a college professor named nicolson found an old book and a map. so he is taking a break from his teaching life and going for an adventure journey to the mercury island.

    Against this backdrop, space exploration is on the cusp of new technological breakthroughs. Jim Atteberry, a mid-30s English professor at City College in San Francisco, spends his free time listening for alien signals on the amateur radio astronomy bands. His life as a single parent to his precocious daughter is turned upside-down when he hears an intelligent cry for help from the Ross 128 system and realizes we are not alone. First Contact This signal unleashes a chain of events pitting Jim and his brilliant, mysterious colleague Kate against a power-hungry scientist with his own secret agenda. Jim must learn the truth about the signal, the strange disappearance of his wife Janet, and the meaning of true love before it's too late in this first contact science fiction thriller. The Human Side of Hard Science Fiction The Crying of Ross 128 is a sci fi mystery thriller and will appeal to fans of Robert J. Sawyer, Ted Dekker, Michael Crichton, and Ursula Le Guin. As well, readers of Star Trek will recognize the human side of hard science fiction presented here.This is the first book in the Ross 128 Science Fiction First Contact Trilogy.

    They did their time in Iraq, hold regular jobs, and spend some of their free time playing RPGs on their game platforms and at the table. Until the day they wake up in a different world, caught up in a half-understood web of events and personalities, hatreds and loyalties that goes back millennia. All wrapped up in a place where magic is real and far too many concepts of the role-playing game are not just real, but also a deadly serious business. Dropped into a world with little in the way of personal resources and a surplus of powerful enemies and dangerous strangers, the four must find their way home while learning all too well the concept of ‘first-level abilities’. Very little is certain in their new environment save that death is very real and the opportunities to meet it are commonplace. Four gamers with military backgrounds are thrust into a world where magic is real and the five toughest individuals on the planet want them dead: it is the worst campaign hook imaginable.

    So when her sister begs her to take her place as a Rihanna impersonator at a club in Amsterdam, no alarm bells go off … until she finds herself onstage in the city’s famous red-light district with only a pole for support and her knickers in a knot.Thrown into strip-club life, and forced to share an apartment with an exotic troupe of impersonating divas with Lady Gaga-sized egos, Grace has to learn some hard lessons fast. One: living with Marilyn Monroe and Madonna isn’t easy. And two: transformations don’t happen overnight – especially when your bra is determined to sabotage your dance routine.Hilarious and smart with heart, Dutch Courage is Paige Nick’s new comedy about what’s left once your clothes come off.

    Rather than provide answers, leaders ask questions to draw out what God has already put into others. ICF Professional Certified Coach and speaker Keith Webb teaches Christian leaders how to create powerful conversations to assist others to solve their own problems, reach goals, and develop their own leadership skills in the process. Whether leaders are working with employees, teenagers, or a colleague living in another city, they’ll find powerful tools and techniques to increase leadership effectiveness. Based on first-hand experience and taught around the world, The COACH Model for Christian Leaders is packed with stories and illustrations that bring the principles and practice to life and transform leaders’ conversations into powerful results.

    Make them listen to it two more times. Get them to explain why they never bothered with it before. Then ask them to review it.What began as a simple whim quickly grew in popularity, and now Ruth and Martin’s Album Club has featured some remarkable guests: Ian Rankin on Madonna’s Madonna. Chris Addison on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Brian Koppelman on The Smiths’ Meat is Murder. JK Rowling on the Violent Femmes’ Violent Femmes. Bonnie Greer on The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Martin Carr on Paul McCartney’s Ram. Brian Bilston on Neil Young’s Harvest. Anita Rani on The Strokes’ Is This It. Richard Osman on Roxy Music’s For Your Pleasure. And many, many more.Each entry features an introduction to each album by blog creator Martin Fitzgerald. What follows are delightful, humorous and insightful contributions from each guest as they have an album forced upon them and – for better or worse – they discover some of the world’s favourite music.Ruth and Martin’s Album Club is a compilation of some of the blog’s greatest hits as well as some exclusive material that has never appeared anywhere before. Throughout, we get an insight into why some people opt out of some music, and what happens when you force them to opt in.

    On her way to a presentation that could make or break her, she runs into Jason Turner, a handsome, mysterious billionaire. Jason is immediately drawn to Kaia, and wastes no time in letting her know how much he wants her. But for reasons that Jason doesn’t explain, reasons that he doesn’t even like to think about, he can’t let himself get involved with anyone. It’s not safe. So, he asks Kaia to meet up with him that evening, but there’s a catch: they can only have one night together. Despite her own better judgement, Kaia agrees. But one pleasure-filled night isn’t enough for either one of them, and Jason finds his resistance crumbling. If Jason lets Kaia get closer, she could get hurt. If he lets her go, he’ll always want her. If he can keep her safe, is it worth a chance? When Kaia finds out that past Jason’s holding onto is built on a lie, maybe Jason will finally let himself have a future with her…

    based solely on the opinion of the woman he's about to break up with! When he calls into the show the following week to give Dr. Angeline Hemming a piece of his mind and his side of the story, he can't help being intrigued by the witty, and sexy-sounding doctor. After a heated, hilarious, and admittedly simulating, back-and-forth on the phone, Angel decides the sexy, powerful, panty-dropping, and all-alpha-all-the-time, Mr. Avery, is in dire need of a hard lesson in love and sex and by someone who won't fall at his feet. No, Angel is powerful and successful in her own right, and she decides she is just the one school him. They both have a clear mission, but once they meet face-to-face, all hell breaks loose as these two type-A personalities battle it out for control over minds, hearts, and yes, even between the sheets. As they fight each other at every turn, they learn that in order to get what they desperately want from each other, they have to learn to give... and give a lot. After Dark is Kahlen Aymes sexiest and highest rated series and Alex Avery will become your NEXT BILLIONAIRE OBSESSION. He WILL OWN YOU. And you'll love every single minute of it. In Kahlen Aymes most highly rated series,

    intelligence agencies wracked by internal power struggles and paralyzed by bureaucracy, the president has been forced to establish his own clandestine group--Covert-One. It's activated only as a last resort, when the threat is on a global scale and time is running out.THE UTOPIA EXPERIMENTWhen Dresner Industries unveils the Merge, a device that is destined to revolutionize the world and make the personal computer and smartphone obsolete, Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is assigned to assess its military potential. He discovers that enhanced vision, real-time battlefield displays, unbreakable security, and near-perfect marksmanship are only the beginning of a technology that will change the face of warfare forever--and one that must be kept out of the hands of America's enemies at all costs.Meanwhile, in the mountains of Afghanistan, CIA operative Randi Russell encounters an entire village of murdered Afghans--all equipped with enhanced Merge technology that even the Agency didn't know existed. As Smith and Russell delve into the circumstances surrounding the Afghans' deaths, they're quickly blocked by someone who seems to have access to the highest levels of the military--a person that even the president knows nothing about.Is the Merge really as secure as its creator claims? And what secrets about its development is the Pentagon so desperate to hide? Smith and Russell are determined to learn the truth. But they may pay for it with their lives . . .

    But, beneath the cosy contentment of their lives lies tensions that threaten to erupt at any moment. Andrew, Laura's handsome brother, has just returned home from Crete with his bride in tow, the surprisingly timid Ruth, who is finding it hard to fit in with Andrew's overbearing mother, Cecily. And, to her increasing concern, Andrew doesn't seem to have his mind entirely on her... Laura is desperate to have a family, and can't understand why Donal doesn't seem to share her only wish. And the beautiful, glamorous Breffni, with her lovely husband, Cian, and the golden child, Polly, well, she has the greatest surprise in store...

    He is befriended by Lorilee Riley who had recently moved into the rural mountain community. She’s a Black girl in a mostly white Appalachian town and she’s never felt that she was pretty as she towers over other kids her age. When Lorilee’s Aunt Sabrina is able to help Micah have the growth removed, he not only looks normal, but he grows into a handsome young man. He loves Lorilee who has always been there for him, and he sees her as not only his best friend, but the girl who he wants to spend his life with. Lorilee, however, is insecure about her looks, especially her weight and she can’t help but wonder how long Micah will stick around. In Micah’s eyes, nothing has changed over the years since they met, and he tries to make her understand that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

    

    

    Reclusive billionaire Ryan Steele retreated to the country in the hope of healing his wounded heart. Neither of them are looking for love, but when they meet, sparks fly . . .Book #2: Guarding His HoneyAfter Helen Thompson witnesses a mob crime, she becomes the mafia's next target. When danger follows her to Mountainville, there's only one man who can help: bear shifter Thomas Glenn, former fighter pilot turned billionaire. It's like they were made for each other . . . but a lie almost tears them apart! Book #3: The Bear and His HoneyJessica Sheppard became a lawyer to help people, not to waste her life over petty corporate infighting. Ground down by her punishing workload, she takes a two-week vacation at her aunt's bee farm. She finds peace, quiet . . . and hot billionaire Alan Glade. But when an unscrupulous oil company threatens to destroy Mountainville, a billionaire and a hot-shot lawyer might be the peaceful little town's last hope.*-*Three heart-warming romances full of steamy heat, action, and humor, and three strong women who find their happy ending with hot billionaire shifters who'll do anything to protect their mates.If you love paranormal romance, protective shifters, passion, and the power of true love, you're in for a treat with this complete collection -- then settle in for a wonderful read!These stories are all romance, with no cheating, absolutely no cliff-hangers, and guaranteed, heartwarming HEA's!

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston takes readers on an adventure deep into the Honduran jungle in this riveting, danger-filled true story about the discovery of an ancient lost civilization.