When a down-on-her-luck divorcée meets a determined-to-dominate detective, they find out that falling in love can be murder. . . . Nell Dysart's in trouble. Weighed down by an inexplicable divorce and a loss of appetite for everything, Nell is sleepwalking through life until her best friend finagles a job for her with a shabby little detective agency that has lots of potential and a boss who looks easy to manage. Gabe McKenna isn't doing too well, either. His detective agency is wasting time on a blackmail case, his partner has decided he hates watching cheating spouses for money, and his ex-wife has just dumped him . . . again. The only thing that's going his way is that his new secretary looks efficient, boring, and biddable. But looks can be deceiving, and soon Nell and Gabe are squaring off over embezzlement, business cards, vandalism, dognapping, blackmail, Chinese food, unprofessional sex, and really ugly office furniture, all of which turn out to be the least of their problems. Because soon, there are murders. And shortly after that, Nell and Gabe start falling in love. . . .

At her wit’s end with her twelve-year-old niece, Wren Snow takes the manager’s job at Blue Spruce Lodge so Sky can get to know her father, Trigg Johanssen—a tycoon snowboarder with a playboy reputation. Gold-medalist Trigg Johanssen is furious she kept Sky a secret, but quits competition to focus on his newly discovered daughter only to have his chemistry with Wren complicate their attempts to co-parent. When outside forces threaten the ski resort he’s rebuilding, a marriage of convenience seems like the answer. It would give his daughter the life she deserves, but is it too much for a heartbroken woman still nursing past hurts?

Two people discover the healing power of love in this Coulter Family romance from New York Times bestselling author Catherine Anderson. Carly Adams feels as if she’s been given a new lease on life. Born with a rare eye disease, she was blind until a recent operation restored her sight. Now, she’s eager to experience everything the world has to offer—including the sweet talk of a handsome cowboy who rouses her desire… Hank Coulter has no plans to settle down, until he discovers that Carly Adams is carrying his child—a pregnancy that threatens her eyesight. Obsessed with making things right, he bullies the blue-eyed beauty into marrying him. With her radiant smile and remarkable goodness, Carly is exactly the kind of wife he’d always imagined by his side. But if Hank wants their practical arrangement to become permanent, he’s going to have to convince Carly that one moment of risk can bring about a lifetime of joy…

Why do some jokes evaporate after the telling while others are transmitted to subsequent generations? Just what property of humor allows it to touch diverse members of a culture at a given time? As a penetrating and refracting angle of history, humor illuminates the expectations and contradictions of society, its anxieties and confusions, and permits perspective into any historic moment. The Humor Prism in Twentieth-Century America explores to what extent and in what ways American humor in the twentieth century reflects history, examining the dynamics and disguised messages behind humor. The first section of this volume concentrates on patterns of humor in the twentieth century. Section two looks at the power and politics of women's humor, and at multicultural humor. The final section presents and evaluates the major joke cycles from the post-World War II period to the 1990s as responses to profound social and economic change, such as Polish jokes and JAP jokes.

Jane Alexander had never been involved in mainstream politics and was happily engaged in her acting career when she was asked to consider becoming head of the embattled National Endowment for the Arts in the early 1990s. When, during her first visit to the Hill, Senator Strom Thurmond barked at her, "You gonna fund pornography?" she knew it would be a rough ride. Nothing had quite prepared her for the role of madame chairman. Her tenure coincided with the ascent of the infamous 104th Congress, presided over by Speaker Newt Gingrich, and its campaign to eliminate the Endowment completely. In Command Performance, Alexander brings a Washington outsider's perspective and an actor's eye for the telling human detail to an anecdote-filled story of the art of politics and the politics of art. And at the start of a new administration in Washington, she reminds us why we need art and why government should be in the business of supporting it.

Luck has nothing to do with it! Of course you want to be Irish. Look what it did for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sinead, Maeve Binchy, Roddy Doyle, JFK, Seamus Heaney, Angela's Ashes, and all those Riverdancers. But until now, the secrets of how to be Irish have been hidden in a Celtic Twilight of blather and blarney. Now this easy-to-read (with plenty o' pictures) handbook dares to tell you: How to have an Irish name How to talk, look, and act Irish How to vote Irish How to have thin skin, a terrible temper, and the gift of gab Whether you're proudly Irish, anti-Irish, fallen-away Irish, or would-be Irish--that is to say, if you're a living, breathing human being--How to Be Irish is for you. Learn (to your surprise) who's really Irish and who's only passing! Discover (to your astonishment) your own underground Irish roots! And brace yourself, Bridget, for the shocking (if brief) history of Irish-American sex! From the Trade Paperback edition.

You could say my sisters and I are hot-blooded bluebloods with a flair for fashion—and for solving crimes. But things have NOT been going well for us Blackbirds: Emma has busted out of a very exclusive clinic. Libby’s hormones are in overdrive from selling paraphernalia for Potions and Passions, a company that promises its customers full satisfaction. And I’m still dating mobster’s son Mick Abruzzo, which keeps me in a permanent tizzy. At least, nobody in my vicinity has been knocked off lately. Oops—looks like I spoke too soon… A TEMPEST IN A C-CUP Nora’s next journalistic assignment: the unveiling of the most miraculous bra in fashion history. But before Nora can hand in her uplifting story, her boss is found shot execution-style and trussed up in expensive panty hose—an Abruzzo family trademark. Now Nora must find the killer before her innocent lover takes the rap. That means shadowing the most glamorous suspects in Philadelphia—including a bad-boy designer, a former child star, a high-strung ad exec, and a pair of luscious twin models. Though Nora’s accustomed to upper-crust murder, cross your fingers for the Blackbird sisters, because this time, high society has never seemed so low-down dirty.

When all else fails, you just have to leave it to Fate . . . Just as twenty-nine-year-old Ella loses her dream job after an unfortunate incident (it was just a bit of hot sauce, for goodness' sake - he totally overreacted!), her phone rings. Her aunt Gillian, who lives in a tiny mountain village, has had a fall and needs her help. Ella gives in to Fate and agrees to go, looking forward to a few quiet weeks to work out what to do with her car crash of a life But as soon as she gets there, she realises it's not going to be the idyllic break she had hoped for. With Gillian struggling after the recent loss of her partner, Mike, Ella promises herself that she will show Gillian that life is still worth living - and will certainly not be distracted from her new purpose by Joe, Mike's disconcertingly handsome nephew . . . Has Fate brought Ella and Gillian together at just the right time for them both? And do her plans extend to Ella's love life, as well? This funny, romantic and uplifting novel is perfect for fans of Jo Watson, Laura Jane Williams and Sophie Kinsella. Readers love Beth Corby! 'A great read for fans of Sophie Kinsella. I was drawn in instantly - 5 STARS' 'Enchanting . . . made me smile, laugh, wonder and want to experience more of life for myself - 5 STARS' 'This is a perfect read to take to the beach - 5 STARS' 'A hugely enjoyable, fresh, original read - 5 STARS' 'Fun, light-hearted and enjoyable . . . Love, love, love! - 5 STARS' 'I absolutely love this book - 5 STARS'

An “extremely intelligent, witty, nerdy, and oh-my-god over-the-top sexy” debut novel—first in a New Adult romance series (Fresh Fiction). Data, research, scientific formulae—Annabelle Coffey is completely at ease with all of them. Men, not so much. But that’s all going to change after she asks Dr. Charles Douglas, the postdoctoral fellow in her lab, to have sex with her. Charles is not only beautiful, he is also adorably awkward, British, brilliant, and nice. What are the odds he’d turn her down? Very high, as it happens. Something to do with that whole student/teacher/ethics thing. But in a few weeks, Annie will graduate. As soon as she does, the unlikely friendship that’s developing between them can turn physical—just until Annie leaves for graduate school. Yet nothing could have prepared either Annie or Charles for chemistry like this, or for what happens when a simple exercise in mutual pleasure turns into something as exhilarating and infernally complicated as love. “The smart characters and Annie’s earnestness as a heroine are so refreshing.” —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

This widely adopted text and clinical reference provides a comprehensive guide to assessment and treatment of all of the major female and male sexual dysfunctions. Leading authorities demonstrate effective ways to integrate psychological, interpersonal, and medical interventions. Every chapter includes detailed clinical examples illustrating the process of therapy and the factors that influence treatment outcomes. Winner-- Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) Health Professional Book Award