So Bright The Stars

The bear cubs awake from their deep winter slumber. "What can it be?" they cry, breathless with wonder.The animals follow the star through this magical story to find a very special surprise at the end.

'Bryan’s writing pops and zings like a Basquiat painting' – NOEL FIELDING In Bright Stars, Kate Bryan examines the lives and legacies of 30 great artists who died too young, celebrating their inspirational stories and extraordinary talent. Some of the world’s greatest and most-loved artists died under the age of forty. But how did they turn relatively short careers into such long legacies? What drove them to create, against all the odds? And how can we use these stories to re-evaluate artists lost to the shadows, or whose legacies are not yet secured? Most artists have decades to hone their craft, win over the critics and forge their reputation, but that’s not the case for the artists in this book. Art heavyweights Vincent van Gogh and Jean-Michel Basquiat have been mythologised, with their early deaths playing a key role in their posthumous fame. Others, such as Aubrey Beardsley and Noah Davis, were driven to create, knowing their time was limited. For some, premature death, compounded by gender and racial injustice, meant being left out of the history books – as was the case with Amrita Sher-Gil, Charlotte Salomon and Pauline Boty, now championed by Kate Bryan in this important re-appraisal. And, as Caravaggio and Vermeer’s stories show us, it can take centuries for forgotten artists to be given the recognition they truly deserve. With each artist comes a unique and often surprising story about how lives full of talent and tragedy were turned into brilliant legacies that still influence and inspire us today. This is a celebration of talent so great it shines on. Beautifully illustrated with portraits of the artists, as well as reproductions of some of their most famous works, this important and timely work makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of the lives of some of the most talented artists throughout history. **************** 'Bryan’s writing pops and zings like a Basquiat painting – and reminds us why truly great artists are immortal.' –NOEL FIELDING 'Bright Stars is a compelling reflection on the concept of legacy. Bryan’s wide ranging assessment of artists we lost too soon proves that longevity in art is rewarded to the stars that burn the brightest, however fleeting their lives and careers.' – MARIA BALSHAW, DIRECTOR OF TATE 'Kate Bryan marshalls a wealth of fascinating detail about artists’s lives cut sadly short … and in sprightly prose brings their work vividly to life.' – JOAN BAKEWELL **************** The Artists Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Caravaggio, Dash Snow, Vincent van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani, Francesca Woodman, Ana Mendieta, Félix González-Torres, Raphael, Yves Klein, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Mapplethorpe, Egon Schiele, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Amrita Sher-Gil, Johannes Vermeer, Robert Smithson, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Aubrey Beardsley, Noah Davis, Eva Hesse, Charlotte Salomon, Umberto Boccioni, Gerda Taro, Joanna Mary Boyce, Pauline Boty, Helen Chadwick, Khadija Saye, Bartholomew Beal.

Penny Wanjiru learns that the red planet is no idyllic paradise when the colony's first serious crime investigation gets underway on the day she arrives. Penny immediately finds herself the target of anti-tourism sentiment, but it gets worse when a letter to her grandmother is intercepted and misinterpreted. Now Penny has to figure out who is framing her for a crime she didn't commit. The Shadow of Mars series explores the origins of Mars colonization as found in Cidney Swanson's six-book companion series, SAVING MARS, a Sci-Fi action adventure series.

Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure. But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other. In Bright Burning Stars, debut author A. K. Small pens a stunning, propulsive story about girls at their physical and emotional extremes, the gutting power of first love, and what it means to fight for your dreams.

Erin Swan's YA fantasy debut, Bright Star, is an action-packed adventure tale of rebellion, romance, and finding one's voice in the heart of a storm. Paerolia has been at peace for two centuries, and all is well in the land—or so it seems. Beneath the surface, a tyrant is rising to power. A traumatic experience in Andra's childhood has left her mute and subdued, a servant in the Chief Judge’s manor. But when an assassination team, led by the secretive and alluring Kael, infiltrates the manor and makes a quick escape, she takes her chance and flees with them. Andra is thrust into the ranks of a secret rebellion—a group of outcasts and believers seeking to overthrow the Chief Judge and replace the corrupt government with new members, ones who will restore and preserve the land they love. Now, the girl who was once an outcast must somehow become the leader Paerolia needs. But she is stronger than she believes—and with the help of a fiercely loyal dragon, she may just be the one to lead them all to victory. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Published to coincide with the release of the film Bright Star, written and directed by Oscar Winner Jane Campion (The Piano, In the Cut), starring Abbie Cornish (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Ben Whishaw (Brideshead Revisited, Perfume) John Keats died aged just twenty-five. He left behind some of the most exquisite and moving verse and love letters ever written, inspired by his great love for Fanny Brawne. Although they knew each other for just a few short years and spent a great deal of that time apart - separated by Keats' worsening illness, which forced a move abroad - Keats wrote again and again about and to his love, right until his very last poem, called simply 'To Fanny'. She, in turn, would wear the ring he had given her until her death. So Bright and Delicate is the passionate, heartrending story of this tragic affair, told through the private notes and public art of a great poet.

She’s an A-list Hollywood starlet. He’s an entertainment gossip reporter. Sleeping with the enemy has never been sweeter… Kimberleigh Cress didn’t get to be one of the hottest young actresses in Hollywood without learning how to protect herself. Rule number one? Don’t show weakness. Ever. Especially not in front of the press. So when a sleazy tabloid reporter comes upon her during a vulnerable moment, the last thing she expects is kindness. Sexy, charming, and surprisingly thoughtful, Spencer Devlin isn’t at all who Kimberleigh thought he was. After their fateful encounter, she can’t seem to stay away from him—even though she knows she should. Spencer never expected to share an unlikely connection with the spoiled starlet who hates his guts. With the face of a goddess and an attitude to match, Kimberleigh Cress is one ice queen he’d love to melt. Now that she’s gotten under his skin, he’ll do anything to keep her in his life. Or will he?

About the author, who makes no claim of greatness, to fortune or fame! Except what I hold dear in the service of my God, the Father, and my Lord, the Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. I hold no brotherhood with religion, except to Christ. So I call myself Christian. As I believe in the Spirit of the most High God and the Christ Child, Jesus. The One that says, “Truly I say, My Father and I are one.” Proclaim the “Good News” and praise the Holy Spirit that tells His word, just what and when to write. I spent my life as a Master Mariner, a Captain in the United States Merchant Marines. Along the way of life, I guess you could say Jesus called me to be a fisher of men. He gave me a wife, to help spread vision and insight into the Holy Bible, of then and now. What the Scripture points to, in the here and now. To make us aware of the Great Storm of the then and now! To point direction to the Son, Jesus is the way. The Father wants us all to come home. 2 Peter 1:20-21 2 Timothy 3:16 What more need I say. God Bless You