Genetically engineered and designed for combat by the military, and then later discharged when they grew tired of her and her kind, the Amazonians, she ended up forming her own mercenary team and drifting across a galaxy where over half a dozen different species live in relative harmony. Although she's fairly successful when it comes to making money, she finds herself in a frustrating situation: it's hard to get laid when you're a seven foot killing machine. The other mercenaries she shares her ship with, all of them aliens, all of them women, have their own similar situations. In a fit of frustration, she decides to deal with this problem by hiring on a cute young human who she figures won't mind being passed around like a sex toy by the crew... Ryan is twenty years old and afraid that he's settled into the rest of his life already. He's prudent, responsible, has a good job and no debts. Although he isn't adventurous by nature, in a fit of spontaneity he decides to sign on with a crew of mercenaries, as he figures his skills as a technician would be useful to those who live on a space ship, and it's a way to see the galaxy. And apparently luck was on his side in a way it never has been before: he signed on with Emily and the Hellcats, a group of attractive, tough, mostly alien mercenaries who, he quickly learns, are interested in more than just his technical skill, and plan on having him perform maintenance on them rather than the ship... HELLCATS is a novel of casual sex between a human and a host of alien or otherwise inhuman ladies, and definitely features a lot of passionate sex scenes. You have been warned.

    All her dreams were cruelly shattered, leaving her struggling through her grief. In time, she accepts there's more life still to live and decides to set off to be a mail-order-bride. Little does she know though that her new beginning out West may prove to be her greatest challenge yet. Finding herself facing hostile relatives and unexpected intrigue, her only glimmer of hope lies in the eyes of her betrothed. She immediately feels an undeniable connection to this kind-hearted man. Despite the unforeseen obstacles standing in her way, could this be her one chance to reclaim the happiness that was stolen from her in the past?Nick Sloane is on a mission to save his family's ranch after learning how fragile life can be in the most heartbreaking way. He is still carrying deep scars from the loss of a loved one when Sheila enters his world, and he knows at once that nothing will ever be the same again. From the moment he sets eyes on her, something about her shy laughter makes him want to take a leap of faith and open his heart again. Yet what Nick doesn't realize is that his meddling family has other plans for him that could undermine the future he's now longing for. How far will he be willing to go to stand up to them in order to follow the true calling of his heart?As the blossoming romance between Sheila and Nick grows, so does his family's desperation to tear them apart. With the scheming against their love threatening to destroy everything, Sheila resolves to do anything for the man she loves. Could this mean walking away from the promising future she and Nick are dreaming of and breaking both their hearts? Will Nick and Sheila get their happily ever after, or will outside forces ruin their precious chance at happiness?"His Unexpected Twist of Fate" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

    His interrogators want answers, even willing to torture for them. The only problem is he can't remember anything prior to waking up only minutes ago. Can Noah escape the military, and discover who he really is? Buy the paperback and get the Kindle edition FREE through the Kindle Matchbook program. Prologue Noah wished this moment could last forever, not that he wasn’t looking forward to the kissing after the song. But somehow this moment felt nostalgic, even though he was confident there was nothing to compare it to. He felt sad when the song did end. She had moved her hands down to his shirt and was clinging to him. He bent down to kiss her when her muscles abruptly tensed up. He was about to ask if she was alright, but then her grip on his shirt tightened. “Noah.” Her voice sounded desperate. She looked up at him with despair in her eyes. “Help me.” The Keras Genome is a full-length novel: ~ 80,000 words. Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

    43 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of A Case of Need. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on A Case of Need by Michael Crichton.

     Universal Methods of Design serves as an invaluable compendium of methods that can be easily referenced and used by cross-disciplinary teams in nearly any design project.   Methods and techniques are organized alphabetically for ongoing, quick reference. Each method is presented in a two-page format. The left-hand page contains a concise description of the method, accompanied by references for further reading. On the right-hand page, images and cases studies for each method are presented visually. The relevant phases for design application are highlighted as numbered icons along the right side of the page, from phases 1 (planning) through 5 (launch and monitor).Build more meaningful products with these methods and more: A/B Testing, Affinity Diagramming, Behavioral Mapping, Bodystorming, Contextual Design, Critical Incident Technique, Directed Storytelling, Flexible Modeling, Image Boards, Graffiti Walls, Heuristic Evaluation, Parallel Prototyping, Simulation Exercises, Touchstone Tours, and Weighted Matrix.  This essential guide:Dismantles the myth that user research methods are complicated, expensive, and time-consumingCreates a shared meaning for cross-disciplinary design teamsIllustrates methods with compelling visualizations and case studiesCharacterizes each method at a glanceIndicates when methods are best employed to help prioritize appropriate design research strategiesUniversal Methods of Design is an essential resource for designers of all levels and specializations.

    Ready to take JavaScript beyond the browser, explore dynamic languages features and embrace evented programming? Explore the fun, growing repository of Node modules provided by npm. Work with multiple protocols, load-balanced RESTful web services, express, 0MQ, Redis, CouchDB, and more. Develop production-grade Node applications fast. JavaScript is the backbone of the modern web, powering nearly every web app's user interface. Node.js is JavaScript for the server. This book shows you how to develop small, fast, low-profile, useful, networked applications. You'll write asynchronous, non-blocking code using Node's style and patterns. You'll cluster and load balance your services with Node core features and third-party tools. You'll work with many protocols, creating RESTful web services, TCP socket clients and servers, and more. This short book packs a hefty dose of Node.js. You'll test your code's functionality and performance under load. You'll learn important aspects of Node development--from its architecture and core, to its ecosystem of third-party modules. You'll discover how Node pairs a server-side event loop with a JavaScript runtime to produce screaming fast, non-blocking concurrency. Through a series of practical programming domains, you'll use the latest available ECMAScript Harmony features and harness key Node classes such as EventEmitter and Stream. Throughout the book, you'll develop real programs that are small, fast, low-profile, and useful. Get ready to join a smart community that's rapidly advancing the state of the art in web development.What You Need: Latest stable release of Node.js, this book was written with 0.12.x in mind. The 0MQ (ZeroMQ) library, version 3.2 or higher.

    The shaping of digital artifacts is a design process that influences the form and functions of workplaces, schools, communication, and culture; the successful interaction designer must use both ethical and aesthetic judgment to create designs that are appropriate to a given environment. This book is not a how-to manual, but a collection of tools for thought about interaction design.Working with information technology--called by the authors the material without qualities--interaction designers create not a static object but a dynamic pattern of interactivity. The design vision is closely linked to context and not simply focused on the technology. The authors' action-oriented and context-dependent design theory, drawing on design theorist Donald Sch�n's concept of the reflective practitioner, helps designers deal with complex design challenges created by new technology and new knowledge. Their approach, based on a foundation of thoughtfulness that acknowledges the designer's responsibility not only for the functional qualities of the design product but for the ethical and aesthetic qualities as well, fills the need for a theory of interaction design that can increase and nurture design knowledge. From this perspective they address the fundamental question of what kind of knowledge an aspiring designer needs, discussing the process of design, the designer, design methods and techniques, the design product and its qualities, and conditions for interaction design.

    Yet, managing human beings and navigating complex product roadmaps is no easy task, and it's rare to find a product leader who can steward a digital product from concept to launch without a couple of major hiccups. Why do some product leaders succeed while others don't?This insightful book presents interviews with nearly 100 leading product managers from all over the world. Authors Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson, and Nate Walkingshaw draw on decades of experience in product design and development to capture the approaches, styles, insights, and techniques of successful product managers. If you want to understand what drives good product leaders, this book is an irreplaceable resource.In three parts, Product Leadership helps you explore:Themes and patterns of successful teams and their leaders, and ways to attain those characteristicsThe best approaches for guiding your product team through the startup, emerging, and enterprise stages of a company's evolutionStrategies and tactics for working with customers, agencies, partners, and external stakeholders

    It outlines and demonstrates basic logo and branding design guidelines and rules through 100 principles including the elements of a successful graphic identity, identity programs and brand identity, and all the various strategies and elements involved.

    This manual is aimed at everyone who works on interactive products in a design and development environment. It contains all of the basic information required for getting started with the project management method Scrum, but also offers a number of in-depth chapters looking at topics which even the most experienced Scrummers have trouble with on a daily basis. If you are experienced, you will find the advanced tips and tricks useful. If you are just considering Scrum, this book will most certainly get you enthusiastic.

    Development activities are linked via handoffs between stages as practitioners move through the process. The lifecycle template concept introduced in this book can be tailored to any project environment, from large enterprise system development to commercial products. Whether a student or practitioner, you will come away with knowledge and understanding of how to create and refine interaction designs to ensure a quality user experience.

    Step-by-step strategy of how to successfully organize sales, marketing and business development for a new product or company. The book offers insight into what makes some startups successful and leaves others selling off their furniture. Packed with concrete examples, the book will leave you with new skills to organize sales, marketing and your business for success.

    In recent years, web designers, too, have come to discover the remarkable power that grid-based design can afford in creating intuitive, immersive, and beautiful user experiences. "Ordering Disorder" delivers a definitive take on grids and the Web. It provides both the big ideas and the brass-tacks techniques of grid-based design. Readers are sure to come away with a keen understanding of the power of grids, as well as the design tools needed to implement them for the World Wide Web. Khoi Vinh is internationally recognized for bringing the tried-and-true principles of the typographic grid to the World Wide Web. He is the former Design Director for NYTimes.com, where he consolidated his reputation for superior user experience design. He writes and lectures widely on design, technology, and culture, and has published the popular blog Subtraction.com for over a decade. More information at grids.subtraction.com"

    Rooted in universal design principles, this book provides solutions: practical advice and examples of how to create sites that everyone can use.

    While the sheriff conducts his investigation, Kelton begins to discover the small sleepy southern town by the interstate isn’t as quaint and innocent as it appears. The large bale of cash sealed in plastic found at the scene speaks to nefarious activities, and the idealistic young Kelton with his K-9 dutifully assists underfunded local law enforcement in getting to the bottom of things. Even when he realizes they aren’t telling him everything. But his discoveries make clear that his ingrained respect for authority and showing chivalry toward all is being taken advantage of by numerous shady characters trying to preserve their own legacies. Lawless lawmen and damsels not so distressed drive him to reexamine his values to decide which are still worth living by and how those apply in a world twisted by drugs, money, sex and power. Come take a gritty journey of suspense driven by deep desperate characters and soul ripping action. Join Kelton and Azrael settling on a moral course in a world where nobody is perfect and even evil is far from absolute, and making heroic strides in trying to do what is right. Let no one underestimate the unbreakable bond between a man and his dog. SPECIAL NOTICE I’m proud to be providing half of net royalties through September 30th 2016 to the Warrior Dog Foundation ( http://warriordogfoundation.org/ ). This great Non-Profit organization transitions K-9 heroes retiring from service with Special Operations Forces to their state-of-the-art kennel facility where they receive any needed physical or mental rehabilitation so they can live out their lives with dignity and grace. I’m not affiliated with their foundation, but couldn’t be happier to contribute.