Play dumb. Be boring. Don't solve problems. Respond with weakness . . . Proven counterintuitive ways for communicating meaningfully and productively in today?s oversaturated digital environment Stop Talking, Start Communicating turns conventional wisdom on its head to help you navigate a world...  more

Play dumb. Be boring. Don't solve problems. Respond with weakness . . . Proven counterintuitive ways for communicating meaningfully and productively in today?s oversaturated digital environment Stop Talking, Start Communicating turns conventional wisdom on its head to help you navigate a world dominated by powerful technological devices that are eroding our vital communication skills. Quick, cheap, and easy means of "staying connected" come with dangerous consequences. They discourage reflection, restraint, and thoughtfulness, offer little incentive to get a message right the first time, and facilitate the constant interruptions and distractions that dramatically multiply conversational errors. Stop Talking, Start Communicating combines scientific research with realistic practice to deliver counterintuitive but highly effective communication strategies, such as Don?t Be Yourself (your first communication response is usually your worst), Don't Solve Problems (resist the urge to handle every issue that comes your way), and Play Dumb (give people an opportunity to self-correct). Foreword by Martha Mendoza, Pulitzer Prize winner Geoffrey R. Tumlin is founder and CEO of Mouthpeace Consulting LLC, a communication consulting company; president of On-Demand Leadership, a leadership development company; and founder and board chair of Critical Skills Nonprofit, a public charity dedicated to providing communication and leadership skills training to chronically underserved populations.

Adventure, intrigue, and romance combine in a new fantasy duology from Incarnate series author Jodi Meadows. When Princess Wilhelmina was a child, the Indigo Kingdom invaded her homeland. Ten years later, Wil and the other noble children who escaped are ready to fight back and reclaim...  more

Adventure, intrigue, and romance combine in a new fantasy duology from Incarnate series author Jodi Meadows. When Princess Wilhelmina was a child, the Indigo Kingdom invaded her homeland. Ten years later, Wil and the other noble children who escaped are ready to fight back and reclaim Wil's throne. To do so, Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate the Indigo Kingdom palace with hopes of gathering information that will help them succeed. But Wil has a secret -- one that could change everything. Although magic has been illegal for a century, she knows her ability could help her save her kingdom. But magic creates wraith, and the deadly stuff is moving closer and destroying the land. And if the vigilante Black Knife catches her using magic, she may disappear like all the others. . . .

In a Handful of Dust is set ten years after the first novel, Not a Drop to Drink, as a dangerous disease strikes the community where teenage Lucy lives. When her adoptive mother, Lynn, takes Lucy away from their home and friends in order to protect her, Lucy struggles to...  more

In a Handful of Dust is set ten years after the first novel, Not a Drop to Drink, as a dangerous disease strikes the community where teenage Lucy lives. When her adoptive mother, Lynn, takes Lucy away from their home and friends in order to protect her, Lucy struggles to figure out what home means. During their journey west to find a new life, the two face nature’s challenges, including hunger, mountains, and deserts.

It's summertime in Sunnydale, and Salma de la Navidad, a friend of Buffy's from Sunnydale High, needs help. She and her family immigrated to America, and now she fears her brother, in an attempt to gain social acceptance, has stumbled into supernatural gang warfare. To make matters worse, an...  more

It's summertime in Sunnydale, and Salma de la Navidad, a friend of Buffy's from Sunnydale High, needs help. She and her family immigrated to America, and now she fears her brother, in an attempt to gain social acceptance, has stumbled into supernatural gang warfare. To make matters worse, an unknown creature has been doing a little night stalking. Buffy is certain that this new demonic presence has its roots in L.A. -- Angel's turf. So with the help of the Slayerettes, she heads off to battle demons -- both actual and personal. Meanwhile, in the City of Angels, Cordelia stumbles upon a vampire-worshiping cult of runaways as Angel investigates an invisible presence wreaking havoc in the local prisons. Now Buffy and pals must deal with identity crises of their own. Buffy may be the Chosen One, but she is, ultimately, expendable. Angel is unique, yet his particular status isolates him from humanity and monsters alike. So while all wonder -- do I make a difference? -- the humans and demons who surround them answer that question in astonishing ways...

In Los Angeles, Angel and Buffy compare notes and realize that both are dealing with cases of missing teenagers -- most of them children of the rich and powerful. Coincidence? They don't think so. But when Buffy checks in with Giles, she learns that prime-time doomsday has hit Sunnydale, taking...  more

In Los Angeles, Angel and Buffy compare notes and realize that both are dealing with cases of missing teenagers -- most of them children of the rich and powerful. Coincidence? They don't think so. But when Buffy checks in with Giles, she learns that prime-time doomsday has hit Sunnydale, taking precedence over the gang warfare in L.A. Back in her hometown, Buffy finds the doorway through which the monsters are gaining all-access passes to our universe. Renegade scientists have discovered how to open the portals from one reality to the next, which could explain where the teens are hidden. But when you're operating near a hellmouth, opening dimensional portals is tricky business: you never know who -- or what -- you're going to attract. With the lives of the kidnapped teens and one dangerously talented young woman at stake, Buffy and Angel join forces to do battle in the uncharted dimension....

Buffy and Angel find themselves launched into a frightening reality where fierce dragons and other fairy-tale monstrosities rule supreme. Once they locate each other, they rally the missing teens -- including Salma -- and attempt to make their way through the interdimensional portal back to...  more

Buffy and Angel find themselves launched into a frightening reality where fierce dragons and other fairy-tale monstrosities rule supreme. Once they locate each other, they rally the missing teens -- including Salma -- and attempt to make their way through the interdimensional portal back to Sunnydale. Little do they know that two unlikely allies have also come through to alternity: Spike and the rogue Slayer, Faith, both with their own respective -- and complicated -- MOs. Back in L.A., gang violence and vigilantism are at a fever pitch. The Slayerettes -- now an extended unit -- are holding down the fort, awaiting Buffy and Angel's return. But Slayer and Vampire are feeling moral conflict that rivals the physical strain of demon-slaying: each wonders if a reality exists where their love could have survived. And when one of the duo's charges is suddenly killed, the portal to Sunnydale is sealed. Now, before they can worry about ridding their own universe of supernatural chaos, they've got to find a way to get back to it....

When someone tries to kill powerful continental senator Angela Neko, Texan outlaw and old flame Kellen Hockley is the only man who can keep her safe...and help her save the world.Tether Series: Wanted and Wired (Book 1) Perfect Gravity (Book 2)

McKenzie Lewis's ability to read the shadows has put her -- and those she loves -- in harm's way again and again. The violence must end, but will the cost of peace be more devastating than anyone ever imagined? After ten years of turmoil, the life McKenzie has always longed for may...  more

McKenzie Lewis's ability to read the shadows has put her -- and those she loves -- in harm's way again and again. The violence must end, but will the cost of peace be more devastating than anyone ever imagined? After ten years of turmoil, the life McKenzie has always longed for may finally be within her grasp. No one is swinging a sword at her head or asking her to track the fae, and she finally has a regular -- albeit boring -- job. But when a ruthless enemy strikes against her friends, McKenzie abandons her attempt at normalcy and rushes back to the Realm. With the fae she loves and the fae she's tied to pulling her in different directions, McKenzie must uncover the truth behind the war and accept the painful sacrifices that must be made to end it. Armed with dangerous secrets and with powerful allies at her side, her actions will either rip the Realm apart -- or save it.

Kara’s drastic ceasefire deal with the formidable demon Imperator Dekkak slowed the attacks on Earth to a trickle, but her troubles are far from over. The god-like demahnk are desperate to return to their own kind, but unless they can stabilize the demon realm, they’ll be forever...  more

Kara’s drastic ceasefire deal with the formidable demon Imperator Dekkak slowed the attacks on Earth to a trickle, but her troubles are far from over. The god-like demahnk are desperate to return to their own kind, but unless they can stabilize the demon realm, they’ll be forever exiled—and they’ve subjugated Kara’s beloved Mzatal to further their hellacious cause. One faction of demonic lords and demahnk has a plan to fix their world, yet their salvation would come at the expense of Earth. Meanwhile, Kara is wrestling with government bureaucracy, backstabbing allies, enemy lords, as well as the powerful young demonic lord Ashava, who’s packing the drama, angst, and rebellion of the terrible teen years into just a few months.   Kara’s in a race to stop an apocalypse, but in order to prevail she’ll have to make a terrible sacrifice or risk losing everything she holds dear.

Tina Clancy is looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas, but life has other plans for the newly-minted lawyer. As a Daughter of Saturn, Tina expects a healthy dose of crazy in the Zone, Baltimore's roughest docklands. Sparkling holiday lights that spontaneously combust ?...  more

Tina Clancy is looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas, but life has other plans for the newly-minted lawyer. As a Daughter of Saturn, Tina expects a healthy dose of crazy in the Zone, Baltimore's roughest docklands. Sparkling holiday lights that spontaneously combust ? check. Garden gnomes swimming in sauna-like snow melt? check. But when a blue blob crawls out of the red-hot sewer? that's a bridge too far. Soon, Tina is trying to exorcise a malevolent ghost, stop the ruthless local chemical plant from bulldozing her neighbors, and banish endangered tourists from her increasingly quirky home. At the same time, she's trying to figure out whether her drop-dead sexy client, Andre Legrande, is a gift-wrapped present or a stocking full of coal. Oh? and Tina just may have accidentally opened a gateway to Hell.

Even if it takes an eternity, he will make amends... SAFE HAVEN Angel and Co. are enjoying a rare moment of relaxation at the karaoke bar Caritas when a loud explosion draws the gang -- and the rest of the bar's patrons -- outside. A building across the way is on fire, but the conflagration is...  more

Even if it takes an eternity, he will make amends... SAFE HAVEN Angel and Co. are enjoying a rare moment of relaxation at the karaoke bar Caritas when a loud explosion draws the gang -- and the rest of the bar's patrons -- outside. A building across the way is on fire, but the conflagration is nothing more than a diversionary tactic to distract people from a drive-by shooting! And when the smoke clears, Fred is missing. It's obvious she's been kidnapped, so Angel, Lorne, Cordy, Wes, and Gunn set about questioning everyone within the immediate radius. At least ten demons were direct eyewitnesses. One problem, though: Each tells a different story of what he, she, or it saw. It could have been gang warfare -- monster style -- or Fred could have wandered home without saying good-bye. One thing quickly becomes clear: Demons don't make for the most reliable sources....

Keep your gods close and your monsters closer… Police Chief Delaney Reed thinks she knows all of Ordinary, Oregon’s secrets. Gods on vacation, lovelorn ghosts, friendly neighborhood monsters? Check. But some secrets run deeper than even she knows. To take down an ancient...  more

Keep your gods close and your monsters closer… Police Chief Delaney Reed thinks she knows all of Ordinary, Oregon’s secrets. Gods on vacation, lovelorn ghosts, friendly neighborhood monsters? Check. But some secrets run deeper than even she knows. To take down an ancient vampire hell-bent on revenge, she will have to make the hardest decision of her life: give up the book of dark magic that can destroy them all, or surrender her mortal soul. As she weighs her options, Delaney discovers she can no longer tell the difference between allies keeping secrets and enemies telling the truth. Questioning loyalties and running out of time, Delaney must choose sides before a kidnapping turns into murder, before rival crochet and knit gangs start a war, and before the full moon rises to signal the beginning of Ordinary’s end.

Three novellas now in paperback! Rock Candy, Paper Stars, Scissor Kisses have been previously published in ebook format. Just an Ordinary Halloween... Police officer Jean Reed doesn't normally mind pulling the graveyard shift in Ordinary Oregon. But one mob of cursed gnomes, one haunted harbor...  more

Three novellas now in paperback! Rock Candy, Paper Stars, Scissor Kisses have been previously published in ebook format. Just an Ordinary Halloween... Police officer Jean Reed doesn't normally mind pulling the graveyard shift in Ordinary Oregon. But one mob of cursed gnomes, one haunted harbor festival, and one chilling visit from Death makes this October stranger than most. One magical holiday. Some assembly required... Police Chief Delaney Reed loves the holidays in Ordinary, Oregon. But when a demon, a dragon, and a god bearing unusual gifts get thrown on top of her to do list, Delaney must roll up her sleeves and make this holiday unforgettable. This Valentine?s Day there?s more than hearts at risk? Police officer Myra Reed prefers her life orderly, predictable, and logical. But she must take on a stalker, a crossroads deal, and a dangerous spell that could reveal the one secret she?s buried deep: she might be falling in love with a demon.

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under Wizards. Believe it or not,...  more

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under Wizards. Believe it or not, I'm the only one there. My ad looks like this: HARRY DRESDEN--WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties or Other Entertainment With rent past due and a decent meal becoming an issue of some importance, Harry needs work, and soon. A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters to vampires, while he himself is under suspicion of the crimes. One thing is certain, if he can't stop whoever is on this killing spree, Harry will be the next victim.

HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!   After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden,...  more

HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!   After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard. He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill. Guess which Mab wants first?   Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday. Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…His soul. 15 CDs, ca. 19 hrs.

Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day… Because as Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it's something awful. He doesn't know the half of it…...  more

Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day… Because as Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it's something awful. He doesn't know the half of it… Mab has just traded Harry's skills to pay off one of her debts. And now he must help a group of supernatural villains, led by one of Harry's most dreaded and despised enemies, Nicodemus Archleone, to break into the highest-security vault in town so that they can then access the highest-security vault in the Nevernever. It's a smash-and-grab job to recover the literal Holy Grail from the vaults of the greatest treasure hoard in the supernatural world, which belongs to the one and only Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld and generally unpleasant character. Worse, Dresden suspects that there is another game afoot that no one is talking about. And he's dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any of his crew to survive the experience. Especially Harry. Dresden's always been tricky, but he's going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess--assuming his own allies don't end up killing him before his enemies get the chance… 13 CDs, 16 hrs, unabridged.  James Marsters, narrator.

HARRY DRESDEN--WIZARD Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment. For Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, there have been worse assignments than going undercover on the set...  more

HARRY DRESDEN--WIZARD Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment. For Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, there have been worse assignments than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Dodging flaming monkey poo, for instance. Or going toe-to-leaf with a walking plant monster. Still, there's something more troubling than usual about his newest case. The film's producer believes he's the target of a sinister entropy curse, but it's the women around, him who are dying, in increasingly spectacular ways. Harry's doubly frustrated because he got involved with this bizarre mystery only as a favor to Thomas, his flirtatious, self-absorbed vampire acquaintance of dubious integrity. Thomas has a personal stake in the case Harry can't quite figure out, until his investigation leads him straight to Thomas's oversexed vampire family. Harry's about to discover that Thomas's family tree has been hiding a shocking secret: a revelation that will change Harry's life forever... Read by James Marsters.  11 audio discs (13 hr.)

In a town like Ordinary, anything can happen. Unfortunately for Delaney Reed, it usually does... Sheriff Delaney Reed’s little beach town where gods vacation and monsters reside is finally back to normal. No possessed souls, no vortexes to hell, and absolutely no one’s turned into...  more

In a town like Ordinary, anything can happen. Unfortunately for Delaney Reed, it usually does... Sheriff Delaney Reed’s little beach town where gods vacation and monsters reside is finally back to normal. No possessed souls, no vortexes to hell, and absolutely no one’s turned into a frog lately. Then the queen of demons appears in her backseat begging to hide out in Ordinary, and Delaney knows her peace and quiet is over and out.Dealing with a demon fugitive isn’t the only thing on Delaney’s plate. She’s also trying to figure out why her boyfriend, Ryder Bailey, has been sneaking out of town every night and why her sisters are keeping secrets. But when the gods in town begin to act funny, Delaney knows something strange is going on. It might have something to do with two powerful magical items that suddenly go missing. Or it might have something to do with those little gaps of time Delaney’s been losing, and the memories she can’t quite recall…