Published for the first time in English by Giramondo, Death Fugue is the bold attempt by a prominent Chinese novelist to confront the legacy of protest and suppression which haunts her generation. Sheng Keyi was born in Hunan province in 1973 and lives in Beijing. Death Fugue is her sixth novel, and the second to be published in English translation, after Northern Girls (2012). It is a brave work of speculative fiction, a cross between Cloud Atlas and 1984, scathing in its irony, ingenious in its use of allegory, and acute in its understanding of the power of writing. The imagination that drives it is exuberant and unconstrained. In a large square in the centre of Beiping, the capital of Dayang, a huge tower of excrement appears one day, causing unease in the population, and ultimately widespread civil unrest. The protest, in which poets play an important part, is put down violently. Haunted by the violence, and by his failure to support his girlfriend Qizi, who is one of the...

Erotica/Romance. 14388 words long.

New York City, August 1889: within sight of Madison Square Park, a man lays dead in a darkened construction site. Jim Tupper, a Mohawk of the Iroquois nation, stands over the body. Within minutes he's seen. And as police whistles scream in the night, he runs, knowing there is but one place to hide. With the police hounding him, Tupper makes his way back to the place he knows best-the vast, unsettled Adirondack wilderness. What he finds upon his return is both familiar and strange, a homeland torn by forces from within and without. But after surviving a deadly chase through the streets, back alleys, and underworld haunts of a teeming lower Manhattan, he is home, and Tupper sinks beneath the surface of the Adirondack forest, blending back into the landscape of his youth. But he has left a trail of death behind, a trail leading dangerously close to a fantastic luxury hotel deep in the heart of the wilderness where Captain Tom Braddock and his family are...

Nothing beats a man in uniform, and this collection of three steamy, sexy tales features three of the most irresistible heroes ever--a firefighter, a rescue worker, and an emergency room doctor. Original.

Love is complicated and can happen between the most unlikely people.

From the international bestselling author of The Home for Broken Hearts, a moving, funny, and heartwarming e-novella about the bumpy road toward Mr. Right—and how true love comes along when you least expect it. Twenty-eight-year-old single mother Sam spends her days working in the local supermarket and her Friday nights out with her friends, letting her hair down at the White Horse. Life has never been easy for Sam, but she's always hoped that one day she'll meet The One. After a series of terrible dates with men she's met through an Internet dating agency, she's starting to lose heart—until her friends tell her they've set her up on a blind date. Sam is horrified but finally she agrees to go—after all, you never know when you might meet the man of your dreams...

In a marketplace in Afghanistan, a son watches his father die at the hands of the Taliban. Karis Mazari knows he must flee his homeland if he is to have any chance of survival, but at a time of international uncertainty and terror, compassion can be hard to find.

Lori Shepherd can hardly wait to celebrate Christmas this year with her husband, Bill and twin sons in the beautiful cottage willed to her by Aunt Dimity. Then Lori makes a disturbing discovery beneath the cottage's snow-covered lilac bushes--the body of a mysterious stranger, barely alive. Lori must put her plans on hold to team up with Julian Bright--a devilishly attractive Roman Catholic priest--to seek out the tramp's identity. Their adventure takes Lori and Julian from abandoned World War II airfields to homeless shelters--places where the Christmas star shines dimly, if at all. Finally, Lori unveils the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, and must confront painful truths about herself and the true meaning of a perfect family Christmas. From Publishers Weekly Having inherited an English cottage from her mother's good friend, Dimity, American Lori Atherton (last seen in Aunt Dimity Digs In) is now settled into the village of Finch with her husband, Bill, their twin sons and her father-in-law. Shortly before Christmas, Lori's idyllic holiday plans are shattered when a derelict collapses in their snowy driveway. While the nameless man lies comatose in a local hospital, the late Dimity, who communicates from the other side by writing in a special journal, encourages Lori to pursue the man's identity. Bill is suddenly called to Boston for a funeral, so Lori teams up with the kindly Father Julian, a Catholic priest who runs a local homeless shelter, and who knows the man but not his real name or background. The mystery unwinds as Lori and Father Julian trace the trail of the charismatic stranger, who seems to have touched so many people in a positive way. As the duo discover the nameless man's fascination for WWII airfields, and uncover his family history, they and the other villagers experience a Christmas like no other. Though Atherton's novel requires a hefty suspension of disbelief, her charming characters and heartwarming narrative will make believers out of most readers. In this most unusual mystery, Atherton offers a glimpse of the finer side of human nature.

FromLamb's debut novel gets off to a fast and furious start as Florida jewel thief Margot Rhineheart discovers Beau Kama, the love of her life, brutally murdered. When she learns that her boss, Slater Nielson, had Beau killed, she flees the state. As Margot escapes, journalist Meg Grant arrives. Strangely enough, Meg looks remarkably like Margot, and no one believes that she isn't Margot, least of all Beau's brother, Ryan. He wants revenge for Beau's murder but is drawn to the feisty green-eyed woman who he believes jilted his brother. Meg's identity is finally verified but not before Nielson's men track her down and attack her. Luckily, Meg lives, and a guilt-ridden Ryan nurses her back to health. Meanwhile, one of Nielson's men finds the real Margot and hauls her back to Florida. The two women ultimately come face-to-face for a climactic showdown with Nielson that challenges everything that they hold dear. Relative Strangers is a rollicking ride full of blazing passion, nonstop suspense, and heart-pounding action. Megan KalanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Within these pages Mary Oliver collects twenty-six of her poems about the birds that have been such an important part of her life-hawks, hummingbirds, and herons; kingfishers, catbirds, and crows; swans, swallows and, of course, the snowy owl, among a dozen others-including ten poems that have never before been collected. She adds two beautifully crafted essays, "Owls," selected for the Best American Essays series, and "Bird," a new essay that will surely take its place among the classics of the genre.In the words of the poet Stanley Kunitz, "Mary Oliver's poetry is fine and deep; it reads like a blessing. Her special gift is to connect us with our sources in the natural world, its beauties and terrors and mysteries and consolations."For anyone who values poetry and essays, for anyone who cares about birds, Owls and Other Fantasies will be a treasured gift; for those who love both, it will be essential reading.From the Hardcover edition.