Many writers in early modern England drew on the rhetorical tradition to explore affective experience. In The Imperfect Friend, Wendy Olmsted examines a broad range of Renaissance and Reformation sources, all of which aim to cultivate 'emotional intelligence' through rhetorical means, with a view to understanding how emotion functions in these texts. In the works of Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), John Milton (1608-1674), and many others, characters are depicted conversing with one another about their emotions. While counselors appeal to objective reasons for feeling a certain way, their efforts to shape emotion often encounter resistance. This volume demonstrates how, in Renaissance and Reformation literature, failures of persuasion arise from conflicts among competing rhetorical frameworks among characters. Multiple frameworks, Olmsted argues, produce tensions and, consequently, an interiorized conflicted self. By situating emotional discourse within distinct historical and socio-cultural perspectives, The Imperfect Friend sheds new light on how the writings of Sidney, Milton, and others grappled with problems of personal identity. From their innovations, the study concludes, friendship emerges as a favourite site of counseling the afflicted and perturbed.

Rishabh is madly in love with Aarti. Has been, ever since he first saw her. For her, he is her best friend… forever. Ruhana is smitten with Rishabh, but he thinks of her as just an amigo. Priyanka is about to marry Rishabh, but he isn’t sure if he loves her. Shefali is carrying Rishabh’s child, and his mind is a total mess. While Rishabh is caught in the whirlwind of relationships, one wonders who he will eventually end up with! Will Rishabh’s imperfect life story have the perfect ending? Will he be able to turn back the pages? The Imperfect is not just a story. It is the mea culpa of a man who did everything in life that he shouldn’t have.

She’s looking for a forever kind of guy, he might not live to see tomorrow. Bethany Connell has one goal: keep her cookies in her basket. And by cookies, she means sex. She will not be distracted by a pretty face and a rock-hard body again. This time, she wants a grown-up relationship. Something steady. Something forever. And then she wakes up in bed with New York City’s sexiest playboy. For Brent Crawford, only one thing matters: football. Except one more pass, and the game could kill him. Literally. With a lethal heart condition he’s been hiding from everyone, he’s got nothing to offer a woman, between the sheets or anywhere else. And then he wakes up in bed with a spitfire blonde who needs his all. So right for each other, Bethany and Brent are convinced now is the wrong time. But they’re about to find out it’s never too late to heal a broken heart. keywords: friends to lovers, New York City Romance, SSDGM, romantic comedy, impotent hero, quirky heroine

When college instructor Dewan Gibson leaves Cleveland for California, he expects to find a world of breast implants, beer and beaches. Instead he enters a secret and ill-fated romance with a Middle Eastern undergraduate. Through vivid narrative written in a conversational tone, Gibson attempts to overcome his forbidden love affair by jumping into an office fling gone wrong (Tijuana Mornings), traveling across the world to Denmark in hopes of meeting Ms. Booty Mama (Arhus Ain't for Lovers) and musing over the interracial relationships between his African-American uncles and rural white women that wore 1980's big bangs and resembled Guns N Roses groupies (Too Much Tupac). Toeing the line between stable adulthood and post-college debauchery, Gibson presents a comically honest look at the frailty of modern relationships. Poignant, witty and at times downright hilarious--The Imperfect Enjoyment is a memoir of toxic relationships and the search for a second chance at love that enlightens and amuses as very few books do.

A judgment-free handbook on parenting kids in all their uniqueness We all want to raise independent, confident children, but unfortunately, there’s no one right way to parent that we can all learn. Each child is unique, and each mom and dad has their own ideas on parenting, often influenced by the way they were raised. The Imperfect Parent shows us how we can celebrate those differences, embracing the individuality of our kids, carrying on the successful practices our parents demonstrated, and learning from their—and our—mistakes. A mom of two boys, author Kate Hamilton is no stranger to parenting struggles, and she knows well that anyone who thinks they can parent error-free is just kidding themselves. This book is an honest look at her parenting triumphs and failures and what parents everywhere can learn from both. She explains: • How to handle parenting advice from others • How to communicate well with your partner or co-parent • How to help your children discover their identities • How to have conversations with your kids about uncomfortable topics • How to let your children fail And that just scratches the surface! Recognizing that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to raising kids, The Imperfect Parent teaches you how to forge a path that works best for your family.

Adam and Tucker are teenagers who attend the same high school in the same small town, but they do not travel in the same circle of friends. Adam comes from a Christian, middle-class home and is recovering from a car wreck in which he has lost his best friend. Tucker is from a poorer, single parent home. He is what most people would describe as trouble; however, he is a faithful and loyal friend. Through a chance meeting, the two spend a few hours together talking about life and death. Their conversation leaves Tucker reconsidering the existence of God and God's purpose for him, and with Tucker's help, Adam begins to deal with the guilt and pain of losing his best friend. The story touches on death, abuse, drugs, suicide, and salvation with the overall theme being that God uses both Christians and non-Christians to fulfill His purpose. God's divine hand works in the hearts of all men: leading non-Christians into a relationship with Him and strengthening Christians as they face the trials of life.

T. S. Eliot once spoke of a lifetime burning in every moment. He had the mind to conceive a perfect life, and he also had the honesty to admit he could not meet it. 'He was a man of extremes whose deep flaws and high virtues were interfused,' writes Lyndall Gordon in this perceptive and innovative biography of the great poet. She brilliantly explores his poetry, drama and essays in relationship to the four quite different women in his life and to his time in America and England. The Imperfect Life of T.S. Eliot follows the trials of a searcher whose flaws and doubts speak to all of us whose lives are imperfect.

In Ancient Sparta, where imperfect babies were thrown to their deaths from Mount Taygetus, and naked Spartan youths cut the throats of Helot slaves as they slept, a Spartan man about to graduate from history’s most brutal military academy is caught in a triangle of lust, love and jealousy from which death or rebellion can be the only escape. This is book one of the series, "Sunset on Sparta".

From the time they were children, Annabelle Larson hasn't liked Ben Martin. Ben and her brother used to get into all kinds of trouble, and though her brother's led the schemes, Ben's never done anything to put a stop to them. And since she's been subjected to some of their ridiculous games, Ben's been nothing but an annoying nuisance. So when Ben forces her hand in marriage, she's furious. How could he do something that has just changed her entire life without any thought to whether or not she even wanted it? Though Annabelle refuses to believe it, Ben's motives were good. If he hadn't stepped in to marry her when he did, she would have ended up with a man who engages in unscrupulous behavior. The trouble is, she refuses to believe him, and worse, she won't even give him a chance to prove he can be a good husband. So in a desperate move to figure out how he can make her fall in love with him, he disguises himself as a woman and joins her lady's group. The Imperfect Husband is a romantic comedy of one man's attempt to woo the woman he's been secretly in love with ever since they were children.

THE IMPERFECT PSYCHIC: A DUBIOUS DEATH is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Ashley King. Charlotte Vale, 30, a psychic from New York City, has a dubious gift—her vision, not always accurate, often leaves her customers more confused than happy. When Charlotte, at a crossroads, gets a vision on what she should do next in life, she follows it, and it leads her to a quaint town upstate, her beloved cat and companion Oliver by her side. Quiet and peaceful, the town offers the exact escape she needed. And when her own vision leads her to a charming historic for sale, she spontaneously decides to buy it and follow her forever dream of running a bed and breakfast. But Charlotte is in way over her head. Desperate to keep it running, she is forced to rely on her psychic abilities once again, and decides to open a psychic booth once again. Everything finally seems to be going her way—when a shocking murder puts her right in the middle of the crime. Now Charlotte must solve the case—or lose her bed and breakfast, her clients, and her future. A page-turning cozy mystery, packed with mystery, a touch of the supernatural and humor—THE IMPERFECT PSYCHIC is an un-putdownable cozy that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night. Books #2-#4 are also available!