The story of the love that ended an empire

In this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs’ lives: Nicholas’s political naïveté, Alexandra’s obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis’s brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history—the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Robert K. Massie's Catherine the Great. 

Praise for Nicholas and Alexandra

“A larger-than-life drama.”—Saturday Review

“A moving, rich book . . . [This] revealing, densely documented account of the last Romanovs focuses not on the great events . . . but on the royal family and their evil nemesis. . . . The tale is so bizarre, no melodrama is equal to it.”—Newsweek

“A wonderfully rich tapestry, the colors fresh and clear, every strand sewn in with a sure hand. Mr. Massie describes those strange and terrible years with sympathy and understanding. . . . They come vividly before our eyes.”—The New York Times
 
“An all-too-human picture . . . Both Nicholas and Alexandra with all their failings come truly alive, as does their almost storybook romance.”—Newsday
 
“A magnificent and intimate picture . . . Not only the main characters but a whole era become alive and comprehensible.”—Harper’s

Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house—a farmer’s stone cottage—on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends.

In anecdotes that are by turns funny, sad, moving, and tragic, she recalls them all, the crofters and their laird, the boatmen and tradesmen, young lovers and forbidding churchmen. Against the old-fashioned island culture and the grandeur of mountain and sea unfold indelible stories: a young woman carried through snow for airlift to the hospital; a rescue by boat; the marriage of a gentle giant and the island beauty; a ghostly encounter; the shocking discovery of a woman in chains; the flames of a heather fire at night; an unexploded bomb from World War II; and the joyful, tipsy celebration of a ceilidh. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse’s compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Developing video games—hero's journey or fool's errand? The creative and technical logistics that go into building today's hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean—it's nothing short of miraculous.

Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings—even as it nearly ripped their studio apart.

Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell—and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.

The Casanovas.

Twelve of the world’s most eligible bachelors are personally invited to take a seat on this exclusive, private match-making club. (Piper: Sharing is caring?)

The purpose? To find the perfect wife. Ten women are considered, but only one is chosen. Each of these men are after one lucky girl’s heart. Vetting these ladies is a year long event. Contests. Forms. Interviews. Demonstrations. Galas. (Piper: All of which I missed. Darn.)

The prize? One million dollars or a ring from the bachelor of her choice after the yearlong mutli-engagement period is over. Lady’s choice. (Piper: Show me the money.)

The problem? Me. I need cash more than anyone could possibly understand, and there’s no way in hell I’d ever be invited to woo twelve men for a chunk of change. (Piper: Good thing I know the coordinator.)

The promise? To save my family from losing their house, their business and their hope. All I need is a shot at the position. (Piper: Determination, haircare products and a strut like I own the place will do the rest.)

Piper: These boys are in for a treat. Maybe. Possibly. What did I just get myself into?

The Casanova Club – Only one can win her heart.

Note to the Reader: This is a 13 book sexy romantic comedy series with monthly releases in 2019. We'll be following the journey of Piper, one funny, down-to-earth young woman, and her willingness to give up everything to save her family. The books are standalone in nature, but do have references to the books before as Piper will spend a month with each member of the 2019 Casanova Club. Voting will begin in early February and run all year long. That's right. You get to vote on who Piper ends up. More to come on that! Enjoy. I did.

Small changes work. In this practical ebook, wellness expert Brett Blumenthal reveals how to hone in on the mind as the foundation of overall health and well-being. She presents one small, achievable change every week—from developing music appreciation to eating brain-boosting foods, practicing mono-tasking, incorporating play, and more. The accumulation of these lifestyle changes ultimately leads to improved memory, less stress, increased productivity, and sustained happiness. Backed by research from leading experts and full of helpful charts and worksheets, 52 Small Changes for the Mind provides a road map to a better life—and proves that the journey can be as rewarding as the destination.

Her secret frees trillions…

Discovery risks them all.

Saree’s got a secret. A big one. She tunes space fold clocks—the only thing allowing safe travel between star systems. She’s the only human Clocker. The security of trillions relies on Saree’s freedom. And they can never know.

Despite her best efforts, rumors fly. With a bounty hunter on her heels, Saree jumps on Lightwave Fold Transport, the safest option. But she quickly regrets her snap decision. Lightwave’s crew are mercenaries she barely escaped as a child. Do they suspect who she’s become?

Can Saree keep her secret life safe? She’d rather die than blockade and blackmail systems for a crime lord or evil corporation. And there’s worse out there…

Race across the universe, one step ahead of danger with Saree and the crew of Lightwave. Get your copy of Lightwave: Clocker, Folding Space Series 1.0, before freedom ticks away, one nanosecond at a time…

(All the swear words are made up and while there are adult topics and relationships, there’s no erotic sex in this series.)

Earth is overcrowded and polluted.
A new planet, Exilon 5, has been located.
But Exilon 5 is already occupied.

Becoming Human is the first book in this post-apocalyptic dystopian series. Read the books in order: Becoming Human, Altered Reality, Crimson Dawn.

Two Worlds. Two Species. One Terrifying Secret.

In 2163, a polluted and overcrowded Earth forces humans to search for a new home. But the exoplanet they target, Exilon 5, is occupied.

Having already begun a massive relocation programme, the World Government on Earth sends Bill Taggart to monitor the threat level of the Indigenes, the alien race that lives on Exilon 5. Bill is a man on the edge. He believes the Indigenes killed his wife, but he doesn’t know why. Until now.

Stephen has every reason to despise the humans and their attempts to colonise his planet. To protect his species from further harm, he must go against his very nature and become human.

Laura O’Halloran is losing her daily battle with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Her only chance at recovery is leaving the dark Earth for the sunnier climate of Exilon 5. She hopes her credentials as a World Government employee will secure her a one-way trip, but with the ever increasing relocation demand that is not a guarantee.

Her discovery of a deadly secret threatens her life and that of Bill and Stephen. A secret so great it could rip apart both worlds.

What Amazon readers are saying:

Love this book!
A stellar five star read!
Fascinating. Gotta have more
A unique view of the future
Excellent world building and dark, complex characters

This omnibus includes the first three books of the Mortis Vampire Series.

Death Beckons - Working late one night, Natalie Pierce is kidnapped by a creature that looks like a harmless old man, but is something far more terrifying. Waking up in a creepy mausoleum, she is forced to endure three nights of indescribable agony. Her life is forever altered when she is transformed into a monster of myth and legend; a vampire.

Lonely and full of despair, she comes face to face with the irresistible and enigmatic Lord Lucentio. Justice bringer for the European Vampire Council, Luc has been sent to Australia to kill Natalie's maker, but someone has already beaten him to it. He quickly discovers that Nat is far from an ordinary fledgling. He suspects that she is Mortis, a figure of both hope and dread among their kind.

Natalie is propelled into a dark and mysterious underworld that takes her far away from her hometown of Brisbane. Her arrival was foretold long ago and her fate is already sealed. Nat's entire species is in danger and it is her job to save them. She desperately wants to escape from the burden that has been thrust upon her, but she is inextricably linked to a two thousand year old prophecy. An unknown enemy has begun to whittle down their already limited numbers. If Nat fails to accept her destiny, all vampires will soon cease to exist.

Death Embraces - Natalie Pierce awakens to find herself buried in a box that strongly resembles a coffin. After some initial confusion she remembers that she has become a member of a very exclusive club; the living dead.

Natalie has three important tasks ahead of her. One: escape from her underground prison. Two: hunt down the creature responsible for imprisoning her. Three: discover who or what is behind the cause of the sentient shadows that only she can see.

As the long awaited and highly unanticipated Mortis, Nat has abilities that no other vampire has ever before possessed. She must utilize the strangeness that sets her apart from her new kin to fulfill a prophecy that was written over two thousand years ago. The ancient text predicts that it is her destiny to wipe out the vast bulk of her own kind. Despite all of the weird and wacky powers that she has gained, not even Mortis can avoid her fate.

Death Deceives - From the moment she’d been turned into Mortis, Natalie Pierce had been fated to come face to face with the first vampire ever created. Hideously transformed over thousands of years by the diseased blood that runs through his veins, the First had created an army of grey skinned imps. His plan is to enslave humanity and to turn them into a vast herd of cattle to feed his offspring.

Nat and her friends are all that stands between the humans and the bat faced, orange eyed imps. Aside from the overwhelming odds against them, Natalie foresaw an even bigger danger. As vampires, they were all highly susceptible to becoming possessed by their shadows. Once that happened, they could then be turned into imps by the First. Luc, Geordie, Igor and Gregor would be doomed from the instant they set foot inside the First’s lair.

A recent prophecy had foretold that an army would come to Natalie’s aid. With many of her new kin already possessed by their shadows, Nat was uncertain where this mystery army would come from. She could only hope that the prophecy would come true. If it didn't, she would be facing the First and his growing army of ravenous offspring alone.

From the bestselling author of Pretty Girls Dancing comes a shattering serial-killer thriller about revenge, deliverance, and survival.

Cady Maddix survived a brutal upbringing—emotionally scarred but hardened—with a will for self-preservation. Hunting fugitives has given her life purpose and control. But when the Deputy US Marshal returns home to care for her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother, a new case stirs old memories.

Child killer Samuel Aldeen has broken out of a nearby facility for the criminally insane, and the authorities believe he was aided by accomplices, both inside and out. Enlisted to track him down, Cady follows an unexpected lead. Her name is Eryn Pullman, a young woman recently released from a neighboring psychiatric facility, a mentally fragile survivor of childhood abuse, and Aldeen’s next designated victim.

To save Eryn’s life, Cady must work fast to uncover the unimaginable link between predator and prey—even as it pulls her into the cold dark places of her own past.

Daniel is desperate for a job. When someone slides a note under his door offering him the groundskeeper’s position at an old estate, it seems too good to be true.

Alarm bells start ringing when he arrives at Craven Manor. The mansion’s front door hangs open, and leaves and cobwebs coat the marble foyer. It’s clear no one has lived there in a long time.

But an envelope waits for him inside the doorway. It contains money, and promises more.

Daniel is desperate. Against his better judgement, he moves into the groundskeeper’s cottage behind the crypt. He’s determined to ignore the strange occurrences that plague the estate.

But when a candle flickers to life in the abandoned tower window, Daniel realises Craven Manor is hiding a terrible secret… one that threatens to bury him with it.

Finalist in the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards

What if the serial killer you were investigating was someone you knew?

DS Wendy Knight's first murder case was always going to test her limits, but even she couldn't anticipate that a sadistic serial killer might be someone she knew - very well.

As her investigation unfolds, so too does a sinister plot that will turn her world upside down and make it increasingly difficult to distinguish friend from foe in her tightknit world.

By the time Wendy realises she is the killer's final intended victim, she's left fighting against her personal instincts - and for her life.

Adam Croft is the USA Today and worldwide Amazon number 1 bestseller of crime and psychological thrillers, with more than one million books sold to date.

Bone-chilling fiction inspired by scripture and the private revelations of the saints. Guaranteed to make you rethink the apocalypse.

Eighteen months ago, the Earth survived a comet strike. Famine, economic depression, and soaring crime rates rode in on its tail. While the government scrambles for solutions, Gina Applegate vlogs about college life and current events. God doesn't figure large in her life. Nonetheless, Gina thinks she's a pretty good person until a mystical event called The Warning gives her a glimpse of hell, shaking her fragile faith. As the world slips deeper into darkness, the gulf between the godly and the godless widens, leaving no middle ground. Everyone must choose a side.

Before the comet comes, many nations, the good excepted, will be scourged by want and famine. The great nation in the ocean that is inhabited by people of different tribes and descent will be devastated by earthquake, storm, and tidal wave. It will be divided and, in great part, submerged . . . For in none of those cities does a person live according to the Laws of God. A powerful wind will rise in the North, carrying heavy fog and the densest dust, and it will fill their throats and eyes so that they will cease their butchery and be stricken with a great fear. ~Saint Hildegard (12th Century)

CONTENT WARNINGS:

The story is set in a secular world in a rapid decline. Expect some strong language, sexual situations, and violence.

Comet Dust springs from a Catholic worldview. If Catholic beliefs upset you, this probably isn't a story you would enjoy.

"Rings true because it's backed by so many real prophecies. Scary stuff." --J.Keating

"The arrival of the three days of darkness literally sent chills through me. The demon filled fog was the most terrifying thing I've ever read. Since different saints have warned us this will happen in real life it doubles the scariness. I'm going to get me some holy water." --Elaine Pratt, Random Reader

" . . . well imagined and crafted with compelling characters that readers will easily relate to, characters who will remind readers of their deep and silent yearnings and the questions they ask in the dead of night. There is enough action to keep the reader turning the pages and there are surprising twists in the already engaging plot." --Christian Sia, Readers' Favorite®

"Despite the religious subject matter, it never felt like a sermon. The plot moved quickly. I never got bored." --Traci, Early Reviewer

Genres: Apocalyptic, Catholic Eschatology, Christian Fiction, Dystopian, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Urban & Paranormal Suspense, Supernatural, Thriller.

Dragon's Confession: A BBW/Billionaire Dragon Shifter Romance

Two impulsive virgins scorched by passion.
 

Victor didn’t intend to ruin his fated mate’s life.

BBW Ingrid knew she wasn’t just playing with smoking-hot Victor, she was playing with fire.

She just didn’t expect to end up breathing fire herself.

When Victor’s beautiful dragoness wept tears of diamonds because she didn’t want to get married, he set his one true love free, but he kept her in his heart.

Fast forward six years. Victor is a much-decorated naval officer, hero of a hundred perilous missions. His billionaire dragon clan thinks he’s earned a second chance with curvy Ingrid.

As if. Ingrid may be all grown up, but she knows arrogant, possessive Victor hasn't changed a bit.

This champion skier hasn’t spent the last six years in isolation. Just how many notches has she carved into her ski poles?

Protective, dominant Victor may be a towering alpha male, used to leading men and commanding instant obedience, but he’s only ever kissed one girl.

He knows he can satisfy Ingrid in bed, but her love is the prize he’s after. Will feisty Ingrid realize his awkwardness conceals a heart that beats for her alone?

Jealous Victor is honor bound not to claim Ingrid by right of capture. Yet his luscious dragoness bride is a prize to any passing dragon. And a rogue is stalking her.

Witty dialogue, believable characters, & a dash of adventure make this feel-good romance a page-turner you’ll love. Take a vacation from the humdrum with Isadora’s dragon shifters right now.

Spice alert: Dragon and dragoness set the sheets alight. The earthy love of these two shifters will fulfill all your emotional and sensual needs.

This steamy, light-hearted 25k novella introduces the fast-paced Lords of the Dragon Islands series. It is a standalone and has a HEA and no cliffhangers. The book includes preview chapters from Dragon’s Treasure.

#1 New York Times bestselling author of American Assassin—now a major motion picture

America’s most powerful leader becomes its prime target, a “nightmarish” (Booklist) scenario made all-too-real in this Mitch Rapp thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn.

The stately calm of a Washington morning is shattered when a group of terrorists descends, killing dozens and taking nearly one hundred hostages as they massacre their way into the White House. The Secret Service evacuates the president to an underground bunker—and while officials argue over how to negotiate with the enemy, Mitch Rapp, the CIA’s top counterterrorism operative, moves stealthily among the hidden corridors and secret passageways of the executive mansion, to save the hostages before the terrorists reach the president. But another adversary—someone within Washington’s elite—is determined to see Rapp’s rescue mission fail.

This award-winning novel of love, survival, and agonizing regret in post–WWII Brooklyn “belongs on that small shelf reserved for American masterpieces” (The Washington Post Book World).

 Winner of the National Book Award and a modern classic, Sophie’s Choice centers on three characters: Stingo, a sexually frustrated aspiring novelist; Nathan, his charismatic but violent Jewish neighbor; and Sophie, an Auschwitz survivor who is Nathan’s lover. Their entanglement in one another’s lives will build to a stirring revelation of agonizing secrets that will change them forever.
 
Poetic in its execution, and epic in its emotional sweep, Sophie’s Choice explores the good and evil of humanity through Stingo’s burgeoning worldliness, Nathan’s volatile personality, and Sophie’s tragic past. Mixing elements from Styron’s own experience with themes of the Holocaust and the history of slavery in the American South, the novel is a profound and haunting human drama, representing Styron at the pinnacle of his literary brilliance.
 
This ebook features an illustrated biography of William Styron, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Styron family and the Duke University Archives.

"A female investigator every bit as brainy and battle-hardened as Lisbeth Salander." — Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air, on Maisie Dobbs

Sunday September 3rd 1939.  At the moment Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcasts to the nation Britain’s declaration of war with Germany, a senior Secret Service agent breaks into Maisie Dobbs' flat to await her return. Dr. Francesca Thomas has an urgent assignment for Maisie: to find the killer of a man who escaped occupied Belgium as a boy, some twenty-three years earlier during the Great War.

In a London shadowed by barrage balloons, bomb shelters and the threat of invasion, within days another former Belgian refugee is found murdered.  And as Maisie delves deeper into the killings of the dispossessed from the “last war," a new kind of refugee — an evacuee from London — appears in Maisie's life. The little girl billeted at Maisie’s home in Kent does not, or cannot, speak, and the authorities do not know who the child belongs to or who might have put her on the “Operation Pied Piper” evacuee train.  They know only that her name is Anna.

As Maisie’s search for the killer escalates, the country braces for what is to come.  Britain is approaching its gravest hour — and Maisie could be nearing a crossroads of her own.

Frozen in Time is a gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from the author of New York Times bestseller Lost in Shangri-La.

On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished.

Frozen in Time tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. Mitchell Zuckoff takes the reader deep into the most hostile environment on earth, through hurricane-force winds, vicious blizzards, and subzero temperatures.

Moving forward to today, he recounts the efforts of the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc. – led by indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza – who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck’s last flight and recover the remains of its crew.

A breathtaking blend of mystery and adventure Mitchell Zuckoff's Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II is also a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of our military personnel and a tribute to the everyday heroism of the US Coast Guard.

The national bestseller, now available in a non-illustrated, standard format paperback edition
 
The Power of Myth launched an extraordinary resurgence of interest in Joseph Campbell and his work. A preeminent scholar, writer, and teacher, he has had a profound influence on millions of people--including Star Wars creator George Lucas. To Campbell, mythology was the “song of the universe, the music of the spheres.” With Bill Moyers, one of America’s most prominent journalists, as his thoughtful and engaging interviewer, The Power of Myth touches on subjects from modern marriage to virgin births, from Jesus to John Lennon, offering a brilliant combination of intelligence and wit.

This extraordinary book reveals how the themes and symbols of ancient narratives continue to bring meaning to birth, death, love, and war. From stories of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome to traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, a broad array of themes are considered that together identify the universality of human experience across time and culture. An impeccable match of interviewer and subject, a timeless distillation of Campbell’s work, The Power of Myth continues to exert a profound influence on our culture.  

A warm-hearted, whimsical fantasy tale, with lashings of mystery, magic, and mythology, and prose that 'flows like water.' Prepare to fall in love with Esperance!