The hull glides in silence and with such perfect balance as to report no motion. I sit up for another stroke, now looking down as the blades ignite swirling pairs of white constellations of phosphorescent plankton. Two opposing heavens. ‘Remember this,’ I think to myself.”Few people have ever considered the eastern United States to be an island, but when Nat Stone began tracing waterways in his new atlas at the age of ten he discovered that if one had a boat it was possible to use a combination of waterways to travel up the Hudson River, west across the barge canals and the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, and back up the eastern seaboard. Years later, still fascinated by the idea of the island, Stone read a biography of Howard Blackburn, a nineteenth-century Gloucester fisherman who had attempted to sail the same route a century before. Stone decided he would row rather than sail, and in April 1999 he launched a scull beneath the Brooklyn Bridge to see how far he could get. After ten months and some six thousand miles he arrived back at the Brooklyn Bridge, and continued rowing on to Eastport, Maine. Retracing Stone’s extraordinary voyage, On the Water is a marvelous portrait of the vibrant cultures inhabiting American shores and the magic of a traveler’s chance encounters. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a rower at the local boathouse bequeaths him a pair of fabled oars, to Vanceburg, Kentucky, where he spends a day fishing with Ed Taylor -- a man whose efficient simplicity recalls The Old Man and the Sea -- Stone makes his way, stroke by stroke, chatting with tugboat operators and sleeping in his boat under the stars. He listens to the live strains of Dwight Yoakum on the banks of the Ohio while the world’s largest Superman statue guards the nearby town square, and winds his way through the Louisiana bayous, where he befriends Scoober, an old man who reminds him that the happiest people are those who’ve “got nothin’.” He briefly adopts a rowing companion -- a kitten -- along the west coast of Florida, and finds himself stuck in the tidal mudflats of Georgia. Along the way, he flavors his narrative with local history and lore and records the evolution of what started out as an adventure but became a lifestyle. An extraordinary literary debut in the lyrical, timeless style of William Least Heat-Moon and Henry David Thoreau, On the Water is a mariner’s tribute to childhood dreams, solitary journeys, and the transformative powers of America’s rivers, lakes, and coastlines.From the Hardcover edition.

    For the grieving youngest sibling, Lacey, life is about to come crashing down as a deep secret is revealed. The fall-out affects every member and they struggle to regain the happy family unit they once shared. Each of the siblings, take the reader on a journey as they try to come to terms and learn to handle this huge revelation.

    With wit and candor, Patchett tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the inevitable question, What now?From student to line cook to teacher to waitress and eventually to award-winning author, Patchett's own life has taken many twists and turns that make her exploration genuine and resonant. As Patchett writes, "'What now?' represents our excitement and our future, the very vitality of life." She highlights the possibilities the unknown offers and reminds us that there is as much joy in the journey as there is in reaching the destination.

    Yet the real promise in Writing Is My Drink lies in Nestor's uncanny ability as a storyteller and teacher to make sure we'll also hear from you, the reader. Brimming with stories from her own writing life, and paired with practical "Try This" sections designed to challenge and inspire, this disarmingly candid account of a writer's search for her voice delivers charming, wise, and often hilarious guidance that will motivate writers at every stage of their careers.

    This book shows how through learning the true nature of youth, life, and this world, young people may avoid the many pitfalls of modern life and secure true happiness in this world and the next.

    One day an invitation arrives. Peyton has been selected to attend a luxurious all-expense-paid seminar in Iceland, where participants, billed as some of the greatest thinkers in the world, will be charged with answering one perplexing question. Meeting her diverse teammates--two neuroscientists, a philosopher, a dance teacher, a collage artist, and a farmer--Peyton wonders what she could ever have to contribute. The ensuing journey of discovery will transform the characters' work, their biases, and themselves. This suspenseful novel shows that the answers you seek can be found in the most unlikely places. It can be read for pleasure, is a great choice for book clubs, and can be used as unique and inspiring reading in qualitative research and other courses in education, sociology, social work, psychology, and communication.

    She knows nothing about her past and has been haunted by the same monsters in her nightmares for the last few months. Unemotional and numb to life, she feels disconnected from everyone. Until the very first day she cries. After that, nothing in her life is the same.Her life only gets more complicated when she meets Alex. Sexy, arrogant, and secretive, Alex can get under Gemma’s skin like no one can. Yet she’s drawn to him by an invisible connection she has no control over. She’s also seen him before. In her nightmares.Every part of Gemma’s mind is screaming at her to stay away from Alex, but every other part of her is begging to get close to him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes Alex knows more about her than he originally let on.As secrets about her past unravel, Gemma’s life becomes threatened. She needs to figure out what’s going on, before she winds up dead. But the only person she can turn to for answers is the one person she isn’t sure she can trust.Fractured Souls (Shattered Promises, #2):(A re-imagining of my young adult book, The Underworld (Fallen Star Series, Book 2) told as a New Adult Paranormal).Gemma thought she had said her good-byes and had felt every possible emotion she could before her soul was detached again. Deep down inside, she hoped she’d never wake up from it because, in her eyes, life without emotion and memories isn’t worth living.But she does wake up and discovers she can still feel and remember everything she experienced over the last few months. Alex is also telling her that everything’s okay, that he didn’t betray her, and that what she thought happened really didn’t.Gemma isn’t sure if she can trust Alex, so she tries to keep her distance from him, even though the electric connection and her desire make it nearly impossible. The only person she can trust is Laylen, but even that becomes complicated when the lines of their friendship begin to blur.While Gemma struggles with her emotions and relationships, she searches for her mother, entering a dangerous world of secrets, seduction, and evil. The further she digs into her mother’s secrets and past, the more she wonders what waits for her at the end of her search and if maybe some things are better left in the dark.Unbroken (Shattered Promises, #2.5):Alex thought things were already complicated, but then Gemma shows up possessed by Stephan and she wants to kill him. Normally, he would eliminate someone in Gemma’s position to protect himself, but his feelings for Gemma won’t allow him to do that. She’s too important to him and he knows he has to save her without hurting her.But can he find a way to save her before someone gets hurt?Broken Visions (Shattered Promises, #3):(This is a re-imagining of my Young Adult Paranormal book, The Vision (Book 3 in the Fallen Star Series) told as a New Adult Paranormal)Gemma thought Alex was dead, that she’d made an irreversible mistake and would never see him again. But then her father resets time and she’s given another chance to be with Alex, if she can save the world and get rid of the star.Gemma decides to follow in her father’s footsteps and attempt to change the vision of the end of the world. If she can pull it off, then maybe she can have the normal life she’s always wanted and Alex and her can have a chance for a real future.But changing visions is dangerous, and sometimes one small mistake can lead to disastrous results.All books have a **Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content.

    He addresses many topics—what it means to be creative, how to find a mentor and serve as an apprentice, the wisdom of maintaining a creative network, coping with critics and the foibles of success, and the specific pitfalls of contemporary culture—all in the service of guiding admirers who have followed his career and newcomers not yet acquainted with his story. Whether discussing his own life or channeling the lessons he’s learned from forefathers such as George Clinton, collaborators like D’Angelo, or like-minded artists including Ava DuVernay, David Byrne, Björk, and others, Questlove speaks with the candor and enthusiasm that fans have come to expect. Creative Quest is many things—above all, a wise and wide-ranging conversation around the eternal mystery of creativity.

    Dumb crooks, celebrities gone bad, unsolved mysteries, odd laws, and more—Strange Crime has plenty of stories that will make you ask yourself, “What could they possibly have been thinking?” This easily portable paperback book is ideal for readers on the go. Take it to school, to work, to jury duty!

    Whether it’s a memoir of an exciting life, or fictional characters in your head trying to get out. Perhaps you’ve thought it might be cool to write a book, but always believed it was beyond your reach and ability.It’s not.To be more precise, it doesn’t have to be. All you lack is the motivation to get started, the tenacity to stay with it, and the expertise in self publishing to get it finished. I can help you with these things.In this book, I’ll show you some of the rewards that might come your way by becoming an self published, or independent author. I also provide a few tips on how to overcome certain common stumbling blocks.But, this isn’t a how-to book. There are many learned scholars publishing books about the craft of creative writing. This is more of a motivational book, giving you an idea of what you might expect in the trenches, as a mid-level self published author. Whether you’re just thinking about writing or already have several books published, we could all use a little motivation.Who am I? Just an old truck driver, who is now off the road and living the life I’ve always dreamed of, after just two years of writing and self publishing.

    Michael Black’s world has seen a lot of changes over the past year, and falling for a witch who chats with his animal patients has been the best one by far. He’s decided to make it official, so the men associated with the coven insist on helping him celebrate. Michael is popping the question to the woman he loves, the coven has only two trials to go before the prophecy is fulfilled, and the guys want to throw him a bachelor party. Sounds like a plan. And no demon is going to stand in his way.

     After sending the dzemond soul reaper Maldgorath running for his life, you’d think Arthur MacInerny’s life with the six spirits grafted to his soul would have become a little simpler. But no... Maldgorath not only takes a shot at revenge on Arthur and his band, but plunges the world into turmoil. He attacks Rome with thousands of his summonlings, which sets his grand plan into motion. That plan is use radical Islam as a lever to create chaos among the world’s religions. The world turns on itself and Arthur along with others have to go into hiding. But Arthur isn’t one to stay on the sidelines. He is sworn to vengeance against Maldgorath not only for the death of his son, but for the family of the warrior he killed while duped into thinking the church was responsible. The second installment in the six-part series, follows Arthur, his band of summonlings and other friends he’s picked up along the way as he pursues his Sworn Vengeance.

    Just without the extra pay.Now I’m showing old homes, and every single one of them is haunted. As a witch, I’m not supposed to be able to see ghosts. But I do. And they know I do. And I know they know I do. And, oh boy.Worse yet, an apparition that looks an awful lot like my boss’s dead partner has come knocking, and demanding I solve her murder. I’ve been given an ultimatum: help or die. It looks like I can’t really trust anyone any more. Will my cat, mouse familiar, and a new shapeshifter friend be enough to help me get the job done in what little time I have left?

    Brian McDonald, an award winning screenwriter who has taught his craft at several major studios, supplies writers with tools to make their work more effective and provides readers and audiences a deeper understanding of the storyteller's art. When people think of a screenplay, they usually think about dialogue-the "visible ink" that is readily accessible to the listener, reader, or viewer. But a successful screenplay needs Invisible Ink as well, the craft below the surface of words. Invisible Ink lays out the essential elements of screenplay structure, using vivid examples from famous moments in popular movies as well as from one of his own popular scripts. You will learn techniques for building a compelling story around a theme, making your writing engage audiences, creating appealing characters, and much more. Praise for Invisible Ink: ..".If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read Invisible Ink." -Andrew Stanton (cowriter Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., and cowriter/director Finding Nemo and WALL-E) ..".Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril." -Jim Taylor (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election) ..". I recommend this fine handbook on craft to any writer, apprentice or professional, working in any genre or form." -Dr. Charles Johnson (National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage) "If you want to write scripts, listen to Brian. The guy knows what he's talking about." -Paul Feig (creator of NBC's Freaks and Geeks, co-executive producer The Office) "With Invisible Ink Brian McDonald has written us a book to keep and heed forever because through the simple, graceful, graspable, original wisdom of it, we might just save our screenwriting lives." -Stewart Stern (Screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause)

    The plan sounded like a good idea until she realizes their personalities crash harder than a drunken driver with his eyes closed. As the mission continues, Yvonna s rapidly deteriorating health threatens success. Will she complete what she set out to achieve, or turn against the people who swore to help her? Does she make it out alive? Or will she finally succumb to death? For the first time in the HISTORY of urban literature, the choice is yours. Choose wisely as this is, Shyt List 5: The Finale.