For fans of Black Mirror and The Handmaid’s Tale, a mother desperately tries to keep her family together in a society where parenting standards are strictly monitored. "With fabulous world-building and a plot so tight you could bounce a quarter off of it, Dark Lullaby is a Handmaid's Tale for the modern world, about the ways our human need for love can serve as both society's salvation, and its undoing." Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors The world is suffering an infertility crisis, the last natural birth was over twenty years ago and now the only way to conceive is through a painful fertility treatment. Any children born are strictly monitored, and if you are deemed an unfit parent then your child is extracted. After witnessing so many struggling to conceive – and then keep – their babies, Kit thought she didn’t want children. But then she meets Thomas and they have a baby girl, Mimi. Soon the small mistakes build up and suddenly Kit is faced with the possibility of losing her daughter, and she is forced to ask herself how far she will go to keep her family together.

A Message to the Reader: I started writing this book in 1995, when I was still not yet thirty years old but approaching it too quickly to not make note of where I was, who I was, or why I was. The story behind the reason for writing is a part of this work so I wont burden you with it twice, but I will say that I have never had more intimate conversations with God both frustrating and revealing than on those 4 a.m.s while staring at a blank page or screen. I think that on some level, one of the reasons why it has taken me so long to finally put this before you has been simply that I will miss those particular conversations, and I havent quite figured out what else I want to talk about. So many things have happened since the final draft was completed. So many of the endings to these stories have changed. I swear I thought about Lullaby every day. I went from rejection to rejection, first draft to third, and another couple of years passed. I never gave up on the notion that I wanted it out there, but I couldnt simply let it go. The unmentionable then occurred on September 11th, 2001, and after that morning nothing made sense or mattered much, aside from the fact that somehow, I was still alive and breathing and trying not to lose my mind. My coworkers and I were beginning our day across the street from the Towers when it all began, and I join the sentiments of thousands maybe millions when I say that we struggle on a daily basis to maintain some semblance of equanimity. I write this message to you a little over four months from that day so full of fear and love. Even on that day, I swear I thought about Lullaby and how maybe someday someone would find it in the rubble of what was left and have a smile over what New York City was before it was obliterated. For months I have been wondering whether its the right thing to do, to put this out there at a time when really, who cares about one womans ride on the A train? How selfish and careless of me would it be to expect that anyone will read this and connect after all that has happened and is happening on this beloved planet? Over and over again I have asked myself these questions. Then I saw The Nutcracker and Contact with my mom during the Christmas holidays. I listened to Nanci Griffith sing during her concert at the Beacon Theatre in December and just recently, I almost passed out with laughter during John Leguizamos one-man explosion called Sexaholix. Ive seen A Beautiful Mind, The Majestic, Vanilla Sky and Oceans 11 in the span of one month, and Ive read the last verse of Bruce Springsteens Land of Hope and Dreams pinned to one of the walls in my office cubicle - once a day. At the office Holiday party a woman sang Oh Come, All Ye Faithful, and I hugged everyone I hadnt seen since September for at least five minutes each and then I danced a few body parts clear off of my person. A friend and I were writing each other recently about the pain following the loss of a loved one. Everyone grieves in their own way, but what remains constant is that sometimes ruthlessly, the rest of the world moves forward in its evolution, regardless of the fact that for you, time has stopped. It seems unfair sometimes that even in the face of the world your world ending, Earth doesnt take a breather and give you a few minutes or days to get your heart back inside of your chest. It seems a curse. But its a blessing. Its a blessing that in the face of so much, Nanci and Bruce still write and sing, The New York City Ballet still dances, John still makes us laugh, and people still believe. So, I am taking the next step in the life of Lullaby, and Im placing it in your hands with all the love and hope for its appreciation that I can muster. The world as many of us know it has ended and we may never fully understand why, but I would betray the Force behind my every inspiration if I didnt allow this to completely evolve.

This playful picture book with audio from Jan Thomas features a courageous cowboy who croons to his cows before bed—with just a few fearful interruptions. Join the Brave Cowboy as he tries to sing his young calf pals to sleep on a dark, dark night—EEEEEEEK! IS THAT A HUGE HAIRY SPIDER OVER THERE? Oh, it’s just a flower? Well then, back to the lullaby. No one does preschool humor with Jan Thomas’s wit, verve, and bold, snappy color. And her Brave Cowboy and his silly, interrupted lullaby are sure to get everybody singing—before they head off into cozy dreamland…

Wisecracking reporter and reluctant detective Billy Chaka is back. His latest misadventure finds him in Osaka to accept an award for an article he'd written years before about a teenage Bunraku puppet prodigy named Tetsuo. Billy quickly learns he may have been summoned for more than the award -- Tetsuo has been expelled from Osaka's most prestigious theater company following a bloody, unexplained incident involving a fellow puppeteer. While Billy tries to unravel that mystery, an American man in the hotel room next door is found brutally murdered. Investigating the homicide and its bizarre link to the young puppeteer plunges Billy into a shadowy world where dreams and reality violently intermingle and people are never who they seem. It's a world not far removed from that of the Bunraku theater that flourished in Osaka hundreds of years ago, stylishly recast for the neon-lit urban stage with decrepit gangsters, clueless expatriates, dangerous women, and one seriously deranged hotel employee. Two parts noir and one part playful irreverence, Kinki Lullaby is a sly whodunit that unfolds with the twisted charm of a fever dream.

How is faith like ice-cream? What bible topic is like last year's calendar? Discover the easy and fun way to bible study. You'll instantly taste the difference of Sunday School with a twist: new riddles and parables! With only her "rocky road" ice-cream, a little girl learns about the conditions of faith. And a detective investigates a sleeping courtroom mystery. With plenty more, WordPlay® is a biblically exciting blend of new mystery, morals, symbolism, fun facts, discussion questions, character challenges, family skit versions, and a built-in hyperlinked bible index. Fill your "thirsty cup" to the top! Your List of New Christian Parables: Each parable inside comes in 3 formats: Story Version WordPlay Version Family Skits Version A Maze In Grace (The Parable) It's the most popular 3-D maze challenge for Little Gracie. The Parable of Ice-Cream Soup A little girl learns about the conditions of Faith in an unlikely place. The Parable of The Lawyer's Lullaby A determined lawyer hires a Detective to solve a mystery around the courtroom conditions against her best case. Peculiar Treasure (The Parable) An "enchanted wish" comes true in the 'closest' of ways! Batteries Not Included (The Parable) Jeffrey learns the difference between the game he is playing, and "the game he was playing!" The Parable of The Waitress's Tip A mysteriously absent waitress adds insight to the menu for a starving customer. The Parable of The Counselor's Gift A school counselor gains exaggerated popularity amongst a curious news reporter, despite a statistical mystery. The Parable of The Calendar's Watch A "familiar" celebrity is asked to help promote a mysterious product. Couple's Therapy Parable "...as their exes cheer against them..." And More...

"2012 Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize selected by Lynn Emanuel"--Cover.

Burning dinners, stitching "scandalous" quilts, talking "hard" in the male dominated world of rap music---Feminist Messages interprets such acts as instances of coding, or covert expressions of subversive or disturbing ideas. While coding may be either deliberated or unconscious, it is a common phenomenon in women's stories, art, and daily routines. Because it is essentially ambiguous, coding protects women from potentially dangerous responses from those who might be troubled by their messages.