Abigail Argent is a skilled craftsman working in the world of sculpture. Her particular talent lies in seeing the beauty in a plain piece of metal and being able to draw it out. When she comes across a book that links her craft with the ancient myth of alchemy, she's intrigued. Digging deeper, she discovers that some types of research can be dangerous. Delving into one of Italy's oldest secret societies, curiosity comes at a price that no-one should have to pay. If you like a conspiracy theory that walks the line between myth and science, you'll love A Rarer Gift Than Gold. A Rarer Gift Than Gold takes everything you think you know about alchemy and turns it on its head Treat yourself to A Rarer Gift Than Gold as featured on Radio 4, BBC World Service & Timeout Magazine Interview with the Author Will you share a little about your book?  It’s a conspiracy theory about alchemy.  Set in the art and craft world, it’s low fantasy with high stakes. Readers who enjoy the Da Vinci Code should like it.   Will you share how you came up with the idea for this book?    I am a sculptural restorer specialising in metals. I wanted to convey my love of metals and the idea came to me when a historian friend was doing some research and calling up some pretty rare volumes. He got a warning to stay away from the material he was looking at. I wondered why anyone would be so protective of something so dry and academic. I wondered what motivation they could possibly have and what might happen if he ignored the warning. I built this book around this event.   Who or what was your inspiration for this book?   Every day, I work with historic objects and one of the questions I always ask myself when restoring them is ‘what is missing from this object. What can I not see?’ and ‘why might evidence have been lost?’ It has made me very interested in what’s absent from history and why.  This story is about how history can be manipulated by the removal of physical evidence for personal gain.   It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?   The only part of the lead character that is like me is her love of metals. That we share.   Have you been influenced by the writing style of other authors?   I adore and devour books, but trying to imitate someone else would just be too hard. Your own voice has to be authentic otherwise I think you come off as a hack.    Do you have plans to write another book?   Girl in A Golden Cage will be out at the end of 2016 – it’s another book in The Gold Gift Series

    Ja Rule considers the lack of role models for many young black men today—a void that leads to bad choices and the wrong paths. Recalling his youth, he illuminates the seductive pull of the streets and the drug dealers who were his earliest role models.Jeffrey Atkins offers practical wisdom—reflection, growth and hope learned first-hand as an inmate, father, husband, and community role model. He speaks fondly of men who inspired Unruly—the inmates he met in prison whose misguided ideas of masculinity landed them behind bars—and Louis Farrakhan who mediated the televised encounter with Ja Rule’s adversary, 50 Cent.Unruly is a compelling, personal look at the duality and conflicts that arise in the African-American male psyche from a man who has enjoyed breathtaking fame and suffered heartbreaking misfortune.

    The young girl, Signy, is unaware of the life thread the Norns spin and weave for her, but she is about to find out.It is the year 829 CE, Signy has lived a secluded life in a tiny hamlet on one of the isles in Southern Denmark and knows the outside world only from stories. Events take her to the bustling market town Birka, a vastly different place, and to a new life in the household of the town völva, a Norse shamanic healer and witch.A story of fortitude, friends and foes, völva magic, survival and betrayal set in Viking Scandinavia. Signy Kráka is historical fiction with a twist of Norse mysticism and will also appeal to fantasy fans.Written with attention to historical detail and sweeping imagination, this atmospheric story transports the reader into the culture and beliefs of Viking-Age Scandinavia.Praise from readers:"Great storytelling!""Very vivid and realistic.""Wonderful. I loved every chapter.""Your story is one of my favorites.""I can't wait to see what happens next!!" Signy Kráka is a novel told in three parts. This book is part one and contains 30 chapters.

    She’s got a job to do for her Uncle Phil. Each day, she spies on The Kevin Keegan Day Nursery across the road from her bedroom window, writing down all of the comings and goings in her notebooks. That’s how she spots her little girl in the pink coat. She likes her, and it isn’t long before Kate asks her mam to get her for her. Plans are made.But then, quite unexpectedly, Kate flashes her breasts out her bedroom window at the little girl’s father. And that's the reason that nothing will ever be the same again…There is no one ending to Kate’s story, instead there are eleven possible outcomes, 9 of which you can navigate through your e-reading device. Each is different, and each exposes a little more of Kate’s utterly wonky world.

    Experts say they are scanner echoes tossed out of the past by the Phenomenon. The rumors and a cryptic entry in an ancestor's diary propel Lieutenant-Commander Mart Britlot of the Confederation navy into the dangerous Sivon sector of space. There, Britlot hopes to find help for the Confederation, now facing a two-front war. As the last living Confederation descendant of the Adian nation, Britlot is obsessed with finding the ghost ships, believed destroyed during a mass emigration 300 years in the past. He dreams of riding to the rescue at the head of the never defeated Adian fleet; he dreams of finding family after the death of all his near relatives at the hands of the Combine. He'll drive his ship and crew beyond endurance to achieve this. The felid Tlartox Empire, eager to avenge their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Confederation, has voted to annul the long-standing peace treaty. The glory of The Hunt beckons. Admiral Tood Tlomega has focused on the human planet Lormar, with its great naval base, as a fitting target for retribution. She will return dignity to the people of Tlar. She will return them to the path that Tlar illuminated so many centuries ago.But a small band of Tlartox subversives intend to rake a claw across the plans of the war-mongers, and give both the Empire and the Confederation something they hadn't counted on.

    Written by a doctor of Internal Medicine, "1918" is a rigorously researched and accurate historical novel about the pandemic that killed up to 100 million people. The story is told through the eyes of Dr. Edward Noble, an army major and infectious disease sub-specialist, whose unique position in Boston allows him to detect an emerging influenza strain that is an unprecedented global threat. The actual medical literature and terminology of the time, plus real personal accounts of the pandemic, are used to put the reader in the mind of this early 20th century physician.

    Days later, a young, highly decorated Marine corporal named Frank Kidd learns of Geronimo’s death. Kidd’s real name is Chaco, and he is Geronimo’s nephew. Orphaned at birth, Chaco was toughened by the cruelties of the white man’s Indian school, battle-hardened by guerrilla warfare, and severely wounded in the 1906 Cuban Pacification Campaign. Chaco returns to Fort Sill’s Apache POW camp to find his adoptive mother dying and his sister trapped in a brothel. Long-held secrets are soon revealed: Chaco is the old warrior’s last son, and his father’s final wish was to be buried “in the country that knows my name.” To honor that request, Chaco must rescue his sister and liberate Geronimo’s bones from the Apache Cemetery. During the escape, two white men end up dead. Once an honored hero, now a hunted outlaw, Chaco races west with his sister in a stolen motorcar. As the last Apache warrior, he must pay the price with blood in one of the largest manhunts of the 20th century.

    A Barbara Kingsolver Omnibus; Contains Homeland, The Bean Trees, Pigs In Heaven and 11 other short stories.

    Eight year old John watches his beloved West Ham win the cup, whilst at the same time, Kenny tumbles out the front door of the house opposite, blood all over his face.Fourteen years later, both boys' childhoods ripped apart in the broken streets of London's East End, John and Kenny find themselves frontin up local gangster, Ronnie Swordfish.John's got a lifetime of hurt to put right - for him and for Kenny.But with John layin on the ground half unconscious and Ronnie with a sword to Kenny's head, whatever way you look at it, it don't look good . . .ABIDE WITH ME is the story of two boys forced to walk blind into the darkness of their shattered lives . . .. . . and their struggle to emerge as men.

    Endless rain, debilitating influenza, and bizarre deaths have all befallen this town, leaving its people with a diehard faith in the power of curses-and a deep longing for a miracle. Now that miracle may have swept into town, in the form of two mysterious newcomers: the sinfully beautiful Rosa Spina Innocenti and her grown son, Emanuelle Mosè, who seems to possess the ability to heal people and animals. In a short time, the pair convinces those eager to believe that they've been sent by a higher being. But just as the townspeople begin to succumb to the mystical appeal of this charming duo, another stranger arrives, threatening to tear apart this close-knit community that will do nearly anything-even turn on each other-for proof of a power greater than themselves

    "Sam Pink is dictator of the island of the bizarre." - As You Recognize Your Transience"Reading Sam Pink will make you recognize the reptile smuggler that has always been hiding out inside your brain." - Cameron Pierce, author of Ass Goblins of Auschwitz and The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island

    Woven throughout the ctional fun in Elliott's memoir are wonderful real-life anecdotes that will delight many new readers and loyal fans alike. "The arc of [Elliott's] career remains unique and inspiring . . . that he blazed a trail for Arrested Development and Community and all the other freaky, convention-outing TV comedies."—Grantland

    

    An architect turned crooked real estate developer, Abbie claims to be chasing after an unexpected heavenly vision—one that inevitably embroils the Mayer family within the political and familial machinations of Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

    He has no time to mourn and try to attend conflicts of his young son at school, the trouble of his older children with drugs, the trouble of his ex, who hasn't lost her ability to disturb, or his shocking mother, a hypochondriac and heart patient. It's a stable imbalance of hilarious entanglements and unexpected experiences.