Sandra Miller – författare

From drag superstar Eureka O’Hara and debut coauthors Roxy Taylor and Sandra Miller comes a delightful middle-grade mystery about a missing singer, a Vegas hotel hiding secrets galore, and the girl determined to crack the case.Clover is thrilled to visit her Uncle Ryan in Las Vegas for several reasons:She’ll get to spend time with her uncle, who’s the bestShe can explore the legendary Carousel Hotel where he lives and works as a drag performerShe’ll be the one to finally solve the Songbird CaseFor the last 20 years, sleuths have flocked to the Carousel Hotel, where its iconic singer, Nicolette Chambers, also known as the Songbird, disappeared without a trace. Clover, an amateur detective obsessed with all things Nancy Drew, knows she has what it takes to crack the case.As Clover makes new friends—and enemies—it soon becomes clear that the Carousel Hotel is hiding plenty of secrets. And when Clover starts to suspect that Uncle Ryan might have been involved with the Songbird’s disappearance, she’ll have to decide how far she’s willing to go to uncover the truth.

He's super talented, internationally famous, available...and accused of murder.She's got a new gig in a new town, new friends...and a new stalker.It's the two of them against the world, it seems...And every note they play could be their last.

Essay from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: D+, James Cook University (James Cook University), course: Critical Reading, language: English, abstract: Man-made barriers such as windows, doorways and fences, and the harsh nature of the Yorkshire moors are presented as physical boundaries that delineate the state of being 'inside' or 'outside', which is indicative of the characters' status: whether they inhabit their respective environments as either 'insiders' or 'outsiders'. Symbolically, these thresholds between 'culture' and 'nature' separate different ways of life. The people and the landscape in which they live are set in stark contrast: conventional gentile civilisation against the actions of the elements, the forces of the natural world. Bronte applies boundaries to show the conflicting states of attraction and repulsion that make up the drama the story of two families caught in a feud. The main characters are caught in a struggle either to overcome their alienation in a particular setting or to escape from a forced inclusion: the child Heathcliff suffers from being excluded from the Earnshaw family as an unwelcomed outsider; as an adult, he will spend his life taking revenge on the ones that once mistreated and deprived him of his position. Isabella Linton rushes into a miserable marriage with Heathcliff and becomes his prisoner at the Heights until she manages to escape. Cathy Earnshaw is much closer to Heathcliff than to her brother Hindley; they are soulmates, inseparable and tied by a spiritual bond that transcends time and place. Their relationship is tempestuous but exclusive. When Cathy accepts Edgars' proposal, she chooses the cultured life and thereby voluntarily removes herself from the influence of her family and Heathcliff. Once inside the Grange, she soon realizes that she has lost her freedom as well as her place at the Heights.

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject History - Australia, Oceania, grade: HD-, James Cook University (James Cook University), course: Effective Writing, language: English, abstract: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, explorers from several European nations discovered various parts of Australia, but initially no nation put forward concrete proposals for either the use or the settlement of the land. Dutch explorers first discovered Australia in 1606, but they considered it as being of no economic value to their mother country. British explorers were more fortunate when, in 1768, Lieutenant James Cook, the appointed Commander of His Majesty's ship Endeavour, discovered the more inhabitable east coast of Australia. In 1770, the British government claimed the eastern half of Australia for the British realm and King George III named it New South Wales. At this time, no plans were put forward for the settlement of British people in Australia, or for any other use of the land it became just another part of the Empire. However, in the years following Captain Cook s discovery, the idea of the newly found land in the far distance began to attract the British government, including the possible use of Australia for convict deportation. Eventually, the first settlement was a penal one and this is now generally considered to be the main reason for settlement, but the analysis of other factors such as non-convict settlers, economic exploitation of the land, empire building, and the use for strategic military purposes, suggests that convict deportation might have been initially just a convenient solution for a social problem: the disposal of the growing number of convicts that were crowded in hulks along the River Thames. Subsequent naval explorations came to suggest substantial benefits for safeguarding British interests: advantages in the competition for trade with Asia and, most importantly, the strengthening of the British Empire.

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Asian studies, grade: High Distinction, James Cook University (James Cook University), course: Feudal Japan from 1600 to 1868, language: English, abstract: Unprecedented concentration and tremendous social influence were the two intrinsically linked phenomena that characterized the Edo period (1603-1868). Firstly came the rise of urban centres, in particular Edo, Kyoto and Osaka and secondly, a new social strata that developed within these cities. The two events of an urban concentration and a prosperous bourgeoisie - the chonin, a combination of artisans and nouveau-riche merchants - were elemental for the expansion of segregated and licensed pleasure quarters offering every form of amusement, but which were then subjected to close governmental supervision. There were two reasons for control: Firstly, to fight subversion; and secondly, to keep public morals in check. The latter became necessary when, as the standard of living had gradually improved for the general urban population, the demand for leisure activities and entertainment opportunities had increased accordingly. Shogun (the hereditary military governor military leader equivalent to the rank of general), daimyo (hereditary feudal lords) and samurai or bushi (military nobility) had always spent their money in the city, especially in Kyoto, but now entertainment possibilities extended to the prospering middle-class, who strove to establish a mode of life that would reflect their newly established economic importance; they wanted to enjoy life according to their wealth. Chonin found opportunity for self-assurance by conspicuous consumption of ephemeral pleasures within the floating world a euphemism for the licensed pleasure quarters where money reigned supreme and everybody was able to take on a role in accordance to his means.

Abstract from the year 2004 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, James Cook University (James Cook University), course: Critical Reading, language: English, abstract: "e;Below the Mill Dam"e; is set at Robert's Mill in the English countryside at or about the time of the story's publication (1902). Rudyard Kipling had just returned from Africa, where he had experienced the disastrous effects of the Boer War and witnessed such things as the British invention of concentration camps. He was alarmed by the ignorance of British politicians: "e;Conservative Balfour government's dead cultured aristocratic hand barred the way to a wider, less class-ridden British Empire"e; (Wilson 226). Kipling was pessimistic that Britain could uphold her imperial role as the world s leading nation, moreover, he was extremely uneasy with, and critical of, unquestioned traditions, ruling-class hierarchies, and complacent establishments (Lee 12). Fairly late in his life, in 1902, Kipling decided to live in Sussex in England. Shortly after, he had electricity installed in his house - which was not common at that time - and a sign that he was generally interested in and fascinated by new technology; he installed a turbine, a generator and associated equipment in the watermill in his own garden. Allegorical or symbolic tales, such as Below the Mill Dam convey Kipling's passion for machinery and technology. The story reflects Kipling s views about the changing environment, political atmosphere and the technical innovations that were transforming industry and the modes of production in farming, their impact on the landscape and on living conditions. Kipling disguised his plot as a fable, probably to avoid resentment from the establishment. In writing a political fable, he was able to express his alarm and dismay at England s apparent inability to address herself socially, imperially, culturally and technologically to the future (Page 69). Kipling uses allegorical language throughout the dialogues as a means of mockery and satire about forces which want to preserve tradition against the new emerging forces that are pressing for change and development.