First in the Fluke Family series, Fluke Family Fortune sets the stage for the comical misadventures of Maynerd Fluke Dumsted. To afford the love of the beautiful but shrewish Sue Tue, Maynerd Dumsted sets out to follow the clues to the family fortune hidden somewhere in the cursed kingdom of Gnat. A sometimes well-intentioned ghost gnome tags along for laughs, but his selfish machinations often mean more trouble for Maynerd. Other friends join the fun, such as the lovable fire-year-old orphan, Dandy May, who cavorts with dandelion fairies; the head-bashing ogress, Grissel who hates songs sung about her; an ineffectual thousand-year-old madman; a retired clodhopper named Sam Simple and his fun loving mule, Jazibell. A family curse and the grandiose scheme of the brigand King Kryan Kruke to transform him into the new national hero, in order to reunite the four scattered kingdoms of the land of Gnaught, further complicates Maynerd's plans to find the family fortune.

It was said that, "Chicago has a beautiful sound because Chicago means money." The city's phonebook is the language of American business: Swift, Armour, Wilson, Pullman, MacArthur, Pritzker, Wrigley, Ward, Sears, Morton as in salt, Walgreen as in drugstore, Nielsen as in television ratings and McNally as in atlas. This is story of those famous Chicago families. Filled with dramatic success stories, fascinating anecdotes, and tasty morsels of social gossip, The Fortune Builders is a unique biography of Chicago's power brokers -- the men and women who made Chicago what it is today.

Going back for generations, the fortunes of great families consist of far more than money; they are also symbols of culture and social interaction. They are at the heart of dense family and extra-family networks, of international coalitions and divisions. The authors elucidate the mechanisms by which they accumulate and expand their wealth, status and influence even while staying out of the public eye. Paradoxically there is a quasi-collective nature to these private fortunes, as families enjoy sojourns at each other's estates, help each other weather difficult times and intermarry.

CINDERELLA 2.0 Zoe Robinson had never known true love—until Joaquin Mendoza rode into Austin and stole her innocent heart. The new guy at work is brilliant and aloof, but Zoe's nursing a secret of her own: her dad might be connected to the famed Fortune clan! But the determined beauty has never backed down from a challenge—not when it comes to her family, and not when it comes to love. Joaquin believes he's all wrong for the wealthiest gal in Texas—he's got one too many family issues keeping him from surrendering his heart to lovely, innocent Zoe. Until shocking allegations surface about her family drama and Joaquin realizes that he might be the ideal match for his Texas princess after all!

Who else wants to attract and keep more money and live a stress-free life? In this breakthrough book, bestselling author and self-made multi-millionaire Steve McKnight delivers a simple yet powerful guide anyone can use to make, manage and multiply their money, and to make their wealth count by giving it meaning. Money is a mystery to many people. It’s not because they’re hopeless at maths, unlucky, or big spenders. It's simply because they don't know how to think and act in ways that will attract wealth that sticks. Ultimately, it’s about learning how to become a money magnet—and anyone can do it! Money Magnet reveals the crucial truths and tools needed to acquire a wealth mindset. Inside you’ll find key strategies—not taught elsewhere—that you can use to create a blueprint for financial freedom. Also included are handy templates, checklists and other aids to help you plan, manage and measure your wealth-building progress. Discover: Why you might be pre-programmed to fail financially without knowing it How to attract more wealth by changing the way you think and act around money The step-by-step guide for calculating how much wealth you need to achieve financial freedom The mathematically proven investing formula for building wealth fast How to give your money meaning and add significance to your life And much, much more This book is perfect for those seeking a step-by-step pathway to overcoming money struggles, and those who want a better and brighter financial future for themselves, their children, and for generations to follow. It's time to learn how to count your money and make your money count.

Second in the Fluke Family series, Fluke Family Hero explores Maynerd Fluke Dumsted's career as the sheriff of his hometown. King Kryan Kruke now rules the Kingdom of Gnat, but he is still up to his old tricks. He schemes to rule the four lands of Gnaught by capitalizing on Maynerd's relationship to the long dead hero, Richard the Brave. The King hopes to springboard that fame to his advantage by transforming Maynerd into the new national hero. The chance arrivals of bad luck Fata Morgana and a young felon named Blacky further complicates Maynerd's efforts to keep the peace, but Fata may hold the keys to his heart. Dumsted town falls into turmoil when the local banker plots to fix the elections for Mayor and Sheriff by kidnapping the incumbents. He intends to sell them to the notorious bandits, the Moola Rude, but the plan goes awry. With Maynerd's only supporters locked in jail, his fate seems sealed. King Kruke has vanished and Scarface, the leader of the Moola Rude, sits on the throne of Gnat. Oh, where is a hero when a kingdom is in such grave need? Maynerd must save his friends and the Kingdom of Gnat from certain destruction by King Scarface or lose everything.

Welcome back to the Five Hundred Kingdoms, where the greatest fortune is the one you make… The seventh daughter of the Sea King, Ekaterina is more than a pampered princess—she's also the family spy. Which makes her the perfect emissary to discover secrets in the neighboring kingdom…and nothing interests her more than Sasha, the seventh son of the king of Belrus. She suspects he's far from the fool people think he is, but before she can find out what lies beneath his façade, she runs into trouble… Kidnapped and trapped in a Jinn’s castle, Ekaterina knows her chances of being found are slim. Now fortune, a fool and a paper bird are the only things she can count on to escape—along with her own clever mind and intrepid heart.… Previously Published. Read the Tale of Five Hundred Kingdoms Series by Mercedes Lackey: Book 1: The Fairy Godmother Book 2: One Good Knight Book 3: Fortune’s Fool Book 4: The Snow Queen Book 5: The Sleeping Beauty Book 6: Beauty and the Werewolf

In the tradition of Sean Wilsey's Oh The Glory of It All and Augusten Burrough's Running With Scissors, the great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt gives readers a grand tour of the world of wealth and WASPish peculiarity, in her irreverent and darkly humorous memoir. For generations the Burdens were one of the wealthiest families in New York, thanks to the inherited fortune of Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt. By 1955, the year of Wendy's birth, the Burden's had become a clan of overfunded, quirky and brainy, steadfastly chauvinistic, and ultimately doomed bluebloods on the verge of financial and moral decline-and were rarely seen not holding a drink. In Dead End Gene Pool, Wendy invites readers to meet her tragically flawed family, including an uncle with a fondness for Hitler, a grandfather who believes you can never have enough household staff, and a remarkably flatulent grandmother. At the heart of the story is Wendy's glamorous and aloof mother who, after her husband's suicide, travels the world in search of the perfect sea and ski tan, leaving her three children in the care of a chain- smoking Scottish nanny, Fifth Avenue grandparents, and an assorted cast of long-suffering household servants (who Wendy and her brothers love to terrorize). Rife with humor, heartbreak, family intrigue, and booze, Dead End Gene Pool offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of old money and gives truth to an old maxim: The rich are different.

A Woman's World must-read cozy mystery! A Book Riot and Criminal Element Most Anticipated Cozy Mystery! The first in the heart-warming and deliciously mysterious Magical Fortune Cookie series from Lefty Award-nominee Jennifer J. Chow. Felicity Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, including puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies. They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.