With the President dead, the world faces the threat of not just one organization bent on global dominance, but two. Torn between doing his duty and protecting his family, Jake is faced with new dangers and the ever-present realization that he is playing a role written by someone else. Meanwhile, Andronicus must make amends for his errors against the Consortium by coordinating efforts to bring their enemy to its knees. Lars continues to play a freelance role, and discovers the depth of his son's treachery. On top of all this, Giselle may just be the key to world peace. Rainy Days and Monday begins a new cycle of fast-paced action and intrigue set in a world threatened by centuries-old regimes vying for preeminence, government corruption, and corporate greed. Only one man can stop it all and restore peace. FROM THE AUTHOR Rainy Days and Monday is the fourth installment of a 7-part series of novellas. The Jake Monday Chronicles will also be included in two volumes of collected works: The Monday Collection, Volumes One and Volume Two. So, whether you enjoy your series one installment at a time, or you like to read a longer work, we have you covered. The Monday Collection, Volume One contains Manic Monday, A Month of Mondays, and Thank God it's Monday. All these installments are also available to purchase separately if you wish. The Monday Collection, Volume Two will be released in the fourth quarter of 2014 and will include the final four parts of the Jake Monday saga: Rainy Days and Monday (March 2014), Can't Wait for Monday (May 2014), Mad Mad Monday (July 2014), and Monday Bloody Monday (September 2014). I get the question from time-to-time: what inspired you to write this story? With Jake Monday, my inspiration came from a multitude of sources. Authors like Ludlum, LeCarre, Fleming, and Follet come to mind. Also, I enjoy watching series on television: "Alias," "Heroes," "Lost," "Supernatural," "The X-Files," and "Hannibal." All of these have elements that influenced my writing. The Jake Monday Chronicles began in 2003 when I wrote a short story about an assassin named Jake Monday. I had no plans, really, but I had a sentence running through my head. The sentence that launched this series began: "Jake Monday hated Mondays more than any other day of the week." The idea that a high-profile assassin would be unhappy, unsatisfied, and struggling with his past and future, is not unique. I wanted to explore new areas of this theme. I thought of family, of a past hidden, of the moral challenge of an individual that finds himself caught in a massive global conspiracy while grappling with the choices he has made, willingly or not. So, Jake Monday is my Jason Bourne. Hallie is my Sidney Bristow (from Alias). My villains...well, they are all my own. I love to draw villains who are deep, believable, and scary. Not because they always represent the antithesis of the hero, but just the opposite: my villains are not much different than all of us. I do not believe in "grey areas," but I do believe the line between good and evil can be narrow. One wrong move and even someone like Jake Monday can be heading in the wrong direction.

Noel Bright and Wes Rivers have hit a snag in their relationship. They aren’t communicating the way they should be, and as the trip to visit Wes’ family in Maine nears, Noel feels only dread. The rainy weather in Haydon Cliff matches Noel’s current outlook, and he feels it’s up to Wes to right things between them, with a little pep talk from Noel’s sister, though, maybe he and Wes can work it out together and not fall victim to rainy days and Mondays.

A Rainy Day (PB)

Winner of the Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction and Los Angeles Times bestseller "It makes good music sound better."-Janet Maslin in The New York Times "A fascinating look into the West Coast recording studio scene of the '60s and the inside story of the music you heard on the radio. If you always assumed the musicians you listened to were the same people you saw onstage, you are in for a big surprise!"-Dusty Street, host of Classic Vinyl on Sirius XM Satellite Radio If you were a fan of popular music in the 1960s and early '70s, you were a fan of the Wrecking Crew-whether you knew it or not. On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves in Los Angeles, California as the driving sound of pop music-sometimes over the objection of actual band members forced to make way for Wrecking Crew members. Industry insider Kent Hartman tells the dramatic, definitive story of the musicians who forged a reputation throughout the business as the secret weapons behind the top recording stars. Mining invaluable interviews, the author follows the careers of such session masters as drummer Hal Blaine and keyboardist Larry Knechtel, as well as trailblazing bassist Carol Kaye-the only female in the bunch-who went on to play in thousands of recording sessions in this rock history. Readers will discover the Wrecking Crew members who would forge careers in their own right, including Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, and learn of the relationship between the Crew and such legends as Phil Spector and Jimmy Webb. Hartman also takes us inside the studio for the legendary sessions that gave us Pet Sounds, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and the rock classic "Layla," which Wrecking Crew drummer Jim Gordon cowrote with Eric Clapton for Derek and the Dominos. And the author recounts priceless scenes such as Mike Nesmith of the Monkees facing off with studio head Don Kirshner, Grass Roots lead guitarist (and future star of The Office) Creed Bratton getting fired from the group, and Michel Rubini unseating Frank Sinatra's pianist for the session in which the iconic singer improvised the hit-making ending to "Strangers in the Night." The Wrecking Crew tells the collective, behind-the-scenes stories of the artists who dominated Top 40 radio during the most exciting time in American popular culture.

An easy-to-read story featuring Noodles the little white dog It's raining outside, so Noodles is stuck indoors all day But he won't let that get him down. Noodles knows there are lots of fun games to play even on a rainy day. This funny Level 1 story is perfect for beginning readers.

Includes such activities as connecting-the-dots, making holiday decorations and cards, coloring, and making paper models.

Introduction by Richard Carpenter The definitive biography of one of the most enduring and endeared recording artists in history—the Carpenters—is told for the first time from the perspective of Richard Carpenter, through more than 100 hours of exclusive interviews and some 200 photographs from Richard's personal archive, many never published. After becoming multimillion-selling, Grammy-winning superstars with their 1970 breakthrough hit "(They Long to Be) Close to You," Richard and Karen Carpenter would win over millions of fans worldwide with a record-breaking string of hits including "We've Only Just Begun," "Top of the World," and "Yesterday Once More." By 1975, success was taking its toll. Years of jam-packed work schedules, including hundreds of concert engagements, proved to be just too much for the Carpenters to keep the hits coming—and, ultimately, to keep the music playing at all. However, Richard and Karen never took their adoring public, or each other, for granted. In Carpenters: The Musical Legacy, Richard Carpenter tells his story for the first time. With candor, heart, and humor, he sheds new light on the Carpenters' trials and triumphs—work that remains the gold standard for melodic pop. This beautifully illustrated definitive biography, with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen photographs, is a must-have for any Carpenters fan.

Kristen wakes up looking forward to having a fantastic Friday. As she waits for the bus to arrive, it starts raining. Oh, no! She doesn't have her umbrella! She wasn't expecting her day to start like this. It couldn't get any worse, could it? Will Kristen allow a little rain to ruin her fantastic Friday? Written by JacQuan Winters, Kristen's Rainy Day was written to continue the legacy of his younger sister, Kristen, and teach children to remain positive through negative situations. Kristen's Rainy Day is the beginning of a fun and unique children's book series to help children learn valuable life lessons.

Justice served. Honor restored. Team reunited. After a long battle to discover the truth, the men and women of Hard Ink have a lot to celebrate, especially the wedding of two of their own—Nick Rixey and Becca Merritt—whose hard-fought love deserves a happy ending. As Nick and the team shift from crisis mode to building their new security consulting firm, Becca heads back to work at the ER. But amid the everyday chaos of their demanding jobs and upcoming nuptials, an old menace they thought was long gone reemerges, threatening the peace they’ve only just found. Now, for one last time, Nick and Becca must fight for their always and forever, because they know that when true love overcomes all the odds, it lasts hard ever after. An Avon Romance

Growing up in Erob, Alabama, Nina "Little Bit" Barnes Enloe lived in the shadow of her imposing and harsh grandmother, Nina "Biggie" Barnes Enloe. If she wasn't being bossed around by Biggie, then the task fell to her best friend Win...who did win. At everything. Bit never seemed to share Win's lifetime supply of “lucky dust.” Perhaps the only thing Bit has ever chosen for herself is her friendship with Avery, the out-of-towner who showed up on the saddest day of her life—unpretentious and decidedly un-Southern—with a funeral casserole in hand. Bit believes she can escape her grandmother’s controlling grip once and for all by moving somewhere where she is the only Nina Enloe listed: New York. Yet her world is turned upside down when an unexpected loss forces her to leave her new life in the city and return to Erob, where she must face everything—and everyone—she left behind. In the process, Bit discovers her true identity, learns the hard lessons of acceptance and forgiveness, finds herself falling in love in unexpected places, and finds comfort in the secrets of rainy days. Leslie Hooton, author of Before Anyone Else, brings her signature wit and Southern charm to the page again in this triumphant coming-of-age story.