This award-winning picture book tells with spare, elegant prose and poignant illustrations how Lila saves her Kenyan village by telling the sky the saddest thing she knows. For months the sun has burned down on Lila's village. It is too hot to gather firewood, or weed the garden. It is even too hot to milk the cow. Without rain the well will run dry and the crops will fail. Lila is so worried that when her grandfather whispers the secret of rain to her, she sets off to talk to the sky herself. Lila and the Secret of Rain introduces the topics of natural resources and the impact that extreme weather can have on people's lives in a tender way that children can relate to. With the added magic of folklore, the African setting sparks interest in our world's diverse cultures. Your heart will be drawn again and again to follow Lila in her quest to save her village with the secret of rain. *A Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner*

Discover how the world's best brands create outstanding customer experience, engaged teams and market-beating growth with this practical guide, providing a model that will help any organization deliver effective and seamless customer engagement. Customer experience (CX) has been a phrase in business lexicon for over 30 years. Seen by many as the last battleground, where winners will gain competitive advantage and increased market share, there is not a company in the world that is not in some way focused on the quality of the experience they deliver. However, for many businesses, CX is neither a strategic discipline, consistently applied, nor is it a well-trodden path. It's not easy to deliver exceptional customer experience, again and again, and it becomes difficult to have a CX strategy that provides tangible and measurable results. Customer Experience Excellence provides a route map to CX success. Drawing on a vast body of research collated and curated by the global consulting group KPMG, this book shows how the world's most elite organizations have made excellence a habit, by creating authentic, human connections at scale. Whether dealing with external consumers or internal colleagues, learn how to become an enlightened and agile business and 'think customer' at every single touch point.

Discover how the world's best brands create outstanding customer experience, engaged teams and market-beating growth with this practical guide, providing a model that will help any organization deliver effective and seamless customer engagement. Customer experience (CX) has been a phrase in business lexicon for over 30 years. Seen by many as the last battleground, where winners will gain competitive advantage and increased market share, there is not a company in the world that is not in some way focused on the quality of the experience they deliver. However, for many businesses, CX is neither a strategic discipline, consistently applied, nor is it a well-trodden path. It's not easy to deliver exceptional customer experience, again and again, and it becomes difficult to have a CX strategy that provides tangible and measurable results. Customer Experience Excellence provides a route map to CX success. Drawing on a vast body of research collated and curated by the global consulting group KPMG, this book shows how the world's most elite organizations have made excellence a habit, by creating authentic, human connections at scale. Whether dealing with external consumers or internal colleagues, learn how to become an enlightened and agile business and 'think customer' at every single touch point.

David Conway analyses why and how Jews, virtually absent from Western art music until the end of the eighteenth century, came to be represented in all branches of the profession within fifty years as leading figures - not only as composers and performers, but as publishers, impresarios and critics. His study places this process in the context of dynamic economic, political, sociological and technological changes and also of developments in Jewish communities and the Jewish religion itself, in the major cultural centres of Western Europe. Beginning with a review of attitudes to Jews in the arts and an assessment of Jewish music and musical skills, in the age of the Enlightenment, Conway traces the story of growing Jewish involvement with music through the biographies of the famous, the neglected and the forgotten, leading to a radical contextualisation of Wagner's infamous 'Judaism in Music'.

David Conway analyses why and how Jews, virtually absent from Western art music until the end of the eighteenth century, came to be represented in all branches of the profession within fifty years as leading figures - not only as composers and performers, but as publishers, impresarios and critics. His study places this process in the context of dynamic economic, political, sociological and technological changes and also of developments in Jewish communities and the Jewish religion itself, in the major cultural centres of Western Europe. Beginning with a review of attitudes to Jews in the arts and an assessment of Jewish music and musical skills, in the age of the Enlightenment, Conway traces the story of growing Jewish involvement with music through the biographies of the famous, the neglected and the forgotten, leading to a radical contextualisation of Wagner's infamous 'Judaism in Music'.

Each month your energy levels wax and wane just as the Moon does, sometimes urging you to start new projects and other times easing you towards quiet and contemplation. Whether the Moon is making you feel adventurous and productive or dreamy and lethargic, you can use its energy to work for you instead of against you.

In this enduring classic, bestselling author D.J. Conway explains how each of the 13 lunar months is directly connected to a different type of seasonal energy flow. With 79 modern Pagan rituals for tapping the Moon's energy and celebrating its phases, you'll improve your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being when you align yourself with the natural strength of the Moon.

Moon Magick features a treasury of practical lunar magick and lore: --Seasonal recipes, decorations, and crafts --Lunar meditations, spells, and lore --Moon mythology, correspondences, and symbols --Goddesses & Gods and ancient holidays

Praise: "A great book. Moon Magick is a wonderful resource . . . a varied and rich collection of lore, recipes, and activities." --NEW AGE RETAILER

"A wealth of magical material which can easily be incorporated into everyday life." --CIRCLE NETWORK NEWS

"An excellent resource for all practitioners." --MAGICAL BLEND

MUZAN-EIGA MESSIAH. MUTANT SEX TRIBE. In the aftermath of a global cataclysm the totalitarian city-state of Zentropolis rises from the ashes of Japan. Marukido Sada, a freelance assassin and last surviving exponent of a mysterious neugenics program known as Project Equinox, embarks on a hazardous mission that draws her deep into the heart of a hostile urban dystopia populated by fanatical religious cults, vicious crime tribes and subversive groups obsessed with the erotic possibilities of biological mutation. Her quest culminates with the revelation of a genocidal plot led by the charismatic doyenne of the ultraviolent muzan-eiga craze inspired by malevolent alien entities determined to exterminate all human life. ZENTROPOLIS combines science fiction, horror and the occult with vivid imagery derived from Japanese manga comic books, anime and their muzan-e predecessors -- an apocalyptic rollercoaster ride in which the cosmic potentialities of Eastern and Western fantasy traditions collide spectacularly.

"David Conway is the most powerful and distinctive writer of horror fiction since Clive Barker ... " -- Grant Morrison, Arkham Asylum, The Invisibles, The Filth. " -- An authentically Lovecraftian marriage of contemporary science and the cosmic ... " -- Ramsey Campbell. "Metal Sushi drags HP Lovecraft's piscatorial congeries squirming and thrashing into Blade Runner dystopia to tremendous effect ... " -- John Coulthart, World Fantasy Award Winner, Lord Horror, Reverbstorm, Hardcore Horror. "In Metal Sushi Conway treats the unification of Gothic and science fictional impulses as a chimerical marriage with the potential to produce an unprecedented new form ... " Mark P Williams, Gothic Science Fiction: 1980-2010. "Like a hybrid monstrosity spawned from an unholy alliance between William Burroughs, Ignatius Loyola and the Marquis de Sade, David Conway's stories will take you to a dimension of absolute nightmare ... " DM Mitchell, A Serious Life, The Seventh Song of Maldoror

TOKYO NEON INFERNO. An eruption of madness and murder exposes a legacy of evil whose roots lie in an unspeakable atrocity perpetrated during the darkest chapter of Japanese history. Enlisting the aid of Yuki Horiuchi, a gifted young psychologist, Inspector Koichi Sakamoto investigates a wave of bizarre, ritualistic killings committed by a mysterious woman known only as Taro. Steeped in the esoteric symbolism of the occult, the inquiry uncovers a hidden world of secret societies, political conspiracy and horrific medical experiments. And when he finally discovers Taro's true identity Sakamoto is drawn into a dramatic confrontation with the killer and the sinister forces that have driven her fatal crusade -- a bloodbath of death and desire ... and the ultimate realisation of his own inevitable fate. TOKYO GOTHIC combines the subversive conventions of the Japanese ero-guru style with elements of European grand guignol to create a startling and flamboyant tour de force of explicit cross-cultural horror.

ALGOL APOCALYPSE. DAWN OF THE DEMON STAR. An unprecedented cosmic event - the Algol Parallax - wreaks havoc throughout the galaxy and spells disaster for planet Earth. Civilisation collapses. On the eve of annihilation Dr Thomas Lewis, director of Wyvern Abbey asylum, confronts the institution's most notorious inmate, Andromeda Polidori, leader of a doomsday cult whose esoteric doctrine may hold the key to salvation. His investigations propel Lewis deep into the savage heart of darkness - the emerald inferno - that has transformed the world beyond recognition ... a fantastic odyssey that culminates with the revelation of his own magickal destiny and the fate of all life. ALGOL ASYLUM combines the stylistic tropes of Gothic science fiction, Surrealism and Romanticism with the arcane symbolism of the occult, alchemy and Gnostic philosophy to create an apocalyptic epic of baleful power, invoking the radical experiments of iconic visionaries such as Aleister Crowley, HP Lovecraft, JG Ballard and Philip K Dick.

SEX. DEATH. APOCALYPSE. Inspired by the Book of Revelations, an enigmatic femme fatale embarks on a campaign of ritual murder, staging her crimes as a series of elaborate atrocities steeped in mystical symbolism. Dispensing a deadly brand of divine justice, she preys on the members of a decadent elite whose depraved activities recreate the sadistic visions of history's most infamous literary madman. Investigating the lethal spree, intelligence agent Justine Sinclair is caught in the crossfire between the mysterious killer and a cult of sinister fanatics whose malignant influence spans centuries. And when the killer's homicidal mission reaches its spectacular climax - a holocaust of apocalyptic proportions - Justine must face the most startling revelation of all...the truth about herself.

"THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE IS THE ONE THAT ACHIEVES MADNESS..." Tokyo. A serial killer known as the Doll Maker is stalking the streets of Kabuki-cho, preying on the prostitutes that work in the city's notorious red light district. Obsessed with obscene fantasies and terrifying visions of an apocalyptic holocaust, the killer is a divinely inspired psychopath whose crimes incorporate elements of the occult, Buddhist doctrine and kabuki theatre. Takeshi Harada, a disgraced former police officer, is hired by a powerful yakuza crime boss to track down the elusive killer. Embroiled in a cycle of sex, violence and murder, the investigation leads Harada through the neon netherworld of the Tokyo vice trade -- its love hotels, image clubs and pink salons -- culminating in a life-and-death confrontation with the Doll Maker...and a final chilling act of bloody, symbolic justice.

Key West and its surrounding water rank as one of the world's most popular fishing destinations. Hundreds of thousands of visitors descend upon those islands each year to fish, and some of the best and most innovative fly, light tackle, and offshore charter captains reside there.Whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional, this comprehensive and practical saltwater fishing guide provides all the information necessary to successfully fish the waters surrounding the Lower Keys, including the near-shore Atlantic, the reef and the blue water, the nearby Gulf of Mexico, and the flats and channels surrounding the backcountry keys. An experienced angler himself, David Conway presents the techniques and tackle successfully used to pursue the primary and most popular species of food and game fish in all these waters, as well as some of the lesser-known and migratory species.A broad range of topics of interest for visitors to the keys are covered in this guide, including how to fish the bridges, how and where to tow your boat into the keys, and how to charter a captain. Nothing else matches the depth and breadth of information in ""Fishing Key West and the Lower Keys"".This is an insider's guide to one of the world's greatest fisheries.