For decades, smiling images of "Aunt Jemima" and other historical and fictional black cooks could be found on various food products and in advertising. Although these images were sanitized and romanticized in American popular culture, they represented the untold stories of enslaved men and women who had a significant impact on the nation's culinary and hospitality traditions, even as they were forced to prepare food for their oppressors. Kelley Fanto Deetz draws upon archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to present a nuanced study of the lives of enslaved plantation cooks from colonial times through emancipation and beyond. She reveals how these men and women were literally "bound to the fire" as they lived and worked in the sweltering and often fetid conditions of plantation house kitchens. These highly skilled cooks drew upon knowledge and ingredients brought with them from their African homelands to create complex, labor-intensive dishes. However, their white owners overwhelmingly received the credit for their creations. Deetz restores these forgotten figures to their rightful place in American and Southern history by uncovering their rich and intricate stories and celebrating their living legacy with the recipes that they created and passed down to future generations.

Of Blood and Fire is a classic Epic Fantasy adventure. It takes all the familiar fantasy tropes - elves, dwarves, giants, and dragons - and adds a fresh, contemporary twist.

The Dark Crescent Sisterhood #2 Some like it hot... Fire has always been a part of Cynda Flynn’s life—from her red-hair to the flames she wields as a Sybil warrior priestess. But when undercover cop Nick Lowell ignites the flames of passion within, she’s caught completely off guard. Cynda thought she understood heat and power, but this sensation is something completely new. And if she can’t reconcile her feelings for the irresistible half-human, half-demon, they may consume her completely. Through his strong-will and self-control, Nick has learned to manage his dark side. After five years of undercover work with The Legion Cult, he’s become as tough as steel—or so he thought. He’s become tough as steel from five years of secret work within the Legion cult. Or so he thought. But Cynda Flynn changes everything and his once unshakeable resolve is starting to melt. But a new evil is threatening to extinguish fire Sybils like Cynda. Will Nick’s love be enough to save her...and the rest of the world? “Round two of the high-stakes war contains all the action, kick-butt battles and sizzling sensuality of the first installment of the Dark Crescent Sisterhood series. After her two outstanding releases, Windsor is sure to become a brand name. Great characters and tight, exciting plots make this a true thrill ride!” -RT Book Review

A woman possesses the power to inflame the most dangerous passions of all in this Sisters of the Heart novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan. On the shores of Sea Haven, six women touched by great loss have come together in a sisterhood strengthened by the elements—a bond each will need as new love and danger enter their lives... Flame-haired Lissa Piner is a skilled glass blower whose delicate gift conceals a burning inner strength that can destroy as exquisitely as it can create. Commissioned to design chandeliers for a string of luxury hotels, her remarkable skills have taken her to Italy. But Lissa’s real mission there is a secret. For her entire life has been a lie, leading to a chance to avenge a terrible wrong. Enlisted as her bodyguard is Casmir Prakenskii, a trained assassin living off the grid. In Lissa, he sees a kindred spirit—something unexpected and wicked, mysterious and sensual. But more than desire is about to bring them together: because both of their pasts cry out for revenge. And for two people with this many secrets, this much passion, and this many enemies, someone is bound to get burned.

The climactic third novel in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's Night Prince series finds Vlad and his newly turned bride, Leila, at odds with each other—and vulnerable to the one vampire powerful enough to end the Dark Prince's reign . . . Play with fire, pay the price Leila's years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn't learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin . . . Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn't like Vlad to feel fear, but he does . . . for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad's greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad's love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both . . .