Magic Factory

“A powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.” --Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan) (re A Throne for Sisters) “Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless!” --Books and Movie Reviews (re A Throne for Sisters) From USA Today and #1 bestselling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a new fantasy series for teens and adults. THE MAGIC FACTORY: OLIVER BLUE AND THE SCHOOL FOR SEERS (BOOK ONE) tells the story of one very special boy, Oliver Blue, different than those around him and unloved by his hateful family. Obsessed with inventions, Oliver is determined to escape his horrible life and make his mark on the world. When Oliver’s family moves again, to another awful house and school, he is bullied and excluded, and sees no way out. But when he stumbles across an abandoned invention factory, he wonders if this could be his way out. Who is the mysterious old inventor hiding in the factory? What is his secret invention? And might this factory be a portal to somewhere else? An inspiring fantasy, THE MAGIC FACTORY is book #1 in a riveting new series filled with magic, love, humor, heartbreak, tragedy, destiny, and a series of shocking twists. It will make you fall in love with Oliver Blue, and keep you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the series (THE ORB OF KANDRA) and Book #3 (THE OBSIDIANS) are now also available! “The beginnings of something remarkable are there.” --San Francisco Book Review (re A Quest of Heroes)

While spending several weeks with his aunt who lives in a magic factory, Zack becomes involved with thieves who are trying to steal her latest invention.

In a factory full of magic, some magic is bound to slip out and cause havoc. Magical industry knowledge is precious and hard to find. Even the most minor of spells require an enormous non-disclosure waiver. Most of the experts claim the knowledge under patents to ensure they could make the most money possible. The harder that knowledge is to discover, the less competition you have. Magic factories are known to be high risk because of the stigma of sharing information. Unfortunately for the workers at this factory, that includes information on how to be safe.

An American in Paris (1951) was a landmark film in the careers of Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. A joyous celebration of George Gershwin's music, French art, the beauty of dance and the fabled City of Light, the film was heralded as a rare example of entertainment 'for mass and class alike'. Choreographed by Kelly at the height of his career, it gave new stature to the Hollywood musical, and showcased as never before the artistic ambition, technical skills, creative imagination and collaborative ethos of MGM's pioneering Arthur Freed Unit. Sue Harris draws on archival material to trace the film's development from conception to screen. Offering new insights into the design process in particular, she shows how An American in Paris established the cinematic template for a city with which Hollywood would become increasingly infatuated in the decades to follow.

When Maragold and her friends find themselves in the same fifth grade classroom, with an overbearing teacher, the fun begins! With the help of Bert, Maragold's invisible leprechaun, you're entertained by Matt outsmarting the school bully, a talent show where jealousy could ruin Maragold's magic act, and oral reports that are as comical as they are interesting. Eric returns with his outrageous antics and jokes that will bring tears to your eyes-one way or another. And you'll read about Cheryl's new talent as she joins a poetry program and writes a daring-and funny-poem about her stern teacher. The "ultimate prank" occurs in math class and is followed by the "ultimate surprise" when the teacher gives the final report cards to her students.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

Dancer-choreographer-directors Fred Astaire, George Balanchine and Gene Kelly and their colleagues helped to develop a distinctively modern American film-dance style and recurring dance genres for the songs and stories of the American musical. Freely crossing stylistic and class boundaries, their dances were rooted in the diverse dance and music cultures of European immigrants and African-American migrants who mingled in jazz age America. The new technology of sound cinema let them choreograph and fuse camera movement, light, and color with dance and music. Preserved intact for the largest audiences in dance history, their works continue to influence dance and film around the world. This book centers them and their colleagues within the history of dance (where their work has been marginalized) as well as film tracing their development from Broadway to Hollywood (1924-58) and contextualizing them within the American history and culture of their era. This modern style, like the nation in which it developed, was pluralist and populist. It drew from aspects of the old world and new, "high" and "low", theatrical and social dance forms, creating new sites for dance from the living room to the street. A definitive ingredient was the freer more informal movement and behavior of their jazz-age generation, which fit with song lyrics that poeticized slangy American English. The Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, and others wrote not only songs but extended dance-driven scores tailored to their choreography, giving a new prominence to the choreographer and dancer-actor. This book discuss how these choreographers collaborated with directors like Vincente Minnelli and Stanley Donen and cinematographers like Gregg Toland, musicians, dancers, designers and technicians to synergize music and moving image in new ways. Eventually, concepts and visual-musical devices derived from dance-making would give entire films the rhythmic flow and feeling of dance. Dancing Americans came to be seen around the world as archetypal embodiments of the free-spirited optimism and energy of America itself.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.