Can Jaxon Hampton love the Moon Queen enough to save Earth? If Zeth, the servant of her enemies the Shadow Giants, defeats Jaxon in battle, the Shadow Giants unleash chaos on Earth and destroy humanity. Every night Jaxon experiences vivid recurring dreams in which, 10,000 years ago, he escorts a beautiful woman through many dangers to the top of a cliff overlooking the Nile River. How come his boss's daughter dreams the same story? And why does a strange man hypnotize Jaxon to take the young woman to a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River during the next full moon? Jaxon works as head trader for a small money management business. His boss tells him she came up with a sure-fire trading system, the Chaos Formula. Her test account verifies a terrifyingly high number of winning trades. Jaxon can't believe. Stock market results form a random, bell-shaped curve. Perhaps not a strictly normal distribution, but unpredictable. Yet this ability of his boss to foretell stock market results constitutes just one sign of reality going haywire. What compels Jaxon to spend his evenings staring up at the moon, even to the point he forces his girlfriend to leave him? Every night, he dreams he wields a bronze sword ten thousand years in the past, at the mouth of the Nile River, long before the pyramids. He fights as a soldier for the king of a growing empire. The other soldiers call him Blood Reaper. One night the king assigns him to take a young woman far upriver, for a sacrifice. A strangely beautiful woman, despite her white skin, blue eyes, and gold hair. She must travel to where bluffs overlook the Nile River, protected only by Jaxon -- against roving animals, wild people, and superstitious dirt farmers. Jaxon does not understand why the sacrifice takes place so far from the temples, but he must obey his king. He figures a wealthy merchant wishes to sacrifice an ex-mistress to gain merit with the gods instead of just selling her to a brothel. When she reveals her true identity as the Moon Queen herself, he does not believe . . . until he meets her ancient enemies the Shadow Giants. How and why does his boss's daughter, Laura Ewing, dream the same story, only as the woman? And how can he and Laura use her mother's Chaos Formula to win over five hundred dollars at a Mini-Bac table at the Lumiere Place Casino? Why does Mr. bin Hasad, the small, dapper foreigner keep visiting Jaxon on his job even though he doesn't open up a trading account? And Jaxon can't remember what they discuss? How did Jaxon's brother Keith buy the most evil book in the world from Ken, the Romani and Bosnian refugee who runs the largest occult bookstore in the New World, when Keith claims he stops dealing drugs? Why does someone calling himself Zeth kill young women and drain their blood into a crystal bowl to scry messages to and from the Shadow Giants? Blood Reaper's story comes to a conclusion on top of the cliff overlooking the Nile River. Jaxon's story reaches its conclusion on top of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Who lives? Who dies? Do the Shadow Giants overwhelm life on Earth with chaos and destruction? To find out, scroll up and download the dark fantasy adventure The Chaos Formula now. This paranormal fantasy adventure combines stories from ten thousand years ago -- a nitty gritty historical dark fantasy -- with a contemporary dark fantasy in the modern world. A form of urban fantasy as well.

After being stabbed in an alley, former Marine Kera Watson is brought back from death by a supernatural warrior and transformed into one of the Crows, a group of women assassins loyal to a Norse goddess.

There's a strong interest in reading for pleasure or self-improvement in America, as shown by the popularity of Harry Potter, and book clubs, including Oprah Winfrey's. Although recent government reports show a decline in recreational reading, the same reports show a strong correlation between interest in reading and academic acheivement. This set provides a snapshot of the current state of popular American literature, including various types and genres. The volume presents alphabetically arranged entries on more than 70 diverse literary categories, such as cyberpunk, fantasy literature, flash fiction, GLBTQ literature, graphic novels, manga and anime, and zines. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a definition of the genre, an overview of its history, a look at trends and themes, a discussion of how the literary form engages contemporary issues, a review of the genre's reception, a discussion of authors and works, and suggestions for further reading. Sidebars provide fascinating details, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Reading in America for pleasure and knowledge continues to be popular, even while other media compete for attention. While students continue to read many of the standard classics, new genres have emerged. These have captured the attention of general readers and are also playing a critical role in the language arts classroom. This book maps the state of popular literature and reading in America today, including the growth of new genres, such as cyberpunk, zines, flash fiction, GLBTQ literature, and other topics. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a definition of the genre, an overview of its history, a look at trends and themes, a discussion of how the literary form engages contemporary issues, a review of the genre's critical reception, a discussion of authors and works, and suggestions for further reading. Sidebars provide fascinating details, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students will find this book a valuable guide to what they're reading today and will appreciate its illumination of popular culture and contemporary social issues.

The techniques of psychotherapy are often given undue emphasis, slighting the importance of the psychotherapist. Research suggests that the same techniques are differently effective when used by equally trained and supervised therapists. Not only are some therapists more effective, irrespective of the type of therapy they practice, but some, because of their personal qualities, may actually harm those with whom they work. This research reflects the vast importance of the personality of the therapist, evoking the question of how a therapist may develop personhood. Aimed at training as well as practicing psychotherapists--social workers, counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists--this scholarly exploration of personhood includes various models for classifying the types of psychotherapy and the place of personhood in this context, as well as a review of existing theory and research literature on specific personal therapist variables as they relate to therapy outcome. The role of traditional spirituality in the development of personhood is given particular emphasis.

This book is the start of a stirring, intrigue-filled quest duology.

The Chaos Formula Can Jaxon Hampton love the Moon Queen enough? If Zeth, the servant of her enemies the Shadow Giants, defeats Jaxon in battle, the Shadow Giants unleash chaos on Earth and destroy humanity. Every night Jaxon experiences vivid recurring dreams in which, 10,000 years ago, he escorts a beautiful woman through many dangers to the top of a cliff overlooking the Nile River. How come his boss's daughter dreams the same story? And why does a strange man hypnotize Jaxon to take the young woman to a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River during the next full moon? Jaxon works as head trader for a small money management business. His boss tells him she came up with a sure-fire trading system, the Chaos Formula. Her test account verifies a terrifyingly high number of winning trades. Jaxon can't believe. Stock market results form a random, bell-shaped curve. Perhaps not a strictly normal distribution, but unpredictable. Yet this ability of his boss to foretell stock market results constitutes just one sign of reality going haywire. What compels Jaxon to spend his evenings staring up at the moon, even to the point he forces his girlfriend to leave him? Every night, he dreams he wields a bronze sword ten thousand years in the past, at the mouth of the Nile River, long before the pyramids. He fights as a soldier for the king of a growing empire. The other soldiers call him Blood Reaper. One night the king assigns him to take a young woman far upriver, for a sacrifice. A strangely beautiful woman, despite her white skin, blue eyes, and gold hair. She must travel to where bluffs overlook the Nile River, protected only by Blood Reaper -- against roving animals, wild people, and superstitious dirt farmers. Jaxon does not understand why the sacrifice takes place so far from the temples, but he must obey his king. He figures a wealthy merchant wishes to sacrifice an ex-mistress to gain merit with the gods instead of just selling her to a brothel. When she reveals her true identity as the Moon Queen herself, he does not believe . . . until he meets her ancient enemies the Shadow Giants. How and why does his boss's daughter, Laura Ewing, dream the same story, only as the woman? And how can he and Laura use her mother's Chaos Formula to win over five hundred dollars at a Mini-Bac table at the Lumiere Place Casino? Why does Mr. bin Hasad, the small, dapper foreigner keep visiting Jaxon on his job even though he doesn't open up a trading account? And Jaxon can't remember what they discuss? How did Jaxon's brother Keith buy the most evil book in the world from Ken, the Romani and Bosnian refugee who runs the largest occult bookstore in the New World, when Keith claims he stopped dealing drugs? Why does someone calling himself Zeth kill young women and drain their blood into a crystal bowl to scry messages to and from the Shadow Giants? Blood Reaper's story comes to a conclusion on top of the cliff overlooking the Nile River. Jaxon's story reaches its conclusion on top of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Who lives? Who dies? Do the Shadow Giants overwhelm life on Earth with chaos and destruction? To find out, scroll up and download the dark fantasy adventure The Chaos Formula now. 86,000 words. This paranormal fantasy adventure combines stories from ten thousand years ago -- a nitty gritty historical dark fantasy -- with a contemporary dark fantasy in the modern world. A form of urban fantasy as well.

There's more to writing a successful fantasy story than building a unique world or inventing new magic. How exactly is a plot put together? How do you know if your idea will support an entire novel? How do you grab reader attention and keep it? How do you create dynamic, multi-dimensional characters? What is viewpoint and do you handle it differently in urban fantasy than in traditional epics? What should you do if you're lost in the middle? How do you make your plot end up where you intend it to go? From the writing of strong, action-packed scenes to the handling of emotions, let award-winning fantasy author Deborah Chester guide you through the process of putting a book together. Convinced there's no need to shroud the writing process under a veil of mystery, Chester supplies tips that are both practical and proven. They are exactly what she uses in writing her own novels and what she teaches in her writing courses at the University of Oklahoma. Along with explaining story construction step-by-step, Chester illustrates each technique with examples drawn from both traditional and urban fantasy. The technique chapters include exercises to assist novices in mastering the craft of writing fantasy as well as suggestions for avoiding or solving plot problems. More experienced writers will find tips for taking their work to the next level. With an introduction by author Jim Butcher, The fantasy fiction formula provides the information you need to gain skill and proficiency in writing fantasy like a pro.