Chinese contemporary art is currently enjoying a worldwide boom, fetching record-breaking prices at auction houses around the globe. The country's rapid transition from Communism to consumerism, and the dizzying changes brought about by urbanization, globalization and new technologies have created a fascinating explosion of art overwhelmingly concerned with the search for self-identity in a society that, from Confucius to Mao, has traditionally disregarded individualism for the collective good. Avatars and Antiheroesreflects the schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward. From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun, whose grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old, to the pop-culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei, whose digital avatars live in a world without borders, this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years. Stunning full-color plates of the work of Chinas leading painters, photographers, sculptors, performance artists, video artists, and even a fireworks artist are complemented by insightful commentary from Beijing-based art specialist Claudia Albertini, who personally interviewed many of the artists featured.

Investigations into the heroic - or not - behaviour of the protagonists of medieval romance. Medieval romances so insistently celebrate the triumphs of heroes and the discomfiture of villains that they discourage recognition of just how morally ambiguous, antisocial or even downright sinister their protagonists can be, and, correspondingly, of just how admirable or impressive their defeated opponents often are. This tension between the heroic and the antiheroic makes a major contribution to the dramatic complexity of medieval romance, but it is not an aspect of the genre that has been frequently discussed up until now. Focusing on fourteen distinct characters and character-types in medieval narrative, this book illustrates the range of different ways in which the imaginative power and appeal of romance-texts often depend on contradictions implicit in the very ideal of heroism. Dr Neil Cartlidge is Lecturer in English at the University of Durham. Contributors: Neil Cartlidge, Penny Eley, David Ashurst, Meg Lamont, Laura Ashe, Judith Weiss, Gareth Griffith, Kate McClune, Nancy Mason Bradbury, Ad Putter, Robert Rouse, Siobhain Bly Calkin, James Wade, Stephanie Vierick Gibbs Kamath

From internationally bestselling author Amy Stuart comes a “dark and deliciously disturbing” (Publishers Weekly) novel about one woman’s search for answers when another woman goes missing from a desperate, drug-addled mountain town where everyone is implicated in her disappearance. What happens when you vanish from your life and leave no story behind? Someone makes one up for you. Clare is on the run. From her past, from her husband, and from her own secrets. When she turns up alone in the remote mining town of Blackmore asking questions about Shayna Fowles, a young woman who has gone missing, everyone wants to know who Clare really is and what she’s hiding. Because everyone in this place has secrets—Jared, Shayna’s mysterious ex-husband; Charlie, the charming drug pusher; Derek, Shayna’s overly involved family doctor; and Louise and Wilfred, her distraught parents. As Clare unravels the mysteries surrounding Shayna’s disappearance, Clare must confront her own demons, as she moves deeper and deeper into her elaborate web of lies. But what is she really running from? Haunting and electrifying, Still Mine is a thriller that is “impossible to put down” (Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave).

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Giana Darling comes an enemies to lovers, forbidden romance between an ice cold lawyer and her infamous mafioso client who is on trial for murder... I am the villain of my own story... Jilted by my fiancé. A disappointment to my family. Haunted by my childhood traumas. I felt so much all my life that I resolved to feeling nothing at all. Until I met my match. As the most infamous mafioso of the 21st century, Dante Salvatore was madly passionate, unequivocally bad, and entirely too dangerous to know. He was everything I abhorred, yet I found myself representing him in the biggest criminal trial of the decade. I was so focused on winning and achieving the success I deserved that I didn't notice the gorgeous black-eyed man's effect on me until it was too late. My icy heart had been held too close to his flame and now I wouldn't let Dante go down without fighting with everything I had in me. Even if the cost of a new life with him meant the loss of my old life and everything I thought I held dear. *Book One in the Anti-Heroes in Love Duet.*

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story. It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.

Animation has a lot to do with acting. That is, character animation, not the standardized, mechanical process of animation. Acting and animation are highly creative processes. This book is divided into two parts: From film history we learn about the importance of actors and the variety of acting that goes into animation; then, we will turn to the actor's point of view to describe the various techniques involved. Through exhaustive research and interviews with people ranging from the late Ray Harryhausen, Jim Danforth, Joe Letteri, and Bruno Bozzetto, this book will be the primary source for animators and animation actors. Key Features Interviews with industry legends are found throughout this exhaustive work on animation From film history we learn about the importance of actors and the variety of acting that goes into animation, then turn to the actor's point of view to describe the various techniques involved Coverage of acting from Vaudeville to Rotoscoping to Performance Capture Case studies throughout bring the content to life while providing actionable tools and techniques that can be used immediately