The second novelette to the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series. So much for a romantic getaway...When cash-strapped mom and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack is offered an all-expense paid three-day trip to Barcelona, her only worries are whether her passport is still valid and arranging care for her semi-invalid mother-in-law during her absence. However, within hours of landing in Europe, she finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun and needing to convince a Spanish crime syndicate they’ve got the wrong person. Why do people on both sides of the Atlantic keep trying to kill this pear-shaped, middle-aged single mom, and magazine crafts editor?

Well illustrated with nearly 300 line drawings, maps and photographs, Ancient Cities surveys the cities of the ancient Near East, Egypt, and the Greek and Roman worlds from an archaeological perspective, and in their cultural and historical contexts. Covering a huge area geographically and chronologically, it brings to life the physical world of ancient city dwellers by concentrating on evidence recovered by archaeological excavations from the Mediterranean basin and south-west Asia Examining both pre-Classical and Classical periods, this is an excellent introductory textbook for students of classical studies and archaeology alike.

The third novelette to the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series. After rescuing her elderly neighbor Rosalie’s quilts from a rainstorm, craft editor Anastasia Pollack discovers Rosalie unconscious at the bottom of her basement stairs. Rosalie’s estranged niece Jane flies east to care for her during her recovery, but Rosalie suspects her motives are less than altruistic and even accuses Jane of trying to kill her. Is Rosalie’s paranoia a result of her head injury, or is there something more to her accusations? And can Anastasia uncover the truth before it’s too late?

Hope Morgan was always the good girl, doing what her conservative parents expected: she gave up her dream of going to college, became a secretary right out of high school, and married the boy next door. When Hope is suddenly widowed, she finds the courage to pursue her own dreams. Twelve years later, after working full-time and going to school at night, she obtains her degree and is offered a position at a prestigious architectural firm. That’s when her long-exiled libido decides to resurface, and Hope finds herself falling head-over-heels for Ben Schaffer, her married boss. What Hope doesn’t realize is that Ben’s marriage is less than ideal. Within days of Hope starting her new job, Ben’s wife walks out on him and their three-year-old triplets–the same day the nanny lands in the hospital. When Ben can’t find a last-minute replacement, Hope agrees to step in as a temporary nanny–not the best decision she’s ever made, given her raging hormones. Ben is fighting a battle with his own hormones, but an office romance is the last thing he needs or wants. However, he and Hope are no match for three very determined three-year-olds on a mission to find a happy ending. Finalist Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award (as Liberating Hope) Key words: award-winning, secret baby, comedy, workplace, love triangle, wealthy, second chance, triplets

As soon as there was sin, there was a Savior. From times eternal, God knew that Satan would introduce sin into planet earth, infecting its inhabitants. Out of His great love for the human family, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit united in carrying out the great plan of redemption and in fulfilling the everlasting covenant of grace. In Mark’s hard-hitting Gospel, the Son of God suddenly appears, rising out of the Jordan River, hair wet, anointed by the heavenly dove and surrounded by the thunder-like echo of His Father’s approval. From this point on, all of Jesus’ recorded words and actions move steadily and unflinchingly toward Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, where He suffered and died for the redemption of humankind. Popular beliefs about the covenant have fragmented God’s interactions with the human race, insisting that God’s plan of redemption for the Jews on Sinai had little or nothing to do with His plan of redemption for new covenant believers. Taking his cue from Paul’s aligning of God’s new covenant promise with His covenant with Abraham and from Peter’s New Testament repetition of God’s promise of His people being “a holy nation,” Dr. Hubert F. Sturges argues convincingly and biblically that there is more continuity than discontinuity in God’s covenants with the human race. Tracing God’s saving actions through Scripture and history, Dr. Sturges reveals the strategic steps that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit took in fulfilling their continuing commitment to the human family. With bite-sized chapters, divided into three sections, More Than a Promise: The Everlasting Covenant as Presented Throughout Historywill cause you to reflect on God’s great love and mercy for the human race.

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Two years ago Nori Stedworth fled the conservative mentality of both her parents and Ten Commandments, Iowa for Manhattan. She loves her new life—until one devastating afternoon that culminates with the arrival of her mother—complete with luggage, craft supplies, and a crisis of her own. Mom is suffering from middle-age meltdown. Her only identity is as a wife and mother, but her husband is a workaholic, and her daughter is halfway across the country. Grandchildren would give her life new purpose. Nori copes by resurrecting Gertie, her childhood imaginary friend, whose acerbic wit pushes Nori out of her comfort zone and into the arms of a way too good-looking radio station manager—much to mom’s dismay. She has other plans for her daughter. But when mom’s quirky crafts land her on TV, life for both Stedworth women takes an unexpected turn, and they learn it’s never too late to listen to your inner voice.

The adventures of reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack continue in A Stitch to Die For, the 5th book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Lois Winston. Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

16C Europe was a time of constant religious wars; the North embroiled in bitter conflict between Protestant and Catholic and the South threatened with the growing Ottoman power and the spread of Islam. England was Protestant and Queen Elizabeth is determined to keep Catholic influence from her shores. France struggles with her own religious war and the Spanish-owned Netherlands suffer under the hand of their overlords. Trade, the wealth of all nations, has been disrupted. Sea ports are closed while pirates haunt the seas and overland routes are plagued by outlaws. New ways must be found for English wool to reach the markets of the Mediterranean and beyond. Two characters enter this scene of turmoil: Emlyn Tomas, a young, Catholic student who is returning to Wales to decide on his future, and Tomasso Vincentini, a wealthy merchant travelling to Venice for the sole purpose of revenge. Emlyn becomes entangled in plots for Catholic rebellion and schemes of the English court. Tomasso begins to systematically break down the wealth and reputation of his old enemy Carlos Grimani. The future of Carmelia, an innocent convent girl will eventually bring these two extraordinary characters together.