![]() ![]() One moment, she’d been blissfully paging through descriptions of astronomical nebulae, and the next. She’d been searching for a secondhand copy for ages. A copy of Messier’s Catalogue of Star Clusters and Nebulae, which she’d plucked like a pearl from the used-book section. And, making his first appearance in a starring role (trumpet fanfare, please)-the Bookshop Rake.Īlexandra had been juggling a tower of Nicola’s books in one arm and reading her own book with her free hand. Her three closest friends: Nicola Teague, Lady Penelope Campion, and Emma Pembrooke, the Duchess of Ashbury. ![]() The date: a Wednesday afternoon in November. If she possessed any wisp of rationality, she wouldn’t have made such a fool of herself with the Bookshop Rake.Įven now, more than half a year later, she could revisit the embarrassing scene and watch it unfolding, as though she were attending a play. ![]() The truth was, Alex had no sense at all-at least, not when it came to charming gentlemen with roguish green eyes. Mom achievement unlocked!)Īlexandra Mountbatten had common sense. (Bonus: I’ve now embarrassed you in front of thousands of strangers. I promise that out of all my books, this is the one and only page I’ll ever force you to read. My daughter served as a brilliant consultant on Rosamund and Daisy’s characters, and my ever-clever son taught me that some kids learn best in unconventional ways.ĭarelings, I love you both. ![]() Because apparently I have a trend with this series-dedicating books to people I hope will never read them. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() Cadabra Records will soon be releasing 20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism, a story written and narrated by Padgett. Padgett is also a professional voice-over artist with over forty years of theater and twenty-five years of audio narration experience. He has work out or forthcoming in Weird Fiction Review, PseudoPod, Lovecraft eZine, and in the the anthologies A Walk on the Weird Side, Wound of Wounds, Phantasm/Chimera, and For Mortal Things Unsung. His first short story collection, The Secret of Ventriloquism, was named the Best Fiction Book of the Year by Rue Morgue Magazine. Jon Padgett is a professional ventriloquist. Fiction and non-fiction, either inspired by or sharing the worldview and aesthetics sensibilities with the works of Thomas Ligotti. You can find her online at, and on Instagram and Twitter. Livia Llewellyn is a writer of dark fantasy, horror, and erotica, whose short fiction has appeared in over forty anthologies and magazines and has been reprinted in multiple best-of anthologies and two Shirley Jackson Award-nominated collections, Engines of Desire and Furnace. Jon’s reading of “The Yellow House” that evening is not included in this podcast. The following audio was recorded live at the KGB Bar on April 18, 2018, with readers Livia Llewellyn & Jon Padgett. ![]() ![]() ![]() Portrayed mostly as rigid, angry and dogmatic, the Puritans contrast poorly with the generally kind and commonsensical Indians, and Mercy's final choice is thus compelling. ![]() Just how much her perspective broadens can be measured by the fact that, in addition to adopting many Indian ways, Mercy can find something sacred and comforting in the Catholic mass a rite she was raised to believe led straight to eternal damnation. Uncertain whether she will be adopted by the Mohawk who captured her or whether the English will pay the ransom that would allow her to return to Massachusetts, Mercy struggles to balance loyalty to her own family and traditions with a growing appreciation for the Kahnawake way of life. ![]() ![]() Some of the novel's most riveting chapters describe the difficult winter trek that takes them 300 miles north to Canada, where Mercy settles into life in a traditional Indian village near Montreal. After their village is burned and many of its residents killed, Mercy and more than 100 other settlers are taken prisoner by the Kahnawake Mohawk, who have been converted to Catholicism by the French. Based on actual events, this latest offering from the accomplished Cooney (The Face on the Milk Carton Driver's Ed) is a gripping and thought-provoking account of the 1704 Indian raid on the English settlement of Deerfield, Mass. ![]() ![]() ![]() “Once or twice a month, and no more.” She smiled beatifically at him, and Linus wondered if she’d been coached on her answers before his arrival. ![]() The older the children get, the more they … do things.” She wrung her hands, eyes darting back and forth. “Oh, not often at all,” she said quickly. The master of the orphanage, a squat woman with frizzy hair, stepped forward. ![]() “And how often do you-er, you know? Make things float?” He wasn’t there to engage in amateur art criticism. Linus believed the world was better off with the paintings staying in this room, but he kept the thought to himself. The master had showed them off proudly, telling Linus painting was her passion, and that if she hadn’t become the master of this specific orphanage, she’d be traveling with a circus as a lemur trainer or even have opened up a gallery to share her artwork with the world. The walls were lined with terrible paintings of lemurs in various poses. They were in the master’s office, a tidy room with government-issued brown carpet and old furniture. “I see,” Linus said, furiously scribbling on his pad of paper. It went on for a good minute before the blocks slowly lowered to the floor. Daisy frowned in concentration, the tip of her tongue stuck out between her teeth. The blocks spun in slow, concentric circles. He watched in rapt wonder as an eleven-year-old girl named Daisy levitated blocks of wood high above her head. “Oh dear,” Linus Baker said, wiping the sweat from his brow. ![]() ![]() ![]() After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.Ĭooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. ![]() ![]() Susan Cooper's latest book is the YA novel "Ghost Hawk" (2013) ![]() ![]() ![]() The first edition was very small, collecting only twelve unnamed poems in 95 pages. Whitman once said he intended the book to be small enough to be carried in a pocket. The book did not include the author's name, and instead offered an engraving by Samuel Hollyer depicting Whitman in work clothes and a jaunty hat, arms at his side. Early advertisements for the first edition appealed to "lovers of literary curiosities" as an oddity. Sales on the book were few, but Whitman was not discouraged. The first edition was published on July 4, 1855, in Brooklyn, at the printing shop of two Scottish immigrants, James and Andrew Rome, whom Whitman had known since the 1840s. Whitman paid for and did much of the typesetting for the first edition himself. On May 15, 1855, Whitman registered the title Leaves of Grass with the clerk of the United States District Court, Southern District of New Jersey, and received its copyright. ![]() ![]() ![]() She attributes most of this to grief and worry about their friend Laurie who is a presumed run-away. Always feeling like she was missing on some part of the story, she longs to know if she is really accepted at part of them. Once he takes a liking to her, she is instantly on cloud nine and pushes all the strange comments by his friends aside. She’s warned to stay away from his group because they aren’t friendly, but she wants to meet this mysterious good-looking guy. ![]() Her first day at school, she notices Penn and his friends. She is now living with her father who has more of a social life than she does and is never home. Joanna recently transferred high schools in the middle of her senior year. When the new girl gets noticed by a cute guy in a tight clique she wants to do whatever she can to be accepted. Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Crime The Secret Diaries – Volume 1: Temptation. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after-and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. It feels like the best conjuring trick ever.” - Charlie Jane Anders, Washington PostA sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales-the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. ![]() ![]() Magic emanates from every exquisitely crafted sentence. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue”A delightfully meta fairy tale. Every bite is velvet, every swallow is gold, and the taste lingers like a fever dream.” - V. “Chokshi’s tale is as sweet as a piece of fairy fruit, and just as wicked. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride: A Novel By Roshani Chokshi ![]() ![]() ![]() The gruesome and depraved events seem all the more horrific for taking place in rural, respectable England. ![]() ![]() Innocent villagers and schoolchildren turn psychotic under the influence of a mysterious fog, and torture and murder each other. The Fog (1975) continued his uncompromisingly explicit, visceral exploration of horror. Soon afterwards, a baby is killed and partly eaten before her mother can rescue the mutilated body. The Rats opens with a tramp being devoured alive. ![]() Herbert's early novels were literary nasties. The rat remained but eventually it was the name of Herbert, who has died aged 69, that dominated the cover. Edition after edition came out and changes were subtly made. Behind its cover star, the title was printed in bold, red type. Copies of the book – produced cheaply in paperback with a vicious-looking rodent on the cover, its jaws open and eyes bloodshot – flew off the shelves, the initial print run of 100,000 selling out in three weeks. When James Herbert published his first novel, The Rats (1974), at the age of 30, it was an immediate bestseller. ![]() ![]() ![]() "A readable and accessible book about Black mental health grounded in the Black experience…Dr. This book should be on the bookshelf in every Black home ! Absolutely amazing and eye-opening!” -Amazon review “This book spoke to my soul in a way that I didn’t even know I needed …This is one of those books that you want all ya people to read so you can talk about it and be excited about it together.” -Amazon review Neville, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Educational Psychology and African American Studies “This is a must-read for anyone interested in embracing hope and living one's best life.” -Helen A. McNair, PhD, clinical psychologist and president of Tuskegee University “She places our experiences in the larger context of our culture and our African roots, so that we can embrace the power that is within us : our resilience and fortitude.” -Lily D. ![]() This is a brilliant and life-changing read that everyone should put at the top of their priorities list.” -Devi Brown, wellness expert, author of Crystal Bliss “[This book} is going to create emotional freedom and growth for generations to come. ![]() |