Alix had been designated by her exquisite mother and profligate father as the savior of her family. She was going to be beautiful. She was learned, and yes, she had courage. Her parents surveyed the ton and chose a handful of rich, very rich, men to whom Alix would be sold to. Her mother had sympathy, her father none. Unfortunately, her mother died before the marriage could be arranged. The earl, Alixs father, had no scruples. He selected the worst of the rich men, and when Alex refused, he beat her, locked her in her room, and then cast her off. Six years later, Lord Jonathan Creighton, a nabob out of India, came on the scene. He needed a wife, and there was a time constraint. He would take what he could get. The marriage took place, but there was no affection, no alliance. The two crossed swords immediately, but they had to work together. The story became muddled when Alix discovered she was sharing the house with a half-caste Indian child. Suddenly, Alix was involved in plots, kidnapping, and murder. Almost dying, she and Jonathan realized that they loved each other as well as the child.

Based on a true story set in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, The Purchased Bride tells the tale of Maria, a Greek girl who was bought at age fifteen by a much older, wealthy Ottoman man. As the Ottoman Empire falls and insurgents torch their Greek village in the Caucasus, Maria and her parents flee and find shelter in a refugee camp across the border in Ottoman territory. Cholera and plague are impending, and the priest running the camp takes a desperate measure, arranging to marry Maria off to a wealthy Ottoman Turk in the capital. She and her best friend, Lita, then travel toward the Black Sea coast through a fascinating world of ancient and forgotten Ottoman mountain communities. They encounter escalating violence, sniper attacks, and marauding troops amid the Empire’s collapse, as breakaway provinces declare themselves independent caliphates in defiance of the Sultan. And when Lita escapes, Maria is left to face her fate alone. A story of war, struggle, and ultimate success, based on the life of Constantine’s grandmother, The Purchased Bride sheds light on a turbulent and dangerous part of history.

Ada Wilcox never thought her brother would answer a mail-order bride ad on her behalf. Worse, he’s sold her–sight unseen–to a complete stranger. As she travels to Nebraska, she doesn’t know whether to be angry with her brother or scared about the uncertain future looming before her. Pete Kelly never thought he’d marry. Then one day his brother brings him a woman to marry, and the loneliness that plagued him for years in his quiet world is finally at an end. But the gift he was given might be quickly taken away if he doesn’t act in time to keep it. *This story was originally published in the Bride by Arrangement anthology.

It was bad enough being hauled out of bed by palace guards. Now Victoria McCallan had just offered to pay off her father's gambling debts—with herself as the prize! So the palace secretary was shocked when sexy Prince Kateb made her a counteroffer…. When Kateb whisked Victoria off to the desert to be his mistress for six months, the widowed ruler had no intention of falling in love. But the outspoken Texas transplant was soon tempting him to change his royal ways. Duty decreed the El Deharia sheik should wed a proper mate, but Kateb's heart was telling him something else: to claim Victoria as his woman—now and forever.

Now in its sixth edition, Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide, Sixth Edition provides students with an analysis of how basic functions - such as marketing, finance, production, operations, R & D, and human resources are coordinated to develop business policy. The authors demonstrate the how-tos of formulating, implementing, and evaluating corporate strategy. Students will understand strategic management - its decision-making processes, interface with environmental change, formulation of strategic alternatives, executive decision making, and built-in synergy. The importance of business policy and strategy has surged to the forefront of the business world. Internationalization of business, deregulation, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, and international joint ventures - coupled with a new emphasis on shareholder value - contribute to a feeling of uncertainty in the global marketplace. On top of this, the constantly changing e-commerce environment makes strategic planning even more essential. Students need to know how to function in this business environment. The authors provide a concise review of basic and alternative policies in strategy formulation. They use a case study of business situations that give students a powerful tool and efficient tool for mastering strategy development. The book blends practicality and realism - based on the authors' years of experience in corporate industry and management development - with advances in theory. The definitive supplementary text, Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide, Sixth Edition captures the business curriculum in one action packed volume.

Lady Carol was supposed to marry the Duke of Augustine. Then, shortly before the wedding, the duke committed suicide, citing her for the reason he couldn’t go on living anymore. While there was no love lost between them, her situation is not any better when her guardian threatens to send her off to a convent unless she finds someone else to marry. Marriage to a gentleman she barely knows is a risky venture, but with nothing to lose, she accepts Lord Wright’s hasty proposal. Grant Carnel, Lord Wright, did everything he could to make everyone think he had a wonderful first marriage. He did it to protect the young child that isn’t really his. He is determined that no one learn the truth. Her life will be free from scandal. With his first wife gone, he is free to marry again. But marriage would mean opening up old wounds that he thought he left behind.

An impoverished hero pretends to love a wealthy heiress... Lucas Reid is desperate. He needs money, and he needs it fast. Wealthy heiress Gail Patterson isn’t the most attractive lady in Pennsylvania, but she is available. Putting on a pretense of loving her, Lucas proposes marriage, and she says yes. And now must make the marriage real... Now it is his wedding day, and Lucas realizes that the hardest obstacle of his life has begun. He is going to have to make it seem like this marriage of convenience is one that will be full of passion–a passion he does not feel for his new wife. As he is struggling to decide how he is going to consummate the union, word comes from Arizona that his sister has been abducted by a group of bandits. At first, he thinks this is the perfect excuse to delay things with his wife, but Gail is not the quiet and timid wallflower he thought he married. She is going to Arizona with him. And this is going to change everything about their marriage. Introducing a sexy historical western romantic comedy... This romance features a virgin hero and virgin heroine who’ve never traveled out West before. They will come across an inept deputy who wishes he was a hero, a group of bandits, and a scorpion that knows when to show up at just the right moment.