When God and the Devil make a bet, one man's soul - and the fate of the world - are caught in the middle in this debut Christian thriller. Former carpenter James Ryan has a life as close to idyllic as any typical American retiree: a nice house, a wonderful wife, a successful son, a part-time job to keep himself busy and contented. But this peaceful existence shatters one morning when a group of intruders break into James' house, locking him out while his wife, Amanda, is still asleep inside. The outcome shatters James, but his misfortune doesn't end there. God and the Devil have taken notice of him, and claiming that the modern world has no place for God, who has lately taken the form of an old woman named Verna, the Devil, taking the form of slick bar owner Ethan, challenges God to once again put a believer through a Job like test of faith. The wagers outcome could in fact deliver hell on earth. As the unlucky target James sees his life fall apart around him, Ethan opens a combination bar and arcade to lure the small town's vulnerable teenagers into his orbit and put them to use in his crusade of evil, which ultimately results in an all-out war between the teens and adults of the town. Last Call is a well-researched religious thriller which remains loyal to its characters that remain passionate and multi-dimensional throughout. It promises to appeal to a diverse audience that appreciates a literary roller coaster of twists and turns.

Life does not train you for this. Tragedies like this can easily separate you from your sanity. All the usual unanswerable questions begin to flood your mind. And so the blame game moves on. Maybe as parents we were at fault. On and on it goes. Almost from the beginning, however, the Lord would not permit me to go there. There seemed to be some God-ordained plan in motion that would turn this evil into something good. When Julie Zielinski's fun-loving, marine, sheriff deputy son commits suicide, her world comes crashing down. Questions flood her mind: How could she have stopped this? What next? And mostly, why? As Julie grieves her son in Mattâ€'s Last Call: Surviving Our Protectors, she reflects on the life he lived and the memories she will hold onto forever. For instance, the time his captain allowed him a leave from the marine corps in order to spend time with his ill grandfather in Hawaii. Or remembering what he looked like in his oversized baseball cap and uniform. Her energetic son turned into a man who loved nothing more than his family and country. With memories from Matt's father, friends, and family, this memoir will surely pull at heartstrings. As Julie reflects on the death of her firstborn son, she informs parents and children of the dangers of suicide, the difficulty of coping, the pain of everyday life, and lastly the days that happiness returns, even if just a little bit.

Three very different people didn’t wake up one Tuesday morning in April expecting their lives to change forever. Matt Benson was a handsome EMT with a good job and a lonely life. Justine Duchane was a broken hearted woman who had given up on the world and spent her days spouting a political column for the local paper. Hal Urban was failed writer who had hidden so far in the bottle and sports reporting he had forgotten who he was. Then it all changed. They met. What is the nature of love? Can you fall in love with two men completely and deeply in too totally different ways? Are Justine and Matt destined for true love? The friendship she develops with Hal makes her a politician and him a playwright again. The two of them are better people, in fact. The joy of that summer with Matt is more than any woman could ask for. Would, could and should she choose one of them?

From the James Beard Award-winning author of Bitters and Amaro comes this poignant, funny, and often elegiac exploration of the question, What is the last thing you'd want to drink before you die?, with bartender profiles, portraits, and cocktail recipes. JAMES BEARD AWARD FINALIST • WINNER OF THE TALES OF THE COCKTAIL SPIRITED AWARD® • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE Everyone knows the parlor game question asked of every chef and food personality in countless interviews: What is the last meal you'd want to eat before you die? But what does it look like when you pose the question to bartenders? In Last Call, James Beard Award-winning author Brad Thomas Parsons gathers the intriguing responses from a diverse range of bartenders around the country, including Guido Martelli at the Palizzi Social Club in Philadelphia (he chooses an extra-dry Martini), Joseph Stinchcomb at Saint Leo in Oxford, Mississippi (he picks the Last Word, a pre-Prohibition-era cocktail that's now a cult favorite), and Natasha David at Nitecap in New York City (she would be sipping an extra-salty Margarita). The resulting interviews and essays reveal a personal portrait of some of the country's top bartenders and their favorite drinks, while over 40 cocktail recipes and stunning photography make this a keepsake for barflies and cocktail enthusiasts of all stripes. Praise for Last Call “[Parsons] captures the people and places through stunning photographs and prose. Like a perfectly balanced cocktail, it is equal parts cocktail recipes, travelogue and mixtape.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Measure equal parts travelogue, tell-all, discography, and cocktail companion—in service of an obituary of all patrons—and you have Last Call; Brad Thomas Parsons’s best book yet. Through soulful photos and gritty interviews, he and photographer Ed Anderson capture the rawness, vulnerability, and ecstasy of the metamorphosis between the end of a guest’s night and the beginning of a bartender’s.”—Jim Meehan, author of Meehan’s Bartender Manual and The PDT Cocktail Book “This book is a delight. Last Call shows us the sense of community evoked by bartenders across the country, whose wisdom and tenderness are captured here both in words and beautiful photographs. It made me—an erstwhile bartender and faithful customer—happy to remember that we all have nights when we unexpectedly hear the words ‘last call,’ and that noble and fascinating bartenders are out there waiting to share it with us.”—Alan Cumming

“A sinister version of The Perfect Storm. Thrilling.”—Sunday Times (UK) For readers of The Perfect Storm, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and Into the Wild There’s nothing that armchair adventure lovers relish more than a gripping true story of disaster and heroism, and Last Man Off delivers all that against a breathtaking backdrop of icebergs and killer whales. On June 6, 1998, twenty-three-year-old Matt Lewis had just started his dream job as a scientific observer aboard a deep-sea fishing boat in the waters off Antarctica. As the crew haul in the line for the day, a storm begins to brew. When the captain vanishes and they are forced to abandon ship, Lewis leads the escape onto three life rafts, where the battle for survival begins.

Revelations about God and Jesus and what they did for the Jewish people and all of humanity. Learn more about the Ruach ha Kodesh/Holy Spirit and let the light of the LORD Gods love shine in your heart. A vision of God led me to the belief that perhaps I could reach the Jewish people to share with them the knowledge which I believe God has been revealing to me. This book is for the Jewish people and for everyone.

Tessa McKenna enjoys being a speech therapist, cooking for her roommate, and playing softball. She is sweet, feisty, dedicated, and newly engaged to a lifelong friend. Matt Hillman, her newest teammate, is ready to cherish a wife and spoil their babies, but will he get to marry his mystery girl? Instant friends, they encounter unexpected intense emotions as they discover the value of true friendship.