It is 1942 in the Dutch East Indies, and Nick Duncan is a young Australian butterfly collector in search of a single exotic butterfly. With invading Japanese forces coming closer by the day, Nick falls in love with the beguiling Anna van Heerden. Their time together is brief, as both are forced into separate, dangerous escapes. They plan to reunite and marry in Australia but it is several years before their paths cross again, scarred forever by the dark events of a long, cruel war. In The Persimmon Tree, Bryce Courtenay gives us a story of love and friendship set against the dramatic backdrop of the Pacific during the Second World War.About the AuthorBryce Courtenay was born in 1933 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and has lived in Australia for over forty years. Bryce wrote his first book, The Power of One, at the age of fifty-five. It has now sold nearly three million copies worldwide! His other bestselling titles include Tandia, April Fool's Day, The Potato Factory, Tommo & Hawk, Jessica, Solomon's Song, Smoky Joe's Cafe, Four Fires, Matthew Flinders' Cat, The Family Frying Pan, Brother Fish, Whitethorn and Sylvia. From AudioFileWhen the Japanese invade Indonesia in 1942, 17-year-old Australian Nick Duncan escapes by sailing a yacht across the ocean. It's a harrowing journey made manageable, in part, by Nick's hope that his new love, Anna, is safely on her way to Australia. Unfortunately, Anna is stuck in Indonesia, a prisoner of the Japanese. This love and adventure story is overlong. However, Humphrey Bower's narration makes it a pleasure. His skills should be a model. He reads with anticipation--so that a line written as a laugh or a sob is read as a laugh or a sob without being overdramatized. His characterizations reveal personality and motive, and hold steady throughout the book. And his pacing keeps us interested even when the plot is predictable. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

THE ZONE 3 • HUNTER-KILLER The Russian plan a sea borne attack on the NATO flank through the Baltic. Parachuted on to a Swedish island Major Revells’ team ambush the Soviet warships and transports using captured weapons to ensure it is not NATO that takes the blame. SYNOPSIS The Warsaw Pact land forces, brought to a halt by determined NATO defences and counter attacks, plan a powerful sea borne assault on the NATO flank through the Baltic sea in the depths of winter. Parachuted on to a Baltic island in the grip of viciously cold weather, the Special Combat Force has to avoid detection. If they are discovered then some of the Scandinavian countries, presently in a precarious state of neutrality might no longer supply the west with essential materials. To avoid any such accusation Revells’ men have to employ an array powerful captured weapons to destroy the enemy warships and transports. In terrible frigid conditions they must fight first the cold and then without being detected, rain destruction on the massively armed Soviet task force. PUBLISHED First NEL Paperback Edition March 1981 First IMPRINT Publication E-Book Edition May 2005 First Revision IMPRINT Publications E-Book Edition April 2007

“Fast-paced.” – People “This terrific thriller will drag you into its chilling web of terror and not let go until the last paragraph…A ripping good read.” – The San Francisco Examiner “Catherine Coulter can always be counted on to write an exciting thriller.” – BookBrowser “Ms. Coulter is a one-of-a-kind author who knows how to hook her readers and keep them coming back for more.” – The Best Reviews “A good storyteller…Coulter always keeps the pace brisk.” – Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Danger never felt so good.” – BookPage “Coulter takes readers on a chilling and suspenseful ride…taut, fast-paced, hard to put down.” – Cedar Rapids Gazette “A mind-bending mystery…intriguing.” – Publishers Weekly “Fast-paced, romantic…Coulter gets better and more cinematic with each of her suspenseful FBI adventures.” – Booklist “A dizzying dash involving kidnapping, near misses, murder, and a manhunt. Her readers are guaranteed a happy ending.” – The Sacramento Bee *** Dear Reader: Get yourself ready for Mary Lisa Beverly – a soap-opera phenom who's just won her third Daytime Emmy for her role as Sunday Cavendish on Born to Be Wild. She's fun and lovable and has lots of crazy friends, most of whom hang out at her house in the Colony, the famous gated community in Malibu. Unfortunately, there is one bad thing to poleax her champagne life – someone is trying to kill her. You'll meet Mary Lisa's family in Goddard Bay, Oregon. She's blessed with her father, cursed with her mother, and betwixt and between with her two nutzoid sisters. And how about guys? There aren't any hotties in L.A. of interest to Mary Lisa, but in Goddard Bay – there are District Attorney John Goddard and Chief of Police Jack Wolf. And guess what? Even in the boondocks, bad stuff can happen. Mary Lisa's best friends, Lou Lou Bollinger and Elizabeth Fargas, become embroiled in the baffling attempts on Mary Lisa's life in L.A., with unexpected results. I hope you laugh a lot with Born to Be Wild, root for Mary Lisa in all of her roles, and all in all, have a fine time with this book. Do let me know what you think. Write me at P.O. Box 17, Mill Valley, CA 94942, or e-mail me at readmoi@aol.com. Visit my website at www.catherinecoulter.com. Enjoy, Catherine Coulter

All wars have a beginning. Before weapons, before nations, before battlefields and conquest, there was the Void... The histories of Ice Giants, Earth Shakers, spider mothers and the Shade Folk come together in TALES OF THE LONG WAR, a collection of micro-stories that will take fans deeper into the myths and legends that formed the Lands of Ro.

When a wounded wild rabbit is found in the front yard, he is given a good home and a memorable name by a twelve-year-old with a liking for basketball, the trombone, and the newspaper's daily horoscope. But Orwell is no ordinary rabbit. It soon seems that he is attempting to reward his young caretaker by mysteriously sending coded messages in the form of predictions: the final score of the Super Bowl, advance notice of a pop quiz at school, tomorrow's winning lottery number! Can this little rabbit foretell the future? Can Orwell actually make luck happen? Here is a magical and heartwarming story about kindness, friendship, and hope in the shadow of fortune's ever-turning wheel.

Certain works of fantasy are immediately recognizable as monuments, towering above the rest of the category. Authors of those works, such as George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and Terry Goodkind, come immediately to mind. Add to that list David Farland, whose epic Runelords series continues now in Worldbinder.After the events of Sons of the Oak, Fallion and Jaz, the sons of the great Earth King Gaborn, are now living as fugitives in their own kingdom. Their former home has been invaded and secretly controlled by supernatural being of ultimate evil. The sons are biding their time until they can regain their rightful places in the land.Fallion seems destined to heal the world, and feels the calling to act. When he attempts to do so though, two entire worlds collapse into one, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Lilly and Ceily Carney are only seven and twelve when their mother is cruelly taken from them, leaving them at the mercy of the Church and the authorities. This is a terrifying prospect in 1950s Dublin, where it is likely that the girls will end up in one of Ireland's notorious Magdalen laundries - a fate they are determined to escape.When Father Flitters and the 'Cruelty' people arrive to take the children into care, Lilly and Ceily resist, and a riot breaks out. The girls are helped by kind Mister Mullins and his daughter Delia, but events lead to further tragedy and Lilly is left to fend for herself on the dangerous streets. Heartbroken, hungry and vulnerable, she looks like easy prey and it seems there will be no safe haven for her to find.