An award-winning magical romantic comedy in which a bookstore owner must choose between fantasy and reality after realizing the men she's dating are characters she'd created years before... "Locke breaks down tropes--the popular jock and the thoughtful poet--and puts cracks in their shining armor with humor and insight...Blending romance with whimsical fantasy, Locke's story offers up a look at the expectations of youthful fancy vs. the realities of an adult love." - Library Journal _________________________________________________________________________ What would you do if you discovered the men you were dating were fictional characters you'd created long ago? Thirty-five-year-old Catherine Schreiber has shelved love for good. Keeping her ailing bookstore afloat takes all her time, and she's perfectly fine with that. So when several men ask her out in short order, she's not sure what to do ... especially since something about them seems eerily familiar. A startling revelation -- that these men are fictional characters she'd created and forgotten years ago -- forces Cat to reevaluate her world and the people in it. Because these characters are alive. Here. Now. And most definitely in the flesh. Her best friend, Eliza, a romance novel junkie craving her own Happily Ever After, is thrilled by the possibilities. The power to create Mr. Perfect -- who could pass that up? But can a relationship be real if it's fiction? Caught between fantasy and reality, Cat must decide which -- or whom -- she wants more. Blending humor with unusual twists, including a magical manuscript, a computer scientist in shining armor, and even a Regency ball, A Man of Character is a whimsical-yet-thought-provoking romantic comedy that tells a story not only of love, but also of the lengths we'll go for friendship, self-discovery, and second chances. ________________________________________________________________________ 2016 HOLT Medallion Certificate of Merit winner for Best First Book 2015 Lyra Winner for Best General Fiction Genre: Light paranormal chick lit / romantic comedy Magic of Love Book 1: 327 pages

The former pastor and Arkansas governor discusses his career and the political scandals he witnessed, and explains how faith can help people to stay on the right path and handle any challenge.

After injuring his hand, a silvermith's apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days before the American Revolution.

Captivate the hearts and minds of young adult readers! Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to: • Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. • Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. • Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. • Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords. Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career. If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.

Throughout its 126-year history, Kentucky Military Institute educated more than eleven thousand young men and boys. It was never the intention of the founder of the school, Colonel Robert P. T. Allen, or his successors to train soldiers. Although the daily life was patterned after the life of West Point cadets, the military discipline was intended to teach the young men the value of order and discipline in the conduct of their lives. The goal of educating young men to live useful and productive lives would remain the primary goal of the school, even when it ceased to be a college and became a preparatory school in the twentieth century. Although Character Makes the Man did not become the school motto until the early twentieth century, it would have been applicable throughout the school's history.

In a novel set in an indefinite, futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, a father and his young son make their way through the ruins of a devastated American landscape, struggling to survive and preserve the last remnants of their own humanity

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • David Brooks challenges us to rebalance the scales between the focus on external success—“résumé virtues”—and our core principles. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Looking to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character. Labor activist Frances Perkins understood the need to suppress parts of herself so that she could be an instrument in a larger cause. Dwight Eisenhower organized his life not around impulsive self-expression but considered self-restraint. Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic convert and champion of the poor, learned as a young woman the vocabulary of simplicity and surrender. Civil rights pioneers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin learned reticence and the logic of self-discipline, the need to distrust oneself even while waging a noble crusade. Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, The Road to Character provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth. “Joy,” David Brooks writes, “is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes.” Praise for The Road to Character “A hyper-readable, lucid, often richly detailed human story.”—The New York Times Book Review “This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance.”—Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon “A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin.”—The Guardian “Original and eye-opening . . . Brooks is a normative version of Malcolm Gladwell, culling from a wide array of scientists and thinkers to weave an idea bigger than the sum of its parts.”—USA Today

We like to think of ourselves and our friends and families as pretty good people. The more we put our characters to the test, however, the more we see that we are decidedly a mixed bag. Fortunately there are some promising strategies - both secular and religious - for developing better characters.

When the character in the book gets an invitation to visit his Auntie in her book, he's all set to go. But when he tries to get out of his book, he runs into some trouble. He can't get out at the top of the page, and he can't get out at the bottom. So he tries going forward -- and going forward works! By foot, on wheels, unfazed by the occasional mountain or river in his way, the plucky Character finally zips right out of his own book...and right into his auntie's.When the Character in the Book gets an invitation to visit his dear Auntie, he’s all set to go. But when he tries to get out of his book, he runs into some trouble. He can’t get out at the top of the page, and he can’t get out at the bottom. So he tries going forward, and going forward works just fine. By foot, on wheels, unfazed by the occasional mountain or river in his way, the plucky Character zips out of his own book—and right into his Auntie’s! When the Character in the Book gets an invitation to visit his dear Auntie, he’s all set to go. But when he tries to get out of his book, he runs into some trouble. He can’t get out at the top of the page, and he can’t get out at the bottom. So he tries going forward, and going forward works just fine. By foot, on wheels, unfazed by the occasional mountain or river in his way, the plucky Character zips out of his own book—and right into his Auntie’s!