He awakes in a room he’s never seen before with a note from a mysterious stranger who seems to have come to his rescue.Before he can sneak out, he finds himself face to face with his gorgeous knight in shining armour. It turns out that Ryan saved him from more than just a bad hangover. In a day that feels like a dream, Luca and Ryan discover their attraction, but as a simple tailor and a club bouncer, they’re completely opposite. Could this really be true love?Rise and Shine is a 17K word steamy, standalone MM romance novella featuring a match-making Labrador, too much pizza, just the right amount of sofa snuggles, and a guaranteed HEA with absolutely no cliffhanger. Please note this story was previously released as a free giveaway. No content has been changed.

    

    Presenting the most compelling explanation yet for the bizarre nature of the Black Dahlia murder, this volume includes never-before published crime-scene photographs and links the alleged killer to a vast array of influential people.

    A centuries-old tradition developed in Europe during the Renaissance, cabinets of wonder (also known as curiosity cabinets) are once again in fashion. Shops, restaurants, and private residences echo these cabinets in their interior design, by making use of the eclectic vintage objects commonly featured in such collections. "Cabinets of Wonder "showcases exceptional collections in homes and museums, with more than 180 photographs, while also explaining the history behind the tradition, the best-known collections, and the types of objects typically displayed. Offering both a historical overview and a look into contemporary interior design, this extravagantly illustrated book celebrates the wonderfully odd world of cabinets of wonder.

    It was a time of uncertainty and incessant warfare, a time during which the crown was constantly contested, alliances were made and broken, and peasants and townsmen alike arose in revolt. This was the raw material of Shakespeare's dramas, and Norwich holds up his work to the light of history to ask: Who was the real Falstaff? How accurate a historian was the playwright? Shakespeare's Kings is a marvelous study of the Bard's method of spinning history into art, and a captivating portrait of the Middle Ages.

    The contributors include A.J. Ayer, Bernard Williams, Martha Nussbaum, Peter Singer, and John Searle, so that the book is not only an introduction to the philosophers of the past, but gives an insight into the view and personalities of some of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century.

    In its pages can be found the fascinating history of the ancient world from the Genesis creation through the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Find Out: * Why was Julius Caesar kidnapped in 75 B.C.? * Why did Alexander the Great burn his ships in 326 B.C.? * What really happened when the sun "went backward" as a sign to Hezekiah? * What does secular history say about the darkness at the Crucifixion?

    Then came the cosmic catastrophe which put man at the mercy of the giant spiders, icily intelligent conquerors armed with awesome mind powers. Now, the struggle for survival begins...     The Death Lord spiders rule the Earth, herding humans like cattle. A few tribes of free men and women dwell in the desert, hiding underground, living by their wits. Now, a young warrior named Niall begins an epic search for the secrets of the spiders - secrets which might give humanity a fighting chance against the overlords...Edition note: while this is the first volume of the Spider World series, it was also originally (and later) part of most editions of "The Tower". The 1988 edition of "The Tower" split the formerly unified book into three, respectively "The Desert", "The Tower" and "The Fortress", leading to considerable confusion.

    Originating in the wild imagination of French poet and playwright Alfred Jarry and his schoolmates, resisting clear definition, purposefully useless, and almost impossible to understand, 'pataphysics nevertheless lies around the roots of Absurdism, Dada, futurism, surrealism, situationism, and other key cultural developments of the twentieth century. In this account of the evolution and influence of 'pataphysics, Andrew Hugill offers an informed exposition of a rich and difficult territory, staying aloft on a tightrope stretched between the twin dangers of oversimplifying a serious subject and taking a joke too seriously. Drawing on more than twenty-five years' research, Hugill maps the 'pataphysical presence (partly conscious and acknowledged but largely unconscious and unacknowledged) in literature, theater, music, the visual arts, and the culture at large, and even detects 'pataphysical influence in the social sciences and the sciences. He offers many substantial excerpts (in English translation) from primary sources, intercalated with a thorough explication of key themes and events of 'pataphysical history. In a Jarryesque touch, he provides these in reverse chronological order, beginning with a survey of 'pataphysics in the digital age and working backward to Jarry and beyond. He looks specifically at the work of Jean Baudrillard, Georges Perec, Italo Calvino, J. G. Ballard, Asger Jorn, Gilles Deleuze, Roger Shattuck, Jacques Pr?vert, Antonin Artaud, Ren? Clair, the Marx Brothers, Joan Mir?, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, Raymond Roussel, Jean-Pierre Brisset, and many others.

    She recently discovered that her husband is a cheater. If that isn't bad enough, she also learned that the man she thought she knew and loved is deeply involved in illegal activities. When she walked out, determined to start over, she had no idea just how far the man who had vowed to love and to cherish her would go to make her sorry until she found him murdered--in her bed. Now, the only person who believes her story is, unfortunately for Julie, the one man with the most to gain from the murder.

    Richard Davenport-Hines, an eminent, prize-winning historian, uncovers the centrality of drug abuse in our modern industrial society, from the drug habits of Charles Dickens and John F. Kennedy to today's $400 billion annual worldwide trade in illicit drugs (the same volume as the oil industry). A vivid portrayal of the people and events that have shaped the history of narcotics, The Pursuit of Oblivion reveals that, contrary to the assumption underlying current drug policies, our need to escape reality and our body's need for physical pleasure are both ineradicable aspects of our humanity, unchangeable by government initiative.

    But, married to the daughter of a tea merchant and seeking artistic approval from abroad, he could not sever his own ties with Great Britain. Rather, ambition took him to London just as the war began. His view from abroad as rich and fascinating as his harrowing experiences of patriotism in Boston, Copley’s refusal to choose sides cost him dearly. Yet to this day, his towering artistic legacy remains shared by America and Britain alike.

    Dick" is a collection of 11 short stories by Philip K. Dick. This book is a perfect collection of exciting science fiction stories from a writer who wrote about the people he loved and placed them in the unique alternate worlds that his mind had created. Included in this book:1. Beyond Lies the Wub2. Beyond the Door3. Mr. Spaceship4. Piper in the Woods5. Second Variety6. The Crystal Crypt7. The Defenders8. The Eyes Have It9. The Gun10. The Skull11. The Variable Man

    Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, and Gavin Grant continue this critically acclaimed and award-winning tradition with another stunning collection of stories. The fiction and poetry here is culled from an exhaustive survey of the field, nearly four dozen works ranging from fairy tales to gothic horror, from magic realism to dark tales in the Grand Guignol style. Rounding out the volume are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantasy and horror, and sections on graphic novels, by Charles Vess; on anime and manga, by Joan D. Vinge; on media, by Ed Bryant; and on music, by Charles de Lint. With a long list of Honorable Mentions, this is an indispensable reference as well as the best reading available in fantasy and horror.Isabel Allende   Laird Barron   Elizabeth Bear    Andrew Bonia   Chaz Brenchley   Tom Brennan   Jack Cady   Jennifer Chang Robert Coover  Albert E. Cowdrey   Kelly Everding   Jeffrey Ford    Theodora Goss  Elizabeth Hand  Joe Hill   Glen Hirshberg   Pentti Holappa  Dave Hutchinson   China Miéville, Emma Bircham, and Max Schäfer  Sarah Monette  Ralph Robert Moore  Adam L.G. Nevill   Kim Newman  Reggie Oliver   Chuck Palahniuk   Stacey Richter  Barbara Roden  Deborah Roggie   Jay Russell  Geoff Ryman   Mark Samuels   Willa Schneberg   Nisi Shawl   Delia Sherman  Bruce Sterling   Howard Waldrop  Daniel Wallace   Marley Youmans

    Not for the faint-hearted. Adults only.