Short, tailored pencil skirt. Lacy Italian lingerie. The woman sitting at that hotel bar after hours on a Friday night barely recognized herself. The Deanna she knew should have been tucked in bed with a legal brief forgotten in her lap and sweet dreams behind her closed eyes; yet here she was, sitting on a bar stool in a strange city, looking for trouble.Trouble walked in, tall and handsome, sporting a smile that made her tremble and dark eyes that matched her own. He looked at her and saw neither wife nor mother nor hot-shot lawyer. He saw her as she did her $800 heels: something to covet; something sleek, sexy, and worth the challenge.

    With only table scraps of funding, Birk led a revolution that helped grow Portland, Oregon, into the country's premier cycling city. She then hit the road, teaching communities how to incorporate cycling into their civic DNA to make their towns healthier, safer, and more livable. Through a panoply of hilarious and poignant stories, Birk takes readers on a rollercoaster journey of global and local discovery, while bringing into sharp focus some of the planet's most pressing and hotly debated energy and transportation issues, policies, shortcomings, and solutions. Her funny, touching, and instructive Joyride offers hope and experienced how-to advice to anyone interested in changing our world for the better—one pedal stroke at a time.

    

    "Parents, we rule for the purpose of protection, but we also serve with the purpose of empowering," they write. "We want to release our children into their destiny--that's the privilege of parenting."In these pages you will gain the wisdom, kingdom concepts, and practical tools you need to help raise your children to their best. You'll discover how to parent to their uniqueness, gifts, and strengths, as well as how you can demonstrate and reveal who God is to your kids. The authors also address pressing issues parents face today, including how to - be fully engaged in hearing what the Lord is saying over each child- maintain relationship and discipline- develop character- train your children for worship- fan the flame of what God has put in their hearts- and moreNo matter what age your kids are, you have an incredible opportunity to shape their hearts, minds, and values. Here is everything you need to help your children walk into the destiny of their lives and see them become the awesome people they were created to be.

    Less than two years earlier, Italian noblewoman Bona Sforza arrived in Poland’s capital from Bari as King Zygmunt’s new bride. She came from Italy accompanied by a splendid entourage, including Contessa Caterina Sanseverino who oversees the ladies of the Queen’s Chamber. Caterina is still adjusting to the life in this northern kingdom of cold winters, unfamiliar customs, and an incomprehensible language when a shocking murder rocks the court on Christmas night. It is followed by another a few days later. The victims have seemingly nothing in common. Gossip, speculation, and suspicion are rife, but the perpetrator remains elusive as the court heads into the New Year. As the official investigation stalls, Caterina—aided by Sebastian Konarski, a junior secretary in the king’s household—sets out to find the killer. With clues beginning to point to the queen’s innermost circle, the pair are soon racing against time to stop another murder. Silent Water is a story of power and its abuse, and the extremes to which a person may go to find redress for justice denied. Although set at the dawn of the Renaissance era, its themes carry uncanny parallels to some of the most topical social issues of the 21st century. "This clever and suspenseful murder mystery casts a fresh and sparkling light on the world beloved by fans of The Tudors and The Borgias. P. K. Adams, author of two previous novels about the twelfth-century healer and mystic Hildegard of Bingen, masterfully brings Renaissance Poland to life without ever losing track of the human passions that drive her characters. A wonderful start to a new series." —C. P. Lesley, author of Song of the Siren and other novels

    Yet on the heels of her fiftieth birthday she meets Cooper “Coop” Dennis, a charismatic nightclub owner who literally sweeps her off her feet. But just as they’re ready to make the ultimate commitment, a secret from Coop’s past threatens to end their relationship . . .As her fortieth birthday approaches, bestselling novelist Testimony “Tess” Sinclair is hurting—especially since her ex-boyfriend got married. For a change of scenery she travels to the sleepy southern town of Bourbon, NC, to visit her cousin, Bernadette—and finds unexpected love. Yet as wedding bells promise to ring, Tess wrestles with a secret that could end their happily ever after before it begins . . .Up-and-coming makeup artist and single mom Arizona May is thrilled to be just a few months away from marrying the love of her life. Until then, she and her fiancé are committed to celibacy. But on the eve of Arizona’s thirtieth birthday, they surrender to passion—and she discovers something about her Prince Charming that leads her to rethink their plans . . .

    Liam, a champion steeplechase jockey, is initially both witness and suspect. However, shrewd police detective Diarmuid Yeats takes a gamble on his innocence and enlists his help in the hunt for the killer. This nightmare experience exacerbates the tensions in Liam’s life. He has been falling out of love with his job, his joy in racing relentlessly worn away by the struggle to keep the weight down on his six-foot frame. Is it time to quit? But McFarlane’s stables houses the brilliant Patrician, a potential Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, and Liam wants to be the jockey to get him first past the finish post in the race that matters most. With emotions at pressure point, Liam falls in love with the exotic blonde Ukrainian stable girl, Lara, leaving him in an even more vulnerable position than before. Then the killer strikes again and the race to the finish post is replaced by a race for survival . . . and there is no second place. “A gripping murder story” - THE IRISH TIMES

    A skilled tactician. Only one can be victorious.The Norland raiders are at it again. When the Baron of Bodden splits their defensive forces, Sergeant Gerald Matheson thinks that today is a day like any other, but then something is different. At the last moment, Gerald recognizes the warning signs, but they are outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and out of luck. How can they win this unbeatable battle?Battle at the River is a stand-alone short story set in the World of Merceria that incorporates characters from the Heir to the Crown Series. If you like intense battle scenes and unexpected plot twists, then you will love Paul J Bennett's tale of a soldier who thinks outside the box.

    Luckily Candice Cane has a whole shop full...Candice Cane is not proud of the way she acted after her last encounter with Jackson Frost. Sure revenge was fun, but it’s left Jackson standing, angry and looking for answers, on the welcome mat in her chocolate shop. Now he’s after some revenge of his own. Jackson returned to his small hometown for one reason and one reason only...so he’s not sure how he’s ended up in a Santa suit in the middle of a chocolate shop, at the behest of its beautiful owner, instead of high-tailing it back to the city as fast as he can. Jackson wants nothing to do with his small town past, but Candice shows him what he didn’t even know he’d been missing. Can a bit of Christmas magic heal old wounds and offer up a future neither saw coming?

      With a round, open face and a penchant for tall tales, Matteo de Lorenzo resembled everyone’s kindly uncle. But Uncle Marty, as he was known throughout the Genovese crime family, was one of the New York mob’s top earners throughout the 1960s and ’70s, the mastermind of a billion-dollar trade in stolen and counterfeit securities.   In the spring of 1972, de Lorenzo and his shrewd and ruthless business partner, Vincent Rizzo, traveled to Europe to discuss a plan to launder millions of dollars worth of phony securities. Shockingly, the plot involved Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the scandal-plagued president of the Vatican Bank. Unbeknownst to de Lorenzo and Rizzo, however, the NYPD was already on the case—thanks to the crusading work of Det. Joseph Coffey.   Coffey, the legendary New York policeman who investigated the Lufthansa heist and took the Son of Sam’s confession, first learned of the scheme in a wiretap related to the attempted mob takeover of the Playboy Club in Manhattan. From those unlikely beginnings, Detective Coffey worked tirelessly to trace the fraudulent stocks and bonds around the world and deep into the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and Rome.   Meticulously researched and relentlessly gripping, The Vatican Connection is a true story of corruption and deceit, packed with “all the ingredients of a thriller” (San Francisco Chronicle).

    So when she returns there after her father's death, for the first time in twenty-five years, it means facing a past she thought she had put behind her. But even as childhood memories threaten to paralyze her, Ellie sets out to discover the dark secret at the heart of her father's life and her parents' marriage, hoping the truth will allow her to break free from the past that has haunted her life.

    Finding herself in a desperate situation, Kassidy realises that she must run if she is to escape the new horrors she has discovered however great the reward might be.'Drug' a new paranormal thriller from debut author Lynda O'Rourke

    

    . . starts with a bang and never lets up.

    She and her team travel through time with the public goal of collecting artifacts lost to time and capturing historical events on video for the world to see. Along the way, she learns of a secret in history so terrifying that it must be kept hidden from the public at all costs. Lost history, top secret agendas, and a frightening future are just the beginning. Something massive is about to happen and it is up to the team to find a way to stop it. Buried deep in the past, the puzzle pieces start to fit together. For the team to stop the unstoppable, they must journey farther through time and space than anyone thought possible.