The author of SOMETHING MISSING returns with another hilarious and sneakily profound tale about a man whose behavior is truly odd, but also oddly relatable. Milo Slade, a thirty-three year old home healthcare aide, is witnessing the rapid dissolution of his three-year marriage to a polished, high-powered attorney named Christine. Though Milo doesn't quite know the root of his marital problems, he inevitably blames himself, or more specifically, he faults the demands his obsessive compulsive personality place upon him--the need to open a jar of Smuckers grape jelly or sing 99 Luftballons in front of an audience, to name just a couple. Yet Christine is still none the wiser about these inexplicable quirks as Milo has painstakingly hidden them from her and everyone else for years. No one knows the true--and in his mind more insidious--Milo, and such is the root of his profound loneliness, especially now that he and Christine are living apart during a trial separation. Then one day Milo stumbles across a video camera and tapes, left behind in a park. He watches the first tape, which is a heartfelt confessional by a young woman who begins to reveal her secrets, starting small at first, and finally revealing that she blames herself for a tragic death of a friend. But not all the details add up and Milo is struck with the urge to free the sweet confessor from her guilt. He is, after all, an expert in keeping secrets… In typical screwball fashion, Milo sets out on a cross-country journey to crack the case, but quickly gets sidetracked as his un-ignorable demands call. But it is during these sidetracks that the true meaning of his adventure takes shape. Milo is weird, but as he discovers, so is everyone else. UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO is a humorous and touching novel about finding oneself, embracing the journey, and, unexpectedly, love.

The author of SOMETHING MISSING returns with another hilarious and sneakily profound tale about a man whose behavior is truly odd, but also oddly relatable. Milo Slade, a thirty-three year old home healthcare aide, is witnessing the rapid dissolution of his three-year marriage to a polished, high-powered attorney named Christine. Though Milo doesn't quite know the root of his marital problems, he inevitably blames himself, or more specifically, he faults the demands his obsessive compulsive personality place upon him--the need to open a jar of Smuckers grape jelly or sing 99 Luftballons in front of an audience, to name just a couple. Yet Christine is still none the wiser about these inexplicable quirks as Milo has painstakingly hidden them from her and everyone else for years. No one knows the true--and in his mind more insidious--Milo, and such is the root of his profound loneliness, especially now that he and Christine are living apart during a trial separation. Then one day Milo stumbles across a video camera and tapes, left behind in a park. He watches the first tape, which is a heartfelt confessional by a young woman who begins to reveal her secrets, starting small at first, and finally revealing that she blames herself for a tragic death of a friend. But not all the details add up and Milo is struck with the urge to free the sweet confessor from her guilt. He is, after all, an expert in keeping secrets… In typical screwball fashion, Milo sets out on a cross-country journey to crack the case, but quickly gets sidetracked as his un-ignorable demands call. But it is during these sidetracks that the true meaning of his adventure takes shape. Milo is weird, but as he discovers, so is everyone else. UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO is a humorous and touching novel about finding oneself, embracing the journey, and, unexpectedly, love.

A family saga of love, tragedy, and war spanning four generations, The Liffey Flows On By is a page-turner that transports readers back to Ireland in the early 1900s.The story revolves around the Butlers, a wealthy Irish family living on a large estate bordering the River Liffey. With a family tradition of disregarding society’s class distinctions, the Butlers’ lives are interwoven with those of their estate staff. And indeed it is these relationships that repeatedly save the Butler family.At the novel’s centre are Tom Butler, who with his twin brother fights in the First World War and loves the beautiful Rachel; his son Milo who with his best friend fights in the Second World War and finds love in an unexpected place; and Maggie Flynn, their cook housekeeper who dispenses advice but holds secrets of her own. Throughout the years, the River Liffey, quietly flowing by their property, has a profound importance in all their lives, especially for Milo.Weaving drama, humor, and historical events to create a story with as many twists and turns as a river, Niki Phillips brings Ireland to life with rich dialogue and memorable characters that will leave readers wanting more.

A uniquely experienced observer of China gives us a sweeping historical novel that takes us on a journey from the rise of Mao Zedong in 1949 to the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989, as a father and his son are swept away by a relentless series of devastating events. It's 1950, and pianist Li Tongshu is one of the few Chinese to have graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Engaged to a Chinese-American violinist who is the daughter of a missionary father and a Shanghai-born mother, Li Tongshu is drawn not just by Mao's grand promise to "build a new China" but also by the enthusiasm of many other Chinese artists and scientists living abroad, who take hope in Mao's promise of a rejuvenated China. And so when the recently established Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing offers Li Tongshu a teaching position, he leaves San Francisco and returns home with his new wife. But instead of being allowed to teach, Li Tongshu is plunged into Mao's manic revolution, which becomes deeply distrustful of his Western education and his American wife. It's not long before his son, Little Li, also gets caught up in the maelstrom of political and ideological upheaval that ends up not only savaging the Li family but, ultimately, destroying the essential fabric of Chinese society.

Chronicles the career of a conflicted mortgage broker. This comical and tragic account explains the whole amazing subprime catastrophe through the story of one man. Mortgage brokers dominated the lending industry for 25 years before succumbing to the lure of ever riskier products that relentlessly blurred their moral principles. In the end, common sense was compromised by fear of losing to the competition. Here are the outrageous, and sometimes hilarious, stories of the sale’s anti cs of all the players of the subprime crisis.

Cole has come to BEAcon for one reason: the contest cup. He’s spent months knitting chainmail and perfecting his poses. With cosplay rivals to out compete and the chance to attend panels for his new favorite show, Cole can’t afford any distractions—especially not falling in love. Milo, star of the viral breakaway TV show Dusk City, would rather be staked through the heart like the vampire he portrays than crammed into a convention center with thousands of fans. Sure, success is great—but not when the future of the show and your co-workers depend on him staying in the closet. The frenzied fan reaction is nothing short of overwhelming. When Milo’s anxiety gets to be too much, Cole doesn’t hesitate to come to the rescue of his handsome TV crush. His unorthodox solution opens the doors to an unexpected—and undeniable—connection. Between signings, meltdowns, and the swirling microcosm of the huge fan convention, can Milo and Cole ever be in the same place at the same time again?

An Irish farce on the inhabitants of a provincial town. They include a poet who is working as a headwaiter, a former pin-up girl who is a magazine editor, and a man who only reads books about God and who makes anonymous phone calls to convince people to believe in God. A first novel.