Cara’s mother has disappeared. Her father isn’t talking about it. Her big brother Max is hiding behind his iPod, and her genius little brother Jackson is busy studying the creatures he collects from the beach. But when a watery specter begins to haunt the family’s Cape Cod home, Cara and her brothers realize that their scientist mother may not be who they thought she was—and that the world has much stranger, much older inhabitants than they had imagined. With help from Cara’s best friend Hayley, the three embark on a quest that will lead them from the Cape’s hidden, ancient places to a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea. They’re soon on the front lines of an ancient battle between good and evil, with the terrifying “pouring man” close on their heels. One chapter will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until all 10 chapters are up. These will be followed by the second book in the series, The Shimmers in the Night. A Junior Library Guild Pick; Kirkus Reviews Best of 2011; Selected for the ABC Best Books for Children Catalog; Locus Notable Books.

The ancient saying goes: Most generals come from Guan Xi, while ministers come from Guan Dong. He Yan was born to be a Star General. She was merely a stepping stone for her family, and was used as her brother's substitute. She had fought on the battlefields for years, bringing peace to Xi Qiang, stopping the barbarians... When her brother recovered, she gave up her position with great laurels brought to her name. Without further ado, she was married off. During her married life, she was forsaken by her husband and even suffered from a strange illness, thereby losing her eyesight... The young and pretty concubine stood in front of her, speaking softly: "The decoction you drank that made you blind was instructed by the elders of your family. As you know, the dead tell no tales. If you lived, you would be your family's greatest threat!" A great general of her time, the heroine of the country, died pitifully in the hands of those shameless women, who only knew to fight for a man's favor... How absurd! When she opened her eyes again, she had become the drill fields officer's daughter, who was weak and arrogant, innocent and naive. They had stolen her glory, taken her life, lead her army and betrayed her feelings! She had crawled back from the depths of hell and would take back everything she had lost, one by one. Bring the world under her feet and with her beauty and nobility, overwhelm the nine prefectures! But would she get out easily once she entered the barracks? Hardly did she begin her adventures when He Yan met her arch-enemy of the previous lifetime, that young hunk whose "enemies would retreat as soon as he attacked". The chic and cool female general versus the handsome and ravenous young man. Two efficient generals team up to conquer the world! ps: not my own story, for offline purposes only

Corinna Báthory, 16th-century nobility, is kidnapped and thrown into a male detective academy in present-day Florida. But they grabbed the wrong girl. Season 1 of Agents of Time ***** It's 1585, and things could not possibly be going any slower for Corinna Báthory. Overwhelmed with expectations as Hungarian nobility and the trials and tribulations of becoming a female playwright in a field dominated by men, Corinna would do anything for a change of pace. Of course, there's nothing better to speed up the narrative than being kidnapped...and being accused of being a serial killer. ***** [[ THE WATTY'S 2021 SHORTLIST ]]