Historical fantasist Kay (Ysabel) delivers an exquisitely detailed vision of Kitan, a land much like Tang Dynasty China. Shen Tai's father died leading troops in battle, so he spends his mourning year burying the bones of soldiers on both sides, laying their ghosts to rest. He attracts the attention of Cheng-wan, a princess of his people sent to wed one of the enemy. As her gifts make Shen Tai wealthy, an assassin kills his best friend. Shen Tai hires a bodyguard, Wei Song, to keep him alive while he figures out what to do with his riches and who wants him dead.
The Pastures of Heaven is a short story cycle by John Steinbeck, first published in 1932, consisting of twelve interconnected stories about a valley in Monterey, California, which was discovered by a Spanish corporal while chasing runaway Indian slaves. Enchanted by the valley's natural beauty, the corporal names it Las Pasturas del Cielo or "The Pastures of Heaven." The stories are written in classic Steinbeck style; the lives of the families that relocate to the valley are portrayed with a mixture of humor and poignance. A recurring theme in the book is the pain caused when people try ineptly to help or to please others.
Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and sidesplitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here?
Custo Santovari is a fallen hero, a man who sacrificed himself for his best friend, an angel who-s earned himself a well-deserved place in Heaven. But he risks it all to rescue a woman from soul-sucking wraiths.
ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN introduces a young woman, Micky Bellsong, searching for meaning in her troubled life. When she meets the radiant Leilani Klonk, a child whose physical disabilities cannot quench her spirit, Micky unexpectedly finds the purpose she so desperately needs. Leilani's stepfather,