Cliff Hanger

When a cougar attacks a hiker in Mesa Verde National Park, the Landons have another mystery on their hands. Jack and Ashley are used to visiting parks with their wildlife veterinarian mother and photographer father, but this time their hands are full with a foster child called Lucky Deal. As Lucky and Jack become friends, Ashley becomes suspicious: What did Lucky take from the burn site? Who did she call in the night? In a midnight showdown at Spruce Tree House, Jack realizes there's more to fear than a killer cat. Cliff-Hanger weaves Native American folklore, natural science, and geography into a heart-pounding thriller. The afterword by Will Morris, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at Mesa Verde, outlines the dangers of cougar attacks and the need to protect wild animals. National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

Twelve-year-old Jack and his younger sister visit Mesa Verde National Park, where they delve into the park's history while gradually uncovering the mysterious past of their family's teenage foster child Lucky.

Mystery always follows the women of the Writer's Club but this time with holiday flair! Bill and Tara Fields are ready to celebrate the first Christmas at their Bed and Breakfast, the Cliffhanger Inn. The Writer's Club will spend a few nights and celebrate the Inn's Open House, and also watch as the strange ivory mortgage button placed so long ago in the old staircase is removed. What will they find beneath it? The owner of a Christmas tree farm, Country Evergreens, will stop by the Inn. The tree purchased at his lot has its own mystery from the past. A bizarre find beneath the pine needles around the trunk of the near perfect tree will leave the Fields questioning events surrounding this happening. Tara discovers an old journal written by someone named Rebecca in the 1940s. Has she stumbled on a murder mystery that took place over sixty years ago? A last minute business luncheon at the Inn will end in near death. Was this event a coincidence or planned to get rid of an annoying employee? A demanding, unfriendly man will spend a week at the Inn, barely leaving his room except for meals. He will leave something in the room when he signs out that completely surprises Bill and Tara.

An advanced guidebook that teaches practical editing strategies using Final Cut Pro, this title goes beyond the basics to combine practical techniques with professional strategy and artistic technique. With guidelines on general editing techniques and improving workflow, this guide shows readers how to use Final Cut to tackle creative compositing with other applications.

When the boys visit the Himalayas for some mountaineering and adventure they are unaware that a murderer has set an ambush and that their lives are in danger.

15 reproducible, kid-pleasing stories that are perfect for building essential reading skills such as predicting, making inferences, summarizing, and more.

From campus radio to host of South Africa's biggest youth breakfast show to pioneering his own online hub, Gareth Cliff has always claimed the headlines with his brand of strong opinion and whiplash wit. He has been suspended from the airwaves or crucified by his critics more times than he can remember – whether for interviewing himself as Jesus or comparing Shaka Zulu to Cecil John Rhodes. Most recently, Cliff was fired by M-Net as one of the Idols judges after facing accusations of racism over the Penny Sparrow incident. He fought back, employing the services of the EFF's Dali Mpofu, and was reinstated. In Cliffhanger, South Africa's controversial shock jock goes behind the scenes to give you a first-hand account of the highs and lows of the past two decades.

Cliffhangers get a bad rap from the reading community. They moan and complain and say that they hate them with a passion! But from a writer's perspective, cliffhangers are little more than a tool for suspense, right? So how do we craft endings to our fiction novels that are exciting and suspenseful (and yes, sometimes leave information out!), but that don't enrage our readers? The answer to creating suspense is finding that balance between what to share and what to hide; it's about careful and strategic placement of details. In Hook, Line, and Cliffhanger, delve into the intricacies of effective (and ineffective!) cliffhanger endings. It will identify different types of endings that are often considered cliffhangers by readers, and discuss when to use them, when not to use them, and how to do so most impactfully. In addition, this book will go over the different types of book series, to better understand how to keep your reader turning page after page late into the night—and then grabbing the next book in the series as soon as they finish the first. Learn how to shove your readers over the edge of that suspenseful cliff, and have them enjoy the fall.