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Dragons, catgirls, guns, and magic—oh, and the ability to stop time. What more could a modern gal want? Well... If my past would stay locked in a dark corner back on Earth, that'd be nice. Right, there was that one other thing: finding a way home before the world ends. But hey, that's what my mom would call the last step in your five-year plan. The first? Play with magic.

Ken finds himself trapped in a strange world while asleep in a coma. Different from his endless dreams, he awakens inside a next-generation MMO. In desperation, this game’s governing AI somehow dragged him into this world. It offers Ken a bargain: it will grant him an escape from his coma, but he must improve the game’s content in exchange. With seemingly no downsides, Ken eagerly accepts the offer. Things might not be as simple as he initially thought, though.

Scott and Lisa are enjoying their first cruise on the new sailboat when a call from a potential client interrupts their weekend in Saint Petersburg. Lionel Argus is the owner of Destiny Cruises, a successful Florida-based gambling cruise line. He’s been receiving racial threats against his life, and he needs private investigator Scott Jarvis to find out who’s behind it.

Everyone at The Smith School is obsessed with Monster Mayhem, the latest reality video game craze. But when Drexel Caine, the mastermind behind the game, is suddenly kidnapped, it becomes clear that the kidnappers are playing for more than just special badges. After Drexel's son - who is Abby's friend, Toby - receives a cryptic message, Abby and her friends discover the kidnapping is part of a bigger scheme that could take down The Center for good.

Every 11 years, Earth's senior wizards hold the Invitational: an intensive three-week event where the planet's newest, sharpest young wizards show off their best and hottest spells. Wizardly partners Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan, and Nita's sister, former wizard-prodigy Dairine Callahan, are drafted in to mentor two brilliant and difficult cases.

Stone Barrington is nearing his New York City abode when he stumbles into trouble. As it turns out, a new client is in danger - and with both business and the safety of the city at stake, Stone has no choice but to get involved. It’s soon clear that a complicated scheme is being hatched, and the source remains enigmatic...but it’s only a matter of time before he and Stone must each show their hands.

We're tempted to play games, thinking they will give us more power–but that only works if we win. After spending the holidays with my guardian's family, it seems that everyone in the temple has the wrong idea. The Baron isn't my patron. He's not even a friend. In truth, I hate the man. But the rumor mill is strong, and jealousy is running rampant.

Welcome to the challenge. You're an absolute nobody here - nothing; a zero; a useless lump of meat filled with bones. You're but a delicious morsel for your antagonists and those who got lucky at the start. The only goal you can have in your miserable existence is to kick the bucket as soon as possible.

Damelas Shademantaigne picked a poor night to flee a judicial duel. He has precious little hope of escaping the wrath of the Vixen, the most feared duellist in the entire city, until he stumbles through the stage doors of the magnificent Operato Belleza and tricks his way into the company of actors. An archaic law provides a temporary respite from his troubles - until one night a ghostly voice in his head causes Damelas to fumble his lines, inadvertently blurting out a dreadful truth: the city's most legendary hero may actually be a traitor and a brutal murderer.

In a malarial outpost in the South American rain forest, two misplaced gringos converge and clash. Martin Quarrier has come to convert the fearful and elusive Niaruna Indians to his brand of Christianity. Lewis Moon, a stateless mercenary who is himself part Indian, has come to kill them on the behalf of the local comandante.

In Dialogue, Robert McKee offers in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.

Deacon Scott needs a fiancee—like yesterday. As the former star quarterback for the Rocky Mountain Rangers—a team his family has owned for sixty years—he’s next in line to take the GM position from his father, only to find out his grandfather put a stipulation in the bylaws that any family member taking over the franchise has to be married. Considering he’s as single as single gets, Deacon gets inspiration when he eyes an invitation to his 15-year high school reunion.

Meet Alexander Krup, your average high school graduate turned video game beta tester. Working for a strange company nobody has ever heard of, he earns his pay by the achievement. After a string of bad luck, including his girlfriend dumping him, he wakes up one seemingly average day and is suddenly faced with blue boxes of text that float in the air. While coming to grips with the fact that he might by hallucinating, a representative of his mysterious employer communicates through the menu boxes to offer a fresh life in another world.

When Ethan Ward, a driven and successful lawyer, escapes to a secluded mountain cabin for a weekend of much-needed solitude, the last thing he expects is company. But a booking mishap leaves him sharing close quarters with Adrian Flynn, a carefree freelance photographer with a knack for easing tensions with his easy smile. Trapped by a fierce spring snowstorm, the two strangers find themselves thrown into an unexpected camaraderie, sharing stories by the glow of a crackling fire. As the cold intensifies outside, the heat between them sparks, uncovering hidden desires and a connection deeper...

Wondering at their weird new band teacher, the Bailey School kids are surprised when he comments that the classroom skeleton, Claude, can play music better than they can, and when everyone wonders who is playing the tuba, Eddie vows to find the truth.

We've all seen the happiness on the face of a child while playing in the school yard. Or the blissful abandon of a golden retriever racing across a lawn. This is the joy of play. By definition, play is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun. But as Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is anything but trivial. It is a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. We are designed by nature to flourish through play.

Life is good for lodge owner and sometime-hit woman Nadia Stafford - a couple of dogs, a job she takes satisfaction in, and the man she loves at her side as they literally build a home together. It's as close to normal as a pair of contract killers can get. Jack knows that sometimes being very, very good at what you do can be very, very bad - for those around him. He's gone to great lengths to keep his past from catching up with Nadia. He also knows it's only a matter of time....

”Guess what I just wagered? I put you up as the booty and I lost!!!” This is how I became an unintentional hotwife! My husband can be a real goof-off sometimes, and he can pull some real bonehead moves, I’ll tell you. His latest screw up on poker night really beats it all, tho. My loving husband decided to ante up with yours truly as the bet, and he LOST! So his two co-workers get a shot at me… both at the same time. I was already letting his boss have his way with me in our bedroom!!! So now I have THREE HOT MEN to PLEASE!!! I just can’t seem to resist big men… so… when my ...

When Kit Alvarez returns from Muscovy, it is to discover that her post as physician at St. Thomas' hospital has been given to another. Trying to eke out the small income she earns from some of Dr. Nuñez's private patients, she undertakes paid work as a copyist with James Burbage's company. But the players' companies find themselves under threat. Two of Burbage's men are murdered. One of Henslowe's men is attacked. And two important new plays go missing, one by Will Shakespeare and one by Christopher Marlowe.

It is 1670 and Simon Fronwieser is in the town of Oberammergau to bring his seven-year-old son to boarding school. As he bids his boy a tearful farewell, news comes of a shocking murder: the man who was to play the part of Christ in the town's Passion play has been found dead, nailed to the set's cross. As there is no doctor in town, Simon is brought in to examine the body. The opportunities to spend more time with his son and to investigate the murder quickly convince him to stay.