Ghost Images

Ghost Image is made up of sixty-three short essays—meditations, memories, fantasies, and stories bordering on prose poems—and not a single image. Hervé Guibert’s brief, literary rumination on photography was written in response to Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida, but its deeply personal contents go far beyond that canonical text. Some essays talk of Guibert’s parents and friends, some describe old family photographs and films, and spinning through them all are reflections on remembrance, narcissism, seduction, deception, death, and the phantom images that have been missed. Both a memoir and an exploration of the artistic process, Ghost Image not only reveals Guibert’s particular experience as a gay artist captivated by the transience and physicality of his media and his life, but also his thoughts on the more technical aspects of his vocation. In one essay, Guibert searches through a cardboard box of family portraits for clues—answers, or even questions—about the lives of his parents and more distant relatives. Rifling through vacation snapshots and the autographed images of long-forgotten film stars, Guibert muses, “I don’t even recognize the faces, except occasionally that of an aunt or great-aunt, or the thin, fair face of my mother as a young girl.” In other essays, he explains how he composes his photographs, and how—in writing—he seeks to escape and correct the inherent limits of his technique, to preserve those images lost to his technical failings as a photographer. With strains of Jean Genet and recurring themes that speak to the work of contemporary artists across a range of media, Guibert’s Ghost Image is a beautifully written, melancholic ode to existence and art forms both fleeting and powerful—a unique memoir at the nexus of family, memory, desire, and photography.

The possibility of life after death is a significant theme in cinema, in which ghosts return to the world of the living to wrap up unfinished business, console their survivors, visit lovers or just enjoy a well-wreaked scaring. This work focuses on film depictions of survival after death, from meetings with the ghost of Elvis to AIDS-related ghosts: apparitions, hauntings, mediumship, representations of heaven, angels, near-death experiences, possession, poltergeists and all the other ways in which the living interact with the dead on screen. The work opens with a historical perspective, which outlines the development of pre-cinematic technology for "projecting" phantoms, and discusses the use of these skills in early ghost cinema. English-language sound films are then examined thematically with topics ranging from the expiation of sins to "hungry" ghosts. Six of the most significant films, Dead of Night, A Matter of Life and Death, The Innocents, The Haunting, The Shining, and Jacob's Ladder, are given a detailed analysis. A conclusion, filmography, and bibliography follow.

The last thing plastic surgery resident Jackson Maebry wants at the end of a long day in the operating room is a call to the ER. Once he gets there, what he finds is worse than his most hellish imaginings: a young woman, beaten and burned almost beyond recognition, a trauma case as terrible as any he has ever seen. What Jackson's colleagues don't know is that the victim, Allie, is actually his lover. With Allie in a coma, Jackson keeps their relationship quiet and takes part in her reconstruction, a complicated and grueling set of procedures that only the most skilled specialists can perform. But as he and the other doctors struggle to put her back together, the fractures in Jackson's own life begin to break apart dramatically. When the San Francisco Police Department's investigation of the attack leads to his door, Jackson knows the truth can no longer be suppressed. Ghost Image is an expertly plotted, chillingly vivid, and wholly absorbing mystery, signaling the debut of an unforgettable new voice in the genre. Taking readers inside the operating room and literally under the skin of its patients, it's a story that will appeal to those fascinated by medicine and forensics. It is also a story -- like all classic crime novels -- about guilt and innocence, good and evil. But, above all, it is a story of love -- the kind of love that might prove deadly, or that might just save your soul.

When her friend, Franciscan friar and controversial environmentalist Brother Kevin Boyle, who uncovered a botanic discovery potentially worth millions of dollars, is murdered, freelance photojournalist Sophie Medina embarks on an international treasure hunt to find Kevin's killer.

Snow Ghost came whispering out of the air, "Oh, for a home to be happy – but where?" Flying through the swirling, snow-filled skies, Snow Ghost searches for a place to call home, swooping gracefully over the whirling traffic of town, winding her way through the dense, tangled wood and to the top of the blustery hill. Then on the quiet calm of the moors, she sees a girl and a boy playing. She breathes magic and sparkle into their play until it's time for them to stumble back home to bed. And while shimmers of moonlight cast their glittering light, Snow Ghost curls herself round the roof of the farmhouse. She has found her happy home at last. A timeless story of hope and belonging, perfect for sharing with loved ones this winter. This audio-enabled edition comes with a gorgeous reading by Sarah Ovens, along with music and sound effects.

Layla is a ghost and ghosts are supposed to be scary. They’re supposed to haunt castles and shout BOOO! But Layla would much rather play with her friends. When Halloween approaches, she needs to decide whether she’s going to be a proper ghost or if there’s another way. One that doesn’t involve being scary. A picture book about a little ghost trying to figure out what’s right, a great read not just for Halloween. Also available as paperback, hardcover and audiobook. In the same series: The Little Ghost Who Didn't Want to Be Mean Keywords: children's books, books for children, picture book, children's book about Halloween, books about ghosts, illustrated children's book, bedtime story, children's story books, halloween books, books about self-confidence for children, ghost, cat, bat, owl, friendship, kids books.

Bestselling children's book, from award-winning author-illustrator Guido Van Genechten, is now a BOARD BOOK! Perfect for Halloween storytime or any other time! "A little ghost unapologetically makes the most of being different....Different never looked so appealing. " - Kirkus Reviews "A sweet story about outsider friendship that is just slightly scary in places.... it's hard not to be charmed by van Genechten's smiley, rosy-cheeked ghosts, who could give Casper a run for his money in the cuteness department" - Publisher's Weekly Ghost Gilbert is a very special ghost, ever since he was little. When he goes to Ghost school, he quickly makes a lot of new friends. Gilbert always cheerfully takes part in everything. But when the Principal wants him to call "Boooooooh" just like a real ghost, all Gilbert can do is whisper a soft "Bahoo". Will Gilbert ever become a real ghost? A warm picture book about a different and special ghost, about fitting in and being true to yourself.

From the author of Multiple Exposure, the second “intriguing…compelling” (Publishers Weekly) novel in the thrilling Sophie Medina mystery series that features a photojournalist as she races to find an international treasure before a murderer finds her. When freelance photojournalist Sophie Medina finds Brother Kevin Boyle, a Franciscan friar and controversial environmentalist, dead in the magnificent gardens of a Washington, DC monastery, she is sure her friend was murdered. Shortly before he died, Kevin told Sophie he was being stalked, possibly because he uncovered a botanic discovery potentially worth millions of dollars. Left with few clues to his secret, Sophie is determined to figure out who killed Kevin. Beginning with a key that leads to a priceless original seventeenth-century encyclopedia of plants, Sophie leaps into an international treasure hunt following a trail that begins in the US Capitol and eventually leads to London and the English countryside. Before long Sophie suspects Kevin’s murderer may have been someone who knew him well. With time running out and a suspect list that includes the world’s leading botanical experts and political royalty from both sides of the Atlantic, can Sophie solve the two-hundred-year-old mystery before Kevin’s killer finds her? A tale of greed and betrayal involving politicians, diplomats, European royalty, and a century-old monastery, Ghost Image is filled with political intrigue, history, and an international high-stakes race against a killer that will keep you guessing until the very last page.