This is a practical guide that will help the reader to master the skills needed to manoeuvre a sea kayak efficiently. For beginner and intermediate paddlers. Doug draws on his personal and coaching experience to help the reader master sea kayak handling skills and techniques. Accurate sequential photos and simple concise language make the descriptions easy to follow and understand. The foundation skills of posture, connectivity (how your body is connected to the kayak), power transfer and learning to 'feel' how the boat responds, are explored initially. The author then goes on to tackle forward paddling, keeping the kayak on course, reverse paddling, edging, turning on the spot, forward turns on the move, reverse turns on the move, stern rudders, moving sideways, support strokes, and the use of skegs and rudders. "Sea Kayak Handling" is recommended as support material for the British Canoe Union 3 and 4 Star (Sea) awards. (The 1 star is a novice 'encouragement' award, the 2 star covers basic generic kayak skills, the 3 star basic/intermediate sea specific skills and experience, and the 4 star covers intermediate sea specific skills and leadership in moderate conditions).

A selected guide to the finest coastal paddling trips around Scotland. This completely revised and updated 2nd edition is packed with great photography and detailed route maps, alongside descriptions and anecdotes revealing Scotland's rich tapestry of maritime scenery, wildlife, history, geology and culture. Although primarily written for kayakers, the detailed tidal information contained within the book would also serve as a valuable inshore pilot for other water users such as anglers, windsurfers, sailors and SUP enthusiasts. New in this edition: * 12 additional routes (62 in total) * Selected routes in the Orkneys and Shetlands * New photos throughout * Improved maps * Sat nav coordinates for access points

"Rough Water Handling" by Doug Cooper is a practical guide that will help you to master the skills needed to manoeuvre a sea kayak efficiently in rough water and advanced conditions. For intermediate and advanced paddlers, Doug draws on his personal and coaching experience to help the reader master sea kayak handling skills and techniques. Accurate sequential photos and simple concise language make the descriptions easy to follow and understand. The technical, tactical, physiological and psychological aspects of these skills are covered in the areas of: high wind paddling, moving water, surf, rock hopping, tide races, open crossings and rolling. "Rough Water Handling" is recommended as support material for the British Canoe Union 4 and 5 Star (Sea) awards. (The 1 star is a novice 'encouragement' award, the 2 star covers basic generic kayak skills, the 3 star basic/intermediate sea specific skills and experience, and the 4 star covers intermediate sea specific skills and leadership in moderate conditions). Doug has spent a lifetime playing and working in the outdoors! He is at his happiest when exploring new parts of the world or challenging himself and others to improve their skills; this he has been doing for over twenty years. With a constant lust for adventure, Doug has sea kayaked all over the world including Greenland, Iceland, Norway's Lofoten Islands, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Corsica, Sardinia and Croatia. His whitewater kayaking and mountaineering has also taken him on adventures around the globe. At present Doug works as Head of Paddlesport at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland's National Outdoor Centre. Here his love of helping others learn and improve is put to good use every day, when he works as a BCU Level 5 Sea and Whitewater Coach, Level 4 Surf Coach and a Mountain and Ski Instructor. Doug is the author of "Sea Kayak Handling" and co-authored "Scottish Sea Kayaking" (Pesda Press), a selective guide to sea kayaking in Scotland.

"The north west of Scotland is quite simply the best place to paddle a sea kayak in the world." - Gordon Brown.On the north west coast of Scotland and around Skye there are islands galore, hidden beaches, tide races, great places to enjoy the local seafood and amazing people to meet. All of this set within a fantastic, variable culture of Norse and Gaelic influence that go to make this an area you will return to time and again. Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath, the names of the headlands at either end of the area contained within these pages, even have their own section in the weather forecast.Fifty great voyages are described in a way that is both inspirational and informative. Details of launching and landing sites, tides and potential hazards are provided and the coast is described in exquisite detail. This means that it can also be used as a kayaker's 'pilot' for any journey they might wish to undertake in this area. It follows the successful format of other Pesda Press sea kayaking guides, presenting the information in a user-friendly fashion and making good use of maps and colour photographs.

Silver Medalist for Best West-Mountain Regional Novel 2017 Winner of the 2017 International Book Award for Best Literary FictionFinalist for Best New Fiction at the Best Book Awards Finalist for the Red City Review Best Literary Fiction Award Forty million people visit Vegas every year but most never get past the strip. What about the people who live there? What brought them there? What keeps them there? Told from the perspective of a seasoned blackjack dealer, The Investment Club tells the stories of a self-destructive, dwarf entrepreneur, a drug-addicted musical performer-turned-stripper, a retired, widowed New Jersey policeman, a bereaved, divorced female sportscaster, and a card-counting, former Catholic priest before and after their fateful meeting at the El Cortez Casino in downtown Vegas. As the five learn the greatest return comes from investing in one another, their lives stabilize and take on new, positive directions. But their love and support for each other can take them only so far before they must determine the meaning and value of their own lives.

At last, a guidebook covering some of Scottish paddling's best kept secrets. Scotland is a world-class sea-kayaking destination, the Scottish Islands being rightly famous for the standard of paddling they offer. The North and East Coasts don't have as many sheltering islands as the West and there is always some sort of swell, but they will richly reward your efforts to explore their hidden nooks and crannies - stunning cliff and coastal scenery, numerous bird colonies, and fascinating fishing villages each with their own history and character. Forty-five journeys from Cape Wrath to Berwick upon Tweed are described in a way that is both inspirational and informative. Details of launching and landing sites, tides and potential hazards are provided and the coast is described in exquisite detail. This means that it can also be used as a kayaker's 'pilot' for any journey they might wish to undertake in this area. It follows the successful format of other Pesda Press sea kayaking guides, presenting the information in a user-friendly fashion and making good use of maps and colour photographs.

'Welcome to the third edition of Oh! Pascal! Now, when I lecture I encourage any student who isn't so confident to make a smart friend, and to stick by her side for the term. After all, that's how I survived by own first programming class. When I write, I try to be that friend...' - from the Preface

The line between passion and obsession runs through us all. Levi Combs never planned to rocket to stardom. Eva Florez knew he would the moment she saw him. Gabe Adams didn’t want anything to do with celebrities. But after Gabe’s sister sells his photos of Levi with a young starlet to a tabloid website, their lives become intertwined forever, bound by rage and retribution. Blending the nuance and insight of literary fiction with the big-screen magic of a Hollywood thriller, Focus Lost whisks readers into a world of temptation, indulgence, and revenge, daring them to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

A Letter to a Friend was written in 1999 by Doug Cooper to his then boyfriend, Gregory Spencer, a year into their relationship. It was during a time when Gregory, having just come out to his family, was being pressured by some family members to reconsider his decision to live as a gay man. What began as a personal letter to Gregory eventually became a manifesto against homophobia and a declaration of liberation from homophobia. Giving thought to homophobic tropes and devices such as the idea of God's condemnation of homosexuality, and the view that declares homosexuality as unnatural, A Letter to a Friend challenges those worn ways of thinking with fresh ideas. A Letter to a Friend offers words and thoughts for anyone who wishes to break the bonds of homophobia, be they same-gender loving, or those who simply are brave enough to take a fresh look at old ideas. A Letter to a Friend implores all of us to take another look at ways of thinking that have held many captive to oppression and bigotry and to move to a spirit that seeks to realize a self-actualized spirit anchored in love.

Otis is a gay man who discovers he has a son from a one night affair. Now his son, Antonio, a young man in his twenties, has come to live with him. Everything is fine until Otis realizes that Antonio is living a secret life hustling his body. It's a trade Otis is well aware of because he once lived that same life. Antonio, Otis's son, feels he has been blessed with great sexual prowess. He doesn't consider himself gay or bi-sexual, but he has used his 'gift' to dominate both men and women to get what he wants. But there is one thing he can't get from sex, and that is peace of mind from the darkness that haunts him, the same darkness that haunted, and later destroyed his mother. Now Otis must fight to save Antonio from a life in the streets and from the darkness that haunts him. However, Otis has his own demons, and he finds that he must not only save his son's life, but his own life as well. Leaving Gomorrah is the third and final book in the This Place of Men Trilogy.

A marriage ends when the husband accepts that he is gay. Now the ex-couple must struggle with the love and respect they once had for each other, as well as how to navigate their new lives, lives that test the traditional ideas of marriage, religion and sex. Then there is the matter of their young daughter and son...how do they fit them into this new life? People Like Us is the second book of the This Place of Men Trilogy (This Place of Men is book one and Leaving Gomorrah is the third and final book in the series).

As teens, Otis and Terrell were lovers. But their relationship was torn apart by Terrell's father and his pastor causing the two young men to travel disparate roads in their lives. Now, as they near their fortieth birthdays, each seeks to confront the pains and truths that have shaped his journey: Otis returns home, having endured years of hardship in search of the peace that has eluded him for so long. During his stay he finds he must confront his father who had turned his back on him; the lover who denied him and the minister who brought about his downfall, and most of all a surprise that awaits him. Then there is Terrell who finds that in spite of the 'perfect' life he chose to live, his marriage to Karen and his dedication to his two kids, there can be no peace without reconciling the differences that determines his sexual identity. "This Place Of Men" explores the lives of these two men, as well as others who struggle with truth and sexual identity.