Bestselling author Jodi Picoult is a masterful storyteller, who “writes with a fine touch, a sharp eye for detail, and a firm grasp of the delicacy and complexity of human relationships” (The Boston Globe). Now, in this original short story, available exclusively as an eBook, Picoult introduces Serenity Jones, one of the fascinating characters from her eagerly awaited new novel, Leaving Time. Even as a child, Serenity Jones knew she possessed unusual psychic gifts. Now, decades later, she’s an acclaimed medium and host of her own widely viewed TV show, where she delivers messages to the living from loved ones who have passed. Lately, though, her efforts to boost ratings and garner fame have compromised her clairvoyant instincts. When Serenity books a young war widow to appear as a guest, the episode quickly unravels, stirring up a troubling controversy. And as she tries to undo the damage—to both her reputation and her show—Serenity finds that pride comes at a high price. Praise for Jodi Picoult “Picoult is a rare writer who delivers, book after book, a winning combination of the literary and the commercial.”—Entertainment Weekly “Picoult is a solid, lively storyteller.”—The New York Times “If Picoult were a general, she would be Patton; if a sports franchise, the New York Yankees; if a natural phenomenon, the sunrise.”—Tampa Tribune

In this psychological thriller from the author of The Chemistry of Death, a woman’s journey to motherhood leads her into deadly territory. Successful, single, and fiercely independent, Kate Powell has always taken charge of her own life. But lately she’s felt that something is missing. She wants a child—and she’s determined to have one on her own terms. Artificial insemination seems like the best option, but Kate doesn’t want to go through life not knowing who her child’s father is. After putting out an ad to find a suitable father, Kate finds the perfect candidate: Alex Turner seems to be the answer to all of Kate’s problems. But she’s about to learn that appearances can be deceiving. Soon Kate’s life is out of her hands . . . and dangerously out of control . . .

Where There's Smoke presents outstanding short fiction by Australia's finest male writers. These are tales of love, secrets, doubt and torment, the everyday and the extraordinary. A man sleeps at the site of a massacre and wakes refreshed. An unassuming piano tuner is sent off to contribute to the war effort. A woman with Alzheimer's is dragged along by her interfering son to visit Uluru. Brilliant, shocking and profound, these tales will leave you reeling in ways that only a great short story can. Chris Womersley * Murray Bail * Tim Winton * Rodney Hall * David Malouf * Tony Birch * Shane Maloney * Ryan O'Neill * Nam Le * Kim Scott

Once upon a time there was a war . . . and a young American who thought of himself as the Quiet American and the Ugly American, and who wished to be neither, who wanted instead to be the Wise American, or the Good American, but who eventually came to witness himself as the Real American and finally as simply the Fucking American. That’s me. This is the story of Skip Sands—spy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcong—and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. This is also the story of the Houston brothers, Bill and James, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert into a war in which the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. In its vision of human folly, and its gritty, sympathetic portraits of men and women desperate for an end to their loneliness, whether in sex or death or by the grace of God, this is a story like nothing in our literature. Tree of Smoke is Denis Johnson’s first full-length novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date. Tree of Smoke is the 2007 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.

The Devil Went Down to Texas... It turns out there is a worse place for a wannabe demon to be than hell...Fort Worth, Texas. Sure, it might be fine for all the humans walking around, but for me, it's the one thing getting in the way of me achieving full demon status. I need to corrupt a soul ASAP. Or else. Lookin' For Just One Soul to Steal... I figured the best place to find a corruptible soul would be in some dark corner of a western bar. Unfortunately, Chance Bellew is no ordinary cowboy perched on his barstool, looking like sin. He's a dark angel—the complement to my dark demon half—and now this assignment feels like much more than I bargained for. Praise for Karen Kelley: "The sex is steamy and the pacing gallops along."—Publishers Weekly "A perfect blend of humor...and sexy intimacy."—Booklist "Explosive! ...This story astounds at every level. Karen Kelley is an author not to be missed."?Fallen Angel Reviews

From Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Storyteller and My Sister’s Keeper, comes a gripping and beautifully written novella, now available exclusively as an eBook. Set in the wilds of Africa, Larger Than Life introduces Alice, the unforgettable character at the center of Picoult’s anticipated new novel, Leaving Time. A researcher studying memory in elephants, Alice is fascinated by the bonds between mother and calf—the mother’s powerful protective instincts and her newborn’s unwavering loyalty. Living on a game reserve in Botswana, Alice is able to view the animals in their natural habitat—while following an important rule: She must only observe and never interfere. Then she finds an orphaned young elephant in the bush and cannot bear to leave the helpless baby behind. Thinking back on her own childhood, and on her shifting relationship with her mother, Alice risks her career to care for the calf. Yet what she comes to understand is the depth of a parent’s love. Praise for Jodi Picoult “Picoult is a skilled wordsmith, and she beautifully creates situations that not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us.”—The Boston Globe “Picoult is a rare writer who delivers book after book, a winning combination of the literary and the commercial.”—Entertainment Weekly “Jodi Picoult’s novels do not gather dust on the bedside table. They are gobbled up quickly and the readers want more.”—Los Angeles Times

There's smoke over the hills, but nobody in Edenville seems too concerned, even though it's fire season and the bush is tinder-dry. Luke has made friends in this town, his mum has found a job she likes, and it's starting to look as if they'll stay for a while. But Luke knows that good things don't last, and everything he has come to rely on is threatened by a much bigger event, one that could destroy everyone and everything.

Coverage problem is an important and fundamental issue in sensor networks, which reflects how well a sensor network is monitored or tracked by a sensor. The current research on coverage problem in sensor networks are reviewed in this book. Specifically, two types of sensor coverage are investigated: area coverage and target coverage. In addition, the degree to which the goals of pervasive Internet and network access have been realised with community wireless networks is explored. Call-level performance modelling and QoS Assessment of W-CDMA networks is also addressed. In particular, multi-service teletraffic models suitable for the QoS assessment of W-CDMA networks is looked at. Angle of arrival (AOA) estimation is a significant technology in wireless networks, which can be exploited to locate mobile units, enhance communication efficiency and network capacity, and support location-aided routing. The many different high-resolution algorithms for AOA estimation is discussed. The performance of the algorithms is analysed and compared, and evaluated against theoretical lower bounds. One of the most important network security objectives is authentication, which means to know who send the data and where it came from. An intelligent authentication and key agreement mechanism for e-Hospital applications is proposed in this book. In addition, a mathematical model for calculating the coverage fraction in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is addressed. Furthermore, a comprehensive survey of recent researches on intentional mobility of WSN's is given. An overview of the cognitive radio technology and latest research developments in different layers of the protocol stack are discussed. Important topics such as wide-band spectrum sensing, transceiver architecture and dynamic spectrum allocation are reviewed as well. An overview of how satellite networking affects TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is examined. The main performance enhancing techniques encountered in the literature is also looked at. A mobile network architecture which addresses the handoff delays and protocol overheads of NEMO are presented. The feasibility of the architecture is evaluated by comparing its performance with state of the art proposals using both analytical and empirical data. Finally, an Art Colony Optimisation (ACO) based method is proposed to reduce the computational and communication overhead for wireless networks.

"Under an election's microscope, a politician whose marriage is over and his campaign manager can only keep their smoking hot love affair a secret for so long..." Anthony Hunter wonders what the hell he's gotten himself into when he agrees to manage an unproven candidate's campaign for governor of California. As soon as he meets the gorgeous, charismatic--and married--politician, attraction gives Anthony's rock-solid professionalism a run for its money, and Anthony knows he's in way over his head. Jesse Cameron doesn't like the idea of putting himself out there as a happily married, wholesome candidate, but his retired senator uncle insists it'll give him an edge over a challenging rival. The only problem is that Jesse's marriage is over, existing only to maintain his heterosexual facade. Oh, and there's that minor detail about his undeniable attraction to his smoking hot campaign manager. Or the fact that the attraction is very, very mutual. Before long, temptation explodes into a sizzling, secret relationship, but under the microscope of the media and the relentless scrutiny of the voting public, Anthony and Jesse can only keep their secret for so long. And this is one scandal a campaign won't survive...