J. Elliott

Haint Blue needs a vacation. It looks like she'll be alone for Christmas. Her relationship with Buster is in limbo. Why not slip off to the beach? She can almost taste the fish tacos and fried shrimp. But before she can make a motel reservation, psychic Aunt Moira calls. "I had a vivid dream this morning. There was a bright Christmas tree...children laughing...an empty deep freezer in a garage. You were wringing your hands in a red apron. Some weird nursery rhyme repeated 'the larder was bare, the larder was bare'. The dream tells me that you need to stock your pantry; you're going to be a busy hostess this Christmas. Get your holiday cookbooks out, sweetheart."Surely not.As the 25th approaches, the phone calls begin."Haint? This is Yolanda, from Paco's. Our restaurant stove--something is wrong. It's gas. Sometimes it works and then suddenly nada. Sometimes I swear I smell gas. I'm not going to play with gas. I'm afraid of gas. We were wondering if you had a few cabins?""Haint? Max. Listen, my sister Nellavon thinks I'm dying. She's got this hairbrained notion to get the family together. I can't talk her out of it. I know business has been slow, and I was wondering, you gonna be open for the holidays?""We're travelling with alpacas. Do you have space to exercise them?""We're the Lame Brain Zombie LARPers...party of seven, do you have a cabin?""My client wants privacy."The calls keep coming.And odd little gifts keeping showing up and disappearing. What's that about?As the retreat fills to capacity, strangers become family as they come together for a Haint Blue Christmas.Looking for a funny, feel-good holiday romp with a bit of mystery? This is the one.

Zap Powers, an electrician with Earle Electric, has just come off a double shift restoring power to a small Southern town. Exhausted and hungry, he stops at a pub for a bite to eat on his way home. But the BW&S isn't an ordinary pub. As Zap tucks in to his burger and beer and takes in the ambiance of the place, nine uncanny stories weave through his experience. Uncanny Stout has the flavor of a Victorian ghost story with notes of The Twilight Zone.

Tales From Kensington is the second volume of macabre short stories by author J. Elliott. Like its predecessor, Ghost Lite, the tales are engaging and eerie, sometimes amusing and always disquieting. The author is a great admirer of the old classics of the gothic and supernatural: James, LeFanu, Dickens, Wharton. Join a group of college students in a cozy dormitory on Halloween night as they share true ghost stories. The lights flicker. The wind picks up. A limb falls on the roof. You know, they say that when you share ghost stories, the spirits listen in... A renowned photographer is live on a talk radio show promoting his retrospective art exhibit. But why did he suddenly give up photography at the peak of his career? Why won't he say? There's going to be a new candy store in the historic district. Won't that be nice? But you know, the woman who used to live there hated children... A priest has a crisis of faith over a little girl. An innocent child, surely? Why doesn't she have any friends? A sheriff in a small town is asked to do a wellness check on a widow who lives at the end of a country lane. She died of natural causes, but left behind a most peculiar letter... Want to cool down in the heat of summer? This'll give you a chill Get the popcorn. Get comfy and settle in for a special treat. Don't wait for Halloween

The author was raised on Hawthorne, Poe, La Fanu, Shirley Jackson, Anne Rice, Elvira, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt. Ghost Lite offers fifteen old-style creepy ghost stories, macabre but not grisly and sometimes humorous bordering on campy. No zombies, psycho axe-murderers, or torture chambers here. "An Old House..." is simultaneously funny and macabre. "Find A Relic..." set in 1905 in New York City is a novella written in the epistolary style of a gothic novel. "Ghost Light" recounts the life of a 450-year old lantern with supernatural powers. "Benevolent Guides" and "A Roxanne Sighting" are about guardian spirits. "Poultrygeist" and "An Old House Just Has So Much Character" concern moving into an old house still holding the energies of previous occupants. An entertaining, illustrated quick-read for folks who want a chill but still want to sleep at night.

A Practical, Up-to-Date Introduction to Applied Thermodynamics, Including Coverage of Process Simulation Models and an Introduction to Biological Systems Introductory Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, Second Edition, helps readers master the fundamentals of applied thermodynamics as practiced today: with extensive development of molecular perspectives that enables adaptation to fields including biological systems, environmental applications, and nanotechnology. This text is distinctive in making molecular perspectives accessible at the introductory level and connecting properties with practical implications. Features of the second edition include Hierarchical instruction with increasing levels of detail: Content requiring deeper levels of theory is clearly delineated in separate sections and chaptersEarly introduction to the overall perspective of composite systems like distillation columns, reactive processes, and biological systemsLearning objectives, problem-solving strategies for energy balances and phase equilibria, chapter summaries, and “important equations” for every chapterExtensive practical examples, especially coverage of non-ideal mixtures, which include water contamination via hydrocarbons, polymer blending/recycling, oxygenated fuels, hydrogen bonding, osmotic pressure, electrolyte solutions, zwitterions and biological molecules, and other contemporary issuesSupporting software in formats for both MATLAB® and spreadsheetsOnline supplemental sections and resources including instructor slides, ConcepTests, coursecast videos, and other useful resources

This book argues that popular feminist fiction provided a key means by which American culture narrated and negotiated the perceived breakdown of American progress after the 1960s. It explores the intersection of two key features of late twentieth-century American culture.

This book argues that popular feminist fiction provided a key means by which American culture narrated and negotiated the perceived breakdown of American progress after the 1960s. It explores the intersection of two key features of late twentieth-century American culture.

Key factors that impact upon children's educational motivation and engagement are here considered from an international and comparative perspective. Based upon a major programme of research undertaken in sites in England, the USA and Russia, the authors identify interrelated elements operating at international, national and local levels. These include children's self-perceptions, goals, interests and aspirations, curriculum and pedagogy, peer and parental influences, teacher perceptions, school traditions and practices, together with the pervasive influence of broader social, cultural, historical and economic factors.

Key factors that impact upon children's educational motivation and engagement are here considered from an international and comparative perspective. Based upon a major programme of research undertaken in sites in England, the USA and Russia, the authors identify interrelated elements operating at international, national and local levels. These include children's self-perceptions, goals, interests and aspirations, curriculum and pedagogy, peer and parental influences, teacher perceptions, school traditions and practices, together with the pervasive influence of broader social, cultural, historical and economic factors.