I had been sending horror stories to mainstream magazines who rewarded me with a stack of rejection slips, many of which included a scribbled note: "A little too weird for our readers."My next step was to send these stories out to the men's magazines, who included "horror stories" in their listings in the Writer's Market. Once again I was rewarded with a stack of rejection slips with this note: "You write very well, but we do not publish any stories that do not include at least three explicit sex scenes." (By this time I'd papered most of my bathroom with rejection slips.) Ah-ha! I said. I shall write an erotic fable. Cat's Karma came out of that effort. Actually, after no one accepted the story I cleaned out the explicit sex scenes so I could show this story to my friends without them thinking I was a hopeless horndog, and this version is the end result. -- Christopher Moore

    Summers. He brings out fascinating challenges in situations as common as a game of tic-tac-toe or tennis or as strange as a land of habitual Truth tellers and Liars. These puzzles and teasers are constructed with clues, helpful solution and detailed answers that show you step-by-step how a teaser or a puzzle is unraveled.

    It is employed in mental health settings, medical centers, and correctional programs, and is frequently admitted as evidence in legal proceedings. In addition, use of the MMPI-2 in the process of screening applicants for jobs that involve public trust and safety is spreading rapidly.The fourth edition of MMPI-2: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology describes effective uses of the MMPI-2 and explains how to accurately interpret test results. Current and comprehensive, it presents detailed instructions for administering, scoring, and coding the MMPI-2. It also discusses the most recent interpretations of the test's validity, clinical content, and supplementary scales; illustrating points with case studies and examples. In addition, the book covers two new sets of scales: the Restructured Clinical (RC) scales, which help focus the interpretation of the original clinical scales; and the Personality Psychopathology 5 (PSY-5) scales, which assess major dimensions of normal and abnormal personality.MMPI-2: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology, Fourth Edition, is ideal for graduate courses in psychological assessment and an indispensable guide for researchers and clinicians working in personality assessment.Features-Incorporates new information from recent empirical research studies-Covers the latest developments in supplementary scales-Discusses using the MMPI-2 with such diverse population groups as older adults, ethnic minorities, medical patients, and prisoners-Includes the latest information on computerized administration, scoring, and interpretation of test results-Provides expanded technical material

    Now that she’s kicked her cheating ex to the curb, she’s transforming her long-forgotten dream into a thriving business. Amid her new patients, she manages to travel to Scotland to be a bridesmaid in her college friend’s wedding only to meet the cousin of the groom, a tall shot of whisky in a tartan glass.Rhys Mackinnon has grown restless and is eager to find his next role in life, whatever that may be. When he meets Savannah, he’s all too happy to make that role her personal tour guide. He ends up playing boyfriend too after her ex shows up unannounced.When the fictional relationship begins to feel real, Savannah’s torn between the fire she feels for Rhys and the passion she has for her career. No matter what she decides, someone will end up hurt, because what happens in the castle doesn’t always stay there.

    Before ascending the throne on Christmas Eve, Greyson is given one month to explore how the other half lives. Armed with a few hundred dollars and a fake backstory, Greyson flies to Savannah, Georgia, to see if he has what it takes to chase the American Dream. Scarlett Calhoun is a Southern Belle with a heart as big as a Georgia peach. When she meets the charming construction worker, Greyson, it isn’t long before she is embracing the holiday cheer. Soon, she’s teaching him how to cook, falling for his exotic accent and soulful eyes, and joining him on picnic lunches where they talk for hours. With Christmas Eve nearing, Greyson must fly back to Aldora and either abdicate the throne, or take his rightful place as king. Will he ignore his birthright to remain with Scarlett or will she be royally abandoned?

    But she has absolutely no idea who the deceased is. She’s told that he invited her on his deathbed, and he’s very keen for her to attend, so she heads off to a dilapidated old farm house in a remote part of Wales. When she gets there she discovers that only five other people have been invited to the funeral. None of them knows who he is either. NO ONE GOING TO THIS FUNERAL HAS EVER HEARD OF THE DECEASED. WHAT IS GOING ON?? Then they are told that they have 20 hours to work out why they have been invited in order to inherit a million pounds. Who is this guy and why are they there? And what of the ghostly goings on in the ancient old building? Featuring Mary Brown, star of the Adorable Fat Girl series of books, in her greatest adventure yet. This is BOOK NINE in the series, but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone book or as part of the series.

    Millions of Americans want a deeper understanding of their country’s founding principles and don’t know where to start. When the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were written by our founders over two centuries ago, they were designed to endure. And indeed they’ve remained, as Paul Skousen writes, “the most amazing freedom formula ever invented”—but navigating eighteenth-century legal language can be challenging. Recognizing this problem, Skousen provides an easy, step-by-step guide that will forever change the way you think about your country and your freedoms. Using visual tools, exercises, and several valuable memory aids, this book will help you: • Master the Constitution’s seven articles and the twenty-seven important rights named in the Bill of Rights. • Navigate the Declaration’s five power statements on freedom and unlock their eighteenth-century phrases with a convenient glossary. • Discover how the Constitution’s guiding principles protect human rights. • And so much more. Thousands of books describe the origins of these famous documents, but only How to Read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence gives you a path to truly understanding them.

    Since 2008 the fiendishly difficult quiz show has been challenging contestants to find connections between apparently unrelated clues.The Only Connect Quiz Book collects over 200 of the most entertaining and perplexing challenges from the team behind the BBC’s hugely popular quiz show - including many new (never broadcast) questions. Covering each of the show’s four rounds – Connections, Sequences, the Connecting Wall and Missing Vowels – and with introductions from presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, here is your chance to put your own sleuthing and quizzical knowledge to the Only Connect test.

    One year’s room and board provided.”I should have known it was too good to be true when I first saw the ad. It turns out that Fortune Springs, Colorado isn’t just a one-horse town, it’s a two-woman one, and this is their attempt to keep the community alive. I want to say the scheme is ridiculous, totally outdated, but I’m carrying everything I own in my canvas backpack and the greyhound I stepped off this morning is long gone. If this is my chance at a fresh start, I’d better grab it with both hands.I know I should feel guilty about pretending to be a lonely heart willing to help repopulate this rural logging town, but all I feel is relief at having escaped the apartment in Savannah. And after all, what’s one more secret to add to the pile? I only hope I’ve hidden my tracks well enough, and that the kind Fortune Springs locals who’ve opened their doors to me will never find out what made me run away in the first place…An emotional, gripping story full of family drama. Fans of Carolyn Brown, Robyn Carr and Debbie Macomber will be hooked.

    Well today I've had mine.Hey, I'm Albertus Eagle and it turns out I'm an unwitting pet detective. I haven't always been such a successful legal beagle, but when I'm confronted with a case that is so personal I can't ignore it, I discover I have a passion for finding those who don't want to be found.Cleo the cat? Well, she tags along for the ride.I've not only found myself a new home after the untimely demise of my previous owner, but I've also made amends with the cat. It turns out she's not that bad, really.On top of that, what sends shivers racing down my spine to my paws, is that we've fingered a killer.How?Because you humans underestimate us animals. And while you go about your business ignoring our very existence, the cat and I are listening and taking notes.

    

    “They were windows into emotions I had and hadn’t had, into other settings and circumstances and observations and relationships.” Decades later, Sittenfeld was met by the same feeling selecting the stories for this year’s edition. The result is a striking and nuanced collection, bringing to life awkward college students, disgraced public figures, raunchy grandparents, and mystical godmothers. To read these stories is to experience the transporting joys of discovery and affirmation, and to realize that story writing in America continues to flourish. Godmother tea / Selena Anderson --The apartment / T.C. Boyle --A faithful but melancholy account of several barbarities lately committed / Jason Brown --Sibling rivalry / Michael Byers --The nanny / Emma Cline --Halloween / Marian Crotty --Something Street / Carolyn Ferrell --This is pleasure / Mary Gaitskill --In the event / Meng Jin --The children / Andrea Lee --Rubberdust / Sarah Thankam Mathews --It's not you / Elizabeth McCracken --Liberté / Scott Nadelson --Howl Palace / Leigh Newman --The nine-tailed fox explains / Jane Pek --The hands of dirty children / Alejandro Puyana --Octopus VII / Anna Reeser --Enlightenment / William Pei Shih --Kennedy / Kevin Wilson --The special world / Tiphanie Yanique

    Frank, sometimes shocking, and completely honest, it is the first inside account of modern medical and hospital practice that has ever been presented to the American public. Intern gives the reader a gripping picture of hospital routine, of treh exhaustion that round the clock dury inflicts, of teh conflicts, incredible blunders, frantic improvisations, heroic efforts that occur every day.......This is an unprecendented document. Every event is completely true; only actual names and places have been concealed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

    When Sylvia books the exclusive ID images to take photographs of the extravagant wedding, Cassie has no idea what she's walking into. The elusive JM who is the newest photographer employed just so happens to be Jared, Cassie's first love and ex-fiancee, who broke off their engagement to follow his life-long dreams. Jared is back to earn some cash before jetting off on his next wild adventure. When Cassie is asked to write an article with top tips and advice for Brides to Be, she jokingly writes a column depicting her current scenario and a co-worker submits it in place of the real article. Cassie's column is soon making the headlines with readers asking the age old question Who Will She Choose?

    “If you know exactly what you are going to get from the experience of reading a story, you probably wouldn’t go looking for it; you need, in order to be an open reader of fiction, to be willing. To cast a vote for what you love and then wait for the outcome,” writes Meg Wolitzer in her introduction. The Best American Short Stories 2017 casts a vote for and celebrates all that is our country. Here you’ll find a man with a boyfriend and a girlfriend, naval officers trapped on a submarine, a contestant on America’s Funniest Home Videos, and a gay man desperate to be a father—unforgettable characters waiting for an outcome, burning with stories to tell.Maidencane / Chad B. Anderson --Are we not men? / T.C. Boyle --God's work / Kevin Canty --A small sacrifice for an enormous happiness / Jai Chakrabarti --Arcadia / Emma Cline --Hog for sorrow / Leopoldine Core --Campoamor / Patricia Engel --Richard of York gave battle in vain / Danielle Evans --Ugly / Mary Gordon --The midnight zone / Lauren Groff --The Chicane / Amy Hempel --Tally / Noy Holland --Gabe Dove / Sonya Larson --Let's go to the videotape / Fiona Maazel --Ancient Rome / Kyle McCarthy --Last day on earth / Eric Puchner --Novostroïka / Maria Reva --Telemachus / Jim Shepherd --Gender Studies / Curtis Sittenfeld --Famous actor / Jess Walter