These proceedings comprise cutting-edge contributions by researchers at the frontiers of beam physics, free-electron-based light sources, and advanced accelerators. It represents a snap-shot of activity in these fields at a critical historical juncture, where rapid experimental progress is being reported, and new facilities such as X-ray free-electron lasers are under construction. The volume features invited contributions from leading researchers from the international beam physics community that summarize the state-of-the-art research in individual topics, as well as timely contributions from participants that arose during the workshop itself.
Increase the photorealism of your 3d visualizations with enhanced toolsets of V-ray in 3ds Max. Full-color, step-by-step tutorials about techniques involved in creating photorealistic renders for interior/exterior scenes. Each tutorial includes a 3d project scene to guide you through, production and post-production. The production chapter shows how to create shaders, fine-tune textures and set up a day/night lighting rig. You will be rendering high-res images with render elements included for the final stage of post-production. The book also includes tips about, pre-production, camera settings, verified views, material editors, shaders, 3ds max scripts, and much more! Key Features This book deals with real world scenes and delivers up to date design direction. This book has professional supporting files ready for the reader to open and explore. This book highlights the processes of making your own content that not only gives images your personal touch, but also through the online content that will be made available for this title. Includes some coverage of VRay. Focuses in depth on separate issues surrounding interior, exterior and product design, which vary wildly.
Organizations in ever-changing environments depend upon their knowledge, as their survival depends upon effective thinking and agile actions. Any organization’s knowledge is its prime asset yet its true value requires the activations of structure, query, search and decision. Shaping Knowledge provides an introduction to the key tools for thinking required by decision-making professionals in today’s knowledge-intensive landscapes, and equips them with key skills to capitalize on knowledge resources. This book provides practical methods and critical insights for modelling knowledge-driven domains, providing a rich resource for exploration in professional development and practice. Applies high-level theory work to an engineering domain Proposes a novel approach to spatial, urban and interaction design Brings a rare inter-disciplinary perspective to a convergent technology
Acoustics and Psychoacoustics is ideal for students of music technology, sound recording, traditional music and acoustics, as well as engineers studying audio, multimedia and communications systems. Gain a practical understanding of how real musical sounds behave and are perceived in real spaces with this accessible and interesting read. This third edition offers a CD of audio examples, crucial for a clear understanding of the concepts discussed. Visit the book's supporting website at http://books.elsevier.com/0240519957 for additional resources such as: * Questions and exercises to test your knowledge * Web links for further resources and research * Audio clips * Calculation facilities (eg. adding decibel values and converting between frequency ratio and cents/semitones) This website can also be reached via www.focalpress.com
This engaging and cutting-edge text provides an accessible introduction to the complex methods and concepts of social neuroscience, with examples from contemporary research and a blend of different pedagogical features helping students to engage with the material, including essay questions, summary and key points, further reading suggestions, and links to online resources. Social neuroscience is a rapidly growing field which explains, using neural mechanisms, our ability to recognize, understand, and interact with others. Concepts such as trust, revenge, empathy, prejudice, and identity are now being explored and unraveled by neuroscientists. The third edition of this ground-breaking text has been thoroughly revised and expanded to reflect the growing volume of evidence and theories in the field. Notable additions include a greater emphasis on genetic influences, hormonal influences, and more detail on methods such as fNIRS, multivariate pattern analysis, and heart-based psychophysiological measures. This edition also provides new material on gender identity and sexuality, constructivist theories of emotion, compassion versus empathy, the dark triad, and altruistic punishment. The book is supported by a fully updated companion website, featuring student resources including lecture recordings, multiple choice questions, and useful web links, as well as PowerPoint slides for lecturers. Richly illustrated in attractive full-color, with figures, boxes, and ‘real-world’ implications of research, this text is the ideal introduction to the field for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in fields such as psychology and neuroscience.
Reflecting recent changes in the way cognition and the brain are studied, this thoroughly updated third edition of the best-selling textbook provides a comprehensive and student-friendly guide to cognitive neuroscience. Jamie Ward provides an easy-to-follow introduction to neural structure and function, as well as all the key methods and procedures of cognitive neuroscience, with a view to helping students understand how they can be used to shed light on the neural basis of cognition. The book presents an up-to-date overview of the latest theories and findings in all the key topics in cognitive neuroscience, including vision, memory, speech and language, hearing, numeracy, executive function, social and emotional behaviour and developmental neuroscience, as well as a new chapter on attention. Throughout, case studies, newspaper reports and everyday examples are used to help students understand the more challenging ideas that underpin the subject. In addition each chapter includes: Summaries of key terms and points Example essay questions Recommended further reading Feature boxes exploring interesting and popular questions and their implications for the subject. Written in an engaging style by a leading researcher in the field, and presented in full-color including numerous illustrative materials, this book will be invaluable as a core text for undergraduate modules in cognitive neuroscience. It can also be used as a key text on courses in cognition, cognitive neuropsychology, biopsychology or brain and behavior. Those embarking on research will find it an invaluable starting point and reference. The Student’s Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience, 3rd Edition is supported by a companion website, featuring helpful resources for both students and instructors.
Morphogenesis is the set of processes that generate shape and form in the embryo- an important area within developmental biology. An exciting and up to the minute account of the very latest research into the factors that create biological form, Mechanisms of Morphogenesis is a text reference on the mechanisms of cell and tissue morphogenesis in a diverse array of organisms including prokaryotes, animals, plants and fungi. By combining hard data with computer modelling, this book will equip readers with a much broader understanding of the scope of modern research than is otherwise available. The book focuses on the ways in which the genetic programme is translated to generate cell shape, to direct cell migration, and to produce the shape, form and rates of growth of the various tissues. Each topic is illustrated with experimental data from real systems, with particular reference to gaps in current knowledge and pointers to future research. * Includes over 200 four-color figures * Offers an integrated view of theoretical developmental biology and computer modelling with laboratory-based discoveries * Covers experimental techniques as a guide to the reader * Organized around principles and mechanisms, using them to integrate discoveries from a range of organisms and systems
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject of acoustics, including the principles of human perception of sound, sometimes called psychoacoustics. Acoustics and Psychoacoustics is ideal for students of music technology, sound recording, traditional music and acoustics, as well as engineers studying audio, multimedia and communications systems. Anyone who wants a practical understanding of how real musical sounds behave and are perceived in real spaces, will find this an accessible and interesting read. Subjects featured include: · Principles of sound · Human hearing and psychoacoustics · Musical timbre, pitch and loudness perception · Sound generation in musical instruments · Sound in different environments (architectural acoustics) · Processing sound electronically The book's second edition provides new material on wave motion, brass and woodwind instruments, forward and backward masking, an introduction to coding, and diffusion. Additional references and marginal notes explaining basic terms are provided to aid understanding. Supporting website: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~dmh8/AcPsych/acpsyc.htm Visit the book's supporting website, designed by author David Howard, for additional resources: · Questions and exercises to test your knowledge · Web links for further resources and research · Audio clips · Calculation facilities (eg. adding decibel values and converting between frequency ratio and cents/semitones) The website can also be reached via www.focalpress.com Professor David M Howard lectures on music technology at the University of York's Electronics Department. His research interests include the analysis and synthesis of music, speech and singing, human hearing modelling and the use of computer displays in voice teaching. He is an active organist, choral singer and choral conductor. Dr James Angus was an instigator of the music technology courses at York, where he formerly lectured. He is now an independent consultant and researches in the area of acoustics, in particular diffuser design and audio signal processing. Acoustics and Psychoacoustics is part of the Focal Press Music Technology Series.
Revitalize your architectural visualizations by bringing new levels of realism to them with an enhanced command of the mental ray toolset in 3ds Max. Full-color step-by-step tutorials give you a firm understanding of the processes and techniques needed to create impressive interior and exterior visualizations. You'll learn how to prepare materials, light a daytime interior scene, use mr Physical Sky, and how to save time during complex renders. The companion website includes all of the tutorial files and sample files from the book.
Unlike other textbooks on this subject, which are more focused on end of life, the 4th edition of Principles and Practice of Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology focuses on supportive oncology. In fact, the goal of this textbook is to provide a source of both help and inspiration to all those who care for patients with cancer. Written in a more reader-friendly format, this textbook not only offers authoritative and up-to-date reviews of research and clinical care best practices, but also practical clinical applications to help readers put everything they learn to use.
The fast and easy way to learn to draw Drawing can enrich your life in extraordinary and unexpected ways. Drawing your everyday experiences can change how you and others see the world, while drawing from your imagination can give rise to fantastic new worlds. And, despite what you may believe, it's something just about anyone can learn to do. Drawing For Dummies offers you a fun, easy way to learn the drawing basics. Holding fast to the simple philosophy that only you can teach yourself to draw, it gives you the tools you need to explore the basics and move on to more advanced techniques. This revised edition of one of the most successful For Dummies guides includes Additional step-by-step instructions for drawing people, animals, still life, and more Coverage of effects, composition, and perspective How-to art projects that show you how to create your drawings from simple geometric shapes to finished artwork It's never too late to unleash the artist within. Let Drawing For Dummies, 2nd edition put you on the road to discovery and self-expression through drawing.
How does the brain represent number and make mathematical calculations? What underlies the development of numerical and mathematical abilities? What factors affect the learning of numerical concepts and skills? What are the biological bases of number knowledge? Do humans and other animals share similar numerical representations and processes? What underlies numerical and mathematical disabilities and disorders, and what is the prognosis for rehabilitation? These questions are the domain of mathematical cognition, the field of research concerned with the cognitive and neurological processes that underlie numerical and mathematical abilities. The Handbook of Mathematical Cognition is a collection of 27 essays by leading researchers that provides a comprehensive review of this important research field.
Where did I come from? Why do I have two arms but just one head? How is my left leg the same size as my right one? Why are the fingerprints of identical twins not identical? How did my brain learn to learn? Why must I die? Questions like these remain biology's deepest and most ancient challenges. They force us to confront a fundamental biological problem: how can something as large and complex as a human body organize itself from the simplicity of a fertilized egg? A convergence of ideas from embryology, genetics, physics, networks, and control theory has begun to provide real answers. Based on the central principle of 'adaptive self-organization', it explains how the interactions of many cells, and of the tiny molecular machines that run them, can organize tissue structures vastly larger than themselves, correcting errors as they go along and creating new layers of complexity where there were none before. Life Unfolding tells the story of human development from egg to adult, from this perspective, showing how our whole understanding of how we come to be has been transformed in recent years. Highlighting how embryological knowledge is being used to understand why bodies age and fail, Jamie A. Davies explores the profound and fascinating impacts of our newfound knowledge.
“A valuable instructional tool for bead-embroidery fans of all skill levels . . . A book you will refer to over and over again.” (Bead&Button). In this fully illustrated reference volume, acclaimed bead artist Jamie Cloud Eakin explains more than 30 indispensable techniques for bead embroidery—a process that involves sewing beads onto a fabric base. With step-by-step instructions, helpful diagrams, time-tested tips, and gorgeous photography, Eakin covers everything from the most common surface stitches to decorative fringes and picot. The volume also includes nine creative projects to help you explore what you’ve learned, including beautiful necklaces, dazzling earrings, and an elegantly accented purse. A gallery of stunning work from other designers offers additional inspiration.
Providing fundamental knowledge necessary to understand graphene’s atomic structure, band-structure, unique properties and an overview of groundbreaking current and emergent applications, this new handbook is essential reading for materials scientists, chemists and physicists.Since the 2010 physics Nobel Prize awarded to Geim and Novosolev for their groundbreaking work isolating graphene from bulk graphite, there has been a huge surge in interest in the area. This has led to a large number of news books on graphene. However, for such a vast inflow of new entrants, the current literature is surprisingly slight, focusing exclusively on current research or books on previous "hot topic" allotropes of carbon.This book covers fundamental groundwork of the structure, property, characterization methods and applications of graphene, along with providing the necessary knowledge of graphene’s atomic structure, how it relates to its band-structure and how this in turn leads to the amazing properties of graphene. And so it provides new graduate students and post-docs with a resource that equips them with the knowledge to undertake their research. Discusses graphene’s fundamental structure and properties, acting as a time-saving handbook for validated research Demonstrates 100+ high-quality graphical representations, providing the reader with clear images to convey complex situations Reviews characterization techniques relevant to grapheme, equipping the reader with experimental knowledge relevant for practical use rather than just theoretical understanding
Increase the photorealism of your 3d visualizations with enhanced toolsets of V-Ray 5 for 3ds Max 2020. The book is filled with colorful illustrations depicting step-by-step tutorials about the process of creating a photorealistic day-and-night exterior scene. Each tutorial includes a 3d project scene to guide users through the production and the post-production processes. The book begins with an overview of the best techniques to approach clients via emails, calls, meetings, and via social media. There are also key insights into the best practices of handling projects, pricing, contracts, invoices, the pre-production, production, and the post-production, to name but a few. Throughout the book, users are taken through VRayMtl functions such as Diffuse, Roughness, Reflect, Glossiness, Metalness, Refract, Index of Refraction (IOR), Abbe number, Fog color, Translucency, BRDF, Coat, Sheen, and Bump. Also, users will learn how to use procedural maps such as VRayBitmap, VRayTriplanarTex, Bricks, Metals, Carpaint, VRayDisplacementMod, VRayUVWRandomizer, VRayMultiSubTex, VRayPointCloudColor, VRayDirt, VRayAerialPersepective, VRayLightMtl, VRayMtlWrapper, VRayOverrideMtl, VRay2SidedMtl, VRayBlendMtl, and VRayEdgesTex. In addition, there are tips and tricks accompanied with videos highlighting how to create VR interactive apps using Verge 3d; how to create verified views; and how to use plug-ins and scripts such as Project Manager, Auto grid pivot point, GarageFarm, Zmapping, gobotree, and VIShopper. Finally, users will have a rare insight into all functionalities of a VRay camera, VRayLight objects, Render settings, Frame buffer, Global switches, IPR options, Bucket and Progressive image samplers, Image filters, Global DMC, Color mapping, Brute force global illumination, Light cache, Color management, Distributed rendering, Render elements, VRay image file format, VFB History settings, VFB Lens Effects, LightMix, Film tonemap, Hue/Saturation, Lookup Table, and much more. Key Features This book deals with real projects/3d scenes and delivers up-to-date V-Ray 5 functionalities and production workflows using 3ds Max 2020 This book has professional supporting files ready to open and explore This book details the meticulous step-by-step processes of creating jaw-dropping 3d renderings This book includes unrivaled in-depth coverage of V-Ray 5 for 3ds Max 2020 This book includes 3d rendering methodologies currently used by key industry players Author Jamie Cardoso is a renowned author, reviewer, computer artist, and technologist, with years of experience in creating state-of-the-art 3d photomontages, verified views, VR, AR, XR, MR, Stereos, and photorealistic interior and exterior visualizations for architects and designers.
This book contains the proceedings of the 1999 ICFA workshop on the physics of high brightness beams. The workshop took a snapshot in time of a fast moving, interdisciplinary field driven by advanced applications such as high gradient, high energy physics linear colliders, high gain free electron lasers, heavy ion fusion, and transmutation of nuclear materials. While the field of high brightness beam physics has traditionally been divided into disparate electron and heavy ion communities, the workshop brought the two types of researchers together, so that a sharing of insights and methods could be achieved. Thus, this book represents a unifying step in the development of the diverse fascinating discipline of high brightness beam physics, with its challenges rooted in collective, nonlinear particle motion and ultra-high electromagnetic energy density.
A Breath Before Sunrise is an expansion of the short story The Observer, which is from my first book Extinction Chronicles. This novella tells the tale of the events prior to The Observer and revolves around the characters Bear, Bird, and Fox. Bear is a Collector tasked with bringing back Observers from the surface of a war-ravaged world. A mysterious enemy destroyed the planet and humanity had no choice but to burrow into the safety provided by the vast underground of the Earth. After spending a year on the surface and discovering a life humanity lived before the war, Bear begins to think for himself and develops and understanding of free will. Feeling a disgust for the patriarchal world of the underground Bear becomes defiant and decides to remain on the surface. The Elders send up two close friends of Bear to bring him back. Caught up in a battle between light and darkness, the trio learns that our adult life mirrors our memories.
These proceedings comprise cutting-edge contributions by researchers at the frontiers of beam physics, free-electron-based light sources, and advanced accelerators. It represents a snap-shot of activity in these fields at a critical historical juncture, where rapid experimental progress is being reported, and new facilities such as X-ray free-electron lasers are under construction. The volume features invited contributions from leading researchers from the international beam physics community that summarize the state-of-the-art research in individual topics, as well as timely contributions from participants that arose during the workshop itself.
Boating is a recreational sport for many in Canada. Knowledge and care when operating a boat will help to ensure a safe and enjoyable time on water. Boats are also used for commercial purposes including the transportation of people and goods. This manual focuses on information that should be of value to the use of pleasure craft for recreation.
Anyone can learn to draw with these easy instructions and fun practice ideas Drawing For Dummies makes it easy to learn the basics of drawing and even master advanced techniques. With a little instruction and practice, there’s no such thing as “I just can’t draw.” Drawing can help you relieve stress, express your emotions and creativity, communicate across cultures, improve memory, and develop and strengthen fine motor skills. This user-friendly Dummies resource will teach you how to see the world through the eyes of an artist, explore your inner visions, and open up your creativity through drawing exercises. Step-by-step illustrations and images, newly enlarged in this edition, will show you exactly how to achieve the results you want. It might be time to invest in some picture frames, because you’re about to make art you can be proud of. Learn the fundamentals of drawing, including the essential supplies you’ll need Practice drawing techniques, get your creativity flowing, and explore your own mind with fun drawing exercises Get step-by-step instructions on how to draw anything in a range of styles Improve your abilities with tips and ideas for making your drawings better Complete beginners and more advanced artists alike will have fun developing their skills with Drawing For Dummies.
The acoustics of a space can have a real impact on the sounds you create and capture. Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, Fifth Edition provides supportive tools and exercises to help you understand how music sounds and behaves in different spaces, whether during a performance or a recording, when planning a control room or listening space, and how it is perceived by performers, listeners, and recording engineers. With their clear and simple style, Howard and Angus cover both theory and practice by addressing the science of sound engineering and music production, the acoustics of musical instruments, the ways in which we hear musical sounds, the underlying principles of sound processing, and the application of these concepts to music spaces to create professional sound. This new edition is fully revised to reflect new psychoacoustic information related to timbre and temporal perception, including an updated discussion of vocal fold vibration principles, samples of recent acoustic treatments, and a description of variable acoustics in spaces, as well as coverage of the environment’s effect on production listening, sonification, and other topics. Devoted to the teaching of musical understanding, an accompanying website (www.routledge.com/cw/howard) features various audio clips, tutorial sheets, questions and answers, and trainings that will take your perception of sound to the next level. This book will help you: Gain a basic grounding in acoustics and psychoacoustics with respect to music audio technology systems Incorporate knowledge of psychoacoustics in future music technology system designs as appropriate Understand how we hear pitch, loudness, and timbre Learn to influence the acoustics of an enclosed space through designed physical modifications
Construction for Landscape Architecture covers all aspects of landscape construction, giving a good understanding of building materials and assembly. It is heavily illustrated with specially commissioned, detailed construction drawings and has a strong emphasis on sustainability and good practice. At the end of the book there is an extensive glossary and an appendix of technical information.
Jacksonville from A to Z takes young readers on an educational journey through the city of Jacksonville, Florida through the eyes of local children. Each page depicts a Jacksonville landmark, characteristic or historical figure beginning with each letter of the alphabet. The book's whimsical illustrations were created by young hospitalized patients through Art with a Heart for Children, a non-profit organization that uses art to enhance the healing process for critically ill children. Young children will enjoy the rhyming and colorful illustrations while older chidlren will learn facinating facts and fun trivia about the city. The authors will donate more than half of the net proceeds to Art with a Heart for Children and other local children's charities.
Design your home to optimize your healthy lifestyle with this room-by-room guide from certified kitchen designer and wellness design consultant Jamie Gold. Like a lot of folks these days, you’re committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. You watch your diet, stay active, meditate, and surround yourself with positive people. So why should your home be any different? Residential designer Jamie Gold has spent years defining the exciting new field of wellness design, which explores how simple changes to things like lighting, fixtures, storage, and outdoor space can make a huge difference in how you feel every day. Wellness by Design offers a room-by-room guide to refreshing your space so that it supports muscle and bone health, encourages clean eating, prevents disease, and promotes safety, fitness, serenity, and joy. Whether you’re training for a marathon or recovering from an injury, building your dream home or decorating your new rental, the design of your home can help—or hinder—your active lifestyle. This book will help you keep your fitness goals and stay on track for a long and healthy life.
Though David Foster Wallace is well known for declaring that "Fiction’s about what it is to be a fucking human being," what he actually meant by the term "human being" has been quite forgotten. It is a truism in Wallace studies that Wallace was a posthumanist writer, and too theoretically sophisticated to write about characters as having some kind of essential interior self or soul. Though the contemporary, posthuman model of the embodied brain is central to Wallace’s work, so is his critique of that model: the soul is as vital a part of Wallace’s fiction as the bodies in which his souls are housed. Drawing on Wallace’s reading in the science and philosophy of mind, this book gives a rigorous account of Wallace’s dualism, and of his humanistic engagement with key postmodern concerns: authorship; the self and interiority; madness and mind doctors; and free will. If Wallace’s fiction is about what it is to be a human being, this book is about the human ‘I’ at the heart of Wallace’s work.
Crystal Creed is the ultimate resource for crystal healing. From how crystals are formed to crystal grids, Crystal Creed covers everything a beginner needs to know for beginning their crystal healing journey. For most people, the start of the crystal journey is intimidating. In Crystal Creed, author Jamie Inglett teaches its readers all they need to know to practice crystal healing and discover their intuitive powers. Within each of us there are spiritual gifts waiting for us to realize them. Crystal Creed aims to help its readers unlock their spiritual gifts with crystals and to manifest their dream lives. With more than 100 crystals and their original full color photos, as well as their healing properties and practical applications, Crystal Creed is the only resource a beginner needs on their healing journey.
Three books in the award-winning dystopian fantasy series! Drop of Hope (Book 4) Dangerous secrets can lurk under the water's surface… Ariana Alivette has lived a life of perceived luxury in the elusive Omni Towers. While most of the remaining survivors around the world are struggling to survive, Ariana has been locked away to protect a dangerous secret. But, even the walls of a gilded cage can't last forever. When Ariana makes the decision to reveal her secret to save a life, she suddenly finds herself targeted by those determined to use her for their own ambitions. Ariana must quickly learn the rules of this new world and do whatever is necessary to master her own fate, because one wrong decision means losing her life—and her heart. Flames of Redemption (Book 5) Beware the games that can leave you burned… Valentina has spent her life working as an elite agent for the Coalition. After a rescue effort goes horribly wrong, she's taken to the Omni Towers where she finds herself embroiled in a masterful game of chess and she's the hunted queen. With the Coalition poised on the brink of civil war and ready to rescind their alliance with The Omni Towers, Valentina must quickly get to the bottom of who is behind the sinister plot targeting their leadership. When shipments of weapons go missing and buried secrets emerge, Valentina is forced into facing her past and playing the deadliest game of her life. Unfortunately, the stakes of this gamble are higher than anyone could have anticipated and not even a love forged in fire may be enough to save their people from destruction. Spirit of the Towers (Book 6) Fate may guide you, but it never promises you'll survive… Valentina once prided herself on her ability to blend in and adapt to any situation. But no one can remain in the shadows forever, especially when faced with the flames of truth. The alliance between OmniLab and the Coalition is crumbling, and the man Valentina loves is at the heart of it. With people dying and riots threatening the already shaky foundation of the towers, it's a race against time for Valentina to find out who's responsible. And deep below the surface, the rapids and danger continue to grow... An unlikely friendship may be the only chance Valentina has to calm the storm and stop the rebellion before it's too late. And if she fails, it's not just her life and the man she loves at risk—but also the spirit of the towers and the secrets lurking beneath the fallen city.
Being an old soul, Sebastian Robertson has seen many phases of life come and go. As a young entrepreneur in St Louis, he finds comfort, peace, and solace in his bookstore. There he escapes the noise of fast paced technology, crowds, and a past he would kill to forget. While enjoying his little oasis in the middle of St. Louis, a beautiful and intoxicating woman graces his doorway. Never seeing such a woman before, his senses are awakened from their primordial slumber. He feels her presences and it stirs the very space she moves into. The fluidity of her movements hypnotize him as she moves closer to the counter. He catches the slight scents of Jasmine and Honeysuckle and is star struck. But how? What is it about her that makes him feel this way? Dr. Autumn Scorpeno, is a beautiful, intelligent woman who finds herself in such a magical place. As a new and upcoming doctor, she is drawn to a little gem of a book store hidden in the heart of St. Louis. Upon entering, she is swept away by a sense of something beautifully intoxicating in the air. Unsure of the feelings origin, she drifts in and out of belief in supernatural magic. As she falls more entranced with the idea, she is drawn into a world anything unlike her own and is transformed into something more than she ever imagined. Upon learning of such a world, will she be torn between a world of certainty and a world of endless possibility? Who believes in magic nowadays? With all the filters, hashtags, and etc. there really isn't room. That's not to say it isn't there, hidden in the most obscure places. With computers, smartphones, blue tooth, and Wi-Fi, it's hard to detect. However, there are those who radiate and feel the lure of astronomical energy beyond the surface of reality. Once they've met their equal, it really is an extraordinary experience.
What lurks beneath the surface? Is it oil formed from the corpse of an ancient horror? A lonely mermaid, or a selkie with a stolen skin? Or is it an android's feeling, but mechanical heart? Within these pages, you'll find angels and monsters, revenants and a fish with teeth, and aliens, both fearsome and friendly. Delve into the depths with us.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.