The Queen Of Swords

It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke’s wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet’s rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they’d hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke’s son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe. To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her. New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times. Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d’Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah’s life, but Dr. Savard’s half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard’s guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans’s population and from Andrew Jackson’s army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812.

An epic adventure telling the forgotten tale of the princess of the Crusades and matriarch of twelfth-century Jerusalem, by the author of The Eagle’s Daughter. Queen in all but name, one woman’s battle to rule her kingdom, from the Court of Jerusalem to the glorious city of Byzantium. . . . Melisende was the oldest daughter of Baldwin of Jerusalem, a princess of the Franks and, since she had no brothers, heir to the Crusader Kingdom. The crown would go to the man who married her, and after to her son. But Melisende was a strong woman; the law that forced her to marry instead of taking the crown in her own name was a thorn in her side. It was she who ruled the City and who juggled the politics of church and court. The knights of Jerusalem fought in her honor, many of the best sworn to her personal service. She would not submit easily to a husband’s rule, but must she to secure her kingdom? Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Chadwick and Conn Iggulden.

Transcend Your Fear of Negative Cards Make every reading positive and empowering with this beginner-friendly guide to the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot. Using his engaging and easy-going style, Elliot Adam teaches you how to move through the shadows and into the light no matter what card you pull. We’ve all been there: hoping for the best as we draw a card...but oh no, it's the Devil! Fearless Tarot shows you that worry won't prevail—every card can become something positive. Elliot helps you find the courage to tackle any reading by also explaining both upright and reversed meanings in a constructive way. His approach features unique spreads and interpretations, and he encourages you to use inner wisdom to start an uplifting dialogue with your deck. This book provides everything you need to confidently read tarot. Includes a foreword by Theresa Reed, author of Tarot: No Questions Asked

"A wise and witty collection of poetry and drama, The Queen of Swords is a magnificent re-creation of an ancient myth. Based on the five-thousand-year-old Sumerian story of the perilous descent of Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, to the underworld to expand her worldly powers, the book retells Inanna's story in a poetic drama and two long poems. The play 'The Queen of Swords' is set in a modern context, an underground lesbian bar where Nothing is the bartender and seven Crow Dykes confound definition. Helen, the modern-day Inanna, a goddess of beauty, life, and light, descends to this underworld bar and confronts the midnight queen of creative violence and transformation, Ereshkigal. The relationship that develops between these two female mythic characters is a powerful metaphor for the struggles that attend all human transformations. The two long poems in the second half of The Queen of Swords are also about descent and struggle. In 'Descent to the Roses of the Family' a contemporary American woman speaks to her brother about their parents, asking him to help her avoid teh same descent to misery that her parents endured--violence, alcoholism, madness. The final poem, 'Talkers in a Dream Doorway,' is a passionate tribute to the powers women have developed and a testimony to the delicate balancing these powers require."--Jacket.

A banished Valkyrie stripped of her place among the gods, Mythics vanishing left and right along with ancient relics, A sword thirsty for blood and drenched in madness, and now the roof has a leak-where's the vodka?A literal man eater, Ghost was born . . . damaged.Where do you go when your own creator discards you?The world is bleak, but Ghost couldn't care less about others woes. She has her own to contend with. A castaway, stripped of her valkyrie title, and enslaved for centuries due to her deformity?how's that for a sob story?Her love life and bank account are equally empty, her best friend is a bloodthirsty sword, and the roof has a leak . . . but Ghost's duties ensure very few days are dull. Doing her master's bidding has some benefits: global travel, meeting interesting people, stealing their priceless artifacts, and doing a little murder if needed. She could be tasked to oversee treasure or execute a magi who foolishly stepped out of line.But the shadows in Ghost's world are shifting. When Mythics disappear under strange circumstances, Ghost finds herself in a lethal game of supernatural politics. The Gods seek ancient relics that could prove the ticket to Ghost's acceptance, but how far will she go to take her place within the pantheon? The stakes are high when one mistake could open a hole into Chaos . . .

Queen of Swords by Katee Robert When the cards tell Ophelia Leoni she's supposed to marry the Prince of Hansarda, the gunrunner grits her teeth and boards the starship that comes for her. It doesn't matter if the ship's commander is the gorgeous stranger she just spent a wild, drunken night with. As a Diviner, she's painfully aware the cards don't lie. Ever. Boone O'Keirna knows Ophelia is trouble the second he sees the way she moves. Not about to let the little hellcat marry his sadistic half-brother, Boone pretends to be the Prince's emissary and kidnaps Ophelia. Too bad they can't be in the same room without him wanting to throw her out an airlock–or into bed. Even as they fight each other–and their explosive attraction–Ophelia and Boone sense something is wrong. Too much is going their way. Soon, they realize while the cards may never lie, the truth is sometimes hidden between them...and the future king of Hansarda is not one to take defeat lying down.

A Beauty. A Beast. A Curse. This is not the story you know. Join author Heather Rose Jones on a new and magical journey into the heart of a familiar fairytale. Meet Alys, eldest daughter of a merchant, a merchant who foolishly plucks a rose from a briar as he flees from the home of a terrifying fay Beast and his seemingly icy sister. Now Alys must pay the price to save his life and allow the Beast, the once handsome Philippe, to pay court to her. But Alys has never fallen in love with anyone; how can she love a Beast? The fairy Peronelle, waiting in the woods to see the culmination of her curse, is sure that she will fail. Yet, if she does, Philippe’s sister Grace and her beloved Eglantine, trapped in an enchanted briar in the garden, will pay a terrible price. Unless Alys can find another way…