Mike and his cousin, Salvatore “Sally-Boy” Boccanera are born one minute apart, in the same hospital, and it seems like they’ll never be more than a minute apart the rest of their lives. Their experiences knocking around the city are challenging, funny, touching, and at times disturbing—all of the ingredients that define growing up. Life lessons happen in the Italian bakery Sally-Boy’s father owns, where the boys loll and play, with ears and eyes wide open. But maybe the biggest lesson of all looms over Mike’s father, who’s determined to make drastic changes in pursuit of a better life. Hanging in the balance, at the center of the boys’ tumultuous lives, is the fire escape. It’s a place that is uniquely theirs, and Mike best describes its spell, recalling how it reeks in the rain, blisters in the sun, and ices over in the snow. It’s where he and Sally-Boy talk and think and philosophize and plot and try to understand all they can about themselves and the world.

     Featuring eleven brand new, never before seen urban fantasy stories from bestselling, award-winning authors, Urban Magic will take you on a series of exciting adventures in worlds full of magic. All proceeds from sales of this anthology will go to the American Library Association Disaster Relief Fund, which helps libraries recover after natural disasters.

    

    of whom I can affirm only one thing, that they haunted certain brains, and have haunted, among others, my own.” First published in 1890, Lee’s most famous volume of supernatural tales occupies a special place in the literature of the fantastic for its treatment of the femme fatale and the allure of the past, along with the themes of thwarted artistic creativity and psychological obsession. This collection, which includes the four stories originally published in Hauntings and three others, enables readers to consider Lee’s work anew for its subtle redefinitions of gender and sexuality during the Victorian fin-de-siècle.The appendices, which include extensive excerpts from writings by Lee’s predecessors and peers, including Algernon Charles Swinburne, Walter Pater, and Lee’s brother Eugene Lee-Hamilton, allow the reader to see how Lee takes on the themes and preoccupations of the late-Victorian period but adapts them to her own purposes.Preface to Hauntings (1890) -- Amour dure (1887, 1890) -- Dionea (1890) -- Oke of Okehurst (1886, 1890) -- A wicked voice (1887, 1890) -- Prince Alberic and the snake lady (1896) -- A wedding chest (1904) -- Preface to The virgin of the seven daggers (1927) -- The virgin of the seven daggers (1896, 1909,1927) -- Appendix A: From Algernon Charles Swinburne, "Notes on designs of the old masters at Florence" (1868, 1875) -- Appendix B: From Walter Pater, "Pico della Mirandula" (1871, 1873) -- Appendix C: From Walter Pater, "Lionardo da Vinci" (1869, 1873) -- Appendix D: Vernon Lee, "Faustus and Helena: notes on the supernatural in art" (1880, 1881) -- Appendix E: A. Mary F. Robinson, "Before a bust of Venus" (1881) -- Appendix F: Eugene Lee-Hamilton, "The mandolin" (1882) -- Appendix G: A. Mary F. Robinson, "The ladies of Milan" (1889) -- Appendix H: Eugene Lee-Hamilton, "On a surf-rolled torso of Venus" (1884, 1894) -- Appendix I: Vernon Lee, "Out of Venice at last" (1925).

    Guest editor Robert Hass, a former Poet Laureate and a central figure in the poetry world, brings his passionate intelligence to "The Best American Poetry 2001." In his engaging introduction, Hass writes that after sifting through dozens of literary magazines, he "found that there were large numbers of poems that gave me pleasure, seemed to have inventive force, or intellectual passion or surprise." The works he selected are diverse in every way with only their excellence in common. With comments from the poets illuminating their work, and series editor David Lehman's always entertaining foreword assessing the current state of the art, "The Best American Poetry 2001" presents the richness and originality of this exciting moment in the history of American poetry.

    This is a boxed set of three full-length contemporary romance novels: Jessie Belle, Taylor Lynne, and Rachel Laine. Come journey with the Women of Merryton as they discover love, hope, second chances, forgiveness, and most importantly, how much women need women.Jessie Belle - Book One: Jessica and Blake Summers know a thing or two about what it's like to be the latest and greatest news on the Merryton grapevine. Their thirteen year marriage has had more than its fair share of heartache and loss. Then the past comes knocking, in the form of a teenage girl, a daughter Blake never knew existed. The news sets the Merryton grapevine on fire.In the wake of this revelation and firestorm, Blake and Jessica are forced to reevaluate their own relationship and priorities, all while learning that raising a teenage girl is not for the faint of heart. But in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty, they discover that Madeline may be just what the doctor ordered to heal their broken hearts and mend their own tattered relationship.Will they have the courage to look forward and find a greater love than they could ever imagine? Or will past hurts and the town grapevine tear them apart?Taylor Lynne - Book Two: Determined not to repeat the same mistakes as her mother, Taylor Cole left her husband with their toddler in tow fourteen years ago and vowed never to return to Merryton. Now she is finally ready to face her demons and put the past and her ex-husband behind her, but to do that, she and her daughter must return to the place that haunts her memories. A place where she lost not only the love of her life, but her childhood hopes and dreams.When they move back, Taylor can't seem to remain apathetic toward her ex-husband or his nine-year-old daughter. She discovers that maybe all wasn't as it seemed so many years ago. And maybe--just maybe--she and her ex-husband need each other now more than they ever have before. But can the exes put the past behind them and find a way to forgive each other? Or will they let past mistakes and misunderstandings keep them from future happiness?Rachel Laine - Book Three: Rachel Whitney's life changed forever when Drew, the son of her twin sister, Sydney, was placed in her arms--and there he stayed. At twenty-two, she had no idea what she was doing, but in that moment, she knew that raising Drew was what she was meant to do with her life.Fiercely independent, Rachel makes her own way managing her family's insurance agency. Decidedly against introducing any men into her life, or Drew's, she protects her heart against all romantic entanglements. But what she didn't count on was a letter from her sister that leads a famous secret to her door eight years after her sister's death. A secret with the same eyes as her son's.Desperate not to get the courts involved, Rachel allows Drew's previously unknown father, Andrew Turner, into their lives, and to her surprise, little by little, into her heart. But for Rachel, taking that step could open her family to a firestorm of media attention that not even Merryton can protect them from. Is love worth the risk? Or will Andrew's fame and ambition ruin their chances?

    1 - 8):TAMED BY THE BILLIONAIRE - Vol. 1Roman Steele - The business tycoon who has the daunting task of taming the spoiled princess.MAID IN THE U.S.A. - Vol. 2Pierce D'Amato - The software billionaire who thinks he's in control but instead finds himself at the mercy of an angelic four year old and a dark-eyed French beauty who steals his heart.BILLIONAIRE'S ISLAND BRIDE - Vol. 3Dare DeSouza - The owner of a line of Caribbean resorts who tries to teach our beloved heroine a lesson she'll never forget...but then ends up learning the greatest lesson of his life.DANGEROUS DECEPTION - Vol. 4Storm Hunter - He loves motorcycles, fast cars and now he's got to add one more item to his list of loves: Danielle Swift. Dani has a charm he tries to resist but this committed bachelor is no match for this fiercely independent woman who's like none he's met before.TO TAME A TYCOON - Vol. 5Enrico Megalos - A shipping tycoon with a big problem but one which 'lion tamer', Asia Miller, is determined to fix.SWEET SEDUCTION - Vol. 6Jake McKoy - Billionaire author, philanthropist and recluse - a man with a past that is tearing him apart. Will Samantha Fox be the woman to pull him out of his shell?DADDY BY DECEMBER - Vol. 7Drake Duncan - Billionaire investor, and a man determined to win the love of his life: a woman who is just as determined...to stay the heck out of his way.TO CATCH A MAN (IN 30 DAYS OR LESS) - Vol. 8Stone Hudson - Owner of Hudson Broadcasting Corporation, Stone is thrown for a loop when he meets a woman gutsy enough to laugh at him. And then she turns into a temptress. How can he resist?Alpha males at their best - which one will you fall in love with?

    But Connie harbors a deep secret she has never told anyone. Ben and Julie are hardly settled when people begin dying, and they find themselves swept into the midst of another mystery. The twists and turns in this complex plot will keep readers guessing to the very end! Praise for Susan Slater and the Ben Pecos series: “Solid, suspenseful narrative and colorful glimpses of Native American life ... strongly recommend.” —Library Journal “A series to watch.” —Booklist “… Ben Pecos—raised far from New Mexico’s Tewa Pueblo—could become as lasting a fictional presence as Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.” – Chicago Tribune “… a gripping, interesting tale.” –5 stars, online review

     The books included are: Stand By Your Wolf When werewolf Juliet goes on a camping trip with her human girlfriends, the last thing she wants to run into is a group of male wolves on the prowl for mates. She’s been acclimating herself into the human world just to avoid the cocky-as-all-get-out type of men who break her heart. But when she meets Roman, her life without a true mate is about to change. 
Roman is the alpha of his pack, and with pressure from all sides, he’s in search of a mate who can handle the challenge of a strong leader. When he finds her in Juliet, he discovers the very woman who can steal his heart and help lead a pack is also the kind who will challenge him in ways that could cost one or both of them their lives. Save a Horse, Ride a Werewolf As a child, Jayden used to imagine finding her true love and having a storybook wedding. As an adult, she never expected it to come true. She grew up with a single mother and knew the harsh reality of not-so-happy endings. Meeting Alex and discovering the true-mate love of a werewolf was a dream come true. Now Jayden’s planning her wedding and looking forward to becoming a werewolf and part of a big family in the form of a wolf pack. 
But Jayden’s picture-perfect life is threatened the day her mother comes to town. While Rosemary doesn’t know about werewolves, a secret that has to be kept in order to keep the Smokey Falls pack safe, that’s the least of Jayden’s problems. Rosemary has a way of getting what she wants, and in the process of fighting to have the wedding of her dreams, Jayden alienates Alex. When he tells Jayden he’s no longer sure she’s fit to be a werewolf, she has to learn to accept the most important thing of all – the love of family. Werewolf on Your Mind When Alisha learned Juliet, her former college roommate, was a werewolf, she wasn’t afraid. She was intrigued. And now, months later, she’s obsessed with becoming one too. All she needs is a mate to change her, and she knows Juliet’s pack is where she can find one. Luck is on Alisha’s side, and within hours of arriving in Smokey Falls, she meets her true mate, Jackson. But he isn’t the kind of man she'd imagined. Jackson is a feral werewolf firefighter who’d rather not deal with people, while Alisha is accustomed to a country-club lifestyle. True mate attraction doesn’t care, though, and it makes Alisha decide all Jackson needs is a little training. Too bad Jackson has other ideas. Sweet Summer Werewolf Chelsea’s job as an assistant to the producer of a popular reality TV show is a dream come true. It also consumes her life. So when she gets a month off, she decides to visit her college girlfriends and recharge in the sleepy werewolf town of Smokey Falls. After two travels days from hell, Chelsea makes it to the mountains where she can finally breathe again, and her vacation gets even better when she meets Quinten. With a voice sent down from heaven, she discovers the dreamy werewolf is a hot prospect for her show and a sure career booster for her. He’s also her true mate, but no matter how great werewolf life is for her friends, becoming one is the last thing Chelsea will ever do. But because the true-mate attraction is nearly impossible to resist, Chelsea decides to deal with it by allowing herself a summer fling. And when she opens her heart to love, she finds she never wants to let Quinten go, even though she’s not willing to leave her career.

    

    And when she accompanies the magnificent Italian to his Tuscan palazzo, Katie feels like a lamb facing a wolf… Relax in Rome Seeing Bethany Maguire one fateful night in Rome decked in captivating silk, billionaire Cristiano De Angelis indulges in a night of passion with the beauty. But Bethany is not a society heiress, born to a jet-set life…

    

     Full of drama, sadness, grief, joy and gritty story lines, this series takes a close look at what life was like in the post-war, East End of London. Poverty, squalid living conditions and hard times all jostle for space, but the overriding feeling is one of strong women, facing their hardships head on. Find out more about this intriguing time, in our look behind the scenes, and also discover how the East End had been shaped over the centuries.

    Sheltered, naïve, and just eighteen, Elsie leaves the stifling environment of her parents’ home in Cornwall to seek out her sister, Leo, who had run away nine years earlier. She finds Leo sharing a houseboat, and a bed, with the beautiful, fair-haired Helen. While Elsie’s arrival seems innocent enough, it is the first of a series of events that will turn Helen and Leo’s contented life inside out. Soon a randy young doctor is chasing after all three women at once, a neighborly friendship begins to show an erotic tinge, and long-quiet ghosts from Leo’s past begin to surface. Before long, no one is sure just who feels what for whom.Mary Renault wrote this delightfully provocative novel in the early 1940s, creating characters that are lighthearted, charming, and free-spirited partly in answer to the despair characteristic of Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness or Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour. The result is a witty and stylish story that offers exceptional insight into the world of upcoming writers and artists of in 1930s London, chronicling their rejection of society’s established sexual mores and their heroic pursuits of art and life.

    His Thoughts Said ... His Father Said ... provides bite-sized, biblical answers to your unspoken questions about: God's guidance, spiritual dryness, God's supply, grief and suffering, hard situations and more.