Kate Witherspoon has lived a bohemian life with her artist parents. In 1917, the new art form of the motion picture is changing entertainment—and Kate is determined to become a director.Meanwhile, midwestern farm boy Julian Birch has inherited the wanderlust that fueled his parents’ adventures. A childhood bout with polio has left him crippled, but he refuses to let his disability define him.Strangers driven by a shared vision, Kate and Julian set out separately for Los Angeles, the city of dreams. There, they each struggle to find their independence. When they finally meet, the teenage runaways realize their true magical legacy: the ability to triumph over death, and over time. But as their powerful parents before them learned, all magic comes with a price.ReviewPraise for The Elementals:"In The Elementals the worlds of The Vespertine and The Springsweet collide with glass-brittle hopes and devastating consequences. The children of the supernatural must learn what their parents have long known, that even the most innocent magic demands a cost. A sumptuous read, as bittersweet as it is beautiful."—Aprilynne Pike, New York Times Bestselling Author of Wings and *Spells*"Saundra Mitchell pulls off a thrilling conclusion to a mesmerizing series! She just gets better and better!"—Carrie Ryan, NYT bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth series"Mitchell convincingly portrays the glittering, raucous L.A. of the burgeoning movie industry and the oppressive unease of looming war."—*Booklist*Praise for The Vespertine:"[A] richly conceived historical romance. . . . Fans of Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty will find themselves enchanted by this atmospheric tale."—Bulletin"Equal parts vivid period detail, gothic melodrama, and foreboding premonitions coming true . . . an absorbing tale."—Booklist"Written in a passionate, inviting voice, The Vespertine is a rich, historical novel of otherworldly power, forbidden romance, and questionable motives."—Aprilynne Pike, New York Times Bestselling Author of Wings and *Spells*"Sheer pleasure from beginning to end."—TeenReads.com"I savored every word of The Vespertine; I knew it was an amazing book from the first page and I was entranced until the very last."—Carrie Ryan, NYT bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth seriesPraise for The Springsweet:"A lovely historical romance. . . . The author conjures a convincing picture of life on the Oklahoma prairie, painting an absorbing portrait of the landscape and of the people there. . . . A high-quality, absorbing drama."—Kirkus Reviews"The Springsweet will steal your heart. Zora is a wounded heroine who had me cheering as she rediscovers the strength she thought she'd lost. Blend in a smoldering, yet refreshingly subtle hero, and add a twist of magic and you have a perfect romance in the Old West with another of Saundra Mitchell's signature rich and nuanced historic settings!"—Aprilynne Pike, New York Times bestselling Author of Wings and *Spells*"I didn't think YA historicals could get better than The Vespertine. The Springsweet proved me wrong. This is a gorgeous, unputdownable book that will stay with you long after it's through. Saundra Mitchell just gets better and better."—Sarah MacLean, NYT and USA Today bestselling Author of Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord"With Saundra Mitchell’s trademark evocative and gorgeous language, The Springsweet takes us across the plains, where the people thirst for love just as the land thirsts for water. I never wanted this book to end!"—Carrie Ryan, NYT best-selling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth seriesAbout the AuthorSaundra Mitchell is a screenwriter and author. Her companion novels The Vespertine, The Springsweet, and The Elementals have been praised for their rich historical settings, evocative language, and heart-pounding romance. Her debut novel, Shadowed Summer, was a 2010 Edgar Award Nominee, a Junior Library Guild selection, and an ALAN Pick. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband and her two children. Visit her website at www.saundramitchell.com.

A powerful mystery from award-winning author Anthony Eaton, this edition of A New Kind of Dreaming is a special reissue of a modern Australian classic Jamie Riley has hit rock bottom. Busted for stealing cars, he's been shipped off to serve time in Port Barren, a stinking hot town stuck between the desert and the sea. The minute Jamie arrives, he can feel something is not quite right about Port Barren—the town has a past it doesn't want to share. After being warned that Port Barren is his last chance before jail, Jamie resolves to serve his time and get out. But when he discovers an old, wrecked boat on the beach and starts asking questions, it becomes obvious that local cop Elliot Butcher has it in for him. As he gets closer to the truth, things start going wrong around town. With no one else to blame, Jamie realizes surviving Port Barren is going to be way harder than he thought.

During World War II, a young mother in trouble determines to give her baby a better life. Could a Christmas miracle make it possible?

Frucht's first novel, a look at six people, many of them strangers to each other, whose paths cross during the separation and rejuvenation of a marriage. The world of SNAP is skewed, oddball, surreal, feeling as if the characters have entered an intricate hall of mirrors.

Raised by a mad mother and a half-mad sister, abandoned by her father, Praxis Duveen is a master of the art of survival. Her life, indeed, has been full: two marriages, unsuccessful; a brief but profitable career as a prostitute; a little dabbling in incest; a mercy killing; and an inadvertent reign as both apostle and victim of the women's movement. Buffeted and battered by life, Praxis has survived with energy and humor intact. Her struggles with men and women, with mother and marriages, and most particularly, with herself, become, in Weldon's deft hands, a witty and trenchant commentary on what women want—and what they can actually get.Review"Weldon writes with elegance and drive, delivering sentences like pellets from a BB gun—wry, pithy, rapid-fire."—Newsweek "Dazzling—pointing up the mad underside of our sexual politics with a venomous accuracy for which wit is far too mild a word"—The New York Times Book Review "Weldon's most directly feminist novel … A narrative that convinces, horrifies, and entertains"—Library JournalAbout the AuthorFay Weldon was raised in a household of women in New Zealand, and produced four sons of her own, as if to balance the gender count. After taking degrees in economics and psychology at the University of Edinburgh, she survived a decade of odd jobs and hard times, then began writing film and television scripts and fiction. Among her eighteen novels and short-story collections are Trouble, Life Force, The Cloning of Joanna May, Darcy's Utopia, The Shrapnel Academy, The Life and Loves of a She-devil, Leader of the Band, Puffball, and The Heart of the Country, winner of the 1989 Los Angeles Times Fiction Award. Fay Weldon lives in London and Somerset.

New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a thrilling, mind-bending novel about one mother's journey to save her child.When Carly Sears, a young woman widowed by the Vietnam war, receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970, and she is told that nothing can be done to help her child. But her brother-in-law, a physicist with a mysterious past, tells her that perhaps there is a way to save her baby. What he suggests is something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Carly has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage she never knew existed. Something that will mean an unimaginable leap of faith on Carly's part.And all for the love of her unborn child.The Dream Daughter is a rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother's quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the...

Gwen Dubois lives in Indiana, but her heart is in France with Marc Chevalier, a man she met online. Now he’s come to Big Knob to show Gwen the meaning of amour and spirit her back to Paris. But stiff competition is coming from another part of the world—if not exactly this world. Prince Leo of the Atwood fairy kingdom has his own plans for Gwen, creating a romantic mishap that only Big Knob’s resident witch and wizard can untangle.REVIEWVicki Lewis Thompson makes me laugh. Her imaginative stories combine humor and romance in a way that always tickles my funny bone while I sigh in pleasure at the perfect happy ending for her pairs. "Casual Hex" is the third book in her 'Hex' series about a pair of magical matchmakers who've been banished to a small town in Indiana. They manage to find mischief and create mayhem while helping certain residents of the town find their perfect mate. It's even funnier when not all the residents are of the human variety!Gwen is a shy, quiet florist who has made a habit of blending in and behaving. After all, when you're one of the few single women in a small town, you have to watch out for your reputation. But recently shy, quiet Gwen has been having some seriously erotic dreams--and they all seem to star the same man. She really doesn't have time for this since her pen pal botanist from France is about to come to town specifically to check out Gwen's rare plant. Over the months of their correspondence Gwen feels they've gotten to know each other so well. OK, she has a crush on him. But a suave, continental guy like him could never be interested in a quiet shy girl like Gwen, right?Thompson's pacing was dead on in this story. Gwen doesn't become an instant sex kitten. Instead, with the help of friends and a teeny tiny bit of magic, she learns about her own beauty and her own power as a woman. I liked that the magic was about boosting Gwen's confidence vice changing her appearance. The growth came from inside and as many a man will tell you, "Confidence is sexy."And speaking of sexy...whoo, this story had some pretty hot sex! Between a fairy prince luring Gwen in her dreams, and a flesh and blood Frenchman sexing her up in reality...well, let's just say I'm jealous! This isn't a story that will have the reader searching their conscience or agonizing over life and death decisions or consequences. Instead this book is a breath of humorous air with a hefty helping of hot sexual tension. Just about perfect for a slow evening.

After two years and too many lost troops, Navy medic Max de Milles is ready to go home. Her last tour is up in four days and she will soon be catching a transport to the States. Life is looking good until she gets detailed to evacuate a humanitarian group in south Somalia.Rachel Winslow and her Red Cross team are caught in the crossfire during a vicious civil uprising, but she refuses to abandon her team members as the rebels close in on their camp. By the time Max and the Black Hawk arrive, it may already be too late.Hunted by extremists, Max and Rachel are forced to work together if they are to survive, and in the process, discover something far more lasting.

Reunited by a shocking kidnapping, three graduates from a prestigious New England women's college--one of them the heiress to the throne of a Eastern European country--share the romantic secrets of their past.

SUMMARY: This collection of marvelously off-kilter short stories – the American debut of acclaimed Japanese writer Yasutaka Tsutsui – portrays the consequences of a world where the fantastic and the mundane collide and throw the lives of ordinary men and women into disarray.In “The Dabba Dabba Tree” Tsutsui describes the hilarious side effects of a small conical tree that, when placed at the foot of one’s bed, creates erotic dreams that metamorphose into communal farce. In “Commuter Army”–a sly commentary on the ludicrousness of war–a weapons supplier whose rifles cease functioning after just one shot becomes an unwilling conscript in a war zone. “The World is Tilting” imagines a floating city that slowly begins to sink on one side, causing its citizens to reorient their daily lives to preserve a semblance of normality. In “Rumors About Me”, an ordinary office worker finds himself the subject of intense media scrutiny, his every action documented in the tabloids. And in the title story, we learn just how obscenely absurd the environment on Planet Porno can seem to a group of hapless research scientists.With a sharp eye towards the insanities of contemporary life, Yasutaka Tsutsui crafts in Salmonella Men on Planet Porno an irresistible mix of imagination, satiric fantasy, and truly madcap hilarity.

One of Amos Oz's earliest and most famous novels, My Michael created a sensation upon its initial publication in 1968 and established Oz as a writer of international acclaim. Like all great books, it has an enduring power to surprise and mesmerize.Set in 1950s Jerusalem, My Michael tells the story of a remote and intense woman named Hannah Gonen and her marriage to a decent but unremarkable man named Michael. As the years pass and Hannah's tempestuous fantasy life encroaches upon reality, she feels increasingly estranged from him and the marriage gradually disintegrates.Gorgeously written and profoundly moving, this extraordinary novel is at once a haunting love story and a rich, reflective portrait of place.