Growing up a second-generation Italian woman in Canada is not as easy as it looks. In fact, it requires the keeping of secrets, the telling of lies, the casting of curses, and the patience of a saint. Here 20 Italian-Canadian women share their stories -- some comic, some tragic, some nostalgic, all true -- about living a double life with a private/public split personality. Intimate, inspiring, brave, and confessional, these tales reveal women old enough to reminisce yet young enough to revolutionize. Balancing between the Old Country and the new, a respect for tradition and the need to break with it, this collection is a rare and surprising blend of humour and candor that promises the perfect conversation-starter. Mamma mia, what will they dare say next?

DIVA stunning discovery by a team of scientists on Venus endangers Earth itself/divDIV At eighty-three, Dr. Helen Failia is nearing middle age but has lost none of her fighting spirit. The founder of Earth’s first fully functioning colony on Venus, she will do anything to ensure that the home she’s built and nurtured not only survives, but thrives. Despite her constant work, funding for the colony is running out, and she’s dreading telling the ten thousand colonists they must move to Earth, a world some of them have never even seen. When one of her probes returns with the unprecedented proof of an ancient alien artifact on the surface of Venus she cannot believe her luck. This is the first evidence that humanity is not alone, and the discovery will surely secure the research colony’s future./divDIV /divDIVAs Helen and her team investigate the strange new find, they learn that humanity is not the only species with its eye on the planet. A dying race of spacefaring aliens needs a new home, and Venus is perfect for the people and their massive, living cities. But these newcomers consider the human presence on Venus a very small problem, one that can be swept aside if it dares get in the way./div

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What if there are other timelines, other histories, other Jews? Would they still have a covenant with the one God, or would they know strange gods? Would they have survived banishment, pogrom and Holocaust? What if the Holocaust had not occurred? Or what if it had succeeded beyond Hitler's darkest dreams? Some of the world's greatest speculative fiction authors explore these roads not taken, and many others, in Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People, the first-ever anthology of Jewish alternate history fiction.

New Authors and collections. Following the great success of 2015's Gothic Fantasy, deluxe edition short story compilations, this latest in the series is packed with tales set in bleak and paradisiacal worlds of boundless imagination from classic authors and exciting budding contemporary writers. New and notable writers featured are: Kim Antieau, Steve Carr, Carolyn Charron, Megan Dorei, Sarah Lyn Eaton, Michelle Kaseler, Claude Lalumière, Gerri Leen, Konstantine Paradias, Jeff Parsons, Kelsey Shannahan, Nidhi Singh, Jeremy Szal, J.M. Templet, Russ Thorne, M. Darusha Wehm, and Andrew J. Wilson. These appear alongside classic stories by authors such as Edward Bellamy, Samuel Butler, Robert W. Chambers, Jack London and Mary Shelley.

Welcome to Venera; the population is vibrant, established peace with their neighbors have made them excel even further. Queen Aya has held the throne because her people love her and admired by her allies. Everything is perfect until the resources begin to run low; not attainable by trade- the only option is INVASION. The Queen struggles with the idea of taking IT by force, the daunting reality that death and destruction lies between her and the survival of her people. Meanwhile, a runaway planet has entered the Earth's orbit but has stopped short of colliding with the Earth. The people have decided to occupy it using it as a military installation and to train a professional space team of soldiers; Governments of Earth have dubbed it simply, " Earth's Frontline." Follow Revelle and her friends as their military training prepares them for the space missions ahead while coping with a strange new world and their own dreams and aspirations that don't match that of the people in charge. A collective joint space program is the idea being sold but is that the real reason? The first book in this novella series will test your moral compass. Nothing is what it seems and what it is; will leave you wondering what's next.

He can throw away his future or he can betray his principles and the people he loves. That is the stark choice faced by Ruslan Shanidza, an idealistic and ambitious athlete from the southern fringes of the Soviet Union. He dreams of Olympic glory but despises the ruling Communists and longs for independence from Russia. Something has to give, especially after a fight with the son of a leading Party member brings him to the attention of the secret police. Set in the final decade of the Cold War, this political thriller reads like historical fiction. It takes you to a time and place where the Communist Party seeks to control every aspect of life and anyone who resists faces heavy-handed repression. Later, as the dictatorship begins to crumble, Ruslan will find himself caught up in an ethnic conflict that re-ignites with catastrophic results. “…will keep you turning the pages…Prepare to be sucked in with gripping characters and political intrigue until the very end.” OnlineBookClub.Org Official Review “Highly enjoyable, gripping page turner, solid story and characters, political intrigue; what’s not to like?” E.P. Goodreads reviewer “…takes you in, grabs a hold of you and does not let go until the very end where you are left wanting more.” N.A. Goodreads reviewer