Jacob Adams was living the American dream: a loving family, a new home, and a high-profile job designing the world's first atomic power plant. But when tragedy strikes his family, he turns to alcohol to deaden his pain and grief. He becomes an alcoholic and eventually loses his home, his job, and his faith. Thirty years later Jacob lives in poverty in the shadow of the defunct power plant, where he works as a janitor. Jacob's life takes one more unexpected turn when he becomes trapped in the pitch-black recesses of the plant. In his forced sobriety, the bitter memories he has been drowning for decades begin to surface all around him, dragging him into a pit of regret and despair. Suffering the ravages of alcohol withdrawal combined with the chilling effects of sensory deprivation, he embarks on an emotional and spiritual journey that will take him to the brink of insanity and back. Before his captivity comes to an end, Jacob-like his namesake from the Old Testament-will find himself wrestling with God. The town sheriff, a State Police detective, and even a local priest follow different clues as they search for Jacob. The widening mystery touches off a cascade of changes in the lives of those connected to him. A friendship broken by betrayal is mended, a long abandoned romance is rekindled, dark secrets about the power plant and its caretakers come to light, and a young man's life is forever altered as he uncovers the tragedy that sent Jacob spiraling downward so many years ago.

" . . . a one-of-a-kind author." --Romantic Times magazine on To Hell and Back The Fire Witch Elise Nicholson isn't your ordinary witch. For one thing, she can light candles with a look, and she plays a mean guitar. Unfortunately, being able to call fire out of the air isn't the most useful skill around. To top it off, she's a Guardian of the City, and the other Guardians--her two best friends--have no time for her. They're too busy with their Watchers, the grim, black-coated warriors sworn to protect Elise and her friends from the Dark. Lonely, skating the edge of controlling her intensified "gifts," Elise is quickly running out of options and patience. Then the Trifero--a Talisman capable of blowing the city sky-high--lands in her lap, and everything just gets worse. The Watcher: Remy is the Hunter, snatching Talismans away from the Dark and struggling with the constant agony of being a Watcher. Then he's assigned to stand guard over a smart-mouthed fire witch who not only hates Watchers, but has just found the Trifero. If the Dark catches Elise, she'll be broken, turned into a magical weapon, and sold to the highest bidder. Not only does Remy have to get to her first and keep the Dark away, but he also must convince Elise that he means her no harm--and that's the easy part of the job. If he pulls this one off, he just might redeem himself the way every Watcher aches to do. But if he fails, both he and Elise might be better off dead . . . Bounced around the world as a military brat, Lilith Saintcrow fell in love with writing in second grade and never looked back. She currently resides in Vancouver, Washington, with two children, a menagerie, and books. Find her on the web at lilithsaintcrow.com.

Winner of six Nebula and five Hugo awards, Connie Willis is one of the most acclaimed and imaginative authors of our time. Her startling and powerful works have redefined the boundaries of contemporary science fiction. Here in one volume are twelve of her greatest stories, including double award-winner "Fire Watch," set in the universe of Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, in which a time-traveling student learns one of history's hardest lessons. In "A Letter from the Clearys," a routine message from distant friends shatters the fragile world of a beleaguered family. In "The Sidon in the Mirror," a mutant with the unconscious urge to become other people finds himself becoming both killer and victim. Disturbing, revealing, and provocative, this remarkable collection of short fiction brings together some of the best work of an incomparable writer whose ability to amaze, confound, and enlighten never fails.

August 1944. The war is finally turning against Hitler, but he has one last secret weapon: flying bombs, sent to destroy the City of London. But Christopher only cares about solving the riddle of the phoenix ring. He journeys back to its source: early Roman Londinium, now surrounded on all sides by the armies of the British queen, Boudica. With help from a slave girl, Fortunata, Christopher learns the secrets of the ancient Roman fire-watchers, the Vigiles: but unknown to him, a sinister figure from 1666 has followed him through time. The chase takes Christopher and Fortunata through the battle for Londinium, then across the centuries, to a rebuilt 17th century London where Christopher and his friends finally untangle the truth.

December 1940, London: Christopher Larkham finds an ancient Roman ring inscribed with a phoenix. As he takes shelter from the firestorm of the Blitz, the ring glows, and pushing open a door, he finds himself in 1666 and facing the Great Fire of London. Fire-and-brimstone preacher, Brother Blowbladder, and his men of the Righteous Temple have prayed for the ancient gods of fire to bring flames down upon London, a city of sin. Could Christopher be their messenger? Or was it the strange girl on the quay who drew him back in time? Why do the Righteous men wear the same phoenix symbol as the engraving on Christophers ring? The Fire Watcher trilogy follows Christopher and his new friends race to untangle the truth of the phoenix ring, and face the greatest fires in the citys history.

EARTH PRO is an epic adventure interweaving three finely crafted story lines into a far reaching novel that beckons to unravel the greatest mysteries of the Human Race. The first story line is a string of chapters that explores the lives of some of the great minds of humanity and their personal struggles with visions clearly beyond their time. The second sequence describes Atlantis Spaceport located on Zeus, a planet that once existed as the fifth planet of our solar system. The science team stationed at Atlantis creates Earth Program, but comes under attack and is destroyed. The third story line spins the tale of an attractive honor student and a troubled teen labeled a schizophrenic, struggling in school. Together the two set out on an adventure to prove that a great tragedy befell the solar system billions of years earlier. EARTH PRO delivers romance, courage, betrayal, heroism, determination, and undying friendship. The stories involve characters that give of themselves the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe despite seemingly insurmountable odds, while offering a story line that delivers a plausible explanation for the greatest of mysteries--the truth of who we are, why we are, and the horizon over which all our destinies lie.

December 1940, London: Christopher Larkham finds an ancient Roman ring inscribed with a phoenix. As he takes shelter from the firestorm of the Blitz, the ring glows, and pushing open a door, he finds himself in 1666 and facing the Great Fire of London. Fire-and-brimstone preacher, Brother Blowbladder, and his men of the Righteous Temple have prayed for the ancient gods of fire to bring flames down upon London, a city of sin. Could Christopher be their messenger? Or was it the strange girl on the quay who drew him back in time? Why do the Righteous men wear the same phoenix symbol as the engraving on Christopher's ring?

May 1941. The Blitz is reaching its fiery climax. Christopher tries to go back to 1666; to find his new friends and learn more about the power of his phoenix ring. Instead, he finds himself in a smaller, older river port town known as Lundenwic, where the Anglo-Saxon community faces an invasion by the dreaded Vikings. Christopher must discover why the ring has brought him here, and how to get back to his own time. But then Viking ships appear on the Thames, and their warriors threaten to burn the city and conquer the whole of England.

In this, Mr.Lavallee's third novel on the subject of small town, mill town New England, he brings to life the harsh reality that things will never be as they once were--the hustle and bustle of ordinary people rushing past each other on their way to work in the factories or the mills, lunch pails in hand. Unfortunately, many of those huge buildings have been torn down. Others have been converted into over 5 condos, while still others just sit there empty, waiting for a miracle, the jobs shipped overseas. Firewatches are the only employees.