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Merry-Go-Round the Murder Plot: St-Cyr and Kohler Investigate a Carnival-Turned-POW Camp

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Scene: Alsace, France. It is February, 1943, and the country is virtually unrecognizable under Nazi occupation. Speaking French is all it takes to lose your freedom, and many have already paid that price.

Open on a group of soldiers and résistants, manufacturing textiles in a POW camp on the grounds of a deserted carnival. A strange conspiracy is underfoot. Two prisoners of this garish, decrepit circus have killed themselves, and the jailers must at least make a show of finding out why.

Enter Hermann Kohler and Jean-Louis St-Cyr. During the Great War, the two fought in Alsace on opposite sides of the barbed wire. Now, two decades later, they return as partners: a Gestapo officer and a French cop investigating everyday crimes in a world gone mad with war. St-Cyr and Kohler have been summoned to the carnival grounds to unearth some answers, but they may end up stoking the fires of battle, smoldering still in the war’s abandoned trenches.

Carnivalis the latest installment of author J. Robert Janes’s long-running St-Cyr and Kohler Mysteries, for which he is best known. The series has been praised by the Wall Street Journal, among others, for its historical accuracy—the Western Society for French History has even used Janes’s writings to study the convergence of fiction and history. This immersive, meticulously researched novel is a break from your standard police procedural. Step into war-torn France with St-Cyr and Kohler—because there’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of the front lines.


Military Monday: Memorial Day

Happy 80th Birthday, Harlan Ellison!

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Harlan Ellison, hailed by the Washington Post as “one of the great living American short story writers,” celebrates his 80th birthday on May 27.

Ever since he entered the scene, Ellison has been one of speculative fiction’s most dynamic figures. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Alabama. He sued ABC-TV and Paramount Pictures for $337,000 and won. He has assaulted a TV executive, mailed a dead gopher to a publishing house comptroller, run with a Brooklyn youth gang, and collected anecdotes from an absurd number of famous people (like that time Frank Sinatra insulted Ellison’s boots). His famous personality has added to his legend. But for any accomplishment you can attribute to Ellison, the most remarkable to beat is the monument that is his writing.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Ellison has won more awards for his work than any other living fantasist. Let’s start with the Hugo Awards, of which he's won a whopping 8.5 (the 0.5 was a shared award for the screenplay of A Boy and His Dog, which Ellison counts as “half a Hugo”). Nebula Awards? Four. Bram Stokers? Five. Two Edgar Awards, two World Fantasy Awards, the Silver Pen for Journalism from P.E.N., and the list goes on.

Ellison is not only an incredibly gifted writer but a prolific one as well. His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. Among his most recognized works, translated into more than 40 languages and millions of copies in print, are Deathbird Stories, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Love Ain’t Nothing But Sex Misspelled, and Shatterday.

In mainstream media, Ellison is well-known for his contributions to science fiction television. He wrote the screenplay for the Star Trek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” which is widely held to be the best of the 79 episodes in the series. However, this designation is surrounded by controversy, since Ellison considered the aired episode an “eviscerated” version of the original teleplay, which can be found here. Harlan Ellison also worked with several other iconic shows, including The Twilight Zone, Babylon 5, and The Outer Limits.

For a man with a legion of achievements both in the genre and out, this post is merely a short collection of the highlights. But for an even more truncated version, we’ll let the author speak for himself. From Ellison’s website:

A Briefer Biography of Harlan Ellison
by Harlan Ellison, from the Afterword to The Essential Ellison:

For a brief time I was here; and for a brief time I mattered.

Open Road Media is proud to be publishing so many of Ellison’s titles in ebook and print forms, and to be bringing the works of an incredible voice in science fiction to readers new and old.

                                       Here's to a happy birthday, Harlan!

                                       

The #BEA14 Sweepstakes

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THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA #BEA14 SWEEPSTAKES

OFFICIAL RULES 

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

 

SPONSOR: The “#BEA14 Sweepstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. 

 

HOW TO ENTER: Visit the Open Road Media booth at Book Expo America (booth # 1664) and have your photo taken. Share your photo on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with the hashtag #BEA14 and tag @OpenRoadMedia. The specified hashtag and handle (“@OpenRoadMedia”) must be included to qualify. You can also enter by visiting the Open Road Media booth at Book Expo America (booth # 1664), having your photo taken, and tagging yourself in your photo in Open Road Media’s #BEA14 Facebook Photo Album. 

Limit one (1) entry per person / social media account. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.  All entries become the sole and exclusive property of the Sponsor and receipt of entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, stolen, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, misdirected, technically corrupted or garbled entries, which will be disqualified, or for problems of any kind whether mechanical, human or electronic.  Only fully completed entry forms are eligible. Proof of submission 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 5/29/2014. 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, spouse) 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 Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter account indicated by the entrant’s email address. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) responsible for assigning email addresses or the domain associated with the submitted email address. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry.  

 

ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on May 29, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on June 1, 2014. 

 

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries received on or about June 2, 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 winners will be notified by Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter on or about December 15th , 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. 

 

PRIZES: Three (3) winners will receive 12 ebooks of their choice from Open Road Media. Winners will receive redemption codes via email for the 12 ebooks that they select.

This prize is provided to you by Sponsor. 

Approximate retail value of prize: $160. 

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 December 15, 2014 to: #BEA14 Sweepstakes, 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

Sopa de pollo… más de 20 años renovando tu espíritu

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Una guía espiritual, una puerta a la esperanza, una mirada renovada a las cosas sencillas, un sendero que conduce al amor a los demás. Todo esto es la serie de libros inspiracionales “Sopa de pollo”.

Jack Canfield y Mark Victor Hansen empezaron a publicar esta serie de libros en lengua inglesa en 1993, con el nombre “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. A día de hoy, se ha convertido en un gran fenómeno internacional con más de 100 millones de ejemplares vendidos sólo en los Estados Unidos y en Canadá, y con traducciones a 34 idiomas. En 2007, el periódico USA Today determinó que “Sopa de pollo para el alma” era uno de los cinco libros más memorables publicados en último cuarto de siglo.

Cada uno de los libros recoge historias verdaderas, capaces de inspirar el alma de varios lectores: los adolescentes, las madres, los padres, los trabajadores, los amantes de los caballos…. ¡Y cambiar sus vidas!

Aquí tenéis una selección de los nuevos títulos que ya están disponibles en ebook y en español. ¿Te atreves a cambiar tu vida? Reconfórtate con un poco de sopa… ¡y renueva tu espíritu!

Para más información, visita: http://www.openroadmedia.com/search/?q=sopa&filter=Ebooks&pageSize=8

A Literary Tour Through the Deep South

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With summer fast approaching, we’re more than ready to leave that everlasting winter behind and relax in the warmth. Sitting on the front porch with a glass of ice-cold sweet tea sounds like the perfect way to welcome the sunny season, but it’s not always an option. Luckily, you can travel to the South and get the feeling of easy living with these great reads.

 

Deep Summer by Gwen BristowOften compared to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, Gwen Bristow’s Plantation Trilogy follows generations of a powerful Louisiana plantation family. The first novel, Deep Summer, takes place after the French and Indian War, as the young couple Philip Larne and Judith Sheramy set about to create the greatest planation in the untouched fields of Louisiana. As a newcomer to the territory, Judith’s introduction to her first southern summer is at once wondrous and torturous as she navigates her new lifestyle, marriage, and motherhood—all against a backdrop of a burgeoning United States.

 

Pat Conroy’s memoir The Water Is Wide explores Yamacraw, a small island off the coast of South Carolina. The vivid imagery of the island is juxtaposed with the difficulties Conroy faces educating children who have been trapped by poverty and isolation. Because Yamacraw remained untouched by industrialization, the environment continues to be a beautiful treasure. This is a story of redemption, not only for a teacher and his students, but also for the island, which becomes a character itself, as it struggles to enter the modern age despite its dismissal from the state it belongs to.

 

Although Walker Percy preferred not to be classified as a southern writer, his work has always been reflective of the South he knew and loved so well. In The Last Gentleman, Will Barrett is a southern transplant living an unsatisfied life in New York City. When he is given the opportunity to return to the Mississippi Delta to care for the Vaught family’s son Jamie, he readily agrees. Along with philosophical musings on Barrett’s personal demons and burgeoning love for Jamie’s sister Kitty, Percy shares vivid descriptions of the South. From the sharp imagery illustrating the environment to the details about southern culture, Percy’s writing intricately depicts what it’s like to be raised in the region.

 

Edisto Revisited by Padgett PowellEdisto Revisited, Padgett Powell’s follow-up to his groundbreaking novel Edisto, is a literary grand tour of the South. Simons Manigault graduates from Clemson University and, not yet ready to embrace adulthood, he decides to go on a road trip. Desperate to find more meaning in his life, he tries living in Texas and Louisiana. Padgett’s novel takes us along for an adventure through the South, but a spiritual journey as well. As Simons continues his travels, he realizes running away from his problems will not necessarily lead to a resolution.

 

We hope you enjoyed this trip through the South. Check out the authors’ pages to find more novels that exhibit the region’s beauty and culture. 



June Ebooks: $1.99 Sale

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Where will you be reading this summer? Whether it's by the pool, in the park, or on the porch, one of these five ebooks will make for perfect company. Download a mystery, novel, or cookbook for $1.99 from participating retailers throughout the month of June. Click on each cover to learn more! 

Unnatural Death

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers="unnatural>

While suffering from cancer, Agatha Dawson accuses lawyers, nurses, and doctors of trying to kill her and snatch her fortune. The town physician gives her six months to live. Three days later, she is dead. It is up to dashing gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey to investigate. Buy Unnatural Death from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo, or Google Play.

  

 

 

One Last Dance

One Last Danceby Eileen Goudge

When three girls return home for their parents' 40th wedding anniversary, they hardly expect to be confronted with murder. Their father is dead, and their mother was found with the smoking gun. As she goes on trial the three sisters struggle to solve the mystery of why their mother, a seemingly devoted wife, would murder their father in cold blood. Buy One Last Dance from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, or Kobo.

 

 

The Return of Little Big Man

The Return of Little Big Manby Thomas Berger

Jack Crabb is now 112 years old and claims to have witnessed most of the great historical events of the western frontier, from the shoot-out at the OK Corral to Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley’s tour with the international Wild West show. The Old West comes alive in this sidesplitting novel of surprising emotional depth. Buy The Return of Little Big Man from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Google Play, or Kobo.

 

 

LancelotLancelotby Walker Percy

Fed up with the excesses of the 1970s, Lancelot Andrews Lamar, a liberal lawyer and distinguished member of the New Orleans gentry, is determined to stop the modern world’s ethical collapse. His quest begins with his wife—an actress who he suspects has been cheating on him for years. Mesmerizing and unforgettable, Lancelot is a masterful story of one man’s collision with the follies of modern culture, and a thought-provoking look at the nature of good and evil. Buy Lancelot from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, or Barnesandnoble.com. 

 

Canal House Cooking

Canal House Cooking Volume Nº 7: La Dolce Vitaby Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton

Italy is the backdrop for this volume by the Canal House cooks. Authors Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton travel to the famously food-centric country in search of the best homemade meals. The recipes within are both delicious and easy to do. Buy Canal House Cooking Volume Nº 7 from Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or Kobo.

 

Book Club Guide and Recommendations Series: May Sale

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Best Short Story Picks for Book Club Discussions

Welcome to our new series on book clubs. At the beginning of every month (and possibly more often), we’ll present top recommendations for your club, as well as tips on how to shape your discussion and fun extra stuff to keep the conversation going—like our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, for starters! Many of the staff here belong to our own book clubs, and Open Road even has its own employee reading group. We love nothing more than book talk. So tune in, and read on!

Many book clubs choose novels for their discussions, but hectic schedules often call for something that requires less reading time. So we turned to short stories for our first recommendations. We love short stories because, like poems and songs, a great amount of meaning can be found in these small packages, and it’s sometimes easier to see the author’s intent and the overall themes. The best stories will let you get carried away in discussion. For busy readers, focus on just a few representative works from the book. Pick three stories, and spend a little time talking about each one and how they relate. Did the stories have the same imagery weaving through them? Was the tone similar, or did the voice change completely from one story to the next? In Carol Shields’s collection The Orange Fish, the motif of the color orange is evident throughout. But dig deeper, and you’ll notice that the theme of survival shows up again and again.

Here are ten of our best short story collections for book club discussions, all value-priced this month. See how the nimble-ness of reading short stories breathes some new life into your book club!

Lone Ranger and Tonto

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

You may know Sherman Alexie for his National Book Award–winning children’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, or for his incredible adult fiction. If you haven’t read his short stories yet, you’re in for a treat. The twenty-four linked tales in Alexie’s debut collection paint an unforgettable portrait of life on and around the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Selected Stories

Selected Stories by Andre Dubus

This book is widely regarded as one of the strongest collections by one of the best American short story writers of the twentieth century. In Selected Stories, Dubus’s characters are depicted in all their imperfection, but with the author’s requisite tenderness and compassion. After all, they are human just as we are human—and their fates are not so unlike our own.

In Love & Trouble

In Love & Trouble by Alice Walker

From the iconic author of The Color Purple come these unforgettable stories of women traveling with the weight of broken dreams, with doubt and regret, with memories of lost loves, and with lovers who have their own hard pasts. From the South and the North, rich and poor, the characters that inhabit Alice Walker’s stories are all seeking a measure of self-fulfillment.

A Model World

A Model World by Michael Chabon

This dazzling story collection from Pulitzer Prize–winning author Michael Chabon reveals lives anchored in fantasy but disrupted by surprising realities, where characters hold tight to private dreams even as their closest relationships crumble.



Short Stories

Short Stories by Irwin Shaw

Among these sixty-three stories are iconic works such as “The Eighty-Yard Run,” a tale of an American dream crippled on Black Monday, and “Main Currents in American Thought,” in which a hack radio copywriter is tormented by the glitz of show business.



Unclean Jobs

Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls by Alissa Nutting

We love the title of this collection and you’ll love Nutting’s darkly hilarious debut collection, featuring misfit women and girls in every stratum of society, who are investigated through the lens of various ill-fated jobs.



First Love and Other Sorrows

First Love and Other Sorrows by Harold Brodkey

Set in the 1950s, Harold Brodkey’s collection centers on a Jewish family that has recently lost its patriarch. Through the eyes of a son, a sister, and a mother—each one struggling to find a foothold in both family and society—these stories explore class prejudice, obsessive love, and the tragic foibles and emotional truths of being human.


Orange Fish

The Orange Fish by Carol Shields

Readers of The Stone Diaries will enjoy these twelve stories by Carol Shields, which are infused with passion, longing, regret, and transformation. Like the ageless orange fish of the title story, each tale is filled with the wonder and magic of everyday life.



Stealing the Fire

Stealing the Fire by Jane Ciabattari

These stories explore the aftershocks of life changes—the loss of a father, a husband, an unborn child, an all-consuming job—and the illuminations that make hope possible. Set in Central America, Montreal, New York, California, and Vancouver, these haunting stories throb with the joys and pains of real life.


Collected Stories

The Collected Stories of Hortense Calisher

The short pieces in this collection chart the author’s best-loved themes of mindful consciousness and social worlds, including the chilling, Jamesian “The Scream on Fifty-Seventh Street,” in which a New York widow hears a scream late one night, and the nearly novella-length “The Summer Rebellion.”



Mouthwatering Summer Tomato Recipes

Cookbooks on Sale: Celebrate Summer's Bounty!

Four Fantastic Books for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

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This Friday marks the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, when Allied troops landed on the Normandy beaches with the aim of liberating Europe. The largest seaborne invasion in history, D-Day was a pivotal moment of World War 2. Our military publishing partners Casemate Publishers and Warriors Publishing Group offer an in-depth look at the events of June 6, 1944 through these four fantastic books, covering Operation Neptune from an array of angles.

D-Day with the Screaming Eagles

An account of the airborne actions as described by the men themselves. The viewpoints range from division command personnel to regimental, battalion, company, and battery commanders, to chaplains, surgeons, enlisted medics, platoon sergeants, squad leaders, and of course the troopers themselves.




Return to D-Day: 35 Men, 70 Landings at Normandy
The stories of 35 men who landed on the Normandy beaches during D-Day, accompanied by John Riedy’s striking photographs that capture the raw emotions of their return to a pivotal battlefield of World War II in Europe. This ebook was created in partnership with The Greatest Generation Foundation, which takes veterans back to their battlefields.


If Chaos Reigns: The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944

Author Flint Whitlock has put together a unique package—the first history of the assault that concentrates exclusively on the activities of the American, British, and Canadian airborne forces that descended upon Normandy in the dark, pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944. Landing into the midst of the unknown, the airborne troops found themselves fighting for their lives on every side in the very jaws of the German defenses, while striving to seize their own key objectives in advance of their seaborne comrades to come. Whitlock details the formation, recruitment, training, and deployment of the Allies’ parachute and glider troops.


Second Front: The Allied Invasion of France, 1942-43, An Alternative History

A little different to the other titles, this novel, a fascinating alternative history, comes close to informing us exactly what might have happened had D-Day in Europe come as early as some had wished. 

Book Club Guide and Recommendations Series: June Sale

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Best Picks for Book Club Discussions During Gay Pride Month

Welcome to our new series on book clubs! At the beginning of every month, we’ll present our top recommendations for your club, as well as tips on how to shape your discussion and fun extra stuff to keep the conversation going. Many of us here belong to our own book clubs, and Open Road even has its own employee reading group. We love nothing more than book talk. So tune in, and read on!

Does your book club take into account news events, holidays, or time of year when selecting your next pick? It can be tremendously satisfying—both during the reading experience and during your club's discussion—to incorporate timely picks into your reading schedule. This allows you to bring outside news into the conversation, and relate the fictional (or real) world of your book to the one you see in your own life.

June is Gay Pride Month, and we've compiled a list of top fiction and nonfiction reads around this theme—offered at a deep discount for a limited time. All of these books are excellent picks for any time of year, and their themes brush on issues relevant to all readers: identity, morality, social justice, and self-acceptance. Browse all of the $2.99 ebooks here, and be sure to check out some of our picks for your club, below:

Is your book club interested in discussing family life and relationships?

Consenting Adultby Laura Z. Hobson: Same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states in 2014, but in the 1960s, Hobson's tale of a mother struggling to understand and accept her son's homosexuality was hailed as a "milestone in the history of social attitudes" by the New York Times.

Is your book club interested in fiction inspired by real life?

The Drowning of Stephan Jonesby Bette Greene: Based on true events, this novel tells the harrowing story of one small town’s brush with homophobia. It’s a profoundly moving book that’s been prompting conversations about bullying, hate crimes, groupthink, and societal changes since it was written more than 20 years ago.

Is your book club interested in memoirs and stories of personal discovery?

Becoming a Manby Paul Monette: This National Book Award–winning memoir has been hailed as a classic coming-out story. Monette grew up all-American, Catholic, overachieving . . . and closeted. As a child of the 1950s, a time when a kid suspected of being a “homo” would routinely be beaten up, Monette kept his secret throughout his adolescence. The story of his journey to adulthood and to self-acceptance with grace and honesty, this intimate portrait of a young man’s struggle with his own desires is witty, humorous, and deeply felt.

Is your book club interested in novels focusing on a woman's perspective?

Desert of the Heartby Jane Rule: Set in the 1950s and called “a landmark work of lesbian fiction” by the New York Times, Rule’s first novel—now a classic of gay and lesbian literature—established her as a foremost writer of the vagaries and yearnings of the female heart. This is a novel that dares to ask whether love between two women can last. (It also has one of our favorite opening lines: "Conventions, like clichés, have a way of surviving their own usefulness. They are then excused or defended as the idioms of living.")

Is your book club interested in British literature and historical fiction?

The Charioteerby Mary Renault: This novel has been called one of the foundation stones of gay literary fiction, ranking alongside James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar. Set in World War II England, Renault's historical fiction offers a love triangle between a wounded soldier torn between his love for a younger conscientious objector and an older, experienced schoolmate.

Browse the rest of our $2.99 ebooks here!


Start Your Summer Reading from $1.99

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First Novels of Great Series on Sale in June

Summer months mean longer days and more opportunities to relax with a good book.

Get your vacation reading ready to go with one of these addictive fiction series. Whether you love historical fiction, literary classics, or westerns, we've selected a variety from which to choose.

The bonus? They are available for only $1.99 and up for a limited time. So, pick your series, reserve your lounge chair by the pool, and start reading!

If you love a good Southern read, try these:

North and South: The first volume of John Jakes’s acclaimed and sweeping saga about a friendship threatened by the divisions of the Civil War.

Deep Summer: A memorable novel of the late-18th-century pioneers who settled the Louisiana wilderness, establishing a civilization of charm, luxury, and tragic injustice.

Visit foreign lands and bygone eras:

The Physician: “An adventurous and inspiring tale of a quest for medical knowledge pursued in a violent world full of superstition and prejudice.” —Library Journal

Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree: A novel of the deeply rooted clash between Islam and the West.

Genesis: Eduardo Galeano’s monumental three-volume retelling of the history of the New World begins with Genesis, a vast chain of legends sweeping from the birth of creation to the era of savage colonialism.

Justine: The celebrated story of an all-consuming love transcending time and place set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years between World Wars I and II.

Mother Earth Father Sky: A young woman fights for survival amid the brutality of the last Ice Age—it’s prehistoric girl power at its best.

Read some of our best military fiction series:

From Here to Eternity: James Jones’s epic story of army life in the calm before Pearl Harbor—now with previously censored scenes and dialogue restored.

Laos File: The death of a salty old senior noncommissioned officer who ran special operations in Vietnam leads Marine Gunner Shake Davis on a shocking and potentially lethal quest to find out what happened to hundreds of American POWs.

Ride off into the sunset with a great western:

Coyote Wind: A decades-old plane crash leads cattle inspector  Gabriel Du Pré to possible murder, and to a landowner with dark secrets. The crime was hidden long ago, but in the Montana badlands, nothing stays buried forever.

Guns of Liberty: As a revolution nears, strapping young adventurer Daniel McQueen must choose to fight for his family or a new nation.

Check out all the series on sale, here!

DIY These Five Dr. Who Costumes from Stuff Around Your House

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Science-Fiction-Banner Doctor-Who-Costumes

In honor of our love of all things Dr. Who, here is a no-budget cosplay guide honoring  the beloved science fiction icon.  All the components of the cosplay above are things you could feasibly find lying around the house. You’ll be time leaping in no time!

Crossing Literary Borders

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As Open Road continues to grow, so does our ability to bring a variety of authors to larger audiences. We are proud to publish these writers, whose work richly details the experiences of different cultures around the world. We hope that they will open the door to a diverse array of viewpoints from across the globe and create connections that promote international conversation.

 

Manju Kapur is a well-known Indian author whose career began with her debut novel, Difficult Daughters, which examines the role of women over three generations in India.  Set against the events that would eventually lead to the creation of Pakistan in the 1940s, the novel deals with one woman’s choice and the consequences it has on her past and future. When the well-educated Virmati falls in love with a married professor, Harish, her decision to become his second wife will forever change her relationship with her mother, Kasturi, and her future daughter, Ida. Kapur went on to become a bestselling novelist. She lives and continues to write in New Delhi, India.

 

Luis J. Rodríguez was born in Texas, but his documentation of urban and Mexican life has made him one of the most prominent Chicano literary voices in the United States. His poetry collection The Concrete River traces the experience of Mexicans from Los Angeles to Chicago. In his writing, Rodríguez aims to shed light on the realities that are overlooked and ignored by America’s oversaturated tabloid media. His memoir Always Running details how these struggles can lead to a life wrought with violence, especially within the street gangs of Los Angeles.

 

The Islam Quintet by Tariq AliKnown mostly for his political and journalism career, Tariq Ali was born in Lahore, Pakistan. As a teen, he took part in opposing the military dictatorship of Pakistan, until his parents eventually sent him to study in England for his own safety. He went on to develop a successful career as a journalist and has written a number of books. His saga The Islam Quintet traces the evolution of the Muslim community from medieval Islamic Spain to 21st century London and Lahore. Not only does Ali examine the lengthy conflict between Islam and the West, but he also gives voice to the personal stories of those who live within that conflict through heartrending fictional narratives.

 

As a daughter and wife of missionaries, Pearl S. Buck spent much of her life in China. Her love for the country and compassion for the suffering of the Chinese people led her to write her first book, The Good Earth. Part of a trilogy, the novel details a farmer’s life and the evolution of his family in a Chinese village before World War I. The book was met with great success—it won the Nobel Prize for Literature and helped shape a more favorable view of China and its people for the American public. Buck continued to write about her experiences with Asia and created a legacy as an advocate for women, Asian cultures, and mixed-race adoption.

 

We hope that through the publication of these authors, it will continue to open doors to a variety of viewpoints from across the globe and create connections that promote international conversation.

 

 

 

 



Southern Gothic: A Recipe for Intriguing Literature

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Do you remember the scene in To Kill A Mockingbird where the rabid dog lumbers down the street, sending everyone to hide in the shadows? That scene (in both the book and the film) stands out for me for its underlying tone of sinister-ness, and its oddball characters. And what about the off-kilter people of Flannery O’Connor’s fiction, and the bizarre goings-on in the film Cape Fear? These are all strong examples of Southern Gothic—a genre that appears in literature, fine art, and film. (It’s even in music! Try some Drive-By Truckers.)

Southern Gothic has been described as a mix of small-town life, dark humor, and tragic romance. Sounds like a strong cocktail, doesn’t it? Here are some of our favorite novels and short stories—mix up a “Dark and Stormy” and read on . . .

Wittgenstein’s Lolita and The Iceman: William Gay maps out a landscape of love and death, exploring the terrain where people’s love of life interacts with their fear of the dark unknown.

Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual: Brad Barkley tells of a gutsy woman’s attempts to overcome grief and move on while restoring a 1976 Corvette, and to fit into a close-knit community in a small town in West Virginia.

Town Smokes: Pinckney Benedict’s world of Town Smokes is in West Virginia, but the stories are universal.

I Cannot Get You Close Enough: Ellen Gilchrist’s trio of novellas features Rhoda Manning, a fiery southern heroine. Home for the summer in Alabama, Rhoda pushes back against the life her rich daddy envisions for her.

What begins with bird: Noy Holland’s collection of short fiction explores familial love, cycles of birth and dying, a mother’s bewildered love for her infant, a father’s uneasy relation to fatherhood: These are often uncomfortably intimate stories that refuse to judge the flawed people in them.

Neighbors of Nothing: This collection of short stories by Jason Ockert is quintessential contemporary Southern Gothic in its quest to offer intelligent and heartrending insights into the complex human struggle to exist with purpose.

Stray Decorum: George Singleton brings small-town South Carolina alive. Using everyday situations, like a dog needing its annual vaccination, and buckets of humorous observations, Singleton pokes and prods his readers into realizing we’re all simply restless for a pat on the head.

 

Fresh Summer Bell Pepper Recipes

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This summer, head to the farmer's market and create something delicious with these fresh bell pepper recipes. All these cookbooks are on sale through June 30th (up to 70% off!).

World Cup Fever: 50% off Soccer Stories

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As fútbol fans around the world tune in to watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup, we’re getting in the game with soccer stories for sports fans of all ages. Shop our special soccer sale with ebooks from $1.99 now through July 13.

Image Map

 

The Berenstain Bears’ Soccer Star by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Brother Bear, who’s smaller than the other boys, struggles to find his niche . . . until he kicks a bucket, a can, a rock, and then discovers a sport where kicking is the most important skill of all.

Crazy About Soccer by Loris Lesynski

Rhythmic, funny verses capture the joys, thrills, and challenges of soccer, and reflect the game’s energy while offering sound suggestions for proper play.

Franklin Plays the Game by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark

Franklin can count forwards and backwards. He can zip zippers and button buttons. He can slide down a riverbank by himself. He can even sleep alone in his small, dark shell. And he’s trying very hard to be the best player on his soccer team.

The Soccer Mystery by Gertrude C. Warner

The Boxcar children are playing in a soccer league when mysterious things start happening.

Go for the Goal! by Fred Bowen

Josh and his talented travel league soccer teammates are having trouble working together—until he convinces them to try team-building exercises.

Soccer Team Upset by Fred Bowen

Tyler is angry when his best friend Zack, their team’s hotshot midfielder, leaves to play for the Panthers, an elite travel team. Tyler blames Zack when the Cougars lose their season opener, but it’s clear his team needs a new attitude—and a lot more practice.

Bafana Bafana by Troy Blacklaws

One boy’s journey to see his favorite soccer player in action becomes an uplifting song to the South African spirit.

His Enemy, His Friend by John R. Tunis

When a German war criminal–turned–soccer star comes to play a match in post-war France, old wounds are reopened.

Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan’s Soul

This collection of Chicken Soup honors all that is good in the world of sports. Readers will come to see sports as one of our most important and powerful teachers. They can teach us to focus and stay the course, or to develop a new strategy and rededicate ourselves to a goal. 

More Than a Team by Vicenç Villatoro

The modern-day odyssey of a father and son who are held together by a single thread: Football Club Barcelona.

Open Road Media Announces Creation of Forbidden Bookshelf

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OPEN ROAD MEDIA ANNOUNCES CREATION OF FORBIDDEN BOOKSHELF, A BOLD NEW SERIES OF IMPORTANT BOOKS THAT DISAPPEARED BECAUSE OF THEIR CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT MATTER

PROFESSOR MARK CRISPIN MILLER CURATES AND NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL EDITOR AND COLUMNIST GRETCHEN MORGENSON WRITES INTRODUCTION TO THE LORDS OF CREATION

(New York, NY—June 10, 2014)—Open Road Media announced today Forbidden Bookshelf, a series of books curated by Professor Mark Crispin Miller of New York University. Forbidden Bookshelf titles fill in the blanks of America’s repressed history by resurrecting books that focused on issues and events that are too often left in the dark, including abortion, organized crime, the CIA, and financial inequality.

The series launches on June 10 with five books: Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy by Christopher Simpson, The Phoenix Program: America’s Use of Terror in Vietnam by Douglas Valentine, The Search for an Abortionist: The Classic Study of How American Women Coped with Unwanted Pregnancy Before Roe v. Wade by Nancy Howell Lee, Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football by Dan E. Moldea, and The Lords of Creation: The History of America’s 1 Percent by Frederick Lewis Allen. Each of the first four titles includes a new introduction. 

Additional books by I. F. Stone, Gerard Colby, Charlotte Dennett, Kati Marton, Robert Fitch, Bertram Gross, and John Dinges will be released later this summer.

Open Road Media CEO Jane Friedman said, “This list of books is much deserving of renewed attention. The issues they address are as significant today as they were when the books were first published. We believe that we will stimulate new conversation and debate through our intensive and extensive marketing platform.”

Mark Crispin Miller said, “Despite our First Amendment—or because of it—countless crucial books have been adroitly ‘disappeared’ through methods far less crude than outright censorship, from threats of litigation to press black-outs and/or charges of ‘conspiracy theory.’ Such tactics have repeatedly erased those books that we most need to read, because of their important truths about the powers that be; and so our purpose is to bring those books to life again.”

Miller is a professor of media studies at NYU and an accomplished author of several books, from Boxed In: The Culture of TV (1988) and Seeing Through Movies (1990) to his more recent works on politics, including The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder and Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform. He has also written many articles for newspapers and journals, including four op-eds in the New York Times, as well as many pieces in the Nation, the New Republic,and the New York Review of Books, and articles for Harper’s,the Atlantic, Mother Jones, Esquire, and the Wall Street Journal. Through his blog, News from Underground, he is also an influential presence on the web.

About Open Road Integrated Media

Open Road Integrated Media is a global digital publishing company that creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media. Open Road has published fiction and nonfiction ebooks from authors including William Styron, Pat Conroy, Alice Walker, James Jones, Pearl S. Buck, David Halberstam, Victor S. Navasky, Gloria Steinem, Martin Duberman, and Richard Ben Cramer.  


Would Your Favorite Mutants from Books Survive in the World of X-Men?

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X-Men: Days of Future Past has hit the theaters, this time with nearly a dozen new mutants, with powers like making portals, shooting giant red gun blasts, and traveling through time.


X-Men may have arguably the largest cast of characters with powers in the world of science fiction cinema, but protagonists with a magical ace up their sleeves abound in the pages of science fiction and fantasy novels.


How would these characters fare in the dark future of Days of Future Past, where humans and mutants still haven’t figured out how to coexist?


Who would they ally with? Would they survive? We chose some of our favorites and threw them into the world of X-Men. Check it out:


Wendy Wanders from Winterlongby Elizabeth Hand

 

Wendy Wanders can feel the emotions of those around her, and she can tap into other people’s dreams. Seems like the perfect student for Charles Xavier, who wants humans and mutants to live at peace with one another. She would have been a great complement to Jean Grey’s telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Downside to Wendy’s mutation: she’s also clinically psychotic and unpredictable, but that sounds familiar too, doesn’t it? How would Professor X approach Wendy’s training, we wonder?

 

Rachel in Love, theNebula Award–winning novella (in the collection Points of Departure)by Pat Murphy

 

After perishing in an accident, Rachel’sfather gave her new life by transferring her brain intothe body of a chimp. After her father’s death, she’s left to fend for herself. More severe-looking than Wolverine, Rachel would make a great companion for the lonely outsider. Both struggle with what it means to be human and to be alive, and neither remember who or what they were in the past. She and Beast would be best friends, don’t you think? Do you think she would want to take the mutant cure?

 

hugh-jackman

The Makkon from Dai-Sanby Eric Van Lustbader

The four Makkon would make the perfect army for Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, if he could get his hands on them. Both groups believe strongly that humanity is an inferior species. The Makkon not only want to destroy the world, some share Mystique’s shapeshifting abilities—which would make an army lead by Magneto nearly unstoppable.

jennifer-lawrence 

What do you think would happen to your favorite “mutant” from a book?


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