All democracies have had to contend with the challenge of tolerating hidden spy services within otherwise relatively transparent governments. Democracies pride themselves on privacy and liberty, but intelligence organizations have secret budgets, gather information surreptitiously around the world, and plan covert action against foreign regimes. Sometimes, they have even targeted the very citizens they were established to protect, as with the COINTELPRO operations in the 1960s and 1970s, carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against civil rights and antiwar activists. In this sense, democracy and intelligence have always been a poor match. Yet Americans live in an uncertain and threatening world filled with nuclear warheads, chemical and biological weapons, and terrorists intent on destruction. Without an intelligence apparatus scanning the globe to alert the United States to these threats, the planet would be an even more perilous place. In Spy Watching, Loch K. Johnson explores the United States' travails in its efforts to maintain effective accountability over its spy services. Johnson explores the work of the famous Church Committee, a Senate panel that investigated America's espionage organizations in 1975 and established new protocol for supervising the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the nation's other sixteen secret services. Johnson explores why partisanship has crept into once-neutral intelligence operations, the effect of the 9/11 attacks on the expansion of spying, and the controversies related to CIA rendition and torture programs. He also discusses both the Edward Snowden case and the ongoing investigations into the Russian hack of the 2016 US election. Above all, Spy Watching seeks to find a sensible balance between the twin imperatives in a democracy of liberty and security. Johnson draws on scores of interviews with Directors of Central Intelligence and others in America's secret agencies, making this a uniquely authoritative account.

All that was once beautiful is now blackened by fire. Everyone lost everything. Those that died were the lucky ones. The survivors had starvation and oppression to look forward to. Wicked men rose up from the ashes to take advantage of the lost—raping, pillaging, and murdering any poor soul that crossed their path. It seemed that all hope was lost along with everything else, but the people were left with a prophecy. A boy and a girl will be born with gifts that will help them grow into strong leaders. They will become protectors who will crush all who threaten the people. After the firestorm, Jonahs’s family searched for their friends—four families that had grown close to them when Jonahs was young. The five families included the family of Ariannis, Jonahs’s soul mate. Jonahs led the families to a safe, hidden place. It is believed that Jonahs and Ariannis are the children from the prophecy.

In the New Yorker, Stephen Schiff has described Fred Schepisi (b. 1939) as “probably the least-known great director working in the mainstream American cinema—a master storyteller with a serenely muscular style that can make more flamboyant moviemakers look coarse and overweening.” Schepisi’s launch in Australia during the country’s film renaissance of the 1970s and his ongoing international work have rightfully earned him a reputation as an actors’ director. But he has also become a skillful stylist, forging his own way as he works alongside a talented team of collaborators. This volume includes twenty interviews with Schepisi and two with longtime collaborators, cinematographer Ian Baker and composer Paul Grabowsky. The interviews trace the filmmaker’s career from his beginnings in advertising, through his two early Australian features—The Devil's Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith—to his subsequent work in the United States and beyond on films as various as Plenty, Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, The Russia House, Six Degrees of Separation, Empire Falls, Last Orders, and Eye of the Storm. Schepisi’s films are diverse thematically and visually. In what is effectively a master class on film direction, Schepisi discusses his creative choices and his work with actors and collaborators behind the scenes. In the process, he provides a goldmine of insights into his films, his filmmaking style, and what makes him tick as an artist.

Praise for USA Today bestseller Connie Shelton and the Heist Ladies series: “The Heist Ladies series is going to be off the charts! Thank you Connie Shelton for such an awesome book.” – 5 stars, Goodreads reviewer Sandy Werner’s longtime client walks into Desert Trust Bank, clearly down on her luck. Sandy is shocked to find Mary Holbrook’s once-hefty account is down to less than $200. Mary worked alongside her husband for years to build a successful business, but when she wasn’t looking, all their money vanished and Clint found himself a cute new wife. Abandoned, Mary might be homeless but she certainly isn’t helpless. She teams up with Sandy and her friends who call themselves the Heist Ladies. It’s their mission to see justice done, and Clint Holbrook is the perfect guy to do it to. The ladies discover a huge shell game and track the deceitful ex to the other side of the world, determined to win back Mary’s financial security as well as her self-esteem. But Clint Holbrook has even more ominous problems involving Chinese mobsters, and he’s willing to take drastic measures to avoid being caught. Will the women catch up with him, or will his deadlier foes get him first? “Wonderful characters, terrific plot and story line. I highly recommend Diamonds Aren't Forever … can hardly wait for the next installment!” –5-stars, Amazon review “Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes.” –The Midwest Book Review (on the Charlie Parker mysteries)

Buried deep within the shadows of a twelfth-century Saxon castle lie secrets so disturbing they are best left unearthed. Only the inmates of Frauengefängnis Hoheneck [Hoheneck Women’s Prison] know the full story—but none of them are talking. Janek Dabrowski, scarred by war, grapples with an allconsuming obsession for revenge. And as the tides of oppression shift from fascism to communism, so the Polish resistance fighter transforms his ardour into a thirst for power within the East German secret police [the Stasi]. His son Karl, raised under the stifling grip of communism, rejects his father’s ideology, and plans to escape with Anja Bach, the love of his life. This lays the groundwork for a conflict of monstrous betrayal, extraordinary courage, and enduring love. Half a world away, James Llewelyn, disillusioned by personal tragedy, reignites his passion after a chance encounter with the beautiful but elusive Kimberly Wagner. Propelled into a frantic pursuit of love, he unwittingly finds himself entangled in a web of broken lives from which there is no escape but to face his ghosts of the past. What is it that binds these characters together? Who will rise, and who will fall? And what is the secret that both horrifies and inspires? Set against the backdrops of snow-covered Polish fields and Cold War checkpoints, through to the beaches and boardrooms of Australia, The Angel of Hoheneck weaves a gripping tale of one man’s stark choices that impact generations and reverberate around the globe.

IN 1727, the year of George the First's death, Miss Grace Naylor of Hurstmonceaux, though she was beloved, charming, and beautiful, died very mysteriously in her twenty-first year, in the immense and weird old castle of which she had been the heiress. She was affirmed to have been starved by her former governess, who lived alone with her, but the fact was never proved. Her property passed to her first cousin Francis Hare (son of her aunt Bethaia), who forthwith assumed the name of Naylor. The new owner of Hurstmonceaux was the only child of the first marriage of that Francis Hare, who, through the influence first of the Duke of Marlborough (by whose side, then a chaplain, he had ridden on the battle-fields of Blenheim and Ramilies), and afterwards of his family connections the Pelhams and Walpoles, rose to become one of the richest and most popular pluralists of his age. Yet he had to be contented at last with the bishoprics of St. Asaph and Chichester, with each of which he held the Deanery of St. Paul's, the Archbishopric of Canterbury having twice just escaped him. The Bishop's eldest son Francis was "un facheux détail de notre famille," as the grandfather of Madame de Maintenon said of his son. He died after a life of the wildest dissipation, without leaving any children by his wife Carlotta Alston, who was his stepmother's sister. So the property of Hurstmonceaux went to his half-brother Robert, son of the Bishop's second marriage with Mary-Margaret Alston, heiress of the Vatche in Buckinghamshire, and of several other places besides. Sir Robert Walpole had been the godfather of Robert Hare-Naylor, and presented him with a valuable sinecure office as a christening present, and he further made the Bishop urge the Church as the profession in which father and godfather could best aid the boy's advancement. Accordingly Robert took orders, obtained a living, and was made a Canon of Winchester. While he was still very young, his father had further secured his fortunes by marrying him to the heiress who lived nearest to his mother's property of the Vatche, and, by the beautiful Sarah Selman (daughter of the owner of Chalfont St. Peter's, and sister of Mrs. Lefevre), he had two sons—Francis and Robert, and an only daughter Anna Maria, afterwards Mrs. Bulkeley. In the zenith of her youth and loveliness, however, Sarah Hare died very suddenly from eating ices when overheated at a ball, and soon afterwards Robert married a second wife—the rich Henrietta Henckel, who pulled down Hurstmonceaux Castle. She did this because she was jealous of the sons of her predecessor, and wished to build a large new house, which she persuaded her husband to settle upon her own children, who were numerous, though only two daughters lived to any great age. But she was justly punished, for when Robert Hare died, it was discovered that the great house which Wyatt had built for Mrs. Hare, and which is now known as Hurstmonceaux Place, was erected upon entailed land, so that the house stripped of furniture, and the property shorn of its most valuable farms, passed to Francis Hare-Naylor, son of Miss Selman. Mrs. Henckel Hare lived on to a great age, and when "the burden of her years came on her" she repented of her avarice and injustice, and coming back to Hurstmonceaux in childish senility, would wander round and round the castle ruins in the early morning and late evening, wringing her hands and saying—"Who could have done such a wicked thing: oh! who could have done such a wicked thing, as to pull down this beautiful old place?" Then her daughters, Caroline and Marianne, walking beside her, would say—"Oh dear mamma, it was you who did it, it was you yourself who did it, you know"—and she would despairingly resume—"Oh no, that is impossible: it could not have been me. I could not have done such a wicked thing: it could not have been me that did it." My cousin Marcus Hare had at Abbots Kerswell a picture of Mrs. Henckel Hare, which was always surrounded with crape bows.

Layla Enduring brutal attacks and heartbreak, Layla Callaway's life would be unbearable if she didn't have a hero willing to fly to the ends of the earth to protect her. Their bond is stronger than ever, but so is the danger she faces. Quin Quin Kavanagh’s purpose has never been clearer. He lives to protect Layla and hold a piece of her extraordinary heart, but he’s about to face the fight of his life, and this battle may mark the end of it. The Enemy Agro’s hunt started twenty-two years ago – a journey of death, destruction and obsession. Now the prey is within his sights, and he’ll burn the whole world down to catch her. witch, wizard, magic, battle, fight, flying, angels, demon, demons, deities, heaven, aura, love, lovers, soulmates, foreplay, sexual tension, kiss, coffee, emotional, new adult fantasy, paranormal romance, romantic, female protagonist, strong beautiful heroine, sexy sweet muscular handsome hero, family, life, death, revenge, survival, good vs evil, epic conflict, heartbreak, tearjerker, forest, beach, ocean, america, oregon, europe, oklahoma, international, psychic, psychics, twilight, witcher, epic fantasy, fantasy romance, strong female, strong female protagonist, Stephanie Meyer, Outlander, Blood & violence, Action & adventure, Angel/Demon lovers, Dual PoV, Emotional, Explicit Sexual Content, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Fate, Fated, Guardian, ward, Insta-love, Love at first sight, Magic, Magical sex, Mutual pining, NSFW, Part of a series that will have a happy ending, Passionate lovers, Protectiveness/protector, Reunion, Romantic sex, Sex, Sexual tension, She saves him, Stalker, Steamy, Supernatural elements, Swoon romance, Tear jerker, Third person pov, Ugly cry, Harry Potter with sex

More than half of the human race is dead because of the nuclear explosions in World War Three. Pain, death, and hopelessness rule the world and crush the people left to scramble for survival. These survivors pray for an end to their suffering. Finally, their prayers are answered. Rising amid the chaos and destruction are the immortal twins, taught to survive and trained for one purpose. Three thousand years of life has taught them how to end the suffering, how to bring hope back to the world. To end the suffering, they must fight against one of their own. A tyrant who wants to rule the city with an iron fist, oppressing the people further and leaving them with no hope. The twins begin the fight alongside others like themselves so they can bring peace to the war-ravaged world. The battle they begin is one that forces them to face hardships they have never seen before in their long lives. This very battle could rip them apart at the seams. Can they restore peace to a world destroyed by its own people, or will they lose each other forever

Listen carefully, I shall say this only once.' John Farman has been doing some espionage of his own and has uncovered the secrets that they teach spies for their own survival. This top security information will separate the rats from the moles. Spying is an ancient profession, and there have been some very exotic characters to exercise this art. From the true, Mata Hari, to the completely fictional, James Bond, there's a glamorous aura to spies and the job they do but never fear, our intrepid author will expose the truth and as always, it's not what you would expect. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.