Rising Action Publishing Co.

Ryan Levine is a contestant on the newest season of Marooned, the hit reality show where eighteen people are stranded on a desert island, competing in challenges and voting each other out until one is left to claim the million-dollar prize. All he cares about is bringing home the money, and he''s determined to not let anything stand in his way. That all changes when he meets Cole Walker, his handsome tribemate with a ready smile and a quick laugh - and, of course, a perfect body. In other words, Cole is a distraction, and that''s the one thing Ryan can''t afford, not when the slightest mistake could get him voted out. Will he be able to navigate the twists and turns of the game and win the million? Or will he go home with nothing but empty pockets and a broken heart?

In 1978, as the Cultural Revolution fades into history, Lei is bartered away into marriage for two cartons of cigarettes and a handful of eggs. She finds herself in the unfamiliar village of her new husband where she is met with indifference. When a disaster upends their world, Lei and her husband are forced to join China''s vast wave of city-bound, rural migrants, leaving behind children whom they may never see again. Sixteen-year-old LuLu arrives in Shanghai with nothing but ambition. Denied a factory job and determined to keep her family from starving, she turns to sex work, navigating the dangers of the city''s underbelly with sharp wit and a fierce will to survive. When a powerful client offers her a chance at security, LuLu faces an impossible choice: seize a future that could lift her family from poverty, or risk everything for a life on her own terms. Immersive, evocative, and impeccably detailed, And The Ancestors Sing is a sweeping, multigenerational story of sacrifice, survival, and the unbreakable pull of home.

Centuries ago, mortals split the realm into two, with a magical veil placed firmly between them and their immortal rulers, the Tiarcons. Fuelled by stolen magic, the mortal kingdoms flourished, but the Tiarcons never stopped trying to reclaim their magic and mortal subjects. And now, generations later, the veil between realms has begun to tear, letting immortal monsters ravage across the nations and threaten all the mortals have built. Alia Meador would happily watch the mortal kingdoms buckle, as long as she could keep herself and her teenaged daughter, Lena, alive. After all, her own kingdom of Mandal, cast her out for her volatile magic, sending her to wander remote villages for decades. But when the treatment for Lena''s illness comes along with a royal order to defend Mandal with the same magic they once spurned, Alia is caught between protecting the one person she loves and the reckoning she''s so long desired. With every moment spent in Mandal, Alia is subjected to the grasping of her ruthless family, a traitorous mage determined to understand the extent of her power, and the allure of the prince she once loved. And with every immortal confrontation, Alia''s magic comes closer and closer to consuming her. As the balance between realms shifts, Alia has to decide if her realm is worth saving, or if it all needs to be undone.

For fans of Karla Cornejo Villavicencio and Tita Ramirez, a contemporary women''s fiction novel about a driven Latina woman navigating career, immigration struggles, and unexpected romance in vibrant Miami. When Sofia loses her coveted job, her American dream is on the line. With her U.S. work visa hanging by a thread, a job interview at a top Miami marketing firm is her last shot at staying in the country. But as she navigates the high-stakes competition, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her chief rival for the position - charming and ambitious Esteban. Esteban embodies the glamorous Miami lifestyle Sofia has always admired, and he''s unbothered by their rivalry. But for Sofia, everything is at stake. She can''t bring herself to tell him how much this job means to her, nor that her future depends on securing it. With her visa expiring, mounting family pressures, and bills piling up, Sofia faces an impossible choice: win the job, or risk returning to a life she fought so hard to leave behind. Can Sofia claim the career - and the love - she longs for, or will her dreams slip through her fingers just as they''re within reach?

Sergio Durand, renowned photographer and playboy extraordinaire, plans to welcome the New Year in style. Along with his brother Adrien, they''re off to the winter wonderland of Lake Placid, ready for a holiday filled with skiing, laughter, and good company. Their group includes best friend Holden, his wife Rose, and their charming son Henry - a perfect celebration... until it isn''t. The festive spirit turns sour when Sergio crosses paths with Jeremy Weir, the one who got away. After a series of blunders leaves everyone around him fuming, Sergio finds himself caught in a bizarre twist of fate: a time loop forcing him to relive New Year''s Eve repeatedly. With each reset, Sergio scrambles to mend broken bonds with his brother, pacify a disgruntled Rose, and perhaps, rekindle a lost love with Jeremy. Can Sergio navigate through his mistakes and salvage the relationships most important to him, or is he doomed to spend eternity making the same missteps on the last night of the year? Dive into 300 New Year''s Eves to find out if Sergio can discover the true meaning of the holiday spirit and secure a second chance at love.

For fans of Abby Jimenez and Jean Meltzer, a contemporary romantic comedy where love, lies, and reality TV collide in a modern Shakespearean retelling.After a bitter divorce from her abusive ex, Simon, Naomi Hoffman promises herself she’s finished with love and resolved to keep her past where it belongs. But her resolve is tested when she meets Will Quinn, the charming producer of one of the country''s top news programs. Allowing herself to love again is daunting, and it becomes even more complicated when she struggles to keep Simon a secret while he relentlessly tries to re-enter her life. As if managing a budding romance with Will weren’t challenging enough, Naomi finds herself caught in the crossfire between his boss, Freya, and her best friend, Abby—high school nemeses whose rivalry reignites the moment they cross paths again. Their constant bickering leaves Naomi wondering if the ladies doth protest too much and there’s something more going on between them. Her whirlwind romance with Will goes from private to prime time when he proposes on live TV, turning their love story into a reality show sensation. But just as Naomi’s dream wedding approaches, the past she thought she’d left behind comes crashing through the door—literally. A journalist barges into the ceremony, accusing her of an affair with Simon, leaving Naomi abandoned at the altar and humiliated in front of millions. With her once-perfect moment shattered into a tabloid frenzy, Naomi must help Freya and Abby untangle their feelings while confronting her own. Can she reclaim her narrative and create her own happily ever after, or will the final act of her love story end in heartbreak? In this modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, love, lies, and reality TV prove that all the world truly is a stage.

The characters in Dominic Hoffman''s tales of Late Rehearsals are familiar. Their choices are recognizable, and the people are far from perfect. Humor is a constant. However, their most significant commonality is the sense that every day is a rehearsal for the next. In this compilation of narratives, contemporary fables and intimate accounts, we travel cultures and cities, contemplate life and death to discover that our lives can be justified, vilified or distanced by the simple act of viewing the lives of others. The individuals in these stories walk their own paths, and their late rehearsals will continue into the inevitable closing night.

A suspenseful, female-driven adventure mystery set in the Arizona wilderness, Glitter & Gold explores friendship, betrayal, and a deadly treasure hunt—perfect for fans of Danielle Trussoni.After her mother''s death, Delaney Byrne faces escalating debts and a sister to support. Their home is burglarized, hinting at her mother’s obsession with a hidden treasure in Arizona''s mountains. When her estranged best friend, Joss, proposes one final treasure hunt, Delaney is skeptical but desperate. As they delve into the wilderness, Delaney and Joss navigate a maze of old betrayals and hidden dangers. Each clue they uncover draws them closer to the treasure but deeper into risk. Delaney vows not to repeat her mother’s mistakes, but the mountain’s perils are relentless, and trust is scarce. Blending the high-stakes intrigue of Jane Harper’s The Dry with the atmospheric danger of Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game, Glitter & Gold is an adventure mystery about survival, buried secrets, and the price of chasing fortune and family across unforgiving terrain.

Stubbornly independent Becky isn''t looking for love, but when sparks fly on a flight to Mexico she learns her carefully planned life might be the opposite of what she needs. What begins as a fun vacation fling with a sexy stranger turns into so much more. The problem? Dev and Becky couldn''t be more different. Back home in Vancouver, Canada, their relationship grows, and their two worlds collide. Can a roommate-hating city girl with a diet of chicken nuggets and cheap wine make it work with a vegetarian, non-drinking, Sikh man who lives with his rambunctious multigenerational family in the suburbs? As Becky navigates her way through a culture she knows nothing about, she is faced with one of the most important decisions of her life: change her plans for how she''d imagined her happily-ever-after, or walk away from love. (Not) Your Basic Love Story is a RomCom about acceptance, compromise, and love being the only thing that truly matters.

A gory, supernatural campy horror set in a haunted English manor, The Haunting at Morsley Manor follows a troubled paranormal investigator uncovering terrifying secrets that blur the line between the living and the dead. Perfect for The Haunting of Hill House fans and The Woman in Black.World-famous paranormal investigator Eric Thompson's career took a nose-dive after a particularly gruesome case which left most of his camera crew dead. His partner and best friend also abandoned Eric, leaving him floundering.  He is soon approached by a mysterious woman who has purchased the supposedly haunted, but previously off-limits to paranormal sleuths, Morsley Manor. To drum up publicity about the house, she hires Eric to perform and host a paranormal investigation on the premises.  As he ventures over to England to uncover the darkness bleeding through the veins of Morsley, horrors begin to spring from every corner and Eric soon begins to realise that not all is as it seems…

Bad Things Happened In This Room is a chilling psychological horror that descends into madness where the walls whisper, and secrets are buried in the garden; perfect for fans of Carissa Orlando and The Yellow Wallpaper, exploring motherhood, grief, and the thin line between reality and delusion. In this haunting psychological horror, Willow''s life has become a fever dream, her days lost in a twisted loop where time no longer flows as it should. Is she held captive by her husband Liam''s iron rules - or by the insidious darkness of her own mind? Her only connection to the world beyond her walls is a young girl named Sarah, whose unexpected visits to Willow''s garden spark a glimmer of hope. But as cracks form in her carefully controlled existence, horrifying truths seep through, twisting the familiar into something sinister. The floral wallpaper peels back to reveal haunting messages carved into the walls, and the house itself pulses with malevolent life. When Sarah suddenly vanishes, Willow is forced to confront the dark shadows of her past and the horrors lurking within her fractured psyche. The question remains: is Willow truly a prisoner of her home, or of her own mind? Some doors, once opened, can never be closed. And some truths are better left buried in the garden.

It''s the height of the fur trade in Canada, and Abigail Williams leaves her home in England and travels deep within the rugged wilderness to escape her scandalous past. With her young son in tow, Abby imagines a life on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, in the rugged but beautiful Fort Edmonton, where she can mend horseshoes in her father''s blacksmith shop and her past will not be a hindrance to her happiness. Life has other plans. The interest of Henry, an officer at the fort, and Gabriel, a French trapper, are not what she expected. While she wrestles with what future either man can give her, her past comes to haunt her, and she and her son must flee with a ragtag group of voyageurs to Montreal. The winter journey is fraught with dangers, from raging rivers to the chaos that is Lake Superior. But Abby is determined to create a new life for herself, whatever the barriers. The Fort features the iconic Hudson''s Bay Company and rival North West Company, English-French tensions, a heartfelt love story, LGBTQ+ representation, and impeccably-researched historical detail.

Kate Dailey''s life is built on three unshakeable beliefs: Taylor Swift''s music is the ultimate cure, ''Happily Ever After'' doesn''t exist, and Jason Cole is the last person on earth she wants to see again. Growing up in a small town, Jase was her first everything - kiss, friend, and beacon of hope through her darkest days, especially with her father''s battles with alcoholism. But when Jase shattered her heart, Kate left everything behind, including him and the memories of fireflies and Magnolia trees. Now, six years later, Kate has carved out a new existence in NYC, armed with a sassy pup and a dream job at Q Magazine. Yet, when family duty calls her back home to confront her past, including the boy next door who became the man she loves to hate, Kate''s carefully constructed world starts to wobble. Facing Jase again, along with her complex family dynamics and the small-town life she escaped, Kate is torn between the safety of the life she''s built and the perilous allure of a second chance with the one who broke her beyond repair. In a story where heartbreak and hope collide, Kate must decide if she''s willing to risk everything for a shot at true happiness, or if some wounds are just too deep to heal. Can the melodies of Taylor Swift guide her towards her own ''Happily Ever After,'' or will Kate find that some things, like her love for Jase, are too persistent to ignore?

Created by monsters to be destroyed by men. Jack Serpent is the only person to have survived the Scriver Trials. With that, he became a lore keeper for the origin of monsters, a spy, and hybrid soldier able to withstand crushing magic. Ever since a coven of Strygan murdered his family, he''s set out to discover and record what plagues the continents. It''s the sort of highly valuable knowledge that could change wars and divide kingdoms. In the dark places of Ocrana, an uprising of Strygan has begun. They use stolen magic to take over the realms. No one knows how to effectively kill the monsters summoned by Strygan, let alone the High Stryga herself. The military general only knows how to kill with bullets and fire, but he''ll need more to challenge the encroaching threat. He''ll need a Scriver''s help. Jack is recruited to kill the High Stryga before she tips the balance of magic and takes the throne. To locate and destroy the High Stryga within a swamp poisoned with corrupted magic, Jack must reluctantly accept the help of others. As a man accustomed to working alone, cooperating with the ragtag group of soldiers, an old nemesis, and a tracker might prove more challenging than the monsters themselves. When Jack finds more than a kindred spirit in the feisty tracker, he will have to choose between the mission and saving lives. There''s more to the Strygan than they understand. Jack discovers a secret in his past that will either lead to a Stryga on the throne and the enslavement of humans, or the unravelling of his mind. Sometimes knowledge is worth dying for.

Women''s accomplishments across history are showcased as aberrations or surprising facts. Little thought is often given to the reasons why most of our lauded scientists, reporters, sports stars, politicians, and businesspeople all seem to be men. Uncredited proves that not only have there been hundreds of ground-breaking women in all professions, but that their accomplishments have been overlooked, denigrated, or downright repressed by their male colleagues or historians. Uncredited explores why women have not been properly acknowledged for their accomplishments, both historically and today. This book combines research and statistics with the stories of more than 600 women, and is both an academic source and a fascinating read. Prepare to be frustrated with the history you''ve been denied but also inspired by these hidden trailblazers.

Something is wrong in Bunker, Illinois. Nora Grace Moon thought her toughest challenge this semester would be managing her OCD, but when her deceased roommate turns up as a reanimated corpse, her world starts to collapse. When her uncle sends her a cryptic message, Nora realizes it must be a call for help. She reaches out to fellow gamer Wesley for advice, a US Marshal with real-life skills for tactical survival, not just in-game. They venture out into a world that is growing more and more deadly by the moment - not only are the undead spreading, but other humans are taking advantage of the societal breakdown. And unknown to Nora and Wesley, they have been targeted by an ancient archeological society who will stop at nothing until they have what Nora has: an artifact that will unleash a new world order of the undead. IRL is a paranormal thriller about leaving the online world and dealing with things ''In Real Life.''