Fraleigh is the new acting police chief of the turbulent Silicon City police force. His first SWAT strike is a disaster, a psycho sex killer named Zorro is on the loose, and Fraleighs hot affair with a lady politician threatens to become a media bonfire, with Fraleigh as the marshmallow. In short, Chief Fraleigh wouldnt mind becoming invisible. Instead, he ends up at the seedy Blue Mirage, where a routine collar explodes into a big-time sting tied up with millions, murder, and political mayhem. Its a case that propels Fraleigh to his hometown, the Big Apple, where he confronts his troubled cop brotherand an old NYPD scandal that wont die, but might just kill him. . . .

The Blue Mirage is the second poetry collection by Annie Williams. It explores relationships, friendships, family, life, death, mental health, heartbreak, youth, depression, and trying to find happiness.

Life for Faryal and her family is far from uncomplicated. Upon their return to Afghanistan from Jordan, her father, Jalal Sitam, learns that he is no longer welcomed by his own government and that his cousins are trying to steal his propertyand by extension, his future. Romaan, Jalal's friend's son, asks that Faryal be granted to him in marriage. On what should have been a joyous day, Faryal is kidnapped by Sardar, a powerful and dangerous criminal. Her family quickly agrees to pay the million dollars Sardar demands, but that is of little consolation for Faryal. Fearing more for her chastity than for her life, she makes a frantic choice, but even death cannot save her; her attempt at suicide fails. Desperate, she begs her kidnapper, a middle-aged man with two children, to marry her, to salvage what little honor she may still have. Devastated by the news, Jalal tries to stop her marriage to the criminal, but his plans are thwarted. He must learn that even men can be pawns in the same game. This is just a glimpse of adventure in Faryal's life. As Faryal's journey continues and the story unravels further, it takes more unimaginable twists and turns right to the end. When the upper class sets standards, everyone must abide by them. They see everything perfect and build a mirage in their outlooks, mentalities, and approaches, which makes life more difficult than it already is. Afghan women have suffered for a million reasons that have not been their intrinsic faults. This novel, inspired by true events, is an exploration on the cultural injustices done to women.

Shanna is a teacher at one of the most treacherous city prisons in Philadelphia. She is the fiance` of Tristen Stevens; a prominent young politician running for mayor. Shanna is loved by her inmates & hated by the head of administration, Josie P. Evens. Warden Josie has a secret obsession and is willing to sacrfice anyone who stops her from obtaining it. Selfish reasons is why she targets Shanna and gets her caught up in the biggest scandal in the history of the prison system. Shanna uncovers a deadly ring of corruption within the prison. Lieutenants, Sergeants, Politicians and inmates make up the BLUE MIRAGE. When she realizes what the warden is up to, it may be too late. Shanna had no idea how ferocious the art of deception could be. Like a caged animal breaking free, Revenge, Dirty Politics, Lust, Blackmail, and Lies consume the streets of Philadelphia from behind the prison walls. Her freedom and future rest on the truth being exposed; but it all is a blur in the Blue Mirage.

Shanna is a teacher at one of the most treacherous city prisons in Philadelphia and the fiancé` of Tristen Stevens; a prominent young politician running for mayor. She is loved by her inmates & hated by the head of administration Josie P. Evens (Warden). Warden Josie has her selfish reasons why she targets Shanna and gets her caught up in the biggest scandal in the history of the prison system. Lieutenants, Sergeants, Politicians and inmates make up the BLEU Mirage. Shanna uncovers a deadly ring of corruption within the prison. When she realizes what the warden is up to it may be too late. Revenge, Dirty Politics, Lust Blackmail, and Lies spill onto the streets of Philadelphia from behind the walls.

“Never before has the case been more compellingly made that America’s dependence on a free and abundant water supply has become an illusion. Cynthia Barnett does it by telling us the stories of the amazing personalities behind our water wars, the stunning contradictions that allow the wettest state to have the most watered lawns, and the thorough research that makes her conclusions inescapable. Barnett has established herself as one of Florida’s best journalists and Mirage is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of the state.” —Mary Ellen Klas, Capital Bureau Chief, Miami Herald “Mirage is the finest general study to date of the freshwater-supply crisis in Florida. Well-meaning villains abound in Cynthia Barnett’s story, but so too do heroes, such as Arthur R. Marshall Jr., Nathaniel Reed, and Marjorie Harris Carr. The author’s research is as thorough as her prose is graceful. Drinking water is the new oil. Get used to it.” —Michael Gannon, Distinguished Professor of history, University of Florida, and author of Florida: A Short History “With lively prose and a journalist’s eye for a good story, Cynthia Barnett offers a sobering account of water scarcity problems facing Florida—one of our wettest states—and the rest of the East Coast. Drawing on lessons learned from the American West, Mirage uses the lens of cultural attitudes about water use and misuse to plead for reform. Sure to engage and fascinate as it informs.” —Robert Glennon, Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of Arizona, and author of Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters Part investigative journalism, part environmental history, Mirage reveals how the eastern half of the nation—historically so wet that early settlers predicted it would never even need irrigation—has squandered so much of its abundant freshwater that it now faces shortages and conflicts once unique to the arid West. Florida’s parched swamps and supersized residential developments set the stage in the first book to call attention to the steady disappearance of freshwater in the American East, from water-diversion threats in the Great Lakes to tapped-out freshwater aquifers along the Atlantic seaboard. Told through a colorful cast of characters including Walt Disney, Jeb Bush and Texas oilman Boone Pickens, Mirage ferries the reader through the key water-supply issues facing America and the globe: water wars, the politics of development, inequities in the price of water, the bottled-water industry, privatization, and new-water-supply schemes. From its calamitous opening scene of a sinkhole swallowing a house in Florida to its concluding meditation on the relationship between water and the American character, Mirage is a compelling and timely portrait of the use and abuse of freshwater in an era of rapidly vanishing natural resources.

“A refreshing and unique coming-of-age story...a beautiful and necessary meditation on finding strength in one’s culture.” —Entertainment Weekly, Top Pick of the Month “A YA marvel that will shock breath into your lungs. If you loved The Wrath and the Dawn and Children of Blood and Bone, Mirage will captivate you.” —The Christian Science Monitor “This debut fantasy has what it takes to be the next big thing in sci-fi/fantasy.” —SLJ, starred review “Immersive, captivating.” —ALA Booklist, starred review In a world dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated home. But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place. As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.