Authors At Arms

“Sisters in Arms is heartwarming but fierce, a novel brimming with camaraderie and fire, starring women you’d love to make your friends. Prickly, musical Grace and bubbly, privileged Eliza may not make the most natural allies, but it’s fight or die when they’re thrown together in the Army’s first class of female officers—and the first Black women allowed to serve their country in World War II. . . . Kaia Alderson’s debut is a triumph!”— Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code Kaia Alderson’s debut historical fiction novel reveals the untold, true story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, who made the dangerous voyage to Europe to ensure American servicemen received word from their loved ones during World War II. Grace Steele and Eliza Jones may be from completely different backgrounds, but when it comes to the army, specifically the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), they are both starting from the same level. Not only will they be among the first class of female officers the army has even seen, they are also the first Black women allowed to serve. As these courageous women help to form the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, they are dealing with more than just army bureaucracy—everyone is determined to see this experiment fail. For two northern women, learning to navigate their way through the segregated army may be tougher than boot camp. Grace and Eliza know that there is no room for error; they must be more perfect than everyone else. When they finally make it overseas, to England and then France, Grace and Eliza will at last be able to do their parts for the country they love, whatever the risk to themselves. Based on the true story of the 6888th Postal Battalion (the Six Triple Eight), Sisters in Arms explores the untold story of what life was like for the only all-Black, female U.S. battalion to be deployed overseas during World War II.

After a fifteen-year hiatus from the world of guns, journalist, sports shooter, and former soldier A.J. Somerset no longer fit in with other firearm enthusiasts. Theirs was a culture much different than the one he remembered: a culture more radical, less tolerant, and more immovable in its beliefs, “as if [each] gun had come with a free, bonus ideological Family Pack [of political tenets], a ready-made identity.” To find the origins of this surprising shift, Somerset began mapping the cultural history of guns and gun ownership in North America. Arms: The Culture and Credo of Gun is the brilliant result. How were firearms transformed from tools used by pioneers into symbols of modern manhood? Why did the NRA’s focus shift from encouraging responsible gun use to lobbying against gun-safety laws? What is the relationship between gun ownership and racism in America? How have the film, television, and video game industries molded our perception of gun violence? When did the fear of gun seizures arise, and how has it been used to benefit arms manufacturers, lobbyists, and the far-right? Few ideas divide communities as much as those involving firearms, and fewer authors are able to tackle the subject with the same authority, humor, and intelligence. Written from the unique perspective of a gun lover who’s disgusted with what gun culture has become, Arms is destined to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.

An award-winning novel of lesbian identity and camaraderie amid violence and war Ruth Wheeler is the one-armed caretaker of a motley crew of boarders living in her rooming house in Vancouver, British Columbia. The miscreants and outcasts in residence include a sexually confused academic, a one-time-dope-addict-turned-law-student, a high-minded deserter of the Vietnam War, a socially conscious female radical, and a gay man on the run from the cops. Despite personal differences and a turbulent outside world teeming with police brutality, the renters’ affection for one another grows and they form a progressive and idealistic “chosen family.” However, Ruth’s devoted and assimilative spirit is put to the test when her property is slotted to be destroyed by developers. The household packs up and sails to Galiano Island, where they establish a new home, start a business, and strive to overcome the initial antipathy of their neighbors. They even decide to collectively raise a baby born from an unwanted pregnancy. Winner of the 1978 Canadian Authors Association Best Novel of the Year Award, The Young in One Another’s Arms stands as one of the most sophisticated portrayals of an alternative model for domestic life.

From the acclaimed master of historical fiction comes an epic saga about a reluctant hero, the Roman Empire, and the rise of a new faith. Jerusalem and the Sinai desert, first century AD. In the turbulent aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus, officers of the Roman Empire acquire intelligence of a pilgrim bearing an incendiary letter from a religious fanatic to insurrectionists in Corinth. The content of this letter could bring down the empire. The Romans hire a former legionary, the solitary man-at-arms, Telamon of Arcadia, to intercept the letter and capture its courier. Telamon operates by a dark code all his own, with no room for noble causes or lofty beliefs. But once he overtakes the courier, something happens that neither he nor the empire could have predicted. In his first novel of the ancient world in thirteen years, the best-selling author of Gates of Fire and Tides of War returns with a gripping saga of conquest and rebellion, bloodshed and faith.

Sometimes it takes a stranger to see you as you really are. Born and raised on sprawling Texas land, Margaret O’Brien prides herself on her competence as a rancher. But her father believes she’s made for more than just dawn-to-dusk work. He wants her to have the love of a good man, to raise children, to build a life. But Margaret gave up such dreams years ago. She’s convinced no man would have her, that the ranch is her life now. So when Margaret’s father hires Daniel Cutler as a new foreman, she’s frustrated and suspicious. Then an overheard conversation links him with a gang of bank robbers, and she’s downright worried. Daniel swears he’s not involved, but Margaret’s not convinced. She knows the man still has secrets. But would a criminal be so kind and talk so convincingly of his faith? As a series of tragic “accidents” threatens all she holds dear, Margaret must decide what to trust: her own ears, her best judgment . . . or what her heart keeps telling her. From the author of the best-selling Blue Moon Promise . . . an exciting tale of danger, romance, and faith played out under Texas stars. “Romantically tense, but with just the right touch of danger, this cowboy love story is surprisingly clever—and pleasingly sweet.” —USAToday.com for Blue Moon Promise

Featuring a previously published author introduction, a personal foreword by his son and a new introduction by his grandson, a definitive edition of the lauded World War I classic collects all 39 of the Nobel Prize-winning author's alternate endings to offer new insights into his creative process. Reprint.

When Andas Kastor awakens in an alien land, he must figure out if he’s the true emperor of his home world or an evil double In a stark, arid wasteland, a man awakens from a frozen state. As he stares out his narrow slit of a window, he has no memory of how he got there—or why. All he knows is his name: Andas Kastor, Imperial Prince of Inyanga. But instead of the luxurious trappings of his royal palace, he’s in a hellish, storm-lashed place punctuated by howling winds and shattering streaks of lightning. And he’s not alone. In this uninhabited world, he meets five other survivors, also of noble birth. They include the scaled, emerald-haired Elys of Posedonia and clawed, fanged Lord Yolyos of Sargol. They all speak the same Basic language, as befits those from neighboring spheres. Were they abducted, spirited to this alien planet, and held in mind-lock while evil doppelgangers ruled in their places? After a daring escape, Andas returns to Inyanga—only to discover that decades have passed and another sits on his throne. Now, hunted across barriers of time, Andas must fight external and internal enemies to save his civilization and uncover the truth about his identity.

"Focuses on classical reception in the works of female authors active in Venice during the Early Modern Age. Explores the work of Moderata Fonte and Lucrezia Marinella and demonstrates how they used knowledge of texts by Virgil, Ovid, and Aristotle to promote gender-based egalitarianism"--