"Something in me knows of a life I was meant to live but for whatever reason, I have not . . . "Words that ring painfully true for Adam Sheppard, a San Francisco programmer who has spent the vast majority of his 30-something years lost in the dim glow of a computer screen. On the verge of a psychotic break, Adam begins to have a recurring dream of his early childhood and the hauntingly rustic town of Mendocino, California, where he grew up. Convinced he has left something behind there, something vital to his present sanity, Adam walks away from his current life to figure out what that is.One evening, out on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Adam has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman, only to later realize that she may be a long forgotten childhood friend. The coincidence of their reunion only deepens as Adam discovers that the woman has also returned to Mendocino due to a recurring dream, eerily similar to his own.Lost soulmates drawn together through time and space, or perhaps their meeting is only the beginning of a much deeper mystery. As Adam awakens to the possibility that his life could be destined for more than a bleak virtual wasteland, he soon finds himself a crucial pawn in a game that pits forces intent on enslaving the human spirit against those few quixotic souls who still search for meaning, beauty, and magic in the world.

“Something in me knows of a life I was meant to live but for whatever reason, I have not . . . ” Words that ring painfully true for Adam Sheppard, a San Francisco programmer who has spent the vast majority of his 30-something years lost in the dim glow of a computer screen. On the verge of a psychotic break, Adam begins to have a recurring dream of his early childhood and the hauntingly rustic town of Mendocino, California, where he grew up. Convinced he has left something behind there, something vital to his present sanity, Adam walks away from his current life to figure out what that is. One evening, out on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Adam has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman, only to later realize that she may be a long forgotten childhood friend. The coincidence of their reunion only deepens as Adam discovers that the woman has also returned to Mendocino due to a recurring dream, eerily similar to his own. Lost soulmates drawn together through time and space, or perhaps their meeting is only the beginning of a much deeper mystery. As Adam awakens to the possibility that his life could be destined for more than a bleak virtual wasteland, he soon finds himself a crucial pawn in a game that pits forces intent on enslaving the human spirit against those few quixotic souls who still search for meaning, beauty, and magic in the world.

What would you do if you thought your psycho ex-boyfriend was haunting you from beyond the grave? When Blair Lewis is left for dead in a freezing lake, she can't get over the fact that her boyfriend tried to kill her. And when she begins to receive disturbing gifts and letters from her supposed dead boyfriend, she attempts to figure out what is going on before the darkness consumes her. Nothing is as it seems and the startling truth is going to rip Blair right out of this world. Is Blair simply losing her mind? Or is something vicious and dark after her sanity and soul?

Would you trust a living blob of slime? Cassius was the first one to witness it fall from the sky. But its crash-landing wasn't an accident. Novae was shot down. And now, the very aliens that gunned his ship to oblivion are pursuing him. Their father, Overlord Cerebrum, hungers after the blob's flesh and will stop at nothing to obtain the living slime. If Cassius doesn't get Novae off the planet and back to his home above, the world will become a warzone. People will die--his friends will perish--and any survivors will have their brains hijacked, only to become slaves to the faceless tyrant looming over the planet. But Cassius can't do it alone. He'll need to trust the help of friends and strangers alike. Doing so feels all but impossible, for past wounds from broken relationships refuse to heal. If he fails to trust again, his quest is doomed to fail. The overlord will win, Novae will die, and Cassius's home world will vanish forever. Yeah . . . No pressure. A YA, alien, science fantasy adventure quest by California State Fair--and LA County Fair--award winning storyteller, Dakota Ryder Hatch. His animated short, "The Lost Spaceman" won first prize in both competitions. "It's not often I read a book that creates a totally new experience like this one does. This is a unique epic sci-fi space fantasy story. The characters are richly developed and the story line draws the reader in from the beginning. There's mind powers, space travel, aliens (good and bad), mortal peril, friends, frenemies, enemies-turned-friends, a little young love, and beating insurmountable odds---and then there's the alien animals... Seriously, you will not be bored." -- Amazon reviewer (★★★★★)

The White Lich has conquered Mallon and smashed all resistance to him. Now, he marches on the north. Within weeks, Narashtovik will fall to his armies. Gask will follow.And after that, there can be no stopping him.Dante and Blays have a single hope of victory: the Spear of Stars, the long-lost weapon that may be capable of killing the lich. There's just one problem. Though they've learned the spear is real, they've also learned the nine parts of the weapon are guarded by the gods themselves. And they have no intention of handing over their prize.Alone in a strange realm, with no friends or allies, and a growing list of enemies, Dante and Blays' task looks doomed. Yet they're the last line standing between the lich and the destruction of their whole world.

What if suffering were not arbitrary? Not meaningless, nor a sign of punishment or defeat, but a fundamental element of healing, growth, and triumph? What if suffering were positive? This book is a study and meditation on the nature, origin, and reality of suffering. Contemplating the suffering of Christ and other biblical figures, J. Bryson Arthur investigates a theology of suffering that testifies to its necessity within the plan of God. Bryson reminds us that the nature of suffering is to share fellowship with Christ – to take up one’s cross and follow him. Thus, suffering is not arbitrary but intrinsic to the path God has laid before our feet: a path leading to restoration, wholeness, and fullness of life. An important resource for students of theology, this is also a powerful and hopeful read for anyone seeking meaning in the midst of suffering.

This is the story of American mathematics during the past century. It contains articles and excerpts from a century of the American Mathematical Monthly, giving the reader an opportunity to skim all one hundred volumes of this popular mathematics magazine without actually opening them. It samples mathematics year by year and decade by decade. The reader can glimpse the mathematical community at the turn of the century, the controversy about Einstein and relativity, the debates about formalism in logic, the immigration of mathematicians from Europe, and the frantic effort to organize as the war began. More recent articles deal with the advent of computers and the changes they brought, and with some of the triumphs of modern research.