Master Cisco de Loria wants everything from his new sub Greg Harris ... that is, everything but love. In fact, his contract expressly forbids it. Dr. Greg Harris finally has the money to buy a submissive membership at Indiscreet, a gay BDSM club. The only thing he wants is to have Dr. Cisco de Loria as his Master. Cisco wants Greg, too, but the one thing Greg most wants to give, Cisco refuses to take -- Greg's love. Cisco is so sure he doesn't need love that he puts it in as a clause in their contract. If Greg ever mentions love, the contract is terminated. Cisco finds out the hard way that things somehow don't always work out the way you plan.

Day of Consequence defines a frontier child striving for manhood. Five-year-old Jimmy Longhon, inadvertently shoots Baxter Boreen to death. Only a cowboy like Jimmy would persevere and prevail over the consequences brought on by his escapades and transgressions. He traverses a 113-year labyrinth of uncertainty along the dusty, bygone roads of California. The story culminates in one more act of random kindness to Little Walt, his lifelong antagonist.

The Wild West looms large in the artistic imagination, and has left an indelible mark on the history of cinema. However, unbeknownst to many, lots of the most famous Western films started out as stories. In this anthology, then, we have collected those tales which later found their way onto the silver screen. Including 'Hopalong Cassidy', 'The Cisco Kid', 'The Virginian' and many more.

A father and his estranged daughter reconnect to try to understand a decades-old trauma in this haunting novel, part ghost story, part lyrical exploration of family, aging, and how we remember the past. At age 11, Helen disappeared in the wilderness of Mount Rainier National Park while camping with her father, Benjamin. She was gone for almost a week before being discovered and returned to her family. It is now 25 years later, and after more than two decades of estrangement, Helen and Benjamin reconnect at his home in Portland, Oregon, to try to understand what happened during the days she was gone. Meanwhile, Benjamin meets an odd pair, a woman and boy who seem driven to help him learn more about Helen’s disappearance and send him on a journey that will lead to a murder house, uncanny possession, and a bone-filled body of water known as Sad Clown Lake, a lake “that could only be found by getting lost, that was never in the same place twice.” Passersthrough is a haunted, starkly lyrical novel set on the border between life and death.

The signs and statistics are undeniable: boys are falling behind in school. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the biggest culprits are not video games, pop culture, or female-dominated schools biased toward girls. The real problem is that boys have been thrust into a bewildering new school environment that demands high-level reading and writing skills long before they are capable of handling them. Lacking the ability to compete, boys fall farther and farther behind. Eventually, the problem gets pushed into college, where close to 60% of the graduates are women. In a time when even cops, construction foremen, and machine operators need post-high school degrees, that’s a problem. Why Boys Fail takes a hard look at how this ominous reality came to be, how it has worsened in recent years, and why attempts to resolve it often devolve into finger-pointing and polarizing politics. But the book also shares some good news. Amidst the alarming proof of failure among boys—around the world—there are also inspiring case studies of schools where something is going right. Each has come up with realistic ways to make sure that every student—male and female—has the tools to succeed in school and later in life. Educators and parents alike will take heart in these promising developments, and heed the book’s call to action—not only to demand solutions but also to help create them for their own students and children.

John Chambers and the Cisco Way gets to the heart of a phenomenon that has taken center stage of world business. Through expert analysis and insight acquired through extensive interviews with venture capitalists and Cisco executives, customers, and competitors, author John Waters skillfully explains the management style of CEO John Chambers and his role in Cisco Systems' success in the volatile technology sector. Beyond exploring his key business strategies and management philosophy at Cisco, this book chronicles Chambers' amazing journey from IBM salesman to Cisco CEO. In just a few short years, Chambers has presided over the creation of more than $480 billion in stockholder value, and has expanded his company into nearly every part of the networking industry. John Waters gives readers an inside look at one of the most successful managers in history and places his story within the current business landscape and market environment, offering new insight into Chambers' innovative leadership.