The true adventures of David Fairchild, a turn-of-the-century food explorer who traveled the globe and introduced diverse crops like avocados, mangoes, seedless grapes—and thousands more—to the American plate.*“Fascinating.”—The New York Times Book Review •“Fast-paced adventure writing.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Richly descriptive.”—Kirkus • “A must-read for foodies.”*—HelloGigglesIn the nineteenth century, Ame...

"Once a bustling town of bakers and dreamers, Icing Sugar Town now slumbered under a blanket of moss and morning glories. Its centerpiece was the Marshmallow Clocktower, its face frozen at 3:14 (the time of the last human’s departure), its bell tower home to a family of squirrels who stored acorns in the clock’s gears. The town’s cottages, shaped like oversized cupcakes with frosting-colored roofs, leaned drunkenly against each other. Weeds grew through cracked stained-glass windows th...

From the national bestselling author of The Food Explorer, a fascinating and rollicking plunge into the story of the world’s most famous shipwreck, the RMS TitanicOn a frigid April night in 1912, the world’s largest—and soon most famous—ocean liner struck an iceberg and slipped beneath the waves. She had scarcely disappeared before her new journey began, a seemingly limitless odyssey through the world’s fixation with her every tragic detail. Plans...

Epic, emotionally charged, and rich with speculative depth, this tale weaves legacy, sacrifice, and the courage to thrive in imperfection into a spellbinding saga that soars above the ordinary.In Stitches in the Clouds, Leah Starfall battles to safeguard her airborne homeland, Sky City, from Shiver—a sinister, shadowy force that invades minds and taints magic. As chaos swirls through the floating spires, Leah confronts twin horrors: her brother’s harrowing...

Sexually arousing, liberating, and elegantly prosed, Shades of the Past is a novella that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.Sienna, who suffered from her abusive father, has recently traded the habitual southern summers for New York’s new edges. She met a wealthy venture capitalist, Grayson, and reunited with Ethan, who had suddenly disappeared from her life.Sienna and Grayson are both haunted by their pasts. Sex becomes their...

In this collection of short stories, diverse characters, including an obese baker, an eczema sufferer, and a vegetable vendor, each find themselves mired in the quagmire of life. They endure mockery, illness, and expulsion, crushed by the weight of work and debt."Water droplets rolled down the curled veins of the leaves, pooling into tiny puddles at the bottom of the plastic basket. Among the wilted leaves, a few yellowed ones hung listlessly, like elderly soul...

In the whirlwind of modern life, Chinese mythological beings shed their divine aloofness. Whether adapting to human society or steadfastly clinging to their principles in the face of adversity, they redefine legend through the clash and fusion of worlds.The gluttonous Taotie, banished to Earth, becomes the star of a weight-loss reality show. After accidentally ingesting a satellite fragment, Taotie gains a profound understanding of the perils of excessive greed and...

From the national bestselling author of The Food Explorer comes the untold story of Alice Hamilton, a trailblazing doctor and public health activist who took on the booming auto industry—and the deadly invention of leaded gasoline, which would poison millions of people across America.At noon on October 27, 1924, a factory worker was admitted to a hospital in New York City, suffering from hallucinations and convulsions. Before breakfast the next day, he was...

A shattered, battered and bruised Pilot Light collapses, trapped in a reed bed. He has just committed a truly terrible crime. His getaway vehicle, the canal boat, is moored up only a few meters away. Weak and bloodied having been wounded and suffering the after effects of a drug fuelled comedown Pilot Light drifts away having become stuck, he then loses consciousness.How he came to be in that predicament is then revealed to the reader through a succession of flash backs chronicling ...

The fascinating, barely known story of the theft of George Washington’s diary and other irreplaceable historical documents from the Library of Congress in the 1890s, which launched an interstate chase by the Secret Service and a sensational trial, and changed the trajectory of America’s nation’s library.It is 1896, and the Congressional Library in the Capitol is bursting at the seams with books and documents. Ainsworth Spofford, the longtime Librarian of Congress, ...

The book is an edgy romantic thriller that tells the story of Joan, a character inspired by a few of the amazing matriarchal figures I have known. Joan's life is a succession of disasters involving bereavement, illness and abuse. The little comfort she eventually finds is whilst reading the Rush Hour Crush segment in the daily newspaper, a concept thought up by an old school friend. Despite being desperately unlucky in love and life, Joan never gives up until her shocking relationship lead...

The Crimson CarouselWhen the traveling circus rolls into town, its dazzling lights and hypnotic music promise wonder and delight. But behind the painted smiles and glittering costumes lies a machine of horror—a carousel that spins not on joy, but on blood. Each ride claims a new victim, feeding the sinister secrets hidden beneath the big top. As the crowd cheers, believing it's all part of the show, a group of unsuspecting onlookers soon discovers the carousel never stops turning—a...