What happens when one empire or hegemon cedes the global stage to a rising power? Supplanting Empires: Power Transitions Across Human History argues that, historically, such power transitions tend to be relatively smooth, resulting in the preservation of the status quo with respect to the global order and institutions. This stems from the tendency of rising powers to be closely associated with declining powers, to the point that they generally support and perpetuate the old ways of governi...

At eleven he was my first crush. At sixteen he became mine. At nineteen he broke my heart and destroyed me. That was ten years ago and the last time I saw Cole Ryan.They say you never get over your first love...I beg to differ. I left my shattered heart buried in a town I never expected to return to. I erased every thought of him and buried the memories never to be found.I moved on...now ten years later I have the perfect life, the perfect fiancé, the perfect career. Everyt...

From USA Today best selling author Rebecca Shea comes a new standalone second chance romance, Fault Lines.At eleven he was my first crush. At sixteen he became mine. At nineteen he broke my heart and destroyed me. That was ten years ago and the last time I saw Cole Ryan.They say you never get over your first love...I beg to differ. I left my shattered heart buried in a town I never expected to return to. I erased every thought of him and buried the memories never t...

Intimacy across the Fencelines examines intimacy in the form of sexual encounters, dating, marriage, and family that involve US service members and local residents. Rebecca Forgash analyzes the stories of individual US service members and their Okinawan spouses and family members against the backdrop of Okinawan history, political and economic entanglements with Japan and the United States, and a longstanding anti-base movement. The narratives hig...

Some loves outlive the people who carry them.You're told every love story has a before and an after.Before you meet them.After they change everything.But no one tells you that sometimes there is no after.Sometimes there's just silence.They were too young to understand that forever is fragile.Too stubborn to believe anything could tear them apart.Too in love to see the cracks forming beneath their feet.Between stolen moment...

They work along the law, if the law was the end of their weapon. Rebels with a cause and nothing will stop them from fighting the evils of the world, one drop of blood at a time!Table of Contents"Auberon: Jessica Keller Chronicles #1" by Blaze Ward"A Reluctance of Blood" by Rebecca M. Senese"The Exile" by Eric Gutierrez Jr."Witch" by Leslie Claire Walker"Road Rage" by Robert Jeschonek"The Prize" by Rita Schulz

Your body remembers what your family never spoke about.You have always been the one who scans the room before sitting down, the one whose anxiety seems to come from nowhere, the one told you are "too sensitive" or "overreacting." You have tried therapy, affirmations, sheer willpower. But the vigilance remains, lodged in your chest like an heirloom no one asked you to carry. What if the fear living in your body did not start with you?In Breaking the Line...

A brutally frank memoir about doctors and patients in a health care system that puts the poor at riskIn medical charts, the term “N.A.D.” (No Apparent Distress) is used for patients who appear stable. The phrase also aptly describes America’s medical system when it comes to treating the underprivileged. Medical students learn on the bodies of the poor—and the poor suffer from their mistakes.Rachel Pearson confronted these harsh realities when she started medical school in G...

Rebecca Robbins is desperate to sell her inherited roller-skating rink in small-town Indian Falls, and---finally---she has a buyer. She can't wait to head back to Chicago, especially now that her long delinquent father has blown back into town, but Lionel, her veterinarian boyfriend, thinks she should stay put. Also, the gang at the Senior Center wants her to track down the thief who's been hot-wiring rusted-out classic cars.Unable to resist, Rebecca soon has the Sheriff's Deputy th...

The first issue of Heartlines Spec contains the challenges, and joys, and frustrations that come from long-lasting connections. It’s a mother you never understood, a friendship that’s fierce but changing, the quiet gratitude of sipping champagne with someone you love. All the stories and poems within feature partners, families, lovers, and friends. The relationships between them are varied but strong.Editorial by Rebecca BennettShort FictionRedline b...

The fourth issue of Heartlines Spec provides glimpses into how characters relate within a few moments in time. These stories, poems, and essays focus on long-term relationships—be they between friends, lovers, family or someone else entirely—and examine how connections can change or grow against a much longer timeline.Editorial by Jess ChoShort FictionBlue Sunset by lae astraStarlight by R.H. BerryAnd When She Shatters by Kerry C. By...

A freaky tale of isolation and the porous membranes between us, Rebecca Gisler’s slim novel renders a collapsing world with equal parts aversion, fascination, and tenderness—for readers of Ottessa Moshfegh and Sayaka Murata.At a time when she’d rather be making her own way in the world, an unnamed young woman finds herself moving to a small town at the seaside to care for her uncle. He’s a disabled veteran with questionable habits, prone to drinking, gorging, and h...