New Releases by Frances Thomas

A new poetry collection by the author of ''The Memory Gate'' and Girls of Troy quartet.

A new poetry collection covering memories, loss, family life, history and nature from author Frances Thomas. For more information and to find out about Frances'' other publications, visit her website at www.francesthomas.org

Imagine the isolation of a place where, within several miles of home, there were no people other than immediate family-no modern conveniences, telephones, television, internet, newspaper or mail delivery, supermarkets or shopping malls. Imagine a terrain sometimes more hospitable to mesquite trees, rattlesnakes, and jackrabbits than to human inhabitants. Imagine hot, dry weather that could change abruptly as a blue norther rolled in across the plains, dropping temperatures thirty or forty degrees before nightfall. Could you thrive in such an environment? The author did, and she reflects on these vicissitudes with both nostalgia and humor.

Track your progress toward your goals in five important areas: mind, body, spirit, relationships, and finances. Let this be the year you look at resolutions in a new and better way.

Frances Thomas has written many books for children and adults. She now lives mostly in Wales with her historian husband. She has won the Welsh Books Council Tir na nOg prize on four occasions for her children''s books. Among her other publications is a biography of Christina Rossetti. She has two daughters and two grandchildren. Dancing In The Chequered Shade is a companion to her 2012 volume A Bracelet of Bright Hair. To read more, visit her website: www.francesthomas.org

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

How old were you the first time someone asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"A few lucky souls recognized their dream job early in life. Many of us, however, stumbled on a career by accident. It may have made us a living, but did it give us the life we wanted? We never got the career counseling we needed to make a better choice.If you are a teenager just starting to sort out what to do with your life, this workbook will give you step by step guidance through the process.If you are the parent, grandparent, or loving aunt or uncle of a teen, what better gift than to give the student in your life the tools to make this important decision?

Electra is eagerly looking forward to her father Agamemnon''s triumphant return to Mycenae after the long war in Troy. But his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus have other plans - Clytemnestra cannot forgive her husband for the sacrifice of her eldest daughter Iphigenia at the start of the war, and Aegisthus covets the kingship. Instead of celebrating his return, they murder him horribly; and suddenly Mycenae isn''t a safe place for Electra or her brother Orestes. Orestes goes into exile, and Electra has to submit to a humiliating fate. When Orestes eventually returns, there is only one word on his mind - revenge! What part will Electra play in this?

Captured by pirates as a small girl, Eirene is now slave to the princess Cassandra of Troy. Troy was once a peaceful and beautiful city but ever since Queen Helen of Sparta abandoned her husband and daughter for the Trojan prince Paris, the Greek armies led by Agamemnon of Mycenae, have been waging war on Troy. Troy''s champion is the dazzling Hector, eldest son of King Priam, but the Greeks have the great warrior Achilles. Who will be victorious? The gods have taken sides in this war, but they have their own plans too and when Cassandra offends the god Apollo, he takes a terrible revenge on her. Eirene''s position becomes even more difficult. She has dreams of fire and destruction but can her devotion to the goddess Athene save her?

An ordinary year in an ordinary life, made extraordinary by poetry. Frances Thomas is the author of several books for adults and children. Her biography of Christina Rossetti was published in 1994 and has just been re-issued by Virago Press. She has won the Tir na nOg prize and a Scottish Arts Council award for her children''s books. She was born in Wales, but grew up in London. She now divides her time between London and mid-Wales. To read more about her, please visit her website: www.francesthomas.org

Polly is ready to run away from home, since her best friend Kelly doesn''t want to be friends, her pet hamster, Horace, has disappeared, and her mother is pregnant, so the whole family is paying more attention to the coming baby than to her.

Will this really be Polly''s worst birthday ever?

Townsville-based artist Tate Adams is renowned for his wood engravings, a form of printmaking he first practised while illustrating limited edition books for Ireland''s famous Dolmen Press. In Australia, he initiated something of a revolution in the art of printmaking through his teaching at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology from 1960-1982, and his establishment of the Crossley Gallery with early exhibitions of prints by artists such as Fred Williams, John Brack, George Baldessin and many others. He also established, with George Baldessin, the Lyre Bird Press for the publication of limited edition artists'' books. During the past decade he has moved from the miniature art of wood engraving, in which he is an internationally acknowledged master, to the painting of large scale gestural works executed in gouache on paper. The vitality of these recent works is astonishing. This Mini-Book, No 15 in Macmillan Art Publishing''s series, provides an overview of Tate Adams''s art in both wood engraving and the recent abstract painting.

A sequel to the 2008 title, Megan the Detective. Megan''s reputation as a detective is on the line, and her list of unsolved cases is growing - a missing pantomime script to locate, foul play at the Llanafan Dog Show and the appearance of mysterious wooden carvings in the village to name just a few.

Megan has a talent for solving problems. Luckily, she is persistent too, for no sooner has she fixed one problem, another pops up before her! As she goes about her everyday life, living with her family in a sleepy border village, Megan treats us to a view of life from her perspective, even sharing her favourite recipes.

An action-packed adventure of corruption, danger and mistrust set in a fictional Britain which has remained under Roman Rule. Tir na n-Og Award winner 2008.

Little Monster’s Book of Opposites identifies opposites with situations that any child can understand. Good puppies and bad, young monsters and old—with fantastically fun images the whole family will enjoy.

In Little Monster’s Book of Numbers, readers can count from ten red apples, to five baby birds learning to fly, all the way down to one adorable little monster! Simple images are perfect for preschoolers.

Examples of bad bossism are everywhere. Is yours a bully or merely inept? This books gives suggestions on how to deal with your boss and how to know when it''s time to say goodbye.

''Finding Information'' is a practical guide for those working with children, to help them to get on the Internet and search the World Wide Web for information. It''s a resource to help both adults and children build up confidence and skills with Information and Communication Technology across the National Curriculum. The book avoids technical jargon, includes step-by-step screen shots and contains 35 photocopiable projects. The book focuses on Microsoft Windows PCs running Internet Explorer software, but can also be used with Netscape Navigator software and Apple Macintosh or Research Machines'' computers. This second edition has been fully updated to be compatible with the new Windows XP operating system.

Surely a diary is private uabut when Tom Palmer finds one thrown in a skip, he can''t help but read it. The diarist, Hannah, writes about the attraction she feels for her charismatic English teacher. Their growing relationship and the frantic build up to her sister''s wedding is compounded by her strange behaviour and Tom becomes increasingly concerned about her welfare. Hannah''s is a compelling story and even though he frets about reading her personal thoughts, Tom just can''t put it down. She mentions glimpsing a ghostly figure of her own self as a down-and-out and Tom is told that to see such a ghost of oneself (a Fetch), is an omen of one''s death. As Tom sets out to return the diary to its rightful owner, he begins to worry about what has happened to her and that the diary could be the only record of her disappearance. Will he find the real Hannah before the fetch takes her life?