Three generations of women in one family are the characters in this intimate historical study of what it meant to be a widow in sixteenth-century Mexico City. Shirley Cushing Flint has used archival research to tell the stories of five women in the Estrada family—a mother, three daughters, and a granddaughter—from the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520 until the 1580s. Each was once married and when widowed chose not to remarry. Their stories illustrate the constraints placed upon them both as women and as widows by the religious, secular, and legal cultures of the time and how each refused to be bound by those constraints. Money, influence, knowledge, and connections all come into play as the widows maneuver to hold onto property. Each of their stories illustrates an aspect of Spanish life in the New World that has heretofore been largely overlooked.

"Shirley Flint explores the stories of three widows in Mexico City, giving us a glimpse at the structure of everyday life in colonial Mexico, especially the ways that women conducted business, practiced religion, and manipulated politics. Each of these widows' stories illustrates an often overlooked aspect of Spanish life in the New World"--Provided by publisher.

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume, who is able to re-create herself in any form, is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge pot.

Orphaned, two sisters are left to find their own way. Sweet and proper, Karah's future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life. . . if she agrees to play their game. Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage's offer of an apprenticeship. Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage? With the arrival of a foreign bard into the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom.

In the kingdom of Axaria, a darkness rises. Some call it a monster, laying waste to the villagers and their homes.Some say it is an invulnerable demon summoned from the deepest abysses of the Immortal Realm.Many soldiers from the royal guard are sent out to hunt it down.Not one has ever returned. When Asterin Faelenhart, Princess of Axaria and heir to the throne, discovers that she may hold the key to defeating the mysterious demon terrorizing her kingdom, she vows not to rest until the beast is slain. With the help of her friends and the powers she wields—though has yet to fully understand—Asterin sets out to complete a single task. The task that countless trained soldiers have failed. To kill it. But as they hunt for the demon, they unearth a plot to assassinate the princess herself instead. Asterin and her companions begin to wonder how much of their lives have been lies, especially when they realize that the center of the web of deceit might very well be themselves. With no one else to turn to, they are forced to decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect the only world they have ever known. That is ... if the demon doesn’t get to them first. From young author Coco Ma comes a dazzling new tale of adventure, power, and betrayal, weaving together a stunning world of magic with a killer cast in an explosive, unforgettable debut.

Shadows loom as Elminster’s archnemeses plot a desperate last grasp for power over Faerûn The Time of Troubles has almost passed. At last, the chaos of spilled blood, lawless strife, monsters unleashed, and avatars roaming Faerûn is reaching an end. However, this is not the case for Those Who Walk in Shadow. The dreaded and insidious Shadowmasters realize that they have one last chance to seize control while chaos still wreaks havoc across the Realms. In doing so, they seal the fate of not just their archenemy Elminster, but all of Mystra's minions as well. Darkness threatens to envelop all Faerûn.

Ground Pork is the first collection of poetry to be released by Thomas Porky McDonald. Containing the first five poem books written by McDonald, whose work is often defined by his depictions of the world of baseball, Ground Pork gives an insight into the poet's earliest verses. Conceived from 1989 through early 1994, the innocence of his first two works, Second...to Verse...Baseball Poems, and some other stuff and Eternal Postcards, does leave the reader with an anticipation of the more centered and powerful verses to come. Signature pieces "The Park That Isn't There " and "Queensbridge", (from Second to Verse) and "Once" and "Skipper's Song", (from Eternal Postcards) display a depth that only grows in books three through five. Some Came Lost, which was written just before a time of great turmoil for McDonald, reflects back to the 20s of a man crossing into his 30s, and emotionally bridges the initial offerings with books four and five. "Just a Walk on Flatbush Avenue" and "Someday Demolition Men" in particular, release a part of the soul of this self-styled "Ramble Poet". Fugitive in your Face (poetry in Exile) and Out Here in...Crazyland the fourth and fifth books in this collection, were driven out from March through September of 1994, while the writer faced suspension and expulsion from work. This time also included an arrest, with charges later dropped, stemming from a classic case of bureaucracy gone amok, and a positive drug screening following re-instatement into the workplace. Hence, the pieces "Lonesome Majesty" and "After Crash Landing" in Fugitive In Your Face, and "Crazyland" and "Loons" in Out Here in... Crazyland. In addition, the uncertainty of the time produced moments of memorable verse, such as "Tall Girls Blessed With Greasepaint" (Fugitive), "Rest Alive" and "Where the Angels Bow to the Grass" (Crazyland). Ground Pork leaves off in late 1994, from which the most prolific time of the poet's life would soon commence. As such, it is a lasting insight into the very soul of a man whose goal appears to be bringing back the art of baseball poetry.

First published in 1987. This book began in Bali during 1970–72, during the author’s Ph.D. research on the shadow theatre for the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. However, two subsequent trips to Bali in 1980 and 1984, when I studied other forms of dance-drama and ritual, greatly contributed to the work. The shadow theatre in Bali is described and its place in the society and culture explored. It is so called, as during the night performance puppets cast vibrant shadows against a white cotton screen which is illuminated by a flickering coconut-oil lamp.