THE STORIES: The first play, LINDA HER, is set in a summer cottage where Carol, an insomniac, lies awake pondering her dissatisfaction with her boring husband (who talks endlessly of a lost love whom he hasn't seen since kindergarten) and their bra

Recipes for cakes, chutney, desserts, pies and more.

Set in Seattle amid sensuous garden beauty and lush summer evenings, The Garden House is about finding meaning in the second half of life. Turning fifty has Miranda re-evaluating her life now that her two children have left the nest. In an attempt to rediscover the thrill and hope of her younger days, she decides to convert the garden house into an artist studio – only to find that her husband has already rented it to a somewhat mysterious young man. Though Miranda at first welcomes the shy tenant, she soon develops a sense of unease about him. Is he the nice man he appears to be? Or is he the reason behind her increasingly disturbing dreams? An uplifting – and sometimes suspenseful – story about a woman who pursues a life of love, creativity, and beauty. “I was completely swept away by this tale. I was engaged in the mystery, the confusion and all the secrecy….This book is one that will definitely test your intuition.” – NetGalley Review “Mahkovec’s prose is sharp and fluid, building tension in small domestic scenes….The premise is a fun one, and Miranda is a finely drawn character.” – Kirkus Reviews

These 30 true stories of take-charge princesses from around the world and throughout history offer a different kind of bedtime story . . . Pop history meets a funny, feminist point-of-view in these illustrated tales of “royal terrors who make modern gossip queens seem as demure as Snow White” (New York Post). You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, and you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But real princesses didn’t always get happy endings—and had very little in common with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, or Ariel. Featuring illustrations by Wicked cover artist, Douglas Smith, Princesses Behaving Badly tells the true stories of famous (Marie Antoinette; Lucrezia Borgia)—and some not-so-famous—princesses throughout history and around the world, including: • Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, a Nazi spy. • Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who slept wearing a mask of raw veal. • Princess Olga of Kiev, who slaughtered her way to sainthood. • Princess Lakshmibai, who waged war on the battlefield with her toddler strapped to her back. Some were villains, some were heroes, some were just plain crazy. But none of these princesses felt constrained to our notions of “lady-like” behavior.

"Do you know how to get to the rose garden?" "No, you can't go there. A monster lives there." Shaw Hollander is desperate. Broke, unemployed, and determined to help his ailing mother, he falls on the good graces of a wealthy benefactor who is willing to give Shaw a job at his mansion in order to pay off his mother's debts. Suddenly finding himself surrounded by lavish riches, he has no idea what his duties truly entail until he's sent to the rose garden and meets the tragically mutilated Isobel. This Beauty and the Beast story holds true to the core of the fable while shaking off the element of fantasy and dragging it into present-day reality. Shaw and Isobel are ready to let you climb into their four-wheel-drive pickup and take a ride with them into their version of happily ever after, but only if you first dare to gaze upon the monster among the roses.

Only weeks after Linda receives the devastating diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer, she and her husband, Chris, are told she may not have long to live. But Linda is not about to let cancer put her away that easily. She fights back. Facing the disease together, for Chris at least, bright lights and fairy dust become matters of life and death. Interwoven with information on her care and treatment, their story lays bare their love and devotion, their sadness and despair, their joy and hope. It reveals Linda's determination and strength of spirit and tells of the power of love.

"Each player is discussed in a brief biography, followed by a complete list of every play and character they performed in New York. Also included are plays and musicals that were heading to New York but closed before opening. Cast replacements are indicated as well as Tony nominations and awards. Within Enter the Players, each actor comes alive as his or her career is revealed step-by-step, role-by-role. This book is an invaluable reference work and provides hours of fascinating browsing for anyone who loves theatre."--BOOK JACKET.