Heartache. Revenge. Love. Ingredients for the perfect curse. Will King Titanite pass the first test of his family’s torment? On the night King Titanite’s twins are born, he must make a choice: send one daughter away from the palace or risk losing everything, including his twins. Empathize with Peridot, a shy, kind-hearted princess, longing for her father’s love. Become empowered by Ruby, a fiery, self-driven princess, determined to always be victorious. A three thousand-year-old curse binds those twin princesses to their family’s past and future. A curse driven by pain, revenge, and love. Titanite believes his queen knows nothing of the curse that split the Land of Carnelian in two and also burdened his family. However, with the help of a mysterious being, the queen has her own motives for their daughter who remains in the palace. Enjoy the journey towards the curse-driven battle between the princesses as they learn to harness their hidden royal powers from unexpected companions. Read the beginning of this young adult fantasy series to find out which Sapphire princess will become the next heir to the throne and help trigger The Carnelian Curse.

This curse is just getting started… Following the shocking reveal of Jadeite’s father being behind the manipulation of the curse all those years following the birth of the twin princesses, chaos ensues within the Sapphire Kingdom. King Titanite is furious that the curse is not over and now has to deal with his father-in-law, who has never liked him, trying to take over his kingdom. Spinel’s motives for bringing down the royalty of Sapphire Kingdom stem from his mysterious bloodline. Vengeance is all he cares about, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure it is achieved. Due to this new battle of wills between the princesses’ father and grandfather, they are thrown against each other yet again. Princess Peridot is desperate to hide within the shadows and avoid any responsibility yet battles with the desire to live up to the expectation of being queen one day. However, her twin, Princess Ruby, is determined to prove that she can and will defeat her sister and take back the throne she feels she is meant to have. What secrets will be uncovered about the Sentinels and Divinians of Sapphire and Cinnabar kingdoms as you continue the journey of the twin princesses? Will Spinel accomplish his goal for vengeance for his family and Cinnabar Kingdom? Read the second installment of The Carnelian Curse series to find out!

Alice Trudeau is on her way to a dream vacation at the mysterious Arbor manor underneath two miles of Martian ice. It is supposed to be a much needed respite after the brutal murder of her brother and his wife. What she finds instead is a living nightmare guaranteeing certain death unless she is able to reveal the sinister plan of the malevolent and twisted murderer. Can Alice survive the assassin's onslaught, and keep her newly-appointed dependents safe? Read "Entrapment," and unravel the mystery alongside Ms. Alice Trudeau.

Published in association with North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California.

In this Special Paper, Hildebrand and Whalen present a big-picture, paradigm-busting synthesis that examines the tectonic setting, temporal relations, and geochemistry of many plutons within Cretaceous batholithic terranes of the North American Cordillera. In addition to their compelling tectonic synthesis, they argue that most of the batholiths are not products of arc magmatism as commonly believed, but instead were formed by slab failure during and after collision. They show that slab window and Precambrian TTG suites share many geochemical similarities with Cretaceous slab failure rocks. Geochemical and isotopic data indicate that the slab failure magmas were derived dominantly from the mantle and thus have been one of the largest contributors to growth of continental crust. The authors also note that slab failure plutons emplaced into the epizone are commonly associated with Cu-Au porphyries, as well as Li-Cs-Ta pegmatites.

This book represents the first multidisciplinary scientific work on a deep volcanic maar lake in comparison with other similar temperate lakes. The syntheses of the main characteristics of Lake Pavin are, for the first time, set in a firmer footing comparative approach, encompassing regional, national, European and international aquatic science contexts. It is a unique lake because of its permanently anoxic monimolimnion, and furthermore, because of its small surface area, its substantially low human influence, and by the fact that it does not have a river inflow. The book reflects the scientific research done on the general limnology, history, origin, volcanology and geological environment as well as on the geochemistry and biogeochemical cycles. Other chapters focus on the biology and microbial ecology whereas the sedimentology and paleolimnology are also given attention. This volume will be of special interest to researchers and advanced students, primarily in the fields of limnology, biogeochemistry, and aquatic ecology.