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Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Madison Finn and Bingo Brown

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Madison Finn and Bingo Brown are two of the coolest twelve-year-olds around. It’s too bad they exist in different worlds, because they would make one incredible duo . . . or even couple! They both keep detailed diaries of their middle school adventures that revolve around friends, foes, and plenty of crushes. Laura Dower’s series From the Files of Madison Finn and the Bingo Brown Series by Betsy Byars are the perfect ways to celebrate a lovely, crush-worthy holiday. Madison and Bingo are full of heart, so why not share Valentine’s Day with these series stars?

We recommend:

Heart to Heart

Madison navigates a school dance, a secret admirer, and Valentine’s Day in this must-read eleventh installment of From the Files of Madison Finn.

The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown

Get inside Bingo’s head by reading his first journal, complete with musings about his many crushes.

 

And make sure to check out the following titles as well:

 

Boy, Oh Boy!

The second book in the series highlights Madison’s first-ever crush. Can you say “butterflies?

Save the Date

Madison is forced to compete against her crush in the classroom in the seventh book. It’s complicated. 

 

Bingo Brown and the Language of Love

What do you do when your love moves to Oklahoma? Bingo keeps asking questions in book two.

Bingo Brown, Gypsy Lover

In book three, Bingo turns thirteen and faces some big life changes including a long-distance relationship and the arrival of a new baby brother.

Bingo Brown’s Guide to Romance

Bingo has learned a lot about love, but in the fourth and final book in the series, he finds out he’s no expert.


Wednesday Tweetstakes: Eighty Days Yellow

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Enter for a chance to win a copy of Eighty Days Yellow by Vina Jackson as part of our special Valentine's Day Tweetstakes. To learn more about ebook news and deals, follow @OpenRoadMedia.

About the Book:

The international bestseller that takes readers on a daring new adventure in erotic romance

Eighty Days YellowCaught in a frustrating relationship with a man who can’t accept her for who she is, passionate, flame-haired violinist Summer Zahova finds release in her music. She spends her afternoons playing for money in the London Underground, lost in the works of Vivaldi or Mendelssohn. When her violin is damaged beyond repair, Summer receives a surprising proposition from Dominik, a university professor with powerful desires, who has been captivated by Summer ever since he heard her perform. Dominik will replace her priceless violin, but only if she agrees to play for him in a private concert.

Unable to deny the chemistry between them, Dominik and Summer embark on an intense affair full of daring twists and turns, as unpredictable as it is thrilling. For Summer it is a chance to finally embrace her long-denied dark side, but she’ll soon learn that where there’s pleasure there must be pain. Can a relationship born of such all-consuming passion ever really survive?

Learn more on the author's page.


Rules:


THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA EIGHTY DAYS YELLOW TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.


SPONSOR: The “Eighty Days Yellow Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014


HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Eighty Days Yellow Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.


Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.


Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.


ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/12/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.


Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.


ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 12, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 12, 2014.


SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 12, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 12, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.


If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.


PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Eighty Days Yellow by Vina Jackson.


This prize is provided to you by Sponsor.


Approximate retail value of prize: $14.99.


All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.


CONDITIONS


By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.


Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.


Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.


Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, extend or suspend this Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner(s) from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.


ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.


IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SPONSOR’s WEBSITE AND/OR THE SWEEPSTAKES, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS SWEEPSTAKES AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.


Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws, principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.


USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.openroadmedia.com/privacy-policy.aspx By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.


LIST OF WINNERS: To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by March 15, 2014, to: Eighty Days Yellow Tweetstakes, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 345 Hudson St., New York, New York 10014


If you have any problems entering this Sweepstakes or have questions about this Sweepstakes, please e-mail marketing@openroadmedia.com


Science Fiction Wednesday: Science Fiction Authors on Black History Month

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“When there were people of color in these books, they were in the background, or they died quickly, or any number of other stereotypes. For the most part, they just weren’t there. And in Octavia Butler’s works, they not only were there, they were prominent; they were protagonists. The world looked like the world that I actually saw around me,” says N. K. Jemisin, describing sci-fi icon Octavia E. Butler. Watch as Jemisin, Samuel R. Delany, Walter Mosley, and the son of Virginia Hamilton discuss the legacy of powerful African American voices in literature that transcend genres.

 

Octavia E. Butler

Octavia Butler

Octavia E. Butler is one of science fiction’s best-known authors and was a trailblazer for women in the field. She was also the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship, nicknamed the “genius grant.”  She is a recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula Award and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Butler used the hyperbolic reach of speculative fiction to explore modern and ancient social issues including race, sexuality, gender, religion, social progress, and class.

Samuel R. Delany

Samuel Delany

Four-time winner of the Nebula Award and two-time winner of the Hugo, Samuel R. Delany has recently been named the 30th SFWA Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. Delany is an author, a professor, and a literary critic whose work explores mythology, memory, language, sexuality, and perception. His novel Dhalgren has been compared to Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow for its ambition, complexity, and literary importance.

Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley

Well known for his bestselling Easy Rawlins detective series,Walter Mosley has penned over forty books spanning mystery, afrofuturist science fiction, and nonfiction politics. Former president Bill Clinton named Mosley as one of his favorite authors.


Love in Literature

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Complete this sentence: Love is _______________________.

 Patient, kind, all you need, a battlefield—a million different descriptors could fill in that blank! Love is one of the most complex, exciting feelings that exists, and there’s nothing like reading a novel to explore its variations and nuances.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we created a list of ebooks whose characters are in various kinds of relationships. From friendships to unrelenting, passionate affairs, here are some of our favorite books that define love in all of its forms:

Reading about friendships, romances, and true love in books helps you recognize and appreciate all the special people in your own life. Here’s to celebrating each and every kind of love!

Thursday Tweetstakes: Eighty Days Blue

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Enter for a chance to win a copy of Eighty Days Blue by Vina Jackson as part of our special Valentine's Day Tweetstakes. To learn more about ebook news and deals, follow @OpenRoadMedia.

About the Book:

Eighty Days Blue

The addictive and enticing second book in Vina Jackson’s international bestselling romance trilogy

Recently settled in New York, flame-haired musician Summer Zahova is enjoying life as a violinist with a major orchestra. Under the watchful eye of Simón, her striking Venezuelan conductor, both Summer and her career flourish. But a new city, and newfound success, bring fresh temptations, and it isn’t long before Summer is lured back to a dangerous underground world of intrigue and desire that she thought she’d left behind.

Meanwhile, wealthy university professor Dominik, frustrated by his life in London without Summer, is drawn to New York to be with the woman he now knows he cannot live without. But while Dominik believes he can protect Summer from her dark side, he does not anticipate that his own passions could end up being far more destructive.

Learn more on the author's page.


Rules:


THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA EIGHTY DAYS BLUE TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.


SPONSOR: The “Eighty Days Blue Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014


HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Eighty Days Blue Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.


Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.


Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.


ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/13/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.


Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.


ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 13, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 13, 2014.


SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 13, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 17, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.


If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.


PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Eighty Days Blue by Vina Jackson.


This prize is provided to you by Sponsor.


Approximate retail value of prize: $14.99


All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.


CONDITIONS


By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.


Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.


Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.


Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, extend or suspend this Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner(s) from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.


ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.


IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SPONSOR’s WEBSITE AND/OR THE SWEEPSTAKES, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS SWEEPSTAKES AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.


Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws, principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.


USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.openroadmedia.com/privacy-policy.aspx By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.


LIST OF WINNERS: To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by March 15, 2014, to: Eighty Days Blue Tweetstakes, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 345 Hudson St., New York, New York 10014


If you have any problems entering this Sweepstakes or have questions about this Sweepstakes, please e-mail marketing@openroadmedia.com


BODY SLAM: The infographic

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Otto Lidke is trying to start a pro wrestling circuit in Denver when he runs afoul of the Federated Wrestling Organization. When simple shady business escalates into threats on his life, Lidke calls in a favor from an old friend, P.I. Jim Raiford, to dig up some dirt on his competitors. Tag-teaming with his whip-smart daughter Julie, Raiford launches an investigation into the world of small-time wrestling and finds that though the fights may be fixed, the danger is all too real.

Which is the guilty corner? Otto Lidke? Sid Chertok? Doctor Witch? Or is it Death Command? Find out in Body Slam.

Body Slam Infographic

Domestic Friction, Crime Fiction: Dorothy Salisbury Davis

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Dorothy Salisbury DavisDorothy Salisbury Davis is a name that has (undeservedly) slipped from the public eye, but this Grand Master is hailed in mystery circles as a premier writer of domestic suspense. The heyday of this subgenre spanned the post–World War II years through the mid-1970s, when primarily female writers explored the darker side of home life underneath the veneer of the ideal nuclear family. Absent are the trench-coated PIs and tortured ex-cops we expect of crime fiction; instead, Davis handles, with masterful subtlety, the psychology of unremarkable people facing twisted situations. As fellow mystery writer Sara Paretsky put it, Davis “[has] an awareness of how easy it is for ordinary people to do nasty or wicked deeds . . . She lived among bootleggers, immigrants, sharecroppers, and itinerant workers in her early years, and there’s a richness to her understanding of the human condition that is missing from most contemporary crime fiction.”

Many of Davis’s works have gone out of print, but now you can find them as newly released ebooks! Here is a selection of titles from the eight-time Edgar Award nominee, former president of the Mystery Writers of America, and founding member of Sisters in Crime.

The Judas CatThe Judas Cat

The mystery novel that launched Davis’s career, The Judas Cat opens with old codger Andy Mattson dead on his sofa, covered in blood and eyes wide with fear. The most likely suspect is Andy’s cat. But as Chief of Police Waterman digs into the strange death, he finds that beneath Hillside’s sunny surface runs a river of hate and more than a few reasons to commit the crime.

A Town of MasksA Town of Masks

When other young women left Campbell’s Cove to see the world and fall in love, Hannah Blake stayed at home with a bank job and a spot on the library board. Continuously overshadowed, Hannah is growing more and more bitter when something wonderful happens: One of her rivals is strangled to death. Now Hannah can finally shine. But as the townspeople’s suspicions tighten around her, Hannah finds that the spotlight illuminates everything—even that which she wishes to hide.

A Gentle MurdererA Gentle Murderer

Davis’s most popular novel was inspired by a man she saw on the subway who was carrying a hammer as if it were heavier than the world. It’s a hot Saturday night in Manhattan when Father Duffy realizes he is listening to a killer’s confession. The person is distraught and flees before the priest can stop him. Fearing he will kill again, Father Duffy and cerebral NYPD sergeant Ben Goldsmith race against the clock to catch a very clever, highly disturbed, and impossibly sensitivecriminal.

Death of an Old SinnerDeath of an Old Sinner

The first book in the Mrs. Norris Mysteries, Death of an Old Sinner introduces Mrs. Norris, the housekeeper of retired general Ransom Jarvis, whose sordid past dealings are catching up with him. When Ransom is murdered, his son, Jimmie, a gubernatorial candidate for New York, and Mrs. Norris team up with DA investigator Jasper Tully to follow a bizarre web of misdeeds and crimes in which more and more lives seem to be at stake.

One Love, Five Books

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This Valentine’s Day, ally yourself with coming-of-age novels that celebrate young love in all its forms. M. E. Kerr and Tom Lennon, crusaders in LGBT young adult fiction, portray teen romance across decades, continents, and cultures. They explore both gay and straight relationships, as well as the platonic and familial ones that exist alongside them. Kerr and Lennon capture the joy, turmoil, and heartache of youthful lust and affection. Check out our recommendations below and fall for compelling depictions of teen love this Valentine’s Day.

When Love Comes to TownWhen Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon

Neil Byrne struggles with coming out in Dublin, Ireland, in the 1990s. A rugby player with plenty of friends, he navigates when and with whom to share his true self. With the support of his sister, his friend Becky, and some new friends and love interests, he begins the difficult journey of becoming comfortable in his own skin for the first time.

Deliver Us from Evie by M. E. Kerr

Parr Burrman is a teen growing up on a farm in Missouri. He grapples with the discovery of his older sister’s relationship with the wealthy Patsy Duff, the gossip among his peers, and his crush’s homophobic family. Kerr’s novel follows Parr’s path to supporting his sister, including both his shameful and courageous moments. 

M.E. Kerr books

Night Kites by M. E. Kerr

The romantic life of Erick Rudd is tumultuous: He’s dating the perfect girl but is also involved with his best friend’s girlfriend, the gorgeous Nicki Marr. Then, his world is turned upside down when he discovers that his brother is living with AIDS in New York. Erick must cope with Pete’s illness, the reactions of his parents, and his own relationships in Night Kites.

Someone Like Summer by M. E. Kerr

In a resort town in Long Island, Annabel and Esteban find forbidden love during the time of the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. Esteban is an illegal immigrant from Colombia, hired by Annabel’s father. Both families object to the teenagers’ romance as the two test love against class status and prejudice.

“Hello,” I Lied by M. E. Kerr

Lang Penner spends a summer in the Hamptons missing his boyfriend, Alex, and becoming infatuated with a French girl named Huguette. While his mother works for a legendary rock star, Lang discovers new versions of love as he builds on his relationships with those around him.


Friday Tweetstakes: Eighty Days Red

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Enter for a chance to win a copy of Eighty Days Red by Vina Jackson as part of our special Valentine's Day Tweetstakes. To learn more about ebook news and deals, follow @OpenRoadMedia.

About the book:

Eighty Days Red

World-renowned violinist Summer Zahova returns to London—the city where it all began. Free and single in the hedonistic capital, Summer embarks on a series of steamy affairs, embracing exciting new opportunities and traveling to Europe to fulfill her dreams.

When Summer’s priceless violin is stolen, fate brings wealthy and charismatic Dominik back into her life. Neither Summer nor Dominik can deny the heat that still exists between them, but history has left its scars, and both realize that love and passion can’t always go hand in hand. Summer knows that if she plays with fire, she’ll end up getting burned, but then there are some pleasures that are just too hard to deny. . . .

Can Summer and Dominik finally overcome the obstacles that stand between them? And will Summer choose to follow her head or her heart? Find out in the unforgettable conclusion of Vina Jackson’s red-hot romantic trilogy.

Learn more on the author's page.


Rules:

THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA EIGHTY DAYS RED TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.


SPONSOR: The “Eighty Days Red Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014


HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Eighty Days Red Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.


Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.


Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.


ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/14/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.


Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.


ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 14, 2014 and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 14, 2014.


SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 14, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 14, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.


If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.


PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Eighty Days Red by Vina Jackson.


This prize is provided to you by Sponsor.


Approximate retail value of prize: $14.99.


All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.


CONDITIONS


By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.


Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.


Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.


Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, extend or suspend this Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner(s) from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.


ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.


IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SPONSOR’s WEBSITE AND/OR THE SWEEPSTAKES, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS SWEEPSTAKES AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.


Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws, principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.


USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.openroadmedia.com/privacy-policy.aspx By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.


LIST OF WINNERS: To obtain a list of winners, seld a self-addressed, stamped envelope by April 1, 2014 to: Eighty Days Red Tweetstakes, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 345 Hudson St., New York, New York 10014


If you have any problems entering this Sweepstakes or have questions about this Sweepstakes, please e-mail marketing@openroadmedia.com


Blood and Rubles: 4 Crime Novels from Russia

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Russia 

The 2014 Winter Olympics are being held in Sochi! You may not have tickets, but you can still take a trip to Russia with these tales of historical intrigue, high-stakes espionage, and the walking dead for good measure.

The Blind Run by Brian FreemantleThe Blind Run by Brian Freemantle

In The Blind Run, part six of Brian Freemantle’s Charlie Muffin series, Charlie is facing forty long years in jail for treason. Nobody expects KGB agents to stage a prison break. On the other side of the Iron Curtain, Charlie resumes his assignment, only to encounter Natalia Fedova, the KGB interrogator assigned to determine whether his defection is genuine. For anyone else, the risk would be suicidal, but for Charlie, the greatest danger may be falling in love.

Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express by Stuart KaminskyMurder on the Trans-Siberian Express by Stuart M. Kaminsky

In the waning days of the Russian Empire, a secret treaty between the czar and Japan was stolen off the Trans-Siberian Railway. Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express opens more than one hundred years later, when police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov hears of the sale of a mysterious czarist document believed to be the long-lost treaty. Stuart M. Kaminsky details Rostnikov’s exciting chase, from the brave new world of western Russia to the centuries-old landscape of the East. 

The Spy Who Read Latin by Edward D. HochThe Spy Who Read Latin: And Other Stories by Edward D. Hoch

When a missionary on the run from Chinese Communists is shot, Russia enlists C. Jeffery Rand, fixer for the British secret service, to help in the fight against a common enemy. Meeting Rand is his counterpart inside Soviet Russia, but how much can he trust the Soviet agent? In The Spy Who Read Latin, Edward D. Hoch offers two pieces of wisdom: There is no honor among spies, and the safest agent is the one who trusts no one.

Kolchak's Gold by Brian GarfieldKolchak’s Gold by Brian Garfield

Garfield tells the story of Harry Bristow, America’s foremost historian of Russia and a biographer of czarist admiral Aleksandr Kolchak. According to myth, with Soviet victory in sight, Kolchak loaded the entire czarist treasury onto a train, which vanished with the fortune aboard. When Bristow receives a clue of the gold’s whereabouts from a Russian Civil War vet, historical research dictates where to find it. But where gold goes, greed follows—and death is not far behind.

Looking for something other than crime fiction? Check out this collection of Cold War zombie stories.

ZVR Diplomacy

ZVR Diplomacy, edited by Jeff Conner

The zombie apocalypse is a true global conflagration as rabid braineaters battle gleeful warbots in ZVR Diplomacy. Fully illustrated, the Cold War in Hell comes to life (much like the undead) in this collection of original stories set in Russia and the UK, edited by Jeff Conner and created by today’s leading experts in zombie terror and robot rampage.

Snowy Reads for the Winter Olympics

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EBOOKSNeed a great YA or children’s book to dive into between Olympic segments? We’ve got a list full of winning choices! Explore wintry destinations that will make you think of Sochi as you play hockey with the Boxcar kids, dream about skiing with Madison Finn, surround yourself with Caroline B. Cooney’s snowy world, or hit the slopes with the Chalet besties. In our opinion, all of these reads are worthy of the Olympic podium.

 

For Early Readers:

Begin the games with The Boxcar Children Winter Special, which includes The Mystery at Snowflake InnThe Mystery in the Snow, and The Mystery on Blizzard Mountain. Whether Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are playing in the snow, ice skating, or solving a mystery, their winter adventures are wonderfully entertaining. Boxcar fun continues with The Hockey Mystery and The Mystery on the Ice. Join the happy siblings as they meet a professional hockey player and a figure-skating troupe, all the while solving more mysteries. 

For Middle-Grade Readers:

Sometimes the Olympics come with a little disappointment for spectators and athletes alike. Join Madison Finn as she finds the silver lining to altered expectations in Give and Take. What will she do when her holiday plans fall through? Get inspired by Maddie’s Olympic-level spirit as she makes a new friend and becomes a winning volunteer.

For YA Fans:

Feel like you’ve had enough of winter? Christina, the star of Caroline B. Cooney’s novel Snow, sure does. The second book of the supernatural trilogy highlights Christina’s battle against the powerful Shevvingtons and their disturbing mind games. Channel your Olympic nerves as Christina descends into the basement and fights to discover her inner strength.

Looking for drama? Emily Franklin’s Slippery Slopes has you covered. Immerse yourself in friendship, romance, and lots of winter sports with the second installment of the Chalet Girls series. Take a quick holiday from Russia and head west to Europe’s hottest ski resort, Les Trois Alpes.

Celebrating Sidney Poitier

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Poitier

In the 1960s and 1970s, Sidney Poitier became an icon, famous for portraying strong, proud African American characters in a variety of films—an incredible feat, considering the cultural context of the civil rights movement. In 1963, Poitier became the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, awarded for his performance in Lilies of the Field.  

To Sir With LoveA highlight of Poitier’s acting career was his role as Mark Thackeray in To Sir, With Love (1967), based on the eponymous novel by E. R. Braithwaite.To Sir, With Love is a touching story set in the East End of London about the impact of a teacher on his students—and of the students’ unexpected, extraordinary effect on him.

On February 20, 2014, Poitier celebrates his eighty-seventh birthday. In honor of the amazing influence he has had on the world of film, we created a short list of other outstanding performances by subsequent generations of incredible African American actors in roles that uphold Poitier’s legacy:The Color Purple

1. Whoopi Goldberg won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for her performance in the film version of The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Goldberg portrays Celie Johnson, a young, abused woman who writes letters to God describing her difficult journey of self-discovery. Both the novel and the film express an important feminist outlook and reveal the depth of the characters’ suffering.

ali2. Will Smith portrayed Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion and sports legend, in the 2001 film Ali. Smith was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance. The movie explored Ali’s key contributions to the civil rights movement.12 Years a Slave

3. Lupita Nyong’o makes her acting debut as Patsey in the movie 12 Years a Slave. The memoir, written by freed slave Solomon Northup in 1853, inspired the critically acclaimed film, which is nominated for nine Oscars this year, including Best Motion Picture. Even though by 2013, dialogue about race through film had become commonplace, 12 Years a Slave has been deemed especially important for the detail with which it portrays the brutality of slavery.

Check out all of our Black History Month reads here. Happy birthday, Sidney Poitier!

Mysteries for Black History Month

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The 369th 

Men from the 369th Infantry Regiment who won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. Nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters and the Black Rattlers, it was the first African American regiment to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.

Black History Month is a time to reflect on the struggles and celebrate the victories of African Americans throughout US history. Here, we’ve selected five mystery authors whose harrowing stakes, thrilling trails, and masterfully crafted deductions are as much informed by black history as they are expansions upon it. 

When Last Seen AliveIt is October 1995: the Million Man March. Elroy Covington knows he should run from the man who has emerged from his long-forgotten past. He never makes it home. Eight months later, PI Aaron Gunner is in his Los Angeles office when Elroy’s sister finds him through a business card he gave Elroy at the march. Gar Anthony Haywood’s When Last Seen Alive follows Gunner as he warms up Elroy’s frigid trail, uncovering ties to a black militant group only to find that there’s a time for brotherhood and a time to get tough.

Streets on FireCritically acclaimed crime author Thomas H. Cook takes us back in time to Birmingham, Alabama, during the pinnacle of the civil rights movement in Streets of Fire. When a young black girl’s body is found buried in a football field, Detective Ben Wellman becomes determined to understand the story behind the tragedy, even if it means uncovering truths that both the black and white communities would prefer to keep hidden.

Fools Rush InIn Fools Rush In, book seven of Ed Gorman’s Sam McCain Mysteries, PI Sam McCain is hired by a senator to save his campaign from a blackmailer. But the blackmailer is nowhere to be found . . . until McCain discovers him dead in the dirt, with a handsome black corpse beside him. With his small Iowa town on the brink of an all-out race war, McCain searches for the savage killer and learns that perhaps the most dangerous prejudices of all are the ones that stay quiet.

Violent SpringIn 1992, enraged by the acquittal of Rodney King’s brutalizers, people took to the streets of Los Angeles, smashing and looting until South Central looked like Saravejo. Violent Springby Gary Phillips picks up where the riots left off: PI Ivan Monk is watching the groundbreaking ceremony for a new neighborhood shopping center when the mayor’s spade finds the body of a Korean shopkeeper. As he looks into the senseless killing, Monk finds that it wasn’t racial anger that took the man’s life, but old-fashioned, color-blind greed.

Black SamuraiBlack Samurai by Marc Olden. In this pulp fiction classic, Olden kicks off his martial arts series starring Robert Sand, the first black man ever to take the oath of the Japanese samurai. Through eight novels, Sand goes up against all sorts of baddies, chasing terrorists, arms dealers, thieves, and kidnappers around the globe.

Black Samurai was later turned into a 1977 film, starring Jim Kelly, called Black Samurai.

Friday Tweetstakes: Marching to Zion

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Enter for a chance to win a copy of Marching to Zionby Mary Glickman as part of our Friday Tweetstakes. 

To learn more about ebook news and deals, follow @OpenRoadMedia.

About the book:

Marching to ZionMags Preacher, a young black woman with a dream, arrives in St. Louis from the piney woods of her family home in 1916, hoping to learn the beauty trade. She knows nothing about Jews except that they killed the Lord Jesus Christ. Then she begins working for Mr. Fishbein, an Eastern European émigré who fled the pogroms that shattered his life to become the proprietor of Fishbein’s Funeral Home. By the time he saves Mags from certain death during the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, all her perceptions have changed. But Mr. Fishbein’s daughter, the troubled redheaded beauty Minerva, is a different matter. There is something wrong with the girl, something dangerous, something fateful. And it is Magnus Bailey, Mags’s first friend in the city, who learns to what heights and depths the girl’s willful spirit can drive a man.

Marching to Zion is the tragic story of Minerva Fishbein and Magnus Bailey, a charismatic black man and the longtime business partner of Minerva’s father. From the brutal riots of East St. Louis to Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1920s and the Depression, Marching to Zion is a tale of passion, betrayal, and redemption during an era in America when interracial love could not go unpunished. Readers of Mary Glickman’s One More River will celebrate the return of Aurora Mae Stanton, who joins a cast of vibrant new characters in this tense and compelling Southern-Jewish novel that examines the price of love and the interventions of fate.

Learn more on the author's page.

 

 

Rules:

THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA MARCHING TO ZION TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

SPONSOR: The “Marching to Zion Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.

Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.

Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.

ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/21/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.

ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 21, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 21, 2014.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 21, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 24, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.

If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.

PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Marching to Zion by Mary Glickman.

This prize is provided to you by Open Road Media.

Approximate retail value of prize: $16.99.

All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Open Road Media reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

CONDITIONS

By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.

Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.

Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, extend or suspend this Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner(s) from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.

ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SPONSOR’s WEBSITE AND/OR THE SWEEPSTAKES, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS SWEEPSTAKES AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws, principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.openroadmedia.com/privacy-policy.aspx By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.

LIST OF WINNERS: To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by March 15, 2014, to: Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 345 Hudson St., New York, New York 10014

If you have any problems entering this Sweepstakes or have questions about this Sweepstakes, please e-mail marketing@openroadmedia.com

THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA MARCHING TO ZION TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES

 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

 

SPONSOR: The “Marching to Zion Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014

 

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.

 

Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.

 

Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.

 

ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/21/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

 

Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.

 

ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 21, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 21, 2014.

 

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 21, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 24, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.

 

If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.

 

PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Marching to Zion by Mary Glickman.

 

This prize is provided to you by Open Road Media.

 

Approximate retail value of prize: $16.99.

 

All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Open Road Media reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

 

CONDITIONS

 

By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.

 

Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.

 

Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.

 

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, extend or suspend this Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner(s) from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.

 

ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

 

IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SPONSOR’s WEBSITE AND/OR THE SWEEPSTAKES, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS SWEEPSTAKES AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

 

Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws, principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

 

USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.openroadmedia.com/privacy-policy.aspx By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.

 

LIST OF WINNERS: To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by March 15, 2014, to: Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 345 Hudson St., New York, New York 10014

 

If you have any problems entering this Sweepstakes or have questions about this Sweepstakes, please e-mail marketing@openroadmedia.com

 

Winter Reads

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There are two types of people in this world: those who loathe winter and those who love it. The first group wants to run to a Caribbean island at the first sign of a chill. The latter type can’t wait for the first snow, boots, Sochi 2014, and all things that glisten with the promise of frost.

Instead of counting the days until another polar vortex is upon us, dive into our snow files with ebooks that promise to make you grab your thermals and some hot chocolate.

Arctic Dreamsby Barry Lopez

In this award-winning classic, Barry Lopez explores the ways the human imagination engages with a landscape at once barren and beautiful, perilous and alluring, austere yet teeming with vibrant life, and shot through with human history. The Arctic has for centuries been a destination for the most ambitious explorers—a place of dreams, fears, and awe-inspiring spectacle.

Based on Lopez’s years spent traveling the Arctic regions in the company of Eskimo hunting parties and scientific expeditions alike, Arctic Dreams investigates the unique terrain of the human mind, thrown into relief against the vastness of the tundra and the frozen ocean. Eye-opening and profoundly moving, it is a magnificent appreciation of how wilderness challenges and inspires us.

Wolverine Cirque by Joseph Olshan                         

Sam and Mike, top-notch skiers, hike miles off piste to face a harrowing headwall of snow, a sheer descent that challenges their skill, their endurance, and ultimately, their ability to survive.

At the center of the story is Sam’s painful and poignant reminiscence of a complicated and doomed love affair with Luc, a Division I soccer player who struggles with his identity and the surprising power of desire finally unleashed. As both men grapple with the intensity of their affection for one another, Sam is forced to reckon that his attempt to master Wolverine Cirque is really a futile effort to stay the arguably more difficult course of his declining youth.

The Icerigger Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster

Icy, desolate, and sharply carved by hurricane-force winds, Tran-ky-ky is a terrible place to crash-land. But a botched kidnapping aboard the interstellar transport Antares sends Ethan Frome Fortune and a handful of his fellow travelers tumbling toward the stormy planet. Stranded and cut off from civilization, the castaways struggle to survive.

At Winter’s Endby Robert Silverberg                             

The time of falling death stars ushered in the Long Winter—eons of cold that caused plants and animals to vanish from Earth and drove people to take refuge in underground cocoons. Human ingenuity had never faced a greater challenge. For seven hundred thousand years, generation after generation was born and died below the Earth’s surface. But now, one small tribe is sensing change. Chieftain Koshmar is sure that the New Springtime is near, so she leads her people above ground to explore the new world that awaits. The unfamiliar Earth, still a frozen shell of its former self, will test their mettle in every way, leading the people of the tribe to the brink of their destiny—or to their doom.

The Dead of Winterby Michael Allegretto                         

Joe Bellano never hurt nobody. A gentle barber who takes bets on the side, he’s muddling through life when his world comes crashing down around him. First he’s arrested by an overzealous police force hoping for dirt on the local mob. Released after convincing the police that he’s strictly small time, Bellano is trying to get back to normal when his teenage daughter vanishes.

 

 


Brit Lit: Upstairs

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 Upstairs

The dowager countess asks, “What is a weekend?” The upstairs life of never-ending leisure offers ample time for reading. Dive into one of these titles and you can imagine that you, too, are the inheritor of a grand estate and own a million fancy hats.

 Brit Lit Upstairs

Looking for more drama? Head downstairs

Ready for battle? Dive into the trenches

Go back to Brit Lit Favourites

Brit Lit: Downstairs

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Downstairs

Waiting at the employers’ beck and call is no easy take for the staff of Downton Abbey. On top of their duties, the downstairs staff deals with as much drama as the upstairs elite. Go ahead; take a break from work and revel in the drama.

Brit Lit Downstairs
 

Head upstairs to join the elite.

Prepare for battle: dive into the trenches.

Go back to Brit Lit Favourites.

Brit Lit: The Trenches

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Trenches

From political uprisings to World Wars, England is no stranger to falling into the trenches for cover. Grab your helmet, find your courage, and begin one of these wartime novels:

Brit Lit Trenches

Ready for some rest and relaxation? Head upstairs.

Travel downstairs to catch up on the latest gossip.

Go back to Brit Lit Favourites

Brit Lit Favourites

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As the doors close on yet another all-too-brief season of Downton Abbey, we here at Open Road are pleased to offer you the perfect antidote to your withdrawal: a collection of our favourite brit lit ebooks by some of the finest authors from across the pond.

Our collection features beloved British classics such as Dorothy L. Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, Mary Renault’s epic historical fiction, Barbara Pym’s witty social commentary, and much, much more. Moreover, each author highlighted just happens to be a true female literary pioneer—perfect timing to start the celebration of Women’s History Month in March.

Using Downton Abbey as our guide, we’ve separated these reads into three categories: upstairs, downstairs, and the trenches. So whether you’re looking to sip tea with the lords and ladies, hear the latest gossip from the maids, or join the troops, we have just the ebook for you.

UPSTAIRS

Upstairs

DOWNSTAIRS

Downstairs

TRENCHES

 Trenches

Military Monday: The Ballad of Ira Hayes

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On February 23, 1945, five United States Marines and a United States Navy Corpsman raised the Stars and Stripes atop Mount Suribachi, during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the event has become one of the most enduring war images in history. Three of the marines pictured were killed in the following days, but the rest returned to the US as celebrities. One of those marines was Ira Hayes, and to mark the anniversary Doug Bradley, whose book DEROS Vietnam is published by Open Road’s publishing partner Warriors Publishing Group, looks at Ira Hayes’s fate.



I should have realized it was the spirit of World War II hero Ira Hayes that was whispering to me every time I drove by his home near Phoenix, Arizona. I've spent much of the winter out here and have driven back and forth between Phoenix and Green Valley several times, traversing the Gila River Reservation where Hayes was born and raised.

And where he died in 1954 at the ripe old age of 32.

On February 19, 1945, Hayes (nicknamed Chief Falling Cloud because he was Indian and a paratrooper) and a few hundred of his fellow Marines landed on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Four days later, he and five others raised the American flag over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, an activity captured by Joe Rosenthal of the AP in one of the most iconic photographs ever shot. It became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication and came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war -- and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time.

Regrettably, only Hayes and two others in that famous photo got out of World War II alive, and their lives, especially Ira’s, were never ever the same after that famous moment

But the voice that whispers to me from the Gila River Indian reservation doesn’t speak of glory or honor or war or heroism. Nor does it speak of the years of injustice Hayes and his fellow Indians were subjected to. The voice, Ira Hayes’s voice, tells of survivor guilt and PTSD and the long road home from war and killing. And it reminds me that some of us former soldiers, like Ira Hayes, never do make it back, even after we physically return to our homes and communities.

Unlike other vets plagued by similar tribulations, Ira Hayes had to deal with his demons out in the open where everyone could see. He became an instant celebrity and was everywhere and anywhere the U. S. government wanted him to be -- fundraisers, flag wavers, war bond sales, dedications, even Hollywood movies. The reality was that he hated every minute in the spotlight. In 1954, just before he died, Hayes was feted at the dedication ceremony of the Marine Corps War Memorial where he was lauded by President Dwight Eisenhower as a “national hero.” Later, a reporter approached Hayes and asked him, “How do you like the pomp and circumstance?” Hayes hung his head and said, “I don't.”

In order to cope with the limelight and the guilt and his PTSD, Ira Hayes turned to alcohol. He was arrested 52 times for public drunkenness, admitting after one such arrest that “I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. They were better men than me and they're not coming back. Much less back to the White House like me.” According to the Pinal County coroner alcohol contributed to the death of Ira Hayes in early 1955, at the age of 32. There are no iconic photographs to capture his sad, untimely death.

But there is a song, one that was written by Peter La Farge and made popular by the likes of Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. My favorite is the version by Johnny Cash, both because of the ferocity and anger Cash brings to the lyrics 

Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

And because of a story Cash tells in his autobiography, Ring of Fire, about a night in 1968 when he sang that song to thousands of U. S. soldiers in Vietnam on the very base where I would be stationed a few years later. “One night at Long Binh,” writes Cash, “a Pima Indian boy--crying, and with a beer in his hand--came up to the stage while I was singing ‘The Ballad of Ira Hayes,’ which is about the Pima Indian Marine who helped raise our flag at Iwo Jima. At the end of the song, that young Indian asked me to take a drink of his beer, and with the tears running off his chin, he said, &lsquolI may die tomorrow, but I want you to know that I ain't never been so alive as I am tonight.’”

Native Americans like that young Marine and Ira Hayes and others have fought valiantly in all of America's wars. Vietnam was no exception. Who knows if the Pima Marine who spoke with Johnny Cash that night in Vietnam ever made it home? Or if he came back haunted by the same demons that tormented Ira Hayes? We do know that Ira Hayes was buried in Section 34, Grave 479A at Arlington National Cemetery on February 2, 1955.

But for me Ira Hayes is still somewhere on that Gila River Reservation. Or maybe atop Hayes Peak, the northernmost mountain in the Sierra Estrella range near Phoenix. Arizona, that's been named after him. Or repeating the verses in Peter La Farge’s ballad.

He died drunk early one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes

“The way I feel about it,” lamented Johnny Cash, “is the only good thing that ever came from a war is a song and that's a hell of a way to have to get your songs.”

On that Ira Hayes would agree.

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