So close. Kira Brightwell knows the Procurer lurks almost within her grasp. But the abductor for hire has always remained one step ahead. Can Kira finally outwit him? ...And what will happen if she does? The ongoing game of cat and mouse between Kira and the Procurer reaches its breaking point in this sixth collection of cases from the Kira Brightwell mystery series by award-winning author, Jacquelyn Smith: Cornered: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 6) Lucky Punch: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Lights Out: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Cornered: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 6) Kira Brightwell knows where to find the Procurer. Finally, after four long years, a level playing field. But the serial abductor knows how to cover his tracks. And any animal can become even more dangerous when cornered. Kira’s hard-won window of opportunity to capture the Procurer remains narrow in a race against the clock. Kira’s other problem? Someone else wants to find him first. The ongoing battle of wits between Kira and the Procurer comes to a head in this tense sixth novel in the Kira Brightwell mystery series. Lucky Punch: A Kira Brightwell Short Story A nice, relaxing vacation. After all the mystery and mayhem over the past several months, a tropical getaway seems like just what Kira Brightwell needs. With only her best friend for company and no one back home aware of their location (detective friend, persistent sidekick, and nosy reporters included), Kira can finally unwind and try to forget. Maybe enjoy a cool, refreshing cocktail on the beach. But wherever Kira goes, trouble always follows only a step behind. A stand-alone story from the Kira Brightwell mystery series. If you enjoy a fun, tropical escapade, grab this book. Lights Out: A Kira Brightwell Short Story A crowded mall, the week before Christmas. Definitely not Kira Brightwell’s idea of a good time. After a long year of difficult—and often dangerous—cases, the bustle and noise jangle her nerves. She resists the temptation to lash out at shoppers who bump into her with their purchases. Not worth the effort. Especially compared to the criminals she usually deals with. But Kira can find trouble anywhere. ...And a new case waits to be unwrapped. A stand-alone holiday story from the Kira Brightwell mystery series.

Kira Brightwell never backs down from a challenge. But her abduction and the man responsible still haunt her. Even her closest friendships suffer from the strain of her ongoing quest for justice. Kira finds herself isolated and alone. How much more must she sacrifice to take down the Procurer? The stakes get raised in this fifth collection of cases from the Kira Brightwell mystery series by award-winning author, Jacquelyn Smith: In the Clinch: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 5) Tale of the Tape: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel Ground Work: A Kira Brightwell Short Story In the Clinch: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 5) Kira Brightwell never thought it would come to this. So close! With the origins of the serial abductor known as the Procurer finally unraveled, her nemesis finally seemed within reach... Until he pulled the rug out from under her. Her ties to family and friends sacrificed in her obsessive quest for vengeance, Kira finds herself isolated and alone. An easy target for someone like the Procurer—if she chooses to continue to pursue him. A single question remains. How much more does she want to lose? Kira’s search for the Procurer takes an unexpected turn in this gripping fifth novel from the Kira Brightwell mystery series. Tale of the Tape: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel A bootleg Nine Inch Nails cassette tape. Weird thing for Kira to find abandoned by a sewer grate on her way to school. The hand-drawn NIN logo in marker catches Kira’s eye. Who tossed the tape? And why? Kira pockets it, of course. Seems a shame to leave it in the gutter. Who knows what kind of extra tracks she might find on it? ...Now she only needs to figure out a way to play the thing. A twisting, short novel of Kira’s high school past from the Kira Brightwell mystery series. Ground Work: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Kira Brightwell thinks she knows her best friend and roommate pretty well—better than anyone else, at least. Rob’s life seems straightforward from the outside. He stays in the apartment and keeps to himself, preferring the company of his laptop to most other people (Trevor Wright in particular). He gathers information from behind the scenes, while Kira takes the lead out in the real world in her ongoing search for the serial abductor known as Procurer. But Rob has a secret. Something he keeps even from Kira. ...And an unexpected case threatens to expose everything. A fun, stand-alone story from the Kira Brightwell mystery series.

Kira Brightwell would give anything for a nice, straightforward case. Since her fall from grace with the local media, nothing in her life seems simple anymore. (Lowball requests to track down missing dogs and cheating boyfriends hardly count.) But whenever Kira gets involved, even the simple things get complicated—and dangerous. Kira fights back in this third collection of cases from the Kira Brightwell mystery series by award-winning author, Jacquelyn Smith: Low Blow: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 3) Puncher’s Chance: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Seeing Stars: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Low Blow: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 3) Kira Brightwell knows how to take a punch. (Actually, she prefers throwing them.) Abduction, theft, murder… She faces all these crimes and more on her own terms as a private detective for hire. She also searches for any clues that might fulfill her quest for vengeance against the man known only as the Procurer. ...But a recent twist in circumstances leaves her rocked. The growing legend of abduction survivor and local hero Kira Brightwell takes an unexpected turn in this third novel in the Kira Brightwell mystery series. (Originally published under the pen name Kat Irwin.) Puncher’s Chance: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Local hero and problem solver for hire, Kira Brightwell finds herself on the run. Again. Her running shoes pound the crowded sidewalk. A trickle of sweat slithers down her back in the California heat. And the damp remains of scrambled egg spatter the front of her favorite Nine Inch Nails T-shirt. The egg stain earns her a few looks from passers-by. That and her breakneck pace. Kira’s quarry remains two blocks ahead of her. She needs to haul ass if she wants to catch him. ...Because when a bad guy messes with her favorite shirt, the case gets personal. A stand-alone misadventure story from the Kira Brightwell mystery series. Seeing Stars: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Kira Brightwell might not wear a badge. But she still enjoys the challenge when she unravels a difficult case. The case of Taylor Christie proves no exception. The social media starlet prepares to shoot a video, when things go wrong. Horribly wrong. With an entire crowd in attendance. And more than Kira knows stands between her and the truth about what happened. A twisting, stand-alone story from the Kira Brightwell mystery series. If you love a clever detective, who plays by her own rules, grab this book.

Kira Brightwell knows how to take a punch. (Actually, she prefers throwing them.) Abduction, theft, murder… She faces all these crimes and more on her own terms as a private detective for hire. She also searches for any clues that might fulfill her quest for vengeance against the man known only as the Procurer. ...But a recent twist in circumstances leaves her rocked. The ongoing game of cat-and-mouse between Kira and the Procurer picks up the pace in this suspenseful fourth novel in the Kira Brightwell mystery series by the author of the Mackenzie Quinn mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith.

Heal the body, quiet the mind, and find emotional balance with simple practices from Yantra Yoga Modern science and classic spiritual traditions agree: regulating the breath leads to radiance and wellness of body, mind, and spirit. With the simple teachings and cutting-edge research offered in The Tibetan Yoga of Breath, you can start thriving just by integrating breathwork into your daily practice. Basic Yantra Yoga techniques—also called wind energy training—are the key to achieving this kind of vitality, down to the cellular level. Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo skillfully examine the teachings of Yantra Yoga and Buddhism through the lens of Western medical science. Their wise and accessible instruction reveals practices that are nourishing and transformative, delivering dramatic results—no experience with yoga or Buddhist meditation necessary.

The aim of the work is give an overview of the activity in the field of Photonic Crystal developed in the frame of COST P11 action . The main objective of the COST P11 action was to unify and coordinate national efforts aimed at studying linear and nonlinear optical interactions with Photonic Crystals (PCs), without neglecting an important aspect related to the material research as idea and methods of realizations of 3D PC, together with the development and implementation of measurement techniques for the experimental evaluation of their potential applications in different area, as for example telecommunication with novel optical fibers, lasers, nonlinear multi-functionality, display devices, opto-electronics, sensors. The book contains contributions from authors who gave their lecture at the Cost P11 Training School.

In Bending to Beauty, Dian Zirilli-Mares uses powerful words and metaphors to craft poems that express universal truths. This is why, as the poet examines the loves and losses of life - she writes of our lives as well. We see clearly that we share dreams, joys, fears. Readers of a certain age will relish poems of childhood memories, as Ms. Zirilli-Mares captures a precious time and place, now long-gone. They will identify with her wry poems of shock and disbelief in growing older. But no matter the focus, the poet "pares close to the bone," exploring, yet never shrinking from, the truth. The reward, as revealed in the title poem, is a "bending to beauty" that makes one stronger. Poem after poem, Bending to Beauty probes the complicated, painful, and wondrous that is life - and holds it up for all to recognize.

Covering all major components of the ocular system, this state-of-the-art text is essential for vision scientists, biomedical engineers, and advanced clinicians with an interest in the role of mechanics in ocular function, disease, therapeutics, and surgery. With every chapter, leading experts strengthen the arguments that biomechanics is an indispensable and rapidly evolving tool for understanding and managing ocular disease.

“The Grail Bird is an enjoyable read . . . A powerful call for conservation, and an exciting bird adventure” (The Boston Globe). What is it about the ivory-billed woodpecker? Why does this ghost of the southern swamps arouse such an obsessive level of passion in its devotees, who range from respected researchers to the flakiest Loch Ness monster fanatics and Elvis chasers? Since the early twentieth century, scientists have been trying their best to prove that the ivory-bill is extinct. But every time they think they’ve finally closed the door, the bird makes an unexpected appearance. To unravel the mystery, author Tim Gallagher heads south, deep into the eerie swamps and bayous of the vast Mississippi Delta, searching for people who claim to have seen this rarest of birds and following up—sometimes more than thirty years after the fact—on their sightings. What follows is his own Eureka moment with his buddy Bobby Harrison, a true son of the South from Alabama. A huge woodpecker flies in front of their canoe, and they both cry out, “Ivory-bill!” This sighting—the first time since 1944 that two qualified observers positively identify an ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States—quickly leads to the largest search ever launched to find a rare bird, as researchers fan out across the bayou, hoping to document the existence of this most iconic of birds. “The Grail Bird is less an ecological study than a portrait of human obsession.” —The New York Times