From the best-selling author of I Find You in the Darkness She’s been through more hell than you’ll ever know. But that’s what gives her beauty an edge. You can’t touch a woman who can wear pain like the grandest of diamonds around her neck. —Alfa She Wears Pain Like Diamonds is a book of poetry about finding beauty in a buried past and unearthing the treasures of strength and resilience.

A book of poetry about love, loss, and healing.

In the middle of New York City lies a neighborhood where all secrets are valuable, all assets are liquid, and all deals are sealed with a blessing rather than a contract. Welcome to the diamond district. Ninety percent of all diamonds that enter America pass through these few blocks, but the inner workings of this mysterious world are known only to the people who inhabit it. In Precious Objects, twenty-six-year-old journalist Alicia Oltuski, the daughter and granddaughter of diamond dealers, seamlessly blends family narrative with literary reportage to reveal the fascinating secrets of the diamond industry and its madcap characters: an Elvis-impersonating dealer, a duo of diamond-detective brothers, and her own eccentric father. With insight and drama, Oltuski limns her family’s diamond-paved move from communist Siberia to a displaced persons camp in post–World War II Germany to New York’s diamond district, exploring the connections among Jews and the industry, the gem and its lore, and the exotic citizens of this secluded world. Entertaining and illuminating, Precious Objects offers an insider’s look at the history, business, and society behind one of the world’s most coveted natural resources, providing an unforgettable backstage pass to an extraordinary and timeless show.

From the author of I Find You In the Darkness, a brand-new book of poetry celebrating strong women and the men they crave I never needed a Man. I needed a Viking. I needed someone who wasn't afraid of my strengths or of my needs. I chose wrong in the past.... Beloved contemporary poet Alfa is back with a brand-new collection of more than 180 heartfelt poems on the theme of woman warriors and the masculine heroes they long for. In gorgeous, compelling, and intimate prose, I Needed a Viking takes us on an emotional journey of a woman searching for strength in the midst of a storm.

"Emilio Andreoni's goal is perfection. A corporate king and Italy's most eligible bachelor, he craves only one more thing to complete his phenomenally successful life-the perfect woman! Once he thought that woman was shy Gisele Carter, until her scandalous goings-on became headline news and he called off their seemingly perfect engagement. But now Emilio is faced with proof of Gisele's innocence. He's determined to win back the only woman who ever truly satisfied him, but first he must persuade Gisele she's worthy of wearing his diamonds again."--P. [4] of cover.

From the first Police album, Outlandos D'Amour, through Sacred Love, here are the collected lyrics written by Sting, along with his commentary. “Publishing my lyrics separately from their musical accompaniment is something that I’ve studiously avoided until now. The two, lyrics and music, have always been mutually dependent, in much the same way as a mannequin and a set of clothes are dependent on each other; separate them, and what remains is a naked dummy and a pile of cloth. Nevertheless, the exercise has been an interesting one, seeing perhaps for the first time how successfully the lyrics survive on their own, and inviting the question as to whether song lyrics are in fact poetry or something else entirely. And while I’ve never seriously described myself as a poet, the book in your hands, devoid as it is of any musical notation, looks suspiciously like a book of poems. So it seems I am entering, with some trepidation, the unadorned realm of the poet. I have set out my compositions in the sequence they were written and provided a little background when I thought it might be illuminating. My wares have neither been sorted nor dressed in clothes that do not belong to them; indeed, they have been shorn of the very garments that gave them their shape in the first place. No doubt some of them will perish in the cold cruelty of this new environment, and yet others may prove more resilient and become perhaps more beautiful in their naked state. I can’t predict the outcome, but I have taken this risk knowingly and, while no one in their right mind should ever attempt to set “The Waste Land” to music, in the hopeful words of T. S. Eliot, These fragments I have shored against my ruins.” —Sting, from the Introduction

Abandoned Breaths is the debut poetic collection from Alfa. Between these pages she has gathered the warehouses of the unsaid, and weaved together the voices that have remained silent in our heartbroken hotels. All the abandoned breaths that we hold on to after serving time in heart warfare never really go away. They cling to dusty shelves, tucked into darken chambers among past wreckage; longing to be given life. She has cleaned house and opened musty windows, letting pulsing words breathe and transform into poetic release. The focus of these writings is to give the heart and soul permission to ache after love and loss. The author is unapologetic about her realistic take on heartache and grieving. She touches on the past, trying to make sense of her experiences, to move forward. This book is filled with timeless and vintage feeling poetry. It will touch every individual heart that reads it, no matter the age group.

Unintended, but nonetheless deadly, betrayal... Anbar Province, Iraq, 2005: the tragic loss of a beloved senior Marine leader to unexpected enemy attack leads Captain Christine Curtis and Major Matt Baxter to suspect an intel leak. Their investigation discovers treason by an unlikely suspect. And there's more than one villain. Despite all the dust and gore of the combat zone, romance blossoms. Through multiple, graphically portrayed battles at sea, on land, and in the air, the Marines strike back. A massive international ring of terror is uncovered. But the enemy is diabolically clever...

From the author of I Find You In the Darkness, a brand-new poetry collection about love, longing, and one woman's everlasting connection to the sea My soul reminds me that I am a Mermaid. A woman who longs to be held by the sea... Beloved contemporary poet Alfa is back with a collection of all-new poems celebrating strength and female empowerment. With more than 180 poems focusing on resilience, inner strength, and self-love, The Salt in His Kiss celebrates the fantastic creature inside every woman.

“An anxiety-ridden ride as two girls' lives crash together through secrets, love and danger. . . Captivating and stunningly visual.” —Aiden Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of Cemetery Boys An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in She's Too Pretty to Burn, an expertly plotted YA thriller by Wendy Heard. The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot—full of adventure—and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won’t survive. Inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, this sexy psychological thriller explores the intersections of love, art, danger, and power. Christy Ottaviano Books