Networking means different things to different people. Some may think it's about collecting cards and contacts. Others may think it only happens in person . . . in places like golf courses or exclusive clubs or business luncheons. Still others think it mostly happens online, and they avoid the face-to-face aspect. Only a few understand that networking is about multiple ways of meeting new people and building strong, fruitful relationships. Done the right way, your growing network relationships will nurture both your business and personal needs. The goal of this book: to help you choose the right strategic direction, take the right steps, and communicate a clear and effective message to everyone you meet. With the help you'll find here, you will find better ways to discover, develop, and refine your unique networking presence and voice. Networking also can, and should, be fun. Let's face it . . . the best networker is an Enthusiastic Networker! Themes: Business Development • Networking Juli Monroe helps others find their own voice and their own path to building business relationships. For many years, Juli has been mentoring business owners and sales people in the Washington, D.C. area, helping them develop relationship marketing skills to promote themselves and their businesses effectively.

The Enthusiastic Networker

Business & Money

Monroe, Juli

Marketing & Sales

Crispin Books

"Dance On His Grave is a strong start to the Sidra Smart mystery series. Sid is a compelling character; a woman who lived a sheltered life until she decided she wanted out of a controlling relationship and is now determined to start her life anew. . . . A female baby-boomer as a private eye is a fresh addition to the mystery genre, even more appealing, one with intelligence and maturity. Sid's Aunt Annie is a likeable, albeit quirky character, and Sid's mentor George Leger lends a colorful Cajun ambience to the story. This well-written mystery falls under the category of page-turner and will keep the reader entertained throughout." -Christy Tillery French, author of The Bodyguard and the Rock Star Sidra Smart, rookie private eye, struggles to survive her own internal conflicts as she plunges into a surreal world of passion and murder. Fifty-year-old Sidra Smart is not your ordinary rookie private eye. A recently divorced preacher's wife, she knows nothing about running the private detective business she's just inherited from her brother. But soon her first client bursts in with vague flashbacks of a grisly thirty-year-old murder. The story takes place in and around Orange, Texas, in the borderlands where Texas and Louisiana meet, a region filled with colorful characters, good food, and dark secrets.

Dance on His Grave

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Smith, Sylvia Dickey

Mystery

Sidra Smart's search for an elusive pirate schooner stirs up a bayou bonanza of treasure hunters, smugglers, and the spirits of the infamous Jean Lafitte and his pirate queen, Mary Anne Radcliff. New P.I. Sid Smart, ex-preacher's wife, is back for another puzzling case, as she tackles the strange tale of Boo Murphy, who has just been accused of murder. When Boo tells a tale of stumbling on the Hotspur, Lafitte's privateering schooner, half-buried in a Texas swamp, most everyone is convinced she's not telling the whole truth. As Sidra searches for both the schooner and evidence to clear her client, she begins to suspect that her trusted mentor and friend George Léger is involved in something fishy as well. What would she do without the help of companions Aunt Annie and Slider, her faithful mongrel pooch, as the dangerous investigation takes Sidra from the small town of Orange, Texas, out into the nearby bayous? Interwoven families and feuding neighbors muddy the clues, swirling from past to present, as elusive as a spectral schooner. Will the answer be found in the legend of Lafitte and the voluptuous, swashbuckling Mary Anne Radcliff, sailing through the adventures of this third Sidra Smart mystery? SYLVIA DICKEY SMITH is the author of the Sidra Smart mystery series and an award-winning World War II homefront novel, A War of Her Own. She lives in Georgetown, Texas. "Move over Stephanie Plum and Annie Darling. There's a new sassy sleuth on the scene and boy, is she a firecracker!" - Chick Lit Cafe

Dead Wreckoning

In this latest Sidra Smart mystery, Sid takes a bumpy road trip with her Aunt Annie. In the meantime, Boo Murphy - a cranky old swamp-rat who prefers to spend time in her pirogue, hunting and fishing, to spending time with people - is pulled into a strange world when she discovers a deserted brush-hut deep in the bayou. The discovery leads Boo deeper and deeper into a clandestine effort to resurrect a cultural site for the Atakapa-Ishak natives. But are the leaders legit, or do they have other self-serving passions? In The Swamp Whisperer, Boo has to rely on her wits and swamp wisdom, as she and her cousin Sasha are pulled into an maelstrom of backwater mayhem. The story takes place in the bayou border- lands where Texas and Louisiana meet, a region filled with colorful characters, good food, and dark secrets. "If you've never read a Sylvia Dickey Smith novel before, this one will bring you into the fold. Her love of Southeast Texas comes through in her descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of the swamp. Crammed with plot twists, lush atmosphere, and memorable characters, Smith's talent shines in this rollicking mystery. We don't get many protagonists like Boo in crime fiction - but we should! She's cantankerous, headstrong, and a ton of fun to read about!" - Chick Lit Café SYLVIA DICKEY SMITH is the author of the Sidra Smart mystery series and an award-winning World War II homefront novel, A War of Her Own. She lives in Georgetown, Texas.

The Swamp Whisperer

Albert McClune is bigger than most kids in his neighborhood. He dreams of being a hero, to turn his family's fortunes and return the happiness lost with his brother Pete. But Albert is crippled by fear and shame. Fleeing home, he meets Elijah Amos Fortune Jones, an odd and charismatic boy who takes Albert on a treasure hunt deep into the Memphis city sewers and a network of uncharted caves. They face a voodoo priest, swim in rat-infested tunnels, and engage in a deadly race for the lost ransom of Machine Gun Kelly. But beware the man-sized catfish! Goliath Catfish is a gripping adventure story, set in the environs of Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 1940s. The tale is reminiscent of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, the story of two boys - one white, one black - who take a remarkable journey into an underworld . . . and discover much about themselves and each other in their dangerous quest for great treasure. SCOTT T. GILL was a minister for many years, then left the "cloth" to pursue a career in teaching and telling stories. As a middle school teacher and coach, he teaches writing and inspires athletes from the sidelines. He lives in Rockwall, Texas.

Goliath Catfish

Children's Books

Gill, Scott T.

Literature & Fiction

BRONZE MEDAL WINNER, Readers' Favorite International Book Award, 2014. GOTHIC READERS BOOK CLUB CHOICE AWARD WINNER, 2013. A cemetery. A lost child. An ancient secret. Do you believe in ghosts? In Old Willow Cemetery, Elias Hatch protects the secret power buried inside his cemetery, and he knows five-year-old Henry Brooke has managed to get inside the locked gates. Who let him inside? Where is he now? Antonia Brooke and her husband Adam frantically search the woods and all of Concord to find their little boy. Not until Detective Mike Balducci discovers the crystal sculpture buried in Old Willow, not until he discovers the apparitions hiding within the woods, not until he discovers the dazzling faces inside the darkened air, does he find the clues to what happened to Henry Brooke in Concord, Massachusetts. This is a supernatural mystery about a family who confronts long-buried secrets of the dead. Do you believe in haunted cemeteries? Come into the dazzling darkness. Midwest Book Review: "Paula Cappa is a master of the metaphysical mystery genre...an extraordinary and original storyteller of the first rank. Very highly recommended." 5-Stars Satin Paperbacks: "A supernatural adventure ... steeped in fulsome imagination, twists and turns. Gripping and absorbing, this is worth your time."Paula Cappa is the recipient of a Chanticleer Book Award for Greylock, the prestigious Eric HofferBook Award, the Readers' Favorite International Bronze Medal for Supernatural Suspense,and a Gothic Readers Book Club Award Winner in Outstanding Fiction.

The Dazzling Darkness

Cappa, Paula

Genre Fiction

"A powerful page-turner-enigmatic, surprising, and completely engaging . . . a wild ride over dangerous and previously uncharted terrain." - JAMES HULBERT, author of A Kiss Before You Leave Me. "A startling story that captures the reader from the first page, with strong character development and a robust vocabulary. Cappa's characters are the kind the reader remembers long after the story has ended." - JUDITH REVEAL, author of The Brownstone. Night Sea Journey is a tale of the supernatural, a quiet horror novel with paranormal apparitions, plenty of romance, psychological twists-and murder. Kip Livingston lives alone in Abasteron House on Horn Island and is a talented painter with an inspired imagination. But she is haunted by a dark nocturnal visitor. Each night while Kip sleeps, a winged creature with greedy teeth invades her dreams and drags her to the bottom of a ghost-grey sea. For help, she turns to exiled priest Raymond Kera, who falls for her seductive charms. Can Raymond save her from this dream demon? Or will Kip have to save herself? From the author of The Dazzling Darkness, this supernatural thriller is a gripping, mystical, exquisite story, a dreamy tale that delves deep into uncharted waters and will keep your mind racing. Paula Cappa is also the author of The Dazzling Darkness, winner of a Gothic Readers Book Club Award for Outstanding Fiction, and her short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. She lives in Pound Ridge, New York.

Night Sea Journey: A Tale of the Supernatural

ODIN'S PROMISE is a historical novel for middle-grade readers, a story of the first year of German occupation of Norway in World War II as seen through the eyes of a young girl. Eleven-year-old Mari grew up tucked under the wings of her parents, grandma, and older siblings. After Hitler's troops invade Norway in Spring 1940, she is forced to grow beyond her "little girl" nickname to deal with harsh new realities. At her side for support and protection is Odin, her faithful elkhound. As the year progresses, Mari, her family, and her neighbors are drawn into the activities of the Norwegian underground resistance. " Readers will cheer for Mari as she develops her inner strength - and the courage to help celebrate Norway's spirit of resistance." - Kathleen Ernst, author of American Girl's Caroline Abbott series for young readers and the Historic Sites Mystery Series featuring Chole Ellefson for adults. "Beautifully written, emotionally taut novel of one girl's coming of age during war time." - Gayle Rosengren, What the Moon Said, (Putnam, 2014).

Odin's Promise

Brehl, Sandy

Animals

Playing Soccer with Buddha offers a series of thought-provoking reflections on topics from spiritual growth to social justice, from diverse views of God to an exploration of the long, rich heritage of Unitarian Universalism. In these penetrating, far-reaching essays, every reader will find both touchstones for their beliefs and challenges to their convictions, encouraging us all to look clearly, think deeply, and embrace a passionate spirit of life. The pieces were first delivered from the pulpit by the author during his tenure as senior minister at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, 1986-2014. Active in a wide array of progressive causes and twice arrested for civil disobedience, The Reverend Drew Kennedy served as minister of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee for 28 years, tripling the size of the downtown congregation and inspiring a legacy of social justice involvement and community outreach.

Playing Soccer with Buddha

History

Kennedy, Drew

World

"We need stories like these to help us make sense out of our lives. Kunkel's characters are familiar to most Midwesterners. They're laconic, hardworking, practical, quick to worry, slow to complain. . . . These are stories to warm the heart and spirit." - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. With an entertaining cast of Midwestern characters - farmers, newlyweds, hunters, ministers, teens - this luminescent collection of 17 short stories combines humor, grace, and tender insights. There are rewards to win (and prices to pay), whether swimming in musky-infested waters in the nude . . . or facing the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940 . . . or chasing an aging rhino down a Wisconsin back road. Author Jeff Kunkel is an accomplished storyteller, writer, artist, and United Methodist minister. Born and raised in Wisconsin, he now lives in Oakland, California.

Warming Fires: Stories for All Seasons (2nd Edition)

Kunkel, Jeff

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