A Children's Book for Ages Two to Twelve Years Old Betty Oliver is a veteran teacher and world traveler who shares her passion for learning with children of all ages. She has taken her love of painting, writing, and storytelling and created another great adventure for the Ollie and Mollie series. In this book, readers will learn many interesting animal facts about elephants, zebras, horses, and even kangaroos. She'll describe the fierceness of sharks, eagles, lions, cheetahs, and bears. There will be curiosities that will make you wonder about owls, peacocks, and puffins. She'll entice you to want to hug cute and cuddly dogs, cats, and sweet rabbits. Readers will be taken on adventures that bring new ways of seeing our beautiful animal kingdom. The illustrations will bring delight and smiles through colorful watercolor paintings. This book is another precious gem in the Ollie and Mollie series. --Cathy Peyton, retired school system administrator, Virginia Beach, Virginia As a successful and beloved elementary school teacher of forty years, Betty Oliver understands what children need to learn and, more importantly, how to make them love what they are learning. During my career as a high school English teacher, I had the privilege of teaching many students who had been taught by Mrs. Oliver in fourth or fifth grade. They spoke of her enthusiasm and her love for teaching them writing and how it inspired them throughout their years in school. Turning the pages of this delightful and informative book is like viewing through a kaleidoscope a diverse array of animals in their natural habitats spanning the globe. Mrs. Oliver creatively merges her firsthand experiences, encounters, and knowledge that she gained from her travels throughout the world with her own charming paintings of these magnificent creatures. --Wendy M. Lewis, MA English instructor at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia What a pleasure it is to read about the latest adventures of our penguin friends, Ollie and Mollie! Mrs. Oliver was one of the wonderful teachers I was blessed to have when I was in elementary school, and I have to smile when I think about how after all these years, she is still teaching me new things! Mrs. Oliver was an amazing teacher then, and she continues to be one to this day! I can't wait to share this story with my own pre-K students. Not only will they learn fun facts about animals from all parts of this amazing world in which we live but also their little eyes will get a treat when looking at Mrs. Oliver's beautiful animal paintings. --Rebecca Matney Uenking, pre-kindergarten teacher, Virginia Beach City Public School System 34

So what's the skinny on the Oinks of Fat City? Have a chuckle with Ollie Oink and company and explore the goings on in this town of amazing Piggies. This children's picture book is told in humorous verse. (Ages 4-8, 34 pages)

Ollie doesn't see things the same way everybody else does (and he certainly doesn't see things the same way his older sister does). Instead of cars in traffic, Ollie sees a circus parade. Instead of cows grazing in a field, Ollie sees deadly bison with sharp horns and hooves. And at school, instead of letters on the board, Ollie sees birds with pointy beaks, and fish with flapping tails in the big blue sea. Ollie knows he doesn't need glasses, because he likes the world better the way he sees it. But will his parents and bossy sister see things his way?

After serving time in the Louisiana State Prison, Bud Downey spent many months winning a small fortune as a gambler. Feeling confident that he had won enough money, he packed up his stake to begin his journey to Limason, Texashome. After his last winning hand at the gambling table, a couple of disgruntled cowboys were angry that they had lost all their money to the smooth-talking young man. As Bud traveled near the border of Lafayette, Louisiana, he was ambushed, shot, and left for dead in the swampy waters of the bayou. Rosie Jourdian never dreamed that at the young age of eighteen, she would have the sole responsibility of caring for her two young siblings. Who would believe that life could play such an ugly, cruel trick on her life? She was abandoned by her mama and left to raise a six-week-old baby boy and an eleven-year-old brother. While fishing in the bayou to help feed her little family, she discovered a bloody cowboy in the swampy waters. With her friend Justices herbs and potions, they nursed him back to health. The men who were looking for him discovered his whereabouts and burned down Rosies shack, leaving her family homeless. Would this independent young girl go with Bud and leave the only home she has ever known?

Members of The League of Beastly Dreadfuls venture to the most forbidden back alleys of Nowhere Special seeking an unbreakable glass cabinet that holds the key to Anastasia's missing grandfather.

Welcome to Gemini City, where super-battles disrupt rush hour, insurance claim adjusters rival rock stars, and villains stash the souls of murdered superheroes inside little children. It's been ten years since Shay Sinclair's parents were murdered by a super villain, leaving she and her sister to fend for themselves. Now at age sixteen, Shay has something that villain wants. Something he needs. After a chance encounter with a superhero in a stairwell, something awakens in Shay, something that could get her killed. Max Steel has spent the last ten years searching for one particular soul. Now, a coincidental run-in with Shay Sinclair leaves Max closer than he's ever been to everything he's ever wanted. But Max hits a brick wall when he goes after her. Unlike other girls her age, Shay isn't into superheroes. So, if Max wants to win her over and be reunited with the soul inside her, he must get creative. He invites Shay into a seductive world of fame, glamour, luxury, and epic battles with villainous foes. Now that Shay's in the mix with superheroes and crazed villains, everyone wants a piece of her. A super villain wants to devour her soul, a superhero wants to love her, and Shay just wants to go back to her normal life. It's not like in the movies. In real life, superheroes suck.

A Getaway and Abduction Becomes Respect and Passion in the Historical Western Romance, The Ruination of Essie Sparks, by Barbara Ankrum 1888, Montana Territory After protesting abuses at the Montana Indian Boarding School, Essie is dismissed from her teaching job there. But before she can depart, she's kidnapped by Cade Newcastle--the half-breed uncle of her missing student. Shot during the escape and now dogged by a hanging posse, Cade's desperate search becomes a race against time, and Essie--instead of abandoning him--saves his life. Trading favor for favor, Cade and Essie continue searching for Cade's nephew. The lines between captor and captive blur into mutual respect, then flare into passion. But the hanging posse will never allow the half-breed to be the ruination of Essie Sparks. WILD WESTERN ROGUES, in series order The Lady Takes A Gunslinger The Ruination of Essie Sparks REVIEWS: “I really loved this book!” Kat Martin, NYT Bestselling Author “A vividly written and colorful adventure, The Lady Takes a Gunslinger is everything a romance should be—funny tender and charming.” Jill Barnett, NYT Bestselling Author

The family that moved in next was as different from the former two families as Whip ’n Chill from tapioca. The Conjugation of “M” relates the summer shenanigans of a suburban New England neighborhood through the eyes of Deborahh Gainsworth, a thirteen-year-old girl navigating the sometimes-tumultuous storms of her teenage years. All around her, personalities are gradually revealed through competitive banter and displays of their abilities, all in preparation for the long-awaited Ridgely Road Talent Show. Deborahh faces the challenge of using her poetry skills to sublimate recent experiences—one an encounter she’d sooner forget, and the other a spiritual awakening she’d always remember. The sequence of families who lived next door to her all had last names starting with the initial M. However, the third family who moves in is the one that will change her life forever.

“Wonderfully witty.” —Chris Grabenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and coauthor with James Patterson of the House of Robots and Treasure Hunters series Take one part Roald Dahl, a pinch of the Mysterious Benedict Society, and a dash of Lemony Snicket, then add a league of adventurous children, a little magic, and a centuries-old feud with witches, and you get this quirky and darkly hilarious middle-grade series! Long ago, the evil wizard Calixto Swift committed a terrible crime against twelve-year-old Anastasia’s family, a crime that began the Perpetual War between witches and the people of Nowhere Special. The witches have long since been banished, but deep in the darkest, most forbidden back alleys of Nowhere Special lies Calixto’s mysterious, unbreakable glass cabinet. And that cabinet holds the key to Anastasia’s missing grandfather . . . if Anastasia, Ollie, Quentin, and Gus (aka the League of Beastly Dreadfuls) can decipher the clues and figure out how to open it. Steel yourselves, dear Readers! As the feud between the witches and Anastasia’s family heats up in book 3 of the League of Beastly Dreadfuls series, our heroes’ wild sleuthing will put them far closer to WITCH MAGIC than proper children should ever be! Prepare for SHOCKING revelations about who Anastasia really is! It is safe to say that this may be the League’s Most Dangerous and Important Puzzle yet!