Few people question the pervasive belief that early childhood exerts an inordinate power over adult achievements, relationships, and mental health. Once robbed of our potential by the inadequacies of our upbringing, the theory goes, we risk being trapped in maladaptive patterns and unfulfilling lives. But does early experience really seal our fate? Daring to challenge prevailing models of child development, this provocative book argues that what enables us to survive--and sets us free from our pasts--is our astonishing adaptability to change, shaped by the uniquely human attributes of consciousness, will, and desire.

"Will attract fans of Anne McCaffrey and Andre Norton... A sparkling addition to any fantasy collection. Four stars!" -Mercedes Lackey Akila uses her wits and her shape-changing abilities to save her brother Briam when their home is besieged. But that leaves them both on the run, with Akila trying to keep them safe, while Briam finds more trouble to get into. When he is chosen as year-king in the city of Diadem, Akila struggles to save his life, finding help in the most unexpected places.

Life is cruel. I tried so hard to avoid pain, to live carefully, and to keep a level head until I was ready to settle down . . .much later. Why is it that the people who don’t want to take risks get pushed into them the most? All I wanted was to make it to graduation with my friends, to go to college, and to focus on cheerleading—something that made me happy. I never asked for this—any of it. But now, here I am with a gaping hole in my chest. I can barely breathe. I didn’t want to need him, but I do. And he left me. How could he do this to me after making me love him? I wish I could hate him. Maybe then my heart could mend. I have a secret. But it won’t be a secret for long. I don’t think I can do this alone. He found me—someone that’s earned my trust over the years. He would never hurt me. And that’s what makes him more appealing. Then he made me an offer that’s hard to refuse. And just when I thought things were getting better, the biggest twist of them all was thrown in. If my heart survives the shock, which do I choose? Either way, someone will lose. FATE SERIES, #3

To Piper Anderson, fate has always been that unavoidable circumstance that befalls a person. Some people are destined to be happy, and others, like Piper, have a rougher road. Each time she tries to step off her predetermined path in search of happiness, someone or something drags her back to it. Heartbroken after Bobby allows his own past to come between them, Piper is eager to leave Edenville behind. With Jules as her companion, she heads back to New York, the place where it all began, in search of a piece of her history that isn't tarnished. Although finding the truth isn't nearly as difficult as Piper imagined it would be, she can't shake the feeling that what she has discovered may be too good to be true. Can Piper find what she is looking for and finally change her own fate?

Synthia 'Syn' Wesley is moving through life like she's supposed to. She has a good job, is finishing her master's degree and is married to anyone's dream guy. But she has resigned herself to just existing and not living. After ten years of marriage to Gavin Wesley, Syn finds herself in the middle of her own personal twilight zone. The love her of her life, which isn't Gavin, walks back into her life. What happens when she runs face first into a past that changes everything she thought she knew, and ushers in a change of fate?

Lacey is your average teenager. She goes to school, tries to maintain a 'D' in chemistry and spends Friday nights creeping on her crush on Facebook. She is ordinary except for one thing: she can change the future. After Lacey is introduced to the Fate Changing Regime, her life turns upside down. A fanatical group opposing the FCR will stop at nothing to eliminate them. At the same time, Lacey finds herself trying - and failing - to ignore her feelings for the enigmatic Christian Angel. When Lacey is tasked to uncover a traitor in the FCR, she must use her gift to survive... and resist the dark allure in her heart that comes with Changing Fate.

Welcome to my fucking world. My name is Kaston Cox and I'm a criminal's worst nightmare. Most people run from darkness, but I live in it, require it, and thrive in the night. Some call me a monster, some a lover of evil, and others, the devil himself, but they're all wrong. I'm just a shadow in the dark. I speak for the innocent when no one else will. Once I have marked you, you better beg for forgiveness, because your time has run out... Revenge is the ultimate wage for evil. Some just can't stomach to do it themselves. That's where I come in. I am the ultimate judge when called upon for justice. I will decide who lives and who dies. Blood may be on my hands, but it's not the blood of the innocent. Remorse is nowhere to be found. I don't give a shit if you understand. I can live with the man I look at every day in the mirror. My soul was tainted the day I was conceived. You think you know me? You have no fucking idea. I am who I am because of what they did to her, and to him. They were my family. This was the only form of restitution he believed in. I owed him everything. I took over the empire he built. This is how I repay him. There was only one rule: never allow emotions to form. Numb and heartless are the only two ways to live. What I never included in the plan...was her. My name is Lux Larsen. My life is as perfect as it can get. I'm a partier, a seductress when it comes to something that I want, and the ultimate sexual con artist. I use my body to get what I want and I'm not ashamed. Designer tags are what I'm after. I love sex. I'm good at it. Fuck double standards. Guys can do it, well guess what, so can I. I will never be caught back on the other side of the tracks for as long as I live. I left that hellhole years ago. I'll do anything to stay away. You can call me a whore if you want, but I just look at it as I've decided to become a player in a man's game, and I'm a fucking pro at it. Love is for the weak minded. Weak is something I'll never be. I never anticipated the predator that would find me. I'm now his prey...but I'm not sure I can run. The world likes to think that love is only pure, only for those that do good, but what no one considers is when bad has to be done to formulate a different type of good. Two of the most random people can be a perfect match, being placed together like pieces to a puzzle. Being in the wrong place at the right time can be terrifying and it can also be exactly what is supposed to happen, because sometimes...love is born in the dark.