Becoming His Story

Years have past since the night Sophia Brair encountered her Mate. The man she thought was her future walked away from her without an explanation. Before she has the courage to tell her parents of his rejection tragedy strikes. Leaving her alone with far too many unanswered questions. Isolated from others of her kind she finds herself a wolf among sheep. Moving from one foster home to the next her transition into adulthood has been hard to say the least. Now at nineteen she ready for a new start in a new town. College seems like everything she could hope for. For years she's kept the secret of her true identity from everyone around her, how long will her anonymity last? It's been five years. Masen Black always planned on finding his Mate, just not when she was still a child. Walking away was the hardest thing he'd ever done. After three long years he returned to collect his Luna and her family only to find them gone without any trace. He's been searching ever since. When he finally finds her nothing will stop him from claiming what's his!

Go back to the beginning with this NEIGHBORLY AFFECTION SERIES PREQUEL from a USA TODAY bestselling author. From rescue to romance… Teach a wounded submissive the value of his service. The task ought to be an easy one for an experienced dominant like Henry Webb. But novice Jay Kress challenges his teacher like no other. Still bearing the bruises of an encounter outside the bounds of safe consensual play, Jay is desperate to submit to the man who saved him—and shamed by his desires. Henry recognizes the dangers of a relationship built on hero worship. He'll teach Jay how to stay safe, that's all. He won't take advantage of the younger man's trust. He won't share his fantasies about his dark-haired, athletic student. He'll never claim this submissive for his own... New to USA Today bestselling author M.Q. Barber’s Neighborly Affection series? This friends-to-lovers bisexual menage romance saga is best read in order. Dominance and submission is the name of the game for this MMF poly triad. Start with Playing the Game or Becoming His Master. Becoming His Master is a prequel in the Neighborly Affection universe. It can be read at any point but is best read before picking up Finding Their Balance. Praise for Becoming His Master: “The fourth Neighborly affection book offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the real depth and complexities of a Dom/sub relationship, and the dangers that can arise when the heart becomes involved. Barber has a unique writing style that takes a little time to feel familiar, but her world soon becomes lush and increasingly intriguing.” – RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars What NetGalley reader-reviewers are saying: “Beautifully written, this is thoughtful and engaging, just like the two main characters….” – Reflection “M.Q. Barber has one of the most distinctive voices as a BDSM author I have ever experienced reading. It’s like a breath of fresh air to see someone step outside of the S&M side of things and more into the D/s world.” – Mommy’s a Book Whore blog “The author has avoided … clichés and given us an amazing love story in a BDSM setting. The characters are flawed in such true ways and the acceptance of those flaws is beautifully written. Their relationship is forged over months, and they really get to know one another. They complement and balance each other in such authentic ways.” – Sarah Beth “The Neighborly Affection series as a whole has opened my eyes and has made me view the BDSM lifestyle in a new and refreshing light and I fully appreciated the wonderfully gifted manner in which author M.Q. Barber presented these books. This book in particular was hauntingly beautiful, what with Henry’s selflessness and Jay’s innocence and their mutual love and affection for one another.” – Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous blog

A “scrupulously honest” (O, The Oprah Magazine) debut memoir that explores one man’s gender transition amid a pivotal political moment in America. Becoming a Man is a “moving narrative [that] illuminates the joy, courage, necessity, and risk-taking of gender transition” (Kirkus Reviews). For fifty years P. Carl lived as a girl and then as a queer woman, building a career, a life, and a loving marriage, yet still waiting to realize himself in full. As Carl embarks on his gender transition, he takes us inside the complex shifts and questions that arise throughout—the alternating moments of arrival and estrangement. He writes intimately about how transitioning reconfigures both his own inner experience and his closest bonds—his twenty-year relationship with his wife, Lynette; his already tumultuous relationships with his parents; and seemingly solid friendships that are subtly altered, often painfully and wordlessly. Carl “has written a poignant and candid self-appraisal of life as a ‘work-of-progress’” (Booklist) and blends the remarkable story of his own personal journey with incisive cultural commentary, writing beautifully about gender, power, and inequality in America. His transition occurs amid the rise of the Trump administration and the #MeToo movement—a transition point in America’s own story, when transphobia and toxic masculinity are under fire even as they thrive in the highest halls of power. Carl’s quest to become himself and to reckon with his masculinity mirrors, in many ways, the challenge before the country as a whole, to imagine a society where every member can have a vibrant, livable life. Here, through this brave and deeply personal work, Carl brings an unparalleled new voice to this conversation.

"Offers mystery, adventure, and fantasy, as well as reflections on family, time travel, and stories. . . . Many readers will find something here to their liking." – Booklist Oscar Martin was fourteen when he mysteriously disappeared from his Iowa farmhouse in 1914. His sister claimed Oscar had rowed out to sea – but how was that possible? Nearly a century later, when Lucy Martin moves with her parents to that same Iowa farmhouse, she discovers the strange and dangerous Book of Story Beginnings, and soon Oscar himself reappears in a bizarre turn of events that sends the two distant relatives on a perilous journey. From a first-time author comes an intricate, spellbinding fantasy that lures you in and won’t let go.

Sometimes life's unforeseen paths lead us to discovering sides of ourselves we never knew existed. Home has always been Ace Bosse's place of solace, but returning home for the summer from college, she finds herself building an unexpected relationship with Max Miller, who's recently returned home from Alaska. Max has lived next door for ten years, and she knows of his reckless reputation, and nothing more. Max realizes he never knew he had left so much behind, when he left three years ago to find what he thought he'd lost. Max teaches Ace that sometimes a little crazy is exactly what life needs, while learning that some risks are worth taking, regardless of the risks. But how do you know when you've met the right person? And will they be prepared to experience one of life's biggest obstacles? Falling in love isn't easy, but holding on to it is where the real challenge lies. ****This is the first book in the series of three, and does end with a cliffhanger. Book two will be released March 1, 2015****

*#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER *Winner, Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Nonfiction *Winner, Indigenous Voices Awards *Winner, High Plains Book Awards *Finalist, CBC Canada Reads *A Globe and Mail Book of the Year *An Indigo Book of the Year *A CBC Best Canadian Nonfiction Book of the Year In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir, Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is. If I can just make it to the next minute...then I might have a chance to live; I might have a chance to be something more than just a struggling crackhead. From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, whose tough-love attitudes quickly resulted in conflicts. Throughout it all, the ghost of Jesse’s drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling with all that had happened, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. Finally, he realized he would die unless he turned his life around. In this heartwarming and heart-wrenching memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful past, the abuse he endured, and how he uncovered the truth about his parents. Through sheer perseverance and education—and newfound love—he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family. An eloquent exploration of the impact of prejudice and racism, From the Ashes is, in the end, about how love and support can help us find happiness despite the odds.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book About the Past, and selected as an Honor Book by the Society of School Librarians International Teddy can't believe how fast his life has changed in just two years. When he was twelve, his father took off, and then his mother married Henry, a man Teddy despises. But Teddy has no control over his life, and adults make all the decisions, especially in 1959. Henry decides that Teddy should be sent to St. Ignatius Academy for Boys, an isolated boarding school run by the Catholic church. St. Iggy's, Teddy learns, is a cold, unforgiving place — something between a juvenile detention center and reform school. The other boys are mostly a cast of misfits and eccentrics, but Teddy quickly becomes best friends with Cooper, a wise-cracking, Wordsworth-loving kid with a history of neglect. Despite the priests' ruthless efforts to crack down on the slightest hint of defiance or attitude, the boys get by for a while on their wits, humor and dreams of escape. But the beatings, humiliation and hours spent in the school's infamous "time-out" rooms, and the institutionalized system of power and abuse that protects the priests' authority, eventually take their toll, especially on the increasingly fragile Cooper. Then one of the new priests, Father Prince, starts to summon Cooper to his room at night, and Teddy watches helplessly as his friend withdraws into his own private nightmare, even as Prince targets Teddy himself as his next victim. Teddy and Cooper's only reprieve comes on Saturdays, when the school janitor, Rozey, takes the boys to his run-down farmhouse outside of town, the only place where the boys can feel normal -- fishing, playing cribbage, watching the bears at the local dump. But even this can't stop Cooper's downward spiral and eventual suicide. And just when Teddy thinks something good might come out of his friend's tragedy, he finds himself dealing with the ultimate betrayal.

We are participating in changes that will soon define this period in history! As followers of Jesus, we want to immerse ourselves in this living story while learning from Jesus, living like Jesus and leading like Jesus so we may apply his principles and become transformational participants in the best story ever told. Gaining God’s full blessing in partnership with what he is doing in our world today needs everyone engaged—not just some! It becomes our duty to help instill a sense of identity and worth in both genders in a Biblical way that will lead us to the full uninhibited potential of Christ’s church as we carry out his mandate. With a view towards helping us understand these principles by first identifying our own worldview, and better understanding the culture in which Jesus lived, the author applies the values of Jesus to the model for leadership today. Mary-Elsie Wolfe offers us a vision for the future that is leading-edge yet moderate, traditional yet progressive. Drawing upon key Bible stories of women in Jesus’ day, our view of the future is enlarged as believers as she looks at the prominence of women in the early church and then applies key principles in an effective way for our day. If we want to lead like Jesus, as Jesus defines leadership for us, we must apply these foundational leadership principles to our times while still wrapping everything in the truth of the love of God for his people and his work.