Kirjahaku

It's Nashville ... with a devastating flood, a beautiful lawyer, a deadly secret, and wine to kill for in this fourth Mark Rollins adventure mystery.An old man finished a glass of wine--his favorite claret--went to bed and died. Now more than fifty years later, a stunningly beautiful Nashville attorney, Ann Sims, prepares to auction off his estate--a derelict old mansion with its forgotten secret. Sims is living with a secret of her own, a secret that could cost her the fortune she is to inherit and end her career. Afraid, for good reason, of the possessive and greedy men in her life, she turns to Mark Rollins for protection.People are dead--possibly murdered. Rollins must deal with these events during a blinding three-day rainstorm that sends the Cumberland River over its banks and turns Nashville's streams and creeks into raging floodwaters.

Read 'Em & Reap addresses two transformative questions for for leaders, coaches, parents, teachers, and lifelong learners: Why is reading critical to our personal and professional growth, brain health, emotional intelligence, happiness, and yes, even our longevity? What simple techniques can we use to get more reading into our lives - and help those we serve do the same - even when we're "too busy"? Learn how you can reap rewards from reading and share them with your clients, colleagues, and kids."This book will help you to re-frame the time you spend reading. Read 'Em and Reap shows] you not only why reading helps you live longer, but what to read, and how to read so you can benefit from the longevity effect regular reading delivers." - Pamela Wilson, author of Master Content Marketing and Master Content StrategyYou've probably heard the saying, "Leaders are readers." Ever wonder if that's true? Or if so, then just how does reading make better leaders? After seeing yet another headline along those lines, retired lawyer, author, speaker, and entrepreneur Tom Collins decided to find out what the science shows. In Read 'Em & Reap he takes you on a journey into the scientific research confirming how reading - and reading print books, in particular - delivers on the leadership promise, and much more. Some of the ways may surprise you: reducing harmful stresshelping you sleep betterimproving your decision-making capacitymaking you smarterincreasing your empathyand even helping you live longer All these contribute directly or indirectly to making you a better leader, right? And how about a better partner, parent . . . person? They make you healthier and happier, too If these claims sound like snake oil, printed and bound, read on. The supporting science you'll learn about is pretty overwhelming. After you've followed the evidence, the last three chapters will help you apply it to get more reading into your life and more life out of your reading.So if you're already a book-a-holic, you'll see why that "affliction" so enriches your life. If you're not, get started now, with this book; the proof is at your fingertips

Mystery writer, Tom Collins, departed from his usual genre to shine the light on Western North Carolina in his award winning ninth book, Exploring Asheville, winner of the Independent Press Award for its literary category. The book is a four-part "must have guide" for getting the most out of the Asheville experience. Part One: Asheville History consists of stories about the people and moments in time that forged the city's unique culture. You never know who you will see or meet walking the streets of Asheville-rich man, poor man, bohemian artist, eccentric billionaire, famous actor, author or even a professed witch. Few other places are as rich in history and human creativity, providing an inexhaustible supply of stories. To understand the feel of the city-why it is called the Weirdest, Happiest, Quirkiest, Most Haunted Place in America, you need to become "Asheville Smart."Part Two: Attractions and Activities covers things to do and see from A to Z that bring people to this extraordinary place in the majestic Appalachian Mountains-from antique shopping and the Biltmore to white water rafting on the French Broad, and, of course, all of the festivals from Art in the Park to the Wooly Worm Festival. Western North Carolinians have an insatiable appetite for celebrating the mountains' wonders and its music, dance, and food. This section also includes addresses, directions, phone numbers and even websites to help the reader participate in the area's almost unlimited attractions and activities.Part Three: Mysteries and Ghost stories are about the city's secrets and legends including alleged paranormal events and hauntings. Enjoying Asheville includes experiencing its unique mystical aura that draws people from around the world. Asheville's roots are mountain people-descendants from generations of native Americans, settlers, immigrants, and slaves with a tradition of witches, ghost, legends, and myths. This penchant for the paranormal has been reinforced by modern day psychics and seers who believe that its quartz laden mountains emit energy and power beyond the understanding of humans.Part Four: Tall Tales stories are told by the author's imaginary friends who join him on the rocking chair porch of a historic Asheville Manor. These are tales told in the Appalachian Mountain tradition-sworn to be true as gospel, likely exaggerated and some hard to believe at all. The Celtic and Cherokee oral traditions of storytelling are alive and well in the mountains and may well account for the plethora of notable authors from the area-people like Thomas Wolfe, O. Henry, and Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain. Stories were often used to explain the unexplainable, to protect others with taboos, or just to memorialize the wily mountain boy's craftiness for always gaining the advantage.Exploring Asheville-Its History, Attractions, Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales includes everything you need to get the most out of your Asheville experience. The book's striking cover depicts the view down Patton Avenue toward City Hall painted by Asheville River Arts District's artist, Jeff Pittman.

In September of 1864, a gang of Confederate irregulars stormed a Union train and made off with half a ton of gold which they buried somewhere in Asheville, North Carolina. Late in the winter of that year, Corporal James Donaldson Walker, one of the few surviving robbers, was captured by Union soldiers and was sent to Ship Island, a prisoner of war camp about twelve miles off the coast of Mississippi. The pure white sand of the island's beach as seen from his prison ship melted away Walker's fear of imprisonment. But the illusion was quickly shattered by a smell as foul as any pig farm mingled with that of dead bodies. To maintain his sanity, he secretly began recording the plight of prisoners-brutally harsh conditions, bad water, starvation, disease, and general miseries all suffered under the callous indifference of their guards. Yet, there were occasional moments of happiness in an otherwise hopeless place. When Corporal Walker fears he will not live to enjoy freedom, he reveals a secret in his diary, one he had pledged to take to his grave.More than one hundred and fifty years later, three Nashville college students find the old, tattered journal. Sensing that the book will lead to an adventure, they use ultraviolet light to bring the faded cursive writing to life. They discover the secret in the diary, and their find sends them to Western North Carolina in search of the stolen Civil War gold. The students have technology on their side-a drone, deep seeking metal detectors, and even an exotic gravity device that can find caves and underground vaults. Despite their high-tech equipment recovering the gold is not that simple. Their initial effort fails, and they realize that there is more to the diary's secret than first appeared.The adventure takes a sinister turn when one of the students disappears. The others call for help. Mark Rollins arrives and is joined in the search for the student by two tough looking men dispatched by the missing boy's uncle, a former Czech mobster turned Miami real estate tycoon.Things get dicey when the students discover that they are not the only ones after the gold.

In September of 1864, a gang of Confederate irregulars stormed a Union train and made off with half a ton of gold which they buried somewhere in Asheville, North Carolina. Late in the winter of that year, Corporal James Donaldson Walker, one of the few surviving robbers, was captured by Union soldiers and was sent to Ship Island, a prisoner of war camp about twelve miles off the coast of Mississippi. The pure white sand of the island's beach as seen from his prison ship melted away Walker's fear of imprisonment. But the illusion was quickly shattered by a smell as foul as any pig farm mingled with that of dead bodies. To maintain his sanity, he secretly began recording the plight of prisoners-brutally harsh conditions, bad water, starvation, disease, and general miseries all suffered under the callous indifference of their guards. Yet, there were occasional moments of happiness in an otherwise hopeless place. When Corporal Walker fears he will not live to enjoy freedom, he reveals a secret in his diary, one he had pledged to take to his grave.More than one hundred and fifty years later, three Nashville college students find the old, tattered journal. Sensing that the book will lead to an adventure, they use ultraviolet light to bring the faded cursive writing to life. They discover the secret in the diary, and their find sends them to Western North Carolina in search of the stolen Civil War gold. The students have technology on their side-a drone, deep seeking metal detectors, and even an exotic gravity device that can find caves and underground vaults. Despite their high-tech equipment recovering the gold is not that simple. Their initial effort fails, and they realize that there is more to the diary's secret than first appeared.The adventure takes a sinister turn when one of the students disappears. The others call for help. Mark Rollins arrives and is joined in the search for the student by two tough looking men dispatched by the missing boy's uncle, a former Czech mobster turned Miami real estate tycoon.Things get dicey when the students discover that they are not the only ones after the gold.

Two women drone pilots battle in outer space to defend their country from a rogue military element intent on using the commandeered top secret X37-B Spacecraft to overthrow the government of the United States.