Madas’s Falling Star featuring Madas’s Unexpected Gift


Book Description

Madas’s Unexpected Gift Can a small reptile from another world save the Princess he has adopted? L’eon, a Chameleon Lightning Lizard, awakens to find that his planet was destroyed by an unidentified force. Trapped in an iron-ore prison hurtling through space, he is lost and alone until an unfamiliar planet’s gravitational pull draws him to its surface — and he is freed by an enchanting alien who he quickly adopts. When a meteorite falls from the sky, Princess Madas Tralang rushes to claim the prized and potentially valuable space rock for herself. She is startled to discover an unusual creature huddled inside. Touched by the creature’s soulful eyes and unique features, she vows to protect the extraordinary reptile. Madas is unaware that she has befriended one of the most ferocious and feared species in the known galaxies. After all, who would ever believe that something so cute could be so deadly? Perhaps, someone should have warned Madas’s unwelcome suitor about L’eon before he decided to try and claim her! *** Madas’s Falling Star Prince Gril Tal Mod is destined to be the next Supreme Leader of the Tearnats — if he survives long enough to ascend to the throne. Gril was supposed to be on a routine training exercise, but his flight goes horribly wrong when engine trouble forces him to land his fighter in a remote mountainous region. Once stranded on the ground, Gril discovers the malfunction was no accident — and he isn’t alone. He can sense someone watching him from the shadows. Princess Madas Tralang’s curiosity always seems to get her into trouble. When Madas spies an unusual object streaking across the sky before crashing near her location, she believes it is a good omen. After all, she found her pet, L’eon, the last time an object fell from the sky. Her hopes of finding something valuable are dashed when instead she sees a big, and rather ugly, Tearnat warrior. Though there is something about him… something magnetic, it’s his spaceship that she really wants. It is just what she has been searching for — a means to escape the dreary life expected of her! The giant warrior pilot of the spaceship isn’t going to give it up easily, however, and Madas soon finds herself locked in a battle of wits and skill with the strange warrior, but they are not the only players on the field. Danger surrounds Madas and Gril — both from Madas’s clan and from the saboteur who is determined to see Gril dead. Can the Prince of the Tearnats and a small, but deadly alien pet, defeat their foes and save Madas before time runs out, or will Gril’s growing love for a curious Princess doom them both? *Previously released in Pets in Space 4! Thank you to everyone who supported the Hero Dogs charity. Together, we make a difference! A NY Times and USA Today bestselling author, the internationally acclaimed S.E. Smith presents two stories with her signature humor and unpredictable twists! Exciting adventure, hot romance, and iconic characters have won her a legion of fans. Over TWO MILLION books sold!




River's Run


Book Description

River Knight was looking forward to a peaceful vacation in the mountains with her two best friends, Jo and Star, her fellow circus performers and sisters of the heart, but instead, River witnesses her friends’ abduction! She silently follows, even going so far as to sneak aboard their spaceship. The rescue attempt doesn’t happen fast enough though, and River finds herself on an unplanned vacation to the stars. In a desperate attempt to save Jo and Star, River makes a deal with a group of aliens who had also been captured: she’ll release them if they promise to bring the sisters home to Earth, but Torak Ja Kel Coradon, Leader of the House of Kassis and next ruler of the Kassis Galaxy, has other plans when he sees the blue-eyed warrior woman. He plans on claiming her for himself and the only home he will bring her to is his own. The fate of more than one world hangs in the balance. Prophecies, intrigue, and love cross worlds and vastly different cultures when a knife-wielding circus performer takes a male-dominated alien society by storm! Can their love overcome the chasm of a few million light years and a brewing war? A NY Times and USA Today bestselling author, the internationally acclaimed S.E. Smith presents a new story with her signature humor and unpredictable twists! Exciting adventure, hot romance, and iconic characters have won her a legion of fans. Over TWO MILLION books sold!




Jo's Journey


Book Description

Manota is determine to claim Jo even if it means dragging her entire circus family back to his world to do it.




Cloud Cover


Book Description

Working at a less-than-inspiring office job, Tony, a gay man struggling with grief and mental illness, attempts to make a connection with younger, flamboyant and free-spirited artist named Antonio. Cloud Cover captures the experience of love and loss-of others and of oneself-amidst past trauma, modern expectations and inner turmoil.




The Chocolate Touch


Book Description

In this zany twist on the legend of King Midas and his golden touch, a boy acquires a magical gift that turns everything his lips touch into chocolate! Kids will eat this up for summer reading or anytime! Can you ever have too much of your favorite food? John Midas is about to find out…. The Chocolate Touch has remained a favorite for millions of kids, teachers, and parents for several generations. It's an enjoyable story that pulls in even reluctant readers.




The Psychopath Test


Book Description

What if society wasn't fundamentally rational, but was motivated by insanity? This thought sets Jon Ronson on an utterly compelling adventure into the world of madness. Along the way, Jon meets psychopaths, those whose lives have been touched by madness and those whose job it is to diagnose it, including the influential psychologist who developed the Psychopath Test, from whom Jon learns the art of psychopath-spotting. A skill which seemingly reveals that madness could indeed be at the heart of everything . . . Combining Jon Ronson's trademark humour, charm and investigative incision, The Psychopath Test is both entertaining and honest, unearthing dangerous truths and asking serious questions about how we define normality in a world where we are increasingly judged by our maddest edges. 'The belly laughs come thick and fast – my God, he is funny . . . provocative and interesting' – Observer




Blackstar Theory


Book Description

Blackstar Theory takes a close look at David Bowie's ambitious last works: his surprise 'comeback' project The Next Day (2013), the off-Broadway musical Lazarus (2015) and the album that preceded the artist's death in 2016 by two days, Blackstar. The book explores the swirl of themes that orbit and entangle these projects from a starting point in musical analysis and features new interviews with key collaborators from the period: producer Tony Visconti, graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook, musical director Henry Hey, saxophonist Donny McCaslin and assistant sound engineer Erin Tonkon. These works tackle the biggest of ideas: identity, creativity, chaos, transience and immortality. They enact a process of individuation for the Bowie meta-persona and invite us to consider what happens when a star dies. In our universe, dying stars do not disappear - they transform into new stellar objects, remnants and gravitational forces. The radical potential of the Blackstar is demonstrated in the rock star supernova that creates a singularity resulting in cultural iconicity. It is how a man approaching his own death can create art that illuminates the immortal potential of all matter in the known universe.










The Music of James Bond


Book Description

The story of the music that accompanies the cinematic adventures of Ian Fleming's intrepid Agent 007 is one of surprising real-life drama. In The Music of James Bond, author Jon Burlingame throws open studio and courtroom doors alike to reveal the full and extraordinary history of the sounds of James Bond, spicing the story with a wealth of fascinating and previously undisclosed tales. Burlingame devotes a chapter to each Bond film, providing the backstory for the music (including a reader-friendly analysis of each score) from the last-minute creation of the now-famous "James Bond Theme" in Dr. No to John Barry's trend-setting early scores for such films as Goldfinger and Thunderball. We learn how synthesizers, disco and modern electronica techniques played a role in subsequent scores, and how composer David Arnold reinvented the Bond sound for the 1990s and beyond. The book brims with behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Burlingame examines the decades-long controversy over authorship of the Bond theme; how Frank Sinatra almost sang the title song for Moonraker; and how top artists like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, and Madonna turned Bond songs into chart-topping hits. The author shares the untold stories of how Eric Clapton played guitar for Licence to Kill but saw his work shelved, and how Amy Winehouse very nearly co-wrote and sang the theme for Quantum of Solace. New interviews with many Bond songwriters and composers, coupled with extensive research as well as fascinating and previously undiscovered details--temperamental artists, unexpected hits, and the convergence of great music and unforgettable imagery--make The Music of James Bond a must read for 007 buffs and all popular music fans. This paperback edition is brought up-to-date with a new chapter on Skyfall.