A detective known for bold courage on the job deals with mental and physical abuse by his trophy wife. A woman strives to overcome the PTSD she brought from battlefields in Iraq so she can become a loving partner. In the title story, a socially dysfunctional man “girlfriends” women he “meets” in obituaries. From liaisons that are real, to those that are imaginary or somewhere between, Christopher T. Werkman skillfully creates characters beginning, ending, or finding a way through some type of romantic relationship. Girlfriending, Werkman’s collection of short stories, will fascinate, amuse, and astonish. Many of the stories are published in literary magazines and anthologies, but most appear only in this collection. His novel, Difficult Lies, was published in 2015.

Can they beat the odds? Night after night, mild-mannered accountant Harry Ambrewster sits in the back of the room, admiring Vegas showgirl Lainie Terrell from afar. She’s got it all—looks, brains, a kind heart, and Dexter, one of the smartest four-year olds he’s ever met. Sure, Harry would love to be the one who makes her swoon, but she’s never shown any interest in dealing him in. When Lainie’s crazy ex shows up at her apartment in a rage, demanding to see his son, she turns to her trustworthy neighbor Harry for help. He offers his mother’s security-enhanced home as a safe haven for Dexter while he and Lainie slip out of town, posing as newlyweds checking out a Sedona timeshare. But fate calls their bluff when their platonic relationship morphs into red-hot passion. With her ex hot on their trail, they’ll have to play their cards close to the vest. Because losing isn’t an option... From the NYT bestselling author who brought you charming werewolves and sexy cowboys. If you like laugh-out-loud romantic adventures where the courageous and ingenious nerd gets the girl, you'll love the Nerd Series. THE NERD SERIES The books in this series are standalone romances and can be read in any order. Nerd in Shining Armor (Jack & Genevieve) The Nerd Who Loved Me (Harry & Lainie) Nerd Gone Wild (Mitch & Ally) Gone with the Nerd (Flynn & Zoe) Talk Nerdy to Me (Charlie & Eve) Nerds Like It Hot (Lex & Gillian) My Nerdy Valentine (Will & Amanda)

As Kara divides her time between Papa's house and Mama's house, she is comforted by the presence of her toy Rabbit.

Since slavery, African and African American humor has baffled, intrigued, angered, and entertained the masses. Rolling centers Blackness in comedy, especially on television, and observing that it is often relegated to biopics, slave narratives, and the comedic. But like W. E. B. DuBois's ideas about double consciousness and Racquel Gates's extension of his theories, we know that Blackness resonates for Black viewers in ways often entirely different than for white viewers. Contributors to this volume cover a range of cases representing African American humor across film, television, digital media, and stand-up as Black comic personas try to work within, outside, and around culture, tilling for content. Essays engage with the complex industrial interplay of Blackness, white audiences, and comedy; satire and humor on media platforms; and the production of Blackness within comedy through personal stories and interviews of Black production crew and writers for television comedy. Rolling illuminates the inner workings of Blackness and comedy in media discourse.

Born in 1858 to a wealthy family Ellen Willmott owned three gardens, in England, France and Italy, and employed one hundred and four gardeners. She mixed with royalty and her name was associated with the greatest gardeners of her time, Gertrude Jekyll, William Robinson and E. A. Bowles. In 1894 she joined the Royal Horticultural Society and in 1897 she was one of the first sixty recipients (and one of only two women) to receive the Victoria medal of honour. Warley Garden in Spring and Summer, a book of photographs, was published in 1909 and in 1912 she published The Genus Rosa. In the same year she was awarded the grande médaille Geoffroi St Hilaire from the Société d'Acclimatation de France and in 1924 received the Dean Hole medal from the National Rose Society. An acknowledged and admired expert in her field Ellen Willmott died in 1934 aged 76, alone and nearly bankrupt. First published in 1980 this carefully researched biography is a fascinating account of a woman who was infamous in her time and whose mark can still be seen on the horticultural world today. Miss Willmott of Warley Place is republished to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Ellen Willmott's birth.