The most beautiful bride he'd ever seen—and she belonged to someone else… But that wouldn't stop bodyguard Xavier Drake from protecting Zoe Linden with his life. And it would help him to focus on the problem at hand—convincing Zoe to stay with him when she learned he hadn't been hired by her missing fiancé. The gunfi re blazing around them assured she'd remain glued to his side. But it was her unexpected pregnancy that got under this tough guy's skin and brought out every primal protective instinct. On the run in her wedding dress, Zoe sensed she could trust the stranger who came to protect her. But neither were prepared for the consequences of their unexpected passion under fire….

What happens when fantasy and reality collide? When Seamus McPherson interviewed for the position as head of security for Fractal Enterprises he didn’t know he’d be asked to stage a fake marriage. It wasn’t his first time guarding Amy, but living together as newlyweds presented a new challenge. When it was time for his clan reunion the threat to Amy’s life hadn’t been eliminated, so he chose to take his make-believe bride with him to Scotland. Amy Anderson didn’t take her stalker seriously until he got past the security team and vandalized her home. There was no doubt in her mind that her bodyguard would protect her life with his own, but she couldn’t trust him with her heart since he’d broken it in the past. When he brings her to a Scottish castle for his clan reunion, keeping fantasy and reality separate while protecting herself from Seamus proves to be an impossible task. Dare she hope for a happily-ever-after? The truth can’t be kept hidden forever, and Seamus’ meddling family uncovers it. Find out what happens when a fake marriage turns all too real in this sweet contemporary Christian second-chance romance, The Bodyguard’s Fake Bride.

Undercover wedding DO YOU TAKE THIS STRANGER…? Becoming a federal witness against a crime boss changed Caroline Southeby's life. Suddenly she had a new name, a new identity—and a husband? Trust didn't come easily to Caroline, and relying on the blue-eyed stranger assigned to protect her was about as foreign as the vows she'd repeated! After a disastrous "wedding," Jess McKensie whisked his "bride" into hiding, where Caroline's unexpected passion proved to be a whole new temptation. Falling in love with a woman he'd vowed to protect was too dangerous to even consider, for he knew one slip could cost them both their lives!

A pretend engagement suddenly becomes very real…and dangerous When Tahra Edwards sees a suspicious knapsack near a school yard, she leaps into action…and saves children from a bomb. But upon awakening in a hospital, Tahra discovers she’s lost her memory—including any recollection of the handsome military captain who says he’s her fiancé. A charming alpha hero who seems to be hiding something… As a high-level bodyguard, Marek Zale knows that a ruthless terrorist organization will stop at nothing to silence Tahra—his ex-girlfriend—permanently. To protect her, he must be by her side around the clock. And though he may not be telling her the truth about their engagement, their love for each other was always true…as is the danger threatening them both!

“Shotgun wedding” takes on a new meaning in this mind-blowing romantic thriller from the USA Today–bestselling author of Bodyguard’s Baby Surprise. Bride-to-be Megan Lynch has just learned her ex, presumed dead Marine Gage Huxton, is alive after surviving enemy captivity. But before she can break up with her fiancé, gunmen storm her wedding and take hostages. Megan will do anything to stay alive—for herself and a second chance with Gage. But there’s more terror to endure before she can say yes to the dress—and her dream groom . . . What do the gunmen want? Gage works double time to unravel the mystery and save the beauty who still holds his heart. As the wedding crashers open fire, Gage puts his life on the line to protect Megan and convince her of his love. Praise for the novels of Lisa Childs “Atmospheric, emotional, and well-told.” —Lori Wilde, New York Times–bestselling author “Grabs you from page one . . . Lisa Childs paints an eerie, haunting suspense that will keep you riveted until the very last page!” —Rita Herron, USA Today–bestselling author “Childs knows how to keep readers riveted.” —RT Book Reviews

Aesthetic Violence and Women in Film is a highly readable and timely analysis of the intersection of two recent cinematic trends in martial arts films: aesthetic violence and warrior women. Joseph Kupfer establishes specific categories of aesthetic film violence, including hyper-violence, a visual style that emphasizes the sensuous surface of physical destruction and surreal violence, when spectacular imagery and gravity-defying dance replace blood and gore. He then goes on to outline the ascendancy during the past decades of female characters to the status of hero in action films. Interweaving these two subjects, the book reveals how women warriors instigate and animate the models of aesthetic violence introduced. The hyper-violence of Kill Bill celebrates the triumphs of the Bride, whose maiming and dismemberment of enemies produce brilliant red plumes and silvered geysers of blood. The surrealistic violence in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The House of Flying Daggers creatively elevates violence from earthbound mayhem to an enchanting aerial display of female-dominated acrobatics. Both film-stories are driven by the plight and aspirations of female combatants, suggesting an affinity between women and the transfiguration of fighting wrought by surrealistic violence. By elevating the significance of violence in action films and linking it together with the growing popularity of central female characters in this genre, Aesthetic Violence and Women in Film will be of interest to students and scholars in film studies, popular culture, gender studies, aesthetics, and social philosophy.

Previous ed. entitled: Offbeat bride: taffeta-free alternatives for independent brides, 2007.