Nell Grendon never thought about communing with the dead when she was growing up in Little Wolf, Wisconsin; she was more concerned with slumber parties, boys, and the Lord’s Prayer Ring she won (dishonestly) in a Methodist Bible Bee. But when a chance visit to the eccentric but charming Wocanaga Spiritualist Camp brings the adult Nell face-to-face with the elderly medium Grace Waverly, she cannot resist the temptation to learn more about spirit mediumship. Nell intends to fake her intuitive talents, but soon she spontaneously channels Angella Wing, an actress from the 1920s once known as the “Woman of a Thousand Voices.” Nell attempts to conceal her occult interests from skeptical friends, including George, a handsome jazz musician who rents an apartment in her historic home, and Polly, a childhood friend with buried anguish of her own. But soon Angella’s mischievous presence begins to make Nell’s life more and more difficult, eventually attracting shadows of Nell’s past. As she tries to free herself from Angella’s influence, Nell is forced into an investigation of a mysterious death at the very heart of her childhood—and the revelation of surprisingly dark secrets.

In this first novel from award-winning writer Sara Rath, the forests and lakes of northern Wisconsin pose a daunting threat to outsider Hannah Swann, who is content with her quiet life in Madison, Wisconsin, where she teaches and writes screenplays about obscure nineteenth-century poets. Her relationship with her college-aged daughter is strained yet candid, and a long-standing affair with a married professor has its own peculiar ups and downs. When Hannah unexpectedly inherits her uncle's rundown resort, she must head to the northwoods to close up and sell the business. But the only interested buyer is Ingold, an international mining company, and Hannah finds herself reluctantly operating the resort while trapped in the midst of a treacherous dispute between Ingold and Uncle Hal's activist friends. From safeguarding the wilderness to pursuing elusive new love interests, Hannah has plenty to engage her imagination at Star Lake. A new aspect of her personality emerges, one that is surprisingly courageous and compassionate. Throughout this humorous, elegantly plotted adventure with its appealing characters and lyrical depictions of nature, Hannah encounters the inevitability of change—in herself and in the nostalgic landscape of the deep North.

The latest novel from New York Times best-selling author Jennifer McMahon is an atmospheric, gripping, and suspenseful tale that probes the bond between sisters and the peril of keeping secrets. Once the thriving attraction of rural Vermont, the Tower Motel now stands in disrepair, alive only in the memories of Amy, Piper, and Piper's kid sister, Margot. The three played there as girls until the day that their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel's past, something that ruined their friendship forever. Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly, Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock's next blonde bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds—revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come.

George Lucas was a rebel, refusing to make films in the style of the dying studio system, relentlessly pushing the technology of the day, and almost alone in understanding the potential of merchandising; but he was a rebel who built an empire. From the staggering unexpected success of the original Star Wars in 1977, when cinema attendances exceeded 20 million for the first time since 1963, through The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, then the 'dark times', the 16 years leading to the blockbusting prequel trilogy - this is the fascinating story of how it all happened. Life-long Star Wars fan and movie journalist Brian J. Robb edited the official Star Wars magazine for a decade and visited the sets of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith in Australia (observing director George Lucas at work), as well as the famous Skywalker Ranch. He has interviewed many of the stars and crew of all six Star Wars movies.

Star Wars defined popular, big-screen science fiction. Still, what many viewers best recall is assertive, hilarious Leia, the diminutive princess with a giant blaster who had to save them all. As the 1977 film arrived, women were marching for equality and demanding equal pay, with few onscreen role models. Leia echoed their struggle and showed them what they could be. Two more films joined in, though by the early eighties, post-feminism was pushing back and shoving the tough heroine into her pornographic gold bikini. After a sixteen-year gap, the prequels catered to a far different audience. Queen Amidala’s decoy power originates in how dominated she is by her massive royal gowns. This obsession with fashion but also costuming as a girly superpower fits well with the heroines of the time. The third wavers filled the screens with glamorous, mighty girls – strong but not too strong, like the idealistic teen Ahsoka of Clone Wars. However, space colonialism, abusive romance, and sacrifice left these characters a work in progress. Finally, the sequel era has introduced many more women to fill the galaxy: Rey, Jyn, Rose, Maz, Qi’ra, Val, L3-37, Captain Phasma, Admiral Holdo, and of course General Leia. Making women the central warriors and leaders while keeping them powerful and nonsexualized emphasizes that they can share in the franchise instead of supporting male Jedi. There’s also more diversity, though it’s still imperfect. Hera and Sabine on the spinoff cartoon Rebels and the many girls in the new franchise Forces of Destiny round out the era, along with toys, picture books, and other hallmarks of a new, more feminist fourth wave for the franchise.

Want to learn more about the most notorious Jedi and Sith from the Star Wars universe? This eBook collation of The Life and Legend of Obi Wan Kenobi, A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker, The Wrath of Darth Maul, and The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader will show you give you an in-depth look at these legendary characters.

After a violent civil war and the devastation wrought by the now-fallen Darth Caedus, the Galactic Alliance is in crisis--and in need, in this latest chapter in the extraordinary history of the "Star Wars" Galaxy.