Lovestruck at Swindlemore Hall
Desperate to regain some of her family's lost prestige, Baroness Swindlemore von Hustlestein is in search of a rich and easily pleased suitor for her daughter, who isn't much to look at. She thinks she has found the perfect candidate ... Play - 4 characters (1 male and 3 females) Born in 1955 in Auvers-sur-Oise (France), Jean-Pierre Martinez was first a drummer for several rock bands before becoming a semiologist in advertising. He then began a career writing television scripts before turning to theater and writing plays. He has written close to a hundred scripts for television and almost as many plays, some of which have already become classics (Friday the 13th, Strip Poker). He is one of the most produced contemporary playwrights in France and in other francophone countries. Several of his plays are also available in Spanish and English, and are regularly produced in the United States and Latin America.
Candles Over the Septic Tank
If you're a fan of Janet Evanovich or Carl Hiassen, you're going to laugh out loud at this book and its witty, quirky characters. Marcie Clifton has an ex-husband who won't go away; he thinks Marcie Clifton has an ex-husband who won't go away; he thinks the "ex" stands for kisses. Randy's not a bad guy. Just unreliable. His lackadaisical approach to finances has left Marcie with a choice between making the mortgage or car payment this month. Now Randy is trying to get his act together. He's found a great new job. He just needs a place to stay until he gets a few paychecks. Marcie suspects he's just trying to move back in and get close to her again; she's not buying it. But Randy has a proposal for her. His grandfather has been killed by a hit-and-run driver. Randy wants Marcie to go to the little town of Miner's Ridge to support his grandmother. He points out that Marcie not only wouldn't be in the house with him, she'd get her car out of town, possibly keeping it from being repossessed. Meantime, he can make the house payment. Marcie likes his grandmother so she agrees and heads for Miner's Ridge and Randy's Grandma Edith, whose hobbies are gardening, playing poker, eight-ball pool, and driving telephone scammers to hang up on her. When Marcie and Grandma Edith discover that the hit-and-run is only the beginning of the problems besetting Grandma Edith, they set out to solve the mystery. Their unorthodox methods often produce unexpected results. Grandma Edith is a character you will never forget. If you like books that make you laugh out loud, you need to buy this book.
Burnt Toast
BURNT TOAST is a work of fiction that exposes the darkness within a person when seeking change from a complacent lifestyle. Ernie Doyle becomes obsessed with formulating a plan to achieve exactly that. The entanglement of the three dominant characters-Ernie, a diligent Forest Ranger; Flammable Fred, a troubled soul with his own deviant compulsions; and Beaver, an unobtrusive local resident whose simple existence renders friendship to all in the community-engages the reader to experience the essence of country living in the small village of Shantyville. A quick yet entertaining novelette with a touch of wit and an unforeseen outcome.
Modern Days and Eye Focus Yearnings
Never forget a brief glimpse. Present days command it. Victory, humor and dilemma originate from eye focus. Wishes, emotion and loss reflect through as well. Once upon a time, it was a mechanism suggested when one was in danger in the wilderness, a quick peek to assess and decide the next move. With constant changes, many, indeed all of us, participate in each and everyone's space. Guarding one another at the entrances and parks, security is paid to pick up eye clues or cues. Looking at one's face guides us to narrow down perceptions of the intentions. Harmonious living and interaction are conveyed to us all from the onlookers' visions. Similarly, the uncouth one will find an admirer or an accomplice who feels quite comfortable in their company and craves for the congregation. Eye focus is a bridge to pinpoint, connect, cement and conspire. All fit in together to all whose vision is identical or crude and offers notions before cajolery, flattery or simple pure deception. Eye contact overrides physical disabilities, presenting the reality of why beauty may fail, where for years the average one flourishes in bliss. Our focus reminds self to conform to invisible eyes of machines, cameras and all whistles and beeps staged by the investor's sight. The book offers the feelings of any one of us at different phases of growth, time and day in our differing communities with our various individual contacts. Enjoy what may be the safest mode of "be aware . . ."
Burnt Toast
BURNT TOAST is a work of fiction that exposes the darkness within a person when seeking change from a complacent lifestyle. Ernie Doyle becomes obsessed with formulating a plan to achieve exactly that. The entanglement of the three dominant characters-Ernie, a diligent Forest Ranger; Flammable Fred, a troubled soul with his own deviant compulsions; and Beaver, an unobtrusive local resident whose simple existence renders friendship to all in the community-engages the reader to experience the essence of country living in the small village of Shantyville. A quick yet entertaining novelette with a touch of wit and an unforeseen outcome.
Modern Days and Eye Focus Yearnings
Never forget a brief glimpse. Present days command it. Victory, humor and dilemma originate from eye focus. Wishes, emotion and loss reflect through as well. Once upon a time, it was a mechanism suggested when one was in danger in the wilderness, a quick peek to assess and decide the next move. With constant changes, many, indeed all of us, participate in each and everyone's space. Guarding one another at the entrances and parks, security is paid to pick up eye clues or cues. Looking at one's face guides us to narrow down perceptions of the intentions. Harmonious living and interaction are conveyed to us all from the onlookers' visions. Similarly, the uncouth one will find an admirer or an accomplice who feels quite comfortable in their company and craves for the congregation. Eye focus is a bridge to pinpoint, connect, cement and conspire. All fit in together to all whose vision is identical or crude and offers notions before cajolery, flattery or simple pure deception. Eye contact overrides physical disabilities, presenting the reality of why beauty may fail, where for years the average one flourishes in bliss. Our focus reminds self to conform to invisible eyes of machines, cameras and all whistles and beeps staged by the investor's sight. The book offers the feelings of any one of us at different phases of growth, time and day in our differing communities with our various individual contacts. Enjoy what may be the safest mode of "be aware . . ."
Champagne at Seven!
Champagne at Seven! Book One of Bitches of Fifth Avenue series: Olivia Wyatt, a mid-40s, rich Washingtonian who beautifully plays the part of mother, socialite, philanthropist, wife, and Stepford cut-out doll in the chardonnay and whiskey-wrapped superficial world in which she lives. Her exclusive last minute D.C. dinner party didn't quite end how she had anticipated. Tragic news was served up late night instead of her planned dessert of luscious and blissful black forest cake. Olivia and her daughter, Gwynnie, suddenly need to rebuild their lives-and themselves.Olivia reluctantly moves from her Georgetown high society personal battlefield back to New York City, and is on the prowl for work, only to find herself fighting in the trenches of a new, more intense luxury retail sales war. She dodges designer landmines in her new job as a high-end personal shopper-which only catapults her into a fifth gear spin cycle of anxiety, insanity and toxicity. She is now working alongside Bitches of Fifth Avenue in a gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking struggle to maintain her sanity, and her bank account. Olivia needs to find her way, and fast, before she loses her mind-and her job.
Running at Hialeah
Nobody told retired New York City bus driver Bernie Buccellato you can't go home again. So, with blissful impulse, this endearing Pulcinella starts on a journey to redeem his past on a reckless escapade in South Florida. Determined to reclaim his family home and deposit his father's cremains at the finish line of Hialeah racetrack, he takes us on a voyage of redemption that is sure to keep readers laughing and crying. In this semi-autobiographical tale, Marinelli purges the demons of youth with a tale of self-discovery.
Downfall Part Three
In part three of the third instalment, Felix Botkin finds himself between a blackmailing, exploitive Russian Prime Minister and manipulative KGB agents determined to retrieve a golden disc. A disc that contains highly sensitive, top secret material and the Colonel's mystifying 11 herbs and spices. In order to save his son's previous indiscretions and acts of depravity, Felix must enter the Bank of Russia and secure the disc, but will he succeed? At the Okan military Prison, Dmitry and Yuri plan a bold escape attempt that requires an unsavoury act of mutilation, but common sense and an appalled Moon Man keep things in check. With no way of knowing an unknown password and a huge metal door foiling their escape, Yuri impresses the Moon Man by knowing the unknowable - sometimes being frank and honest when speaking your mind can set you free! On the shores of lake Melkoye Vody, London and his gang of ex-SAS soldiers discover the meaning of the lake's name and walk across it without the need of inflatable armbands. On the other side, a discovery of great importance awaits them, but all Carter can see are pound signs. London on the other hand, still feels that their operation is part MI5 and any goods plundered belong to the British government. This is a moot point that Carter is willing to debate and prepared to fight for whilst others settle for mere boiled sweets. In space, KAL (Kinetic Artificial Life-form), hurtles towards Earth on board the spaceship Red Neval. After leaving Planet Eg?s far behind him, he becomes aware of a stowaway on board when a drunken MacTavish walks onto the bridge. After the awkward introductions are over, and KAL deciphers MacTavish's strange tongue, he requests his help in the search for the Gold Medallion of Life - MacTavish agrees, but is feeling amorous and wants to know what the local talent is like. A COMEDY SCI-FI ADVENTURE SERIES THAT'S TRULY MAGNIFICENT AND A REAL JOY TO READ FROM THE BEST SELLING AUTHOR SAM LUCAS.An amazing series that transforms into 'THE GREAT ESCAPE' MEETS 'THE LIFE OF BRIAN' AND 'INDIANA JONES', every book gets bigger and better. What a triumph!Look out for Sam Lucas' Sixth Book - Uprising: Part One for more zany antics and off -the-wall comedy.For more information on this series and the author, please go to: www.samlucasbooks.com
Capitol Gains
RICHARD BREWSTER IS A FAST RISING WASHINGTON LOBBYIST in a large law firm with a bright future. But what if he wants to short-circuit the long climb to the top of the profession by creating a made-up client that has a phony problem? What if he uses that client to embarrass the president, to pass irrelevant legislation and arrange Congressional show hearings with professional wrestlers as witnesses? What if he charges the fictional clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees that the banks use to loan his law firm vast sums of money? Can he stay one step ahead of his partners, the president, the Senate, and the FBI? Written with knowledge and insights by a forty-year DC lobbyist, Capitol Gains follows in the traditions of Christopher Buckley and P. J. O'rouke as a wild romp through the Washington lobbying scene.
Capitol Gains
RICHARD BREWSTER IS A FAST RISING WASHINGTON LOBBYIST in a large law firm with a bright future. But what if he wants to short-circuit the long climb to the top of the profession by creating a made-up client that has a phony problem? What if he uses that client to embarrass the president, to pass irrelevant legislation and arrange Congressional show hearings with professional wrestlers as witnesses? What if he charges the fictional clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees that the banks use to loan his law firm vast sums of money? Can he stay one step ahead of his partners, the president, the Senate, and the FBI? Written with knowledge and insights by a forty-year DC lobbyist, Capitol Gains follows in the traditions of Christopher Buckley and P. J. O'rouke as a wild romp through the Washington lobbying scene.
Knight Writer
KNIGHT WRITER, with 50 character-enriching lessons in living, is the most comprehensive and most entertaining self-help/inspirational-fiction book written to date. Both nonpolitical and nondenominational, this one-of-a-kind, publicly necessary book (Rated PG-15) should be required reading in every public high school, even private high schools. KNIGHT WRITER should be considered "must-reading" for ALL people 15+ years of age, worldwide!
And Then There's Margaret
For fans of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go Bernadette or Camille Pagan's I'm Fine and Neither Are You, comes the perfect laugh-out-loud dramedy AND THEN THERE'S MARGARET about marriage, midlife and a controlling, manipulative and self-absorbed mother-in-law thrown into the mix. MULTI-AWARD-WINNING debut novel, AND THEN THERE'S MARGARET, takes readers on a relatable and hilarious ride, as Allie realizes the only way to survive the angst of family is to let go....and let be."Perfect for women's fiction books club wanting to explore complex and turbulent family relationships. It's a playful coming of (middle-age) novel." -IndieReaderWhen Allison Montgomery's beloved father-in-law and long-time confidant passes away, her mother-in-law, Margaret, 'temporarily' moves in. From rearranging the furniture and taking over the kitchen, to undermining and embarrassing Allie at every turn, including funding her daughter's escape, throwing a hissy fit at the mall, and publicly equating Allie's glass of Chardonnay to full blown alcoholism, Margaret turns Allie's life upside down causing her to bounce between a sincere desire to support her grieving mother-in-law and an intense urge to simply push her out of the nearest window.Feeling annoyed, trapped and even a little childish, Allie struggles to avoid a complete meltdown with help from her fearless and audacious best friend, a plan for reinventing herself and enjoying a second act, and, yes, a few glasses of Chardonnay. Along the way, Allie discovers the reasons behind Margaret's attitude toward her all these years. Does it help? Maybe... 2022 Chick Lit Cafe - CLC Book Excellence Award Winner - Women's Fiction/Humor2022 Indie Book Awards Finalist - Chick Lit (Fiction)2022 Maxy Awards Winner - Literary & Humor2022 Readers' Choice Book Awards - Finalist - Best Adult Book2022 Readers' Favorite - Finalist - Humor/Comedy
The Wander Daze Part 1 and Things Go Wrong
The Wander Daze Part 1 and Part 2 is a satirical comedy about everyday life in a nursing home and the corporate world. It flushes out thoughts, feelings and impressions previously deemed unacceptable to acknowledge. It does so in such a way that fully utilizes the healing power of laughter. The Wander Daze embodies the spirit of laugh and world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone. It may shock, anger and sadden you but amidst it all it will make you laugh not only at yourself but at life's ultimate plight. It turns lemon into lemonade by taking a depressing fate and turning it on its head into a palatable experience. All that is required is an open mind and a willingness not to take life or yourself to seriously. So sit back and enjoy the Wander Daze and Things Go Wrong.
Moonfellows
ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP INTO THE EXISTENTIAL ABYSS Washington DC. 1906. The inaugural mission of the Moonfellow Program. A chance to shape the future of civilization as we know it. Our first tentative steps out into the stars... It was a complete and unequivocal disaster. Now a hapless gravedigger finds himself among the handful of survivors stranded on the lunar surface-forced to contend with madness, conspiracies, and whatever-the-fuck that thing is on the dark side, picking them off one by one. This is the 100% true-ish story of the brave men and women we abandoned on the moon.
My Inflatable Friend
A car jockey at a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, youthful hacker-turned-slacker Rollo Hemphill devises a screwball scheme for making his girlfriend jealous. Through a silly but magical ruse, our hero gets everything he's ever dreamed about - except the real love of a real, live girl. My Inflatable Friend is a witty, cautionary tale about the perils of pretending to be someone you're not - and the hazards of stroking every male's most private and vulnerable part - his swelling ego.
The Future of the GTA
I. M. Satyricus, a direct descendant of Quintus Horatius Flaccus, whose motto, "carpe diem," is his first child's name (or so he says).To launch a new news magazine for regular people entitled the GTA-Whole Newz, I, I. M. Satyricus, chief editor of T.I.T. (Toronto in Transition), and my sidekick Hizz, created a contest, sent it out to sister publications and got a great response. The successful authors, GTA's normal but agitated people, eager to win one of the unique prizes (composed by the scribblers themselves), sent in their stories and poetry, featuring the foibles, vices and antics of the maladjusted stumblebums, foozlers, boobyish dunces and the rest who display their nonsense throughout the GTA without breaking the law. "They act that way for the sheer hell of it," they say. My response: "Reading about it is better than hiring psycho-shrinks, who are the craziest of the bunch as attested to by those who aspire to be part of the future staff of the GTA-Whole Newz."GTA-Whole Newz presents a cornucopia of camouflaged excrement, unearthed by the contestants themselves, served up as sagacious lampoonery between these two covers, written in the main with as much humour, disdain or playful exaggeration as it deserves. Hizz and I changed the real names of persons and institutions to avoid lawsuits, because no author or any member of our glorious publication needs or wants to engage in that manner of legal shit. However, make no mistake about these stories and poems, because there's some truth to them that should be taken seriously.IMPORTANT NOTE: Threats of any sort are tolerated as long as they are not acted upon, because we have some bad bastards and biotches on staff who will retaliate by, in their own words, "squashing you like a bug"! Read on, precious readers of satire and others who enjoy having their funny bones tickled and their minds kicked up a notch or two! Hizz and I send hugs and kisses to you all!
The Future of the GTA
I. M. Satyricus, a direct descendant of Quintus Horatius Flaccus, whose motto, "carpe diem," is his first child's name (or so he says).To launch a new news magazine for regular people entitled the GTA-Whole Newz, I, I. M. Satyricus, chief editor of T.I.T. (Toronto in Transition), and my sidekick Hizz, created a contest, sent it out to sister publications and got a great response. The successful authors, GTA's normal but agitated people, eager to win one of the unique prizes (composed by the scribblers themselves), sent in their stories and poetry, featuring the foibles, vices and antics of the maladjusted stumblebums, foozlers, boobyish dunces and the rest who display their nonsense throughout the GTA without breaking the law. "They act that way for the sheer hell of it," they say. My response: "Reading about it is better than hiring psycho-shrinks, who are the craziest of the bunch as attested to by those who aspire to be part of the future staff of the GTA-Whole Newz."GTA-Whole Newz presents a cornucopia of camouflaged excrement, unearthed by the contestants themselves, served up as sagacious lampoonery between these two covers, written in the main with as much humour, disdain or playful exaggeration as it deserves. Hizz and I changed the real names of persons and institutions to avoid lawsuits, because no author or any member of our glorious publication needs or wants to engage in that manner of legal shit. However, make no mistake about these stories and poems, because there's some truth to them that should be taken seriously.IMPORTANT NOTE: Threats of any sort are tolerated as long as they are not acted upon, because we have some bad bastards and biotches on staff who will retaliate by, in their own words, "squashing you like a bug"! Read on, precious readers of satire and others who enjoy having their funny bones tickled and their minds kicked up a notch or two! Hizz and I send hugs and kisses to you all!
Cheap Havens
Clashing social circles. Frenzied creations and bizarre inventions shared in workshops, rooftops, back alleys, house parties, and overstuffed conference rooms. Deep-set fears and doubts of the future, laid out with unlikely terms of endearment and funky flows of consciousness.Follow Li through a gallery of dear old pals, new dives, culinary ecstasies, and half-forgotten moments. Swinging from pop culture oddities to hyper-enlightened ideals, navigating a world not unlike that of Thomas Pynchon. Philosophical provocations and low-brow humor abound. Explore the strains of modern love, perfecting expression in art, and perpetual hangovers in "Cheap Havens".
New Waves
A wry and poignant debut novel about a man's search for true connection that is "both knowing and cutting, a satire of internet culture that is also a moving portrait of a lost human being" (Los Angeles Times). "A knowing and thought-provoking exploration of love, modern isolation, and what it means to exist--especially as a person of color--in our increasingly digital age."--Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires EverywhereONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR--NPR, The New York Public Library, Parade, Kirkus Reviews Lucas and Margo are fed up. Margo is a brilliant programmer tired of being talked over as the company's sole black employee, and while Lucas is one of many Asians at the firm, he's nearly invisible as a low-paid customer service rep. Together, they decide to steal their tech startup's user database in an attempt at revenge. The heist takes a sudden turn when Margo dies in a car accident, and Lucas is left reeling, wondering what to do with their secret--and wondering whether her death really was an accident. When Lucas hacks into Margo's computer looking for answers, he is drawn into her private online life and realizes just how little he knew about his best friend. With a fresh voice, biting humor, and piercing observations about human nature, Kevin Nguyen brings an insider's knowledge of the tech industry to this imaginative novel. A pitch-perfect exploration of race and startup culture, secrecy and surveillance, social media and friendship, New Waves asks: How well do we really know one another? And how do we form true intimacy and connection in a tech-obsessed world? Praise for New Waves "Nguyen's stellar debut is a piercing assessment of young adulthood, the tech industry, and racism. . . . Nguyen impressively holds together his overlapping plot threads while providing incisive criticism of privilege and a dose of sharp humor. The story is fast-paced and fascinating, but also deeply felt; the effect is a page-turner with some serious bite."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A blistering sendup of startup culture and a sprawling, ambitious, tender debut."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Animal Verses
Animal Verses is just that; verses about animals. In full color, sometimes silly, but always in fun.
The Party Crasher
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Your Life comes a humorous and heartwarming novel about family and finding a second chance at love, set against the backdrop of the most fabulous party you've ever snuck into. "Sophie Kinsella keeps her finger on the cultural pulse, while leaving me giddy with laughter."--Jojo Moyes, author of The Giver of Stars and The Last Letter from Your Lover It's been almost two years since Effie's beloved parents got divorced, destroying the image of the happy, loving childhood she thought she had. Since then, she's become estranged from her father and embarked on a feud with his hot (and much younger) girlfriend, Krista. And now, more earth-shattering news: They've sold Greenoaks, the rambling Victorian country house Effie has always called home. When Krista decides to throw a grand "house-cooling" party, Effie is originally left off the guest list--and then receives a last-minute "anti-invitation" (maybe it's because she called Krista a gold-digger, but Krista totally deserved it, and it was mostly a joke anyway). Effie declines, but then remembers a beloved childhood treasure is still hidden in the house. Her only chance to retrieve it is to break into Greenoaks while everyone is busy celebrating. As Effie sneaks around the house, hiding under tables and peeping through trapdoors, she realizes the secrets Greenoaks holds aren't just in the dusty passageways and hidden attics she grew up exploring. Watching how her sister, brother, and dad behave when they think no one is looking, Effie overhears conversations, makes discoveries, and begins to see her family in a new light. Then she runs into Joe--the love of her life, who long ago broke her heart, and who's still as handsome and funny as ever--and even more truths emerge. But will Effie act on these revelations? Will she stay hidden or step out into the party and take her place with her family? And truthfully, what did she really come back to Greenoaks for? Over the course of one blowout party, Effie realizes that she must be honest with herself and confront her past before she'll ever be able to face her future.
Dirty Old Manatee
Midlife manatee insanityWho's behind the plot to kill off Florida's sea cows? While midlife witch Missy Mindle tries to solve this mystery, she must nurse a rescued manatee back to health. The problem is, he's actually a human shifter, Seymour, who wants to celebrate manatee mating season with her.Missy and her reporter friend Matt face corporate villains and team up with the ruthless Mothers4Manatees. Throw in a vengeful vampire who wants to kill her, and Missy's magick is pushed to the limit. Meanwhile, she discovers what life would have been like if she hadn't divorced years ago: living with a flabby, middle-aged guy who leaves the toilet seat up.Dirty Old Manatee is Book 6 of Freaky Florida, a humorous fantasy series filled with magic, monsters, and mystery; sarcasm and satire; and, of course, Florida Man. If you love the thrills of urban fantasy, the wit of cozy witch mysteries and paranormal women's fiction, and a big splash of comedy, this series is for you.
Popping Good Times with Grandpa
If it wasn't for their snack times, Grandpop, grandson Beckett, and Milo the family dog, might never have discovered a playful little mischief-maker who lives in a big bag of organic popcorn. No matter where they are or what Grandpop and Beckett are doing, their newfound friend will always find a way to take them all on a fun-filled new adventure. One thing is certain - Eating popcorn will never be the same again! Yoto(r) Reader's Choice Award Winner. For a free audio file for your Yoto or other audio card players, visit https: //ffedripe.wixsite.com/freddstuff to download it electronically.
Higher Education
Dr. Livie Green is an associate professor of English at Clary-Smith University and it's fixing to snap her very last nerve. While Green and her wickedly sharp colleagues attempt to keep the school's dysfunction from driving them to drink (any more than they already do in faculty meetings), their feckless dean works jigsaw puzzles in his office, and schedules utterly useless meetings to pass the time. Meanwhile, the even more aimless administration attempts to shut down the scandalous--but totally true--underground faculty newspaper that exposes the ineptitude of the institution's leaders at every turn. A professor with twenty years of college teaching experience, Dr. Ashley Oliphant drops the mic on academia in this uproariously funny prequel to Jimmy Buffett: A Key West Revival, and offers comedic insight into the unfortunate state of higher education in America today.
Funny Farm
The Farmers quit their jobs and move from New York City out to the country. But they have to share their rural paradise with wacky locals, marauding water snakes, and more hilarious gags and mishaps than they can shake a stick at..."Uprorious . . . Uttlerly absurd . . . Wonderfully endearing." - The New York Times Book Review"Ridiculous, implausible, bonehead dumb, and laught-out-loud funny throughout" - PlayboyThis book is also available from Echo Point Books as a paperback (ISBN 1635618193).Another Jay Cronley title you're sure to enjoy is Good Vibes, all about a very crazy day at the races, available from Echo Point Books in hardcover (1648371833) and paperback (1635618207).
Closing Costs
"The well-drawn characters complement Margolis's wry observations on Manhattan life and the ups and downs of marriage and career." --PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY "Fans of Tom Wolfe and Jonathan Franzen will revel in this zesty tale of penthouse envy and dot-com detumescence." --BOOKLIST When Peggy Gimmel decides to sell the apartment she bought decades ago for a few thousand dollars, she's thrilled to discover that it's worth almost $2 million. But her sudden windfall triggers a cascade of unexpected events and plunges her into the dizzying orbit of Lucinda Wells, one of Manhattan's most successful and ruthless real-estate agents. Peggy's not the only one at Lucinda's mercy. There's also the technology entrepreneur struggling to salvage his sinking company while gut-renovating his home, the socialite exiled from Park Avenue to the pullout sofa of her parents' West Side apartment, the illegal immigrant amassing a fortune printing money, and the clueless widow trying to unload a world-class collection of fake artwork. These are just some of the characters whose lives intersect in unlikely ways, all of them nearly overwhelmed by the rocketing real-estate market and the hard-charging broker who holds the key to their future. As he interweaves these often suspenseful and frequently comical stories, Margolis captures the zeitgeist of a cultural moment, keeping us turning the pages with the rise and fall of his characters' fortunes.
Trading Places
The Australian Government believed it had eliminated refugee boats from its shores. Asylum seekers who once risked their lives at the hands of unscrupulous people-smugglers no longer travelled to Australia. Border Force officers assured the Australian officials the arrival of illegal immigrants by sea had been terminated. The officials assured their politicians and the politicians assured voters they had eliminated the illegal refugee trade. However, they had not stopped all the boats. Exiled Papua New Guinean millionaire, Tobias Ogame, wanted for a botched kidnap attempt of a Swedish tourist, and more recently, sought after to assist with inquiries into an international counterfeiting syndicate which had operated on the Fly River, believed he had stumbled onto a new way to make money ferrying 矇migr矇s to Australia via Papua New Guinea. The astute businessman did not intend to risk lives in decrepit and unseaworthy rust buckets. His plan involved a more civil venture, covert but comfortable. He also knew, the more exclusive his customers, the more money he could make. This operation was not for desperados. His clients, selected by the International Movement for Cohesive Disunity, an organization focused on holding governments to account, especially on human rights, and climate action, undertook their operations with an ethos based on permeation rather than aggression. The IMCD planned to infiltrate the fabric of economic and fiscal policy in Australia. As agents of influence, in the long term, their decisions would benefit the major players they worked for. In the short term they would benefit Ogame. Safe and discreet passage was limited to the highest bidders. Ogame was convinced, this time, nothing could go wrong. But like he had in the past, he misjudged the power of circumstance. With the PNG pair Danny Kenney and Kenny Danny taking the luxury superyacht, the Pacific Wanderer, to Australia and back, and with the coincidence of misfortune for a Paradise Island Tour Guide and a Scottish researcher, once again Ogame underestimated the complexities of the world in which he sought to undertake business. His venture into trading places to Australia went well but was by no means perfect.
Bootcamp for Broken Hearts
A stunning Scottish castle, a tall dark stranger, and a vow to stay single happily ever after... What could go wrong? Nora Brown is totally happy single. The men in her life have all been selfish, cheating liars and being alone is far easier than risking a broken heart again - for her and for her daughter. She's only going to Romance Reboot - a posh 'singles' bootcamp' at a castle in the Scottish Highlands - to keep her sister quiet. But surrounded by tumbling waterfalls and sweet birdsong, Nora can't deny she's starting to relax. Even better, she finds another guest with no intention of finding love. Will Thomson has dark tousled hair, a sly grin, and a shocking sense of humour. Everybody else hears their laughter and thinks they're falling for one another, but Nora knows she's safe - he's just here on a research trip. Determined to ignore the spark between them, Nora agrees to be Will's cover, fending off other suitors with private sniggers over wine and quite convincing public displays of affection. Just when she starts to question if she might be missing something important, she starts to suspect Will might be hiding something from her. Will is just another cheater-in-the-making like all the others, isn't he? Nora will go home to her daughter happy and single, just like she always intended. Even if she could find out the truth about him, she isn't interested... is she? An absolutely hilarious, totally unputdownable romantic comedy from a bestselling author. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Sorry Not Sorry and Marian Keyes. What readers are saying about Joanna Bolouri: 'OH MY GOD, THIS WAS SO SOOOO GOOD, GET A COPY AND START READING IMMEDIATELY... brilliant, fresh, hilarious read... THIS is the funniest, wittiest book I've EVER read! Fantastic book you don't want to miss out on!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'My god, I was in seventh heaven when I got started. This was everything I wanted and much, much more... Hysterically funny and a great romance story.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'This has to be one of the funniest novels I have read. I spent the majority of it laughing until I cried. It was hilarious, endearing, at times cringe-worthy in an "OMG how could she say/do that?" kind of way, filled with fabulously real characters and incredibly unusual and yet entirely believable situations... 'un-put-down-able' this is a corker of a novel.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Damengin
Damengin is a country town in Queensland weighed down by the worst drought in living memory and its inhabitants are all desperately waiting for government drought relief. The bad news is that the funds have been sent and spent by Council's Shire Clerk Shifty Grey and his corrupt cohorts. This is a rollicking fast-moving story about political skulduggery, greed, love and lust. It features outrageous characters, blossoming romances, pathos and importantly, has an incredibly happy ending.
Brewster's Millions
NEW PRINT WITH PROFESSIONAL TYPE-SET IN CONTRAST TO SCANNED PRINTS OFFERED BY OTHERS Brewster's Millions This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature. In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards: 1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete work has been re-designed via professional layout, formatting and type-setting tools to re-create the same edition with rich typography, graphics, high quality images, and table elements, giving our readers the feel of holding a 'fresh and newly' reprinted and/or revised edition, as opposed to other scanned & printed (Optical Character Recognition - OCR) reproductions. 2. Correction of imperfections: As the work was re-created from the scratch, therefore, it was vetted to rectify certain conventional norms with regard to typographical mistakes, hyphenations, punctuations, blurred images, missing content/pages, and/or other related subject matters, upon our consideration. Every attempt was made to rectify the imperfections related to omitted constructs in the original edition via other references. However, a few of such imperfections which could not be rectified due to intentional\unintentional omission of content in the original edition, were inherited and preserved from the original work to maintain the authenticity and construct, relevant to the work. We believe that this work holds historical, cultural and/or intellectual importance in the literary works community, therefore despite the oddities, we accounted the work for print as a part of our continuing effort towards preservation of literary work and our contribution towards the development of the society as a whole, driven by our beliefs. We are grateful to our readers for putting their faith in us and accepting our imperfections with regard to preservation of the historical content. HAPPY READING!
The Professor's House
From Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather, The Professor's House is a vivid look into the domestic life of a 1920s Midwestern town and its people. Godfrey St. Peter, a professor at the unnamed Midwestern university near Lake Michigan, is preparing to move into a new home with his wife. As he looks upon the shabby house he's grown comfortable in, St. Peter muses about his life and his scholarship, philosophizing particularly on the people whom he's loved. His relationship with his wife and his daughters have become more and more strained over the years as St. Peter has alienated himself to reflect on his late student, Tom Outland. As St. Peter reminisces about Outland's brilliant scholarship and sacrifice to the Great War, St. Peter ponders how he can look forward to the future when he knows that life can only end in death. With Cather's masterful writing, her curt and concise language, and characters that are so human they come to life on the page, The Professor's House is a haunting read. Cather is known best for writing what it means to be a human whose life has been upturned, as many of her works deal with immigration and settling. There are common themes of nostalgia, exile, and a sense of not belonging in her novels, something that The Professor's House pairs with themes of philosophy, spirituality, and domesticity beautifully.
The Idiot
This book "" The Idiot "" has been considered important throughout the human history. It has been out of print for decades.So that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
Good Vibes
Trotter never comes out ahead at the racetrack. But maybe that's because his lucky day is still just around the corner.One day, to the surprise of his down-and-out buddies, Trotter's luck changes, and he finds himself in the boxes with the VIPs. But should he quit while he's ahead? Or should he... LET IT RIDE "Jay Cronley is surely one of the funniest writers alive!" -Evan Hunter"Cronley has a dead-on ear for the American clich矇." -Los Angeles Times Book Review"He is the kind of writer who, because there is no one else quite like him, could easily become an addiction." -The New York Times Book ReviewAnother Jay Cronley title you're sure to enjoy is Funny Farm, a story of city folk who find that the dream life in the country can be a bit of a nightmare.
Deep Fried Twinkies - Life’s Outtakes 14
52 humorous/inspirational short stories, one for each week of the year, from the popular syndicated column, Life's Outtakes. From the humor of Deep Fried Twinkies, a Southern girl's love of deep-fried anything to the heartwarming tale of a young girl learning there is good even in those who differ from us in Equal Respect, these stories will make you laugh, reminisce, and contemplate what matters most in life.
Aunt Edwina's Fabulous Wishes
When free-spirited painter Julie Fincher discovers that her fianc矇 is a gold-digger, she reluctantly decides to go ahead with the wedding to please her ailing father. Sadly, the family's beloved ninety-two-year-old Lady Edwina Greymore passes away the day before the wedding and everything changes. Julie is appointed executrix of a large country estate and now must solve an intricate family history treasure hunt with clues scattered all around southern England. Leaving her deceptive new husband behind, Julie sets out on the madcap adventure of a lifetime, together with her eccentric, karaoke-loving cousin. Along the way, they meet well-meaning aristocrats, experienced genealogists, a handsome antiques shop owner, and a verbose lawyer with a curious potbellied pig ... This is the first novel in an uplifting, family-friendly series.
Aunt Edwina's Fabulous Wishes
When free-spirited painter Julie Fincher discovers that her fianc矇 is a gold-digger, she reluctantly decides to go ahead with the wedding to please her ailing father. Sadly, the family's beloved ninety-two-year-old Lady Edwina Greymore passes away the day before the wedding and everything changes. Julie is appointed executrix of a large country estate and now must solve an intricate family history treasure hunt with clues scattered all around southern England. Leaving her deceptive new husband behind, Julie sets out on the madcap adventure of a lifetime, together with her eccentric, karaoke-loving cousin. Along the way, they meet well-meaning aristocrats, experienced genealogists, a handsome antiques shop owner, and a verbose lawyer with a curious potbellied pig ... This is the first novel in an uplifting, family-friendly series.
The Missing Cash Mystery
Ginger's just a kitten who loves a good mystery. She's never actually solved one before, but when a neighbour's safe is broken into, Ginger's on the case.Her fellow Mystery Cats, Butterball and Zorro, don't see any point in looking into this crime. Clearly, the neighbour's son stole the money. He doesn't work, mooches off his parents, and suddenly has the cash to take his girlfriend on a splashy beach vacation? Even Gemma, the neighbour-lady, feels pretty certain her son is to blame--that's why she didn't bother calling the police.But Ginger smells a rat, and she won't give up until the true culprit is brought to justice... even if the investigation puts this tiny kitten in all sorts of danger!
On A Good Day
Have you ever had your whole day go wrong? So has Prussian. It's a good thing to have people around you who help remind you of the better days. After all, nothing horrible lasts forever.
The Mortician's Road Trip
Upstate New Yorker Baz Rathbone makes ends meet by selling human skulls. By contract, he should cremate them, but he doesn't. His little business comes to the attention of the FBI when a woman spots her late husband's skull being used as a candlestand by a skinhead (she recognizes the skull from a distinctive Texas-shaped bone flap). The feds' investigation ultimately takes them to Moose Wallow, Maine, where they interview assistant mortician Lazlo Wetzo and his taxidermist friend, Uliba Helmsman, two loveable potheads. When Uli, Lazlo, and Laz's girlfriend, Annette Fibrowski, travel from Maine to the Carolinas to pick up a preserved human body and also the carcass of an orangutan -- the former for burial in Maine and the latter to be stuffed for a zoo near Charlotte -- chaos ensues. Through a complex set of connections, Baz Rathbone hires an inexpensive-but-stupid hood to steal the ape, whose skull would bring in serious money, but the heist goes wrong. Justice is eventually served, but only after a hilarious set of misadventures.
Tricky
A certain, um, body part runs away from his owner. Wearing a hot-dog toy disguise, he clashes with warrior pigeons, suicidal hummingbirds, and griping squirrels. He is soon imprisoned in Male Re-education Kamp, wars with cynical plums, woos amorous cardiac valves, livers, and cupcakes, joins forces with hyper-testosterone Komodo Dragons, and is shanghaied by a femme pirate crew to help harpoon Mobo, the 90-foot moray eel who is the font of worldwide testosterone. Tricky is a savagely-funny trip into male delusion, sneaky body parts, repression, amorality and - what the hey - gigantor moray eels that stream flaming jizz. "Want to ride a great roller coaster ride? Want to get scared, laugh squeamishly, and be afraid but unwilling to avoid moving to the next stage, a towering high, a crippling low, then read Tricky. Take a dangerous and daunting ride." - Kenn Kirby, author of Granny Stories "Tricky-Northwest literary legend Ron Dakron's latest and wildest-assed yarn yet-is sharp-tongued, evil-humored and sproings from one hilarious adventure to the next. Dakron deploys his signature dement, tectonic wit and raging poetic genius. No meme is safe. No sacred foil left unscathed (or uncircumcised). " - Ruuf Wangersen, author of The Pleasure Model Repairman
Jimmy the Big Hat
From the offbeat mind of Andy Logan springs "Jimmy the Big Hat", a hilarious fictional narrative chronicling a mobster, his exploits, and his large head. As told by consigliere Vito Maglione, the story is presented in the format of a children's book, replete with illustrations. But as you will see when the F-bombs begin to drop, that this book is emphatically not a children's book, and not for the easily offended. It is, however, highly recommended for lovers of dark humor.
The Professor's House
The scholarly edition of The Professor's House incorporates into its textual analysis findings from a recently discovered and significantly reworked draft of the novel. Willa Cather's perennial claims that there were no extant drafts make this discovery especially important to Cather scholars. Written in 1925, when she was fifty-two years old, The Professor's House was Cather's seventh novel. Cather explained that in this novel she had attempted two structural experiments. The first experiment she took from the practice of early French and Spanish novelists of inserting a "nouvelle into the roman," hence the first-person "Tom Outland's Story" wedged between the other two parts of the novel. Second, she compared the novel's structure to a sonata form in music, with the center section in significant contrast to the surrounding sectionsBehind the understated prose relating the story of Professor Godfrey St. Peter, who, despite his success, experiences at midcareer a profound disappointment with life, is the fierce account of how he decides to continue living despite those disappointments. Tom Outland's thrilling tale of a long-lost civilization is both an ironic contrast to the professor's staid outer life and a mirror of the imaginative interior life he experiences in his attic study.
