The only Western woman to enlist as a soldier in the First World War, the Englishwoman Flora Sandes became a heroine and a media sensation when she fought for the Serbian Army and pursued a distinguished career in its ranks. This account charts her incredible story: her tomboyish childhood in genteel Victorian England, her mission to Serbia as a Red Cross volunteer and subsequent military enrolment, her celebrity lecture tours, her marriage to a fellow officer, her survival in a Gestapo prison during the Second World War and her final years in Suffolk.A fascinating character of her times and an inspiration to women the world over, Flora Sandes is brought to life and restored to her rightful place in history by this biography, compiled with the help of her family, and using hitherto unpublished private papers and photographs.

When her five-year-old brother decides to run away from home, Johnny is glad--at first.

Shortlisted for the HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize 2012 "The only Western woman to enlist as a soldier in the First World War, the Englishwoman Flora Sandes became a heroine and a media sensation when she fought for the Serbian Army and pursued a distinguished career in its ranks. This account charts her incredible story: her tomboyish childhood in genteel Victorian England, her mission to Serbia as a Red Cross volunteer and subsequent military enrolment, her celebrity lecture tours, her marriage to a fellow officer, her survival in a Gestapo prison during the Second World War and her final years in Suffolk. A fascinating character of her times and an inspiration to women the world over, Flora Sandes is brought to life and restored to her rightful place in history by this biography, compiled with the help of her family, and using hitherto unpublished private papers and photographs."

“Goh-Goh is angry at you for not being a good Little Sister. Wah. . . . Why are you so selfish? You know you are not supposed to anger bad spirits during Ghost Month.” I sputtered, “You think Goh-Goh is a bad spirit? A gwai?” “Ai-yah. Don’t call them that. Do you want to anger them? They are the Good Brothers. You call them the Good Brothers. Ho hing dai.” Tori Wong is starting over. She's given herself a new name, dropped out of university to work at a downtown Toronto bookstore, and fled her parents' strict home to do all the things she's never done before. Like go out on weeknights, flirt with her cute co-worker Egan, and live out of the shadow of her overachieving brother, to whom her parents always compare her--even though he’s dead. But turning your back on the past isn't as easy as it seems. Especially during Yu Lan, or The Festival of Hungry Ghosts, when traditional Chinese believe that neglected spirits roam the earth. Not one but three forgotten ghosts come back to haunt Tori: her vengeful brother Seymour, and ambitious Vicky and meek little Mui-Mui, herself at age seventeen and eleven. Despite her attempts to appease them, none of them approve of Tori’s new life and interfere with her job and her budding relationship with Egan. And although it's Seymour who literally burns with jealousy of the living, Tori begins to despair that she too is a hungry ghost and has more in common with him than she’d thought . . .

A little dragon tenderness goes a long way in the “hot, hot” fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Scarred Earth Saga (Library Journal). I am Ghleanna the Decimator. I am a warrior. A soldier. I know no fear. No pain. No mercy. I do, however, know acute embarrassment! How could I not after getting dumped by a bastard dragon in front of my own troops? So I tuck tail and return to my cave, drowning my sorrows in ale—as is my family’s way. But instead of leaving me to my misery, I’ve been summoned to the Dragon Queen’s court. As if my life wasn’t pathetic enough, Her Majesty now has me escorting the highborn Bram the Merciful through dangerous territories—not exactly the best use of my military training. And just so he can negotiate with enemy dragons instead of battling them? Honestly, what has my world come to? Then again . . . Bram is quite easy on the eyes. And the perfect distraction for what ails me. Perhaps I’m looking at all this the wrong way. Maybe there is a place for a little “mercy” in my life . . . Previously published in Supernatural. Praise for the Dragon Kin Series “Aiken’s patented mix of bloodthirsty action, crazy scenarios and hilarious dialogue have made this series a truly unique pleasure.”—RT Book Reviews (4½ Stars) “A chest thumping, mead-hall rocking, enemy slaying brawl of a good book.”—All Things Urban Fantasy “Laugh-out-loud funny—I loved it!”—Thea Harrison, New York Times bestselling author

The unputdownable second half of New York Times bestselling author G.A. Aiken’s wildly funny, hot and unmistakably kick ass Dragon Kin series. The Dragon Who Loved Me Rhona the Fearless must fight alongside uncivilized male Northland dragons who think a female is only good for breeding. But only fools would try to stop her from doing what she does best—destroying the enemies of her kind. So the smartest thing wily barbarian Vigholf the Abhorrent can do is stay out of her way . . . How to Drive a Dragon Crazy Izzy thought she was finished with the one dragon she’d have done anything for: Éibhear the Blue, a big, gorgeous, blue-haired beast who wants to protect her from danger. That’s fine with her, because while she’s trying to fulfill a ridiculous quest for a pushy god, she’ll draw the overconfident warlord in and rekindle his smoldering fires . . . Light My Fire Celyn the Charming has direct orders from his queen to protect Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight. Gods! That endless name! Worse still, this unforgiving female is completely unimpressed by Celyn. How is that even possible? Especially when he is just so damn charming? Feel the Burn Gaius Domitus, the one-eyed rebel dragon king, must fight off half of his ungrateful family on a regular basis to keep law and order in his lands. But he never expected to have to consort with a barbarian human woman. Kachka may be beautiful and fierce, but the feared Daughter of the Steppes has no time for foolish dragons. Though she may have a thing for his eyepatch . . . Bring the Heat Aidan the Divine is also a delight, cheerful, charming, and a royal warrior who is extremely handsome with a very large and well-hidden hoard of gold. And yet, Branwen the Awful—a low-born, no less—either tells him to shut up or, worse, ignores him completely. But if they’re going to win the war, they’re going to have to fight side by side . . . Dragon on Top Ghleanna the Decimator knows no fear, no pain, and no mercy. She does, however, know acute embarrassment! Especially after getting dumped by a bastard dragon in front of her own troops. All she wants to do is sulk in her cave but Her Majesty has ordered her to escort Bram the Merciful through dangerous territories—not exactly the best use of her military training. Then again . . . Bram is quite easy on the eyes . . . Praise for the Dragon Kin Series “Aiken’s patented mix of bloodthirsty action, crazy scenarios and hilarious dialogue have made this series a truly unique pleasure.”—RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars “A chest thumping, mead-hall rocking, enemy slaying brawl of a good book.” —All Things Urban Fantasy “Laugh-out-loud funny—I loved it!” —New York Times bestselling author Thea Harrison

In the days leading up to World War II, young Sam McCord searches for an escape from the world crumbling around him through the pursuit of a local legend, the Light on the Tracks. The Light appears every fall around Halloween and dances and shimmer on the railroad tracks south of town . . . beckoning, shifting, hinting. Some say it's a ghost; others say it's an angel. Some claim they have heard it whisper words to them as they rode past on the midnight train; others claim it has reached for them as if it had human hands. They felt its shimmering heat caress their skin, but was it a gesture of affection or hunger? The legend grows as the sightings continue,and Sam is enraptured by his pursuit of the legend. It's his escape from a life gone awry. His father was once the most respected, most influential man in town as he preached from the pulpit in the little, one-room church, but a deadly illness swept Sam's mother from this life and stole his father's sight, and the people of Black Mountain claim the blindness is God's judgment, the reckoning of the Almighty for some secret sin the McCord's were hiding. Of course, life didn't get any easier when his father adopted Sam's older brother Simon, named after the man that bore Jesus' cross to Golgotha. Simon has his own cross to bear -- he's the adopted son of the town's outcast -- but more importantly, he's black . . . in a city of white Southerners. The Ku Klux Klan has been active in the last few months, and Simon's name continually makes the circuits of the town rumor mill. The Klan is coming for him. The question isn't if . . . it's when.