A young Japanese woman was running through Tokyo station screaming "Save me! Save me!" There was a Japanese man chasing her and closing in. He grabbed her wrist and caught her about 10 feet in front of me. The woman was still yelling "Save me! Save Me!" but the Japanese people in the crowded station ignored her, not wanting to get involved. This is the beginning of just one of the stories from my experience living in Japan in the 1980's, where I had moved right after graduating university. It was still rare to see an American who could speak Japanese fluently. This book guides the reader though my many adventures navigating through Japanese culture while living in the outskirts of Tokyo, as well as Tokyo proper.

At this Silicon Valley startup, murder is a feature, not a bug… SüprDüpr is the hottest startup in Silicon Valley until one of the company’s physicists disappears and hacker Ted Hara sets out to find his missing friend. Led by a glamorous young scientist and funded by billionaire crypto investors, SüprDüpr promises to revolutionize transportation. But as Ted investigates the secretive company, nothing is what it seems. Are the millions the company is spending building a homeless shelter truly corporate philanthropy? Or is the company a complex real estate scam? As the homeless residents of San Jose begin disappearing, too, it appears something far more sinister is happening downtown. But why was his friend searching for a pair of elephants before he disappeared? Days away from the technology unveiling that will confer unimaginable riches on the company’s investors, Ted becomes trapped in a web of corruption protecting its founder. While avoiding the police, he has to find out why people are disappearing before it’s too late. A crazy ride through the high-tech world of Silicon Valley, To Kill a Unicorn shows how far startup founders are willing to go to build their unicorns.

A debut young adult murder mystery about teen criminals at a “summer camp for psychos”—full of “sick, twisted, fast-paced fun” (Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns) Framed for the murder of her best friend, a young girl joins a super-secret society of teenage assassins to avoid a lifetime behind bars—and discovers her own true self in the process. Seventeen-year-old Signal Deere has raised eyebrows for years as an unhappy Goth misfit from the trailer park. When she's convicted of her best friend Rose's brutal murder, she's designated a Class A—the most dangerous and manipulative criminal profile. To avoid prison, Signal signs on for a secret program for 18-and-under Class As and is whisked off to an abandoned sleep-away camp, where she and seven bunkmates will train as assassins. Yet even in the Teen Killers Club, Signal doesn't fit in. She's squeamish around blood. She's kind and empathetic. And her optimistic attitude is threatening to turn a group of ragtag maniacs into a team of close-knit friends. Maybe that's because Signal's not really a killer. She was framed for Rose's murder and only joined the program to escape, track down Rose's real killer, and clear her name. But Signal never planned on the sinister technologies that keep the campers confined. She never planned on the mysterious man in the woods determined to pick them off one by one. And she certainly never planned on falling in love. Signal's strategy is coming apart at the seams as the true killer prepares to strike again in Teen Killers Club.

"What's on the surface is not what's underneath." Honne Tatemae (本音建前) Japan presents its best face to the outside world at all times. And while the nation is full to the brim with honorable and lovely men and women, the soul of Japan, if it were ever truly laid bare, would make a lot of people blush.Chizawa Bay: As Ugly As I Am is a slice-of-life literary novel based on the lives of a rural fishing village in Central Japan. The story centers on Sensei, a Tokyo-educated scholar and pearl farm owner, and his friendship with Makoto, the de facto leader of a group of jobless and homeless ne'er-do-wells. Sensei is the town's most beloved citizen, a man for whom any one of Chizawa's fishermen and farmers would lay down their lives. His birthday is coming up and Makoto and friends fear for his safety. He'll be turning forty-two, a bad age to be in Japan for it is a designated age of yakudoshi ("a year of evil"). Makoto and company go to great lengths to help Sensei avoid the curses of yakudoshi and though they are well intentioned they do him far more harm than good.Chizawa Bay is a humorous, thought-provoking novel. It is a playful glimpse inside the minds and hearts of the Japanese, a story written to lift the veil on an often misunderstood and misinterpreted culture. It is a story that will expose readers to a different way of thinking about and appreciating beauty.

'Blown to Bits' is about how the digital explosion is changing everything. The text explains the technology, why it creates so many surprises and why things often don't work the way we expect them to. It is also about things the information explosion is destroying: old assumptions about who is really in control of our lives.

Don't Let Stage Fright Sabotage Your Next Big Performance, Presentation or Competition You'll never achieve your full potential as a performer, public speaker, or athlete until you find your way beyond stage fright. The stakes are that high. Goodbye Butterflies' breakthrough DIY stage fright solution offers genuine hope to musicians, actors, dancers, and other performers, as well as public speakers, athletes, and even casual sufferers who become anxious in front of others. Developed by veteran educator, professional musician, and noted stage fright authority Dr. David Lee Fish, Goodbye Butterflies leads you step by easy step towards freedom from your nervousness using the same exclusive READ method he developed for his popular online course (goodbyebutterflies.com). Let Dr. Fish show you how to: calm your nerves unleash your talent enjoy the spotlight While helping you find the way beyond your stage fright, Goodbye Butterflies reveals why it's almost impossible to tackle your anxiety head-on. You'll also learn why getting nervous isn't your fault and doesn't mean you're somehow broken. In addition, you'll uncover the deep danger lurking beneath your nervousness. As an important extra, the approach at the heart of Goodbye Butterflies will help you achieve a state of flow to achieve peak performance when you perform, speak, or compete. No other method offers that. A large bonus section includes instructions on how public speakers and athletes can also benefit from Goodbye Butterflies and profiles famous stage fright sufferers, including Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Adele, Katy Perry, and Lorde. Praise for Goodbye Butterflies Having spent the last 30+ years in the entertainment industry as a director, producer, writer, actor, sportscaster and voice-over artist, I'm all too familiar with the nemesis known as stage fright. Working through Dr. Fish's Goodbye Butterflies has helped me better understand this unwelcome guest, who often shows up unannounced. It can be managed and put in its place with the proper perspective, which helps release the artistic flow that is necessary to share the performance that rings true to the audience - be it one person or millions. Mel Fair (Halloween, Super 8, Scandal, Justified, Weeds) Goodbye Butterflies is an essential weapon in the arsenal of any serious performer and anyone else whose career depends on persuading, entertaining, or motivating others. And that's EVERYONE! Dr. Fish is revolutionizing entertainment & public speaking. What Dale Carnegie is to "winning friends & influencing people," he is to performance. DO THIS!!!" Pat O'Connor (artist manager & CEO - POC Media, Inc.)