Havens reflects on his career, the music business, marine conservation and more.

"Simultaneously published in Great Britain by Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishing Limited"--Title page verso.

Autumn Wind Dancing Daystar''s roots run deep in the soil of an Indigenous reservation in Alberta, Canada. Growing up as a third-generation survivor of residential schools, her upbringing was a tapestry woven with stories of resilience and strength. With a hereditary chief for a grandfather and a father who served in WWII, she was raised with the spirit of a warrior and the wisdom of generations past. From a young age, her parents instilled in her a love for writing, a passion that lay dormant until later in life when she realized it was her true calling. She poured herself into crafting this book with every fiber of her being, driven by a desire to share her truth with the world. While her academic achievements—a BA in Political Science from the University of Lethbridge and a Master''s Degree in Leadership & Administration from Gonzaga University—have undoubtedly shaped her perspective, the ancestral wisdom passed down through generations forms the heartbeat of her message. Autumn Wind Dancing''s educational journey was marked by challenges and triumphs. Despite the absence of a high school on the reservation during her time, she pursued her studies, facing the "culture shock" of transitioning to city life for high school. Although she initially left high school in grade 12, the support and belief of a Mormon guidance counselor led her back to finish and pursue a university education. Around a decade ago, Autumn found solace and truth in the teachings of The Book of Mormon upon joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Its profound message resonated with her, reflecting the essence of humanity across time. As she embraced her new faith, she found a sense of belonging and purpose. Her name, Autumn Wind Dancing, carries the echoes of her Plains Cree heritage, bestowed upon her by elders with deep significance. In a symbolic act of reclaiming identity, she legally adopted her traditional Cree name under Article 17 of the Truth & Reconciliation Call To Action, honoring her roots and journey towards reconciliation. writing, a passion that lay dormant until later in life when she realized it was her true calling. She poured herself into crafting this book with every fiber of her being, driven by a desire to share her truth with the world. While her academic achievements—a BA in Political Science from the University of Lethbridge and a Master''s Degree in Leadership & Administration from Gonzaga University—have undoubtedly shaped her perspective, the ancestral wisdom passed down through generations forms the heartbeat of her message. Autumn Wind Dancing''s educational journey was marked by challenges and triumphs. Despite the absence of a high school on the reservation during her time, she pursued her studies, facing the "culture shock" of transitioning to city life for high school. Although she initially left high school in grade 12, the support and belief of a Mormon guidance counselor led her back to finish and pursue a university education. Around a decade ago, Autumn found solace and truth in the teachings of The Book of Mormon upon joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Its profound message resonated with her, reflecting the essence of humanity across time. As she embraced her new faith, she found a sense of belonging and purpose. Her name, Autumn Wind Dancing, carries the echoes of her Plains Cree heritage, bestowed upon her by elders with deep significance. In a symbolic act of reclaiming identity, she legally adopted her traditional Cree name under Article 17 of the Truth & Reconciliation Call To Action, honoring her roots and journey towards reconciliation.

So Micaro gave me this book and told me to write in it. He said I could do anything I wanted, so I decided to write down everything that’s happening to me to keep my head clear. After all, a lot has happened and I already can’t remember most of my life. My name is Avian. Well, it is now... I don’t remember my old name. I don’t know who I was or where I was from. All I know about my past is that I had a smart brother that I had gotten in a fight with and that my family must have been very wealthy. But I’m part of Micaro’s Circus now, and I’m going to be going on display as an angel of death. I have wings. Large black crow wings. I can’t remember how or why I got them. Ricaru was assigned by Micaro to be my mentor because he’s a kite flyer and knows the most about flight out of everyone else in the circus. Ricaru is going to teach me how to fly, and honestly, I’m a bit excited! Although I know I have a family somewhere that’s probably really worried about me, I can’t remember them at all, and there’s no way I can get back to them... I’m starting a new life now, and tomorrow I’ll start living it. And I’ll start...by learning if these wings can let me fly! 642 642

No matter how much we accomplish in a day, we nearly always feel a little guilt over what we didn't do. Taming Your To-Do List exposes a seismic shift in society: from one in which most of us were proactive to one in which we carry the burden of having to respond--to every email, text, tweet, and message we receive. This creates a cycle where everyone else sets the priorities for our days rather than us directing our own lives. The result? We procrastinate, putting off the important stuff for later while we tend to the "urgent" stuff right now. It's time to take back your schedule! Ready to tame your to-do list? This book shows you how.

For Phil Parker and his wife, Macy, life in their quiet Midwest home is peaceful and idyllic. But their world is soon turned upside down when a mysterious acquaintance sends them a strange and alluring gift. It's called the red bag. Once the cherished property of a long-dead film director, it has gained a reputation as a mysterious and valuable collector's item. Now in possession of this strange, yet fascinating prize, Phil attempts to track down the man who sent it to him. But his search is quickly halted when he learns that the man is dead, having been murdered just days after sending Phil the package. Not wanting to get involved, Phil chooses to put the red bag aside and return his attention to his home and family. But after surviving a savage act of violence at the hands of a disturbed man who is seeking the red bag for himself, Phil has no choice but to confront the mystery before him. He soon learns that the red bag is more than just a simple heirloom. It has a history all its own, one that will plunge Phil into a world of danger and greed, pitting him against forces that he never could have imagined, against people who value the red bag more than anything else in the world and will stop at nothing to get it.

Although personal stories of the Second World War are numerous, timeless stories such as this one are particularly poignant and apropos to our present struggle over the tyranny of terrorism. Czechoslovakia during the dreadful years of the Second World War is the setting of this massive novel, written by a retired Major General of the Slovak Army who personally witnessed and lived through the wartime events he writes about. The book's story covers a historical period from the time of Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland through the victory of the American, British and Russian armies in Europe. The novel's central line of interest is how democratic Czechoslovakia, a fledgling nation geographically caught between two tyrannical powers set to face each other in battle and determined to dominate this small, yet historically-strategic land, was repeatedly betrayed by her allies and left helplessly to herself. Against this thunderous backdrop of modern war, the author carefully interweaves the developing love affair and marriage of his two principal characters, Peter Hronsky and his beloved Yirka. Peter is a captain in the Slovak Army, a gentile, whose love for Yirka is complicated by the fact that she is a Jew predestined for deportation during Nazi control of Slovakia. The lovers and their closest friends, relatives, and associates live what amounts to an underground life for several years under persecution. The characters' success in outwitting their overlords-first Nazis with their fascist collaborators, and then the Soviet communists-makes up the essential tension of their suspenseful and gripping story. Readers will follow the complex ins and outs of Czech, Slovak and European politics, aggression, war, military occupation, insurrection, and the racist policies of extermination that exploded in Europe during the 1940's. As Slovakia is presently turning a new chapter in her rich history by denouncing her 50-year affair with Marxism and embracing Western democracy, we find slowly emerging from the dusty dungeons of her memory a new and honest appraisal of the agonizing and shameful events she endured between 1938 and 1948. Peter Vlcko plainly and truthfully presents the long-suppressed, poorly-known and often-misunderstood facts of this tumultuous decade in Czechoslovakia. He clings close to the viewpoints of his main characters as they try to keep life going under the most hopeless of circumstances. His style is calmly realistic in the midst of violence, chaos and panic. He has an eye for the beauties of life even under conditions of wartime ugliness. And when the Hronskys finally reach the United States after their years of suffering, the Statue of Liberty is a true symbol of freedom they long for.