Raine has always been more of a warrior than a diplomat, but now she must use all of her charisma to bring the rivals of Arianthem together. Her close bonds with the all-female race of the Ha'kan ensure that alliance, but negotiations with the Empire go poorly until they receive an unexpected boost from a sultry ally. The reserved elven leader of the Alfar hints to Raine of cooperation, yet also hints that sexual conquest might be her price.Events seem to sabotage the alliance as the Alfar leader kidnaps an imperial, the daughter of the wealthiest landholder in Arianthem. Raine is baffled by the strange actions of the elven noblewoman, actions that bring the entire land to the brink of war. The concord truly unravels when Skye, the young leader of the Tavinter, manifests magical abilities and unintentionally attracts monumental evil. Raine's only hope is that her dragon lover will return from the Empty Land before all is lost and the evil that stalks Skye comes for her.

This beautifully produced gift edition of Thoreaus journal has been carefullyselected and annotated by Jeffrey S. Cramer.

Skye is reunited with her friends and lovers in the Ha’kan, but the shadow of the sorceress looms over her. Even as her magical power increases, she knows she is no match for the woman who seeks vengeance for her great-grandfather’s infidelity. But Skye is no longer a child, and her years with the highly sexual Ha’kan have taught her a few things as she considers an entirely new way of dealing with her nemesis. Raine prepares for departure to Mount Alfheim, intending to accompany the Ha’kan Queen and her entourage. The powerful warrior has orchestrated events to perfection: the people of Arianthem are united as never before. But as she and her dragon lover start their journey, Raine can’t help but feel that the hand of fate is tightening its grasp around her. As clouds gather over the Empty Land, a prophecy is heavy on her mind. As the Second Great War threatens, it is uncertain if the Alliance will hold. The Goddess of the Underworld stirs, having waited centuries for this moment. Her goal and her focus are one, solely on the object of her lust. Hel will take what she is due, and the Dragon’s Lover will bow before her, by choice or by force. And the latter is just as pleasing to her, as long as the Arlanian is on her knees...

A thoughtfully researched, movingly presented dual–biography of two iconic American writers, each trying to find the ideal friend with whom they could share their journey through our imperfect world. Any biography that concentrates on either Henry David Thoreau or Ralph Waldo Emerson tends to diminish the other figure, but in Solid Seasons both men remain central and equal. Through several decades of writing, friendship remained a primary theme for them both. Collecting extracts from the letters and journals of both men, as well as words written about them by their contemporaries, Jeffrey S. Cramer beautifully illustrates the full nature of their twenty–five–year dialogue. Biographers like to point at the crisis in their friendship, focusing particularly on Thoreau's disappointment in Emerson—rarely on Emerson's own disappointment in Thoreau—and leaving it there, a friendship ruptured. But the solid seasons remained, as is evident when, in 1878, Anne Burrows Gilchrist, the English writer and friend of Whitman, visited Emerson. She wrote that his memory was failing "as to recent names and topics but as is usual in such cases all the mental impressions that were made when he was in full vigour remain clear and strong." As they chatted, Emerson called to his wife, Lidian, in the next room, "What was the name of my best friend?" "Henry Thoreau," she answered. "Oh, yes," Emerson repeated. "Henry Thoreau."

In 1910, a missionary visitor arrives at Sophiny Mumms convent boarding school in Concord, Kansas. Sophiny is smitten. Her best friend Antoinette Dominguez is notand begins a series of strange behaviors breaking all the rules. From Sophiny she extracts three promises, a trunk exchange, and a staged fight before she elopes. Shortly thereafter, Sophiny learns that the missionary is not who he pretends to be and that her friends elopement has resulted in a mysterious disappearance. Antoinettes puzzling diary gives clues about guardians who cause us to lose our way. The missionary reappears, and Sophiny is launched on a travelers tale of her own to search for her missing friend. In the investigation of puzzling enigmas, Sophiny has to use all the resources of emerging womens rights, family relationships, social networks, the new technologies (telephone, photography, and transportation), and patron saints.