To survive in the City of Sin, an innocent girl must choose her new identity in this dark YA fantasy—the sequel to Ace of Shades. Indulge your vices in the City of Sin, where a sinister street war is brewing and fame is the deadliest killer of them all. Prim and proper Enne Salta never expected to team up with an infamous con man like Levi Glaiyser. But winning the Shadow Game was not the victory they imagined. Now the duo are wanted for murder and Enne is forced to live in disguise as Séance, a mysterious figure of the underworld. Desperate to build his empire, Levi makes a deal with the estranged son of Mafia donna Vianca Augustine, while Enna remains trapped by Vianca’s binding oath, unsure whether to embrace the role of refined lady or cunning street lord. As they walk a path of unimaginable wealth, a dangerous game of crime and politics swirls around them. And when unforeseen players enter, they must each make an impossible choice: sacrifice everything . . . Or die as legends.

Gathers traditional French-American stories featuring other worlds, brash heroes, scoundrels, princesses, and tall tales

A remarkable insider tale of the intrigue, ruthlessness, and majesty of the Tudor court.

Throughout history, how society treated its disabled and infirm can tell us a great deal about the period. Challenged with any impairment, disease or frailty was often a matter of life and death before the advent of modern medicine, so how did a society support the disabled amongst them? For centuries, disabled people and their history have been overlooked - hidden in plain sight. Very little on the infirm and mentally ill was written down during the renaissance period. The Tudor period is no exception and presents a complex, unparalleled story. The sixteenth century was far from exemplary in the treatment of its infirm, but a multifaceted and ambiguous story emerges, where society’s ‘natural fools’ were elevated as much as they were belittled. Meet characters like William Somer, Henry VIII’s fool at court, whom the king depended upon, and learn of how the dissolution of the monasteries contributed to forming an army of ‘sturdy beggars’ who roamed Tudor England without charitable support. From the nobility to the lowest of society, Phillipa Vincent-Connolly casts a light on the lives of disabled people in Tudor England and guides us through the social, religious, cultural, and ruling classes’ response to disability as it was then perceived.

A teenage girl goes searching for her mother in the City of Sin in this YA fantasy from the New York Times–bestselling coauthor of All of Us Villains. Welcome to New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets . . . and secrets hide in every shadow. It’s no place for a properly raised young lady. But when her mother goes missing, Enne Salta leaves her finishing school—and her reputation—behind. Following her mother’s trail, she finds herself in the city where no one survives uncorrupted. Frightened and alone, Enne’s only clue leads her to Levi Glaiyser—a street lord and con man in desperate need of the compensation Enne offers. Their search sends this unlikely duo through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets, and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. But as Levi’s enemies close in on them, a deadly secret from Enne’s past comes to light and she must surrender herself to the City of Sin —to a vicious game of execution . . . Where the players never win.

Examines the role of fools or jesters in medieval and Renaissance society and describes such individuals as Will Sommers of sixteenth-century England and Querno of sixteenth-century Italy.

In this lively work, Beatrice K. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history—the court jester. Though not always clad in cap and bells, these witty, quirky characters crop up everywhere, from the courts of ancient China and the Mogul emperors of India to those of medieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. With a wealth of anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations (including flip art), Otto brings to light little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on people with power and position and placing otherwise remote historical figures in a more idiosyncratic, intimate light. Most of the work on the court jester has concentrated on Europe; Otto draws on previously untranslated classical Chinese writings and other sources to correct this bias and also looks at jesters in literature, mythology, and drama. Written with wit and humor, Fools Are Everywhere is the most comprehensive look at these roguish characters who risked their necks not only to mock and entertain but also to fulfill a deep and widespread human and social need.

International bestselling author Mark Lawrence continues the bold new world of dark fantasy he created in the Broken Empire trilogy with the first book of the Red Queen's War... For all her reign the Red Queen has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all. The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Content with his role as a minor royal, Jal pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war with the undead is coming, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks that nothing that will affect him. He's wrong... After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game—and the Red Queen controls the board.

Deemed One of the Top 10 indie Fantasy releases of 2010 by Fantasy Book Critic, and listed in the first ever Publishers Weekly Indie Select issue, the original 235k word epic title was written in longhand in a Texas prison cell by M. R. Mathias. The Sword and the Dragon (Revised) is a Fully polished version that includes two Wardstone Short Stories. One is a piece of flash fiction called "The Blood of Coldfrost." The other is a Short Story called "Roar." These tales can only be found in print, in this volume. "The Sword and the Dragon" When the Royal Wizard of Westland poisons the king so that his puppet prince can take the throne and start a continental war, a young squire is forced to run for his life carrying the powerful sword that his dying monarch burdened him with from the death bed. Two brothers find a magic ring and start on paths to becoming the most powerful sort of enemies, while an evil young sorceress unwillingly falls in love with one of them when he agrees to help her steal a dragon's egg for her father. Her father just happens to be the Royal Wizard, and despite his daughter's feelings, he would love nothing more than to sacrifice the boy! All of these characters, along with the Wolf King of Wildermont, the Lion Lord of Westland, and a magical hawk named Talon, are on a collision course toward Willa the Witch Queen's palace in the distant kingdom of Highwander. There the very bedrock is formed of the powerful magical substance called Wardstone. Who are the heroes? And will they get there before the Royal Wizard and his evil hordes do? Whatever happens, the journey will be spectacular, and the confrontation will be cataclysmic. Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools - The Wardstone Trilogy Book II is now available The Wizard & the Warlord - The Wardstone Trilogy Book III releases in July 2012 Don't miss the International Bestselling 'Saga of the Dragoneers' The First Dragoneer - Free The Royal Dragoneers - Now Available Cold Hearted Son of a Witch - Now Available The Confliction - Now Available Confliction Compendium - (The Dragoneers Omnibus) - Now Available Also by M.R. Mathias Crimzon & Clover I - Orphaned Dragon, Lucky Girl Crimzon & Clover II - The Tricky Wizard Crimzon & Clover II - The Grog Crimzon & Clover IV - The Wrath of Crimzon Oathbreaker - A Faery Tale Short King of Fools The Adventurion - A YA sci-fi novel