Showing results by author "V.V.A.A." in All Categories

Each night, the world is overrun by bloodthirsty demons. For centuries, humanity survived only by hiding behind defensive wards - magical symbols with the power to repel the demons. Now, the rediscovery of long-forgotten combat wards has given them the magic they need to fight back. In Tibbet’s Brook, the fighting wards have brought change, but the factions and grudges of a troubled past remain. Selia Square, the woman they call Barren, has long been the force that holds the Brook together. As a terrifying new threat emerges, she rallies her people once again.

A reclusive old man has been brutally slain at the La Brea Tar Pits. The unusual investigation could uncover the truth of humanity's ancient past, and at the same time expose the corruption and violence of the present. And everyone involved—from an alluring scientist with a dark secret to a treacherous CIA officer with his own agenda—is suspect.

This book offers an introductory guide to psilocybin—magic—mushrooms and how to grow them at home. Whether you’re a beginner looking to get into mushroom cultivation or an enthusiast of the medicinal qualities of psilocybin, this is the book for you.

In The American Health Care Paradox, Bradley and Taylor illuminate how narrow definitions of health care, archaic divisions in the distribution of health and social services, and our allergy to government programs combine to create needless suffering in individual lives, even as health care spending continues to soar. They tell us how, and why, the US health care system developed as it did; examine the constraints on, and possibilities for, reform; and profile inspiring new initiatives from around the world.

Widowed farmer Ned Hardy is facing a bleak winter and a lonely Christmas alone, when a beautiful young woman turns up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, frozen and terrified. Stunned by the arrival of a fine lady who looks like a Christmas angel, all of Ned’s protective instincts flare to life. Grace Honeyfield is on the run from her abusive brother and the terrifying man he’s forcing her to marry. Escaping into the darkness on a snowy night, she stumbles onto an isolated farm, and into the arms of a handsome farmer.

Schizophrenia is one of the most traumatic psychiatric disorders, both for the affected person and their family. It also carries an unfortunate stigma and suffers from frequent misinterpretation by the popular media. The disorder usually manifests itself through significant periods of hallucinations, bizarre delusions, and disorganized behavior, but the individuals who suffer from this brain disorder are not generally violent, and do have periods of remission.

When disaster strikes his home world of Arra, Eä sets out into the void of space seeking gold - a vital ingredient - in a last-ditch plan to save his planet. He discovers the precious metal on a small, water-rich world that is the third in a modestly-sized solar system. Mining requires labor, so Eä looks to the planet's most advanced species, a bipedal ape. Through genetic manipulation and breeding, he creates a race capable of retrieving gold. When his laborers begin to chafe under the yokes of slavery, Eä realizes he's created much more than a workforce.

The humans have no magic and are hunted for sport, but that is about to change. War is coming.... The Sun Dragon spawned nine lesser dragons which devoured their parent for the power the elder possessed. These young dragons fought for choice bits of the Sun Dragon, but each only managed to eat a portion, thus giving them specific powers. Over time, these foul dragons were hunted down and slain by heroes of old.

LAPD Detective Kate Delafield has a new, iron-willed female lieutenant—a tough new partner who may turn out to be a much-needed ally. She also has a dangerous new case.

Biogeography is the study of geographic variation in all characteristics of life - ranging from genetic, morphological, and behavioral variation among regional populations of a species, to geographic trends in diversity of entire communities across our planet's surface. From the ancient hunters and gatherers to the earliest naturalists, Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, and scientists today, the search for patterns in life has provided insights that proved invaluable for understanding the natural world.

In this third edition of the groundbreaking, global classic, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock, son of the late original coauthor, David C. Pollock, have significantly updated what is widely recognized as "The TCK Bible". Emphasis is on the modern TCK and addressing the impact of technology, cultural complexity, diversity and inclusion, and transitions. Includes new advice for parents and others for how to support TCKs as they navigate work, relationships, social settings, and their own personal development.

Mankind has ceded the night to the corelings, demons that rise up out of the ground each day at dusk, killing and destroying at will until dawn, when the sun banishes them back to the Core. As darkness falls, the world’s few surviving humans hide behind magical wards, praying the magic can see them through another night. As years pass, the distances between each tiny village seem longer and longer. It seems nothing can harm the corelings, or bring humanity back together.

Former government minister Ralph Singh is the perpetual outsider: displaced, disillusioned, and now living in exile, Ralph reflects on his earlier life and the searing effects of colonialism. Ralph's constant estrangement sees him ever attempting to fit into various communities, only to find home in more transient spaces. Born on the tropical island of Isabella, he is one of West India's many "Mimic Men".

Connor Huntsson finally brought a woman home. Two of them. But the Seeress needs to marry—and she needs a new weapon. Getting into trouble was a given, but getting into a fight with a god comes with consequences. Backed by blood and beauty, Connor still seeks the power waiting in the frost. But to do that, he must first trust a friend with his heart.

You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.

Young Teddie Crawford is dead from multiple stab wounds in a restaurant kitchen awash with blood. LAPD homicide detective Kate Delafield is relentless in her pursuit and capture of his killer. But bringing that killer to trial imperils Kate's professional standing and personal privacy—and her belief in the justice system to which she has devoted her life.

In May 1866, just a year after the Civil War ended, Memphis erupted in a three-day spasm of racial violence that saw whites rampage through the city's black neighborhoods. By the time the fires consuming black churches and schools were put out, forty-six freed people had been murdered. This is a portrait of a Southern city that opens an entirely new view onto the Civil War and its aftermath. A momentous national event, the riot is also remarkable for being "one of the best-documented episodes of the American nineteenth century."

V. E. Schwab here! I’m the author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the Shades of Magic series, Vicious, and more. Join me here as I chat with fellow successful authors about their origin stories, creative processes, work-life balance, and how they bring the stories you love to life. We’ll dive into the many paths from that first spark of an idea to the final page of a book, because there’s no one right way to write—just the way that works for you. Whether you’re an aspiring writer or simply a lover of stories, join us as we explore the craft (and magic) of story telling.

Une nuit de 1714, dans un moment de désespoir, une jeune femme avide de liberté scelle un pacte avec le diable. Mais si elle obtient le droit de vivre éternellement, en échange, personne ne pourra jamais plus se rappeler ni son nom ni son visage. La voilà condamnée à traverser les âges comme un fantôme, incapable de raconter son histoire, aussitôt effacée de la mémoire de tous ceux qui croisent sa route.

1920s Germany: Though the world has changed in the wake of the Great War, it is still ruled by men. Even a woman as resourceful and intelligent as Niki Rittenhaus needs alliances in order to survive. Her marriage to Rickard Länger, a movie producer for Berlin's Passport Pictures, seems convenient for them both. When Rickard succumbs to increasing pressure from the Nazis to make propaganda movies, a horrified Niki turns away from her own film aspirations and instead, begins to write.