The characters in these sixteen stories inhibit a world where alcohol and anti-depressants are a fundamental part of daily existence. A world full of the deepest depths of loneliness, anxiety, confusion and depression. These stories are dark yet hopeful, where a man can try to commit suicide in a bathtub and yet still find joy where you least expect to find it. Michael Lafontaine writes honestly about relationships and the struggles of everyday ordinary people. His intuitiveness to empathise with his characters even in the most insignificant of moments resonates with startling potency. Please Don't Argue With Me, Okay? is a stunning debut by a writer with an original and compelling voice.

A betrayal and a sneak attack. Thirteen years in a deep slumber. A golden killer who was carrying a desire for revenge had reappeared in the human world. Withdrawal of the marriage? He wouldn't lose anything. A duel? He definitely wouldn't be at a disadvantage. A conspiracy? He could deal with it freely. Wearing red makeup to fight the Son of Heaven, fresh clothes and anger horse play the dukes, proud bone leading change. However, there seemed to be some changes as well... "Whoever marries you, their ancestors will knock on their coffins, and smoke will rise from their graves." "Then why are you so thick-skinned as to come and propose every day?" "Who asked me to be kind and merciful? Let me bear the hardships of marrying you for the rest of the world. " ... .... Come, who's going to drag this shameless Hei Zhi away?!

A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this “extraordinary” and beloved novel that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review), named a New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by a longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into a wealthy and insular art community. As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love — and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention. From the streets of New York to the dark corners of the art underworld, this "soaring masterpiece" examines the devastating impact of grief and the ruthless machinations of fate (Ron Charles, Washington Post).

An unforgettable bassist. A first love abandoned. A forced move to a foreign land. And a sinister fan that exposes a toxic secret…at the worst time. Lizzee has the most beautiful smile. She’s the new girl in school, standing at the front of the auditorium, with a strange guy’s arm around her. As I play bass on stage, her eyes are on me. Days later, we’re working together, and she tells me how talented she thinks I am. Her knowledge of music is unfounded for a military brat, and I soon find out why. We spend an unforgettable few weeks together, and then she’s gone, without a trace. Thirteen years later, she resurfaces, with a new name, and I have no idea what happened to her…or how she found me. And it’s not until I watch her cling to life that I find out the truth. *** Blaze is going places. He just doesn’t know it yet. But I do. With a father that I barely know and a mother that means everything to me, it’s a difficult balance. Being a vagabond means not making any ties, but once a tragedy almost touches down in my family, I’m forced to make one…but from a million miles away. It’s the reason I go back after thirteen years. It’s what I’ve always wanted but denied myself, until it happens by accident. But when I find him, he's not the same person, nor am I. …one common thread holds us together. And I don’t know if it’s enough… until it’s almost too late, that is. Rock star romance Second chance romance Medical romance Medium heat Drinking Swearing Cliffhanger ending

Years ago, Lorna Malachi, a frightened teenager, was plunged into a nightmare called Blue Ridge Women’s Correctional Facility. Terrified and desperate to belong, she sold her soul one piece at a time. She survived to sit atop of the ever-shifting trash heap of prison society. Lorna has learned the hard way not to trust anyone, particularly penal system virgins like Kellie Holloway, her unrepentant new cellmate. But Kellie’s pride and cluelessness guarantee that without help, she won’t last long. Together, Kellie and Lorna navigate through an oppressive, hidden world where lines between right and wrong blur, sexual passion is forbidden but explosive, and love is the biggest risk of all.

A TWENTY-SOMETHING’S GUIDE TO WORKPLACE CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION ​Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish helps soon-to-be-college grads and those first starting out in their careers learn how to be more than just professional-ish. It offers very funny and practical advice on truly understanding and managing life at work. Written for both American and non-American young workers, in addition to anyone else who’s uncertain about how they come across at work, this book provides useful tips that can be immediately implemented to help people adapt well to their workplace culture. In a light-hearted and conversational way, Peter Yawitz, a 30-year veteran in global communications consulting, walks readers through not only formal and written rules of office communication but also unwritten cultural norms in American companies both in the US and abroad. As “Someone Else’s Dad,” who offers practical advice to a new generation of workers without the nagging and judgment they might receive from their own fathers, the author gives straight talk on everything from mastering small talk, writing persuasive emails, and dealing with sneaky coworkers to managing distracted bosses and asking for a raise. Readers will find an advocate in Yawitz, someone who can help them succeed both professionally and socially at work. They’ll laugh out loud at the same time that they’ll develop the insights needed to advance in their careers.

The Downward Spiral: Beginnings and Endings tells a story about numerous characters and their lives and how they cope with the ups and downs of the world they live in. One scene in particular is pivotal and brings them together on a snowy day in Schaumburg Illinois. Life will change forever for some in this tale. Music plays a large part along with the day to day life that people live and their jobs they report to and how they communicate with others and how they deal with loss. It focuses on a mother and a husband and then a son. Then it becomes just a mother and son. They go through life with problems like everyone and you see how they deal with them and how they get through the difficult times. The arguments they have and the love that they find and lose. You see how a boy grows up into a teenager and see his likes and dislikes and what he seems to want in life. A mother who deals with things not always going her way and just adjusting to it and hoping things turn out for the best. We learn about other characters who have smaller roles in this tale but they are as well very important and you fell for them and what they have in relationships and their careers and their families. They are out doing the most normal tasks and talking with friends and communicating with their pets. They are dealing with the snow and the winter in the Midwest. A world can be cruel and it can tear things apart if you’re not careful. They have no idea what is to come but they are real people with problems and issues and some are in love and some are in the process of fixing their mistakes and they will be in the same place on a cool snowy February Saturday. Beginnings and Endings, this is true in many senses as this novel goes on. Lives and relationships and love and events they all are part of this cycle. Some of these things end and some of these begin. This world is filled with sadness and darkness and then at the same time it is filled with some happiness and the characters are set to these feelings and that day. A boy and his mother wait outside and wonder what just happened and you have no real answer for him. What do you say? That wasn’t what you expected to see and you didn’t expect to hear screams. Her husband, his father picks them up and they drive off with a new sense of life and a feeling of sadness has taken over them.

She's obligated to him -- she's obsessed with another. When Carissa Jordan met Danny Greene during her freshman year of college, she thought she’d found “the one.” But after suffering a shared loss, their relationship takes a nosedive. Angry and grief-ridden, Danny finds comfort in other women while becoming emotionally abusive toward Carissa. Riddled with guilt for what happened earlier in their relationship, Carissa feels obligated to Danny. As their relationship continues to deteriorate, Carissa buries herself in college classes and pledging a sorority, where she meets the sexy and charming Bradley Moore. He’s everything Carissa didn’t know she deserved—and Bradley has his sights set on winning Carissa’s heart. But will her misplaced obligation to Danny prevent her from giving in to her intense feelings for Bradley?

She was too pretentious, she got drunk at the bar, and the next day the headlines spread the news that she was hanging out with someone in the newspapers. He was so angry that she gave him a bitter smile. "I was just playing ..." He took his revenge on her. She had a cold heart and asked for a divorce, but he didn't let go. She was pregnant, but her husband thought it was her and someone else's child who wanted her to have an abortion. She was perfectly calm, but secretly she began to plan a soul-stirring plan. On the day of her miscarriage, she escaped from the hospital, but her car exploded on the street. Yue Zisi had completely disappeared from this world ... Six years later, a person who looked exactly like Yue Zisi appeared with a beloved son by his side.

If he had been with me everything would have been different... I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial. So let me tell you...