AN ORCHID CITY MURDER MYSTERY Fifty years after the groundbreaking invention of medical nanites, those who can afford them no longer fear death by diseases. That is, until a young man is found dead from an unknown illness in the ultra-wealthy neighbourhood of Miltonia Heights. With the class divide bigger than ever, law enforcement officers Aw Li Wei and David Lee have to step into each other's worlds to solve the case. Can our heroes work together to solve this murder mystery? "I actually find the story quite absorbing" - Fabian Ong, author's friend "Sassy like the author!" - Jess Gomes, author's cousin "Yap's comedy-crime keeps you wanting more, much like a Singapore-style black carrot cake" - P. Menon, another of the author's friends

Over the years, Hollywood has learned the secret of how to captivate our minds through the art of make-believe. Life in our world has become so unpredictable and uncertain, that it has become hard to distinguish between real-life and make-believe. It's time for God's true people to "wake up," and distance themselves as much as possible from the perils of a negative world; and take time to live a life filled with hope and promise. Putting our trust in God, loving and enjoying our families, respecting others and showing appreciation to our friends can put us in the frame of mind to continuously thank God for the precious time He has allowed us on this earth. Thomas Vincent Murphy has been involved in the music industry as a writer, arranger, producer and performer. He has been a major part of many music projects and productions. His peers, the public and the critics have given him high marks; but his desire to please God keeps him humble in a world filled with arrogant people. He has worked closely with radio and television for years by writing jingles, music for television commercials seen worldwide, being music director for a television program, and by hosting and being the executive producer of his own radio programs. His Christian variety program "Murph's Positive Reflections" is being heard worldwide in individual markets and by advanced satellite technology and the internet. He enjoys broadcasting his 'live" weekly program from "The Broadcast Center" in NW Florida each Sunday; which is a varied version of the worldwide program. As a newspaper columnist, he's able to reach people with positive messages each week through his writings. Thomas is thankful to God for his family, many blessings, gifts and opportunities.

Bound Lives chronicles the lived experience of race relations in northern coastal Peru during the colonial era. Rachel Sarah O'Toole examines how Andeans and Africans negotiated and employed casta, and in doing so, constructed these racial categories. Royal and viceregal authorities separated "Indians" from "blacks" by defining each to specific labor demands. Casta categories did the work of race, yet, not all casta categories did the same type of work since Andeans, Africans, and their descendants were bound by their locations within colonialism and slavery. The secular colonial legal system clearly favored indigenous populations. Andeans were afforded greater protections as "threatened" native vassals. Despite this, in the 1640s during the rise of sugar production, Andeans were driven from their assigned colonial towns and communal property by a land privatization program. Andeans did not disappear, however; they worked as artisans, muleteers, and laborers for hire. By the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Andeans employed their legal status as Indians to defend their prerogatives to political representation that included the policing of Africans. As rural slaves, Africans often found themselves outside the bounds of secular law and subject to the judgments of local slaveholding authorities. Africans therefore developed a rhetoric of valuation within the market and claimed new kinships to protect themselves in disputes with their captors and in slave-trading negotiations. Africans countered slaveholders' claims on their time, overt supervision of their labor, and control of their rest moments by invoking customary practices. Bound Lives offers an entirely new perspective on racial identities in colonial Peru. It highlights the tenuous interactions of colonial authorities, indigenous communities, and enslaved populations and shows how the interplay between colonial law and daily practice shaped the nature of colonialism and slavery.

Written in a friendly and accessible style, this guide contains keys to all the orchid genera in the region and most of the orchid species. Includes a discussion of orchid structure and ecology, plus 240 stunning color photos and over 200 line drawings.