The Blackbirds

They call themselves the Blackbirds. Kwanzaa, Indigo, Destiny and Erica, four best friends who would go to the ends of the earth for one another. Yet even their deep bond can't heal all, as the women struggle with their own personal demons, drama and steamy desire. As the women try to overcome their impulses, they find not only themselves tested, but the one thing they always considered unbreakable: their friendship.

"A Fierce & Driven Paranormal Fantasy Read!" - JB Richards Travel through the Great Shield, and discover the world of the Children of Corvus. Protected by the Great Shield, the tribe lives united in their love and reverence for Corvus, the god of beasts, who had once bestowed a sacred gift—the ability to transform into the divine entity known as Bestiae—upon his descendants. Now, vestiges of this diluted power trigger a curse the Sacred Order calls the blood madness. Corvus's Sacred Law proclaims that to guarantee the blood madness will not be passed to future generations, every male with the curse must be executed. The captivating contemporary fantasy trilogy about a tribe of shapeshifters, deep within the inhospitable forest of northern Maine USA, in an alternate dimension known as Blackwater Hills. This Omnibus edition contains three complete novels in The Children Of Corvus series: BLACKBIRD (Book One) MERULA (Book Two) CORVUS (Book Three) Shortlisted for 'The Best Book We've Read All Year' by ReadFreely. One of Indie Author Land's 50 Best Indie Books of 2017. An IHIBRP 5-Star Recommended Read. Winner of the 2018 Virtual Fantasy Con Award for Best Dark Fantasy. Editorial Reviews: Review of Blackbird (Book One) - A Stunning Novel That Serves As Model For Paranormal Fantasy Reads! L.E. Harrison leads us into the complex spiritual and metaphysical world of shifters and werewolves in her absorbing paranormal fantasy novel, "Blackbird (The Children of Corvus Book 1)". Written as part diary and part third-person account, mostly on the behalf of her main characters—Alena, Michael, and Jonathan, this tale of an ancient inter-dimensional shifter civilization living a hidden life, obscured by The Great Shield, in the backwoods of Maine is as astonishing as it is unique. Harrison's story not only stands out in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy venue, it should serve as a model to other writers of how to develop a truly believable paranormal society. Mystery... Action... Romance... And much, much more are neatly tucked within the pages of this can't-miss, astonishing tale. -J.B. Richards - IHIBRP I came to The Blackbirds with baggage. I read the word "shapeshifters" in the blurb and felt that I knew what to expect - buff, handsome man, often shirtless, and a modern, snarky heroine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that genre, but, believe me, that is not what this book is. Instead L.E Harrison has set her sights much higher, and has much loftier ambitions. This trilogy is set in a world of the author's creating, a world that is - and is not - northern Maine. We are deep in the lore of a tribe of shapeshifters, in Blackwater Hills. In the first book of the series, we meet our lead characters, Alena, who we are immediately fond of, and Michael Singleton, a man stained with a curse. -ReadFreely (Shortlisted for The Best Book We've Read All Year) "The novel has a promising plot, the intertwining stories of the two central characters are intriguing and will keep readers turning pages.The writing is descriptive and evocative, particularly when delving into the thoughts of the main characters and when describing the strange happenings they observe around them. The ideas of shapeshifting and a fantasy realm parallel to our own certainly aren't new, but Harrison puts a new spin on these concepts creating an original story that fans of the genre will enjoy." -The Booklife Prize  "I'm a sucker for books that take landscapes I'm familiar with, and makes them something magical and interesting. Nothing really does that more than a set of shapeshifters hidden away somewhere in Maine. ...An interesting story and a good premise for a book. It's easy to enjoy, and I could tell that Harrison really visualized and had a clear picture of the story she was telling. Steeped in magic and lore, there is a lot here to love." -Bookwormblues

In language as perceptive as it is poignant, poet Gwen Nell Westerman builds a world in words that reflects the past, present, and future of the Dakota people. An intricate balance between the singularity of personal experience and the unity of collective longing, Follow the Blackbirds speaks to the affection and appreciation a contemporary poet feels for her family, community, and environment. With touches of humor and the occasional sharp cultural criticism, the voice that emerges from these poems is that of a Dakota woman rooted in her world and her words. In this moving collection, Westerman reflects on history and family from a unique perspective, one that connects the painful past and the hard-fought future of her Dakota homeland. Grounded in vivid story and memory, Westerman draws on both English and the Dakota language to celebrate the long journey along sunflower-lined highways of the tallgrass prairies of the Great Plains that returns her to a place filled with “more than history.” An intense homage to the power of place, this book tells a masterful story of cultural survival and the power of language.

“Hey, David, wait up a sec.” Long golden-blonde hair hid Jillian’s face as she bent over to tie a shoe. “Okay, two more miles before we turn around.” She wiped the sweat off her forehead, took a deep breath, and they resumed the long, seemingly effortless strides of distance runners. The dirt road curved up a hill, and Jillian looked forward to the view from the top. Dust spurted from their footsteps, and their breathing became harder as the road became steeper, but Jillian didn’t notice because she was thinking back to the day, three years ago, when she had first discovered the other side of the hill. Leaving the Bennington City limits behind, Jillian had pedaled her bike as far as she could up the country road, then pushed it slowly, slowly up the steep incline, stopping twice to rest while wondering what lay ahead. Finally, the view from the top had enchanted her. Aspen leaves whirred in the warm breeze, and an old pine shaded her as she settled back against a nearby log. Wild roses and purple lupines filled the air with a sweet scent, and tiny white flowers carpeted the ground where she sat. The Blue Mountains, whose peaks she could glimpse from her bedroom window, were a backdrop for a white cottage nestling near the banks of a stream far below. “Jill, are you in there?” David grinned at her startled expression. “I thought you must be at least on Mars.” “Oh, I’m sorry, David. I guess maybe I was lost in space. Actually, I was thinking about our run. I love going up this road and down the valley.” “Same here, but I’d rather think about winning at the state meet. Seriously, Jill, you have a great chance. I just hope to be in the top ten.” Jillian wrinkled her nose but said nothing as they breasted the hill, and she drank in the familiar scene as they descended the gravelly road and picked up the pace. The stream tumbled and gurgled and muffled their footsteps as they neared the cottage. Mrs. Sheldon, watering chrysanthemums in window boxes, waved hesitantly across to them as they ran by. A blackbird sang among the reeds along the creek, and Jillian sighed. “Do you know you always do that?” David asked. “Do what?”

In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. At her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?Featuring haunting archival early-20th-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

The next title in the new saga begun in The broken bough.

I walked into the future on a February morning in 1961. I had an exciting career in which I had the privilege of working on all of the BLACKBIRD aircraft. These aircraft were so sleek, so futuristic, so far beyond any other aircraft I had ever seen. There I was, standing in the future of Aviation. The airplane called the A-12 was the predecessor to the SR-71. This airplane was so secret that only a very select few people would know of her presence. The SR-71 would be a follow on of the A-12 and the whole world saw her for the first time on September 1, 1974 in a speed run from New York to London. The world speed record would be one hour and fifty four minutes. The SR-71 was already being used to bring pertinent information from all over the world back to the U.S. concerning the current political situation.

From the proprietors of the renowned Brooklyn shop and cafe comes the ultimate pie-baking book for a new generation of bakers. Melissa and Emily Elsen, the twenty-something sisters who are proprietors of the wildly popular Brooklyn pie shop and cafe Four & Twenty Blackbirds, have put together a pie-baking book that's anything but humble. This stunning collection features more than 60 delectable pie recipes organized by season, with unique and mouthwatering creations such as Salted Caramel Apple, Green Chili Chocolate, Black Currant Lemon Chiffon, and Salty Honey. There is also a detailed and informative techniques section. Lavishly designed, FOUR & TWENTY BLACKBIRDS PIE BOOK contains 90 full-color photographs by Gentl & Hyers, two of the most sought-after food photographers working today. With its new and creative recipes, this may not be you mother's cookbook, but it's sure to be one that every baker from novice to pro will turn to again and again.