In Clear Lake, Texas, a group of astronauts has begun training for the Challenger mission. Among them is a teacher named Christa McAuliffe, the woman chosen to be the first teacher in space. When Annie meets Christa, she is fascinated by her determination and courage. Following Christa's NASA journey through the news, Annie sees that Christa seems to be an ordinary person, like Annie herself, and yet Christa is reaching amazing heights-like flying on the space shuttle. Feeling so inspired, Annie is devastated when the shuttle launch turns to tragedy. But Annie must remember that Christa would have wanted her to keep reaching for her dreams, despite any obstacle.

In 1985 in Clear Lake, Texas, home of the Johnson Space Center, high school senior Annie Porter struggles with her desire to become a poet, but her resolve to pursue her dream is strengthened when she meets Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to go into space.

International author, speaker and world traveller, Merrian Styles shares her experiences living as an expat for over twenty years, travelling to over 25 destinations worldwide. In this book the author shares decades of tips and strategies that are essential for survival and successful living and working abroad. Merrian is renowned as the "Expat Expert". You'll learn: - What it takes to be paid to travel - Strategies from the greats, how they did it, how I did it, and how you can too - The essential keys to successful living and working overseas - How intuition, insight and self-evaluation contribute to your success - How to feel on top of the world regardless of where you are living - The critical top 10 tips for your safety and survival while travelling abroad - The everlasting benefits and rewards of taking that leap into the unknown.

One day, middle-aged Manhattanite Peter Leroy receives an unsettling postcard from a childhood classmate. With his wife, Albertine, he returns to his hometown of Babbington, Long Island, and finds it both transformed and strangely the same. For Babbington has been "redefined" as a theme park, in a scheme to draw tourists to the struggling community, complete with trained actors, cultural interpreters, and carefully designed simulations of small-town 1950s life. On the wall of Legends restaurant, Peter sees his own commemoration: a picture of the triumphant day when, as a fifteen-year-old boy, he landed on Babbington's Main Street in the aerocycle he had built in his parents' garage, having flown four thousand miles to New Mexico and back. Hailed in newspapers as the "Birdboy of Babbington," the youthful inventor reveled in his fame---but never disclosed the truth behind his flight. Now Peter wants to set the record straight---and with Albertine as his muse and conscience, he begins. Taking Off is the first in a trilogy of novels about Peter Leroy's magical flight and its digressions along the way. Funny, warm, wise, and artful, this book---like all of its companion novels about Peter and his world---explores matters little and large with a light touch. Readers familiar with and new to these novels will delight in the wide-ranging invention and imagination of Peter's creator, Eric Kraft.

Maryellen has big plans for her birthday, and she's glad when her old pal Davy shows up to help. If only Wayne the Pain would buzz off - but he's stuck to Davy like glue. Maybe her sister Joan was right when she said that girls can't be friends with boys in fourth grade. Then, on a family vacation, Maryellen finds out that Joan's not so sure about her own plans. One thing's clear: If Maryellen's going to invent a flying machine, become famous, and get Joan's wedding off the ground, she'll need all the help - and all the friends - she can get! In Taking Off, the second volume of Maryellen's classic stories about growing up in the 1950s, Maryellen's hopes, dreams, and ambitions soar - and she's determined that nothing will stop her from flying high.

When it comes to writing books, are you a “plotter” or a “pantser?” Is one method really better than the other? In this instructional ebook, author Libbie Hawker explains the benefits and technique of planning a story before you begin to write. She’ll show you how to develop a foolproof character arc and plot, how to pace any book for a can’t-put-down reading experience, and how to ensure that your stories are complete and satisfying without wasting time or words. Hawker’s outlining technique works no matter what genre you write, and no matter the age of your audience. If you want to improve your writing speed, increase your backlist, and ensure a quality book before you even write the first word, this is the how-to book for you. Take off your pants! It’s time to start outlining.

The Abraham Path is the route of cultural and spiritual tourism that retraces the journey made by Abraham (Ibrahim) through the heart of the Middle East some four thousand years ago. This book recounts the inner and spiritual foortprints of the first study tour along the entire Abraham Path conducted in November 2006 by a group of pacifists and theologians under the guidance of the Program on Conflict Negotiation at Harvard Law School.