Showing results by author "A. Bird" in All Categories

In this new anecdotal book, the unstoppable Dickie Bird takes one County Cricket Club at a time and revisits each with the aid of memorabilia, statistics, books and videos. A mass of new hilarious stories flow from Dickie as he flexes his memory: he describes the cricketers, the matches and the character of these clubs. Dickie also relives his journeys as a umpire to clubs and Test match arenas overseas and recalls the humorous times that have filled his unique career.

The Bird brothers journey through the history of Marvel Comics, one month at a time, with occasional Marvel veterans as guests. Steve has been a comics pro since 2000 and Matt is the author of “The Secrets of Story” and “The Secrets of Character." They’re eighties kids who grew up reading Marvel comics and they like to talk about ‘em!

From sickly child to pioneering Victorian explorer, Isabella Bird defied convention. After back surgery in 1850 and the recommendation of life in the open air, she finally looked her malaise and her pain in the eye and set off across the world completely alone. In Colorado she covered 800 miles on horseback, climbing mountains, wrangling cattle, sleeping in snow and finding herself drawn to a violent, one-eyed outlaw with a soft spot for poetry, known as ‘Mountain Jim’.

Mira can't wait to start Unicorn School. (Her big sister goes and won’t stop going on about it.) But when Mira arrives on her first day all the unicorns are gone...except Dave! Dave isn’t quite the sparkly unicorn Mira was expecting to find at the end of the rainbow - he’s more grumpy than glittery, more interested in lunch than magical Quests, and he always runs off when Mira tries to ride him - but Mira’s not going to let that get her down.

It's time for wintry fun with Mira and Dave the Naughtiest Unicorn! And this time, they are going on a very special quest to see the magical winter lights! (Although Dave is more interested in the hot chocolate and chips.) But what lies behind the snowy mountain peaks - could there really be a terrifying yeti lurking there? Pip Bird is the pseudonym for a small group of brilliant and funny children’s book writers. They all believe in magic and dream of having a Unicorn Best Friend Forever.

The sorority sisters of Alamo House at the University of Texas may be at comic odds with each other, but at least they have one thing in common: they all hate the fraternity rats across the street, the Sigma Upsilon Kappas, aka the SUKs. But amid the collegiate turmoil, Alamo House is also the scene of an extraordinary, endearing friendship among three women.

Join us as we engage in enlightening conversations with eminent scholars and poets from around the world to explore these and other questions. Focusing on Sufi poetry, this podcast series will explore some of the great poets and poems in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Wolof, Hausa, Swahili, Panjabi, Malay, and more. Our conversations will examine how these traditions cultivated perspectives and popular literary traditions that wedded the sensual and intellectual, the aesthetic and the ethical, the affective and rational, the logical and the spiritual, the philosophical and mystical.

There is only one thing missing in Dulcia’s life - a husband. At least, that is what others would have her believe. But she feels the absence of something else - her father. Half slave and half noble, Dulcia has existed alongside him her entire life, just out of reach. Everything changes the day she arrives home to news of her betrothal. The problem is her heart already belongs to someone else. Nero is trying to make something of himself. Raised on the streets of Rome, he understands that family is a privilege, not a given.

Like many retirees, Max Springer moves to Panama where he can afford to live at the beach and golf every day. While checking out of a local wine shop, the former CIA Agent hears a voice from his past. A voice he'll never forget. The voice of a fugitive, a man wanted in several countries for crimes against humanity. The infamous Butcher of Chame hasn't been seen in decades. No one knew if he was dead or living under a new identity. Until now. Max interrupts his peaceful retirement to bring long overdue justice to the Butcher's many victims.

Silvia is a smart, respected psychiatrist employed at a government intelligence agency. She has no trouble handling her duties until Ronan arrives - sexy and perceptive, he throws her neatly organised life out of balance. He seems to see right through her and it doesn't help that she's attracted to him in very unprofessional ways. Will the sexual chemistry between them become something physical or will Silvia be able to control her urges?

CIA Agents in South and Central America are suddenly dying under mysterious circumstances or are disappearing without a trace. Who is behind the deaths? How does anyone even know that these men are with the CIA? Is there a traitor inside the Agency, or has the Agency's communications system been compromised? Or both? And why are CIA Agents being targeted? And why only those in Central and South America?

Queen Cora is married to a monster. Three years she has played wife, and all she has to show for it is a marked face, an empty womb, and a bitter taste in her mouth best washed away with wine. It is a good thing she is made of something solid, because marriage is a life sentence. Or is it? The rebel prince is coming for the crown. Powers will shift, and loyalties will be tested. As Cora’s future unravels, she must fight to keep hold of her position, her sanity — and most definitely her heart.

After the One World Alliance's devastating strikes against the Continental Army’s two primary bases of operations, resistance leadership scattered their forces to escape certain ruin. With orders to rendezvous with their unit in a few months’ time, Joe, and his best friend Caleb, set out to find Tamara, who had been deployed with her new unit just prior to the attacks. Along the way, they encountered friends and foe alike, eventually finding themselves wrapped up in an operation much bigger than they’d ever imagined.

Failed ballerina Ella Lewis has just landed a job in an industry she knows nothing about. The goal is simple: Build a normal life and keep her father happy. So when construction worker Dax Coburn enters the scene, six-foot-three of pure complication, she knows she should steer clear. The mystery shadowing him sets alarm bells ringing, yet she’s drawn to him in a way that makes no sense. As Ella gets to know the cryptic man, she discovers a secret that threatens to unravel her tidy life.

Bored and beautiful, Violet falls hard for Zed, a talented, drop-dead gorgeous photographer. But she's a princess, and her father would never approve. Can the young lovers keep their passionate affair hidden, or is the forbidden fairytale romance bound to come crashing down?

In the spring of 1893, Clayton Stevens, pastor of the local church in Silverton, Texas, enlists the help of an unlikely ally to set out after his niece after she was abducted by a violent gang of outlaws during a stagecoach robbery that took the life of her parents. After a string of unfortunate events, and feeling he had no other options and nothing left to lose, Clayton finds himself on the trail of the infamous McCarty gang in a battle for life and death to rescue his sole-surviving relative before it’s too late.

Ever wondered what would happen to your life if you just said "screw the rules"? Drayton Bird is one of the world’s best-known copywriters and direct marketing experts, having taught many thousands in 55 countries and worked with some of the world’s biggest organisations. A former member of the worldwide board of Ogilvy and Mather, he was a close associate of the late David Ogilvy - perhaps the most influential advertising man of the 20th century. 

Mira, her UBFF (Unicorn Best Friends Forever) Dave and Class Red are super excited because they’ve been given a dragon egg to look after! The only problem is theirs’ is refusing to hatch! How will the gang encourage their new class pet out of its shell? And what adventures will happen when they discover it’s a super-rare–and fast growing!–Ice Dragon?

As the fifth book in The New Homefront Series, Viking One serves as a stand-alone novel, chronicling the apparently orchestrated collapse of our fragile, modern world from the perspective of Jim and Lori Rutherford and friends, as their small town of Delaware City, Delaware begins to feel the noose tighten around them. As a preparedness-minded individual, Jim and crew, working together with friends, neighbors, and local authorities, try to secure their beloved town while keeping their minds open to the possibility of fleeing.

Companions are the kingdom’s most beautiful and educated women - possessions of Syrasan’s royal men. Aldara has left the Companion life behind her. Having returned south to her family, she thought all ties to her prince were severed. She was wrong. Now, she has a secret - one she must keep in order to protect the people she loves. But when her past shows up at her home, lives begin to unravel.