Ella Snotty is worth more than a quickie… After a family scandal tore their family apart, seventeen-year-old Ella chooses to stay in California with her mom for the rest of the school year. Things are lonely since her sister Lena went to live with their dad. But at least she has her new boyfriend, Shane Quinn, to make things a little less depressing. Ella isn’t the only girl who thinks Shane is swoon-worthy… Shane takes Ella out to blow off some steam, and the party isn’t short on alcohol. When a tipsy old flame “falls” into Shane’s lap, her spontaneous kiss makes Ella more than a little jealous. And when details of Shane’s dating history surface, Ella is determined to be more than a fling. The V-word will slow things down… Afraid Shane wants to use her for a little fun, Ella lies and says she’s a virgin. According to his reputation, Shane has commitment issues. Maybe it’ll make him stick around long enough for them to form a real connection before the physical sparks fly. But is he worth the lie? And what happens when both of their insecurities come crumbling down like a house of cards? She wants his heart. He’s afraid to commit. As the pressure mounts, will they find comfort in each other? Or will they learn that when playing with fire, you risk getting burned?**

"The shaddais the key difference between a pigeon (hamam,????) and a bathroom (hammam,?????). Be careful, our professor advised, in the first moment of outright humor in class, that you don't ask a waiter, 'Excuse me, where is the pigeon?' — or, conversely, order a roasted toilet." If you've ever studied a foreign language, you know what happens when you first truly and clearly communicate with another person. As Zora O'Neill recalls, you feel like a magician. If that foreign language is Arabic, you just might feel like a wizard. They say that Arabic takes seven years to learn and a lifetime to master. O'Neill had put in her time. Steeped in grammar tomes and outdated textbooks, she faced an increasing certainty that she was not only failing to master Arabic, but also driving herself crazy. She took a decade-long hiatus, but couldn't shake her fascination with the...

A lethal orbital defense platform. A squad of green Marines. A silent alien killer. WHO DIES NEXT? 2441AD. A quarantine platform in the Rakasa system goes quiet and a squad of freshly minted Marines are sent to investigate. The blood soon flows, but there is one Marine who has the bravery and cunning to take on even the most lethal hidden foe. Set 125 years before the events on Tranquility that sparked the creation of the Human Legion, 'The Demons of Kor-Lir' is a standalone novella that is also an introduction to the Sleeping Legion novels. **