A collection of essays examines the themes of love and sex in literature, from Plato to modern fiction.

In the little city of Flint, MI, the good die young and the people left standing are the grimiest of characters. With reign over the city's drug trade, Benjamin Atkins made sure that his precious daughter, Raven, was secluded from the grit that the city had to offer. But when Raven's young heart gets claimed by Mizan, a stick-up kid in search of a come-up, there's nothing Benjamin can do about losing her to the streets. She chooses love over loyalty and runs off with Mizan, but her new role as wifey soon proves to be more than she can handle. Puppy love always feels right, but things turn stale, and she soon finds that everyone she loves has disappeared. All she has is Mizan, but when hugs and kisses turn to bloody lips and black eyes, she realizes that Mizan is not who she thought he was. Raven becomes desperate for a way out, but this time, Daddy can't save her. Every time she finds the courage to leave, fear convinces her to stay. Like a moth to a flame, Raven is drawn to Mizan, even though she knows he'll be the death of her. When the hood life she chose becomes unbearable and the only way out is in a coffin, what will she do?

Stories of the Deep South from a woman's point of view, depicting the changing relationships between black and white people, the impact of the civil rights movement, and the emergence of the New South.

Walker Easterling is a retired actor turned successful screenwriter living in the Vienna of strong coffee, fascinating friends, and mysterious cafes. When he falls in love with Maris York, a beautiful artist who creates cities, his life becomes alive in fantastic and unsettling ways. As Walker's love for Maris grows, his life gets more and more bizarre-he discovers he can see things happening just before they happen, and at the same time feels an incredibly strong tug from his past-so a friend steers him to Venasque, an odd little man reputed to be a powerful shaman. Venasque helps Walker discover and unravel his many interconnected past lives, and it is soon clear that an unresolved conflict from these past lives has resurfaced, and now threatens to undo Walker and Maris's love. At once lyrical, frightening, funny, and sexy, Sleeping in Flame is a spellbinding tale where reality and fantasy merge in astonishing convolutions of magic and suspense. It confirms that Jonathan Carroll is one of the very few novelists who-by constantly surprising us-give us an entirely new perspective on our world. It is no wonder that he is generally considered to be the most original and provocative novelist of his generation. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Dark Crescent Sisterhood #2 Some like it hot... Fire has always been a part of Cynda Flynn’s life—from her red-hair to the flames she wields as a Sybil warrior priestess. But when undercover cop Nick Lowell ignites the flames of passion within, she’s caught completely off guard. Cynda thought she understood heat and power, but this sensation is something completely new. And if she can’t reconcile her feelings for the irresistible half-human, half-demon, they may consume her completely. Through his strong-will and self-control, Nick has learned to manage his dark side. After five years of undercover work with The Legion Cult, he’s become as tough as steel—or so he thought. He’s become tough as steel from five years of secret work within the Legion cult. Or so he thought. But Cynda Flynn changes everything and his once unshakeable resolve is starting to melt. But a new evil is threatening to extinguish fire Sybils like Cynda. Will Nick’s love be enough to save her...and the rest of the world? “Round two of the high-stakes war contains all the action, kick-butt battles and sizzling sensuality of the first installment of the Dark Crescent Sisterhood series. After her two outstanding releases, Windsor is sure to become a brand name. Great characters and tight, exciting plots make this a true thrill ride!” -RT Book Review

In the tradition of The Celestine Prophecy comes the first book in a gripping post-apocalyptic trilogy involving the search for ancient books whose secrets hold the key to humanity’s survival. In 2027, the Great Disruption shook the world. An unexplained solar storm struck the earth, shifting it four degrees south on its axis. Everything went dark. Humanity was on the verge of despair. Then a man named Camden Ford discovered a set of ancient books called the Chronicles of Satraya. Thirty years later, the world is a different place. Thanks to the teachings of the Chronicles, hope has been restored, cities rebuilt, technology advanced. The books also have a different owner: Logan Cutler, who inherited them when Camden mysteriously disappeared. But when Logan auctions off the books to pay his debts, they fall into the wrong hands. The Reges Hominum, a clandestine group that once ruled history from the shadows, is launching a worldwide conspiracy to regain control. Soon Logan realizes he’s made a terrible mistake. With the help of special agent Valerie Perrot and the wisdom of the Chronicles as his guide, he embarks on an epic quest to get the books back before it’s too late. Abounding with questions about humanity’s secret past and its unknown future, Journey into the Flame will not only take you to the start of an incredible new world, it will also take you deep into the greater mysteries of the self.

Have you ever felt like your flame has went out? Like your willpower and zeal for life has all but been quenched? This book documents the struggles of the author, a paranoid schizophrenic, and how God helped introduce him to a love he had never known when it was needed the most.

The Dirty Flame: Book One - The Chosen One By: Alisha Alana Mohammed The Dirty Flame: Book One: The Chosen One is a Y.A fantasy fiction, that engulfs the reader in a journey between good versus evil. Join Clara, The Chosen One as she figures out whether to use good or evil to fuel her flame. Walk beside Clara and the six others from the ancient prophecy as they seek to create a better world using The Dirty Flame. The characters are passionate, complex, powerful and delightful to be alongside as they work together in determining who to trust, who to fight, who to love, and when to reveal their vulnerabilities to one another. All this in an effort to create a world that they want. Read on as the book traverses action, betrayal, love, denial, mystery, suspense, comedy and plot twists that greatly intrigue readers.

Many years have passed since the Occitanian knights killed Richard the Lionheart in a courageous battle to keep the Blue Flame--sparked at the moment of Christ's death--from falling into the wrong hands. Now it is in danger once again, as enemies from the north draw near. In the midst of this looming battle, lifelong friends Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic Count, are falling in love. But a new religious crusade is about to begin, setting boy against girl, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, south against north. Though many seek to possess the Blue Flame, only one person is destined to wield its power to save the people and the sovereignty of the Occitan.

In its front-page review of Alternating Current, The New York Times Book Review called Octavio Paz “an intellectual literary one-man band” for his ability to write incisively and with dazzling originality about a wide range of subjects. This collection of his essays is divided into three parts. Part 1 sets forth his credo as an artist and poet, steeped in his knowledge of world literature and Mexican art and history and buttressed by readings of writers from Mexican poet Luis Cernuda to D. H. Lawrence, Malcolm Lowry, André Breton, and Carlos Fuentes. Part 2 deals with themes such as Western individualism versus plurality and flux in Eastern philosophy, atheism versus belief, nihilism, liberated man, and versions of paradise. In Part 3, Paz writes of politics and ethics in essays on revolt and revolution, existentialism, Marxism, the third world, and the new face of Latin America. A scintillating thinker and a prescient voice on emerging world culture, Paz reveals himself here as “a man of electrical passions, paradoxical visions, alternating currents of thoughts, and feeling that runs hot but never cold” (Christian Science Monitor).