From sports to politics, food to finance, aviation to engineering, to bitter disputes over simple boundaries themselves, New England’s feuds have peppered the region’s life for centuries. They’ve been raw and rowdy, sometimes high minded and humorous, and in a place renowned for its deep sense of history, often long-running and legendary. There are even some that will undoubtedly outlast the region’s ancient low stone walls. Ted Reinstein, a native New Englander and local writer, offers us fascinating stories, some known, others not so much, from the history of New England in this fun, accessible book. Bringing to life many of the fights, spats, and arguments that have, in many ways, shaped the area itself, Reinstein demonstrates what it really means to be Wicked Pissed.

Standard English has evolved and developed in many ways over the past hundred years. From pronunciation to vocabulary to grammar, this concise survey clearly documents the recent history of Standard English. Drawing on large amounts of authentic corpus data, it shows how we can track ongoing changes to the language, and demonstrates each of the major developments that have taken place. As well as taking insights from a vast body of literature, Christian Mair presents the results of his own cutting-edge research, revealing some important changes which have not been previously documented. He concludes by exploring how social and cultural factors, such as the American influence on British English, have affected Standard English in recent times. Authoritative, informative and engaging, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in language change in progress, particularly those working on English, and will be welcomed by students, researchers and language teachers alike.

Jimmy and Leo were a match blessed by The Angel of Fate. Two beautiful young men were laying naked under the sun by the shores of Lake Getchie one day long ago, about to seal a deal of perfect love. But instead of sharing a love that was meant to be, a demon fish swam along and came between them. It’s a tragedy when innocents don’t know well enough to be wary of deals with cloaked demons, for the devil’s blessings are always curses in disguise. In a moment of youthful naïveté, Jimmy is fooled into thinking he is a hero and saved the devil in disguise, and thus he had earned himself a charm reward from the demon fish. A powerful magic charm is given to him that makes everyone who looks into Jimmy’s eyes love him. And the more that everyone looked, the more that they loved Jimmy. Is there ever such an easy path that can be taken that skips over the hard work needed to create anything of truly lasting value? Is it possible that all that glitters is not gold? Can such a thing as easy love ever be a blessing? Or is love come easy always destined to be a road to ruin? Leo out of love and loyalty becomes trapped in a closet of secret love as Jimmy’s life long best friend and manager. And so the lucky demon fish ends up having captured two souls for the magical price of one. Will Leo’s love and loyalty prove stronger than the glitter of golden promises of easy love and riches? Or will the demon fish steal away the blessings of love bestowed upon the two boys by the Angel of Fate, and mock the heavens that seem to shun her? In this life and death struggle between good and evil, who shall live and who shall die? In the third volume of this illustrated series ‘The Lakeside Fairy Tales,’ we explore more of the Boystown Chicago parallel universe of ‘Center City’ through the lives and loves of her diverse community. Come share another story with me about a new love, and catch up with all of the characters from the series as all their lives and loves mix and swirl and flow together I each new story. All of them just like us, for are we not one and all but leaves in the stream? Stirred and whirled by the magic of the cosmos that reigns supreme in the vast eternal waters of The Great Lake. Come let me tell you a fairy tale and convince you that the magic of the cosmos is alive and real and in each and everyone of us.

Falling in love is the ultimate faux pas. Anything can happen in a year! Unemployed, homeless, and left at the altar, Vivia Perpetua Grant could see her future as a flannel pajama wearing spinster—or worse, a bag lady shuffling around Golden Gate Park. But for a girl obsessed with rock music, Chinese take-out, and the color pink, misfortune is another word for opportunity. Vivia has found her niche as an international travel writer and the long-distance lover of Jean-Luc de Caumont, an über-hot French literature professor and competitive cyclist. Still, even with so much going right, Vivia can’t help but wonder if something isn’t missing. The long distance thing is taking its toll on a girl who didn’t have that many tokens to begin with. And fate seems to be tempting her at every turn, first with a hunky Scottish helicopter pilot, and then with a British celebrity bad boy...Will Vivia continue to keep it real or will she discover some old habits die hard? “Leah Marie Brown has a wily way of bringing her stories to life with sharp dialogue and drop-dead sexy characters.” —Cindy Miles, National Bestselling Author “Prepare to laugh, to sigh, to turn pages fast! I want a one-way ticket to Vivia's world.” —Kieran Kramer, USA Today Bestselling Author “A funny, romantic, fast-paced, all-expense-paid pleasure read through France and Tuscany you don't want to miss.”—Gretchen Galway, Bestselling Author on Faking It “When it comes to crafting clever, intelligent, wonderful escapist fiction with a heroine every woman wants to know, Leah Marie Brown is a new voice to watch. Prepare to fall in love!” —Renee Ryan, Daphne du Maurier Award-Winning Author “Audacious, adorable and addictive!” —Catherine Mann, USA Today bestselling author

Robert J. Sawyer's Hominids, the first volume of his bestselling Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, won the 2003 Hugo Award, and its sequel, Humans, was a 2004 Hugo nominee. Now he's back with a pulse-pounding, mind-expanding standalone novel, rich with his signature philosophical and ethical speculations, all grounded in cutting-edge science. Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she's no longer constrained by a worn-out body either. But suddenly Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance. Even worse, the original version of Jake, consigned to die on the far side of the moon, has taken hostages there, demanding the return of his rights of personhood. In the courtroom and on the lunar surface, the future of uploaded humanity hangs in the balance. Mindscan is vintage Sawyer -- a feast for the mind and the heart.

Welcome to Woodbury Park: a subdivision in the burbs where desperate housewives do desperate things. Ask Zada Clark. Zada appears in divorce court expecting to get a quickie divorce from her spur-of-the-moment marriage to her hunky ex-marine husband - a man she thought was Mr. Right until she realized Rick's first name should have been ALWAYS. Not exactly known for her own ability to compromise, their short marriage has been a disaster. EXCEPT in the bedroom. Zada insists there's more to marriage than just great sex, and wants her divorce. Now! But when a brawl over the house and the dog breaks out in the courtroom, the disgruntled judge rules that Rick and Zada have ninety days to reach a compromise or face serious repercussions. Them? Reach a compromise in ninety days? Ain't gonna happen! Rick suggests they turn the situation into something they can settle between them - a real-life game of Survivor (Zada's favorite reality show). He'll move back in, and the first one to outwit, outplay, and outlast the other - wins the house and the dog. Never one to back down from a challenge, Zada says "game on." And when Rick moves back home and into the guest bedroom down the hall from hers, Zada informs Rick real quick, "We are not going to end up in your bed or mine!" But the burning question is: Will Rick be able to out-tease, out-tempt, and out-tantalize Zada into changing her mind and calling off the divorce?

This ruthless crimelord's kindness comes with a price. Possession. Complete and utter. JAZZ: I'm a determined dreamer--at least I used to be. I put all my dreams on hold and withdrew every penny from my savings account to pay the debt my ailing father owes to a local gang. Except, according to the gang's slimy leader, even my life savings won't be enough to pay the enormous debt my dad's accrued. And his leering gaze lets me know exactly how he wants me to pay the balance. A ruthless stranger offers to pay my remaining debt. He's a tattooed crimelord, a cold, beautiful animal who regards me with dead eyes. The price for this kindness? Possession. The complete and utter kind. You're mine, he informs me when I ask him why he did it, leaving me to figure out.... Is he my unexpected savior or my ruthless mistake? HAN: I learned from a young age that women aren't worth much. They don't stay. They're not loyal. They weaken you, then disappear at the first sign of trouble. That's why I don't do relationships--especially with good girls who have no place in my criminal underworld. I should stay away from her. Let her pay me back some other way. But I can't. She's golden sunshine wrapped in a sexy little package, lighting up all the dark parts of my heart. And when she asks me why I did it, two words rise without thought or reason. You're mine. She thinks I'm the mistake, but it's the other way around. I don't do relationships. I don't even let women spend the night. But this one... She has me breaking all of my rules.