Tattered Veil

Skylar is waiting out her suspension, listening with frustration as more stories of chaos and violence filter in from around the realms. Even when a horrific act of destruction occurs in her adopted home of Inter-Realm, the Council refuses to act. Skylar is forced to do it herself. When her best friend's home is in imminent danger, Skylar rallies support from under the Council's nose to lead a dangerous mission. But the threat is even more grave than she had realized. It seems like Skylar has led her friends into a deadly trap.

Three years have passed in the real world while the siblings were in Fairyland, and a lot has changed. Why are Aubrey and Adrian working for the General, and what goes on inside LIFE, the London Institute For Eternity? Has John really joined forces with the sinister Mr Milton, and what are their plans for the worlds created by human belief? With ancient prophecies foretelling that the End of the World is fast approaching, it's up to Richard, Abigail, George and Elizabeth, with allies old and new, to undertake their most harrowing journey yet, from Heaven to Hell, from Valhalla to the field of Ragnarok. But with the world falling into Chaos, can they really prevent the inevitable? - - - The apocalyptic finale of the Veil Trilogy delves into the darkest sides of human belief, from myths about the battle between light and darkness to the otherworldly denizens of Heaven and Hell. It also explores the history of Christmas, and the festive season's surprising connections to the End of the World.

When Skylar Dufrense got the opportunity to leave school and her unappetizing job prospects behind for an internship with the Trans-Realm Investigation and Protection agency, she leapt in with both feet. Now, she is in over her head. The wonder of stepping through the Veil into new realms, meeting elves and dwarves and kelpies, even her discovery that she can wield magic, has all faded in the endless grind of training. Skylar is hopelessly behind her fellow trainees, but that isn't her biggest problem. There is a malignant force lurking just below the surface, an evil stirring up trouble wherever Skylar goes. But she can't convince her superiors to take it seriously. And then the danger follows her home.

When Skylar Dufrense attends a career fair, she is attracted to a booth with an unusual banner. The strange thing is that nobody else can see it. But when she is attacked by a creature that doesn't exist, can't exist in real life, she is drawn into a world that is more vast, amazing, and dangerous than she could have imagined. Now she is faced with a stark choice: return to the relative safety and predictability of her university or leave her old life behind and leap into a world of magic and monsters and join an elite group of Veilwalkers who traverse the boundaries between realms to hunt down dangerous creatures. For Skylar, it isn't really a choice. Someone powerful has his eye on her. Danger pursues her wherever she goes. She will have to learn to wield new powers and use new skills if she is going to survive.

Losing your momma is the worst thing that can happen to a young girl, or is it? Sofia's momma died when she was very young. Daddy married into a family of monsters, and Sofia became their prey. Life kicked her when she was down. Can she survive? Will she make it through life with any dignity?

Skylar's best friend has been taken captive, and it's all her fault. Tevita is being held by the Opener of Ways, the architect of every threat that has pursued Skylar since she first heard about the Veil. Skylar knows it's a trap, but she doesn't have a choice. Besides, she's learned some new tricks that just might help her rescue Tevita and get out alive. Accompanied only by Aiken, the handsome kelpie, Skylar undertakes a perilous journey across dangerous and desolate realms, trying to find a back door into the home of the Opener of Ways himself. What she finds there will upend everything she thought she knew about the Veil and about herself.

By the middle 1800s, toys were appearing in forms that drew upon--and that inspired--advances in areas such as optics, biology, geography, transportation, and automation. In these decades, too, a new type of wonder tale was being brought to maturity by a Poe-inspired Jules Verne. The modern wonder tale's highly-charged vision expressed the hopes and the fears, and the delights and the traumas, engendered by "new worlds idealism"--that Western pursuit of both mechanical and geographical conquest. Exploring realms belonging to childhood, literature, science, and history, this innovative study weaves together the histories of wonder tales and children's toys, focusing specifically on their modern aspects and how they reflect and express the social attitudes of that time period beginning around 1859 and ending around 1957.

Worship That Pleases God: The Passion and Reason of True Worship is a comprehensive book ranging far beyond the sanctuary to the private altar, to the heart of the worshiper and even to the workplace. Whole-life worship is the kind that pleases God. "...let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praiseÉAnd do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Hebrews 13:15, 16 NIV). A worship leader for more than thirty years, Dr. Phifer, brings a passionate writing style and sound biblical interpretation to this search for the meaning of "spirit and truth" worship (John 4:24). Dr. Phifer believes that True Worship establishes the Kingdom of God in our hearts, our homes, our places of worship as well as in the workplace and the marketplace. This book is about much more than what happens on Sunday morning. "Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit," the three characteristics of the Kingdom of God found in Romans 14:17, form the themes of each section of the book. Section One, Righteousness, deals with a biblical theology of worship. Dr. Phifer offers biblical definitions for the essential elements of worship and he presents seven biblical models for worship. Section Two, Peace, presents the priority of worship as the factor of church life that is intended to bind generations and cultures together in a bond of peace. Section Three, Joy, treats the daily life of the believer dealing with issues of craftsmanship, creativity and the spiritual warfare of private worship. Paul urged the Roman church to "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (of worship)" (Rom 12:1 NKJV [NIV]). Worship That Pleases God is a passionate book presenting that reasonable service of worship to God. HR ALIGN=LEFT