Wendy Edwards goes on a spur-of-the-moment sail on foggy Galveston Bay with her childhood friend, Bryan McClellan, and witnesses a boater toss a body overboard. As horrified as she is, she could never have guessed where the dreadful act would lead, but Kemah, Texas, the small coastal town where she has lived since birth, is smack in the middle of it. Meanwhile, the United States is close to crumbling, and domination by a globalized government is no longer a distant threat. Already wise to the menace, homegrown FURA members are holding their seventh summit in the area. Their mission is to protect the freedoms they still have while remaining focused on their vision for a new union of states. A member's son goes missing, and Bryan, who is also a member, gets Wendy involved. Together they dive an offshore petroleum platform in the Gulf of Mexico to find answers. Things heat up after a bloody knife turns up in their boat and results in Wendy's discovery of WORE. Then she learns of an unseen international force that has been using genetic warfare and propaganda for decades in order to create a subservient mutant population. As Wendy spends her forced vacation trying to figure out who dumped the body in the bay, she wears disguises, overhears of abhorrent acts, witnesses a murder, is chased, and things blow up, battles are fought, and more. And the bodies pile up. Wendy suspects a serial killer is on the loose, and her search eventually puts her in his sights. But he's not the only one after her. Wendy does everything she can to make sense of the rash of evil, and once she sees the big picture, she realizes it's not only a matter of her own survival but of the human race and man's ability to recognize the existence of God. Inspired by reality, Venus Over Kemah may spark anger at the abominations inflicted on mankind, give a few chuckles--perhaps a few tears--share the frustrations and warmth of a blossoming love, offer encouragement, and hopefully leave you cheering.

Brief history of Hereford cattle: v. 1, p. 359-375.

Inspired by true events, Dirt Dollars Death is a crime mystery novel about organized corruption in a rural county located in the Texas Hill Country and what happens when love, friendship, and loyalty don’t give up the search for a missing person. Missy, Clint, and Giselle arrive from Houston with plans to meet Missy’s boyfriend and then spend a long weekend touring The Three Sisters on motorcycles. They find strange behavior from the locals, and then a mysterious man gives them startling news. The little group, with its own personality dynamics, experiences most of the one-hundred-mile motorcycle route while they explore the small town of Leakey, travel across a mountain to Camp Wood, and eventually visit two other tiny communities (one not by choice). There are hostile encounters with the unfriendly locals, and then something happens, and their energies focus in a new direction that leads them to a fight for their lives. The story spans four days and includes missing people, real estate fraud, identity theft, money laundering, human and other contraband trafficking, betrayal, murder, and more perpetrated by a variety of interconnected crime syndicates as well as by individuals with their own agendas. The reader will not only ride along with the protagonists through scenic landscapes but will also see into some of the locals’ relationships and operations, all of whom will do the ultimate evil to keep their secrets safe.

Who were the ancient Romans? Where did they go to eat, shop and wash? What did they do for fun? In this book you’ll find the answers and lots more about life in Roman times. "No Key Stage 1 classroom should be without the whole set" - The Bookseller

A novel of extraordinary power from a writer to watch. In a small flat in London, a young man is turning to gold. But before he dies, before his skin and eyes and tongue harden into a golden death mask, he wants to share the amazing story of his life. Born and raised on the barren Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland, his childhood is a brutal one, devoid of tenderness. It is a miracle when he meets Tracy, falls in love, and discovers his true gift: the merest touch of him is enough to induce visions of angels and orchids. The physical heights he is able to reach-and to which he can bring others-go far beyond any normal sensual pleasure. Armed with this inexplicable talent, he makes his way to London, where he falls in with a group of teens forced to make a living on the street. Luke Sutherland's modern-day myth about the power of love veers from stratosphere to gutter, from visions of heaven to the all-too-mortal yearning for even one glimpse of it. With Venus as a Boy Sutherland has written a moving, poetic novel that manages to imbue the harsh realities of life on the street with a mesmerizing and ethereal beauty.

From the award-winning author of The Bellwether Revivals comes a "gorgeous and harrowing work" (Emily St. John Mandel) set on a mysterious island, where artists strive to recover their lost gifts--and where nothing is quite as it seems. Situated on a Turkish island, Portmantle might be the strangest, most exclusive artists' colony around. Its brilliant residents linger for years, all expenses paid and living under assumed names. Relieved of the burdens of time and ego, they are free to create their next masterpieces. Elspeth Conroy (aka "Knell") is a Scottish painter who has been at Portmantle for a decade, a refugee from the hectic London art scene. Her fellow longtimers include Quickman, whose sole book became a classic and paralyzed his muse; MacKinney, a playwright who left behind her family; and Pettifer, an architect obsessing over an unfinished cathedral. In his astonishing second novel, Benjamin Wood gives us “an intensely intimate portrait of an artist as a young woman, with truths on every page” (Independent). The hermetic world at Portmantle shatters when the 17-year-old Fullerton arrives at the gates, his provenance and talents unknown. As Knell searches for answers, she reveals the path that led her to this place: Her intimate bond with her gruff drunk of a mentor; her early successes and crushing failures; a journey across the Atlantic and into the psychiatrist's office; and a grand commission of astronomical significance. What is "The Ecliptic," and how does it relate to the life Elspeth left behind? This gorgeous puzzle of a novel touches the head and the heart, and the effect is nothing short of electrifying.