plan. Nothing will get in her way, except maybe the cat!

    A little boy has had enough of thunderstorms interfering with his life! He's done with being afraid and he's had enough of the "roars" in the sky ruining some of his favorite days!Determined to find out what's behind the roaring and get it to stop already, he sets off on a brave adventure.Who knew there were such interesting things in the clouds?!Pirates, firefighters and even dinosaurs quickly turn fear into one big-bellied-giggle after another!

    But when neither of them can shake memories of their love together, that fight turns into an uninhibited passion that could ignite a fire and reunite them for a lifetime.

    Nobody knows I’m alive… Ben Bracken is on the run for his life. Keeping a low profile from the agencies seeking to silence him, he finds refuge in the quiet town of Horning. Working in a boat yard and lodging with an older couple, Eric and Dot, Ben uses this time to plan. He needs to escape, and realising his only chance will reveal his whereabouts to some unsavoury characters, he plans every detail. Little does he know, even that won’t be enough… Just before he walks away, murder strikes the quiet town. Ben cannot leave until he is sure that he has not brought any further trouble to the townsfolk. Will he be able to exact revenge? One thing is certain, there is a lot more going on in the town of Horning than meets the eye… The Penny Black is action packed from beginning to end, keeping you guessing right the way through. Praise for The Penny Black: ‘Brave…a home run…like James Bond meets The Godfather…I bloody loved it’ - Dan Stubbings, author of The Dimension Between Worlds blog. ‘Another gripping instalment in the Bracken series…a wonderful thriller’ - James Stuart, screenwriter 'The writing flows beautifully and the story really draws the reader in' - Ann Bloxwich, crime fiction author Rob Parker currently writes full time, while also making time to encourage new young readers and authors through readings and workshops at local schools and bookstores. He holds a law degree and a degree in film and media production.

    Meeting the handsome Jihad was pure coincidence, but she quickly catches feelings for this smooth-talking brother. A whirlwind romance develops between the two and before you know it, Brooklyn was thrown in a love triangle she was not aware of. She realized that common sense and her Ivy League education couldn't prepare her for what was to come in her once quiet life. Alyssa is a money hungry side chick that is on the prowl for her next victim. As faith would have it, she crossed paths with the lying, two-timing Jihad. She uses sex and her good mouthpiece to snatch his soul up. Not caring about his wife and determined to become his main squeeze, she and Jihad concoct a devious plan to get his wife out the way. Jihad is every woman's dream; ambitious, sex game on point and a mouth piece that will have the ladies squirming in their panties. He hit it big when he married the well-off Brooklyn. With no good intentions and his narcissistic behavior, he quickly put a plan into motion that will have deadly consequences. With jealousy, murder and greed mixed together in this web of deceit, there can be no happy ending in this twisted love triangle.

    Where we don't, we read, we ask, we learn and then, we solve! What happens when there are no answers though? When nobody in the world knows! When we see the need to invent Gods even if we can't discover Him. Through a string of poems, the author narrates such an experience with his non-verbal and autistic daughter, Enya. What started as a week of babysitting for him soon became a seeking to change her into 'normal'. But, that seeking ended up transforming the seeker!The narrative in the form of poetry touches upon the revelation that comes out of desperation of not finding an answer at all and therefore, the thoughts getting tired of themselves and the mind taking a back seat. In that silence, the author says, things become clear and all aspects of life show their inter-relation! The intellect gives way to the intelligence, the body and mind as 'me' gives way to the world as 'me'! The mind map once seen, one starts to see the true nature of the 'me' and that perspective and clarity make everything clear and possible in life...

    While Matt is planning his lavish wedding to his model fiancée, James has vowed to have nothing to do with women ever again. So, when Great Aunt Milly dies and leaves her one-million pound share portfolio to whichever of the boys first marries and has a child, it's assumed the fortune will go to Matt. But add to the mix a sex-mad German, a gorgeous photographer, a matchmaking mother, and one very pampered pooch, and things don't run quite as smoothly as Matt would like ...

    Follow Grace, Hazel, and Charlotte as they leave everything behind and embark on adventures to find hope, love, and happiness! FINDING HOPE Miss Grace Thackery never believed that she would marry because she thought she was too plain. When a friend gives her a copy of Matrimonial News, Grace has hope that she might find a husband who is not focused on outward beauty, but instead can appreciate the other qualities she possesses. After corresponding with a man, Grace agrees to move to Montana to get married. However, when her future husband asks for a picture, Grace worries that he will cancel the engagement when he sees her photograph. An acquaintance convinces Grace to paint her face, add some padding, and wear a wig to alter her beauty for the photograph. Reluctantly, Grace agrees, but harbors a great guilt over being deceitful. When she arrives in Montana, the man she is supposed to marry leaves her at the train station when her appearance does not match the picture she sent. Alone and scared, Grace does not know what to do next. Hope is not lost… Grace meets a man that appreciates her looks and her character, but she also knows that allowing herself to have feelings for him will come with many challenges. Will Grace ever have a second chance at happiness? THE BRIDE’S HEART After a traumatic event, Hazel is tired of being pitied by her family and the people who live in her small town. As a way to escape her past, Hazel moves to a new town as a mail order bride to marry Stephen, a ruggedly handsome rancher. Hazel has no interest in falling in love, and neither does Stephen. The agreement is that Hazel will manage the house and Stephen will manage the ranch. Stephen likes things in order, and Hazel is more of a free spirit who takes time to appreciate the small things in life. They don’t understand each other, and they find that their differences lead to arguments. However, every time Stephen looks at Hazel, she feels something build inside her. Will their differences drive them apart, or is there more to this handsome cowboy than meets the eye? Will Hazel ever find true happiness? And will it be at Stephen’s side? LOVE’S CHANCE Charlotte was given every luxury in life growing up. Although she learned how to appreciate the finer things in life, she never learned how to cook or clean. Those skills didn’t matter because Charlotte knew she would only marry a man that could give her the same type of lifestyle her father had given her. A tragedy strikes Charlotte’s family and her father lets her know that the money is all gone. Charlotte is devastated, and makes the decision to become a mail-order bride to relieve her parents from their financial responsibility of taking care of her. *** Paul is looking for a woman who isn’t afraid to work hard. He can’t handle all the responsibilities that come along with owning a farm, so he needs someone to cook, clean, and even help on the farm when needed. When Charlotte arrives, Paul soon realizes that his new wife is hiding a secret. Can this secret drive them apart? Did he just make the biggest mistake of his life? If you love historical western and mail-order bride romance books with twists and turns, you will love this sweet and clean romance collection. Authors Note: These are clean, stand-alone romances, so there are no cliffhangers.

    In this superb anthology can be found the best of the English-speaking world’s inspirational and reassuring verse, including such classics as Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ and W.H. Davies’ ‘Leisure’. This beautifully illustrated collection of over 120 poems is sure to offer solace, hearten the soul and motivate the human spirit.

    

    People living happy lives, some not-so-happy lives, people in love, hopeless romantics, people dealing with heartbreak, the ones who believe life is better with a bit of whimsy, this book, hopefully, has a little something that resonates with everybody, lets the reader find the silver lining when needed and discover the joie de vivre even when times are hard.