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When a serial killer targets the North Beach neighborhood in San Francisco, the entire community must band together to help the homicide inspectors catch a killer or risk the tragedy that he will kill again. Lucia is a good girl; she's an eighth grader at the local parish school who gets great grades, helps her parents around the house, and loves her siblings. As she waits after school, a stranger - hands laden - asks for help getting into his van. Before she knows it, Lucia's shoved into the van, knocked unconscious, and she's never going home again. After her mother reports her missing, Lucia's firefighter father, as well as other community members, manage to elevate her missing person's report all the way to the Homicide Bureau. So begins a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat narrative of a community connected through more than just the streets they live on to catch a killer and bring a grieving family peace. Two homicide teams, made up of Inspectors O'Neill and Donnelly and Inspectors Gibson and Sullivan, work against the clock and side-by-side with other agencies to bring the criminal down. Chock-full of twists, turns, romance, murder, and community, hiding in plain sight is a can't miss mystery read for crime novel enthusiasts, San Francisco natives, and readers who love a good thriller. Readers will feel immersed in the investigation as they struggle to solve the web of covered tracks alongside investigators. Feel the heart-pounding race against the clock as sands drain from the hourglass and the suspect gets farther away. -
Amy O'Hanlon's excellent Sister Butterfly illustrations show Carla approaching a favorite corner of her garden where she feels safe and happy. Her vigilant brother knows that Carla can create beautiful fantasies as she twirls around and round to music only she can hear, engaged in quiet conversation with the small creatures such as butterflies and her favorite flowers. Mike Mirabella's children's book entitled Sister Butterfly, is a beautifully illustrated children's book based on a song from his 1998 CD entitled, Special People. Mike wrote Sister Butterfly song years ago for his daughter, Carla, when she was three years old. The theme of Sister Butterfly centers on Mike's abiding love for his daughter with Down syndrome and for self-discovery and the transformation of the hearts that surround her. Mike wrote in the song; "My sister is a butterfly who never learned to fly, ...”. Carla still wasn't walking or talking and Mike thought at the time, she would have little chance of accomplishing much of anything in her life. "How wrong I was; her life was a parade of accomplishments!” - Papa Mike. -
Does your child ever sit by themselves—alone and seemingly friendless? In I Used to Be Shy, meet Carla, our self-appointed social committee of one, who makes everyone at summer camp feel welcome. Carla spots a shy new boy who hides from others in his cabin, closing his curtain. Carla follows her heart and gathers a small group of fellow campers to coax him out to play games. With Carla’s encouragement, our new camper builds up his self-confidence, loses his fear, and learns to enjoy his new friends. The bonus song "Little Brown Pony" includes the lyrics and music notations as does "I Used to Be Shy." -
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A young Irish sailor cast adrift in the sea. A mermaid princess and Irish luck save him from drowning. This adventurous tale owes its inspiration to stories Mike Mirabella heard as a little boy. His sizeable Italian clan swapped such stories during family dinners at the kitchen table.
"My grandpa and uncles would tell tales of fishing the waters off the coast of California and up through the inland passages of Alaska. I recall Grandpa Angelo telling of the scary times, when he was a cabin boy of 12 and was captured by pirates while working on the tall ships”.
And then there was the never-ending argument between my grandpa and Uncle Cam: “What was that strange creature they caught off the coast of Alaska; a mermaid or a merman?" I was (and still am) that wee lad in our story, sitting wide-eyed, half-believing, yet never tiring of hearing those wonder-filled stories told by those salty, old jacks."
Using the rhyming style of a pirate in an Irish pub, our sailor spins his yarn about seeing the slap of a mermaid's tail during a mighty storm. "On the Luck of an Irish Sailor" is a beautiful tale of adventure on the high seas. In a story that's been passed down for generations, author Mike Mirabella takes us on a magical experience deep beneath the ocean.
Could it have happened? Did it happen? Folklore - that's the feeling sparked by the illustrations by illustrator Amy O'Hanlon. She uses hues of blues, grays, and browns to depict the fierce storm accurately. On other pages, O'Hanlon uses beige and brown tones to create the illusion of an older picture book-like classic story that's been around for years. Enjoy the bonus song sheets and sing along with this ‘mostly’ true story of adventure and redemption, in "On the Luck of an Irish Sailor."
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Have you been a seventh grader, taught or parented one? Then you’re guaranteed to laugh as the new female vice principal faces hormonally charged middle schoolers, demanding parents, an obnoxious boss, and clueless teachers. Ride the roller coaster of the new job and cheer for Cynthia Walker as she dives into the hilarity and angst of working with tweens. Watch her deal with bomb threats, fire, and pythons on the loose. Bullied kids and abusive parents. Dysfunctional homes, charges of racial bias, and a touchy-feely principal who demands her attention but provides no guidance. And she would like to date the handsome and talented history teacher, if only she weren’t his supervisor. Schooled will take you back to your own school days. This page-turner will open your eyes to the challenges of public education, the job satisfaction to be found by educators who care, and the type of leader you want to guide your children. -
Prepare for an adventure beyond your imagination. Martial artist and fencer Lucian Stiles, longs for an exciting life and finds himself teleported from our reality to a realm that holds the Duras Kingdom. Caught in the middle of a war between a king and a powerful baron, Lucian finds excitement, love and danger in a world of sword fighting and sorcery. Joining the Duras Knights, he and his true love, Princess Raven, embark on an incredible journey full of terrifying creatures and deadly assassins. - Featuring original score by SOVAS-award winning composer, Daryl Bolicek at Wild Horse Recording To best experience the Cinematic Music & Full Sound Design, please listen with earbuds or headphones! Currently available exclusively on AMPlify Audiobooks! -
**This is a pre-order for the audiobook, which will be available soon**
In the sultry, supernatural underbelly of New Orleans, death comes calling with a name. As Infernal assassins begin stalking a magical district known as the Haint, an uneasy alliance forms between sworn enemies. Storm witch Lena Nevers summons a warrior's soul from another reality to settle an old debt, and everyone gets more than they bargained for—a displaced spirit, a demon-slayer, and a dark soul that hungers for more. Awakening in a dead gangster's body with his true identity stripped away, the warrior finds himself an unwilling pawn in a supernatural power struggle. Taking the name and fractured memories of his host, Ciro Case, he must navigate a world where witches wield cosmic power, Lycans guard mystical neighborhoods, and vampires broker deals between all sides. In a city where every soul has a price and every spell demands payment, the greatest threat may not be the demons hunting in the shadows—it might be the hijacked soul or those seeking to bring him down. Perfect for fans of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files or Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series, Saintsville blends a political thriller, urban paranormal fantasy, and crime noir into a tale of divided loyalties, dark magic, and the river that runs through it all.
