At nine years old, he is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings. His amazing journey weaves him through the musical landscape of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, with his stunning playing and singing talent affecting numerous stars (Duke Ellington, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley) until, as if predestined, he becomes a pop star himself.He makes records. He is adored. But Frankie Presto’s gift is also his burden, as he realizes the power of the strings his teacher gave him, and how, through his music, he can actually affect people’s lives. At the height of his popularity, tortured by his biggest mistake, he vanishes. His legend grows. Only decades later, having finally healed his heart, does Frankie reappearjust before his spectacular death—to change one last life. With the Spirit of Music as our guide, we glimpse into the lives that were changed by one man whose strings could touch the music—and the magic—in each of us.

    The unexpected death of her favorite aunt sends Julia to the artist town of Grand Marais. There she starts to weave tattered threads into a new tapestry while rediscovering her love of sketching and running the antique shop, Past Imperfect. Everything is just starting to go right when a mysterious package arrives bearing an antique letter opener arrives. Julia's natural curiosity is piqued but before she can untangle the mystery it's found embedded in Tom Peterson's chest. The tapestry of her new life begins to unravel as she is named a prime suspect. Now, left with few clues and a past not willing to let her go, Julia works to solve the mystery and the murder. Infidelity through time and a curse that only she can break - once she figures out how.

    Level one is the most common, possible evidence. Level two, clear evidence of non-human intelligence. Level three is verified signs of non-human intelligence. Level three has a very high burden of proof, requiring verified artifacts. It is the last step before level four. Contact.Centuries ago, Humanity reached for the stars. But the galaxy has turned out to be a lonely place. The Imperial Survey Service explores systems and identifies planets for colonization beyond the edge of explored space, beyond the rim worlds. They also search for signs of an alien civilization. It is a part of their mission they take very seriously.A routine planetary survey mission to system X5682 believes they have found clear evidence of intelligent activity. The usual reports are made. Protocol demands that any reports of potential intelligent activity be investigated. A small fleet task force is dispatched. Their job is to secure the system. Task force Marines secure the site until Imperial Survey can verify the find. The routine has been played out many times, and always ends the same way. No scientific findings, an explainable phenomenon, no confirmation.Until now.The survey team leader is elated by his potential discovery. It is an elation the fleet task force commander does not share. His captains are also ambivalent, save one who is out to prove himself.Unfortunately, the fleet task force has to be to be cobbled together from people unfortunate enough to delay too long before proceeding on shore leave. The Marines are not exactly welcome in the midst of a group of scientists who are used to being immersed in their research on a new planet.The Imperial Fleet mostly keeps the peace and war is a faded memory. That means resources are tight and ships stay in service a long time. The task force that arrives is not exactly in perfect condition. Even the Marines have to be pulled from different ships and base assignments. Everyone expects a short mission once they reach the planet. All they have to do is wait for the specialist team from the Imperial Survey Service to show up and declare another potential find to be nothing after all.Unexpectedly, without warning, humanity makes first contact. Elation turns to desperation and a fight for survival. The Globur are coming.

    But that peace is shattered by the discovery of a dead infant in the barn of an Amish farmer. A police investigation quickly leads to two startling disclosures: the newborn's mother is an unmarried Amish woman, eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher. And the infant did not die of natural causes. Although Katie denies the medical proof that she gave birth to the child, circumstantial evidence leads to her arrest for the murder of her baby. One hundred miles away, Philadelphia defense attorney Ellie Hathaway has achieved an enviable, high-profile career. But her latest court victory has set the sands shifting beneath her. Single at thirty-nine and unsatisfied with her relationship, Ellie doesn't look back when she turns down her chance to make partner and takes off for an open-ended stay at her great-aunt's home in Paradise. Fate brings her to Katie Fisher. Suddenly, Ellie sees the chance to defend a client who truly needs her, not just one who can afford her. But taking on this case challenges Ellie in more ways than one. She finds herself not only in a clash of wills with a client who does not want to be defended but also in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own. Immersing herself in Katie Fisher's life -- and in a world founded on faith, humility, duty, and honesty -- Ellie begins to understand the pressures and sacrifices of those who to live plain. As she peels away the layers of fact and fantasy, Ellie calls on an old friend for guidance. Now, just as this man from Ellie's past reenters her life, she must uncover the truth about a complex case, a tragic loss, the bonds of love -- and her own deepest fears and desires.

    It tells us a story of how the people of Sapta Sindhu, untie to face the challenges of natural disasters and the Greek invasion, in the year 950BC. A wonderful tale of valor, adventure, faith, love, romance, wars, peace, Rudreeshwar, the discovery of Sanjivini,Wars at Zahaden, Zarang and Zabol (all in Afghanistan).It also helps us understand the political development of our nation. Also, the Rig Veda and Avesta (Zoroastrian holy book) find a prominent place in this book. In times like these, the book talks of the places like Iraq(Mesopotamia), Iran (Arianna), Plains of River Helmand (Afghanistan) Syria, Jordan, which were, once he cradle of civilization and are now termed as a rogue nations. In today's times of wars and strifes the book talks of peace and culture.

    There's Gemma, an insecure theater major from London; John, a tall, handsome, and wealthy New Englander; Max, John's cousin and a shy pre-med major; Khaled, a wise-cracking prince from Abu Dhabi; and Ruby, a beautiful art history major. But Malin isn't quite like the rest of her friends. She's an expert at hiding her troubling past. She acts as if she is concerned with the preoccupations of those around her - boys, partying - all while using her extraordinary insight to detect their deepest vulnerabilities and weaknesses.By Senior Day, on the cusp of graduation, Malin's secrets - and those of her friends - are revealed. While she scrambles to maintain her artfully curated image, her missteps set in motion a devastating chain of events that ends in a murder. And as their fragile relationships hang in the balance and close alliances start shifting, Malin will test the limits of what she's capable of to stop the truth from coming out.In a mesmerising novel that peels back the innumerable layers of a seductive protagonist, debut author Cambria Brockman brings to life an entrancing setting through a story of friendship, heartbreak, and betrayal.

    It happened so quickly that the matter is now one of life and death; he has twenty-four weeks to live. Martin needs a relative for a donor, but his parents died in a car crash and he has no siblings or other close relatives. A mixed-raced man he casually met at Nandos, who later became a friend, volunteers to go for the test and is found to be a match. Though it is possible that someone from the general public can be a match, Leroy feels there is more to his relationship with Martin than just friendship. He begins his journey to unveil the power of DNA testing in light of today's medical science, tracing back to two hundred years ago and the slave trade. The result is shocking the whole world, showing that the stranger who crosses your path can possibly be related to you!This story is based on partly true events.

    . . .One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human.

    Vashti has the best intimacy, best kisses, best sex of her life.

    All the time. But why? For what?In the first book in the Let’s Talk series, bon vivant Art Rios talks about how to make life exciting, easier, exceptional, and filled with pleasures— right now. It’s straight talk about modern times. Simple ways to unwind and enjoy life. Let’s Talk is about anything and everything. From happy hour to self-realization. From pursuing pleasures to pandemics to decluttering your life. From gratitude and kindness to lazy Sundays.Whether you’re 18 or 80, it’s never too late to make the most of your life. Join Art and start talking about how to make your life an all-out blast, today.

    After winning the 2015 Best Indie Book Award for Action/Adventure and receiving the B.R.A.G. Medallion, FACE OF OUR FATHER was just awarded the Bronze Medal for Popular Fiction by the 2016 eLit Awards. This novel has it all. One part "The Bourne Identity," one part "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and one part "The Notebook," this poignant tale leaves the reader haunted by its characters long after the novel's final page has turned. Stuart and Angela Pierce, like many disillusioned careerists, are busy reinventing their lives. Stu reduces his airline flying schedule to train for triathlons, while Angie escapes the daily horrors of a prosecutor's job to pursue pro bono work. But death threats soon prove that the only thing Angie escaped was the protective arm of the District Attorney's office. With a graphic photo of a ritual stoning Stu's only tangible clue, he sets out to protect a wife who refuses to protect herself. Obsessed with catching a murdering rapist, Angie plunges them both into a web of global intrigue. But who, indeed what, is the real enemy? Honor. Love. Life. All are at stake as the Pierces struggle to uncover the truth, both the enemy's, and their own. Sometimes the biggest enemy can be the one right next to you... FACE OF OUR FATHER is too literary to be a thriller, yet too thrilling to put down-a unique blend of action and intimacy-a thriller with a soul. How often does fiction change how we define integrity, prejudice, and evil? To get at all that, a novel needs a rollercoaster of a plot coupled with an acute understanding of identity, love, and where these intersect. Test your beliefs. Read it.

    Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing. The Time Traveler’s Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare’s marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals—steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

    Ten years ago, Ben, Lindsey, Chuck, Alison, and Jack graduated from New York University and went out into the world, fresh-faced and full of dreams for the future. But now Ben's getting a divorce; Lindsey's unemployed; Alison and Chuck seem stuck in ruts of their own making; and Jack is getting more publicity for his cocaine addiction than his multimillion-dollar Hollywood successes.Suddenly, turning thirty-- past the age their parents were when they were born, older than every current star athlete or pop music sensation-- seems to be both more meaningful and less than they'd imagined ten years ago.Jonathan Tropper's wonderful debut novel is about more than friendship, love, celebrity, addiction, kidnapping, or even turning thirty-- it's a heartfelt comic riff on what it means to be an adult against your will, to be single when you thought you'd have a family, to discover you are not, in fact, immortal, and to learn that Star Wars is as good a life lesson today as it was when you were six years old.

    Her mother, the powerful head of a Broadway theater company, has no time for her. She does have one friend-a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael-but only she can see him. Years later, Jane is in her thirties and just as alone as ever. Then she meets Michael again-as handsome, smart and perfect as she remembers him to be. But not even Michael knows the reason they've really been reunited.SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S is a love story with an irresistible twist, a novel about the child inside all of us-and the boundary-crossing power of love.

    Initially, I kept it as a personal diary of things that I believed were important at the time, including the poems and prose I wrote which sprang organically from the events as they unfolded. Whilst these few short months were extremely challenging, at times shocking and ultimately tragic, they were also a time of great love. Hopefully, I have captured some of those few moments of pure happiness, humour and joy which I believe will not only help other people touched by cancer but will show sufferers and their families that there is no right or wrong way to behave, just as long as you continue to show how much you care and as much as possible, be there for each other.