A woman's journey to find a special place in the world.Fiery and ambitious, brilliant architect Francey Spinetti is a young woman on her way to the top. When wealthy magnate CJ Ambrose introduces her to his vast North Queensland business empire and a career-scarred local cop, Steve Parish - everything seems to be falling into place, including her love life.But the harsh outback landscape holds more secrets than Francey could possibly have imagined, and more enemies too. CJ's family seem determined to eliminate Francey from the picture - whatever the cost.As CJ's cattle empire becomes embroiled in murder, and Steve puts his life on the line to clear the name of the woman he loves, Francey will need to call on all her strength and determination to survive ...Lynne Wilding captures the bold beauty of the Australian landscape and the strength of its people in Heart of the Outback.

A high-school teacher acquitted of sexual misconduct with a student becomes a suspect again after a teenage babysitter turns up dead and a toddler is missing. The teacher's wife, plagued by doubts of his innocence, turns to a priest to help pull her life together, realizing too late that she is in mortal danger.Maddy Blake is a wife, a mom, and a stained-glass artist who is just getting over a very bad year. Her husband Doug, a high school teacher, has been acquitted of sexual misconduct with a student, but the trial has left the Blakes depleted of their finances and their self respect. When a 15-year-old babysitter turns up dead and the toddler she was watching is nowhere to be found, all eyes look to Doug. Plagued by doubts of Doug's innocence and intrigued by a priest for whom her feelings are anything but spiritual, Maddy is preoccupied with her efforts to keep her life from falling apart, and realizes too late that she is in mortal danger.

16-year-old Amalia Blanchard has been training her whole life to make the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. After years of failing to qualify to elite gymnastics, her hard work finally pays off when she is invited to the national team training camp at the insistence of her coach. Though her routines aren't as polished or pretty as the others, she shocks everyone - including national team coach and former Soviet superstar Vera Malkina - when she unveils a secret weapon that will help her challenge for one of the five spots on the team.Her best friend and training partner 19-year-old Ruby Spencer also desperately wants to make it to Rio. A junior star pegged to lead the 2012 Olympic team to gold medal glory in London, Ruby tore her Achilles at the U.S. Championships two months before the Games, going into a deep depression for two years before working on a comeback. When she made her not-so-triumphant return in 2015, the press said she was "washed up" and would never make another...

Ingrid's a theta, a member of an enslaved race forced to use magic to project hedonistic fantasies for supernatural audiences. Her only chance at freedom hinges on her ability to enlist the help of Mack, her very sexy and powerful production manager. Mack believes Ingrid is reckless, but when their magic connects for the 1st time, he begins to understand the freedom she speaks of may be possible.

George Willowfield learned a long time ago that in life everything had to be paid for. You paid in money, blood, or sweat or time, but you paid.For George, the easiest way was money. So he stole a train and asked the US government for $250,000 to get it back.That's when Frank Angel stepped in—to deliver the ransom and trail the guy who collected it—until he got the money or the guy. The government doesn't like to be held up and Frank was there to see the debt paid—one way or another!

ContentsPrologue: One Perfect Morning, With Jackals1. Kirinyaga2. For I Have Touched the Sky3. Bwana4. The Manamouki5. Song of a Dry River6. The Lotus and the Spear7. A Little Knowledge8. When the Old Gods DieEpilogue: The Land of NodAuthor's AfterwordAmazon.com ReviewKirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia collects Mike Resnick's famous Kirinyaga stories and ties them together in a thematic arc that has novel-like continuity. The story focuses on Koriba, a mundumugu (sort of like a witch doctor and a wise man rolled into one) of the Kikuyu tribe. Koriba feels that his tribe has been corrupted by "European" technology, so he helps to establish a small, utopian planetoid named Kirinyaga where the Kikuyu can return to their roots, farming the land and worshipping the god Ngai without technological or cultural interference. As utopias go, Kirinyaga experiences its fair share of problems--both from within and without--each of which is detailed in the individual chapters and stories. The writing is not stylish but the stories are all excellent, and Resnick does a good job of integrating the traditional Kikuyu way of life into tales that any culture can appreciate. Readers looking for a novel may come away a bit disappointed because this book is really a collection of stories, but as far as collections go, few are better than Kirinyaga. From School Library JournalYA-Set in the 22nd century, this stunning sci-fi allegory describes the struggles and ultimate failure of a utopian colony on a terraformed planetoid. In the African nation of Kenya, polluted cities crawl up the side of Mount Kirinyaga. The magnificent animal herds of the past are but distant memories and native crops have been supplanted by European imports. Koriba, a well-educated man, is determined to reinstate the ancient customs and strict laws of his Kikuyu ancestors and invites others to join him in a new society named for their sacred mountain. As the mundumugu-witch doctor-Koriba faces numerous challenges to the utopian society's survival. He must deny a brilliant young woman an education because it is not the ancient way of his people. He watches helplessly as his charges insist on bringing in a white hunter with a gun to kill marauding hyenas when the colony's primitive weapons prove insufficient. With the technology comes subservience to white men's ways. But, in an ultimate irony, Koriba maintains his pure society with a computer link to the rest of humanity, even adjusting weather patterns by communicating his needs to an outside "Maintenance" group. It is the thirst for knowledge that this computer represents that becomes the ultimate threat to the colony. Young adults will love this provocative tale that examines the need for an orderly society, the rights of the individual, and the siren's lure of knowledge.

Bestselling author and master storyteller Tricia Stringer tackles troubled relationships, second chances and love old and new in this uplifting story of unlikely dining companions thrown together on a glamorous cruise. Readers of Liz Byrski, Monica McInerney and Rachael Johns will love this book. 'A delightful, wise and heart–warming novel about second chances that celebrates friendships old and new. I devoured every page.' Rachael JohnsA cruise, no matter how magical, can't change your life. Can it...? Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Supported by the ship's all-powerful maître d' Carlos, she has a mission: transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. Not only can Ketty turn Cinderellas into princesses with her legendary style-eye, but she has a gift for bringing people together. But this trip is...

"A captivating tale to savor about a woman whose buried past threatens her picture perfect family life. Felicia is a wonderfully flawed, compelling main character, one who has stayed with me long after I finished the book. A winning novel from a writer to watch." -Benilde Little, bestselling authorFelicia Lyons, a ­­­­­­­ stressed out stay-at-home mom, struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantra, and breathes her way through most situations, but on some days, like when the children won't stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away. Then one evening the telephone rings, and in a split second the harried mother's innocent fantasy becomes a hellish reality. The call pulls her back into a life she'd rather forget. Felicia hasn't been completely honest about her upbringing, and her...