Jackson "Jacko" Smith is dyslexic, but like many people affected by the learning disability, he is highly intelligent. His best friend Sammy Collins helps him get through school and unlocks his potential. Jacko progresses through the ranks of local government until Mother Nature intervenes and the straight boy and the gay boy become a couple.As Jacko and Sammy start a family and challenge social mores, Jacko enters politics, horrified at the direction the Australian government is t...

The Civil Wars of the seventeenth century had a devastating effect upon Wales and the Marches, stripping the country of its human resources and ruining whole communities. This book explores the years of conflict between 1642 and 1649, detailing the campaigns, sieges and battles which took place in every corner of the country, presenting information from a wide variety of sources to paint a wide-ranging picture of the nation at a significant turning point in its history.

As a young gay man growing up in southwest Victoria, Nick Williams leads a charmed life. Life on the family farm gives him a sense of purpose. His supportive parents are loving and affectionate. And his best friend Aaron is always around to help him get out of trouble. But when his father dies a few days before Nick's eighteenth birthday, it changes the course of Nick's life.From rural Australia to India, Nick builds a life as a successful businessman only to watch it crumble in a w...

Apart from his drug addiction, his homophobic father, and his denial of his sexuality, Ben O'Connor lives a charmed life. He has a wonderful son, a lucrative job as a Realtor, and a supportive mother and siblings. Then his boss promotes someone else over him and his life disintegrates. In his anger, he breaks the eleventh commandment—thou shalt not get caught.Kicking his ice habit while incarcerated, Ben realizes he has lost his ability to enjoy life. But he gets another chance at ...

The Farming Joke Book brings together around 500 jokes, amusing stories, and anecdotes about farmers, farm animals, and life on the farm in general. So, whether one has been farming for 'donkey's years' or is new to it, and whether these farming two-liners make the reader laugh, cry, or just groan out loud, there will definitely be something in this collection that will tickle anyone's farming funny bones. Divided into 16 categories, and with 32 specially commissioned illustrations by Rory...

Nickerbacher: The Funniest Dragon tells the story of a friendly and playful dragon, who dreams of one day becoming a stand-up comedian. If only it were that simple! Nickerbacher's duty is to protect the supportive Princess Gwendolyn and to instill fear, not mirth, in the townspeople, as his father, Papa Dragon, is quick to remind him of. When the brash Prince Happenstance challenges Nickerbacher to a fight, it only reinforces how Nickerbacher is supposed to act and dispatch of the threat t...

Growing up in the small town of Gobbleville, Anamazie studies acting, singing, and dancing while basking in the local spotlight as a star baton twirler. Opportunity comes knocking when she is discovered by a talent scout and is cast in a major motion picture.Gollywood Here I Come! taps into pop culture trends of TV shows like Americas Got Talent and the public's fascination with celebrities. At its heart, the story leaves young readers with the positive message, "You can do anythin...

Australia is a nation in transition. Marriage equality looms but homophobia still rules. Depression and suicide are commonplace as Dean Prentice and his lover, Danny, grow up together in country Victoria. When Dean moves to a nearby regional center to study veterinary science, he finds acceptance and love when reunited with Danny. Profound tragedy visits Dean's life and he grieves, moving on through a series of lovers both male and female and struggling to focus on his studies and his drea...

This book provides a solid foundation from which most practical, theoretical problems related to sandwich structures can be derived and solved. The text brings together many problems found in the literature, such as those concerning buckling, post-buckling, free vibration, and dynamic response under various types of loadings. Sandwich construction with functionally graded facings is also briefly discussed, wherein topics obtain theoretical solutions from one comprehensive, consistent theor...

IBPA-Benjamin Franklin Award, Gold Medal; MIPA-Midwest Publishers Association Award, Finalist; Great Midwest Book Festival, First Runner UpDoes it take a monster to catch a monster?As a student, Francis Vincenti asked his mentor, former Chicago PD detective Thomas Aquinas Foster, if it took a monster to catch a monster. Foster, a man with a tortured soul and his own self-righteous brand of justice, didn’t have an answer. Now a dete...

Growing up in the small town of Gobbleville, Anamazie studies acting, singing, and dancing while basking in the local spotlight as a star baton twirler. Opportunity comes knocking when she is discovered by a talent scout and is cast in a major motion picture. Gollywood Here I Come! taps into pop culture trends of TV shows like Americas Got Talent and the publics fascination with celebrities. At its heart, the story leaves young readers with the positive message, You can do anything if you ...

Dragons are magical. Some are ferocious, some are friendly, and some are silly, but whatever kind of dragon it is, we love reading about them and their incredible adventures. Nickerbacher is a very special dragon. He wants to make his family proud of him, but he doesnt want to be like all the other dragons. Hes afraid to tell his papa that there are enough dragons to guard princesses. What Nickerbacher wants more than anything in the world is to make people happy. He wants to be a comedian...