Japan is a country like no other. Its people are different. Its transportation is different. Its language and customs are different. All of these are great reasons to visit--but can be a source of anxiety for first-time travelers. First-Time Japan: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Independent Traveler provides the essential details that most mainstream guidebooks overlook. This entertaining, highly-readable guide informs and educates visitors about every key aspect of Japan travel, from landing at Haneda or Narita airports to riding the subway to your first hotel to grabbing a quick bite late at night. Want to know what to pack, how to behave respectfully, or what to do in a health emergency? First-Time Japan has got you covered, and includes expert insider tips and suggestions from Roy Ozaki, former Japan tour guide and long-time resident.

Leigh Ann Eden had a great life in New York as a partner in a public relations business she'd helped to build-and lost it all when her father was charged with financial crimes. She wasn't involved in his business or the fraud, but her very public role as the face of the PR firm made her a target for media, federal investigators, angry investors, and even the merely curious. She couldn't withstand the pressure. She went into hiding, and avoidance became a way of life.

Her cousin, Florence, offered her a place to hide in her home in the Fan District of Richmond, Virginia. She was a lifesaver for Leigh for almost two years, but Florence died, and now Leigh's alone and doesn't know how to un-hide herself, how to find the courage to get a public life again-until the day an unexpected event occurs during her weekly trip to buy groceries and she comes home with a cat-an unfriendly cat who's just as unhappy with the situation as she is.

Her careful routine disrupted, Leigh is swept along as fate seems determined to force her out of the narrow life she's constructed.

She must act. But reemerging into everyday life won't be that simple, because the sins of the past-even though she wasn't a party to them-will come back to harm her.

Poetic Faith is a singular study of timeless themes in the poet's practice. With disarming clarity and compassion, Mutschlecner celebrates our radical contingency, the active mystery of what most vitally informs the world. Gazing with the author through the lens of theopoetics, we see poetry shine a radiant and forgiving light into theology, cleansing it of dogmatism while nurturing inclusivity.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, by noted nineteenth-century French prelate Mgr. Louis Gaston de Ségur, is a series of over thirty lessons and meditations designed to inspire the pious reader with a true and ardent devotion to the Sacred Heart. The book notably draws from Our Lord's revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the writings of St. John Eudes.

In the words of Mgr. de Ségur, The purpose of this little work is to popularize the knowledge and therefore the love and worship of the Most Adorable and Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ.... If I have the happiness of obtaining my goal, this little book can be of great service to those thousands of holy priests, zealous missionaries, fervent religious, and good and pious mothers of families seeking through all means to make truly known, served, and loved around them the God of their heart and the Heart of their God.... Our Lord having presented His Heart to be the refuge of souls in the trials of the last times, this work seems to me to enter His merciful designs. Included in the front of the book is an apostolic letter from His Holiness Pope Pius IX commending Mgr. de Ségur for his zeal in producing this edifying work.

If you see a bird standing on the side of a tree banging its beak against the trunk, chances are you�re watching a woodpecker. Woodpeckers not only dazzle us with their good looks and personality, they exhibit some of the most interesting behaviors in the animal world. Explore this dynamic, exciting group of birds with award-winning children�s science writer Sneed B. Collard III. Discover what scientists have learned about woodpeckers, why woodpeckers drill into trees, and the best way to serve ants at your next sleep-over. Spectacular photographs will help ensure that these birds drill deep into your imagination.

In Fire Birds�Valuing Natural Wildfires and Burned Forests, award-winning science author Sneed B. Collard III challenges society�s negative views toward natural forest fires. By focusing on the research of biologist Richard Hutto, Collard reveals the complex relationships between fire and thriving plant and animal communities. The book especially focuses on the heavy use of burned forests by dozens of bird species�and debunks the idea that burned forests are worthless wastelands.
Besides delivering a powerful environmental message, Fire Birds couldn�t be more timely. With record numbers of acres burning every year, pressure to suppress wildfires and �salvage log� burned forests has never been greater. Stunning photographs and clear text deliver the message that recent fire policies have been backfiring badly.

How far would you go to save a child who hates you?

The priest says it's a lack of discipline. The doctor says it's magic; the village witch says it couldn't be. The wild tempers that seize my daughter have left us no choice-Renault and I can't live like this anymore. Only the enchantress who lives up the mountain, famous for extracting expensive Favors from her supplicants, can help us now.

But the dangers of the road north and the encroaching winter weather may make reaching her impossible...and since his cousin just showed up to claim our farm, I really need him back tout suite.

When Renault's letters stop coming, I'm forced to assume the worst has happened. But I don't carry a knife in my skirt pockets for nothing...how far would I go for my daughters?

It's time to find out.

Be Careful What You Witch For is the first book in the Enchantress Chronicles series. If you like cozy, slice-of-life fantasy with strong heroines (of all ages), unpredictable magic, and families that will defend each other against incredible odds, grab this book now!

Leigh Ann Eden had a great life in New York as a partner in a public relations business she'd helped to build-and lost it all when her father was charged with financial crimes. She wasn't involved in his business or the fraud, but her very public role as the face of the PR firm made her a target for media, federal investigators, angry investors, and even the merely curious. She couldn't withstand the pressure. She went into hiding, and avoidance became a way of life.

Her cousin, Florence, offered her a place to hide in her home in the Fan District of Richmond, Virginia. She was a lifesaver for Leigh for almost two years, but Florence died, and now Leigh's alone and doesn't know how to un-hide herself, how to find the courage to get a public life again-until the day an unexpected event occurs during her weekly trip to buy groceries and she comes home with a cat-an unfriendly cat who's just as unhappy with the situation as she is.

Leigh's careful routine disrupted, she is swept along as fate seems determined to force her out of the narrow life she's constructed.

She must act. But reemerging into everyday life won't be that simple, because the sins of the past-even though she wasn't a party to them-will come back to harm her.

Description: Snakes, Alligators, and Broken Hearts recounts the author's adventures and experiences growing up as the son of a biologist during the 1960s and 70s. With humor and compassion, the author describes the innocence of his early childhood, the heartbreak of his parents' divorce, and his rocky journey through adolescenceall against the backdrop of animals, travel, and his poignant relationship with his father. Along the way, readers will discover the experiences that shaped his interests and, eventually, molded him into the author of more than seventy books for young people.

A snowshoe hare nibbles on spruce and fir buds high in a Rocky Mountain forest. The hare isn�t overly worried about predators because its white fur blends in perfectly with snow. There�s only one problem. This year, there isn�t any snow. As the hare forages, a great horned owl notices. The result? A disaster for the hare�one that is happening more and more frequently across its range.
Hopping Ahead of Climate Change describes one of the most intriguing and important studies of our time�the work of biologist Scott Mills, who is trying to answer the critical question: Can animals that change their coat colors with the seasons survive shorter winters caused by climate change? Working with an international team of colleagues and students, Professor Mills has been conducting a range of studies that explore the impacts of a hotter world on animals. In Hopping Ahead of Climate Change, readers learn how Professor Mills studies snowshoe hares, which questions he seeks to answer, and most importantly, what he has discovered. The results are both fascinating and surprising�and have vital implications for the future of our planet.

A coin.
A friendship.
A fast car.
And a girl with a secret.
Author Sneed B. Collard III puts them together to create the heart-pounding sequel to Double Eagle.

Two summers after Mike and Kyle uncovered a pair of priceless $20 gold pieces in a Civil War fort in Alabama, Mike is astounded to find Kyle show up on his doorstep in a souped-up 1957 Bel Air. Mike hasn�t heard from his friend in two years, but when Kyle invites him to ride up to Birmingham to see Kyle�s sister Annie, Mike doesn�t hesitate. What Mike doesn�t realize is that Kyle isn�t going to see his sister. He is going to rescue her. For Kyle and Annie to escape somewhere safe, however, they�re going to need cash and lots of it. When Mike tells them of a mysterious silver dollar that could be worth a fortune, it launches the trio on a cross-country thrill ride and a new coin quest�a quest that just could save Kyle�s and Annie�s lives.

After recovering the governor of Montana�s famous dog, Cat, in The Governor�s Dog is Missing, twelve-year-old sleuths Slate Stephens and Daphne McSweeney head to the infamous Montana ghost town of Bannack. While their geologist dads prospect for a large gold mining company, Slate and Daphne encounter a pair of perplexing puzzles. Under an old classroom desk in Montana�s first schoolhouse, the young detectives discover clues pointing to missing gold treasure amassed by Montana�s vigilantes 150 years earlier. At the same time, a thief has absconded with two priceless Charles Russell paintings on loan to the university art museum in nearby Dillon. In Hangman�s Gold, the second Slate Stephens mystery, clues and curiosity lead our two heroes to begin solving both mysteries�and dig up more dirt than they can handle.

Thanks to a mysterious combination of events, a dog named Sophie travels from the year 1926 to the present, where she follows a boy Sam home from school. Through a bit of sleuthing, Sam and his outspoken grandfather Horace discover the old neighborhood Sophie has apparently come from. With Sophie's help, Sam travels back to 1926 to meet Sophie's owner, another 11 year-old named Rollie. The two boys discover they have a lot in common including the notorious Cheesebro gang that has terrorized their city of Enterprise in both time periods Together, the new friends hatch a plot to stop the corruption, crime, and blight that has afflicted their city and pave the way for a brighter, revitalized future.

For sixty years, the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale has helped keep Western traditions alive. Begun as a way for local ranchers to get rid of �spoiled� and unruly ranch horses, the Sale today has grown into a four-day celebration of rodeo, ranching, arts, and culture. Every year, thousands of people from all over the country converge on this small city in eastern Montana. They are treated to concerts, horse racing, a parade, an art auction, and some of the most exciting rodeo ridin� anywhere. The actual auction of bucking horses and bulls remains at the heart of the event, but the Bucking Horse Sale has become a celebration of all aspects of Western life. It is, quite simply, the Cowboy Mardi Gras.
In The World Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, author Sneed B. Collard III helps bring this Western celebration alive. Through extensive interviews, spectacular photographs, and an action-filled blow-by-blow account of the festivities, the author gives readers a ringside seat to this iconic event. Through his meticulous research and descriptions, he guarantees that the only thing better than reading this book is going to the Bucking Horse Sale itself.

Welcome to The Emerald Heart Hotel - The sign on the big gate is faded, and the gate is usually locked because the hotel closed two years ago when Mignon King lost her husband. His death, on top of the loss of their daughter many years before, has Mignon mired in grief. But it's more than grief that has her trapped. Before she can move on, she must decide what to do with the hotel she and her husband owned and managed for more than two decades. She lives there alone with her dog, Galahad, though even Mignon would hardly call it living. She wants to be happy again, to find a new way forward, but she's stuck.

Her friend, Dominick, a real estate agent, wants her to sell the hotel property. Old hotel aside, the acreage alone in the town of Emerald Isle and fronting on Bogue Sound, is valuable and will bring many offers, but that's also part of the problem. Mignon loves the Emerald Heart property and feels responsible for it and wants to protect her husband's memory. What might new owners do with the property? What might they destroy?

On a strange day in early September, a man shows up unexpectedly on her dock. He's charming. And he's interested in the Emerald Heart property. On that same day, her long-estranged sister-in-law, Jeanette, returns, and Mignon's troubles magnify as Jeannette's arrival stirs up old anger and creates a volatile, emotional mix. Disquieting things begin to happen around the property, worrying Mignon. She knows she must make a decision, but she doesn't know how to break with the past and move forward.

Dominick, Blake, Jeanette-who stands to gain if Mignon decides to sell? Who can she trust?

And the past . . . its hold on her is so strong that she's not even sure she can trust herself.

Thanks to a mysterious combination of events, a dog named Sophie travels from the year 1926 to the present, where she follows a boy Sam home from school. Through a bit of sleuthing, Sam and his outspoken grandfather Horace discover the old neighborhood Sophie has apparently come from. With Sophie�s help, Sam travels back to 1926 to meet Sophie�s owner, another 11 year-old named Rollie. The two boys discover they have a lot in common�including the notorious Cheesebro gang that has terrorized their city of Enterprise in both time periods Together, the new friends hatch a plot to stop the corruption, crime, and blight that has afflicted their city�and pave the way for a brighter, revitalized future.

What do you do when Montana�s biggest mysteries land in your lap? If you�re Slate Stephens and Daphne McSweeney, you get busy solving them. With geologist dads who haul them around the state, the twelve-year-old detectives have a knack for encountering unsolved cases�and landing in heaps of trouble.
In The Governor�s Dog is Missing Slate and Daphne find themselves in the Montana capital of Helena. One morning, news erupts across the state�Governor Rickson�s famous dog Cat has disappeared Suspecting foul play, Slate and Daphne assemble a list of suspects, including the Governor himself. Then, they set out to prove their suspicions. Unfortunately, the truth�and Slate�s and Daphne�s relationship�prove far more complicated than they ever imagined.

Leigh Ann Eden had a great life in New York as a partner in a public relations business she'd helped to build-and lost it all when her father was charged with financial crimes. She wasn't involved in his business or the fraud, but her very public role as the face of the PR firm made her a target for media, federal investigators, angry investors, and even the merely curious. She couldn't withstand the pressure. She went into hiding, and avoidance became a way of life.

Her cousin, Florence, offered her a place to hide in her home in the Fan District of Richmond, Virginia. She was a lifesaver for Leigh for almost two years, but Florence died, and now Leigh's alone and doesn't know how to un-hide herself, how to find the courage to get a public life again-until the day an unexpected event occurs during her weekly trip to buy groceries and she comes home with a cat-an unfriendly cat who's just as unhappy with the situation as she is.

Leigh's careful routine disrupted, she is swept along as fate seems determined to force her out of the narrow life she's constructed. She must act. But reemerging into everyday life won't be that simple, because the sins of the past-even though she wasn't a party to them-will come back to harm her.

A secret book. A rising enemy. Can he find both before his world collapses?

Tom Umbrar-Ment's life changed forever. After escaping the deadly high security prison and losing the love of his life, he has nothing left but to join his brother as one of the Corrupts. But when a new threat rises, putting the woman he still loves in danger, the new Corrupt leader's world shatters.

Hoping his brother is right, Tom sets off to find Jess, and his father's lost book with the answers to regain the control of Chaos. But with buildings blowing up in all cities, Tom fears his time is up and the mysterious enemy will consume everything and everyone he holds dear.

With Jess's life on the line, can Tom stop his enemies from destroying both realms and safeguard the only hope they have for salvation?

Axiom is the enthralling book 2 in the Collision of Realms Steampunk Sci-Fi series. If you like inter-realm portals, airships and dark heroes, you'll enjoy this gear adventure.