To her, the war was nothing more than an inconvenience on her shopping trips to Berlin. But when she is walking her dogs, Tirpitz and Bismarck, on the far side of her estate, she discovers something that changes her life forever.Obersturmführer Meyer is an SS officer who works in the camp close to the Burbeck estate. He despises those in his charge and considers them to be no more than animals for the slaughter. But the arrogant Countess with a father who is a General in the Wehrmacht in Berlin was rapidly becoming a bigger nuisance than the smell from the burial pits.Helga’s discovery of Jewish children hiding on her estate leads her to investigate the nearby camp. What she finds there shocks her to the soul. She decides to take the children to France and somehow to safety. It begins as a self-destructive whim borne on the bitterness and anger of her discovery, but slowly and surely Helga is drawn inexorably down the path to smuggling and eventually, spying. She engages Jacob, one of the children, to help in her plans. And soon she is embroiled with the French Resistance. But her continued trips across occupied Europe to the South of France with “children from her estate” soon attract even more attention from Obersturmführer Meyer. It isn’t long before both know exactly what the other is doing; it becomes a game, but a game that will lead to final bloodshed in a French forest.Captain Taylor of the US Army has met Helga only once. But that meeting and everything he learns about her afterwards plants a seed of love that won’t stop growing. But Helga isn't easy to find once lost. And when Captain Taylor visits a Convent in the Southern French resort of Antibes in 1948 he soon finds out that the end of the war isn’t the end of the story. But what connects a German Countess in the war with a Catholic nun in Cyprus in 1946? And will Captain Taylor finally track her down?

    She has used the analogy of a hardy Peppercorn tree which survived in her childhood backyard, symbolising for her the endurance of suburban 'battlers' struggling to achieve purpose and hope within a somewhat barren environment.. It reveals a very different world of post Second World War frugality, British style education, no television or computers; a time when children largely created their own entertainment, were expected to conform and obey all authority figures and accept limitation in terms of their personal development and dreams. The final chapters reveal how Jill's childhood impacted on her later life as a mother of six children, a victim of a difficult marriage and her eventual achievement of four University degrees as a mature-age student. Jill also touches on aspects of Australian literature and how some of the greatest Australian authors such as historian Manning Clark, novelist Patrick White and social scientists Donald Horne and John Thornhill have viewed suburbia and the Australian psyche developed over two centuries of pioneering a beautiful but harsh land. Jill's story includes humour and pathos and is a keenly observant record of the Australian suburban culture of that era. This is a book for all who live, dream and struggle in suburbia.

    One of her debts is with the owner of a landscaping company. Could she pay him back in services? He seems nice enough...Excerpt:As soon as Jeff walked into his office, he knew something was amiss because it was Monday morning and Todd and Alan were all smiles. When he stepped in, Mitch seemed to come out of nowhere, slapping him on the back and telling him what a glorious Monday morning it was.In his seven years working with Todd and Alan, Jeff had never seen them smile; he didn’t even know they could smile. And as for Mitch ... he must have smelled too many of those weeds they were taking out of their clients’ yards.Completely dumbfounded, he turned the corner into his office and immediately realized it wasn't weeds or weed. The reason behind the smiles on and the cheery disposition of these clowns on this glorious Monday morning took another shape altogether.Stumbling into his office after being caught off guard and slapped on the back, he was immediately greeted by the most gorgeous, ass-thetically pleasing tush in tight jeans he had seen in a long, long time.He wondered what the face looked like and quickly decided it didn't really matter as he focused on her assets while she was bent down shuffling through some papers and totally unaware of the eight eyes boring through her. Four pair of eyes who should have been working on something, but couldn't disengage.The fact that she was rummaging through his papers didn’t immediately register.The woman turned around without looking up and carried a stack of papers to a file cabinet that had come with the building and had never been used. As far as he could recall, the cabinet had never been opened, and so far, had been used as a shelf for a silk plant his mother gave him as a gift when he started the business.To his dismay, the plant was now in the trash bin next to the file cabinet. That hurt.The woman was oblivious to the attention she was getting and after depositing the stack of papers in a neat pile in the top drawer of the file cabinet, she turned around to see a gaping Jeff standing before her.The first thing Jeff thought before hinging his jaw back into place was that the woman's front-side was just as pretty as her backside. She looked to be in her early thirties, and not only wore the jeans very well, but the white t-shirt she had on was filled out in all the right places and looked like an advertisement for trouble.She was petite, but disproportionately bigger where it really mattered. Her hair was tied with one of those elastic fabric bands his nieces always wore, and her eyes were as green as the silk plant had once been.Jeff gave himself a few seconds before giving in to reason. Regretfully, he decided it was time to put an end to his enjoyment - nice tush or not. After all, this was his office, he was the boss, and he had no idea what the hell was going on.“What did you do to my plant?!” was somehow the first thing that came out of his mouth. As if realizing how stupid his remark was, Jeff rather forcefully shoved his amused employees out of the way and out of his office.She looked down at the trash bin he was pointing to, and she suddenly seemed very confused when she looked up to see his expectant and slightly flushed face.“It’s dead. I don't think it can be saved, so I threw it out." Bending down to get it, she added, "I can put it back up he ..."Now that really hurt. Not to mention the fact that her bending down again completely disarmed him.“How can silk be dead?” he snapped.“That was silk?" she replied smiling. "Wow, I never met anyone who could kill silk before.”Jeff tried to ignore the chuckles coming from the room next door, but just as he was about to snap at them, the intruder...

    But when his brother is struck down by an assassin's bullets, Hugo takes up the hunt.An unscrupulous man with his sights on the top constructs a devilish plan to get there and Hugo is thrown into an international conspiracy where nothing is as it seems, and Hugo is forced to use all means to survive.Join Hugo in a roller-coaster ride for truth in the first book in the Hugo Xavier series.

    Budget cuts. Missing teaches. A not-so-cozy mystery. You think you know the world of magical boarding schools? Not from a teacher's perspective at a school for at risk youth. This book bundle includes: Reading, Writing and Necromancy; Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts; My Crazy Hex-Boyfriend; Spell It Out for Me; Hex Crimes, and BONUS MATERIAL. BerateMyTeacher.com and Dear Jezzy: How Can a Devil Make an Angel Say Yes are also included in this bundle. WARNING: These books contain hex-rated mysteries. Book 6: Reading, Writing and Necromancy Happily ever after is short-lived for Clarissa Lawrence while working as the arts and craft teacher at Womby’s School for Wayward Witches. Clarissa must solve the mystery of who has been killing people and draining them of their magic. If Clarissa doesn’t discover who the murderer is, and how to save Derrick in time, he may be lost forever. Worse yet, she might turn up dead next. Book 7: Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts Clarissa Lawrence’s lifelong dream of being a witch living in a magical realm is shattered now that she has been drained of her magic. As if living without magic isn’t horrible enough, her situation only grows more complicated when she realizes the man she once loved wants her dead, and she must trust a Fae enemy to help her solve her problems. Book 8: My Crazy Hex-Boyfriend Clarissa Lawrence lives in a world of talking unicorns, djinn who grant wishes, and sirens who seduce with their voice. But not all magic is rainbows and sunshine. Magic comes with a price, every favor requires one in return, and bargaining with a Fae can be lethal. If she accepts help from a Fae enemy to solve her problems, she might lose her soul in the process. If she doesn’t, Clarissa and her students might end up dead. Book 9: Spell It Out for Me Clarissa Lawrence knew there would be a price to pay for accepting the assistance of a Fae’s magic, though she never thought it would cost her heart. . . . When Clarissa is forced to choose between regaining her magic and the man she loves, she doesn’t know which is more difficult to give up. Book 10: Hex Crimes A Hexy Mystery. The Raven Court and the Silver Court know what Clarissa is and understand she is the key to solving the Fae Fertility Paradox. They will stop at nothing to renew their numbers and enslave anyone who can bear their heirs. With no one she can trust, friends keeping mysteries of their own from her, and no one to turn to, Clarissa has to hide her forbidden magic—as well as her student’s magic—a difficult task when Clarissa uncovers a plot to expose their secret powers. BONUS MATERIAL: Funny Short Stories from the Womby’s World and the Wrath of the Tooth Fairy crossover world BerateMyTeacher.com Dear Jezzy: How Can a Devil Make an Angel Say Yes

    He freaks.Desperate to resurrect his career at Teleco Wireless, he conjures up an international scheme filled with the promise of endless high-spending clients. It's brilliant, it's successful, and it involves doing business with organized crime.But soon those closest to him find themselves caught up in his dangerous plan and one of these unknowingly has the power to destroy him. Darby must now make a tough decision––give up on the one good idea he ever had or risk it all.

    Instead of unmasking the charade, Gwen makes the split second decision to play along, and finds herself roped into the challenge of her small career with a socialite bride and her domineering mother. Juggling the outlandish requests–from firing “the best man” to renting hot air balloons–thrusts Gwen into the spotlight role she always dreamed of.Knowing she should escape before her true identity is exposed, Gwen clings to the masquerade for one reason: the handsome, boyish Ryan Miller. Whose opinions of the wedding fail to impress his bride-to-be, awakening Gwen’s sympathy for the seemingly forgotten groom.Stealing her boss’ identity? Now that was the easy part. The hard part is preventing her secret crush from stealing her heart away.

    As she tries to make sense of her recent past, she recalls very little.But she still remembers wartime in Yugoslavia. There she and her lover risked everything to carry out dangerous work resisting the Germans—a heroic campaign in which many brave comrades were lost. After that, the trail disappears into confusion. How did she come to be trapped in a living nightmare?As she struggles to piece together the missing years of her life, she will have to confront the harrowing experiences of her special-operations work and peacetime marriage. Only then can she hope to regain the vital memories that will uncover the truth: is she really a violent criminal…or was she betrayed?

    While the city celebrates its freedom, she’s stuck in the prison of an unhappy marriage. When her husband commits one betrayal too many, Copper demands a separation.Alone in Paris, she finds an unlikely new friend: an obscure, middle-aged designer from the back rooms of a decaying fashion house whose timid nature and reluctance for fame clash with the bold brilliance of his designs. His name is Christian Dior.Realising his genius, Copper urges Dior to strike out on his own, helping to pull him away from his insecurities and towards stardom. With just a camera and a typewriter, she takes her own advice and ventures into the wild and colourful world of fashion journalism.Soon Copper finds herself torn between two very different suitors, questioning who she is and what she truly wants. As the city rebuilds and opulence returns, can Copper make a new, love-filled life for herself?

    Manipulating the world's most powerful warriors like pawns on a chessboard, can she stave off the coming doom, or will her actions serve as the trigger for the Dragon Apocalypse? DRAGON APOCALYPSE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, gathers all four novels of the critically acclaimed series by James Maxey, author of the bestselling BITTERWOOD series. It also includes the novella GREATSHADOW: ORIGINS, the story that provided the inspiration for the novels. GREATSHADOW Infidel is a legendary sword-for-hire, enchanted with impervious skin and the strength of ten men. When her closest companion dies, she decides to retire in style by stealing the treasure horde of the dragon Greatshadow. To do so, she joins an expedition organized by the Church of the Book, who’ve assembled a team of the world’s most dangerous mercenaries to kill the dragon. With half the rogues on the team dreaming of taking the treasure for themselves, can she survive her own companions long enough to fight the dragon? HUSH Infidel must travel to the frozen wastes to fulfill a promise made to a dying friend. When she stumbles across a plot by the Hush, the primal dragon of cold, to murder Glorious, the dragon of the sun, will she be able to save the world from the darkness of an eternal winter? WITCHBREAKER Long ago, Stark Tower, the Witchbreaker, used his hell-forged sword to destroy the kingdom of the witch-queen Avaris. Now, a young woman named Sorrow is on a quest to recover all the lost secrets of witchcraft, and has tapped into the power of Rott, the primal dragon of death, for the might needed to fight her numerous enemies. In the ruins of the land once ruled by Avaris, she discovers a sleeping knight who awakens with no memory of his past, who proves to be a warrior of unmatched skills. They must work together to reach Avaris in her abode in the realms of the dead. But is Sorrow’s new ally secretly her greatest enemy, the long-vanished Witchbreaker? CINDER It’s the end of the world! Twenty years after the attack on Greatshadow, the primal dragon Tempest has torn down the gates of Hell, unleashing an army of the damned onto a world already in ruins from blizzards, floods, and earthquakes. Infidel’s daughter Cinder was born with the power to walk between the realms of the living and the dead. Can she rescue Sorrow and her allies from Hell in time to defend the last stronghold of mankind from the assembled dragons? ‘This one is worth reading right now.' Orson Scott Card on Greatshadow 'Greatshadow's level 30+ adventure is charming, not po-faced, with a group of flawed, quick-witted and oddball adventurers that are equally comfortable with set-piece battle and rapid fire sarcasm.' Pornokitsch on Greatshadow 'A magnificently entertaining romp bursting with charm.' SFX on Greatshadow

    Hope can lie dormant in the tiniest of seeds. . .In the blink of an eye, Daniel’s world spirals out of control. He watches helplessly as the bodies of his father and friends are buried in stone. Those he loved would never know the breath of life again. In this overwhelming loss, he despairs. Was this the end of hope? The rest of his family and the others in their small alliance had already fled the destruction of society, headed for the northern wilderness. Can he possibly reach them on his own?Salvation can be found in the most unlikely place . . .If he does, will the wilderness be the sanctuary of which they dream? Are their skills good enough to survive in the wilds on their own? Will it be possible to survive the evils that emanate from the decaying world they left behind? And if they do, is it truly possible for something beautiful to grow from the damaged seeds of society?The heart is the doorway to any dream...Their journey is one filled with beauty and peril. Their dream; to create a better world, one in which future generations will live with peace, love and kindness. of society?

    Kirkland is a master at finding the small hidden bits of humor in events that the rest of us might just as easily overlook. His goal with his writing has always been to let his readers laugh with him and at him, and by doing so, finding a way to laugh at themselves. His previous books have been called "a must-have for all of us who love to just sit back and laugh." This book follows that tradition.Recipient of the 2006 Stephen Leacock Award of Merit for Humour (Canada.)

    An educational and humorous look at life, language and culture in Britain through the eyes of an American who lives in Scotland, sometimes against her will.

    Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief. Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative that weaves together two women’s stories into a tapestry of perseverance, loyalty, love and honor. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

     When Max Elliot invites Izzy Grant to a fancy Ivy League alumni reception at the Tawnee Mountain Resort, the ghost hunters anticipate a romantic weekend getaway at the premier ski and golf destination. But when wealthy hotelier Leona Hutton is murdered, and her ghost asks Izzy to find her killer, she and Max decide to investigate. Will Izzy and Max solve the case before more alumni end up dead, or the killer turns the tables and decides to hunt the ghost hunters? Leona's Last Resort is a part of the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries series, a collection of seven brand new mysteries, from seven award-winning and bestselling authors, taking place at the same final destination, the Tawnee Mountain Resort. Leona's Last Resort features ghost hunters, Izzy Grant and Max Elliot, from the Izzy & Max Paranormal Mystery series. Each book in this multi-author series is a standalone novella, and the series can be read in any order. The Tawnee Mountain Mysteries series includes: Leona's Last Resort by Karen M. Bryson Dark Side of the Mountain by R.J. Rosatte Deadly Reception by Karen Randau Black Diamond Graves by Wendy Fallon Deadly Misfire by Laurie Fagen Cassidy's Deadly Exit by Marla J. Hayes The Quinnipiac Disappearance by Lee Tidball