With heartbreak and rejection being too heavy of a cocktail to continuously digest, she turns to drug use in order to dull her reality. Unfortunately, her spiral leads to homelessness and a need for rescue. Desperate for cash, she finesses her way into an underground casino. Taken in by the action, it’s clear this is a place she doesn’t belong. However, a meeting with a powerful man causes her to lose her potential marks and gain a path to healing that just may let her heart tag along. Smoke is suave and charismatic, and he knows his business. As the owner of an underground casino, his eyes and ears are always open. Dollars don’t get played or paid without him knowing about it. Faces become familiar after first glance. When a woman, less made up and more run down, enters his establishment, Smoke instantly recognizes her as out of place. Yet, there’s something about her that draws him in. He wants to care for her... help her reclaim her light. If only the task was that simple. Will Smoke and Mira find themselves in the mirrors of each other? Or will the truth of circumstances fade the promises of the future?

     This Special Collection contains: Love is Patient (Never before released) Anna has been forced by her father to marry Amos, a man she does not love...or even like. Their marriage is off to a rocky start and she doesn't see how things will ever change. Soon she discovers items missing from their home-clothes from the clothesline, vegetables from the garden, and jars of jam from the cellar. She's now on a quest to find out who has been taking their items...and Amos has not interest in helping her. Find out what she discovers and how this changes the entire course of her and Amos's life. Emily's Choice Emily, an Englischer, has just lost her mother. Now she must go live with the father she never knew - an Amish man. It turns out he didn't know Emily existed either. Emily’s father and his family struggle to accept her. However, she meets Caleb, the handsome Amish employee at the restaurant her new family runs. She's drawn to Caleb and soon can’t help but to fall in love with him. Caleb has also developed feelings for Emily. But there's a problem... Amy's Divine Destiny Amy loves to draw and is quite gifted. Finding an old abandoned house one day, she sets herself up and begins to sketch. Thinking she sees someone in the upstairs window, she goes back every day to sit and see if she can see the figure again. She soon discovers that a young man about her age has been staying there and he opens up to Amy and explains his story... Amy's Divine Destiny: The Sequel Amy has now married and her husband has just received surprising news that his grandmother whom he had never met, has died and has left him an inheritance... and he is also now the guardian of his teenage half-sister, whom he has never met. Now Amy must trust God in ways she’s never had to before. The Path of His Choosing -Book 1 (Seasons of Change) This first book of the series starts out with Mary King, as a teenager, and has just approached her time for Rumspringa. She decides to move away with friends to work at a toy factory. She meets two young men who take an interest in her, but she knows that a relationship would never work with either one of them. She leaves, disheartened with this new way of life and returns home. But God uses this experience to bring her a special surprise. The Path of His Choosing -Book 2 (New Beginnings) Mary has now wed the man of her dreams. They soon find they will need extra income to see them through. Mary runs into a friend at the grocery store who suggests an idea to solve their dilemma. This may be the perfect solution, so they go ahead with the idea. See how God uses this experience to touch the lives of a family who need His loving intervention. The Path of His Choosing -Book 3 (The Journey Ahead) This third book of the series continues with Mary and Kyle starting a new venture in the hopes of bringing in a more stable income. Peter from her Rumspringa year enters her life once again much to Mary's dismay. Kyle has even invited him to stay at their home until he finds a place to live, which makes Mary all the more nervous, but God has a plan in all of this. Find out what He has in mind...

    A pair of unlikely investigators walk a dangerous path into the past, uncovering secrets best left alone in this dark, fantasy thriller.The fate of empire is to crumble from within.A heinous murder in a small village reveals a terrible truth. Sorcery, once thought dead in Enhover, is not. Evidence of an occult ritual and human sacrifice proves that dark power has been called upon again. Twisting threads of clues lead across the known world to the end of a vast empire, and then, the trail returns home.Duke Oliver Wellesley, son of the king, cartographer, and adventurer, has better things to do than investigate a murder in a sleepy fishing hamlet. For Crown and Company, though, he goes where he’s told. As the investigation leads to deeper and darker places, he’ll be forced to confront the horrific spectres rising from the shadows of his past. When faced with the truth, will he sacrifice what is necessary to survive?Samantha serves a Church that claims to no longer need her skills. She’s apprenticed to a priest-assassin that no one knows. Driven by a mad prophecy, her mentor has prepared her for a battle with ultimate darkness, except, sorcery is dead. When all is at stake, can she call upon an arcane craft the rest of the world has forgotten?The fate of empire is to crumble from within. Do not ask when, ask who.

     “(Hynd is)…a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist. 'Eisenhower’s Spy' is Noel Hynd’s tough hard-hitting sequel to 'Truman’s Spy'. It is a major new work of action and espionage from the author of 'Flowers From Berlin' and 'Return to Berlin.' It is the summer of 1958. President Dwight D. Eisenhower personally enlists F.B.I. Special Agent Thomas Buchanan (the central character of Hynd’s 'Truman’s Spy') for a top secret assignment independent of the FBI and CIA. The President asks Buchanan to oversee the investigation of a perplexing murder in broad daylight in Manhattan. The best detectives in New York City cannot pull the case together. Or maybe they don’t want to. Was the homicide a random slaying, a gangland ‘hit,’ a drug deal gone wrong or a political assassination? And the further question: why is this homicide, which might otherwise be a state or city investigation, the focus of such close White House attention? Within days of starting his investigation, Buchanan finds himself, his life, his career and the woman he loves in jeopardy. He navigates a lethal web of Russian spies, local hoodlums, political provocateurs from the left and the right, the CIA, rival agents in the FBI, surly New York cops and Caribbean revolutionaries. The case is a nightmare, as are its ramifications. Equally perilous are the gritty gang-controlled urban streets where Buchanan must go to seek answers. Buchanan soon finds himself working with an unpredictable New York City police lieutenant named Paul Maguire. A beautiful but suspicious young woman named Laura Brookfield filters in and out of the case. Day to day, Laura either aids them or sabotages them. And yet, she may be the key to Buchanan's investigation. The story twists and turns from New York to Washington to Havana and back again. The case comes in and out of focus like a mirage on a broiling summer afternoon. Buchanan moves from the drug dens of upper Manhattan to the mob nightclubs of midtown to the edgy coffee houses of Greenwich Village. He visits the hot jazz joints of the West Fifties and the corrupt police precincts of the pre-Serpico era. Questions are many. Answers are few. Buchanan must make his own good luck. Meanwhile, the President is waiting for a report. To some, America of the 1950’s was a bright, optimistic and prosperous place. But in 'Eisenhower’s Spy' a deeper reality smolders beneath the surface. The decade had begun with two wars: a bloody conflict in Korea that stalemated in 1953 and a global cold war that would intensify through the decade. Berlin, Budapest and Taiwan were flashpoints of conflict and potential sparks for another world war. Americans passed the decade in fear of Soviet subversion from within or a sudden Soviet nuclear attack from afar. Worse, revolutionary ferment was as close as ninety miles south of Florida as Fidel Castro’s revolutionary army crept increasingly closer to mobbed-up Havana. 'Eisenhower’s Spy' is a spy story that buzzes with the energy of numerous intrigues, love affairs, memorable characters, remorseless criminality and quirks of fate set across a dark set of years in the middle of the Twentieth Century. 'Eisenhower’s Spy' will underscore the critics’ lofty assessment of Noel Hynd’s unique way with a tough hard-hitting spy novel: a full cast of memorable people, romance, uncompromising historical accuracy and heart pounding suspense. The millions of readers of Noel Hynd’s previous novels will not be disappointed.

    Along with the most frequently asked questions being answered, you'll also get recipes and a 7 day meal plan to start you off right and losing inches your first week.

     Richly plotted, Harrington’s novel is alive with a large cast of memorable characters and real, powerful issues, including destroyed careers, political upheaval, racial clashes, and a major scandal. At the centre we have a Lieutenant of Detectives with the job of bringing a murderer to justice, but he's torn between duty and his hatred of capital punishment. We follow the lives of those centrally and pivotally concerned in the case—the murderer and the murderer’s wife, lawyers and journalists, gubernatorial candidates and prostitutes—through the events leading up to the trial, the trial itself, and its grim aftermath. Praise for Trial: ‘Mr. Harrington blends all his disparate themes skilfully, holding the reader’s attention riveted and constructing his story tightly.’ — Publishers’ Weekly. William Harrington (1931-2000) was born in Ohio and studied law at Ohio State University. An attorney for nearly 20 years, he became a full-time writer in 1980. Harrington published almost thirty novels during his career, including The English Lady (1982) and a series of six novels featuring fictional TV detective Columbo.

    He doesn’t get on with his wife, and a woman has turned up dead down the alley beside Halfway House. Add a prickly team member and his DS always turning up late for work, and Morgan isn’t a happy chap.Another deceased woman is found, and it’s clear the two are linked. They’re friends, but what connects them in death? A third murder is a little too close to home, and Morgan makes a decision that could cost him his job if he’s caught.A gang of kids back in the past hold the key to understanding the puzzle, plus a man just released from prison who was put away for murdering a teenager.Who killed Jacob Everson?Why are the gang members being picked off one by one?And will Morgan lose the plot when a shocking discovery comes to light?Take a walk down Mulberry Lane, a street where secrets can no longer remain buried.

    Every chapter of this couple’s devotional is a powerful reminder of how small changes in awareness and actions can be the tipping point in any relationship.”—Dave Nelson, Lead Pastor, Great Lakes Church, Kenosha, WIStrong marriages don’t just happen. They require commitment, time, and faith—which can often be difficult to achieve amid the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. But this kind of dedication is essential, not just to getting married, but to staying married.After five years of marriage, Michelle Peterson discovered that many of the couples she knew were separating or getting divorced, and found herself asking a question that would become the foundation of her life’s work: What does it take to stay married? From this question Michelle developed the popular blog and podcast, #staymarried, which has helped hundreds of thousands of couples improve their marriages.#staymarried: A Couple’s Devotional combines everything Michelle has learned in one welcoming and applicable couple’s devotional. In #staymarried: A Couple’s Devotional, scripture-based devotions help you and your spouse work together to strengthen your relationship—to each other and God.In this couple’s devotional, you’ll find: Devotions that require only 30 minutes per week and address everything from finances and arguments to trust and intimacy. Wisdom from the Bible incorporated with up-to-date research from research-based sources such as The Gottman Institute. Inclusive, open-minded guidance that applies to a diverse range of couples. With #staymarried: A Couple’s Devotional, you and your spouse will learn to connect meaningfully and communicate honestly while renewing your shared commitment to your marriage and faith.

    Matt Welsh wrote the original Linux Installation and Getting Started guide; Matthias Dalheimer now leads the KDE Foundation. Their knowledge shows, whether they re talking about system administration, multimedia, or programming. You ll start by getting comfortable and productive: navigating command lines and GUIs; using browsers and office software; even gaming. Then, the authors lead you into the heart of Linux. You ll build kernels, process text, manage startup, troubleshoot X Window video. You ll implement print, file, network, and Internet services. There s even a full chapter on building LAMP application environments. Along the way, the authors introduce a raft of new topics, from encrypted email to groupware -- all with the clarity and accuracy you need to get results. Bill Camarda, from the February 2006 href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/newslet... Only

    It also gives readers the opportunity to test their understanding with multiple exercises. Readers can test their knowledge of individual concepts, and then test their comprehension of the topic in a larger setting.

    With just two previous novels to his credit, Patrick A. Davis has become known for edge-of-your-seat military fiction. Of his first novel, The General, the Houston Chronicle proclaimed, "Davis scored a hit". And Publishers Weekly agreed that his "adrenaline-charged" second novel, The Passenger, firmly established him as "a writer with a knack for white-knuckled suspense". In The Colonel, Davis creates a new hero caught in the midst of the case of his life. Retired Air Force investigator Martin Collins lives a quiet life in rural Virginia, working as the local chief of police and consulting on military homicides. When he's called in to assist on a grisly triple murder, nothing can prepare him for the crime scene: Colonel Margaret Wildman and her two young children, their throats slashed, left to die in pools of their own blood. At first, there seems to be no motive for the murders. But as Collins digs through an increasingly puzzling maze of clues, he reveals a secret that leads to the highest levels of the government-and the military. Buried files reveal a link between Colonel Wildman and a series of fatal airline crashes; political pressure to keep a secret grows, as does the body count. Collins finds his own life jeopardized as he closes in on the truth, culminating in a shocking confrontation on the floors of Congress.

    They are now standard features in a wide range of languages and popular tools, including Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, VB.NET and C# (and any language using the .NET Framework), PHP, and MySQL.If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regularexpressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include:A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and toolsHow the regular expression engine worksOptimization (major savings available here!)Matching just what you want, but not what you don't wantSections and chapters on individual languagesWritten in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediateuse.Reviews of this new edition and the second edition: "There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regexnovice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full ofuseful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable toolsthat every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering RegularExpressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstandingresource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of TenHorseshoes."--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

    Now, two Trolltech insiders have written a start-to-finish guide to getting outstanding results with the latest version of Qt: Qt 4.3.Packed with realistic examples and in-depth advice, this is the book Trolltech uses to teach Qt to its own new hires. Extensively revised and expanded, it reveals today's best Qt programming patterns for everything from implementing model/view architecture to using Qt 4.3's improved graphics support. You'll find proven solutions for virtually every GUI development task, as well as sophisticated techniques for providing database access, integrating XML, using subclassing, composition, and more. Whether you're new to Qt or upgrading from an older version, this book can help you accomplish everything that Qt 4.3 makes possible.Completely updated throughout, with significant new coverage of databases, XML, and Qtopia embedded programming Covers all Qt 4.2/4.3 changes, including Windows Vista support, native CSS support for widget styling, and SVG file generation Contains separate 2D and 3D chapters, coverage of Qt 4.3's new graphics view classes, and an introduction to QPainter's OpenGL back-end Includes new chapters on look-and-feel customization and application scripting Illustrates Qt 4's model/view architecture, plugin support, layout management, event processing, container classes, and much more Presents advanced techniques covered in no other book--from creating plugins to interfacing with native APIs Includes a new appendix on Qt Jambi, the new Java version of Qt