Opposites attract, and Helmut Holk and Christine Arne, the appealing married couple at the center of this engrossing book by one of Germany's greatest novelists, could not be less alike. Christine is a serious soul from a devout background. She is brooding and beautiful and devoted to her husband and their two children. Helmut is lighthearted and pleasure-loving and largely content to defer to his wife's deeper feelings and better wisdom. They live in a beautiful large house overlooking the sea, which they built themselves, and have been happily married for twenty-three years--only of late a certain tension has crept into their dealings with each other. Little jokes, casual endearments, long-meditated plans: they all hit a raw nerve. How a couple can slowly drift apart, until one day they find themselves in a situation which is nothing they ever wished for but from which they cannot go back, is at the heart of this timeless story of everyday life. Theodor...

"WHEN ODILIA AND HER FOUR SISTERS FIND A DEAD BODY IN THEIR SWIMMING HOLE, they embark on a hero’s journey to return the dead man to his family in Mexico. But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would rival Homer’s original tale. With the supernatural aid of ghostly La Llorona via a magical earring, Odilia and her little sisters travel a road of tribulation to their long-lost grandmother’s house. Along the way, they must outsmart a witch and her Evil Trinity: a wily warlock, a coven of vicious half-human barn owls, and a bloodthirsty livestock-hunting chupacabras. Can these fantastic trials prepare Odilia and her sisters for what happens when they face their final test, returning home to the real world, where goddesses and ghosts can no longer help them? Summer of the Mariposas is not just a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey, it is a celebration of sisterhood and maternal love."

Stephen Whalby loves to walk the moor. He considers it his, although he and his young wife Lyn are merely tenants in a flat nearby. But the senseless and frightening murder of a young woman invades Stephen's sense of privacy and pollutes his beloved moor with suspicion and dread. And then a second murder captures his imagination in an unpredictable and fascinating way . . .

All four Seduction of Steel stories in one volume, with a special bonus story only available in this collection! Erotic Inspiration "It was well written, clever, and sexy." Author's note: This is a short story (5300 words) that is intended for adult audiences. The story contains scenes that are sexually explicit. Jessica Steel is a college graduate who cannot find a good job. In the interim, she is working as a waitress in a diner. Her roommate, Amber, introduces Jessica to the world of erotic fiction. Intrigued, Jessica begins reading a lot of erotica, but is appalled at the poor quality of most of the writing. Jessica decides that she is capable of writing more interesting and compelling erotica herself, and she sets out to do so, hoping to become a success as a writer. This story has a "story within a story" format, as it also includes Jessica's erotic short story, "Deep Encounter on a Dark Road." In this story, two acquaintances meet for a cup of coffee, only to meet again later in an unexpected twist that leads to a steamy erotic conclusion. Seduction of Steel "A fun, sexy read." Jessica Steel is a successful writer of erotic fiction with one serious problem - she has writer's block. Her most successful series has run its course and she doesn't have any new ideas. In order to find something interesting to write about, she decides to take a job on a cruise ship. She hopes that she will have some interesting adventures, or meet some interesting people, or both. At the very least, she will be able to enjoy spending eight months in the beautiful Caribbean. On board the ship, she meets Ryan Stevens, a rugged, handsome mechanic. Jessica quickly falls for Ryan, but is concerned that their relationship may not have a future. She has no plans to stay on the ship long-term, and Ryan may be spending his career at sea. Ryan has concerns of his own, including some that involve secrets he hasn't told Jessica. As Jessica struggles with her conflicted feelings about Ryan, she discovers that he may not be what he appears to be... Vegas Encounter Vegas Encounter is the continuation of the author's previous Seduction of Steel. It's an intriguing, erotic adventure featuring an attractive, spunky heroine and a smart, attentive, handsome hero. Jessica Steel, fresh from her Caribbean adventure in Seduction of Steel, returns to writing erotic novels with a vengeance, writing about the gorgeous spy she met on the cruise ship. Ryan, the spy, pays her a romantic visit and he says he's on his way to Las Vegas for his latest mission. Jessica is curious and suspicious about the nature of his work, and thinks she could become a better writer if she observed him in action. Without telling him, she follows him to Vegas and attempts to secretly spy on him as he engages in industrial espionage. Stolen Secrets Stolen Secrets is the continuation of the author's previous works in the Seduction of Steel series. Jessica Steel, author of erotic fiction, has met handsome industrial spy Ryan Stevens while on sabbatical. Ryan's latest spy mission takes him and Jessica to New Orleans, where he must break in to a company's computer system to steal critical files. He enlists Jessica's help, but she's uncertain if what he's doing is legal and her concerns grow greater as Ryan is captured. Jessica has fallen deeply in love with Ryan. What will happen if he's sent to prison? Stolen Secrets offers exciting locations, a growing romance, dramatic tension, and of course, several intense erotic scenes. Cayman Commitment, the concluding short story, is included as a bonus. Approximately 63,000 words.This book contains scenes of a sexually explicit nature and is intended for adult readers only.

A Mars of the imagination, like no other, in a colorful, witty SF novel; Taking place in the kaleidoscopic future of Ian McDonald's Desolation Road, Ares Express is set on a terraformed Mars where fusion-powered locomotives run along the network of rails that is the planet's circulatory system and artificial intelligences reconfigure reality billions of times each second. One young woman, Sweetness Octave Glorious-Honeybun Asiim 12th, becomes the person upon whom the future - or futures - of Mars depends. Big, picaresque, funny; taking the Mars of Ray Bradbury and the more recent, terraformed Marses of authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson and Greg Bear, Ares Express is a wild and woolly magic-realist SF novel, featuring lots of bizarre philosophies, strange, mind-stretching ideas and trains as big as city blocks.

In his quest to find adventure in South America, Crawford undertook a savage journey of danger, drugs, sex, and alarming illness. His unforgettable memoir is one part literary tale of two lonely years in the Amazon jungle and one part gonzo-journalism account of life in the Peace Corps, an agency wandering aimlessly through the twenty-first century.

Kyle Saint-Claire is everything Jonny Fehey wishes to be: a star on and off the soccer field, a brain, and one of Millburn High's most popular students. Jonny unhappily accepts his lesser social status—but then he scores the go-ahead goal in the county soccer championship and everything changes. Jonny is invited to victory party with the in crowd, and alcohol flows freely as toasts are raised in his honor. But in his moment of glory, a classmate is raped and Jonny's world begins to unravel. Through years of friendship, Kyle and Jonny have always stood up for each another, but suddenly their friendship is tested. All their training together, pain, and dedication become meaningless; Jonny's preconceived notions are shattered; and someone is out for revenge.Exciting sports action combines with an undercurrent of evil in a suspenseful tale of pride cometh before the fall—and an ending that Jonny never saw coming.

Stockholm Surrender Lily Harlem   By popular reader request, the full-length story of what happens after Stockholm Seduction.   My soul was in turmoil. Ty Winters had not only kidnapped me in Oz, my heartstoppingly gorgeous surfer had also stoked my darkest desires, bringing all my fantasies to the surface. So Oxford wasn’t going well. Until, that is, he creeped from the shadows—desperate, sexy, dangerous and wanting a piece of me, literally!   He teased me with a taste of his carnal skills, leaving me burning with frustration then forced to stand by as he fought for his beliefs using my lust-addled body as his most powerful weapon.   Oh, my kidnapper knew just how to get what he wanted, giving me just what I needed, while hiding our relationship from the British foreign minister and police. Because sometimes two people are meant to be, even in the most unconventional circumstances and twisted situations. We could fight the world, but we couldn’t fight our passion.   Reader Advisory: This book contains a steamy scene where Ty shares Penny with his best mate—lucky girl!   Publisher’s Note: The short-short story Stockholm Seduction is available separately as a free read.

A dazzling collection of writing about the sea - from first-hand accounts of ocean voyages to stories by Banjo Paterson and Mark Twain - from Australia's most successful Australiana author.The deep blue sea has been an endless source of inspiration, wonder and imagination for explorers and writers alike. Australia's history and national character have been defined by the fact that we live on an isolated island continent girt by sea.The Best Australian Sea Stories is full of fascinating history, drama, and surprise. These stories trace the maritime history of Australia from the earliest times to today. From first-hand accounts of voyages from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to modern accounts of refugee 'boat people', the book is a dazzling compendium of the famous and obscure, the brave and the jinxed, human achievement and tragedy.From the mystery of the mahogany ship and the Dieppe map, which point to Portuguese discovery of Australia's entire east...