“The Sabbath doesn’t apply to me. That Old Testament stuff isn’t relevant anymore."

If you’ve ever said that, you could not be more wrong.

The first Sabbath occurred before there was Jew or gentile; after six days of creation God rested. And don’t forget that Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). Not, “The Sabbath was made for the Jew.”

But even if you do believe the fourth commandment applies to you, how do you apply it to your life?

It’s hard to stop and rest for an hour let alone an entire day. Besides that, busyness is a badge—if you’re not busy, you’re not trying. Sure, you might make it to church every Sunday, but while there all you can think about is the to do list you need to work on.

Andrew Gilmore was in the same boat: distracted at church, stressed out by his to do list, and unsure if the fourth commandment even applied to him.

But a few years ago, he read the Bible cover to cover for the first time. As he made his way through the Old Testament he was struck by how many times the scriptures mention the Sabbath. In fact, the word “Sabbath” appears ninety-six times in the Old Testament, 154 times overall.

He began asking, "How could something so prevalent not be relevant to my walk with Christ?” He concluded that, at the very lest, the Sabbath reveals something about the character of God and how He wants His people to live.


So Andrew set out on a mission to uncover the meaning behind the fourth commandment.

How does it apply to the Christian?
How should one behave on the Sabbath?
What does it mean to “work"?

The deeper he dug, the more he realized just how important the Sabbath is. He compiled all of his findings over the course of two years to bring you "Do No Work: Beat Burnout, Find Inner Peace, and Strengthen Your Faith by Studying the Most Overlooked of the Ten Commandments."

In "Do No Work" Andrew gives a thorough examination of the Sabbath commandment: it’s origin, its application to Christians, and its ability to transcend the material world.


This short book is crammed full of information, inspiring anecdotes, and even some theology.

You’ll learn:

- The 2 steps required to beat burnout
- 3 ways to get better rest
- The real reason you don’t have peace
- The most common Sabbath myth
- What the Sabbath and heaven have in common
- How to skyrocket your faith to levels you’ve never had before

And more!

Read the book Dan Miller (of "48 Days to the Work You Love" and "Wisdom Meets Passion") mentioned on his weekly podcast saying, "I love the concept.” And, “It’s really well done.” And find out what it means to honor God on the Sabbath.

Apply the principles behind this book and you’ll reduce stress, draw closer to God, and have a much improved grasp on the Bible as a whole.

One Of The Most Disturbing Stories You'll Ever Read

Distant for many years, Franklin out of Pennsylvania and his step-brother Everon out of Nevada are connected by a single link: Their sister Cynthia.

Enter The Nightmare

A nuclear bomb is detonated in New York. Banker, wife, mother, Cynthia lives in New York.

The military has quarantined the city. All bridges and tunnels have been destroyed or blocked. Easterly winds have forced the bomb's huge radiation cloud out over Long Island. But the wind is about to change.

Franklin climbs mountains and truly understands people. Everon can fly anything. And Cynthia's brothers are determined to find her.

If it were your sister, what would you do?

***A ripping good tale of how intelligence and determination can overcome the near-impossible. And of the true price of altruism.

Before there was Wool there had to be a Loss Of Reason.

From New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown comes a funny heartache of a novel about overcoming the past, confronting the future, and defying all expectations.

Everyone is talking about Jennie Sue Baker and the mess she made of her life in New York. The former high school queen bee—and wealthy darling of Bloom, Texas—has returned home after all these years, riding on a common bus and bearing two bounced alimony checks. In a town that thrives on gossip, Jennie’s fall from grace has shamed her mother, set the town buzzing, and caused old, jealous enemies to whisper in delight. They say she’s taken a job as a housekeeper, gotten a garage apartment, and might be crushing on Rick Lawson, a simple farmer with modest dreams.

As romance starts to bud, Jennie relishes what it means to follow her heart, find real new friends, and finally be herself—regardless of all the lying town chatter. But fate has another twist in store. Rumor has it that Jennie now stands to lose what matters most…unless she can convince Rick of one true thing—and that’s love.

“I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.”

Yeonmi Park has told the harrowing story of her escape from North Korea as a child many times, but never before has she revealed the most intimate and devastating details of the repressive society she was raised in and the enormous price she paid to escape.

Park’s family was loving and close-knit, but life in North Korea was brutal, practically medieval. Park would regularly go without food and was made to believe that, Kim Jong Il, the country’s dictator, could read her mind. After her father was imprisoned and tortured by the regime for trading on the black-market, a risk he took in order to provide for his wife and two young daughters, Yeonmi and her family were branded as criminals and forced to the cruel margins of North Korean society. With thirteen-year-old Park suffering from a botched appendectomy and weighing a mere sixty pounds, she and her mother were smuggled across the border into China.

I wasn’t dreaming of freedom when I escaped from North Korea. I didn’t even know what it meant to be free. All I knew was that if my family stayed behind, we would probably die—from starvation, from disease, from the inhuman conditions of a prison labor camp. The hunger had become unbearable; I was willing to risk my life for the promise of a bowl of rice. But there was more to our journey than our own survival. My mother and I were searching for my older sister, Eunmi, who had left for China a few days earlier and had not been heard from since.

Park knew the journey would be difficult, but could not have imagined the extent of the hardship to come. Those years in China cost Park her childhood, and nearly her life.  By the time she and her mother made their way to South Korea two years later, her father was dead and her sister was still missing. Before now, only her mother knew what really happened between the time they crossed the Yalu river into China and when they followed the stars through the frigid Gobi Desert to freedom. As she writes, “I convinced myself that a lot of what I had experienced never happened. I taught myself to forget the rest.”

In In Order to Live, Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom.

Still in her early twenties, Yeonmi Park has lived through experiences that few people of any age will ever know—and most people would never recover from. Park confronts her past with a startling resilience, refusing to be defeated or defined by the circumstances of her former life in North Korea and China. In spite of everything, she has never stopped being proud of where she is from, and never stopped striving for a better life. Indeed, today she is a human rights activist working determinedly to bring attention to the oppression taking place in her home country.

Park’s testimony is rare, edifying, and terribly important, and the story she tells in In Order to Live is heartbreaking and unimaginable, but never without hope. Her voice is riveting and dignified. This is the human spirit at its most indomitable.

"Toe-curlingly intense erotica."

Venus’s breathing became more labored and she set her fork down to steady herself. She moved her hands to her chair armrests and closed her eyes. It was obvious that something was going on below our line of sight as she began squirming seductively in her seat. Her lips parted and she moaned softly. She sank lower in her chair, spreading her legs to accommodate whoever was touching her under the table…

When bored housewife Jade seeks to spread her wings, she discovers an erotic adventure club.

Catering to a select clientele, Fantasy Feast hosts a private dinner event which promises to stimulate all of her senses. Wearing nothing but masquerade masks, dinner guests receive extra special service while their fellow diners voyeuristically look on.

Intrigued, Jade books an appointment and on the scheduled date drives to a private countryside villa. Greeted by a stunning nude hostess, she’s escorted to a personal spa where she’s sensually prepped for the main event. By the time dinner is set to begin, Jade is already at a fever pitch of excitement.

During the feast, she watches with increasing arousal as an exotic mix of naked men and women are pleasured by mysterious sensualists. When her turn finally arrives, Jade is aching in anticipation of what surprises lie in wait, while eight strangers watch her have the erotic experience of her life.

A story with a tantalizing buildup and a powerful climax.

'When reading historical fiction, I want to be able to see the colours, the sounds and smells rush into place in my mind's eye. MJ Trow achieves this with interest. Believable characters, a suitably intricate plot and immediate immersion into the treacherous world of Rome at the end of the first imperial dynasty.' - Mark Knowles, author of The Consul's Daughter

Sometimes, a snake is just a snake. And sometimes…

First-century Rome.

Senator Gaius Lucius Nerva is taken ill at a dinner party and dies a few days later. His heartbroken wife, Flavia, is told it was a natural death. Calidus, Nerva’s recently freed slave, suspects otherwise.

As he embarks upon the funeral ceremonies, Calidus becomes more and more convinced that his master was murdered and begins an investigation, seeking out everyone who had attended the dinner party.

His enquiries lead him to rub shoulders with the ‘great and good’ of Rome; senators, soldiers, even the ruthless and mercurial Emperor Nero. And his former lover, Julia Eusabia, who seems intent on rekindling their romance and luring him away from his wife and daughter.

Calidus’ quest is by no means easy or safe as he encounters the darkest and most dangerous people in Rome. But he knows he must keep searching for the person responsible, to bring justice to the master he had loved.
This racy historical whodunnit brings to life the sights, smells and sounds of ancient Rome, with sharp humour and a Christie-style finale to boot.

‘Trow makes the political intrigue of the time palpable.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Trow’s style is subtle and often humorous’ – mysteryfile.com

We were only supposed to be friends with benefits.

We even made rules.

So things wouldn't get complicated.

So no one would get hurt.

But somewhere along the way, feelings got involved...

I should've known better, but he got me. Had me.

Besides, I always was lousy at relationships.

I just never cared before.

Not until him, anyway.

Not until Carter.


**This is a full-length, standalone romance novel with no cliffhanger, no cheating, and a satisfying HEA.

In a city where everyone is trying to murder you, would you survive?

Suniya is a young Muslim woman living in modern Britain, struggling to come to terms with the prejudice she faces each and every day. Fortunately, she knows that things are improving, and she is not in any real danger.

Unfortunately, she is wrong.

When the city of Stoke-on-Trent is taken over by a well-known racist movement, she finds herself trapped, in a desperate fight for survival.

And when she turns to the building next to hers, and sees them dragging minorities out of their homes and executing them on the street, she knows it could be minutes until they find her…

When Liberty Dies is the tense, gripping thriller by horror-master Rick Wood. Download now and discover the real dangers of what happens when racism goes unchallenged...

‘Fascinating tale of murder and deception set against the political tensions between Mosley’s Blackshirts and working-class Communists in 1930s Leeds. Perfectly captures the atmosphere of a city struggling to shake off the effects of the Great Depression.’ – A.J. Wright, bestselling author of Sitting Murder

Leeds, Autumn 1936.

During a British Union of Fascists rally, a body is found.

War veteran Detective Sergeant Urban Raven is tasked with finding the killer.

But with virtually no clues, no witnesses and no obvious motive, he has few leads to start the investigation.

Leeds has become a shadow of its former self. Once a bright, vibrant and progressive metropolis, it has all but ground to a halt since the Crash of ’29, the Depression and the ensuing descent into unemployment and poverty.

And there are political stirrings as the BUF vie with the Communist Party for public support.

Was the murder an act of vengeance?

Was the victim killed for his political beliefs?

Or was the killing part of a more sinister plan, a grisly smear campaign? And if so, which side, if either, is responsible?

Raven and his colleagues find themselves constantly hindered by red tape, politics and the press. But sometimes, if you want a result, you just have to do it your way…

This puzzler of a crime story comprises convincing characters, a clever plot and a window into the dark days of 1930s northern England, where so many had lost hope…

…the dead. On leave.

Chris Nickson, author of the Richard Nottingham series, was born and raised in Leeds, England. A well-known music journalist and author, he’s written many celebrity biographies as well as being a frequent contributor to numerous music magazines.

One alpha man.
One bossy woman.
A fire that won't die.

I messed up.
Once upon a time, Amelia was my everything.
Until she wasn't.
I'm home now, and I want her back.
She's never forgiven me for something I didn't even do.
I've never forgiven her for believing the worst.
One look and the years apart go up in smoke.
The minute I lay eyes on Amelia, I'm hard for her.
Again.
That smart mouth and curvy body is all I ever wanted.
This time, I'll have her and she'll have me.
Every inch of me.
This is my second chance. I won't back down.
She'll be mine. For good this time.

*This is a steamy, full-length standalone romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. No cliffhangers. Nothing but steamy romance & HEA!

When two young boys discover human bones buried beneath a tree in a trailer park, Detective Josie Quinn races to join her team at the scene. She used to play in those woods as a child, happier outside and away from her abusive mother, Belinda Rose.

Josie’s past crashes into her present when a rare dental condition confirms the bones belong to a teenage foster-child who was murdered thirty years ago. A girl named Belinda Rose…

Josie hasn’t seen her mother in years but, with an undeniable connection between her mother and the dead girl, does she dare track her down?

Just as Josie gets closer to uncovering a secret that will shatter her world forever, another body is uncovered. It’s suddenly clear that someone very close to Josie will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried forever.

As she battles the demons from her past, can Josie stop this killer before another precious life is taken?

Do you love unputdownable crime thrillers that keep you up all night? Then this gripping rollercoaster ride, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine, will have you totally hooked! 

New York Times Bestseller

A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

Life was f*cking boring till I met her.
The raven-haired beauty on the train.
I spilled my coffee on her, and she b*tched me out.

Two weeks later she was back. But she was different.
Instead of tearing into me, her sparkling green eyes begged me to make her laugh.
Her delicious, plump lips ignited my desire and made me forget the girl who got away.

But something's wrong.

She doesn't remember me. Acts like we just met.
I don't know if she's f*cking with me, or if it's something deeper.
But I'm going to find out.

I was hurt once. Never again.

I'll prove my love to Tamara and the twins growing inside her.
Life used to be boring, now it's a f*cking roller coaster.
This time, the girl's not getting away. This time, I'm chasing after her.

I’d moved on. Until Ben Taylor walked into my camp.

I swore off men. Forever. Period. The end.

Ben Taylor was the cause - the perfect muscled military hero.

The green-eyed angel who stole my soul.

He claimed I cheated on him. 

I told him I wouldn’t cheat on the man who owned my heart.

I’ve moved on. I help other women now.

Women like me whose hearts have been smashed into pieces.

I offer them the space and support to heal. One day I might even heal myself.

Six years since I last saw him – still the perfect muscled military hero, now with a cute kid in tow.

Still my first and only love.

Still the man who didn’t trust me enough to listen. The man who broke my heart.

I’ve sworn off men. For good.

And I’ve sworn off Ben Taylor.

Right?

Gage Rutherford is the perfect embodiment of a Dom, his raw sensuality and naked masculinity giving him an appeal that Emma Burke can’t ignore. Unable to resist his allure, she allows him to pull her into his world of hard-core BDSM. At first, at Gage’s insistence, it’s just sex. Sadistic, kinky sex. Hot, passionate sex. Whenever and wherever he demands it—in her office, on the dining room table, at the Renaissance Fair, in his dungeon. Just sex. Because he has no use for love or romance. Devastated by his ex-wife’s betrayal, he swears he’ll never allow himself to be vulnerable to any other woman. Ever.
But what happens when exquisite physical passion becomes entangled with long-suppressed emotions? What happens when “all that sex” exposes all those hidden hungers and needs? What happens when Emma’s growing love for Gage smashes right up against his desperate need to deny his own growing love for her?
Will either of them survive the destruction?
 

Isla Lennox is the best interpreter aboard the Alliance ship Argo -- if the captain would ever give her a chance to do her job. When he finally does, Isla's big break turns into chaos and panic as she and all the female crew members are traded to an alien ship in exchange for the Argo's safe passage. The giant Xaravian warriors are intimidating, covered in scales, and... way too attractive. Isla and her friends won't surrender quietly, but it seems like the Xaravians are looking forward to that kind of fight.

The moment Vaant sees the beautiful, sassy interpreter, he knows he can't leave her in danger. She thinks he's a pirate and a dangerous rebel -- and that he bought her and her friends. Vaant must prove his honorable intentions, even as her flashing eyes and curvy figure drives him mad with desire. He'll even endanger his ship and go to the edge of the universe to keep her safe.

When her former captain frames Vaant for destroying an innocent ship and murdering another crew, Isla must face that the Alliance she served so proudly is not what it seems. Starting a new life as a rebel with Vaant sounds more and more appealing, but first they'll have to fight through half the Alliance fleet, escape a crumbling space station, and find love among the stars.

Meet the Kings. They’ll warm your heart… then get it racing.
Fall in love with the wild, passionate, scandalous men, and the strong, confident women of this big family as they find lasting love in the quaint small town of Crown Creek. Each book is connected or can be read as a standalone.

Crown Creek is a small town. Too small for Jonah King's huge ego.

He's everything I'm not. He's everything I hate. And now, he's everything I hate... to love.

My best friend's older brother is a huge rockstar now. If he believes that lets him get away with screwing over his family the way he did, he's wrong.

I always hated what he did to them. I always hated him.

But then he shows up again. A different man from the one I remember. He's humbled. Grieving.

Lost.

And suddenly I’m singing a different tune.

Instead of shouting, I’m saying, “touch me.” I’m saying, “kiss me again.” I’m saying, “please… please.”

I’m saying, “I had you all wrong. And I’m sorry."

But I want a future and there’s no future with Jonah King. I’m a small-town kindergarten teacher and he’s a big time celebrity. We come from different worlds.

But the music we make together is too beautiful to ignore.

***

CROWN CREEK is one big series about one special small town, following the lives and loves of interconnected families and friends. The same characters show up in multiple books and each book can be read as a standalone. Or they can be read in the following order for one long series.

THE KINGS:
Sweet Crazy Song - Jonah’s story (FREE)
Lost Perfect Kiss - Gabe’s story
Soft Wild Ache - Beau’s story
His Secret Heart - Finn’s story (Coming September 2018)


CROWN CREEK STANDALONES:
Last Good Man - Willa and Cooper’s story

Introduction

Welcome to my book, There and Back There Again by Andy Alsup ~ Village Savant.

My story has a few themes:
- technology

- music

- culture

- Seattle

- religion

- Aspergers

- schizophrenia

- psychic musings

I write a lot about my daily experience. It primarily revolves around my ongoing conversation with a variety of voices I hear in my head. I call this experience a couple of things. It is psychic. It is a network of identities. It is public. It is hilarious.

This is an introduction to give you an idea what I’m talking about with the conflict oriented stuff I write, and what I call chipmunk.

I hear voices. They are best described as auditory hallucinations. Sometimes they’re identifiable. Sometimes they’re words in my thoughts that don’t have sound, they don’t belong there, and they’re clearly someone else’s words.

I have called them a psychic phenomenon. I believe these are real people. They sometimes identify themselves. Sometimes I can hear who they are. Almost always they lie about their identity. They are always consistently wrong about people I know. They attempt to be identified as these people for a variety of reasons, but mostly to try to establish credibility because they have none and to attempt to manipulate.

I always tell the voices I will not accept them trying to do that.

I call the voices chipmunk because they sound squeaky, clown car because it’s one after another, and douchebag because they’re intrusive and self satisfied losers.

The reality is that the attempts to manipulate are trying to control me or lure me into doing something for reasons they are never honest about.

The voices are abusive, hostile, immature, and nonstop nonsense. They are factually wrong about everything. They lie about their motives, their information, their coordination with each other, and people that I know are not how the voices describe them.

The voices constantly attempt to indicate they are interfering in my life or are people I would want to have input from. They do this for a variety of reasons but it comes down to stupidity and probably people just wasting their time who have nothing better to do.

Sometimes they describe this as entertainment. They say they watch me either through their computer, or that they experience the same phenomenon I do in their head, and they see me remotely. I don’t know what that is like. I do sometimes see people doing things, and I can sometimes hear their thoughts.

I have the ability to give them words I make them say. I can also give them thoughts, or make them do things.

I sometimes smell or feel things that are also psychic.

The voices are real people behaving badly.

~~~

sa·vant
saˈvän(t),säˈvän(t)
noun
a learned person, especially a distinguished scientist.
synonyms: intellectual, scholar, sage, philosopher, thinker, wise/learned person
~~
People have asked me about the choice of the word savant for my Facebook page.

I'll put it this way. Genius doesn't cover it. I'm beyond that.

Savant indicates epic level wisdom in an area that also accompanies a deficit.
My savant is people.

I can see your soul at a glance. I can write and speak words on every day topics that make you stand with applause. I can talk you under the table with logic. I can explain the universe in a few words. I can make science deliciously funny, 12 hours in the brisket lab with a pbr. I have done it all with technology, and I can take you into the future. I am fluent in music and film that people resonate with, but can't remember why. I think things that happen because I think them. I can change your words in your mouth. I know what to tell you to freak you out or calm you. I can describe you to yourself in ways you know but never knew.

I'll need your help to meet a girl.

~ Andy ~ Village Savant ~ The Smartest Guy On the Planet
https://www.facebook.com/villagesavant/

A "feel-good tale ... rich in nostalgia" - Publishers Weekly

A faded farmhouse, a devoted dog. One special summer.

Melinda Foster is already at a crossroads when the “for rent” sign beckons her down a dusty gravel lane. Facing forty and downsized from her successful career at a Twin Cities ad agency, she's struggling to find her way when a phone call brings her home to rural Iowa.

It’s not long before she is caring for a barn full of animals and working at her family’s hardware store in the community of Prosper, whose motto is “The Great Little Town That Didn’t.” And just like the vast garden she tends under the summer sun, Melinda soon begins to thrive. But when tragedy strikes the tiny community, can she piece back together the fragile new life she's worked so hard to create?

Filled with memorable characters, from a big-hearted farm dog to the weather-obsessed owner of the local co-op, “Growing Season” celebrates the challenges and joys of rural life. First in a series! Don't miss the heartwarming sequel, "Harvest Season," and two more titles arriving in late 2018!

“I’m not certain any man could ever tame those appalling Chadwick girls. Even if that one daughter does marry, it would take a brave man to suffer the rest of the family.” – Lady Worthington, Marchioness of Langbury

Miss Lavinia Chadwick--the only non-bluestocking in her family--is destined to marry well.

At least according to her mother.

She will definitely not marry a Scotsman.

According to her mother.

With the season around the corner, Mama is determined that Lavinia shall finally find her duke. Or her earl. Even a marquess would do.

But, first, Lavinia must do her duty and help entertain a famous author visiting their sleepy village. With the help of her sisters, she’s been tasked with ensuring his stay goes perfectly. Unfortunately, her sisters are more of a hindrance than a help. So is her attraction to the braw laird who has come specially to see his favorite author.

However, her sisters are certain that this rough Scot is good for her and set about ensuring their clandestine budding relationship thrives. Of course, with sisters like her, she could just as easily end up ruined and disappointing her whole family. Can Lavinia find the courage to fight for what she really wants and survive her sisters’ meddling?