Award-winning author Carrie Stuart Parks combines her expertise as a forensic artist with her talent for crafting a gripping story in this page-turning web of light and shadow. A woman off the grid. Darby Graham thinks she's on a much-needed vacation in remote Idaho to relax. But before she even arrives at the ranch, an earthquake strikes. Then a barn on the edge of town is engulfed in flames and strange problems at the ranch begin to escalate, and Darby finds herself immersed in a chilling mystery. A town on fire. More fires erupt around town, and a serial arsonist sends taunting letters to the press after each. As a forensic linguist, this is Darby's area of expertise . . . but the scars her work has caused her are also the reason she's trying to escape her life. A growing darkness. As the shadows continue moving in, pieces of the town around her come into sharper focus. To make it out alive, Darby must decide if she can trust the one man who sees her clearly. Praise for Woman in Shadow: "Unique, witty, and hilarious, Carrie's voice shines throughout Woman in Shadow. The perfect mix of intrigue, mystery and danger, this is most definitely a book for my keeper shelf." -Dani Pettrey, bestselling author of the Coastal Guardians series Full-length, stand-alone suspense novel Award-winning, bestselling author Also by Carrie Stuart Parks: Relative Silence, Fragments of Fear, Formula of Deception, and A Cry from the Dust Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Originally published in 1986, this book is an interpretative survey of the development of political writing in the former Federal Republic of Germany. It illustrates how intertwined writing is with politics, whether by the political commitment of writers like Grass or the analysis of Boell, by the exclusion of writers from political debate under Adenauer or their insistence on involvement in the years of the SPD. So many themes central to German life are themselves political - the division of the German state, the interpretation of the German character, the Green Movement. This wide-ranging and thorough study discusses a central issue of European politics and culture.

Understanding Contemporary Germany is a wide-ranging survey of Europe's largest and most powerful country. It examines political, economic and social aspects of post-unification Germany, as well as considering questions relating to German identity. More specifically, it discusses whether the new Germany is a stable democracy based on solid political and economic foundations. It assesses the extent to which the German people is at ease with itself following the traumas of the country's history. By looking at a wide range of topics and including a cultural dimension, Understanding Contemporary Germany seeks to widen debate on Germany in a way which will be useful to all who study or work in the fields of German or European studies. Its conclusion is that, in contrast to the widespread fears expressed both in the country and outside, the new Germany largely remains a stable and reliable partner in European and world affairs.

Understanding Contemporary Germany is a wide-ranging introductory survey of German society focusing on the post-unification situation. This text: * gives emphasis to questions relating to German identity * adopts an integrated approach, considering society, culture, politics, economics and history
* gives extensive coverage of the Nazi legacy and guilt
* assesses the stability and normality of the Federal Republic and its position in world affairs
The book provides a background to contemporary issues required for students of modern Germany.

This is the book that can teach anyone to draw (yes, even you )

If you're not getting the kind of true-to-life results you want in your drawings (or if you can't even draw a straight line), Carrie and Rick Parks can help. As award-winning teachers, they have a proven game plan for helping artists of all levels overcome common problems and see immediate improvement in their work. As professional composite artists, they know the tricks and tools for achieving incredibly lifelike results. In this friendly, foolproof guide to drawing, they share it all:

• Easy-to-master techniques for achieving a convincing sense of depth
• How to draw challenging textures like metal and fur
• Putting personality into your portraits
• 40+ step-by-step demonstrations featuring a variety of people, animals and nature

Her carefully crafted life is about to be demolished. After a difficult childhood, Samantha Williams craves simplicity: jigsaw puzzles, lectures at the library, and the students she adores in her role as an elementary school art teacher in the dusty farming community of LaCrosse, Washington. But when an SUV crashes into the building where she teaches, her entire world is upended. Samantha manages to keep the children safe, but her car isn't so lucky. Oddly, her purse-with her driver's license, credit cards, and other identification-is missing from the wreckage. After authorities discover that the driver in the accident was shot seconds before the crash, Samantha quickly becomes entangled in increasingly strange events that have her constantly looking over her shoulder. Samantha has long tried to forget the tragedy of her past, but the twisting connections she discovers between the murdered driver, a deadly secret government project, and an abandoned town can't be ignored. Those involved are determined to keep these secrets buried, and they'll use any means necessary to stop Samantha's search for truth. Full-length, stand-alone suspense novel Award-winning, bestselling author Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Evelyn Yvonne McTavish-Tavish to her friends-had her almost perfect world in Albuquerque, New Mexico, come to a crashing end with the suicide of her fiancé. As she struggles to put her life back together and make a living from her art, she's given the news that her dog is about to be destroyed at the dog pound. Except she doesn't own a dog. The shelter is adamant that the microchip embedded in the canine-with her name and address-makes it hers.

Tavish recognizes the dog as one owned by an archaeologist named Pat Caron because she did a commissioned drawing of the two of them months earlier. The simple solution is to return the dog to his owner, but she arrives only to discover Caron's murdered body.

After meeting undercover FBI agent Sawyer Price the mystery deepens as more people start disappearing and Tavish becomes a target as well. Her only solution is to find the links between microchip technology, an Anasazi site in the desert, her fiancé's death, a late-night radio show, and the dog. And the clock is ticking.

In the shadow of the Mormon church, a 19th-century conspiracy is about to be shattered by a 21st-century forensic artist. In 1857, a wagon train in Utah was assaulted by a group of militant Mormons calling themselves the Avenging Angels. One hundred and forty people were murdered, including unarmed men, women, and children. The Mountain Meadows Massacre remains controversial to this day-but the truth may be written on the skulls of the victims. When renowned forensic artist Gwen Marcey is recruited to reconstruct the faces of recently unearthed victims at Mountain Meadows, she isn't expecting more than an interesting gig . . . and a break from her own hectic life. But when Gwen stumbles on the ritualized murder of a young college student, her work on the massacre takes on a terrifying new aspect, and research quickly becomes a race against modern-day fundamentalist terror. As evidence of a cover-up mounts-a cover-up spanning the entire history of the Mormon church-Gwen finds herself in the crosshairs of a secret society bent on fulfilling prophecy and revenging old wrongs. Can a forensic artist reconstruct two centuries of suppressed history . . . before it repeats itself? In A Cry from the Dust, Carrie Stuart Parks utilizes her own background as a celebrated, FBI-trained forensic artist to blend fact and fiction into a stunning mystery. "Parks' fast-paced and suspenseful debut novel is an entertaining addition to the inspirational genre. Her writing is polished, and the research behind the novel brings credibility to the story . . . An excellent book that is sure to put Carrie Stuart Parks on readers' radar." -RT Book Reviews, 4 stars

Draw amazingly accurate portraits starting today! Even if you're an absolute beginner, you can render strikingly realistic faces and self-portraits! Instructor and FBI-trained artist Carrie Stuart Parks makes it simple with foolproof step-by-step instructions that are fun and easy to follow. You'll quickly begin to: Master proportions and map facial features accurately Study shapes within a composition and draw them realistically Use value, light and shading to add life and depth to any portrait Render tricky details, including eyes, noses, mouths and hair Proven, hands-on exercises and before-and-after examples from Parks' students ensure instant success! It's all the guidance and inspiration you need to draw realistic faces with precision, confidence and style!

A comprehensive survey of German literary writers' political writing and involvement since 1945. George Orwell said that all writing is political; but the writers of some nations and some periods are more political than others. German writers after 1945 have exemplified such heightened politicization, and this book considerstheir contribution to the democratic development of Germany by looking principally at their directly political, non-fictional writings. It pays particular attention to writers and the student movement of the 1960s and '70s, when some proclaimed the death of literature and called for a turn to direct political action. Yet writers in both parts of Germany gradually came to identify with their respective states, even if the idea of one Germany never entirelydisappeared. The unification of 1989-1990, in which this idea astonishingly became reality, posed a major (and some would say unmet) challenge to writers in both East and West. After looking at this period of intense political activities, the book considers the continuing East/West division and changing attitudes to the Nazi past, asking whether the intellectual climate has swung to the right. It also asks to what extent political involvement has been a generational project for the immediate postwar generation and is less important for younger writers who see the Federal Republic as a "normal" democratic state. Stuart Parkes is Emeritus Professor of German from the University of Sunderland (UK).

"I love Carrie Stuart Parks's skill in writing characters with hysterical humor, unwitting courage and page-turning mystery. I hope my readers won't abandon me completely when they learn about her!" -Terri Blackstock, USA TODAY bestselling author of If I Run, If I'm Found, and If I Live An artist hiding from an escaped killer uncovers one of World War II's most dangerous secrets-a secret that desperate men will do anything to keep hidden. After the murder of her twin sister, Murphy Anderson changed her name and appearance and moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to avoid the press and publicity. But when local authorities discover she's an artist and request her help in drawing a dying man's memories, she unintentionally ends up in the limelight again-and back in the killer's crosshairs. The deathbed confessions of an Alaskan hunter have Murphy drawing the five bodies he discovered on remote Ruuwaq Island ten years ago. But what investigators find has them mystified. Evidence suggests that the bodies were deliberately destroyed, and what they uncover in an abandoned Quonset hut from World War II only brings more questions. As one by one the investigators who were at the hut die, Murphy knows there is something much darker at stake. What happened on this island during the war? And who is willing to kill to keep its secrets buried?

"Rich characters, a forensic artist's eye for detail, and plot twists-Carrie Stuart Parks hits all the right notes!" -Mary Burton, New York Times bestselling author An unsolved case. A tempest of memories. The future's at stake-and time is running out . . . Gwen Marcey has done a good job keeping the pain of her past boxed up. But as she investigates the case of a missing child in Lapwai, Idaho, details keep surfacing that are eerily similar to her childhood traumas. She doesn't believe in coincidences. So what's going on here? No one knows more about the impact of the past than the Nez Perce people of Lapwai. Gwen finds herself an unwelcome visitor to some, making her investigation even more difficult. The questions keep piling up, but answers are slow in coming-and the clock is ticking for a missing little girl. Meanwhile, Gwen's ex-husband is threatening to take sole custody of their daughter. As Gwen's past and present collide, she's in a desperate race for the truth. Because only truth will ensure she still has a future.

Gwen Marcey takes death in stride. Until she's faced with her own mortality. Forensic artist Gwen Marcey is between jobs when she accepts temporary work in Pikeville, Kentucky-a small town facing big-city crime. But before Gwen can finish her first drawing of the serial rapist who is on the loose, the latest witness vanishes. Just like all the others. Gwen suspects a connection between the rapist and the "accidental" deaths that are happening around town, but the local sheriff has little interest in her theories. When her digitally-obsessed teenage daughter joins her, Gwen turns her attention to a second assignment: going undercover in a serpent-handling church. She could get a handsome reward for uncovering illegal activity-a reward she desperately needs, as it seems her breast cancer has returned. But snakes aren't the only ones ready to kill. Can Gwen uncover the truth-and convince anyone to believe her-before she becomes a victim herself? In a thrilling race against time, When Death Draws Near plunges us into cold-case murders, shady politics, and a den of venomous suspects.

A killer with a penchant for torture has taken notice of forensic expert Gwen Marcey . . . and her daughter. When Gwen Marcey's dog comes home with a human skull and then leads her to a cabin in the woods near her Montana home, she realizes there's a serial killer in her community. And when she finds a tortured young girl clinging to life on the cabin floor, she knows this killer is a lunatic. Yet what unsettles Gwen most is that the victim looks uncannily like her daughter. The search for the torturer leads back in time to a neo-Nazi bombing in Washington state-a bombing with only one connection to Montana: Gwen. The group has a race-not-grace model of salvation . . . and they've marked Gwen as a race traitor. When it becomes clear that the killer has a score to settle, Gwen finds herself in a battle against time. She will have to use all of her forensic skills to find the killer before he can carry out his threat to destroy her-and the only family she has left.

Observing India is a collection of images documenting my stay in India. India is a country where its landscapes are as vivid and alive as its people, this collection of images is a glimpse into that world. It shows the rich culture from a traditional past, yet steeped with more modern influences in this forever evolving nation. The unusual format for this unique selection will give the viewer a taste of India's character and heritage. They capture the daily lives of some that live in this celebrated place, revealing both the rustic and urban environments they occupy. For more details and a selection of example images please see: http: //observingindia.com/

Carrie Stuart Parks shows you how to draw a realistic face step by step, as she guides you through several demonstrations of facial features. After learning how to measure and draw accurate proportions, chapters are broken down into individual features (eyes, nose, mouth, head shapes). You'll finish up with lessons on how to shade and draw hair. Carrie's friendly instruction and helpful tips will give you the skills you need to draw your own favorite faces.

• Includes 32 pages of bonus instruction
• 90 minutes of premier art demonstration