Science Fiction pioneer Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, 1912 – 2005) was an American writer of Sci Fi and fantasy (with some works of historical fiction and contemporary fiction) under the pen names Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston. Often called “the Grand Mistress of science fiction,” she was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, first to be SFWA Grand Master, and first inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Ms. Norton’s first published science fiction was a short novella, “The People of the Crater”, which appeared under the name “Andrew North” as pages 4–18 of the inaugural 1947 number of Fantasy Book, a magazine from Fantasy Publishing Company. Her first fantasy novel adapted the 13th-century story of Huon, Duke of Bordeaux: Huon of the Horn, published by Harcourt Brace under her own name in 1951.
Ms. Norton tops today’s Buffet with Star Soldiers, a volume that includes two of her enjoyable earlier novels, Star Guard (1955) and Star Rangers (1953),
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Star Soldiers
Science Fiction > Space Opera
Author: Andre Norton
Andre Norton presents a grand tapestry of the far-flung interstellar future, in which the first starships from Earth have burst out into the universe . . . only to run straight into the restraining grasp of the stagnant alien federation known as Central Control.
Only as interstellar mercenaries can humans go to the stars; the aliens who already dominate the galaxy allow no other recourse. But when Swordsman Third Class Kana Karr and his comrades-in-arms are betrayed and abandoned on a hostile world by their alien masters, the warriors from Earth begin a desperate but glorious march across a planet whose every sword is against them. Their actions may doom humanity’s future . . . or lead the way to an empire of their own!
Four thousand years later, galactic civilization is collapsing, and the underfunded crew of an exploration starship is forced to set down on an uncharted planet: a mysterious, abandoned world that is achingly beautiful-and hauntingly familiar. Ranger Sergeant Kartr, telepath and stellar Patrolman, searches with his crewmates for the source of a beacon which may mean escape for them all. What he finds is far stranger: the first clue to what may become the greatest revelation in galactic history!
Let Them Eat Cake
Religious Fiction > Romance
Author: Sandra Byrd
Lexi Stuart is at a critical crossroads. She’s done with college but still living at home, ready to launch a career but unable to find a job, and solidly stalled between boyfriends.
When a lighthearted conversation in French with the manager of her favorite bakery turns into a job offer, Lexi accepts. But the actual glamour is minimal: the pay is less than generous, her co-workers are skeptical, her bank account remains vertically-challenged, and her parents are perpetually disappointed. Her only comfort comes from the flirtatious baker she has her eye–but even may not be who he seems to be.
The Awakening [Illustrated]
Genre Fiction > Coming of Age
Author: Kate Chopin, Seedbox Classics
![The Awakening [Illustrated]](https://i0.wp.com/ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ooZVVUHAL._SL160_.jpg?w=640)
This Seedbox Classics edition of The Awakening includes an illustration gallery.
This novel by Kate Chopin is set in New Orleans and the Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century. The story centers around Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the South.
Beauty Rising
Literary Fiction
Author: Mark W. Sasse
“My heart sank. I dumped my father’s ashes in the heart of communist Vietnam – over a thousand miles from the death of his comrades – over a thousand miles from the smile of that girl. How could I have been so stupid?”
Only the bumbling, overweight, thirtyish, stay-at-home Martin Kinney could have mistakenly flubbed his dying father’s request with such gusto. This thousand mile mistake awakens the ghosts of long-held family secrets and puts Martin on a fateful course with an unlikely romantic interest – a young, beautiful, yet troubled Vietnamese woman named My Phuong.
Progressive Dinner Deadly
Mystery > Women Sleuths
Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig
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Retired octogenarian schoolteacher Myrtle Clover is fit to be tied when her book club votes to change to a supper club. Who wants chips and dip when they can have Dickens and Twain?
The first supper club is a progressive dinner…where Myrtle loses interest during the hors d’oeuvres. But when a body is discovered during the main course, the evening quickly gets interesting. Myrtle pits her sleuthing skills against her police chief son’s to find the killer….if the killer doesn’t find her first.
The Coach House
Historical Fiction
Author: Florence Osmund
A young woman in the 1940s deals with complicated relationships, adversity, ethnicity, and fears.
Silent Influencing
Marketing & Sales > Sales & Selling
Author: Michael Nir, Wordsharp, Philip Pekar
Are you tired of not getting your message across? Of not being heard? Of having your boss always ignoring you and your spouse not caring what you think?
Silent influencing is the guide for you. It will enable you to change how you interact with others, how to influence them and how to lead to results. With Silent Influencing you will succeed.
Meg: Origins
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Steve Alten
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Commander Jonas Taylor is tasked with piloting the US Navy’s most advanced submersible, the DSV Sea Cliff, to the bottom of Challenger Deep — 36,000 feet below the surface — into what is very much an undiscovered country. What he finds there — a remnant population of luminous, prehistoric Megalodons — will change the course of the rest of his life.
Getting Results the Agile Way
Business Life > Time Management
Author: J.D. Meier
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In today’s world, change happens quickly; learn how to be flexible and responsive to new opportunities. Don’t just check off tons of stuff from your to-do list; do the things that make a difference. Stop trudging your way through life; bolster your energy with habits that will carry you forward each day. Quit sacrificing your personal life for your work life (or vice versa); give each facet of your life its due and find balance. In other words, learn the skills to go the distance in an ever-changing world.
Black Butterfly
Literature & Fiction > African American
Author: Nika Michelle
Meet Seantay, Seandra and Renell Beauvois . These three heiresses were raised in the lap of luxury, courtesy of their real estate tycoon father Sean and ex model mother Tameah. Worth over half a billion dollars these sisters are as different as night, day and in between.
The Story Behind “In Broad Daylight”
True Accounts > True Crime
Author: Harry MacLean
Standing a few feet from where the killers opened fire on Ken Rex McElroy more than three decade ago, Harry N. MacLean tells the story of how he came to write his Edgar Award-winning book in his new true crime short, “The Story Behind ‘In Broad Daylight.’”
MacLean had doors slammed in his face, guns pulled on him, and was bitten by a dog. Eventually, he won over the closed community of Skidmore, Mo. The inhabitants shared with him the reign of terror Ken Rex McElroy inflicted for twenty years in Northwest Missouri, and information about his murder on the main street of Skidmore in 1981.
Crystal Clean
Recovery > Drug Dependency
Author: Kimberly Wollenburg
For more than five years, Kim was a meth addict living in denial. As a home owner, small business owner, bail-bondsman, and loving mother of a child with special needs, Kim thought she had everything under control until her arrest in 2006 for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. But even the threat of prison wasn’t enough to stop her from using. Finally, with no options left, she began the long, slow road of recovery.
Playing with Fire
Mystery > Hard-Boiled
Author: Taylor Lee
A rookie firefighter accused of setting the fire that kills her husband and his mistress.
City of Redemption
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: June Ahern
In 1967, partly to blame for her young son’s death and abandoned by her husband, Liz Mackay leaves Scotland in disgrace, hoping for a second chance at love and life. She arrives in San Francisco during the Summer of Love to have a “jolly good time” with the free love among the groovy people. She soon joins a commune. Her new family is a curious mix: Black Panthers trying to change the world, a Vietnam vet seeking inner peace, a flamboyant hairdresser ready for fame and love, a flower child and her callous drug dealing boyfriend who changes girlfriends often.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2