When an alien corporation turns Earth into a trap-filled, video-game-style dungeon, most of humanity is wiped out. The survivors are forced to battle monsters, aliens, and each other on a galactic television broadcast. The story follows Carl, a cynical Coast Guard veteran wearing boxer shorts and bare feet, who must team up with his ex-girlfriend’s prize-winning, talking Persian cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk. To survive the dungeon's ruthless levels, they cannot just stay alive—they have to keep the alien galactic audience entertained.
By the 1950s, Cambridge, Massachusetts feels far removed from the legendary witch trials that marked its early days as a colony. Ava, a bright young woman from a small town in Maine, arrives for her first year at Radcliffe College. There, she meets Lauren, her opposite in every way—the wild and brazen daughter of a wealthy and well-established Cambridge family. But the two have more in common than they think. Both are recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret organization of witches at Radcliffe dating back to colonial times. As they learn more about their legacy, Ava and Lauren form a close bond that is put to the test as they learn to navigate their new power, friendship, and love.While Radcliffe seems like a safe haven, the shadow of McCarthyism looms large, an ever-present threat to the flourishing creative and intellectual life in Cambridge. And as girls from the Lilith Society begin to go missing, Ava and Lauren realize the witch trials of the past may not be as deeply buried as they once believed.
Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and her followers are sick with envy. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What her followers don’t know won’t hurt them.Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.As darkly funny as it is shocking and gripping, Yesteryear is an electrifying examination of tradition, fame, faith and the grand performance of womanhood, from a thrilling new talent in fiction.
In the turbulent aftermath of Julius Caesar’s assassination, two young men seize the chance to shape the future of Rome: Octavius, Caesar’s cunning heir, and his brilliant common-born ally, Marcus Agrippa. Together, they fight for control of the empire, navigate shifting loyalties, vanquish their enemies at Philippi, and crush the fabled lovers Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, securing a new empire that will change the world.But power never comes without a price. Decades later Octavius rules supreme, now as Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, while Agrippa, soldier, statesman and builder of Rome, finds himself betrayed by those closest to him and exiled from the empire he helped create. Alone on the Bay of Naples, he turns to his memories, revisiting the wars, alliances and deceptions that forged his destiny.Sweeping from the blood-soaked battlefields of the Republic to the marble corridors of imperial power, Agrippa is a masterful novel of ambition and statecraft, loyalty and betrayal, and how even the greatest empires are built on fragile bonds between men.
A big thank you to all who participated in the preserves contest. An extra big thank you to our judges, Patrick, Ange and Margie. The winners this year are:PICKLES AND RELISH1st place - Shauna Thain (pickled beans)2nd place - Shauna Thain (mustard beans)3rd place - Joanne Langlais (dill pickles)JAMS AND JELLIES1st place - Ashley Williamson (pepper jelly)2nd place - Joanne Langlais (straw/rubard jam)3rd place - Susan Carey (Christmas jam)