Rachel was no different. She juggled her many roles and responsibilities well and rewarded herself with wine at the end of each day; after all, she deserved it. But, gradually her wine intake began to increase each night and soon it had gone from being a little treat to an absolute necessity. As wine invaded more and more areas of her life, it became harder to cope. In turn it meant she drank more wine, firmly believing it was the cure, never considering for a moment that it could be the problem. Eventually, when wine was dictating everything she did and did not do, Rachel realised that something had to change. However, as soon as she attempted to restrict or moderate her drinking, she seemed to want it even more. Her best intentions fell quickly by the way side after the first bottle was opened and the first drink took control, compelling her to have more. Drinking would continue until there was none left or Rachel 'fell asleep'. The following day consisted of a hangover, depression, overeating, remorse, worry, despair and self-hatred, until the time came around when the next bottle could be opened and these awful feelings could be blotted out. This pattern of trying and failing to control her wine drinking brought Rachel to acknowledge that it was not possible to do so, and she decided that she had to remove alcohol from her life forever. Despite being sick and tired of the drinking-hangover-drinking cycle of failure, giving up was not easy and it was only after a few more failed attempts that Rachel managed to do so. This book details her life in that first year of going alcohol-free. It describes in detail how her everyday pursuits became challenging and changing. Her outlook on the whole point of life turned on its axis when alcohol was removed, leaving her with a whole different sense of self and being. The changes that occurred were astounding and beyond anything she believed could be possible. She thought that removing alcohol from her life was all about giving up; she had never considered what she might gain.

    Life has always been hard, and now she and her little brother Billy are left homeless and alone. But Grace must put her grief and fear aside, and think practically. Accepting a job as companion to the wealthy, lonely Mrs Spencer means that she and Billy have a roof over their heads, but just as Grace starts to find her feet disaster strikes again. Things look desperate, and when she is offered marriage and the good life for herself and Billy, Grace is tempted. But is her suitor to be trusted? Or is she, in her search for safety for her little family, flying too close to the sun?

    Big trouble. And she was going to clean it off if it was the last thing she'd do... which it was looking like it very well might be. Daisy had a simple rule for space travel. Don't blow up. So far she'd been managing to abide by that, but something was very much not right. With the powerful AI supercomputer guiding the craft beginning to show some disconcerting quirks of its own, and its unsettling cyborg assistant nosing into her affairs, Daisy’s unease was rapidly growing, as was her bigotry toward artificially intelligent beings. Add to the mix a crew of mechanically-enhanced humans, any one of whom she suspected might not be what they seemed, and Daisy found herself with a sense of pending dread tickling the periphery of her mind. Something was very much not right––she could feel it in her bones. The tricky part now was going to be overcoming her biases and figuring out what the threat was, before it could manifest from a mere sinking feeling in her gut into a potentially deadly reality. Only things were far different and far worse than she could ever have imagined, forcing her to repeatedly adjust and overcome a reality that turned out to be far from what it had originally seemed. The complete series set of all five of the Clockwork Chimera books: 1. Daisy's Run 2. Pushing Daisy 3. Daisy's Gambit 4. Chasing Daisy 5. Daisy's War A space opera adventure featuring damaged spaceships, rogue artificial intelligence, homicidal cyborgs, mechanically-enhanced humans, genetic engineering, nanotech, and, of course, bloodthirsty aliens.

    Have you tried before to paint in a loose and free way but found it to be difficult? In this Introduction to loose watercolor you will find the tools you need to free your creativity! Finally you will be able to paint in a way that is both liberating and refreshing to you, and your viewer. No prior knowledge is assumed, just bring a willingness to relax and lose the 'fear' of making a mark on paper. Once you start painting in the way demonstrated here, you will be able to express your emotional response to a scene with energy and power.After a brief introduction, you will see examples of loose paintings, learn the materials used (which will not break the bank!). Discover which colors the author recommends and see a complete step by step painting of a landscape. You will learn how to create inspiring sky effects easily, when to dry, and when to add highlights to add that final sparkle to a composition. Many of the techniques and ideas are somewhat unconventional! But they work,and you will be delighted with your results.

    B-36 crews trained for the one flight when they would be ordered to drop combat nuclear bombs on the USSR. Flights of fifteen hours over continental United States to grueling thirty-hour nonstop flights overseas were routine, all without the benefit of in-flight refueling—not yet invented. The experiences of this crew, as they flew their assigned missions, are part of the history of our nation’s defense. They were part of our Cold War Shield.

    The day after the troupe arrives in tiny Morgan’s Crossing, the manager takes all the money and leaves town. By opening a dressmaker shop, Cinnia hopes to make the home she’s always wanted, but Nola, the older sister who has made the decisions for the orphaned sisters, disagrees. Leather worker Nicolai Andrusha is living in hiding as Nic Andrews until the patent on his family’s tanning process is approved. Although he’s under a mandate to keep a low profile, he’s intrigued by the red-haired performer. Controversy arises when miners claim they paid the manager for private appointments with the female performers. Will Nicolai defy his family obligation to help the stranded beauty who has caught his eye?

    My father. My rock. A beloved teacher and protector of young girls. Defender against rapist jocks, and jacket-lender. How could he be a vampire?" After a grave warning from a familiar stranger, Ara leaves her old life to live with her father. She never imagined the unfortunate future that awaited her there.In an equally heart-warming and gut-wrenching tale of love gone wrong, this three-book series will make you fall for all the wrong guys, because even bad vampire deserve to be loved.               Start the series today.

    

    Are we destined to be involved with the wrong people until the end of time, or just until the end of our 20s? Does anyone have a Xanax? "How To Be A 20-Something" is a collection of nineteen hilarious, sad, and often cathartic personal essays and stories written by and for 20-somethings.

    The Apocalypse is only just beginning... The Eko virus sweeps the globe in mere days, killing billions. Air Force One disintegrates in a ball of flame. The Secretary of Defense holds a pistol to the head of an Army grunt. The world has gone insane. And the apocalypse is just getting warmed up. Echo Company is woken in the middle of the night and put on the last plane out of Germany. They might be the last special forces operators anywhere in the world. They're used to being the men who go bump in the night. But now they're all that stands between society and absolute chaos. Captain Jax Booth never planned on being a father. Not yet, anyway. But the Eko virus killed the woman he loved, and left him to care for her daughter in a world that was falling apart. So he did what he had to. He got Hayley to Cheyenne Mountain, the last bastion of safety anywhere in the world. If there's one thing the Eko virus can't get through, it's 500 feet of reinforced rock... In time, the virus burns itself out. A small band of survivors establish themselves in the Rockies, and finally pause for breath. The virus might be gone, but winter is coming. It's time to rebuild. To scavenge. To hunt. To survive. America has fallen. But a New Republic will rise... We suggest you read Perfect Storm, book one in the main Collapse series before losing yourself in Fall Back. But if you're the kind of person who doesn't like following rules, then you can definitely read New Republic as a standalone series!

    She goes beyond the call of duty with the most exotic sexual encounters along with a spiral emotional setting. This is one side chick you don’t want to cross, because she will do everything in her power to be number one. See how a side chick can go from number two to number one in this roller coaster book.

    They should have taken his life.He'd shot to defend his property. Now Hobe Carew was wanted by the law. First Hobe found an ally in a half-breed named Jim. Then he found a friend in a runaway girl and a good reason to come back to Two Rivers, where his cabin had been burned down. Lew Seely owned half the grass in the county; now he wanted Hobe's. But Seely just couldn't fathom a small man's will to take a stand, or the kind of battle that was about to blaze in the dust.

    But Alison and her team know better. Trouble’s always coming for a Brownstone. Good thing she has an answer for them. Brownstone Security’s reputation is spreading, which means more jobs for the growing team. But more money means more mayhem looking for them. Can the team dig deeper and pull out another win? A Brownstone Solution: What could be harder for Alison than hunting magical beasties? Meeting Mason’s parents. Now she knows what Mason felt like meeting her father. Well, that was James Brownstone, so… maybe not.No time to ponder impressing the parents anyway – she has other issues to deal with.And an unknown person has reached out to Tahir and Hana about Omni’s owner. Something smells a bit fishy about the whole situation – and it’s not Omni being a fish. Keep Your Enemies Closer: Alison bloodied the Tapestry, but has she defeated them? With her foes operating under the radar, Alison thinks she has time, but when the mysterious magic-enhancing drug Ultimate arrives in Seattle, she is faced with a shocking conspiracy that might reach from Las Vegas to Seattle. Sadistic wizards willing to experiment are flocking to town. Rise Up: It’s hard to plan a wedding when the bad guys just won’t take a hint. Invite only… Brownstone Security is hired for what should be a relatively simple job. Nothing about the job is as it seems and Alison ends up working with the FBI’s first witch on the case. Dark Reunion: Sometimes even a Brownstone needs to get away from it all. Did the bad guys not get the memo? Alison Brownstone is on vacation. Do not disturb. Oh they disturbed.But when your mom is Shay Carson and she makes two requests of you, you take them seriously. 1. Go on a father-daughter bounty hunt. 2. Go on vacation. How can Alison say no? She can’t.Two Brownstone’s on a bounty. That dude’s going down hard. It’s not like Seattle will burn down because Alison isn’t there, right? Drow Conqueror: Alison Brownstone is a Drow Princess with no ordinary powers. Time to remind a few people just what that means. Kick ass, don’t bother taking names. Alison is in Mongolia to rescue Mr. D’s nephew, but things aren’t adding up. Are the other Drow trying to off Alison and her team to secure their succession? Drow Triumphant: It’s the beginning of the end. The other Drow princess and queen just don’t know it… yet. It’s business as usual for Brownstone Security. Drow threats or not, they still have work to do.

    When an old Army buddy recruits Pat to work as an asset for the CIA, he reluctantly agrees, and the adventure begins.Working as an arms dealer in Abu Dhabi, Pat gets caught in a shadowy world of deception, intrigue, and conspiracy. A failed attempt on his life, reveals that he has once again aggravated the powerful. Pat will now have to unravel the mystery of who is after him to survive. Discovering and neutralizing this threat will throw Pat into a whirlwind tour of Middle Eastern action, intrigue and adventure.This is the first book in the popular Pat Walsh Arabian Adventure Series.Arabian Deception is a fully rewritten version of James Lawrence's first book, Lost in Arabia. The next two books in the series are Arabian Vengeance and Arabian Fury.

    The children will smile on Christmas morning at all costs. Even if Kris has to die to try to make it happen.Someone has set a trap for Kris Kringle. The problem is, Kris is willing to go anywhere to get those gifts to the children.Including to his dark place.This time, even Kris is surprised by who helps him.Be careful, world. You don’t want to piss off Saint Nick.