In 2008, singer-songwriter Lisa Sniderman was living the dream in California. As Aoede, the Muse of Song, her star as a gifted recording artist was rising fast. Lisa's quirky folk-pop performance style electrified audiences up and down the West Coast, and the albums just kept flowing. But just when her career was rocketing skyward, a health crisis brought all of her dreams crashing to the ground. Diagnosed with a rare, debilitating immune disorder called dermatomyositis (DM), Lisa struggled to maintain a normal life with a body in revolt and, eventually, to accept a new normal. Living with a chronic illness challenged Lisa to see DM as a gift in disguise that has opened the door to new dreams, new songs, and new opportunities. Lisa's story is for you if you seek strength, new inspiration, hope, joy, healing, and if you or someone you love struggle with a chronic illness, disability, or unexpected life events. Her insights and reflections on her journey inspire hope and the courage to keep dreaming and living to the fullest no matter what life hurls at you.

Twelve-year-old Alex has lost his ability to play ghostball and gained the ability to see ghosts. Now he must learn to put a malevolent spirit to rest or meet a gruesome fate. Once an athlete and popular kid, Alex is in a terrible car accident that severely injures his hip and leaves him with the powers of the outcast psychic class: he can see and hear ghosts. While he wants nothing more than to be an ordinary, Alex becomes haunted by an evil spirit-he must accept his new powers and put the ghost to rest or die trying.

When Minerva Rus' long-dead childhood crush returns to life, she learns she has the power to raise the dead and shape reality itself, plunging her into amazing possibilities and terrifying danger. Now Minerva must learn to control her new abilities before they get her killed.

After death and resurrection, even greater dangers await.

Mysterious deaths have plagued the desolate, swamp filled area of Old Farmer's Road for decades. After moving to Minneapolis Cecilia is befriended by Isaac and Elsie, siblings who have kept a dark secret hidden about their past for countless years. As her body is taken over by a demonic force, she finds herself an Impa, a rare and supernatural creature who lives off the flesh and essence of her victims to stay alive. With the bloated bodies of missing teens beginning to resurface, the voice of the ratchet old farmer's voice inside her head begs for "Just One More." Consumed in the macabre environment, the urge to feed takes control over not only her body but her soul. Soon Cecilia comes to a realization that giving the voice exactly what It wants will never be enough.

Before it was a modern freeway, California’s State Highway 99 was “the main street of California,” a simple two-lane road that passed through the downtowns of every city between the Mexican border and the Oregon state line. Highway 99: The History of California’s Main Street turns back the clock to those days when a narrow ribbon of asphalt tied the state’s communities together, with classic roadside attractions and plenty of fun along the way.

Martinsville Memories by Stephen H. Provost examines the history of Martinsville, a town in southern Virginia. A town of fewer than 15,000 people, it's been the plug tobacco capital of the world and the sweatshirt capital of the world. It hosts two stock-car races each year at a speedway that holds four times that many people - the oldest on the NASCAR circuit. It's a place of verdant beauty and blue skies a few miles north of the North Carolina state line, in the Goldilocks zone: seldom too hot in summer or two cold in winter. It has thrived as the town with the nation's most millionaires per capita and struggled through factory closures during the era of globalization.Packed with more than 200 images, Martinsville Memories looks at the town from its beginnings through its is a textual and photographic look a diverse town built on tobacco, textiles and furniture that occupies a unique place in the nation's fabric and history. From its the town's historic beginnings through its 20th century prosperity, this volume offers a nostalgic trek through time, with stops at drive-ins, old hotels and iconic storefronts along the way. Martinsville Memories doesn't stop at the city limits, but gives the reader a tour of surrounding communities such Collinsville, Ridgeway, Bassett, Spencer and Axton, as well.With a foreword by author and Martinsville native Stephen Mark Rainey, Martinsville Memories captures the triumphs and struggles of a city at the heart of the South and the soul of America.

Have you ever wanted to plug your ears and scream after hearing a newscaster, politician, sports announcer or your boss use THAT word again? You know the one: that buzzword or cliche that sets your teeth on edge because you've heard it so often? It doesn't really mean anything. It's just there. On people's lips. In the newspaper. On television. Everywhere, all the time. Well, chances are, it's here, too, in this irreverent look at some of the things people say far too often while giving them far too little thought. Consider this book your last line of defense against the banal inanities that assault your ears on a daily basis. Its purpose is to poke fun at them, which is really all most of them are good for: poking fun at. "Please Stop Saying That!" is a no-holds-barred, sarcastic look at the catch phrases used in politics, religion, sports, business, pop culture and elsewhere. You'll never look at (or listen to) jargon quite the same way again.

"Fake love with the right man is better. Jewels, homes, and money won't break your heart." Those were Stephanie's mom's words of wisdom. Stephanie was a princess, even without a father, right until she was ten years old when her mother left her. Life began to take a drastic turn for Stephanie. Will she be able to survive on her own? Moreover, could the apple have fallen not far from the tree, or will she be another version, a better version of her mother, and find love in the process? It's