About the Book In the provinces of Terra Y’cromeca, an ancient battle over husbandry of the land interlocks two primordial gardens. Dark abysmal waters in the cold of the north, house a blasphemous garden. From this garden springs forth an arcane power to dark forces, thus paving the way for a cruel regime to rule over the Y’cromahein people. Isolated from these powers in a desert world far away in the West, a simple and rustic folk follow the wisdom of a kindly Gardener, the guardian of Terra Y’cromeca. But what need is there to guard against? While the turmoil of slavery and war plague the Y’cromahein in the north, the Gardener’s age-old nemesis lurks and schemes, plotting to fulfill his oath of vengeance upon the land. In this age, where ancient forces burst to new life, the numinous seeds of the Garden of Ages are pitted against the corrupt weeds of the Dark Garden. Ripples of chaos from upheaval in the north wreck devastation and ruin across Terra Y’cromeca. In their wake, destiny finds unlikely heroes in a young shepherd, a grieving father, a self-serving Tribune, and a young girl of mysterious lineage. Guided by the Gardener’s wisdom and supported by the warriors of the desert, they will strive to form one last defense against great darkness. About the Author Samuel R. Rodriguez Jr. was forged under a scorching sun, in the rugged desert of West Texas in 1968. He grew up with a love for cinema, ghost stories, and a deep passion for history and various cultures. The more distant a culture may be from his roots, the more curious he was to learn about them and embrace them. His love for all things mysterious led him on a life-long journey into the worlds of cryptozoology, Kabbalah, and Eastern philosophy. In 1977, his life changed with the cinematic release of Star Wars: A New Hope, thus the excitement of wanting to create his own fantasy story was birthed from that inspiration so long ago. Since then, the story of Y’cromeca has morphed, changed, and shape-shifted into the story that you read today. This book was crafted decades in the making.

An amulet of great power takes a great toll on the wearer. It is the king's delight and the king's burden. It shakes the foundations of the world, topples empires and builds nations. And it has fallen into the wrong hands... The world has become obsessed with King Emilio. He's young, rich and incredibly powerful. He fascinates adoring crowds with a ruthless smile, and they fawn over his slightest requests. Connor sees through the guise but fights to keep quiet about Emilio's true nature. It is his cousin, and he made an unbreakable oath... If only Maia weren't obsessed with the Aztecan king, then maybe Connor would be able to get some sleep at night. But after Emilio proposes to her, Connor's jealousy overwhelms him. The incessant noise of the palace makes him crave the peace of the battlefield again, but it isn't long before the battlefield finds him, and he has to make a choice... Every thought that he'd kept hidden even from himself emerges from the darkest corners of his mind. Maia… Who is she?

Winner of a 2013 Small Business Book Award for Economics The world is more overwhelming than ever before. Our work is deeper and more demanding than ever. Our businesses are more complicated and difficult to manage than ever. Our economy is more uncertain than ever. Our resources are scarcer than ever. There is endless choice and feature overkill in all but the best experiences. Everybody knows everything about us. The simple life is a thing of the past. Everywhere, there's too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the right. The noise is deafening, the signal weak. Everything is too complicated and time-sucking. Welcome to the age of excess everything. Success in this new age looks different and demands a new skill: Subtraction. Subtraction is defined simply as the art of removing anything excessive, confusing, wasteful, unnatural, hazardous, hard to use, or ugly . . . or the discipline to refrain from adding it in the first place. And if subtraction is the new skill to be acquired, we need a guide to developing it. Enter The Laws of Subtraction. Through a dozen of the most compelling stories of breakthrough innovation culled from 2,000 cases and bolstered by uniquely personal essays contributed by over 50 of the most creative minds in business today, The Laws of Subtraction outlines six simple rules for winning in the age of excess everything, and delivers a single yet powerful idea: When you remove just the right things in just the right way, something very good happens. The Laws of Subtraction features contributions by over 50 highly regarded thinkers, creatives, and executives. On Law #1: What Isn't There Can Often Trump What Is "When you reduce the number of doors that someone can walk through, more people walk through the one that you want them to walk through." -- SCOTT BELSKY, founder and CEO of Behance and author of Making Ideas Happen On Law #2: The Simplest Rules Create the Most Effective Experience "Keeping it simple isn't easy. By exploiting subtraction in innovation, we've been able to create an environment of freedom and creativity that allows us to thrive." -- BRAD SMITH, CEO, Intuit On Law #3: Limiting Information Engages the Imagination "Subtraction can mean the difference between a highly persuasive presentation and a long, convoluted, and confusing one. Why say more when you can say less?" -- CARMINE GALLO, author of The Apple Experience On Law #4: Creativity Thrives Under Intelligent Constraints "Here's the key to the conundrum for managers who want to stoke the innovation fire: That close cousin of scarcity, constraint, can indeed foster creativity." -- TERESA AMABILE, author of The Progress Principle On Law #5: Break Is the Important Part of Breakthrough "If you kill the butterflies in your stomach, you'll kill the dream. Embrace the feeling. Save the butterflies." -- JONATHAN FIELDS, author of Uncertainty On Law #6: Doing Something Isn't Always Better Than Doing Nothing "When we're faced with the greatest odds against us, often we need to edit rather than add." -- CHIP CONLEY, cofounder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and author of Emotional Equations

Maia hasn’t told anyone she’s the long-lost princess betrothed to Prince Connor. She especially can’t tell them now that she’s used her secret magic to ingrain herself into his elite school.She desperately wants to meet him, just once... But her romantic hopes are crushed when she finds out that he’s immune to her magic... He actually hates her. He hates everyone. And NO ONE hates Maia. It’s impossible... But it won’t last too much longer. Soon she’ll have to leave before she is hunted again, before her true identity is revealed. For now she can be a normal kid and enjoy having a secret crush. Until her magic backfires and she is forced to play matchmaker for her soul mate… Now Connor hates her even more, and she can’t blame him. But Connor needs her special skills when two intruders enter the school and corner them. Maia knows they’re not looking for Prince Connor. They have magic and know her name, her true name... (Free Book, Free book High School, Free book Magic, free book royal, free book young adult, royal heir, academy books, academy enemies to lovers, academy fantasy, fantasy thriller, royal urban fantasy, royal bully)