Powerful feminist nature writing by the pioneer of women's big-wave surfing in Ireland. Easkey Britton provides a rare female perspective on surfing, exploring the mental skills it fosters, and the need to recognize the value of the ocean and of nature's cycles in our lives. This is an incredibly inspiring exploration of the sea's role in the wellness of people and the planet, beautifully written by Easkey Britton – surfer, scientist and social activist. She offers a powerful female perspective on the sea and surfing, explaining what it’s like to be a woman in a man's world and how she promoted the sport to women in Iran, surfing while wearing a hijab. She speaks of the undiscussed taboo around entering the water while menstruating – and of how she has come to celebrate her own bodily cycles. She has developed her own approach to surfing, which instead of seeking to dominate the waves, works in tune with the natural cycles of her body, the moon and the seasons. In a society that rewards busyness, she believes that understanding the influence of cycles becomes even more important – and we all have them, men and women. For Easkey, the sea is a source of mental and physical wellbeing. She explores the mental toughness needed in big-wave surfing, and presents surfing as an embodied mindfulness practice in which we can find flow and connect with the movement of the waves. She stresses the need to recognize the ocean as our most powerful ally when addressing our greatest global challenge: the climate crisis. Above all, Easkey’s relationship to the sea has taught her about the need to meet life and evolve with it, rather than seeking to control it. By such wisdom our planet might just survive and thrive.

Detective Alex Morrow discovers that the darkest secrets never stay buried as she investigates the criminal underbelly of a seemingly tranquil seaside town. For reasons she can't quite explain, Alex Morrow is addicted to watching surveillance footage of Roxanna Fuentecilla--a gorgeous Spanish mother of two, in a tempestuous relationship with her boyfriend, who recently relocated to Glasgow under mysterious circumstances. She is also Morrow's prime suspect in an investigation that resembles a soap opera, filled with glamorous jetsetters and enough money to interest the highest levels of law enforcement. Until Roxanna vanishes. Morrow traces Roxanna's steps to Helensburgh, a sleepy, picturesque seaside community. But behind the idyllic Victorian homes and quaint storefronts, darkness lurks. Home to a man with blood on his hands who is haunted by guilt, a mysterious woman with ulterior motives back in town for the first time in decades, a sexually frustrated restaurateur looking to blow off steam, and a crew of vicious small-time gangsters blindly following orders, it's a town ruled by base instincts where no one is quite what they seem. And it's the perfect place to get rid of someone. When she uncovers an unsettling connection to Roxanna's job back in Glasgow, Morrow suspects that her missing person is more than a white-collar criminal on the lam--she may also be a victim caught up in a sophisticated conspiracy that stretches far beyond Helensburgh and is more personal than Morrow ever imagined. As the truth rises to the surface and the conflicts that lie beneath Helensburgh's calm waters threaten to explode, Morrow must find Roxanna before any hope of solving the case disappears with her. A gripping tale of greed, power, and vengeance, Blood, Salt, Water is a masterful crime novel from Denise Mina that confirms her reputation as "one of the genre's brights stars" (George Pelecanos).

Salt Water Tears delivers 11 stories from Bram Stoker Award winning author Brian A. Hopkins. These stories share a common theme, the oceans that cover seven-tenths of our world, but each is as unique and emotionally-charged as you've come to expect from this talented, seasoned, if not-heard-from-often-enough author. Submerge yourself in the worlds of this gifted storyteller, and you'll not want to come up for air. "...his stories carry things often forgotten or left behind in both horror and science fiction -- poetry, emotion, and heart ... If you haven't met Brian A. Hopkins, this could be the introduction you need." --from a review by William D. Gagliani "...another excellent collection of Brian's work ... I found it impossible to put this book down ... Fabulous!" --Lesley Mazey, The Eternal Night "Over the course of the last year or so we've sold more trade paperbacks by Brian Hopkins than we have any other writer ... [Brian] seems to be the kind of writer that appeals to our patrons. I like to think that that kind of writer is literate, emphatic, unusual and lyrical ... Better check this Hopkins guy out." --Mark Ziesing, Bookseller and Publisher "Hopkins displays a fascination with damaged protagonists ... that is almost as strong as the fascination with the ocean and cetaceans ... that is the titular focus of this book. From the distant play of orcas in 'North' to the rotting dolphin corpses center stage in 'Wrinkles at Twilight,' this theme of the pelagic mysteries weaves a fascinating metaphor for the decidedly land-based life led by most of Hopkins' readership ... These are not emotionally satisfying, morally secure stories -- they are challenging, sometimes difficult, and always at least a bit slantwise of the reader's expectation and experience." --Jay Lake, from a review in Tangent "The sea is the birthplace of all life. It has inspired some of the greatest minds in literature: Homer, Melville, Conrad, Hemingway ... and Brian A. Hopkins ... Hopkins dives deep into the mysteries of inner space and returns with a chest full of literary gems. Submerge yourself in his word. You may never wish to come ashore again." --Garrett Peck, from a review in Cemetery Dance "Brian Hopkins writes of the ocean as if he were a part of it. His empathy with whales -- in particular -- is phenomenal, and the subtle blend of intense research and intuitive talent is -- at times -- unnerving. Unforgettable fiction." --David Niall Wilson, Author of This is My Blood "When I examine my obsession with Fitzgerald and Tolstoy, for Dickens and Dostoevsky, I realize that what keeps me coming back to Gatsby and Anna and the rest is the music I hear when I am with them. That, and my absolute conviction that there is nothing there that I would have had them do differently. So it is with BAH's work. He doesn't simply write; he composes. Long after the reading is done, the melody lingers on." --Janet Berliner, Bram Stoker Award Winning Author of Rite of the Dragon

Set in Glasgow in 1981, a time of hunger strikes, riots and unemployment that decimated the old industrial heartlands, The Field of Blood is the first in the tense Paddy Meehan series from Scotland's princess of crime, Denise Mina. The vicious murder of a young child provides rookie journalist Paddy Meehan with her first big break when the suspect turns out to be her fiance's 11-year old cousin. Launching her own investigation into the horrific crime, Paddy uncovers lines of deception deep in Glasgow's past, with more horrific crimes in the future if she fails to solve the mystery. Infused with Mina's unique blend of dark humor, personal insights and social injustice, the story grips the reader while challenging our perceptions of childhood innocence, crime and punishment, and right or wrong.

For the Blood is the Life and Other Stories by Marion F. Crawford is a collection of blood-curdling stories for the most steady horror fans. Crawford writes a riveting collection about vampires, murders, and unexplored crypts. Excerpt: "SIR HUGH OCKRAM smiled as he sat by the open window of his study, in the late August afternoon. A curiously yellow cloud obscured the low sun, and the clear summer light turned lurid as if it had been suddenly poisoned and polluted by the foul vapors of a plague."

He looked to the sky, praying for rain, a downpour, some sign from the heavens that he should refuse the abomination contained in that flask. But all he saw was the bloated white face of the moon smiling down on him And the sky around it was cold and clear and black They made their circle of blood. And only the moon witnessed the slaughter that followed. For Jamie Mackie, summer holidays in the coastal town of Rocky Head mean surfing, making money, and good times at the local music festival. But this year, vampires are on the festival's line-up fulfilling a pact made on the wreck of the Batavia, four hundred years ago. If their plans succeed, nobody in Rocky Head will survive to see out the new year.

Princess Soren of Nyx is no stranger to loss after a decade-long war with the neighboring kingdom of Atlas. But with her best friend slowly succumbing to a cruel Atlas poison, she hatches a reckless plan: kidnap the enemy prince from the battlefield and use his life to barter for the antidote. But when that prince calls her by a different name...the name of his sister, whose death began the war ten years ago...everything changes. Stolen away to Atlas, trapped behind enemy lines, Soren must navigate a kingdom she knows nothing about, surrounded by a family she doesn't remember, and work to hunt down the antidote only Atlas possesses, all while strange memories fight to take over-memories of a different life, a different home, a different girl. And memories aren't the only thing awakened by Soren's return. Dark, forbidden magics begin to stir, threatening both her new life and her old. With death stalking in every shadow, the lost princess must fight harder and sacrifice more than she ever dreamed to save what she holds most dear.