Hood's travel memoir is a lyrical journey to places of great natural beauty and biological importance. Her stories reveal the vulnerability of natural places and the consequences of unsustainable exploitation. This inspiring work will be valuable for those interested in nature or travel memoirs, ethnographic writing, and for all who are concerned with the survival of our broader sense of place in the global environment.

Seasonal roads are defined as one-lane dirt roads not maintained during the winter. They function as connectors linking farmers to their fields, neighbors to neighbors, or two more well-traveled roads to each other. Some access hunting lands and recreational areas. Some pass by cemeteries, allowing people to visit and honor their dead. They can be abandoned as people move and towns fade. In every incarnation, the seasonal road touches the land in a gentler way than do other roads. Having traveled nearly every seasonal road in Steuben County, New York, Hood finds they provide the ideal vantage to contemplate the meaning of place, offering intimate contact with plant and wildlife and the beauty of a rural landscape. Each road reveals how our land is used, how our land is protected, and how environmental factors have impacted the land. As a literary naturalist, Hood reflects on endangered species and invasive species, as well as on issues of conservation and sustainability. From state forests to potato fields, from development along Keuka Lake to vineyards, from old family cemeteries to logging sites, Walking Seasonal Roads is a celebration and an honoring of the rural and the regionalism of place, illustrating the ways we connect to our home and to each other.

Six previously published short stories, collected from the pages of Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Thou Shalt Not (Stories of Dark Crime and Horror), Best of Crossed Genres (Fantasy & Science Fiction with a Twist), South Dakota Review, and others. From New Orleans to Mexico to ancient Hawaii, six sensual, darkly fantastic tales reimagine classics such as Dorian Gray, Helen of Troy, and The Yellow Wallpaper. An obsessed paparazzo stalks his subject-a singer whose photos morph but face remains unchanged. An unborn triplet haunts and taunts its mother for the choice she made. An infertile woman seeks to learn the language of the dead baby she continues to carry.

In 1922, on his private island off the coast of Florida, on a calm, lovely evening, Senator Stephen Huntington walked out on the terrace for an after-dinner cigar, and was never seen again. Local superstition has it that he was devoured by the strangler fig, a tropical vine that spreads itself onto other plants and kills again and again, slaying relentlessly and without compunction anything that stands in the path of its growth. Seven years later, Bolivar Brown accepts an invitation to vacation on the island with Huntington's family and some of the Senator's former friends. When a hurricane batters the island, clean-up crews soon find the dead strangler fig vine wrapped around a body dressed in the Senator's clothes. That evening another victim is strangled. Bolivar Brown is compelled to discover the truth buried beneath the passions and ambitions of the Senator's former friends before another falls victim to the strangler fig.

There are thousands of different plants on Earth. Readers get an up-close and colorful look at the diversity of plant life on our planet. Fun facts about a variety of plants are presented in an informative and eye-catching way that is sure to entertain readers while introducing and reinforcing them to basic science concepts, such as classifying living things. Algae, moss, and plants with flowers and cones—readers are introduced to a plethora of plants. Readers also learn what makes each kind of plant unique, such as how some plants even eat small animals for dinner.

The Story of Life & the Environment – an African perspective is about the fragile miracle of life. It’s a celebration of the Earth’s rich and wonderful diversity – the species, populations, communities and ecosystems that surround us – and of nature’s resilience. It unpacks the three major ecosystems: fresh water, the ocean and the land, and the teeming life each supports on and around Africa. It discusses evolution and the ever-branching tree of life; how systems work, how populations expand and contract, and how all the elements of life interact. And it tells the story of how humans originated in Africa, and how we have evolved to become modern people. The book sounds a warning about our human impact on the planet, which is fostering rapid climate change, as well as massive over-consumption and depletion of resources. The book is also about responsible planning and management of our environment and natural resources to redress damage and ensure sustainability. This is the story of life and the environment in Africa.

Plants are found almost everywhere on Earth, but to many people their lives are a mystery. Discover the secrets of more than 100 amazing plants in this treasury of intriguing flora. Learn how seagrass changes the environment around it, how the Venus flytrap counts to make sure it catches its prey, and why some tulips used to cost more than a house! This ebook explores the vast plant kingdom and explains how plants work, as well as the weird and wonderful relationships they have with animals. Plants provide us with food, fuel, and medicine, and without them, life as we know it would not exist. From orchids that grow vanilla pods to trees that cause headaches, and from bamboo that can be made into clothes to moss that soaks up vast amounts of carbon dioxide, plants shape our world in an endless variety of ways. The Secret World of Plants covers the key plant groups; the essentials of plant science, including photosynthesis, pollination, and germination; and what they mean to the people around them. Each species is shown with remarkable photography and beautiful illustrations, all brought to life by Ben Hoare's writing, filled with charm and infectious enthusiasm. This book is a must for any child interested in the natural world and the plants that grow in it.