General-Literary-Historical-Womens Fiction

A quirk of fate puts a Blatina in the Oval Office. What now?

Toni Madison never dreamed about becoming President. It simply wasn’t even an option for someone like her, a Black Latina after all. 

Life had a different plan as a heart attack places her behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. 

Now, three years into her bland accidental Presidency, Toni notices she could do better. In fact, she wants to do better.

She wants to be a great President.

Things start to heat up as she launches her election campaign.

She quickly realizes that there are many people who are honestly threatened by a woman of color serving in the highest office of the land.

When threatened, people tend to respond with underhanded, manipulative viciousness. 

How will Toni handle all that?

As betrayals follow threats that follow intense pushback, Toni reaches back to her gritty youth to find succor along with the support of her quirky, loyal staff.

Readers say…

“...we watch fascinated as Toni comes into her own. Step by painful step.”

“Very entertaining & relevant in today's political landscape.”

“In the crazy political climate of today, this was a delightful and yet insightful read.”

A novel told in short stories, follow young protagonist Ellen as she narrates each story of love, loss, longing, friendship, and entrapment. Inspired by the artistry of the Beatles, each story is framed by a Beatles song or actual Beatles event. Follow Ellen's journey from 1976 to 1990: Her beloved brothers' disappearance from the family when she is 11, an event she carries with her throughout the whole book; her navigation through high school as she searches for friendship and love (and a musical instrument), loses her innocence in more ways than one, and is scarred by John's death; her challenges in the 1980s workplace as she confronts sexual harassment; her growth as a young woman taking charge of her life. Meet her friend, Joan, who Ellen thinks of affectionately as the \"fool on the hill\"; Kevin, the rich neighborhood boy whose façade betrays his reality; Perry, her dark, moody, and much older first love. Ellen injects insight, wisdom in hindsight, and humor into these slice of life stories.

Sadie always wanted the perfect family: a husband, a son, a dog, a house in the suburbs. For a little while she had it all. Then after an accident one afternoon, her son starts acting oddly and displaying strange new abilities. His new behavior threatens to bring to light a secret that she's been keeping for years. Will she be able to hold her family together or will the truth tear them apart? Perfect Family is a magical realism novella that is 25,000 words long.

Forced to choose between cultivating a satisfying life for himself and rescuing his dysfunctional family members from their certain demise causes Markus to question the importance of family. Does he save his relatives from their ill-fated lives, or save himself from entering into a life of self-sacrifice and missed opportunities? Painful soul-searching and late-night talks with the captivating tenant downstairs guide him to an unexpected decision and discovery of his true purpose in life.

The Angels Always Near poetry collection offers an experimental take on the timeless emotions of adolescence, capturing moments of imagination and being while exploring the universal theme of love through emotional wordscapes. In this re-edited collection, the mysteries of teenage love and ideals of beauty are filtered through a mature adult perspective, bringing readers a new interpretation. The Angels Always Near is a refreshing journey through teenage eyes and the surprising truths that they can hold in explaining the world around them.

“Swathed in small-town gossip and values, the fantastical novel - combines murder mystery, magic, and mayhem for an exciting tour of a family’s history and trauma.” - 5 stars, Clarion review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trouble and Magic comes in Threes. The Rowan siblings, Vic, Pip, and Liam, must solve their mother's murder to heal a haunted past in this emotional page-turner.

Fans of Practical Magic, The Witches of New York, Twin Peaks, and those who dream of visiting Star Hollow will enjoy.

⭐ NOTE: Trigger warnings, see listing for details.

⭐ GENRE: Magical Realism, contemporary, women's fiction, and literary fiction.

Ever since the act of disobedience, man has been at constant war with his greatest adversary, his EGO. The more he gives in to his ego, the farther he gets from his divine self. His materialistic motives, quest for power and gross indifference alienate and isolate him. Enslaved by ego, the man delights in false pride, falser glory and falsest security. The quest never ends. The thirst is never quenched. Mind remains pre-occupied. The heart seethes in turmoil. Cold reason clouds wisdom and the human birth crave for justification. Yet, the benevolent lord has a master plan. We are all endowed with his kingdom within. The moment we begin our journey inwards, the mist begins to disappear. Infinite wisdom dawns. All noise cease and calmness seeps in. Real joy springs from the heart leading to peace, harmony and poise. All it takes is just a pause and a peep within. Each poem contains a story in itself and will take you deeper and nearer to your real and the conscious soul.

Fourteen-year-old Swift loves the study of medicine. His interest is almost a match to his fascination for sea myths—particularly for the Star of Atlantis, a lost relic from Welsh pirate history. In struggling to “grow up,” Swift sets his sights on competing for a seat in a highly selective internship, for young students aspiring to someday read medicine, until… Swift’s former best friend, Ash, discovers a centuries-old Norse pirate treasure. And on sickening interviews, Ash reveals that his discovery contains a clue to the whereabouts of a treasure far greater: the legendary Star of Atlantis. To chase his oldest dream and lay his hands on the Star of Atlantis, Swift must cobble together the few leads that hint where it might rest. If he’s to beat Ash to the treasure, he must put his sailing skills to the test, contending with treacherous Welsh sea coves and caverns. And he must size up his own fortitude, his own capabilities, or lack thereof—for the search for the Star of Atlantis might mean lost friendships, lost dreams, and even lost life.

After recovering from the shock of her parents perishing in the basement of their home, Grace Lindroth discovers a box in their attic that contains enough suspicious items to cause her to believe that the people she had called Mom and Dad her whole life may not have been her real parents. Tormented by the uncertainty of her identity, Grace searches for answers, and when certain clues draw her to a boardinghouse once owned by Anna Vargas, she becomes convinced that Anna was her real mother. Grace believes the boardinghouse walls have been harboring vital secrets over the years that could help her in her quest for the truth, but when she meets up with the cantankerous old woman who had bought the place after Annas death, she questions whether shell ever be able to peel back the layers surrounding her parentage. But she does, and no one is more stupefied by the truth than Grace.

One life ended in tragedy. Another challenged by a promise. Will a teen’s twenty-year journey to make his dad proud change him into the man he’s meant to be? In 1966, Jim Pepperman comes home from practice to the news that his dad has died in an oil rig accident. Not only has the high school football star lost his mentor and best friend, but when his mom moves the family from Texas to New Jersey, he’s forced to say goodbye to his home, his team, and his chance for a football scholarship. Facing senior year in a new school with no friends, Jim struggles to keep the promise he made after his dad died to be a substitute father for his two younger sisters and a shoulder for his mom. But stepping into his dad’s shoes at seventeen feels impossible, the same way giving up the dream to play pro ball is harder than Jim thought. And senior year is just the beginning.

No Way. I can’t be falling for him. No freaking way...,. Alexandria I’ve been the acting chief at this station ever since they let Larry go. There’s no reason why they shouldn't make my position official. I’m a seasoned firefighter and I’m the best man for the job. Besides, I need the raise that comes with the promotion. It's the only way I'll ever be able to afford to leave my alcoholic husband and put my daughter in a private school. The last thing I need is someone coming along and screwing it all up. Chance When they asked me to leave my small town fire hall and head on out to the big city, I wasn’t keen on the idea. I can think of a million places I’d rather be. But, the ex-wife’s harassing phone calls and visits finally did me in. Before I knew it, I was starting a new life fighting fires in Karawa, New York. It's too bad one of the men on my team keeps challenging my every move. Only, it's not a man. It's the girl I've had a crush on my whole life, the girl I grew up next door to, the one I went all through school with. Sparks fly, tension explodes, and flames ignite. Will muscular Chance Friedman win the heart of the girl he’s always dreamed about? Or will curvaceous and sassy Alexandria O’Neil come out on top?

Hassan symbolizing the silent majority of the clan youth strives to change his community’s stringent marriage rules not through passive resistance and dialogue but through an actual confrontation. Hassan’s community is divided into conservative hardliners and moderates whose intention is the initiation of social change through gradual step-by-step deconstruction of the current tribal autocratic beliefs.

Maid Takes Marquess is the novella prequel to Halley Larkin's historical romance series. A marriage of convenience with benefits... Maggie Doyle’s service at Cortwood Manor is supposed to be temporary. She works as a maid only to fund her dream of securing a spot on an expedition to Egypt. Marriage has no place in her future. However, when she meets the Marquess of Cortham, her carefully laid plans abruptly turn. Abandoned at a young age, Robert Brightley never wanted his father’s inheritance, nor does he trust anyone who claims to love him. But after his father dies unexpectedly, Rob is under pressure to assume his primary duty to marry. When Rob returns to Cortwood to settle his father’s affairs, he doesn’t expect to find a woman like Maggie Doyle working as a maid. Irresistibly drawn to her, Rob offers Maggie an unusual proposal: a quick wedding followed by a brief marriage that will allow her to leave her position in service once and for all. Robert Brightley can help Maggie achieve her goal faster than she thought possible. Although she has only agreed to a marriage of convenience, her feelings for the marquess soon grow passionate. Unfortunately, his family might destroy the marriage before it even starts. Maggie’s dreams and her heart are in danger of being crushed. Unless she can convince the marquess to let go of the past and embrace a match made in haste but destined to last.

"Everything happens for a reason." It's 1972. Raymond Mann is seventeen. He is fearful of life and can't get off buses. He says his prayers every night and spends too much time in his room. He meets Ernest Gardiner, a gentleman in his seventies who's become tired of living and misses the days of chivalry and honour. Together they discover a love of sunflowers and stars, and help each other learn to love the world. Ernest recounts his experiences of 1917 war-torn France where he served as a photographer in the trenches … of his first love, Mira, and how his life was saved by his friend Bill, a hardened soldier. But all is not as it seems, and there is one more secret that will change Raymond’s life for ever. Cold Sunflowers is a story of love. All love. But most of all it’s about the love of life and the need to cherish every moment. Find out more about the book and its author, Mark Sippings, at www.coldsunflowers.co.uk.

Forensic accountant Maggie Martin survives the sudden death of her husband, the charismatic President of Windsor College, only to uncover the secrets of his carefully concealed double life. Dealing with the financial and emotional wreckage left in Paul's wake, she is stunned to learn he inherited an estate known as Rosemont in the seemingly serene Midwestern town of Westbury. Why had he never told her? Maggie travels to Westbury for the stated purpose of listing Rosemont for immediate sale, but what she really seeks are answers to her all consuming questions about her sham of a marriage; her sham of a life. She never anticipated the seductive charm of Rosemont. Throwing her trademark caution to the wind, and over the objections of her opinionated grown children, she pulls up stakes and moves halfway across the country, determined to make a fresh start in Westbury. Behind closed doors, however, lurks a cadre of evildoers, playing with multiple wild cards of fraud, embezzlement and arson. With a quiet, orderly -- and distinctively solitary -- life in mind, Maggie is instead thrown headlong into a crusade against political corruption, where defeat and retreat are not an option. Still bearing the scars of betrayal, will she find joy, romance and possibility in Westbury? This fast-paced, smart novel has enough twists and turns to make the reader want to buckle in!

Rebecca Dash appears to have the perfect man. Caring, kind, compassionate, Richard is everything she ever desired.
But when things start to fall apart six weeks before the wedding -- from him canceling the wedding that had been their shared dream for years, to faking a heart attack and threatening suicide -- he shatters their relationship and begins a series of disturbing incidents that force Rebecca to examine who Richard really is. Rebecca begins to piece together the patchwork quilt of Richards sociopathic persona, revealing him to be a serial killer of the soul; a man who crafts false love of legendary proportions. A man whose every relationship with a woman is defined by his vicious attempts to destroy his lovers lives. A man who appears to be the perfect lover, while leading his victims to their psychological and emotional destruction.

A modern day Ripper, a psychological torturer, a serial misogynist.

DON'T CALL ME CHIP is a tale about Timothy: a chipmunk who protects an elderly man and a host of woodland creatures from the wrath of a family of nasty neighbors, who seem determined to drive out everyone Timothy cares about. Timothy might seem like your average chipmunk who loves seeds, sunbathing and enjoying a quiet life in the suburbs. But after the new neighbors move in and wreak havoc, they will have to come face to face with his wit and resourcefulness. The last straw is that the new neighbors keep calling him CHIP. Convincing all manner of rodents and other small wildlife to work together, Timothy launches an assault against their invasive neighbors.

Age and wealth are just numbers, right? Twenty-four year old Claudia has always been the sensible one. From her boring call centre job right down to her practical wardrobe; flash and extravagant are not part of her normal vocabulary. She may live in Ascot, the home of British horse racing, but the presence of all the moneyed revellers blocking her route home from work are more of a nuisance than a thrill. Until one of them catches her eye... Peter’s life couldn’t be more different. All his life he’s worked hard to make it in the banking industry, to give his wife all she’s ever wanted. After a day of sipping champagne and watching the races, an indiscretion of hers with Peter’s colleague changes this picture-perfect vision of middle class life forever. He decides to cut and run, only, he hasn’t a clue where he’s going. A chance meeting by the side of the road brings them together, making them forget their opposing backgrounds. Is passion alone enough to overcome their differences? Chance Encounters is a series of stand-alone novellas set in jolly old England, following a set of loosely connected people as they find love in unexpected places. Can love conquer all, from class differences to age gaps? Read on and find out.

Burned by his faith. Abandoned by his family. Coming out was nothing compared to finding forgiveness…

Lawrence Greene churns with bitterness. Regretting his dead-end job and excruciating love life, he’s exhausted by the world tearing him down. And when his religious mother returns begging for reconciliation, he’s torn apart by resentment and his own need to heal.

With his estranged family’s proximity dragging up memories of his painful revelation of being gay, Lawrence escapes to his anti-church group sanctuary. But when a better future finally comes knocking in the form of Hakee Mitchell, a sexy and good-hearted man, Lawrence must bare all to claim true absolution.

Will Lawrence let go of his grief and put a firm grip on a fresh start? The Freed Church Boy is a stirring LGBT contemporary fiction novel. If you like complex characters, heart-rending conflict, and new beginnings, then you’ll adore Lloyd Johnson’s powerful tale.

Kacie knows three things for certain. She should have sent a text before abandoning her boyfriend. She should have let her family know she was coming home. And she has no business adopting a dog. When Kacie moved away from her father and stepfamily years earlier, she had big aspirations and no plans to return. But she hadn’t counted on a heartless mother relentlessly pursuing her. A boyfriend she couldn’t stand to watch as he wasted one more day on the couch. A career she longed for never materializing. After her barely old enough to get married brother returns, his new fiancée along with him, Kacie has to ask herself, does everyone know what they’re doing besides her? Does the cute guy who just offered her a job have a hidden agenda? And is it wrong to name her new dog Diva?

While on a book tour in Cambodia, author James Moore unwittingly seeks refuge in a brothel to escape a devastating flash flood. He and his translator witness the atrocities of girls forced into prostitution, including a young child with a special gift. Together, they fight to not only save the girls from the rising flood waters, but from the menacing brothel owner and his men.

Fifteen-year-old Lisa Jones just wants to go back to a time “when my dolls could talk and soldiers had minds of their own.” But childhood eluded her way too early and caused wounds too much for her young mind to handle. She’s a product of her environment and a poster child for dysfunction in the modern family as she looks out into the world and sees happy people, only to wonder why happiness and love elude her. Confusion and self-loathing boil to the surface. When she finally gets admitted to the Renew Eating Disorder Treatment Facility, it quickly becomes clear that her problems aren’t about the food. Therapists place her on the trauma tract to dig down to the root cause. What she finds there threatens to rip apart what’s left of her family and drive her completely over the edge.

-- BASED ON A TRUE STORY --

If The Firm by Grisham and Indecent Proposal by Engelhard had a baby, it would be this book. 

The book is based on the time the author and his Italian wife had lunch with the head of one of America’s most notorious crime families. Inside you will read many of the true tales told by the mafia boss during that lunch—how the “family” uses the police to collect on debts, how the “family” is organized, and even how the “family” makes its money. Spoiler alert, it’s not what you think.

And you will read about the unique, real life, indecent proposal made by the head of the mafia to the author and his wife. 

Can you say no to the head of the mafia?

Enter the world of Dan Williams, flat broke financial planner, and his Italian wife, Tess. Their lives are about to turn upside down as they are tempted into a spiral of deceit, decadence and desperation. Hopes and dreams run head long into crime and lust in a suspense thriller you won’t soon forget. A story of temptation in all its forms.

Grab a beverage, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Business owner Paige West misses the closeness she had with her now-deceased father. Jessivel Salter, a single mother on the brink of becoming homeless, also misses her dead father, but for very different reasons. When fate unites the two women, Paige is drawn to Jessivel from the start and wants to help her. But Jessivel doesnt trust Paige or her intentions and rejects her many helping hand offers. The two women eventually connect and when certain disturbing truths are unveiled, they discover they have something in common that is inconceivable and shocking. Each has to decide whether to take the easy way out and part ways forevermore or face up to the adversity that fate has thrown at them.

And it all started with the ring.

Whenever You're Ready tells the story of Dyana Jackson, who never thought the impromptu performance at her brother’s wedding would turn into an opportunity to sing professionally. And she never thought accepting would cause problems within her marriage. Somehow, she has to decide between living out her long-buried dream, or giving into the demands of those she loves most. It's What We Do features Layla Blue, who has always had one goal. Use her gymnastic skills to earn a college scholarship. But somehow, she finds herself a member of her new school’s cheerleading team. And dating the quarterback. Will she thrive in her new situation, or will the longing for her old life ruin what she’s found?

Four friends. Four decades. And a deception that changed everything. Twenty years ago, a stunning betrayal forced the lives of four young girls to spiral in different directions. Four girls who had taken their friendship and their place in the world for granted. Pari, who longed to fit in; Samira, who craved a mother’s love; Roma, who pined for one boy; and Madhu, who strove to overcome her circumstances. Four friends who were inseparable, their lives enmeshed, their fates intertwined. Until a series of cataclysmic events tore them apart. Two decades later, they are face to face again. Can they forgive and move on? Or will one person's secret vendetta destroy them all? Emotionally layered and richly imagined, Intersections raises profound questions about love, loss, forgiveness, and the deeply complex nature of female friendships.

A GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER Can a psychologist, still grieving the loss of her husband, save a traumatized war veteran who is planning his own death? Stories Untold explores the devastation of loss, the struggle to find meaning in life, and the enduring power of love that transcends boundaries between past and future. They’re both strong and fearless, determined, relentless. He’s a decorated war veteran and he wants to die. She’s a prominent psychologist and she won’t give up on him. When a suicidal client seeks her help, Dr. Angela Blackwell cannot turn him away, despite the fact that he isn’t seeking the kind of help she normally provides her clients. The man, who won’t fully identify himself, wants the distinguished psychologist to stand witness after his planned death in six months’ time, ensuring his wife will not be charged as an accessory or be hindered from collecting the death benefit he carefully provisioned for her. He calls himself DJ and won’t willingly share anything about his past. As Dr. Blackwell is struggling to reconstruct her own life after the loss of her husband, she recognizes his unusual request as a subconscious cry for help and embarks on a relentless effort to guide the reluctant stranger in uncovering the trauma that has permanently altered the course of his existence. Playing a deck of cards stacked high against her and rushing against time, she has no other option but to intervene, pushing the ethical boundaries of the therapist-client rela ...

A grieving PI meets a sick woman he feels compelled to help. A veteran returns from war unsure of his place in the world. A mysterious pack of dogs show up to protect a woman recovering from an abusive relationship. A woman struggles with isolation and a misbehaving sewing machine during a pandemic. Caroline Smith’s stories weave myth and realism into a modern Southern Gothic world, reimagined. They are filled with the tragedy and struggle of what make us human, always with unexpected twists and turns. Gripping and darkly funny, these are stories of men and women who know what it means to suffer and remind us of our shared humanity through that experience. Exploring mythos and morality through a contemporary lens, these characters take us on a suspenseful journey wondering just what will happen next with the turn of each page.

A famed pirate relic—the Star of Atlantis—lies forgotten on the rugged Welsh coast, where waves and stone clash and where creatures of legend hold sway. When thirteen-year-old Swift finds a map to the treasure, he sets out to claim it and prove his worth to his skeptical brothers who seem determined to thwart his every step. To tease out the secrets of the Star of Atlantis, Swift must take on the gallant Celtic Sea with its azurite waves, its capricious winds, its enigmas… its monsters. And to realize his dream, he must face the most formidable challenge of all—his own father. A masterfully written YA literary fiction story of a boy finding his own way.

What happened to her father, and why was her family forced to flee? For years, these questions plagued Leilani. Eighteen years ago, her mother whisked her children from their privileged life on a Pacific island, without their father and without explanation. Now, all Leilani wants is to dedicate herself to healing people, like her father did. But the past is impossible to run away from. Taught how to shoot a gun when she was a child, she rescues Justin, a computer nerd nursing a breakup, when thugs assault him on a deserted street. Then a stranger from her old country arrives and her mother is forced to reveal the shocking, shameful secret about her father's role in a deadly political web. Is her father still alive? Is he a hero or a villain? With Justin’s help, she returns to her birthplace in search of her father. Can she forgive her father, accept him for what he is? And can she reconnect with her roots and be at peace with who she is?

No one would understand. But he had to obey his conscience. It’s 1753, and Susanna Russell longs to escape her valley home. When war breaks out, she gets her wish to study in fabulous Williamsburg. But she realizes she’s lost something important along the way. James Paxton is studying for the ministry. But when violence threatens the valley, his path becomes clouded. What is God’s will for his life? Red Hawk spies white surveyors near his home, a harbinger of trouble to come. Shawnee chiefs go to Philadelphia to treat for peace, but the unthinkable happens. War, romance, and gospel truth unite in this remarkable sequel to The Shenandoah Road. Read less

Len Holder thinks his mother is dead – until she reappears one morning in his living room. She doesn’t remember being dead. She’s just confused. And instead of her burial clothes, she’s wearing a Dallas Cowboys warmup suit. At seventy-eight, Len considers himself a failure. He spent years taking care of Mom while his brother Joey became a famous sportscaster. Now he lives alone, tinkering with a novel he can’t seem to finish. For a week, Len relives a strained relationship with Mom while other mysteries pile up. He keeps hearing fragments of Joey’s radio show. His sister reports disturbing phone calls. Strangers he meets look like people from his past. Another stranger has taken over his insurance office. Then Len gets word that his beloved boss Miranda has been gravely injured in a car accident. Eventually, Miranda’s fate and a shocking secret from the past reveal that Sharon Holder’s resurrection is not what it seems to be. The Seven-Day Resurrection is a must-read for anyone who has been thrust into the role of caregiver.

Was it all some elaborate plan of Pope's, or just a farce? 

Me? Looking back now, I think it was the caper to end all capers, and if it I'm right, what he did was nothing short of genius.

What you're about to bear witness to is possibly the greatest swindle of all time, one that brought an institution to its knees and made me a rich man in the process... Or it could be just a bunch of crude jokes about a pub's name.

Some say it should be a focus of reading groups, should be studied, analysed to try and rinse the truth from the clues that lay scattered in Pope's wake. But I'm telling you it better be done quickly, because time isn't hanging around. Rumour has it there's more on the horizon.

You haven't heard the last of this.

Phil


"Not many books get me laughing out loud and reading snippets to my poor husband, but this one fit the bill." Chris B Amazon.com

Phil Lud is just a card game away from destitution when he gets a call; on the other end of the line Abraham Pope is panicking.

Pope is a 'Safer' and lives in a vast dome where Health and Safety rules. Everything under the dome is researched; risk assessed, regulated and runs smoothly, until a leak. 
Arriving at work one day, Pope is aghast to see a drip coming from the building's foyer ceiling. He springs into action, cordons off the area and is soon charged with the enormous task of getting it fixed.< ...

Isaiah Moss was one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. His illegitimate son Oscar Kendall wasn't. Living in Isaiah's inescapable shadow, Oscar has become an inveterate quitter who hides his own literary work from the world rather than suffer the pain of failure or rejection. When Isaiah suddenly dies, Oscar inherits the old man's lakefront writing cabin in New Hampshire. There he finds his father's typewriter, a full liquor cabinet, and an unpublished manuscript of such genius that it could launch Oscar's career if he claims it as his own. As Oscar wrestles with his own twisted inspirations, he meets the women in Isaiah's life and begins to learn the depths of his father's secrets...and the costs that come with unresolved trauma and romantic delusion.

Lee Winekoop feels like an outsider in his own family. Now twenty-sixconfused and emotionally bankrupt after suffering a childhood fraught with criticism and isolationhe leaves his dysfunctional upper-class family to find his true self. Determined to cultivate a meaningful life, Lee discovers a world poles apart from the one he had left behind. But just when things start falling into place, he is made aware of an alarming family secret that causes him to question who he is and where hes going.

She had given him her heart. He walked out on her.

Lorraine Marshall, age 40, shaken by the loss of her boyfriend to another woman, journeys to the land Down Under to overcome her great sense of emptiness and despair. To her surprise her vacation in Australia transforms her life in unexpected ways. Filled with adventure, suspense, the art world, and romance this is a moving story you won't soon forget.

This novel is women's fiction/romantic suspense in the tradition of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult.

Butterflies are often used as symbols of physical or spiritual transformation. At a time when women continue the quest for the Holy Grail of “equality,” the prospect of such a transformation remains tantalizingly out of reach for the Muslim women that dominate these series of short stories set in Paarl, South Africa. Human nature, with its recognizable betrayals, love, hope and dreams play out against a complicated backdrop of once-segregated citizens having to learn to find common ground as one nation. An unseen narrator tells the story of Mrs. Bhopal, the trophy wife of one of the few rich men who chose to live in the colored neighborhood on the wrong side of the train tracks (for mysterious reasons). The conniving Mrs. Patel, gossiper-in-chief of the neighborhood, turns out to be the glue that holds the shattered pieces of the other characters’ lives together. And young Sarah/Zuleikha illustrates what happens when a young girl suppresses her true nature to conform to societal expectations. Woven together, these stories of characters with lives as recognizable as our own, portray the Yin and Yang of human existence.

Tudhaliya IV comes to the
throne as a usurper's younger son, determined to rule according to the traditional
values of justice and clemency, despite the advice of his ambitious mother and brothers. When his cousin with whom he was
raised as someone dearer than a brother, decides his own claim to the throne is
stronger than Tudhaliya's, the latter must decide whether to apply the pragmatism
of his advisors or risk appearing weak, and how to manage to leave his own son an
empire that is finally free from civil war. The cost will be the sacrifice of his deepest
friendship.

At the end of the Gilded Age, the “Golden City” of San Francisco offers everything a man could want—except what August Wolff desperately needs. The Klondike King must solve the mystery of his estranged wife and daughter who have disappeared, before he can give his heart to an up-and-coming artist who carries her own dark secrets.

A collection of poems to celebrate National Poetry Month; a poem a day for 30 days. Themes of nature, people and observations are covered here- from the quirky to the ephemeral. There's no doubt a poem in here for every mood, every thought and unspoken sigh.

Jack Miller is a friend, a father, and a therapist. When he learns that he has a brain tumor, his only hope is an expensive and experimental drug. Even though there are no guarantees, Jack decides to take the risk, but he has to revisit his shady past to come up with the money. While keeping the man he loves in the dark about his condition, he dedicates the rest of his life to helping other people. But it means destroying himself – and lying to the people he loves – in the process.

Pomeroy, a towering street musician on parole, is out of the clink for the umpteenth time and wants to become a rock star. With fame and fortune in mind, he heads to Occupy Oakland, hoping to get on television, attract an agent, and score a million dollar contract for Ants in My Pants, his marathon ditty. Pomeroy is a skirmish-loving, dumpster-diving, narcissistic crazy who thinks he can sing like Pavarotti and that all women want to jump his bones. His parole officer, a street-smart Hispanic woman, tells Pomeroy to quit staring at her alligator pumps and get himself a real plan. But Pomeroy has schemes of his own and more wisdom than we'd like to admit. You may find his egocentric opinions politically incorrect. ("There ain't a dyke alive ol' Pomeroy can't turn straight.") You may find yourself laughing when you shouldn't. ("A good strong piss is better 'n sex. Lasts longer too.") But don't blame yourself if you start rooting for this antihero. You'll have lots of company. "Laugh out loud funny yet so insightful, Call Me Pomeroy could easily end up a classic. Read it before everyone else does" - James L. Woolridge, Vine Voice. "It's a fart in the scuba tank of institutional decorum. A bawdy brawling middle finger to the vapidity of modern civilization." - Robert McGuill, author of The Outskirts of Nowhere. "Hanna has created a character in Pomeroy that is destined to work its way into the permanent iconography of contemporary literature. He is everything our id screams and o ...

Miriam paints the future...but can she change it? Chicago, 1891 Miriam watches the people jostle their way below the windows of her warehouse home, never thinking to look up at her as she paints their faces. But Miriam's gift as an artist goes beyond a mere recording of what is: Miriam paints their futures. Only once was she wrong. One woman doesn't match the future Miriam saw. The bright girl was supposed to grow into a respected businesswoman. Instead, Ione disappears nightly into the shadowed alley next to the cathedral with the other prostitutes. Then one night, while walking through the city fog, Miriam finds Ione broken and beaten. Miriam is forced to open her home to the stranger whose face she knows so well and open her life to change she never could have foretold. Women are missing some found floating in the river, some never seen again. The deacon from the cathedral is the first to help. Soon Miriam s solicitor, Michael, aids her in rejoining society so they might uncover the evil at work in the corrupt city...and awakens feelings she had never considered before. Finally engaged with the world she has so long observed, finally stirred by love and friendship, Miriam realizes the responsibility of her gifting. No longer can she just paint what will be. She must now help Ione find the future she is meant to have...and find her own along with it.

Jeff Bailey is turning 40. Settled and happily married, he spends his nights writing unsold screenplays while working security at a remote desert nuclear power plant after 9/11. Surfing the web one night, he sees the name of his first love, Shelley Dawson, pop up on a high school website. Bailey offers to dig out his journals and take them both back to the summer of 1981 in Ohio. She never knew he kept a detailed journal about his time with her so, uneasy but curious, she allows him into a past she can’t remember to see what he finds. Surprised by how much he’d forgotten, Bailey returns to the single summer that first broke his heart and made him a stranger to his own life and to the only world he’d ever known. The end of his childhood and the beginning of what his young parents always warned him about: dreaded adulthood. Transcribing his journals to a distant lost love, the adult Bailey follows his doomed teenage self, reliving the discovery and pain as he retraces his first feelings for Shelley, unearthing and unleashing emotions that hold consequences for them both all these years later.

The Columbine high school massacre was the most lethal school shooting in modern US history when it took place on April 20, 1999. Regrettably, the frequency and lethality of mass shootings appear to have increased post-Columbine. One of the reasons may be that some youths were inspired by these events. Here, I use a fictional scenario to explore possible motives spurring the macabre actions of two female mass shooters.

On his best days, Zero Slade is the worst man you can imagine. He has to be. It's the only way to save the Lost Girls. During his seven years on a team fighting sex trafficking, Zero's become quite good at schmoozing with pimps, getting handcuffed by cops and pretending not to care about the young girls he liberates. But the dangerous sting operations are starting to take a toll on his marriage and sanity. His affinity for prescription painkillers isn't exactly helping matters. When the youngest girl the team has ever rescued gets abducted from a safe house in Cambodia, Zero decides to risk everything to find her. His only shot is to go rogue, and sink deeper into the bowels of the trafficking world than he's ever sunk. It's the biggest mission of his life. Trouble is, it's almost certain death.

When a young Hittite charioteer discovers that the chariot accident that killed his father and maimed his grandfather was sabotage aimed at the king, he sets out to find the killer. Facing the loss of everyone he holds dear, he learns that good and evil are often not what they seem, and he must struggle to adjust to a new identity.

When twelve-year-old Ben’s parents don’t come home from work one day, he doesn’t know what to think—they’ve shown lack of responsibility before, but nothing like this. His six-year-old sister Lucy is more scared than he is and clings to him for support. Unwittingly fearful of the police and Child Protective Services, the children don’t want to end up in foster homes and will do anything to avoid being separated. Their journey—fraught with obstacles and people who may not have their best interests at heart—plays a significant role in building Ben’s character and eventually determining his fate.

Annie Campbell has made a good life for her young son in the mountain town of Tidal Falls. She's dating the sheriff, owns a successful business, and has the support of the community.  So why isn't it quite enough?  Jared Martin left Tidal Falls a hotheaded youth. Eight years in the military has turned him into a cynical, disillusioned man.  Then he returns home and finds out he's a father.  When an old enemy follows and causes mayhem in the small town, can Jared overcome the odds to protect the woman he's always loved and the child he never knew?  Or will it be too late for a second chance?

Fans of Jodi Picoult and Elin Hilderbrand will fall in love with this new series that sets the stage for her upcoming novel, Stillwater Rising, from NY Times bestselling author Steena Holmes. Before the first shots are fired within the walls of Stillwater Elementary School, life went on as normal for five women who were close friends. Their monthly girls' night was coming up and they couldn't wait to get together. They all needed this night to run away and be carefree - from their husbands, their children, their church - with no expectations, no responsibilities, where they weren't mothers or wives. No one expected their lives to be torn apart, their friendships tested in one short minute when their town is rocked by a danger lurking in their tight-knit community. This novella gives you a glimpse into the town of Stillwater Bay and its residents. You will see what their lives were like BEFORE the storm that rocked their little community descended upon them. This is a novella and comes before Stillwater Rising.

Maggie's in love, just not with the man she married, a situation the uber-capable HR officer never anticipated having to face. And when civil engineer Grayson travels to a remote Queensland town to relieve for six weeks, he isn't expecting to have to summon the Flying Doctors, survive a tropical cyclone, or lose his heart. By the time he sets off on the long journey home, Maggie also finds herself on the road ... the long road to loving Grayson. And like Australia's outback highways, there are plenty of road blocks and obstacles to be negotiated along the way, so she'd better buckle up.

Ties That Bind is one woman's quest to find out the truth involving her adoption. Secrets can't remain hidden forever. At what lengths would you go to find out the truth? Romantic, and suspenseful, Ties That Bind will have you swiftly turning the pages to find out.

A MAGICAL LOVE STORY... Memory House is a place where friendship turns to love, love lasts forever, and memories outlive their owner. Ophelia Browne knows this because she's been granted the unique gift of finding and caring for those forgotten memories. But now she's nearing ninety, and needs to find a successor - soon. When broken-hearted Annie Cross shows up on the doorstep of The Memory House Bed and Breakfast, Ophelia knows she is the one. The two women forge a bond of friendship as they sip magical dandelion tea and share stories. When Annie starts to uncover new memories Ophelia is delighted, but then a thread of violence begins to unravel and she fears things have gone too far. Winner of the 2015 FAPA President's Book Award Silver Medal

A Top Ten Women's Fiction Title in Booklist, this novel takes place in New York and Northern California. Julia, a poet with writer’s block, attempts to choose between Ben, a professor at Princeton whom she sees as good husband material, and Michael, a charismatic composer who inspires her yet is also a destabilizing influence. Realizing that Michael is too wounded to make a commitment, Julia turns her triangular situation into a square by setting him up with a cousin. This psychological tale explores the assumptions and fantasies that determine romantic choices as the narrative takes us from one decision in the 1980s to an opportunity to reverse it in the twenty-first century.

Troy is afflicted by a condition that lets him live out different futures --- lots of them. Jaded by all these possibilities, he drifts from day to day never knowing if what he's living is real life or just a possible one. When he first meets Cat, it's not even close to love at first sight. She pepper sprays him and steals his phone. But then he meets her again, and again. Finally, he becomes convinced that this funny, crazy, woman might be just what he needs. But in his strange world of possibilities nothing is straightforward.

They Called Him Marvin: A History of Love, War and Family by Roger Stark “They were the fathers we never knew, the uncles we never met, the friends who never returned, the heroes we can never repay. They gave us our world. And those simple sounds of freedom we hear today are their voices speaking to us across the years.” Bill Clinton Such a man was 1st Lt Dean Harold Sherman, B-29 Airplane Commander. “They Called Him Marvin” is a history. A history of war and of family. A history of the collision of the raging politics of a global war, young love, patriotism, sacred family commitments, duty and the horrors and tragedies, the catastrophe that war is. They Called Him Marvin by Roger Stark is a merger between American and Japanese events during WWII, and the very human reality of one American pilot and his love letters to his wife. The candor in their loving correspondence, and the stark reality of war, clash against each other within the pages of this book. Like the major and minor notes being pulled from an orchestra by a master conductor, history is brought to life and the full impact of war is felt.

Telma confidently marches over the bridge of her life and then… Telma is an opinionated little girl who doesn’t quite fit into the world around her. She becomes a physics professor, happily married to Uri, a bridge engineer, whose life seems secure as the bridges her husband builds. However, the little girl is not quiet; she reflects on the successful adult life from her unique point of view. Gadi, a genius from Berkeley is attracted to Telma's distinctive view; he hopes he has found in Telma someone to lean on. An emotional-roller-coaster-like relationship develops between them. But Telma prefers the stable ground Uri has built for her. Can she pull together the pieces of herself and emerge whole? Yet bridges can collapse, and Uri is involved in a serious accident that crushes not only him but Telma’s entire world. When their lives become intertwined with those of Gadi and Yael, his beautiful wife, Uri’s story, revealed to her with brutal honesty, shreds Telma's life to pieces. Gradually, Telma reconstructs herself anew, forming a more inclusive, complete, and accurate picture. A picture in which there is no need to hide behind long black hair and one in which the little girl goes back to seeking out the emerging whole. But will she ever again find peace?

Tales of mirth, imagination, and mayhem.

Nothing is quite what it seems in this realm. Partners cross each other, intentionally or otherwise. Late-night visitors appear from nowhere and linger long after they're gone. Mountain lakes, forests, and caves harbor secrets best not revealed. And every day, curious encounters change lives.

In this eclectic gathering of thirty-one short tales, including award-winning flash fiction and longer stories, you'll encounter crimes gone wrong, one-way journeys to other worlds, and ordinary people entangled with extraordinary circumstance. Some will chill you, some will get you thinking, and some will have you laughing out loud.

Because in The Realm of Tiny Giants, something unexpected is always just around the bend.

Amina prepares for college on what is expected to be an exciting first day of higher learning. When she steps onto the university campus for the first time, however, she bumps into Raja Gupta, a young, persuasive, and hot-headed university intellectual who lures her into joining a student group whose cause is the liberation of East Pakistan from West Pakistan. What follows is a stormy and passionate romance detailing the lives of both Raja Gupta and Amina Mitra as they both attempt to survive from one of the worst genocides of historical record—a genocide that ultimately leads to the birth of the poor and crippled nation known today as Bangladesh. This novel is written with historical accuracy and is Book One of a trilogy that charts the rise and fall of these two characters, as well as the son that is orphaned after Amina Mitra is forced to abandon him in the Great Mosque of Mecca.

Uqnitum is a singer from a famous musical lineage in the kingdom of Mitanni. When the fall of their city to the Assyrians costs her the life of her husband and her youngest child, she and her pregnant, widowed daughter flee to the court of Ugarit. Haunted by guilt over her part in her husbands death, Uqnitums increasingly unhinged personality becomes dangerous to the peace of her remaining family. Only by succumbing to her weakness does she learn the real nature of strength.

2016 SIBA First Place Memoir Winner! Behind the glitz and the glamour of the beauty queen mother lies a web of secrets. CeeCee is a child desperate for a touch of approval, the love of her mother. Her reality is her mom's retreating back, abandoning CeeCee in front of a burning car. But somewhere amid the chaos and despair, CeeCee holds onto something precious, the only thing that drives her on - hope. Ghost No More is a child abuse true story that proves joy can be found beyond abuse.

A MAGICAL LOVE STORY... Memory House is a place where friendship turns to love, love lasts forever, and memories outlive their owner. Ophelia Browne knows this because she's been granted the unique gift of finding and caring for those forgotten memories. But now she's nearing ninety, and needs to find a successor - soon. When broken-hearted Annie Cross shows up on the doorstep of The Memory House Bed and Breakfast, Ophelia knows she is the one. The two women forge a bond of friendship as they sip magical dandelion tea and share stories. When Annie starts to uncover new memories Ophelia is delighted, but then a thread of violence begins to unravel and she fears things have gone too far. Winner of the 2015 FAPA President's Book Award Silver Medal

Fictional tales presenting the varied facets of living in the South Pacific – pleasure, pain, calamity, comedy, fun, misfortune, loss, triumph – as in any part of the world, of being human. Most have been published previously, several have won short story competitions.

A novel is a marriage. A short story a love affair. Many prominent authors have been enthusiastic writers of short stories, describing them as the most disciplined and difficult form of prose writing. Short stories are "tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams," "journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and be back in time for dinner" [Neil Gaiman]", the way we live…what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy" [Andre Dubus];. Bronwyn Elsmore’s collection These Islands Here – Short Stories of the South Pacific, includes 32 fictional tales that present the varied facets of living in the South Pacific. Reviewers say: "the author has mastered the art of the short story"; "they all have one common factor – they are each beautifully crafted". Most have been published previously, several have won short story competitions. These Islands Here is available in print and as an ebook for Kindle.

FIVE STARS *****: A swirling mix of political intrigue, vivid action sequences, and lighthearted romance makes Forbidden Ties a delight for medieval fiction lovers. Author Kyrie Wang's tale of two people from opposing factions finding themselves forced to work together under extraordinary circumstances is captivating from start to finish. - Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite Reviews

FIVE STARS *****: The characters are well developed, the scenes are described with attention to detail, and the history is well researched. Interspersed between the battles and the growing need to find clarity between what is good and what is evil, romance blossoms with a subtlety that will have readers sitting on edge, wanting to learn more. - Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite Reviews

The orphaned. The outcast. In a country torn by rebellion, they will rise as heroes.

Synopsis:

1075 A.D. England

Nine years after the Norman Conquest Orphaned during a rebellion against William the Conqueror, Heather is thrust into another revolt when her childhood sweetheart disappears to save the son of a murdered Norman knight.

This quarrelsome son, Matthew, is determined to destroy the English rebels who decimated his household. Heather stays out of it- until she is accidentally entangled with a young rebel leader named Toby. As she is whisked off through the forests of medieval England, inhabit ...

My enemies wish they had never met me, and women wish they could forget me. I'm busy carving a name for myself in the mafia underworld, and I don't have time for the women who chase after me and wanna tie me down. They can get in line for the wildest f*ck of their lives and then they can get lost. I trusted the Sanatores and they ran their mouths. Six years in jail was a long time to plan my revenge, and now nobody will stop me from getting the payback I deserve. Not the bastards who are out to kill me, not the women who want to find out if the rumors about the size of my... ego are true. Nobody. Until I set eyes on her. Callie’s running from her filthy-rich, abusive, ex fiancé, and he’s not letting her go without a fight. She wants a new life and the last thing she needs is me in it, but I’ve never let that stop me before. I shouldn’t have touched her. I knew a woman like her would cause me trouble. But I couldn’t resist. One taste and I’m addicted. Her ex wants to get her back and my enemies want to use her to hurt me. F**k that. Anyone who wants to come between us better bring a body bag. She’s MINE. This is a standalone, full-length mafia romance with a filthy-mouthed, possessive bad boy. Happily ever after guaranteed.

Picasso’s Motorcycle is an affectionate paean to pre-war life in a sleepy, sun-drenched village in the French countryside in the 1930’s. It chronicles the escapades of a precocious group of boys, centering on ten-year-old Daniel, a half-French, half-German orphan being raised by his distant and sometimes brutal uncle, Emil. Put to work in Emil’s shabby bicycle repair shop, Daniel must navigate the often treacherous waters of boyhood initiations to eventually become accepted by his gleefully delinquent peers. As Daniel slowly wins them over with his loyalty, courage, and good character, things begin to change in the quiet hamlet. An unexpected gift of an old motorcycle with a tragically romantic past sets Daniel on the road to becoming a national racing champion – at least in his own mind. Meanwhile, talk of war with Germany looms like a storm cloud over the village, bringing full-scale panic when the German panzers finally cross the frontier and roll nearly unopposed into Paris. When things settle down into the familiar routine of German occupation, Daniel decides to strike out on his own with his motorcycle. With the reluctant blessing of his uncle, Daniel rides out of the village with little more than the clothes on his back, a few francs in his pocket, and a burning desire to make his name as a national motorcycle racing champion. But little does he know, this is just the beginning of his adventures…

Featuring real life historical intrigue and real characters, Ruby Redlick investigates murder and occult doings in a thrilling high society mystery. This third in the series is another absorbing mashup of true life and fictional set in Golden Age London. 1913 Ruby has returned to London with anarchist friend Mimmo and lady’s maid, Silver Spoon, to start her detective agency. The secretive Thin Man from the Ministry retains a strong hold on her services, but his demand that she spy on the gentry affords her entry into a luxurious world. With new beau, Lord Lincoln, she soon builds her name as private investigator to the aristocracy. Dark events are brewing in Europe, and when a friend is arrested for a murder in Paris, Ruby and Mimmo set off to investigate. After encountering fascinating real life characters from the Bohemian world of art and dance, the trail leads to a King’s bedroom and intrigue that includes Mata Hari. Back in England, Lord Lincoln takes Ruby on a country estate weekend that includes some notorious names. But it isn't all charades and she's soon called upon to investigate a heinous crime. When a murder is committed Ruby suspects the Paris case is somehow linked. They must uncover the culprit before all hell breaks loose.

It's 1985 and keyboard player Jonnie Cole's dream of playing in a band revolves around girls, money, girls, travel, girls, drugs, girls - oh, and music too. But the band's first single has stalled at number 40 in the charts. Still, with new hit producer 'Magic' Dan McCloud on board, 1986 looks like being their year. They set off for Europe with a new single about to be released and Magic Dan at the soundesk. Foul-mouthed manager Degsie Daniels attempts to keep their wilder excesses in check while his photographer daughter, Amanda, attempts to remain aloof from the mayhem. Intent on success in the synth-pop heaven of 1980s Europe, they have reckoned without Magic Dan’s murky past. Join them on their first tour of Europe as they discover themselves, each other and the dangerous cargo they have unwittingly stowed on the tour bus. CAUTION: This tale of sex, drugs and synthesisers contains all three, plus a lot of swearing.

“the most dangerous journey a man could ever take The most extraordinary love story you’ll ever read.” 'A magisterial tale.' - UK Daily Mail The Holy Land, 1260. Josseran Sarrazini is chosen to escort the Pope’s emissary on an embassy to the all-conquering Mongol horde in an effort to save all Christendom from destruction. But although he serves as a Templar warrior, Josseran is not all that he appears to be - and he despises the Pope’s man on sight. Now they have to spend nine months in each other’s company on the most dangerous and most inhospitable journey on the earth - across the legendary deserts of Persia, through the horrific black hurricanes of the Taklimakan, along the entire spider's web of the Silk Road to Khubilai Khan’s legendary capital at Xanadu. When he sets out, Josseran cannot know then that he will never see Christendom again. Meanwhile, somewhere near the Roof of the World, a Tatar princess possessing a gift for prophesy, defies her father’s attempts to marry her off to the sons of other tribal chiefs. She does not belong in her world any more than Josseran belongs in his. Now fate will bring their paths on a collision course somewhere on the Silk Road and change the course of her life, and Josseran's, forever. From the Storehouse of Winds to the Palace of Myriad Tranquillities, from the Pamirs and Hindu Kush to the legendary Xanadu and the dazzling court of Khubilai Khan, this is romance and adventure on a breath-taking scale. "Callous executions, one-ey ...

I’m wrong for her in all the right ways. Everyone in the city knows who I am: Vincent Citrione, top capo of the most powerful crime family in the city. If you’ve got two brain cells to rub together, you’re scared sh*tless of me. As for women, I given them the hardest, dirtiest f*ck of their lives before showing them the door. They know better than to expect more. Commitments? F*ck ‘em. At least, that was my motto until I caught her snooping in the wrong place at the wrong time. Aubriella. I wanted her to be like all the rest of the girls. I wanted to forget her. But I can’t forget her lush curves… or the soft moans spilling from her lips. She thinks she can say no to me and get away with it. She thinks she can walk away after what she’s seen. But one taste and I know she’s going to be mine. I don’t care what it takes. I get what I want. And I want her. This is a standalone, full-length mafia romance with a filthy-mouthed, possessive bad boy. Happily ever after guaranteed.

Mystery writer, Joel Carpenter, has no time for romance. He has a deadline to meet, and too many skeletons in his closet to trust the slightly spinny artist renting his house. Christy Taylor has her hands full dealing with an ailing business and a diabetic daughter, she doesn't need the temptation that is her landlord, Joel Carpenter. Can a Christmas wish bring two stubborn souls together and give a little girl the gift she wants most? A family of her own.

It was all Samuel Adams's fault. Ruth Haynes uses the pen name Honorius when she writes for her father’s newspaper. Boston has changed beyond recognition, and her Loyalist views soon get her in trouble. With war looming, what will their family do? Jonathan Russell hides a guilty secret. The Battle of Bunker’s Hill sweeps him and his Shenandoah Valley family into the war. The unthinkable happens, and he’s forced to deal with both his grief—and his guilt. Lieutenant Robert Shirley is summoned by his godmother and introduced to the Earl of Dartmouth, who charges him to gather intelligence in Boston. He is horrified but must obey. Gritty, realistic, and rich with scriptural truth, this story features Dr. Joseph Warren, Major John André, Henry Knox, and Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton.

The Chinese say, "Even a thousand miles apart, two people destined for each other are pulled together by an invisible thread." When young Chinese bride Wu Meichen's husband is sent to America, she vows to follow him. His family threatens to disown him if he does not divorce Meichen for her outrageous disobedience in leaving China without their permission. Will Meichen lose her beloved husband? Or will the thread of love withstand violence, prejudice, years of separation, and a ten thousand mile journey? Live the harrowing experience of one of America's first Asian female immigrants. Get free with Amazon's KDP select.

4.8/5 stars from IndieReader! INDIEREADER REVIEW THE CODE is a well-crafted, intelligent and timely social satire about America’s ability to elevate, transform and digest the celebrity heroes it creates and is well worth a read. Male identity, the nature of celebrity, and the cynical manipulation of American groupthink are carefully observed in THE CODE. Albert Collins, struggling entomology professor with an accomplished wife and two children, lives a quiet life in Brooklyn until his inexplicably powerful onscreen presence brings him to the attention of one of Hollywood’s elite celebrity makers, Jack Ruby. Memphis Smith, a smartly dressed, hired thug from Queens, working for a powerful gangster known only as Frank, discovers a musical gift in an unlikely location. Both Albert and Memphis, originally from Canada, are sucked into the machinery of cultural immortality by agents of American success: Jack Ruby and music impresario, Marcellus Moses. Bright futures for Albert and Memphis fly free of their grasp; their lives uncontrollably and utterly transformed. Authors Jacqueline Ruby’s and Marcellus Moses’ storytelling is masterful. Plot, character, settings, extended metaphors and scenes are spun together flawlessly. The plot is unpredictable and well told; unexpected events unfold naturally from the disposition of the social sphere and character inclination. From the upstate prison Dannemora, to fancy offices with their de rigueur black leather couches, the settings are well-d ...

Bread for the Table relates a single day in the life of Sage a 30-year-old aspiring jewelry designer working as a waitress in a pseudo New York deli in Los Angeles. A postcard from her mother triggers a series of flashbacks, which bring Sage's life into focus. She remembers her protector --- dear older sister, Rose of Sharon and her untimely death; her remote father, whose only communication was reading passages from novels written by John Steinbeck; her grandmother, the only consistent figure in Sage's life; and her mother. The last time Sage and her mother shared an intimate moment was stirring a pot of soup shortly after Rose of Sharon's death. Her mother's last instructions before she went to buy bread to complement the soup were to keep stirring the soup so it wouldn't burn. Dutifully Sage stirred, but her mother never returned. She was five years old. Now she has received a postcard from a woman she hasn't seen in twenty-five years.

2015 Rainbow Awards Finalist. When Carly Rosen is jilted on the eve of her wedding, she embarks on a startling journey of self-discovery. This gender-bending, risque retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in sizzling West Hollywood, echoes the ancient story of the lovers in the Underworld. What do you do when the love of your life has eloped with another woman on the eve of your wedding? The other woman is a famous beauty named Anna Garibaldi, and their love story is splashed all over the tabloids, making you die inside. To add insult to injury, the one who has abandoned you dies unexpectedly, having left you a cryptic text message suggesting that you were always the one and only. Where do you go from here for solace, for justice? If you are Carly Rosen, a portrait artist with huge imagination, you use your art to charm your way into the life and inner circle of the alluring Anna Garibaldi, whose seductive and secretive underworld is nothing you could have expected. You say goodbye to life as you know it and take a breathless ride down to the depths of the Land of the Dead, to where passions and dangers await you and nothing is as it seems. Don't forget a coin for the ferryman. Bon Voyage!

When it’s your 10th year of fundraising for charity it’s hard to find a new idea. The women come up with a scheme to benefit the local hospice but it goes way past their comfort zone. Can they, should they, go ahead? Then there’s the matter of the Board of Trustees – men who are bound to oppose the women on anything that steps out of the domestic sphere. A humorous story for readers of women’s and contemporary fiction.

Jason and Naomi’s son, Peter, returns home from college and back to the ranch he loves. A series of devastating events will test their strength, faith, and their hope for the future. Can they endure the hardships? Through their own personal loss and that of their friends, they learn to lean on one another when all hope seems lost. Out of sorrow will come healing and out of healing a great joy. This is a story of struggle, grief, loss and also one of victory.

A powerful, unrelenting page-turner. Highly recommended Wishing Shelf Awards

Sad, uplifting, shocking, funny, hopeful and frustrating. Bookmuse

A wonderful book...Helen Baggott

I have to give this five stars and I hate doing that because the ending made me cry and I don't easily forgive the author for that...The word “gritty” will probably be used, though it doesn’t quite fit – but life is hard for the young Billy...Amazingly, in all this there is also tenderness and humor. A lovely book. In fact, a wonderful book. Strongly recommended....S F Hopkins

John Lynch has found his literary voice in this life story of disadvantaged soul, Billy McErlane. Having a harlot for a mother doesn’t make life easy and nor does going to jail at fourteen, but when he is reunited with his childhood sweetheart peace enters Billy's heart. Then fate deals a wrecking blow. The book shows Billy through his own eyes and words as he learns to forgive, let go of the bad things in life, accept with grace the good things and finally reach out to others. It’s a coming of age book that begins in tragedy and ends in hope. A bittersweet story of love, loss and one young man's refusal to accept what life offers.

Collin Griffin has changed. His wife, Jolene, suspects infidelity. His mother sees him lash out at his beloved dog and wonders what could be wrong. His father sees Collin as a disappointment for refusing to live up to his view of what a “man” should be. But no one suspects his downward spiral will lead to murder. Collin, incarcerated and in the grips of psychosis, is unable to explain what went wrong. Convinced he has found a link between Collin’s work for Monarch Industries pig slaughterhouse and his mental decline, Collin’s attorney, Cam Burton, prepares to make an unprecedented defense. To save his client from the death penalty, Cam seeks to implicate Monarch Industry’s dehumanizing work in his client’s breakdown. Set against the backdrop of tension and polarity in the summer of 2016 in Mosier, North Carolina, Quiet Man explores the interconnection between addiction, capitalism, speciesism, racism and various forms of oppression. Quiet Man was a Finalist in the Siskiyou Prize in Environmental Literature.

Good Enough, explores classic barriers to love - barriers such as class, family obligations and skillfully disguised insecurities. The two protagonists, Camisha Ann Robbins and Lennox Ali Robinson are two seemingly unmatched lovers who discover who they truly are through their love for one another, with the vibrant city of Atlanta, Georgia as their backdrop.

THE BROKEN CIRCLE is about the renewal of three childhood friendships. It’s written from the viewpoint of two sixtyish year old women. Together they seek acceptance, love, hope, and happiness as they look ahead to the next excerpt in their lives. While doing so, they realize that a friend who had been abducted during their senior year of high school, was never found. Together they are able to bring a closure to the family as well as themselves, allowing them to start afresh in their relationships.

Fleeing the war-torn German Empire, Brunhilde “Hilde” Schuster immigrates to the United States where her cousin’s family teaches her rudimentary English. She finds work as a caretaker for the elderly member of a family whose German ancestors immigrated decades earlier. Carl Becker, whose parents fled Germany after the failed 1848 revolution before his birth, feels an attraction to the new companion for the Bergmann Oma. However, he is reluctant to strike up a friendship. Resentful of his mother’s constant pressure to marry a good German girl, he decided years earlier he was born in America, he’s an American, and he will marry an American woman. In the final weeks of November, Hilde learns of an American holiday called Thanksgiving. What do Pilgrims from England and eating turkey, corn, and pumpkin pie have to do with her? Invited to join her employers’ extended family and friends, in the spirit of celebration, she decides to bake and bring a favorite German dessert —Bienenstich Kuchen – Bee Sting Cake.

“Look at this way, you’re going to be an entirely new person.” “I didn’t know there was anything wrong with the person I am right now,” Alexis said coldly. And so, at age fifty-two her midlife journey begins. When her boss and his wife give Alexis weight loss surgery as an early Christmas bonus, it sets in motion a string of events no one could have foreseen. With the surgery comes the realization that anything is possible from losing weight, working out, a complete makeover, a new wardrobe, to men in her life for the first time. Each step is terrifying as time after time she’s forced to get out of her comfort zone because of all of the changes taking place. As the Alexis package becomes more appealing it brings with it an exotic sports car, a glamorous face and body, and a chance at love. But when the ex-wife of the man she falls in love with wants to reconcile with him, Alexis’ hard-fought midlife victory becomes a nightmare, and she resorts to returning to what used to work when she didn’t want to deal with her feelings - food. Is she doomed to live a life of unhappiness or is there a happy ever after for her? You can’t read about Alexis’ trials and tribulations without rooting for her every step of the way. Although her midlife journey forces her to come to terms with a lifetime of being overweight, her struggles dealing with changes in midlife is one every woman will face in one form or another. This is Al ...

Nothing Forgotten, Winner of Next Generation Indie Book Award. "An intricately layered, deeply heartfelt, and bittersweet novel," Starred Review, Booklist. "Delicious insights into Italian life," San Francisco Chronicle. When Anna is contacted by the Italian lover she knew decades before, she recalls their affair and the child she gave up for adoption. As the episode returns to haunt her—threatening the life she's built in California, including her marriage—the story moves back in time to her youth in Europe. Rome, 1979. Anna, twenty-two and living abroad, is involved with a man already engaged to be married. When she meets and befriends his fiancée, she is forced to confront the moral consequences of her actions. An unexpected pregnancy, an anonymous letter, and threatening relatives complicate the picture. Layered and provocative, Nothing Forgotten is the story of an unconventional heroine who is forced to reckon with the judgment of others—and find her own path.

A story about life, though perhaps not the one you would choose to live. inspired by the characters from the Harry Chapin song of the same name, 'A Better Place To Be’ is a story of love, loss, and the ability to overcome the worst that life can throw at someone and come out the other side.

How far would you go to help a close friend? Is there a place where you might draw the line and simply have to say no? Eight women. Four decades of friendship. One unimaginable request. Where can you find a story about friendship, laughter and the good things in life that also touches on alcoholism, infidelity, porn addiction, illness and grief? For many women, it's often within their own circle of friends. Whether your BFFs are in their twenties or are seniors, everyone has a story. The Bridge Club reminds us of the complexities of women’s friendships through an entertaining and often moving tale of eight women whose lives intersect once a month initially to play the game of bridge. What began as one night turns into four decades that span the segments of a woman's journey from youthful optimism to embracing the challenges and opportunities presented in life's later years. Based loosely on the author’s own bridge club, the story weaves the reader through a maze of life's inevitable scenarios. This is a novel for anyone who values friendship. Not simply the "Hi, how are you?" type of friendship but rather the kind that weathers all sorts of storms, unselfishly celebrates triumphs, and hums along year after year with never an unkind word. It does exist. If you have such a friendship in your life you will relate to the women in The Bridge Club. If you don't, perhaps the story will inspire you to search for it. Throughout the story each of the characters faces challe ...

In 1970, Lenny can no longer deny that his wife is undergoing a profound change. Despite her relatively young age, her mind succumbs to forgetfulness. Now, he goes as far back as the moment he met Natasha, when he was a soldier and she a star, brilliant yet illusive. Natasha was a riddle to him then, and to this day, with all the changes she has gone through, she still is. Digging into the past, mining its moments, trying to piece them together this way and that, dusting off each memory of Natasha, of how we were, the highs and lows of the music of us, to find out where the problem may have started? To their son, Ben, that may seem like an exercise in futility. For Lenny, it is a necessary process of discovery, one that is as tormenting as it is delightful. He often wonders: can we ever understand, truly understand each other - soldier and musician, man and woman, one heart and another? Will we ever again dance together to the same beat? Is there a point where we may still touch?

What if the person who know you best and loved you most forgot your face, and couldn't remember your name? Retired Cape Cod innkeepers struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

From Book 1:Librarian Janet Johnson is puzzled when she is invitedand practically draggedto her first meeting of the Rejected Writers Book Club. This quirky group of women would much rather celebrate one anothers rejected manuscripts over cups of tea and slices of lemon cake than actually publish a book. But good friends are exactly what Janet needs after moving to the small town of Southlea Bay, Washington. Just as the ladies are about to raise a teacup to their five hundredth rejection letter, they receive bad news that could destroy one members reputationand disband the group forever. To save the club, Janet joins her fellow writers on a wild road trip to San Francisco in search of the local publisher who holds the key to a long-buried secret. As they race to the finish line, theyll face their fearslandslides, haunted houses, handsome strangers, ungrateful childrenand have the time of their lives.

The best things come in pairs. Summertime in Nicolet has always been idyllic, but for Heidi and Shelly Lakanen, the summer of 1994 brings just a little more than they’ve bargained for. When Steven Davis comes to town, the Lakanen girls know their lives will never be the same, but they have no idea just how much their sisterly bond will be put to the test as a result. It bends under the strain, but will it break? From the moment he drives into town, Steven Davis can’t shake the sense that something wonderful awaits him in Nicolet. The loneliness of his past fades almost completely as he finds himself embraced by the fun-loving Lakanen clan, but one decision risks the loss of everything (and everyone) he’s come to care about. For Steven and the Lakanen family, it’s a summer of shattered dreams and beautiful surprises.

The right to choose can never be taken from us. When the government tries to restrict our bodies, we will always fight back. My body my choice should never be questioned. No matter the reason no one should be told no or have their rights taken from them. This anthology is full of powerful characters who fight for what’s right, much like the authors who penned them.

It’s time to take a stand and let everyone know we will never give up until everyone is free to make their own choices. All proceeds will be donated to charities in support of reproductive equality. Please remember the stories in the anthology may come with a trigger warning or end on a cliffhanger. Featuring stories by: Alexis Taylor, Beth Hendrix, Leaona Luxx, Kate Bonham, F. East, Sarah Stein, Linny Lawless, Solamae Reigns, Elizabeth Dunlap, J. P. Uvalle, C.L. Cruz, Liz Fox, Rowan St. George, C. A. Varian, Charlee Garden, & Annee Jones.