Appalachian Fail: What I Learned from My Failed Thru-Hike


John Desilets - 2018
    Those who can't, write a book outlining their many failures." John Desilets was an unlikely candidate to be a thru-hiker. As a video game industry veteran and reclusive homebody, nothing about him screams "backpacker." Nothing about him screams at all. He appreciates reasonable volumes. Nevertheless, he attempted to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2017. He failed. Spectacularly. John is no stranger to failing and is happy to add the Appalachian Trail to his impressive resume of failures. He hopes to help others realize there's no shame in failing. Appalachian Fail is a compilation of lessons learned from months of hiking the Appalachian Trail. It contains entertaining stories about trail experiences and useful wisdom for on or off the trail. You might wonder how failing to finish the Appalachian Trail qualifies John to give anyone else advice. People say you learn more from your failures than you do from your successes. John experienced so much failure he's buried in learnings. If you follow John's advice, you might be successful thru-hiker one day. Or even better–a failure.

The Empress of Tears (The Autobiography of Empress Alexandra Book 2)


Kathleen McKenna Hewtson - 2016
    Having given birth to daughter after daughter after daughter, she becomes desperate and turns to the first of her mystical advisors, Msgr. Philippe, who persuades her, among other things, that she is invisible.And then comes the moment of her greatest triumph with the birth of her son and the heir to the throne of all the Russias, the Tsarevich Alexei.All four volumes are (planned) as follows:1. 'The Funeral Bride' 1884-1894 - published November 20152. 'The Empress of Tears' 1895-1904 - published March 20163. 'The Pride of Eagles' 1905-1914 - to be published by November 20164. 'No Greater Crown' 1914-1918 - to be published by April 2017

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Behind the Story (Backstage Pass to Novels)


Behind the Story Team - 2011
    Inspired by a hunger to know the story behind every good read and governed by the vision that what has transpired has a story to tell, we’ve brought Behind the Story™ for every book fan to enjoy.Our mission is to enable novel lovers all around the world to heighten and enrich their reading experience like they’ve never thought possible before… Begun “For the Fans, By the Fans“, we take our readers on a tour by the hand to show what is behind the curtains – what is “Behind the Story”That’s what makes us smile. Now, let us share it with you.Praises from: The "Behind the Story Effect"After reading a BTS... You feel inspired to follow your hearts and dreams... — ArshiI felt like the Behind the Story offered a new look into the book, and appreciated that, as most of the time, that angle is unexplored.— Aspiring AuthorEver been backstage at a concert? Here you go -- in written form.— Author, EditorI felt enriched with knowledge about the book, and I felt like I knew more about the book. — Aspiring AuthorIt makes me discover new things, and when I re-read the book, my emotions are different, deeper now that I understand what's behind the book.— KarlenI felt closer to the writer knowing more about them as a person and why they wrote what they wrote. — The Beta Reading ClubGet ready for one of the most unique experiences you will ever have...this is definitely CliffNotes and SparkNotes on Steroids. — Author, EditorSAMPLE EXCERPT:Inspiration is a hackneyed word in the creative writing world. All writers are inspired by something. Perhaps a better word to help phrase the question of ‘what inspired Jamie Ford to write his historical-fiction novel’ might be enthused, spurred, stimulated, or impassioned.The answer was a small red button pinned to Jamie’s father’s shirt that read: “I am Chinese.” A simple statement that became the title of the short story that grew into Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet—the same short story that his workshop editor urged him to turn into something bigger. The button distinguished Chinese residents from the Japanese community, the perceived enemy, whom the American government persecuted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. It was the paranoia epidemic and the destruction of Japan towns across the United States that forms the historical backdrop of Ford’s novel.When Jamie’s father, an only child, passed away thus severing the links with his Asian heritage, he begin to explore his legacy and unearthed the histories that became the seeds of his novel. It was during his research about the Wah Mee club massacre in Seattle, that Ford encountered other people from his father’s generation who had had to wear the little red badge...

A Prodigal Return (An Irish Family Saga, #5)


Jean Reinhardt - 2016
    The couple who survived the Great Hunger have had to watch more than half their family leave the parish. The responsibility to care for one another extends beyond blood or marriage ties for the McGrother family in New York, when a young Irishman goes missing in America. Back in Ireland, at a time when James and Mary least expect it, a family member returns - but not everyone is pleased with the reunion.

Blizzard: A Story of Dakota Territory


Cindy Rinaman Marsch - 2016
    And then it descends upon them - the infamous Children's Blizzard of 1888. Who will survive?With characters from Rosette: A Novel of Pioneer Michigan , "Blizzard: A Story of Dakota Territory" captures in one sod shanty the dramatic effects of a storm on the bodies and spirits of people who have internal storms of their own.Cover painting and design by Betsy Marsch, illustrator and cover designer for Rosette: A Novel of Pioneer Michigan.

In the Time of Famine


Michael Grant - 2011
    The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

Moira's Crossing


Christina Shea - 2000
    When their mother dies in childbirth, Moira and Julia O'Leary are left to rear their infant sister, Ann, while their father, a sheep farmer, despairs. After Ann dies, Moira and Julia depart Cork for Boston, but the painful secret behind Ann's death haunts their new lives and presages the confusion that will come to trouble the next generation. Moira and Julia have always been strikingly different, but theirs is a mercilessly dependable relationship -- Moira's boldness is fortified by Julia's quiet inner purpose, and Julia lives vicariously through her sister's impulsive actions. Moira's Crossing charts their shared journey through marriage, children, and life on the coast of Maine. At once an examination of the troubled intimacy of sisterhood and an inquiry into the meaning of faith, Moira's Crossing is also a story of what we leave behind and who we become because of it.

Spirals of Fate


Tim Holden - 2019
    This riveting story effortlessly captures both the hardships of daily life and the political realities of Tudor England. 1549 - A COUNTRY DIVIDED Two years after the death of King Henry VIII, England is a turbulent realm. His son, Edward, the child monarch is too young to rule, and the government is factious. The nobility jostle for personal power and prestige. The treasury is empty and the elite of wealthy landowners are bent on exploiting the poor. AN UNLIKELY LEADER When a yeoman farmer from Norfolk, Robert Kett, finds himself at the centre of a local dispute, his impulsive actions plunge him into a precarious alliance with the dissenting commoners. THE AFFRAY To prevail, Kett must bring order to the chaos, impose his own justice, overcome the deception and betrayal that surrounds him and stay true to his cause. As events spiral and disobedience sparks rebellion, can his leadership withstand the dangers and opportunities of a country struggling to leave its past and discover its future? BASED ON REAL EVENTS

Suffer The Little Children: The True Story of an Abused Convent Upbringing


Frances Reilly - 2010
    Little did they know the unimaginable cruelty they'd endure within its walls.Years later, Frances would face her demons in court, bringing to account those who so viciously stole her youth. SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN is a gripping and moving story of one child's spirit of survival.

Rose Hall's White Witch: The Legend of Annie Palmer


Mike Henry - 2005
    The themes of betrayal, romance, love and mystery underpin this epic drama - the bewitching plantation owner, Annie Palmer, the beautiful and determined slave girl, Millie, the handsome and sophisticated John Rutherford caught in the middle - a torrid love story set in the steamy climate of the tropics.

Running Eagle, the Warrior Girl


James Willard Schultz - 1919
    Schultz was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfoot Indians. While operating a fur trading post at Carroll, Montana and living amongst the Pikuni tribe during the period 1880-82, he was given the name "Apikuni" by the Pikuni chief, Running Crane. Schultz is most noted for his prolific stories about Blackfoot life and his contributions to the naming of prominent features in Glacier National Park. Story of a maiden warrior of the Blackfoot tribe. The story of an Indian girl who became the acknowledged leader of her tribe. As a little girl Otaki asked for bows and arrows rather than for dolls. Her father, who loved her dearly, indulged her in her wishes. and taught her to hunt like a boy. When both father and mother were taken by death, she again turned back to the hunting, providing the game for her brothers and sisters and following the war path to avenge her father's death. Disapproval of her course finally gives way and she is highly honored by her tribe, and like the young men who prove themselves worthy, she is given a warrior's name. Running Eagle. This book originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1919 has been reformatted for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the reformatting.

Burying Father Tim


Tom Robertson - 2008
    Narrated by a doctor who returns to his old neighborhood for the first time in nearly forty years to attend the funeral of his boyhood parish priest, the story blends hilarious accounts of childhood escapades with the timelessly poignant theme of loss. Reminiscences resonate as the story unfolds, evoking laughter in one moment and tugging on heartstrings the next. Whether you attended Catholic school or merely know someone who did, there is a lot of all of us in the story of Father Tim.

Ferdinand and Isabella


Malveena McKendrick - 2015
    But the historic landfall of October 1492 was only a secondary event of the year. The preceding January, they had accepted the surrender of Muslim Granada, ending centuries of Islamic rule in their peninsula. And later that year, they had ordered the expulsion or forced baptism of Spain's Jewish minority, a cruel crusade undertaken in an excess of zeal for their Catholic faith. Europe, in the century of Ferdinand and Isabella, was also awakening to the glories of a new age, the Renaissance, and the Spain of the "Catholic Kings" - as Ferdinand and Isabella came to be known - was not untouched by this brilliant revival of learning. Here, from the noted historian Malveena McKendrick, is their remarkable story.

The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party


Brian Hanley - 2009
    A roll-call of influential personalities in the fields of politics, trade unionism and media - many still operating at the highest levels of Irish public life - passed though the ranks of this secretive movement, which never achieved its objectives but had a lasting influence on the landscape of Irish politics.

Give the Lady What She Wants: The Story of Marshall Field & Company


Lloyd Wendt - 1952