Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a "writer's eye" to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career.

The follow-up to her critically acclaimed Lie to Me, J.T. Ellison’s Tear Me Apart is the powerful story of a mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter even as their carefully constructed world unravels around them. One moment will change their lives forever… Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter. Who knows the answers? The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets. With vivid movement through time, Tear Me Apart examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within. Don’t miss It's One of Us, the next page-turning thriller from New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison!

A reference and overview of the genre of crime fiction, primarily covering the 1950s onwards, although major earlier writers, such as Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, also have entries.

1920. The Great War has been over for two years, and it has left a very different world from the Edwardian certainties of 1914. Following the death of his wife and baby and his experiences on the Western Front, Laurence Bartram has become something of a recluse. Yet death and the aftermath of the conflict continue to cast a pall over peacetime England, and when a young woman he once knew persuades him to look into events that apparently led her brother, John Emmett, to kill himself, Laurence is forced to revisit the darkest parts of the war. As Laurence unravels the connections between Captain Emmett's suicide, a group of war poets, a bitter regimental feud and a hidden love affair, more disquieting deaths are exposed. Even at the moment Laurence begins to live again, it dawns on him that nothing is as it seems, and that even those closest to him have their secrets . . .

In this full-color guide, freelance writer and reporter Tim Hull offers up the best of Arizona, whether you're rafting down the Colorado River or exploring the art galleries of Sedona. Hull includes creative trip strategies for all interests, such as A Grand Road Trip. As an Arizona native, he guides travelers to the Grand Canyon State's best-kept secrets, including "sky islands," small woodlands found on mountain ranges in the Sonoran desert. From exploring Red Rock Country to visiting the Navajo Nation to watching the sun set over the Grand Canyon, "Moon Arizona & the Grand Canyon" gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.

“One of the most addictive new series heroines since Stephanie Plum.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta private investigator and ex–FBI profiler Keye Street wants nothing more than time alone with her boyfriend, Aaron—but, as usual, murder gets in the way. A.P.D. Lieutenant Aaron Rauser is called to the disturbing scene of the strangling death of a thirteen-year-old boy. Meanwhile, Keye, a recovering alcoholic, must deal with her emotionally fragile cousin, who has her own history of drug abuse and is now convinced that she is being stalked. But all hell breaks loose when another murder—the apparent hanging of an elderly man—hits disturbingly close to home for Keye. Though the two victims have almost nothing in common, there are bizarre similarities between this case and that of Aaron’s strangled teen. With the threat of more deaths to come, Keye works on pure instinct alone—and soon realizes that a killer is circling ever closer to the people she loves the most. Praise for Amanda Kyle Williams and Stranger in the Room “Keye Street remains the most interesting, cynically funny and smart series detective today. . . . The tension buzzes like cicadas on a hot Georgia night and the pace is relentless.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer “The best fictional female P.I. since Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone.”—The Plain Dealer “Keye Street immediately puts herself in the top echelon of suspense heroes. She’s a mess of fascinating contradictions—effortlessly brilliant on a case, totally inept in managing her own life. She is brutally funny and powerfully human—one of the most realistic protagonists in crime fiction that I’ve had the thrill to read.”—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Last to Die “There’s a new voice in Atlanta, and her name is Amanda Kyle Williams—captivating, powerful and compelling.”—Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of One Was a Soldier “Readers of this fast-paced thriller will be eager for the next Street tale.”—Publishers Weekly

Follows the adventures of detective Dave Robicheaux, who struggles with alcoholism and rage while fighting to protect lives in Katrina-devastated New Orleans.

"An inventive paranormal gambit, a compelling lead character, and a plot that twists and turns through to the last page." -Claudia Gray, New York Times best-selling author of the Evernight series "Intelligent, sharp-edged and action packed." -Alan Lawrence Sitomer, author of The Hoopster and Caged Warrior John "Smoke" Conlan is serving time for two murders-but he wasn't the one who murdered his English teacher, and he never intended to kill the only other witness to the crime. A dangerous juvenile rehabilitation center in Denver, Colorado, known as the Y, is Smoke's new home and the only one he believes he deserves. But, unlike his fellow inmates, Smoke is not in constant imprisonment. After a near death experience leaves him with the ability to shed his physical body at will, Smoke is able to travel freely outside the concrete walls of the Y, gathering information for himself and his fellow inmates while they're asleep in their beds. Convinced his future is only as bright as the fluorescent lights in his cell, Smoke doesn't care that the "threads" that bind his soul to his body are wearing thin-that one day he may not make it back in time. That is, until he meets Pink, a tough, resourceful girl who is sees him for who he truly is and wants to help him clear his name. Now Smoke is on a journey to redemption he never thought possible. With Pink's help, Smoke may be able to reveal the true killer, but the closer they get to the truth, the more deadly their search becomes. The web of lies, deceit, and corruption that put Smoke behind bars is more tangled than they could have ever imagined. With both of their lives on the line, Smoke will have to decide how much he's willing to risk, and if he can envision a future worth fighting for.

The renowned novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, with the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times), Philip Marlowe • Featuring the iconic character that inspired the film Marlowe, starring Liam Neeson. Philip Marlowe's about to give up on a completely routine case when he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time to get caught up in a murder that leads to a ring of jewel thieves, another murder, a fortune-teller, a couple more murders, and more corruption than your average graveyard.

Bones meets Fringe in a big, dark, scary, brilliantly-plotted urban thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school--a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her. Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon--she'll be next.