True Adventure

Environmental writer Laurie King and international best-selling author Miriam Lancewood present a collection of narrative non-fiction stories and poems on the human connection with nature.

Rumors of dragon sightings are stirring up fears based on old stories that depict dragons as bloodthirsty, fire-breathing monsters. To protect his people, the Overking decrees that all dragons must die. Twelve-year-old Eliana knows the truth about dragons. After all, her best friend Winston is one! Fresh off an adventure where she saved her kingdom with her ability to communicate with Winston’s family, she is now excited to hone her skills through her Dragon Speaker apprenticeship.

Fashion is a business of smoke and mirrors, notorious for crushing the souls of most who dare to be part of the industry. Go on a global expedition with New York City-based fashion buyer, strategist, and consultant, Mercedes Gonzalez, as she learns that there is no glamour in fashion and that only cutthroat corporate espionage prevails. From politicking with blood diamond dealers and Russian kingpins to living in indigenous villages, she has relied on her street smarts and fear of her uncle in order to outwit the industry tyrants at their own game.

All his life, Jack has longed for an adventure, so when giants turn up in the neighbor's cabbage patch, he is thrilled! Soon Jack is chasing them to a land beyond the clouds, with his little sister, Annabella, in tow. The kingdom of giants is full of super-sized fun: Puddings to swim in, spoons to use as catapults, monster toads to carry off pesky little sisters...But Jack and Annabella are on a mission. The king of the giants has taken something that belongs to them, and they’ll do anything - even dive into a smelly tureen of green bean soup - to get it back.

He'd returned from war a duke. Now Rafael Daughtry was battling a force more terrifying than Napoleon's army—his family. Thankfully, his childhood friend Charlotte Seavers had agreed—reluctantly—to a bargain. While Rafe would provide her with the home she'd lost, Charlotte would provide him with a chaperone for his unruly twin sisters. But who would chaperone Rafe? For the feisty young girl he remembered had blossomed into a sensual woman—a woman whose haunting beauty and deeply kept secrets drew him like no other. Charlotte had good reason to mistrust men—yet could Rafe's ...

In the rolling green hills of Kaipara, Scottish vet Rory Dean and his two fox terriers, Scrappy and Alfie, are on call day and night for whichever animal emergency awaits. In Adventures of a Country Vet, Rory shares stories of the livestock and pets he's cared for as a rural vet in New Zealand and southwest England. From calving in a blizzard to a dog wounded in a pig-hunt, a horse castration gone wrong and warming a baby alpaca in the footwell of his ute, life as a vet is all-go.

A TRUE STORY of a bear hunt with a hand gun (S&W Model 19, .357 Caliber) in the State of Idaho

Torn between the shadows and the light, Ella must make an impossible choice. Her heart belongs to her mate. But her family needs her now more than ever. After barely surviving their return from the world of shadows, Ella pleads with her mother to save Ryatt—the mate she loves and the father of the child she carries. Her family answers the call, and for a moment, Ella dares to hope for peace. But Ryatt has a kingdom to return to. A kingdom at war. Now, Ella must choose between the family who made her whole again… And the man who owns her heart. Will she return to the shadows with her ...

This short story is based on the amazing true tale of castaway Daniel Foss who, in the 1800s, survived alone on a remote and barren rock island. A fast read of approximately 18 pages.

The Darkest Jungle tells the harrowing story of America's first ship canal exploration across a narrow piece of land in Central America called the Darien, a place that loomed large in the minds of the world's most courageous adventurers in the nineteenth century. With rivals from England and France days behind, the 27-member U.S. expedition landed on the Atlantic shore at Caledonia Bay in eastern Panama to begin their mad dash up the coast-hugging mountains of the Darien wilderness.

On April 6, 1940, explorer and future World War II spy Theodore Morde (who would one day attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler), anxious about the perilous journey that lay ahead of him, struggled to fall asleep at the Paris Hotel in La Ceiba, Honduras. Nearly seventy years later, in the same hotel, acclaimed journalist Christopher S. Stewart wonders what he's gotten himself into.

Back again with even more "mostly true" tales from the trail, Lawton Grinter's new book I Hike Again is sure to find a place in every adventurer's library! I Hike Again imparts hard-earned wisdom from trails both in the United States (Arizona Trail, Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, Wind River High Route) and abroad (Spain's GR11 and New Zealand's Te Araroa).

It started as a joke, a night out with three friends in costume. A debauched international pub crawl followed, but the partying and exotic women weren't enough, and what started off as a bit of fun slowly descended into madness. With sombreros atop their thick skulls and swords hoisted high, they would storm the most dangerous places on earth...and face the consequences.

Just as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations did for the world of food, Dopeworld is an intoxicating journey into the world of drugs. From the cocaine farms in South America to the streets of Manila, Dopeworld traces the emergence of psychoactive substances and our intimate relationship with them. As a former drug dealer turned subversive scholar, with unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, street dealers, and government officials, journalist Niko Vorobyov attempts to shine a light on the dark underbelly of the drug world.

Experience the awesomeness of my unexpected voyage to an undiscovered land where I survive shipwrecks, arena death match spectacles, rampaging rhinoceraptors, naked and rather surly giants, and even dragons! Well, a dragon.... All in my pursuit of fame and glory. Every word of it is true. Totally true. How do I know? Because it's all about me. Gustav Gustavson, Legendary Viking Warrior.

Can Brayden protect the throne and win Willow's heart before it’s too late? Powerful vampire prince Brayden Moretti doesn’t want to be king, but his brother has fallen ill. With hostile vampire rebels threatening the throne, and no cure in sight, Brayden distracts himself with sassy Willow. Facing that she’s his fated mate means giving up his sexy playboy lifestyle, but soon that becomes the least of his worries. Willow is focused on building her freelancing business, and done with men, when she crosses paths with a gorgeous silver-eyed stranger. After spending a sizzling week with ...

Car mechanic and sometime shape-shifter Mercy Thompson has learned, the hard way, why her race was almost exterminated. When European vampires immigrated to North America, they found Mercy's people had a hidden talent - for vampire slaying. Unfortunately for Mercy, the queen of the local vampire seethe has discovered her true identity. She's also furious when she learns Mercy has crossed her and killed one of her vampires. Mercy may be protected from direct reprisals by the werewolf pack, but that just means Marsilia will come after Mercy some other way.

As a programmer, Ike knows all about Virtual Dive Experiences (VDX), but when he suddenly wakes up in a virtual game he's never heard of, he’s too busy struggling to survive to worry about how he got there. Luckily, he's got a trick up his sleeve: the ability to program custom enchantments for his gear. He’ll need that and more to figure out what’s going on, since there’s no tutorial and True Calling plays by its own rules....

Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed "Grump") has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home behind. At first, life above-ground is a dream come true. Queen Elfrieda Veronika Ingrid Lenore (E.V.I.L.) is the best friend Grump always wanted, feeding him all the rubies he can eat and allowing him to rule at her side in exchange for magic and information. But as time goes on, Grump starts to suspect that Queen E.V.I.L. may not be as nice as she seems....

When the writer Donovan Hohn heard of the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys at sea, he figured he would interview a few oceanographers, talk to a few beachcombers, and read up on Arctic science and geography. But questions can be like ocean currents: wade in too far, and they carry you away. Hohn's accidental odyssey pulls him into the secretive world of shipping conglomerates, the daring work of Arctic researchers, the lunatic risks of maverick sailors, and the shadowy world of Chinese toy factories.