Daily Archives: July 13, 2020

Snakes and Shadows: An Unveiled Academy Novel (Penny and Boots Book 1)by Amy Hopkins

Not everyone can see the ancient beings from myth and legend as they slip through the veil. 

​Penny Hingston can’t just see them… she’s best friends with one.

Perhaps that’s how Penny and Boots landed a recruitment letter for the Academy of Myth and Legend.

Who’s Boots? She’s a serpent. Not just any serpent — she’s a Rainbow Serpent, an ancient Australian Dreamtime legend come to life. It’s actually not so unusual these days. Mythical creatures are tumbling through the Veil every two seconds. The Academy not only teaches its students how to fight the bad ones, but to protect the good ones as well.

That’s why Penny joined. She’s only there to make sure Boots stays safe. Once she figures out a plan, she’s out. At least, that’s what she’s trying to convince herself — and her new friends, including Cisco. It’s only a coincidence that Penny blushes when he talks to her, really!

It’s exciting to be recruited as one of the first wave of students at the Academy, but it’s no joke. There’s the classes, of course. And then there are poltergeists, bigfoot hunting expeditions, and psychotic gnomes. Just staying alive is a challenge.

But together, Penny and Boots can face anything. And they will. No matter what happens.

How to Start a Fireby Lisa Lutz

“How to Start a Fire will keep you captivated from beginning to end.”–Town & Country

“Whip smart and cunning, deeply funny and profoundly moving . . . A knockout.”–Megan Abbott, author of The Fever

When college roommates Anna and Kate find Georgiana Leoni passed out on a lawn, they wheel her to their dorm in a shopping cart. Twenty years later, they gather around a campfire at a New England mansion. What came between–the wild adventures, unspoken jealousies, and one night that changed everything–is the witty, poignant story of our strongest friendships, the people who know us better than we know ourselves. Anna is the de facto leader, as fearless as she is reckless. Quirky Kate is the loyal sidekick, until she’s pushed too far. And stunning George is always desired, but just as frequently dumped. Alive with Lutz’s crackling dialogue and propulsive storytelling, How to Start a Fire pulls us into the tangled bond shared by three intelligent, distinctive, and deeply real women and pays homage to the abiding, irrational love we have for the family we choose.

“Lutz joins the ranks of authors who write deeply and sensitively about the shadowy yet life-affirming terrain of female friendship.”–Globe & Mail

“Lutz hits a home run in this glorious exploration of friendship . . . [she] portrays three fully drawn, flawed, and compelling women with fresh insight into the mysterious terrain of female friendships–a mix of shared experiences, affection, empathy, jealousy, anger, and love.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

End of Day (A Hode’s Hill Novel Book 2)by Mae Clair

The past is never truly buried…

Generations of Jillian Cley’s family have been tasked with a strange duty–tending the burial plot of Gabriel Vane, whose body was the first to be interred in the Hode’s Hill cemetery. Jillian faithfully continues the long-standing tradition–until one October night, Vane’s body is stolen from its resting place. Is it a Halloween prank? Or something more sinister?

As the descendants of those buried in the church yard begin to experience bizarre “accidents,” Jillian tries to uncover the cause. Deeply empathic, she does not make friends easily, or lightly. But to fend off the terror taking over her town, she must join forces with artist Dante DeLuca, whose sensitivity to the spirit world has been both a blessing and a curse. The two soon realize Jillian’s murky family history is entwined with a tragic legacy tracing back to the founding of Hode’s Hill. To set matters right, an ancient wrong must be avenged…or Jillian, Dante, and everyone in town will forever be at the mercy of a vengeful spirit.

Make Fitness A Priority: 30 tips to elevate your life through fitnessby Chad Austin

As fitness professionals, we want to help you reach your goals, but most importantly, we want to teach you how to keep them for a lifetime. We are not looking for temporary success here. We want fitness to be embedded as a permanent priority no matter what is going on in the world around you. You are so capable of harnessing the power of self-sufficiency and reaping the overflow of rewards.

In the fitness industry today, we are fighting a wicked battle between these two ideas; a quick fix to hit a goal (like giving a man a basket of fish) and long-term success based on knowledge and behavior change, consistently (like teaching a man to fish for himself). We know which man will go hungry. Everyday there are more and more predators popping up who are making millions of dollars, preying upon a person’s deep desire to look and feel better. They are selling weight loss products and performance enhancing products that will, ultimately, only lead to temporary success. Likely, none at all. Promises of fast results with little or no effort can cloud the judgment of even the smartest and most cautious of consumers.

In April of 2014, the Make Fitness a Priority community was established in Overland Park, Kansas with this very goal in mind. We want you to get off the roller coaster ride of temporary success and crashing failure, and we want you to do it among friends with the same goals. There is no prerequisite in your physical abilities, everyone is welcomed. We know all our lives are incredibly unique. Your plan should match your uniqueness. From there, consistency is born and your quality of life skyrockets.

These 30 tips and tricks were created from our Saturday morning Priority Fit Camp, one of our community gatherings. In 2019, we implemented a Trainer Tip to be briefly discussed between circuits, in an effort to make a bigger impact on our community. You may be thinking, “how can one 2-3 minute tip make a big impact?” In the following pages, you will see very clearly that small changes, consistently, is what fuels this long-term success we want so badly for you. If you are a beginner, the amount of information available to you is overwhelming. Doing too much, too fast, will lead to burn out and failure to change.

Take your time to wander slowly through these pages, as it fits in your life. Read one tip per week or per day, as it suits you. Take the time to focus, meditate upon and implement them because, as we said before, small consistent changes will build your path to feeling your best. Find your strength, you were built to not only succeed, but never settle. You were built to Elevate.