Literary Fiction

The Gopher King: A Dark Comedy by Gojan Nikolich

A suicidal former platoon sergeant, sole survivor of a Vietnam War jungle ambush, is haunted by what he perceives as his cowardly past. Debilitated by guilt and mourning the death of his wife, small town newspaper publisher Stan Przewalski lives in a PTSD-fueled world where it is impossible to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Returning from a Vietnam sightseeing tour, his suppressed memories resurface with a vengeance as he deals with a murder and a raging wildfire that threatens to destroy his hometown of Bull River Falls, Colorado. The overly medicated vet meets a magical creature who wears paratrooper boots and rock band tee shirts and commands a subterranean army that believes Stan is the answer to their fight against unscrupulous real estate developers.

While they sabotage cell phone towers and government buildings, these supernatural friends provide an unlikely path to Stan’s redemption.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht

Perfect book for the birder and anti-birder alike

A humorous look at 50 common North American dumb birds: For those who have a disdain for birds or bird lovers with a sense of humor, this snarky, illustrated handbook is equal parts profane, funny, and—let’s face it—true.

Featuring common North American birds, such as the White-Breasted Butt Nugget and the Goddamned Canada Goose (or White-Breasted Nuthatch and Canada Goose for the layperson), Matt Kracht identifies all the idiots in your backyard and details exactly why they suck with humorous, yet angry, ink drawings. With The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, you won’t need to wonder what all that racket is anymore!

• Each entry is accompanied by facts about a bird’s (annoying) call, its (dumb) migratory pattern, its (downright tacky) markings, and more.
• The essential guide to all things wings with migratory maps, tips for birding, musings on the avian population, and the ethics of birdwatching.
• Matt Kracht is an amateur birder, writer, and illustrator who enjoys creating books that celebrate the humor inherent in life’s absurdities. Based in Seattle, he enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds.

Return to the Dinosaur Prison World by Adam Carter

Two years ago a forgotten prison lost its greatest pit fighter when Ashley Honeywood escaped. In her wake, Erica Storm has striven to become an even more powerful pit fighter, but has never been able to escape the shadow of the legend before her.

Now Honeywood has returned.

When Honeywood kidnaps Dexter Valentine, the man holding the prison society together, Storm sets out to track her. Having trained to fight twelve metre crocodiles barehanded, Storm’s next target had been the largest dinosaur carnivore that ever lived. But with the potential for rescuing Valentine and proving herself a hero in the people’s eyes, Storm has all the excuse she needs to take on Honeywood and show everyone that even legends can die.

However, having escaped the dinosaur prison world, Honeywood would only return with a very good reason. Along with her fellow escapee Abe Garza, Honeywood intends to expose Valentine’s secrets to the world. For the past two years she has not been idle and now knows precisely who Valentine is, and why he was given a life sentence. It is a secret Valentine is prepared to do anything to protect.

Facing mighty crocodiles and giant dinosaurs along the way, Storm and Honeywood come to blows in a clash which shows the world who the greatest monsters truly are … with Valentine trying desperately not to be crushed in the middle.

Empowered by the Earlby Alexa Aston

First sons inherit all. Third sons are promised to the church. Second sons do their duty and serve in the military—unless fate intervenes and turns their lives upside down.

Welcome to Second Sons of London, a new Regency Historical Romance series by bestselling author Alexa Aston, where seven men who are second sons lay claim to fabulous wealth and lofty titles and fulfill their destinies when they find their soulmates.

A self-assured earl who doesn’t like rules. A poised beauty mature beyond her years. Neither thinks they want or need love . . .

Major Owen Hasbury returns from the Napoleonic Wars as the new Earl of Danbury. He’s ready to enjoy life and make love to as many women as he can before settling down and siring an heir. His attitude irks his two closest friends, men who have come into recent titles and made love matches.

Louisa Goulding has a reputation as a bit of a bluestocking. She has served as her father’s hostess since her mother’s death years ago and has been an active part of the meetings in their home with her father’s War Office colleagues, giving her little time for social events. With the war over, Louisa wants to fully participate in the Season and finally live a life for herself, finding a husband who will give her children.

At the insistence of mutual friends, Louisa and Owen meet. She calls him out as a rake, telling him she won’t waste any time on him. But her beauty and intelligence intrigue Owen. He becomes friends with Louisa, even teaching her how to kiss, finally realizing the perfect woman is right before him.

Can Owen convince Louisa that he has changed—or will he lose her to another lord at the house party they attend together?

Find the answer in bestselling author Alexa Aston’s Empowered by the Earl, the third book in Second Sons of London.

Each book in Second Sons of London is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.

Second Sons of London
Book 1: Educated by the Earl
Book 2: Debating with the Duke
Book 3: Empowered by the Earl
Book 4: Made for the Marquess
Book 5: Dubious about the Duke
Book 6: Valued by the Viscount
Book 7: Meant for the Marquess

One Sense Ahead: Using Your Senses In An Uncommon Way To Accurately Read People & Win The Room by Lauren Hirsch Williams

Learn to Read People Accurately for Effective Influence and Persuasion and improved Business Communication skills

Do you ever kick yourself after a meeting and wish you’d said or done something differently? We’ve all been there but now it’s time to leave your self-doubt and anxiety surrounding pitching, presentation skills, or participating in meetings in the past. It’s finally your turn to discover an empowering guide that can transform the outcome of your business interactions and help you MORE ACCURATELY READ PEOPLE & WIN THE ROOM every time you enter a meeting.

Do you feel your meeting presentation skills and involvement are falling flat? Or you’re not getting your ideas across as powerfully as you want. Do you consider yourself introverted and stress over networking and speaking at meetings? Do you want to be considered more dynamic or charismatic? It’s so easy to worry you’ll never impress those all-important investors, clients, or your boss? It’s a struggle to command the room in important meetings but remarkably simple to win the room with skills you already possess – your senses. With over thirty-five years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies on top global brands, Lauren Hirsch-Williams has guided countless entrepreneurs towards massive success. Now she’s sharing her unique and powerful strategy for perfecting pitches, negotiating successfully, and winning over people in meetings so that everyone walks away happy.

One Sense Ahead: Using Your Senses In An Uncommon Way To Accurately Read People & Win The Room is a simple system, expertly designed to help you control the outcomes from virtual or face-to-face meetings, sales opportunities, or multi-person business discussions. With Hirsch-Williams’s personal anecdotes of successes as well as lessons gleaned from failure, you’ll learn the dynamic, innovative, and easy-to-remember “Wheel of Uncommon Influence®” protocol to tap into your innate instincts and never miss a business beat. By the time you finish reading and doing the exercises, you’ll feel more confident walking into any meeting, knowing you have the communication and public speaking skills you need to find clues and extract information that will help you achieve your objective going into the room. You already have the strength and power within you. One Sense Ahead will take the imposter syndrome out of your brain and move control and confidence in its place.

In One Sense Ahead, you’ll discover:
– Ways to access your senses through the groundbreaking Uncommon Sensibility® method that makes you sharp as a fox when reading people
– How to use the Wheel of Uncommon Influence® protocol to drive your confidence in meetings and steer the flow down a path to successful results
– The keys to tune in to your gut feelings and make the best move possible in any situation no matter how difficult it may be
– Methods for understanding how and when to accurately read people so that you gather clues crucial to decision-making
– A detailed process for overcoming fear and accessing potent business communication skills to wow your audience and connect with them in a way that matters
– Tips and tricks that help you clarify and then verify the hunches you get when in the room
– The steps to engaging your analytical brain, busting insecurities, reclaiming power, and much, much more!

One Sense Ahead: Using Your Senses In An Uncommon Way To Accurately Read People & Win The Room is a powerful resource to help you unleash maximum persuasion and influence. If you like expert insights, well-developed systems, and easy-to-learn techniques, then you’ll love this highly compelling book.