Take forty-something Jane Larson. Although she views her situation with wry humor, her life feels frozen. An architect, she's had the same job for eighteen years, designing chain banks, grocery stores, and dry cleaners instead of the beautiful houses she craves to create. Living in Brooklyn with her difficult teenage daughters, she's lost all hope for the possibility of love or excitement.Then she's let go from her firm and is suddenly free to pursue her career dreams. And when she contacts her old college flame, an exhilarating long-distance correspondence with him reawakens that part of her she's long ignored. Does Jane have the courage to gamble with her heart? Can happily-ever-after be a reality for people who've done it all before?With warmth and humor Fields explores the territory of middle age, proving that it's never too late to reinvent your life, or to take the risks that bring us the pleasures we all deserve.

    By going through these steps you'll learn how to choose the significant milestones and turning points that make up a coherent story leading to a life-changing epiphany.Help uncover the secret stories that are the keys to healing Explore the dynamics and roles of dysfunctional families Heal old wounds, creating a better present and brighter future Using many examples from her students and clients, the author shows how creative, well-planned, and carefully researched memoir writing can offer a process for sorting out the truth from lies and family myths.

    Jamie was, and always would be, forbidden fruit. Besides being four years older than me, he was the newest recruit of my dad's experimental team. Jamie was also the experimental part of the team. Meaning he wasn't exactly human. He was amazingly more than human. What better person to recruit to be on a SEAL-type team than someone who was literally born to be in the water? Some people go their whole lives and never know love. I knew it at sixteen. While I didn't know Jamie forever, I knew him long enough that he changed me. He didn't mean to break my heart. He didn't mean to crush my dreams, but he did. And if I had it to do all over again, I would. I absolutely would. This is our story. Because I never want to forget. **Excerpt** “How old are you?” The hard edge in his voice prompted me to look up at his face. Water spiked his dark hair, dripping over his cheeks and jaw. I lifted my chin. It would be so easy to let him intimidate me, knowing what I did about him. “Seventeen.” The lie slipped out too easily. Eighteen wouldn’t have worked because I was still a sophomore, and the truth—that I was sixteen—sounded too young, especially with Jamie towering over me even though he wasn’t even standing up. He blotted out the sun, the whole entire world, and I was content to let him. He lifted his hand to my face, his fingers lightly tracing my cheek where Donovan had elbowed me the previous day. His expression softened, his full lips turning slightly down. “Does it hurt?” “A little,” I confessed, drowning in the pools of his green eyes, so pale they were almost no color at all. He stared at me for a long time, as if he were mulling something over in his mind, and all the while his eyes searched my face. My skin shivered. My lips parted as my mind churned for some reasonable excuse as to why in the world I would be hiding here. What could I say that wouldn’t make me sound like a Navy groupie or worse, a stalker? The half-formed words stalled in my throat as his head descended toward me, and before I knew his intention his lips lightly touched my cheek, stunning me into utter stillness. Then his lips found mine and the reasonable voice in my head told me I should push him away, that he’d stepped way out of bounds, and I was about to do it—I was—when his tongue darted out and teased my lips. They opened all by themselves, my body way ahead of my brain, eager in its response. I kept my eyes open, not wanting to miss a single second. The weird thing was he didn’t close his eyes either, which made his kiss all the more potent. I’d been kissed before, but never like this, sweet and gentle with an undercurrent of the not so gentle, a complete possession of my mouth and my heart along with it. He lifted his head a fraction and we shared a breath before he drew away completely. He pushed to his feet, then stood over me again as I met his forceful gaze. “You know what I am.” It wasn’t spoken as a question, but a declaration. “Yes,” I said. Like I would care after that kiss. The Emerald Series Waterborn Waterdreamer Watermark

    They would sell it all, downsize, leave their high-paying jobs, and go out to find and explore every corner of the world. They would take risks. In this book, written in a very present first-person style, Joe takes the reader on a journey through the decisions, challenges, and triumphs of embracing a minimalist lifestyle, and getting on the road full time. Full of practical insight and wisdom, and told in an almost folksy and very personal tone, Take Risks is a powerful ‘how-we-did-it’ tale that will inspire you and give you a starting place for your own journey. If you’ve ever wanted to move into a full-time RV lifestyle, this book is for you. Take your own risks, starting right now, and embrace the rewards that come with them. This is the book I wish I’d read two years ago. It’s less of a ‘how-to,’ and more of a ‘how we did it’ look at RV life.” —Kevin Tumlinson, Author & Podcast Host

    Now, for the first time ever, bestselling author and writing teacher, Jessica Brody, takes the beloved Save the Cat! plotting principals and applies them to the craft of novel writing in this exciting new “workshop style” guide, featuring over 20 full beat sheets from popular novels throughout time.Whether you’re writing your first novel or your seventeenth, Save the Cat! breaks down plot in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step method so you can write stories that resonate! This book can help you with any of the following:Outlining a new novelRevising an existing novelBreaking out of the dreaded “writer’s block”Fixing a “broken” novelReviewing a completed novelFleshing out/test driving a new idea to see if it “has legs”Implementing feedback from agents and/or editorsHelping give constructive feedback to other writersBut above all else, SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL will help you better understand the fundamentals and mechanics of plot, character transformation, and what makes a story work!

    New edition of the 2000 winner of the prestigious Mao Dun Literature Prize. This is a saga of the disabled son between the Tibetan Kangba Tusi (head of the clan) and a Han woman, who, despite of his appearance, possesses a special gift of prescience and premonition. In Simplified Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

    Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Erica James and Marian Keyes, this free collection of Sheila's previously published stories will make your heart skip a beat, make you laugh with abandon, and smile in the knowledge that just about anything's possible... A passenger spots the man of her dreams on her daily commute - and decides to make her fantasy a reality.A widow on the verge of giving up everything rediscovers the magic in her life.A publicist attending a star-studded event ends up in the spotlight.A mother reveals a secret to her family that will change their lives for ever.A pop star discovers she can't hide - even in paradise - until she takes fate into her own hands.A young girl comes to term with who she is - and who she isn't - on her island escape. These feel-good stories, together for the first time in this exclusive digital edition, are taken from Sheila O'Flanagan's bestselling collections Destinations, A Season to Remember and Connections. In addition to these wonderful stories, don't miss the chance to get up close and personal with Sheila in WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF's special extra material, including a sneak peek of her upcoming novel, THE MISSING WIFE.

    

    Crafted with that adage in mind, The Dramatic Writer’s Companion is designed to help writers explore their own ideas in order to develop the script in front of them. No ordinary guide to plotting, this handbook starts with the principle that character is key. “The character is not something added to the scene or to the story,” writes author Will Dunne. “Rather, the character is the scene. The character is the story.” Having spent decades working with dramatists to refine and expand their existing plays and screenplays, Dunne effortlessly blends condensed dramatic theory with specific action steps—over sixty workshop-tested exercises that can be adapted to virtually any individual writing process and dramatic script. Dunne’s in-depth method is both instinctual and intellectual, allowing writers to discover new actions for their characters and new directions for their stories. Dunne’s own experience is a crucial element of this guide. His plays have been selected by the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center for three U.S. National Playwrights Conferences and have earned numerous honors, including a Charles MacArthur Fellowship, four Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, and two Drama-Logue Playwriting Awards. Thousands of individuals have already benefited from his workshops, and The Dramatic Writer’s Companion promises to bring his remarkable creative method to an even wider audience.

    You'll learn how to structure your visuals as carefully as a writer structures a story or a composer structures music. Understanding visual structure allows you to communicate moods and emotions, and most importantly, reveals the critical relationship between story structure and visual structure.The Visual Story offers a clear view of the relationship between the story/script structure and the visual structure of a film, video, or multimedia work. An understanding of the visual components will serve as the guide to strengthening the overall story. The Visual Story divides what is seen on screen into tangible sections: contrast and affinity, space, line and shape, tone, color, movement, and rhythm. The vocabulary as well as the insight is provided to purposefully control the given components to create the ultimate visual story. For example: know that a saturated yellow will always attract a viewer's eye first; decide to avoid abrupt editing by mastering continuum of movement; and benefit from the suggested list of films to study rhythmic control. The Visual Story shatters the wall between theory and practice, bringing these two aspects of the craft together in an essential connection for all those creating visual stories. Bruce Block has the production credentials to write this definitive guide. His expertise is in demand, and he gives seminars at the American Film Institute, PIXAR Studios, Walt Disney Feature and Television Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Industrial Light & Magic and a variety of film schools in Europe.The concepts in this book will benefit writers, directors, photographers, production designers, art directors, and editors who are always confronted by the same visual problems that have faced every picture maker in the past, present, and future.• Now in full color!• Written by a renowned producer, visual consultant, and teacher• The material in this books applies to any kind of visual story, including films, animated pieces, video games, and television

    Jack Bickham shows how to use sensual detail, vivid language and keen observations to craft settings which help tell credible, interesting stories and heighten dramatic and thematic effects. Over the course of his esteemed career, Jack Bickham published more than novels and instructional books, including Writing Novels That Sell and The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them). A former creative writing professor, he instructed thousands of writers through his classes, seminars and Writer's Digest magazine articles.

    Louis, Ladue. When the big front door opens at the French chateau style house, she comes face to face with the elusive and amazingly handsome billionaire Adam Pernoud, head of a family of seven brothers who lost their parents years earlier, and have no one but each other.From the time he lays eyes on Mae, Adam's head is turned. He, in typical male fashion doesn't quite know what to do about it. His brothers notice, and tease him mercilessly all while pursuing their passions: engineering and hockey. They love hockey so much, that in their very own frat boys' paradise, they built themselves a hockey rink on the back part of the estate. Mae walks into this world unawares, and works to organize their lives.The very first weekend of her employment with the Pernouds, Mae finds herself snowed in at the estate where she and Adam get to know each other. He explains his philosophy regarding being rich - with all that money comes a lot of responsibility - and she decides that his wealth is just too much for her, a hang-up from growing up under a domineering mother's thumb. Spooked, she withdraws, and Adam is left to figure out why. After a week, they have it out in the most important room in any American household - the kitchen.Then, as happens in the American midwest, a bolt of lightning splits a tree and almost kills Mae, driving her into Adam's arms and bed.

    Interviews with top film scoring professionals add the priceless insight of the wisdom that comes with experience.

    The last thing she needs is to be kidnapped, even if it is by a hot Brit. Afterwards, she's mysteriously returned and has no memory of what happened. She learns, with the help of an eccentric sexy woman, that she's been modified - given a power unique to her talents. Sounds cool, right? It would be if she knew how to use it without killing everyone around her... Modified is a funny, sexy, geeky romp about the trouble of acquiring an unexpected and inherently evil super power. Full of offbeat characters, profanity, and a healthy dose of salacious thoughts, you'll love this fun series. With the box set edition, you get all five volumes for one low price! Pick up your copy today and get Modified! Reader Discretion is Advised: If you are offended by strong language or sexual situations, for the love of God don't buy this box set.

    They are killing murders and getting away with it, thanks to a controversial, international best-selling how-to book, Kill Crime. It is a book in the book.The book comes out about the time Jeff Case, a self-made millionaire, suffers great tragedy with murders start happening all around him.He becomes frustrated with the police when leads run out, and he is forced to grapple with the moral decision about ultimate justice. Revenge killing is something he's had to wrestle with before on the battlefield. A decorated combat veteran, he has the skills to hunt and kill, but he can't do it alone. He turns to private investigator Trish Teal and handpicks friends who have certain valuable talents.Case and his team go on the hunt for the killers and for justice that takes them on a frantic chase from Houston and throughout Texas to Reno and Vegas, where they run into professional killers that want him dead.They must take on the dark side of human nature and come out alive on the other side.