But in a Scarborough subdivision populated by newcomers from all over the world, a series of sudden catastrophic events reveals that not everyone’s dreams come true. Moving from house to house, Carrianne Leung explores the inner lives behind the tidy front gardens and picture-perfect windows, always returning to June, an irrepressible adolescent Chinese-Canadian coming of age in this shifting world. Through June and her neighbours, Leung depicts the fine line where childhood meets the realities of adult life, and examines, with insight and sharp prose, how difficult it is to be true to ourselves at any age.

    All proceeds of this unique venture will be going to Save the Children Tsunami Relief Fund. Authors participating are: Alexander McCall Smith chapter from Sunday Philosophy Club #2: Friends, Lovers, Chocolates coming 9/05 from Pantheon Ian McEwan chapter from Saturday coming 3/05 from Doubleday Maeve Binchy short story Georgia Hall – as yet unscheduled Margaret Atwood excerpt from the Tree coming in 06 from Doubleday Marian Keyes chapter from If You Were Me Mark Haddon chapter from Blood and Scissors Nicholas Evans chapter from the Divide Nick Hornby chapter from A Long Way Down coming 6/05 from Riverhead Paulo Coelho chapter from the Zahir Scott Turow chapter from the Law of War coming 10/05 from FSG Stephen King short story: Lisey and the Madman from McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories published 11/04 Tracy Chevalier untitled novel excerpt, as yet unscheduled for publication Vikram Seth poem, "Earth and Sky" as yet unscheduled Helen Fielding - introduction Harlan Coben chapter from the Innocent coming 4/05 from Dutton Joanna Trollope chapter from Second Honeymoon coming 2/06 from Bloomsbury JM Coetzee chapter from Slow Man coming 10/05 from Viking This is an extraordinary collection of superb pieces from the world’s most celebrated writers. All of this is being made available to consumers in advance of publication and in aid of Tsunami victims. Your generous and enthusiastic support of this project will enable Save the Children to continue their important work in the wake of the Tsunami devastation.

    As she starts to look into this mysterious find, handsome stranger Keith Henson seems to appear everywhere she goes. He claims to be keeping an eye on her safety, but Beth senses other motives. When a body washes ashore, she may need more help than she bargained for. Because investigating is a dangerous game, and someone wants to stop Beth from playing. Below the Surface by Karen Harper Briana Devon knows her twin sister would never deliberately leave her, but when she surfaces after a dive, Daria and their boat have vanished. Fighting rough waves and a fast-approaching storm, Bree barely makes it to shore, where Cole De Roca revives her. Bound to Cole by the harrowing experience, she seeks his help as she struggles to understand what happened to her sister—and what her twin, whom she thought she knew so well, might be hiding.

    Aspiring mystery writer Caro Swenson can see that: Professor Tanten is standing there, covered in blood. But where's the body - or bodies? Six people are missing from the mystery weekend, and Caro's on the case with a hot-but-possibly homicidal hunk who seems to want to get his hands on Caro's...clues. SINGLE WHITE DEAD GUY - Amy GarveyLanie Burke's luck has gone from awful to downright...well, whatever comes after awful. She spent one insanely hot night with Mr. Drop-Dead Gorgeous, and now he's lying on the steps of her cabin looking kind of; well, dead. Now, she's got to figure out what to do with the body. Hopefully, she can get some help from the guy with groceries tromping through the snow toward her...the blue-eyed cutie with the broad shoulders who looks strangely familiar. FAST BOYS - Jennifer ApodacaTess Collins can't believe she managed to get caught up in a sleazy tabloid reporter's bid to get the dirt on NASCAR's pin-up boy, Ark Underwood.Now, the jerk reporter is dead on Underwood's hotel room floor, and Tess is duty bound to help Ark save his reputation. But joining forces with a world-class bad boy in search of a twisted killer only ignites white-hot fantasies, and unraveling this mystery goes hand-in-hand with unleashing every desire. THREE MEN AND A BODY - Nancy J. CohenReality show contestant Heather Payne's assignment is simple: get a bed-and- breakfast in Winter Park up and running within seven days. It sounds like a piece of cake, until she meets the other cutthroat contestants, including the gorgeous Rex Gerard. He may be all business on the show, but in the B&B's wine cellar, he is only interested in Heather's pleasure. But someone wants to win at all costs, and when accidents start plaguing the show, Heather's afraid that she may be sleeping with the enemy.

    When a flat tire on a deserted back road puts her at the mercy of a mysterious, reclusive man, she must decide between following the dictates of her heart and body or heeding the advice of the villagers... The same villagers that say Fredrik S rebo is nothing but a monster. Newly revised, more erotic than ever before... Tremors. The Obsession: Neil Macalister, a conservative and oh-so-proper lecturer of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, thought he was happy with his sensible, ordinary life. But from the moment he laid eyes on Valentina Jason-Elliot, a sexually liberated woman ten years his junior, he became obsessed with having her. Neil quickly discovers there aren't any lengths he won't go to in order to capture the object of his desire, for he's determined to have Valentina bound to him...in the heart and in the flesh. Vanished: Lynne Temple is driving through the Appalachian mountains and toward her new life. She made grand plans to start fresh after her divorce, including settling into a new town. An overturned semi on the West Virginia turnpike forces Lynne to use a temporary detour route through a remote rural area high up in the mountains... A detour route from which she will vanish without a trace.

    Spanning several generations and transporting us to exotic locations in Europe, Asia, and America, this wise and exquisite story collection marks the debut of a gifted new voice in literature.

    Erika Wilde turns up the heat in THE MARRIAGE DIARIES, a brand new erotic series about a married couple who take intimacy and passion to the extreme.

    Seven artists. Seven girls and women reading. A young orphan poses nervously for a Renaissance maestro in medieval Siena, and an artist's servant girl in 17th-century Amsterdam snatches a moment away from her work to lose herself in tales of knights and battles. A young woman reading in a Shoreditch bar catches the eye of a young man who takes her picture, and a Victorian medium holds a book that she barely acknowledges while she waits for the exposure. Each chapter of this richly textured debut takes us into a perfectly imagined tale of how each portrait came to be, and as the connections accumulate, the narrative leads us into the present and beyond - an inspired celebration of women reading and the artists who have caught them in the act.

    Now, The View from the Cheap Seats brings together for the first time ever more than sixty pieces of his outstanding nonfiction. Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics, including (but not limited to): authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author’s experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood.

    In "Soulmates," by Marian Keyes, one woman's relationship is so bleedin' perfect that it's driving her friends crazy. In Cathy Kelly's "Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods," two women on a madcap Stateside road trip encounter a pair of insanely good-looking men....These fabulous stories and a baker's dozen more prove that when it comes to spinning a good yarn, the Irish are the best in the business.

    Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Their relationship, captured so acutely in these letters, is one that will grab your heart and not let go.

    But unexpected help soon arrives-in the form of her secret high-school crush. LAND'S END by Barbara Dunlop Tessa Ambroise is desperate to ditch the charming, infuriating hotelier circling her late aunt's century home like a vulture. But the snow piling up outside the mansion puts both their plans on hold. When a child goes missing, this perfect storm of cramped quarters and freezing temperatures brings old flames and new acquaintances closer together...but will they go separate ways once the sky clears?

    Eden, Carla Kelly, Josi S. Kilpack, Annette Lyon, and Heather B. Moore.In THE WEDDING GIFT: A PRIDE AND PREJUDICE STORY, an enchanting novella by Anna Elliott, the story opens two weeks before Elizabeth Bennet’s wedding to Mr. Darcy. He has given her the perfect wedding gift, and now she must come up with one for him. But what do you give a man who has everything? Elizabeth soon discovers that the gift of love is more important than any one thing. DREAM OF A GLORIOUS SEASON, a sweet novella by Sarah M. Eden, we meet Elizabeth Gillerford who envies her sister only one thing—that she’s been intended for Julian Broadwood since they were children. The trouble is that Elizabeth is hopelessly in love with Julian too. When Julian discovers that Elizabeth has been denied a Season because her older sister is yet unwed, he undertakes his own stealthy measures to introduce her to society, only to find himself falling in love with her himself. In THE MENDER, a captivating story by Carla Kelly, Thankful Winnings takes a sea voyage with her cousin on the Ann Alexander, in a last adventure before she settles down to marry one of her beaus. Unexpectedly they come upon the aftermath of a fierce ship battle, and Thankful is commissioned to help in the place of an injured surgeon on one of the Royal Navy ships. Adam Farnsworth, surgeon, has been at sea for years. Tired of war, but devoted to his post, it takes a resourceful lady such as Thankful to give him the hope of love and help heal his own wounds, the ones that show and the ones that don’t. In BEGIN AGAIN, a charming novella by Josi S. Kilpack, Regina Weathers gives up on marrying for love the day that Ross Martin walks out of her life. Now, fifteen years later, Ross shows up at a ball and thinks he can woo Regina. But she is set on her lonely path and stitched-up heart, no matter the excuse Ross gives for his years of silence and neglect. When Ross insists he wrote many letters during his military years, Regina discovers a secret long-since buried by her father, and the revelation might be enough to thaw the coldness of her heart. In Annette Lyon’s endearing story, THE AFFAIR AT WILDEMOORE, Mrs. Ellen Stanhope escorts her three daughters to a ball. As her oldest flirts with a beau, Ellen is reminded of her courtship and early years of marriage with Anthony, before tragedy struck with the death of their infant son. The marriage has faded and dulled. Not until she sees Anthony dancing with a woman he courted years before does Ellen realize how much she misses him, still loves him, and yearns for him to yet feel the same way for her. In the delightful novella, THE DUKE’S BROTHER, by Heather B. Moore, Mr. Gregory Clark is having an awful day, and it only gets worse when he’s ran over by … a woman. Mabel Russell reluctantly visits her sister in London for the Season, even though she’d rather stay in the country cataloging insects and aphids. When she runs into Gregory Clark, quite literally, she’s afraid to show any interest, especially since he’s a member of the dreaded ton. But getting to know Gregory becomes an unexpected delight.

    Years later, he's still haunted by Kayla, holding every woman to her standard. And Brandon's secretary, Amberlin Evans, knows she can’t measure up.Amberlin would do anything to make her boss notice her. But when one phone call from Kayla sends Brandon running after her, she knows it's time to stop waiting for him to see her and move on. Funny how her resignation gets Brandon's attention in a way short skirts didn't.When Brandon confronts Amberlin, he realizes that he's been blind to his feelings for her—and that the way she always calls him Sir and says "please" has his thoughts turning wicked…

    . ."Join four of your favorite authors for tales of Christmas romance to remember forever."Our First Christmas," Lisa JacksonMegan Johnson's marriage is over—or so she thinks. When her husband Chris lands in the hospital, fighting for his life, she remembers the unexpected joy of their first Christmas together."A Ranger for Christmas," Mary BurtonThe holidays bring painful memories for history professor Marissa Thompson. Agreeing to help Texas Ranger Lucas Cooper solve a case offers the perfect distraction. But as danger threatens, the joy of love has never been more tempting."A Southern Christmas," Mary CarterReporter Danielle Bright is heading home for the holidays to write up a feature story about Christmas down south—and possibly win back her ex. But Sawyer, the sexy photographer along for the ride, is determined to jingle her bells."Christmas in Montana," Cathy LambFamily is the ideal antidote to getting fired, but Laurel Kelly isn't prepared for the changes at home in Montana—or the fact that her college boyfriend Josh Reed now owns the family land. But a blue Christmas could be the perfect surprise for a holiday to remember.