ADVENTURES IN AN OTHER-WORLDLY NEW-AGE VENICE it is the year 1537. The great winged Lion stares over a Venice where magic thrives. The rich Venetian Republic is a bastion of independence and tolerance. Perhaps for that reason, it is also corrupt, and rotten with intrigue. But for the young brothers Marco and Benito Valdosta, vagabond and thief, Venice is simply-home. They have no idea that they stand at the center of the city's coming struggle for its very life. They know nothing of the powerful forces moving in the background. They have barely heard of Chernobog, demonlord of the North, who is shifting his pawns to attack Venice in order to cut into the underbelly of the Holy Roman Empire. All Marco and Benito know is that they're hungry and in dangerous company: Katerina the smuggler, Caesare the sell-sword, Montagnard assassins, church inquisitors, militant Knights of the Holy Trinity, Dottore Marina the Strega mage . . . and Maria. Maria might be an honest canaler, but she had the hottest temper a boy could find. Yet among the dark waters of the canals lurk far worse dangers than a hot-tempered girl. Chernobog has set a monster loose to wreak havoc on the city. Magic, murder and evil are all at work to pull Venice down. Fanatical monks seek to root out true witchcraft with fire and sword. Steel-clad Teutonic knights, wealth traders, church dignitaries and great Princes fight and plot for control of the jewel of the Mediterranean. And somehow all of these, from thieves to mages to princes, must gather around Marco and his brother Benito, under the shadow of the great winged lion of Venice. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). "The prolific Lackey and cohorts Flint and Freer whip up a luscious bouillabaisse of politics, intrigue, love and black magic set in an "Other-worldly, New-Age Venice. . . ." The authors' use of contemporary American vernacular . . . instead of pompous period speech keeps the pages turning fast. . . ." ¾Publishers Weekly "[A] massive concoction of alternate history, high fantasy, and historical romance set in the sixteenth-century Venice of an alternate world . . . rich plotting, vivid characterization, and splendid evocation of Renaissance ethics and culture should make readers turn all the pages." ¾Booklist ". . . a sweeping alternate history. .. .The authors deftly wield the juxtaposition of fantasy and history into a finely crafted story." ¾Romantic Times "[A] top pick . . . fast-paced action and complex, believable settings." ¾The Bookwatch

A gentle story about sadness showing that sometimes all you need to feel better is the openness of someone who accepts you as you are.

Fantasy-roman.

Fifteen-year-old Kathleen Gallant is on an archaeological adventure at Tsavo East National Park in Kenya when she unearths the grave of an ancient woman known as Njeri. The natives are horrified by this discovery; Njeri is so infamous that no local will even speak her name. They fear the discovery of Njeris corpse will bring about pestilence and disease upon their tribe. The legend of Njeri goes back to the mystical Mchanga and Misitu War. This war was fought long ago, and historians are still unsure of how it ended. It seems the soldiers from this war apparently disappeared. Now news of local villagers either gone missing and even some found dead are worrying her friends, but Kathleen feels strangely drawn to the story of Njeri; she begins to have nightmares and visions of a past life and a battle of wills. Someone is taking over Kathleens young mindsomeone who wants revenge. With the help of her new friends Sekani and Okechuku, Kathleen discovers the ancient war never really ended. Under the influence of Njeri, she learns more about the past than she ever expected toand realizes she may become the weapon through which Njeri exacts her revenge.

On September 23, 1947, a number of the film industry's leading writers, producers, and directors received subpoenas that summoned them to Washington to testify before the Un-American Activities Committee of the House of Representatives. The McCarthy era had begun--and with it the destruction of hundreds of careers. This bold, multidimensional novel recreates life in the inner circles of the film industry in Washington, Hollywood, and the major capitals of Europe, portraying desparate people trying to rebuild their lives in the wake of McCarthyism.

Callie was fed up with being treated as though she were invisible her whole life, ignored by everyone including her own mother. Her poor self-image was cultivated by ridicule and taunting from kids at school; it had become a way of life for her. An incident with the campus heartthrob pushes her over the edge. When she can't take the pressure of school and home anymore, Callie goes away to live with her aunt where she finishes her senior year of high school, and undergoes a startling transformation, in more ways than one. She returns home a brand new person, with new confidence, and a plan for revenge against those who wronged her. Little did she know that she herself would become the victim of her own plot for revenge. Callie would learn the hard way that getting even can be costly.