Captain Gillaine Davre of the Raheiran Special Forces, the Kiasidira, had just barely escaped the Fav'lhir attack by traveling through the Rift. The Fav'lhir followed her and were destroyed, decimating the Fav'lhir's mageline or line of sorcerers. So when she woke up in a sick bay, she wasn't too surprised. After all, she did get a pretty nasty bump on her head. However, Gillie quickly discovers that she is 342 years in the future. Somehow the conflict between her ship and the Fav'lhir projected her into the future. And, even worse, the Khalarans, the people she was protecting, have made her a goddess! Gillie knows that she needs to keep her head down, repair her ship and beat it out of there before anyone discovers who she is, but Admiral Rynan Makarian already seems a little too interested...

Admiral Rynan "Make It Right" Makarian, Mack to his friends, is the youngest and newest Admiral in the Khalaran Fleet. His reputation for perfection and excellent track record land him on Cirrus One, the preliminary project for the Rim Gate Project, or a gate that will link the remote corner of the galaxy with the rest of the Khalaran Confederation. Everything that could go wrong seems to, from the civilians refusing to cooperate with the Fleet personnel, the magefather having delusions of grandeur - and the dratted parrots that no one can seem to get rid of! The last thing he needs is the beautiful Gillie, whom he mistakenly assumes is a smuggler, distracting him from his duties.

Mack first hangs around Gillie because he is suspicious of her, but quickly falls in love with her. When Mack proposes to Gillie after she has been on Cirrus One for a week, Gillie is shocked - but very, very tempted. For the first time in her life, Gillie starts to imagine what it would be like to be just plain old Gillie - not the Kiasidira, not a Raheiran sorceress, but just a woman who loves a man. For a short time, it seems that Gillie's dream will come true, but then Gillie discovers that the magefather is Melandan, the ancient enemy of the Khalarans. When Carrick Blass, a mageline sorcerer of the Melandan people arrives on board Cirrus One, Gillie knows she has to make a choice - protect the Khalarans, as she swore an oath to do and risk losing Mack's love or to let the Khalarans be destroyed, which is no choice at all...

An Accidental Goddess is the far future sequel to Wintertide, Baker's excellent fantasy novel and is just as entertaining. Gillie was a great character and I could totally empathize with her tough decisions. If she revealed who she truly was, the Kiasidira, she would disrupt centuries of religious worship in the Khalaran culture and knew that the people would never look at her the same. Mack was a great hero, very intelligent and able to figure out a lot of Gillie's history on his own, but not really wanting to believe what he found out. Mack's crew were also wonderful characters, as was Simon, Gillie's sentient computer/ship who was one of my favorite characters - I would love to see him in a story of his own! Anyway, the characters were fabulous and well developed, even the wretched villains, and the setting was great. I felt that the story had a good sense of history (because I read Wintertide first, I understood a lot of the religious connotations better, but it is not necessary to read Wintertide first) and a very developed world with all aspects of life covered - food, healing, religion, military, politics, etc. The cost is a bit steep for Megan Baker's books, but I can assure you that they are well worth the cost! (If you want a cheaper copy, look to buy them in ebook format.)

Well, it's the wee hours of the morning *yawn* and I just finished An Accidental Goddess. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and just have to write a review! I stayed up all night/early morning to read this book from front to back. I could not put it down! It has it all: Love and a beautiful romance, humour and witty dialogue, old rivalries and combat, mystery, treachery, and closely guarded secrets. You'll also get to meet the honorable and dashing Admiral Rynan Makarian, Simon the wisecracking sentient crystalship, and Captain Gillaine Davre of the Raheiran Special Forces and a very rare "Witch" who, through a accident in Riftspace, has found herself hurled three hundred and forty-two years into the future, and isn't exactly thrilled to find out that she is now worshipped as a Goddess! There is also a very exciting and unexpected turn of events at the end!

I have to say that the weaving of magic with science and technology was brilliantly done! It also made the story unique and refreshing, not to mention it added a high level of excitement, tension, and awe to the experience. If you like Sharon Lee & Steve Millers "Liaden Universe" novels, or Selina Rosen's "Queen Of Denial", you will definitely enjoy this book! It's going on my "keeper" shelf, the place for my special comfort books and the ones that I know I will read again and again for years to come. Don't miss this one! I HIGHLY recommend it!

She has also written Wintertide (prequel to An Accidental Goddess), and Gabriel's Ghost. And she has three other novels as well, written as Linnea Sinclair. They are Command Performance, Finders Keepers, and Destiny's Game. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to order the rest of her books, and embark on more fabulous adventures! *happy grin* Enjoy!

I just recently discovered Megan Sybil Baker/Linnea Sinclair's books, and they are all fantastic. Still, I think this is my favorite of them all so far!

Gilliane Devre is the Kiasidera, a sorceress whose mageline has been dedicated to watching over and aiding the Khalar people for thousands of years. Gillie was involved in a space battle with enemy wizards, and when she destroyed them, she and her sentient crystal ship got thrown in a time warp forward 340 years. When the sassy, down-to-earth Captain awakens, she is horrified to learn that the Khalar people now worship her as a Goddess!

She tries to hide her identity and fit in, clashing several times with the handsome Admiral Rhynan Makarian, who has suspicions that she is a smuggler. Complications ensue--sparks fly between Rhynan and Gillie, treacherous plots are uncovered, and ships clash in space, as Gillie again finds herself nearly sacrificing everything to fulfill her role as protectress of the Khalar people.

This books has a fascinating mix of SF and Fantasy elements, and has more than enough action to please any SF fan. The characters come alive on the page, which seems to be true of all her books. This lady really knows how to create memorable characters. This was just an incredibly fun book to read!

A note: While this is technically a sequel to Wintertide, it stands alone nicely. I did enjoy the "historical" references to events that happened in Wintertide. Reading it first is not necessary, but it would enhance your reading experience. Plus I know that once you read any of her books, you will want to read them all!

This book is informative, insightful, and intelligent. It's not a trendy cookbook with a lot of flash, it's just got good recipes that come out perfect. I highly recommend it to any cook.

Many cookbooks about baking have words like "bible" or "complete" in them. Yet, none really deserve the term. They are never complete nor correct enough to warrant the title. This book, however, has earned the rights to these words. It originally started out as a club for professional bakers to solve their common baking problems that metastasized into this baking cookbook. It features many highly respected names such as Flo Braker, John Phillip Carroll, Marion Cunningham, Carol Field, Fran Gage, and Alice Medrich. The whole thing is edited by Rick Rodgers.

I have often heard people, including many respected food writers, lament that there ought to be a comprehensive book about baking that covers all of the important aspects and types of recipes and techniques. Well, here it is. It delves into such arcana as: the differences between genoise, sponge cake, chiffon cake, and angel food cake; the proper way to measure flour (in fact, different chapters use different methods, so read the recipes carefully and follow them to the letter; similar comments apply to which rolling pin or what kind of flour to use); and 4 different recipes for pie dough using either lard, cream cheese, shortening, or butter. The same applies to the chapter on tarts. It starts out with 5 recipes for crusts (pate brisee, pate sablee, pate sucree, tartlet dough, and quick puff pastry), and the subsequent recipes for tarts start with one of one of the crusts. The chapter on yeast breads is especially noteworthy.

Each chapter is written by a different person, and functions as a self contained primer on a particular subject. Each subject is treated systematically and thoroughly. In fact, each chapter could be published on its own as reference work on its subject. One chapter often contains more information than a standard cookbook on baking. The chapters are: ingredients, tools, basic cakes, fancy cakes, pies, tarts, fruit desserts, cookies, muffins and quick breads, yeast breads, custards, and frostings.

There are 2 important features in this book that are absent from most others about baking. First, all of the recipes are the result of extensive testing by the bakers (of which, incidentally, there are many more than just a baker's dozen or 13), and not just a "traditional" one someone habitually uses. Second, all of the recipes are solid, old-fashioned favorites (like: brownies, biscuits, doughnuts, banana bread, apple pandowdy, pecan pie, cornbread) that have been staples of the family table for decades; there are no trendy recipes here for weird baked goods that you will never make. On the down side, there are a couple of editing mistakes: p. 221 and 224 both refer to "page 000".

If you can bake cakes from boxed mixes and make cookies from the recipe on the back of the package of chocolate chips, then you are ready for this book. Even experienced bakers will learn much from the collective intelligence in this book. If there is only one cookbook about baking on your shelf, then this is the one to have.

Many cookbooks that deal with baking assume you know and understand all of the fundamentals. This one doesn't treat you like a beginner but it doesn't assume you are a pastry chef. Instructions are clear and concise and very easy to follow. The recipes are interesting and fun. Knowing some of the people in the book makes me even more willing to trust their guidance since I know a tremendous amount of testing for each recipe was undertaken by the group as a whole. This is a great book for great bakers and a fantastic book for beginners. Check out the ginger cookie recipe!

This guy makes a lot of sense. check it out.

Wish I'd read this book before moving to Seattle, one of the darkest cities in North America, and living there for 17 years! Each year when the rains started and lasted for months and months, I'd typically gain 15-25 pounds. If the sun came out long enough in the summer, I'd sometimes lose most of my winter weight. When the sun was out, diet was easy. When the sun was not shining, I could not stop eating. I arrived in Seattle weighing a petite 103 pounds and wearing a size 5 and left Seattle barely able to sqeeze into a size 14-16.

Now I've moved to a sunny state and have quite a few pounds to lose. The high-carb, low-fat diets left me hungry all the time. The low-carb diets left me feeling depressed. The carbohydrate addicts diet was too restrictive, no carbs except at one meal per day. On the Circadian diet, I don't feel an overwhelming urge to eat all the time. In fact, last night, after a very small dinner, I felt more full than I usually do after a very large meal. The diet is palatable, too. While protein is emphasized during the day, a little bit of carbohydrate is allowed, and it makes the meals a lot more appetizing. So, I can have a few chunks of pineapple with my cup of cottage cheese when I'm in a hurry and have to prepare a quickie lunch. Or I can have a piece of high fiber bread with my omlette at breakfast. And I can have some protein with my carbs at dinner. Eating out is easy. After failing at high-carb, low-carb, Weight Watchers, Diet Center, et cetera, I finally have a satisfying way to eat and am losing weight. In fact, I easily lost three pounds my first week on the diet. I learned a lot of useful information from other diet books but could not stick to the diets. After reading The Circadian Prescription, I find losing weight is pretty easy! With the other suggestions in the book, I overall feel much better than I have in years!

This book is a literally a lifesaver! For years I have struggled to stay awake, alert and function with ADD, Candida and other health problems....the diet that is recommeneded allows me to feel alert when I need to be alert and relaxed when necessary by eating differently at different times of the day,and not be famished and weak with hunger in-between. This concept is radically different from anything else that I've ever read..but it works! I've always assumed that somehow each individual was so unique that we needed different diets ....this is a diet that seems to work for everybody, regardless or age, sex, health or lack of it...The breakfast shake in particular is a gem..and can even be used for lunch if needed..it gives me lots of energy and carries me to lunch without the usual mid-morning hunger that usually plagues me.
I have even introduced a friend to the concept and she was blown away too. Thank you Dr. MacDonald, from the bottom of my heart.

Time could not keep them apart. I loved how this book brought out images in my mind. They seemed alive and vibrant. I highly recommend this book...

I have almost all of Madeline Baker's books the time travel series are good i like get all that I can I cannot tell anyone about the book but I can tell you this you should get this book that is an good book trust me.

This story is the best. I started it one evening and didn't put it down til I was finished at 3 in the morning! It should be a movie that is for sure. I was completely drawn into the plot and felt like part of the story. I was catapulted back into history. Romance at it finest!

This book has all there is for the novice and experienced
investors ... . It has all the information relevant to the world of investments, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, indices ....
All presented in as simple way as possible to the man in the street. Yet in it's own way I would think even the expert money
managers will hate to give this book a miss!

I was surprised how quick paced and understandable this book is to read. Investment strategies can be very dry. But this book is a fast read and I learned a lot from the author.

I have never been able to stay in the market when it got rough. But this book showed me why I need to stay in, even when all the bad news tells me to get out. More important, I learned that if I use a wide allocation of funds, I will actually have less risk. This was a real eye opener for me.

I am very grateful the author took the time to write this book. It will change my entire approach to investing. Now maybe I will actually achieve my objectives. Thanks

A must read for anyone wanting to know what investing is all about.

This season something extraordinary is about to reveal itself. A Return to Christmas is an impenetrably, exciting book by Chris Heimerdinger. When you start reading this book you will not be able to stop. Will the Holiday's rediscover something they been without for eight years? We follow the lives of two boys named Chess and Artemus whose paths cross in unusual and unexpected ways. Is it possible that Chess could be Artie's brother? I assure you that this book will leave you at the edge of your seat. We loved it! It was the best book that we have ever read!

Chris Heimerdinger is one of the best writers in weaving a tales so real you can taste. Not only are his stories highly entertaining, they have good messages to send us. In A Return to Christmas, Chris writes a compelling tale of a modern day prince and pauper. It tells of the struggles of one family, having lost their love of Christmas and thrown into a pit of grief they cannot climb out of, until a light of hope shines. This book has value on all levels. To those who have not read this, get it now and read it. You'll be glad you did.

My wife recommended me this book. I read the german translation in one day. It's a short but also a great story. I think the most important thing I must say about it: I felt happy when I finished. If you have a sense of family, buy this book. You won't regret!!

Run, don't walk, to order your copy of this book. Ron Baker does for pricing our services what Montgomery did for Auditing.
What a novel idea, to get paid for the value of the services that we provide to our clients.
Ron Baker's goal, as he so aptly describes it, is "to trash time sheets forever". Keeping track of time is the biggest waste of time ever perpetrated on professionals. Accountants have become slaves to the concept of "the almighty hour". We are not selling hours but intellectual capital.
Ron takes you through every step necessary to start your trip to successful value pricing. You will learn exactly how to present this to your existing clients. You will also learn how to use a change order when there turns out to be hidden surprises that no one anticipated. He will explain the concept of service guarantees as an excellent way of gaining new clients and show you in detail how to draft service agreements to use. The book comes with a CD-Rom that has many forms and agreements referred to in the book.
I don't know too many people who are thrilled about the idea of having any work done for them without knowing exactly what the cost will be. It's like boarding an airplane in Los Angeles, flying to New York, and being told your fare will depend on how many minutes you're in the air.
Ron Baker is truly one of the very few original thinkers in the accounting profession. Listen to him; learn from him, and I promise you that you will improve your professional life and most important, your bottom line as well.

I bought this book on a trial basis, due to its cost. It came on a Friday, and I scanned it that night. I wrote the check next morning.
This book changed my attitude about my profession. I was ready to quit. Burned out, tired, frustrated, and angry.
Within one month, I had identified 5 major clients and had more than doubled the revenue from those clients. My staff is happier because they feel they are being treated as professionals and generating fees more in line with their abilities. We have "dismissed" several non-productive clients, and haven't missed the revenue. We work fewer hours at more enjoyable work and actually make more profits. It has positively affected my home life as well.

Having read the previous edition of this book for just 20 minutes I e-mailed the author to tell him that "I have seen this book described as the most important book in the profession. Without a shadow of a doubt, it will change my life."

The new chapters make this latest edition even better. Read the chapter on Total Quality Service to understand how to compete in the future. Ron Baker will completely change your views on pricing professional services. You will start to charge what you are worth with a consequent improvement in both income and self esteem.

Recently I was in a group of 70 accountants who listened to the author speak on Value Pricing for just ten minutes. At the end he received a standing ovation. In my 30 years in the profession I have never seen accountants show such enthusiasm for a speaker and his subject.

If you want to change your professional (and personal) life for the better buy this book.

This book goes a long way in helping to become aware of beliefs that we all hold about ourselves, our families and how life "should" be. The truth is that none of us can truly fulfill our destinies until we realize the untruths that dictate our behavior and thoughts. For anyone who has a desire to learn how to unblock the energy these false beliefs stifle, this is a great step in the process.

this book is so simple and factual that even the most sceptical person can appreciate the information contained within this wonderful guide book for life.

i dare you to try it for your self and not feel the weight drop from your shoulders and your feet lift from the pavement as life becomes a joy and true living begins.

Enjoy

In moments like this when all the world is facing so much pain, fear and caos, we all search for answers, we need to know why... Well, this book not only gives you ALL THE REASONS WHY and all the answers for what we are facing on a huge scale as a humanity or as a country, here you can find how to change it all.

Because in this great book I found the only way we can do that is by healing and changing our own selves.

I have read many books in my life, but this is the first time I find a very easy and practical way to heal my wounds, to understand them and to really change my life.

I wish I had the power to put this book in the hands of each person on this planet.

Please read it!!!!

Another one of Kyle Bakers self-contained Graphic Novels, aiming for fans of sarcastic/ironic humor of which there is plenty. Baker likes to secretly criticize and mock everyday society by filling his stories with fictional characters and than make them act (exaggerated, but still) like real persons we see everyday. This is another good example of it.

This is the fictional life-story, brought as a documentary with many flashbacks, of Cowboy Wally. All the way from when his B-career started up till today. Cowboy Wally is a guy who's big, loud and stupid and who got into show-business (and moves around in it) by 'questionable methods' to say the least. That doesn't stop him from bragging about his achievements though (he IS his biggest fan), meanwhile emphasizing "how normal he maintained to be for a star of his caliber'. The reader gets to witness him making really really really cheap movies, him exploiting people who trust him and even ruining Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.

A pretty funny book (especially the last part where it all comes together and the past catches up on Wally) about a fictional TV-character, which satirically mocks real-life TV-personalities. Like in all Baker's books the humor is often very subtle though. The art is pure black-and-white (without tones of gray like in the same author's 'Why I Hate Saturn'). It's nicely detailed and doesn't suffer from the lack of color though. It's comparable to Terry Moore's art in 'Strangers in Paradise'.
Although it's pretty good overall I feel it could have been better with lesser segments in it, but paying more attention to the segments which remained. It looks a little cramped now, as if Baker didn't have as much pages as he really wanted to tell the tale. Nonetheless, for fans of satirical/sarcastic humor this is a good choice AFTER you've read 'Why I Hate Saturn', his better book.

The Cowboy Wally Show presents the "Mockumentary" retrospective of the stellar career of TV "Legend" Cowboy Wally. The book unfolds like a real documentary- We get the "Candid Interview" first, followed by a rare screening of his French Foreign Legion epic "Sands of Blood", and, for the finale, a gut-busting screening, (as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse), of the jail-house retelling of Hamlet, complete with a drag-queen Ophelia, and paper cut-outs filling in for actors. If you don't laugh at the prison scenes ("Hamlet......it's a nickname my mom calls me....") you must be dead. Kyle Baker is a genius!

This is, beyond a doubt, the single funniest graphic novel ever written.

Stop reading this review and buy it. Now.

Great words of wisdom, thoughts to ponder. I love the messages of remembering to enjoy the moment as well as others. This book is a real keeper - highly recommeded!

Sorry, you won't be able to learn baking from this book, instead, you may find it's something more like Zen.

This little poetic story lead us to a place where we can have perfect peace of mind. The reason why Human Being are Human Being is we can better utilize our thinking power.

Jacob is a humble yet great influencer.
Each of the little stories inside the book sounds or looks very simple, but there are always great thoughts behind.

A must have for the ones who embrace life and humanity.

This is a small-beautiful book. Full of profound aspects of life. The Jewish baker tell his stories and answer the questions form the people passed by.
Noah Ben Shea is a thinker who knows how to use the word and combine them back smoothly. The book splits into many small sesstions and leave the space for the reader to think along.
I would say this is a kind of simplified-philosophy book. But it ain't heavy at all. In contrast, it's ready for reader to digest.