Do you remember your first love? Kent Huffman remembers his all too well. For years he has been haunted by unrelenting dreams of her. He often wonders if he had swallowed his pride and simply made the call that day, his life might have turned out differently. Set amid the burgeoning areas of Orange County, CA in the 1970s, What Love Looks Like begins when Kent is sixteen. At that age, he is not exactly the all-American type. His long blonde hair, passion for surfing, smoking habit, and motorcycle make him just the sort of guy parents love to hate. Growing up in a violent, secret-laden family, his world is anything but loving—until he meets her. Opal Milton is quite the opposite; she is wealthy and well educated, and the Miltons adhere to the principles of the church. She battles between tradition and the reality of Kent's love.
Richard Tiernan created a bridge to immortality. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack before he had a chance to ingest the elixir that would have prevented his demise. Now his son Michael, who was unaware of the discovery until his father's death, must decide its fate. When larger pharmaceutical companies learn of its existence, a struggle develops to determine who will acquire the chemistry that would make them billions of dollars. But Richard Tiernan had a partner and co-developer of the immortality elixir. Upon realizing that a disastrous world situation could develop; he reverses his opinion about releasing the elixir to the public and conspires to destroy it. Michael Tiernan becomes caught between the desire to mass produce the elixir for profit, or preserving it for a select few. It is a story of greed, power and pharmaceutical espionage that attempts to shape the quality of life available for those who can afford it.
While having a seemingly harmless glass of tea at a bazaar in Istanbul, Meredith Fitzgerald, a beautiful soon-to-be married American doctor finds her privileged world turned upside down. It takes only seconds. As she’s waiting for the police to come collect an abandoned gypsy girl left in her keeping, Meredith’s vision starts blurring, the bazaar music turns into a high-pitched whine, and she recognizes the chloral hydrate in the tea taking hold of her body. In this gripping novel a confusing scenario grows yet more frightening as Meredith realizes that—like two and a half million women and children worldwide—she too has been abducted and swept into the dark world of the human sex trade. We watch in horror as the once confident, self-reliant doctor finds herself trafficked to Mumbai and trapped in brothel compound where she’s expected to work as the doctor. But maybe, just maybe she’s not as helpless as she appears. An accomplished first novel, heartfelt and compulsively readable. Written in the style of a memoir, Karma is a brilliantly crafted story of courage, friendship, and spiritual awakening.
Abby Stafford, a rookie writer for an architectural magazine, believes she has everything she’s ever wanted. When she stops by her parents’ beautiful Victorian home to tell them of her engagement to Michael Thiesan, she makes a grisly discovery. Her father, Erik Stafford, an esteemed and prominent lawyer, is hanging in the attic. His mysterious suicide and her mother’s unexplained absence catapults Abby’s life into chaos. The traumatic event not only leaves her temporarily colorblind, a transient condition that haunts her for months to come, but also unlocks devastating childhood memories.
The story flashes back to Abby’s childhood. We see her as a feisty girl who befriends a boy named Eli. Abby and Eli, inseparable soul mates, form an alliance against her alcoholic and remote father and survive the rocky terrain of childhood together. On the cusp of adulthood, they become lovers, but Abby destroys their relationship with one reckless action.
In the present, Abby struggles to make sense of the baffling circumstances surrounding her father’s death. When Eli unexpectedly resurfaces in Abby’s life, her imminent marriage is in jeopardy. All of her personal relationships threaten to crumble after she learns the truth behind her father’s suicide and discovers that she’s been betrayed by those she loves most.
American expatriate Paul Bauer, a freelance journalist living in Paris with his French lover, thinks he has it made. And then his mother dies. When he returns for the funeral to a little town in northern Minnesota, he encounters unsettling contradictions to his understanding of his family history and begins a quest into his past that leads him back among the dead. He hears the voices of his parents talking of dreams,desires, and loss, and inexorably their story leads him to ask the question--the very question his family has always wanted to prevent him from asking: What really did happen in that whiteout thirty-five years ago? The answer changes everything.
Murder in Maine, wolves in Wyoming, and a fugitive, one life-changing summer for wolf biologist Anna O Neil. She needs answers. Who shot her father and why? Then, the arrival of a mysterious document called The Canaan Creed forces Anna to examine her own beliefs and gives her the key to restore a divided community. But, first, Anna must find the courage to confront a hidden evil and catch her father's killer.
A literary-fiction novel, The Canaan Creed weaves several sub-plots together as this mystery-suspense takes you on an entertaining and thought provoking adventure. Much of the book is set in a fictional town in Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park. The story touches on the controversial reintroduction of gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains and on the damage caused by radical environmentalism. Deceptions come to light and community tensions mount. The characters face murder, conspiracy, and their own misconceptions. Some lives are shattered, some hearts are changed, and hypocrisy is exposed.
Book one of the Dark Whispers Series. Sara and her family are ecstatic when they move into a vintage farmhouse, but eerie events soon begin to threaten their bliss. Sara discovers a locked diary; she has strange dreams of people she doesn’t know, and she sees a tormented reflection in an antique mirror. When her young son has a bizarre accident, Sara desperately seeks the help of the church, only to become further puzzled by even more mysteries. Resolved to find out what lies behind the frightening events at the farm, Sara finds the key to the diary…as well as the key to her own past. Who are her real parents? Does she really want to know? A frightening supernatural thriller with a macabre edge.
Bitter with thoughts of the darkly handsome stranger who promised to marry her and then left town without a word, Ella Corrigan hastily weds a neighboring planter—a man whose cold indifference is merely a disguise for cunning insanity. His cruelty to his slaves horrify her and, even though her family has owned slaves for generations, she questions the concept of human bondage for the first time while desperately missing her cherished Greenpoole plantation and Corrigan's Pool ... a beautiful phenomenon of nature that the slaves call "Conjuring Pool" for reasons they cannot explain when asked.
The South is embroiled in a bitter Civil War by the time Ella Corrigan discovers that Corrigans' Pool is much more than the exquisitely beautiful pond she had thought it to be all her life. But by the time she learns its dangerous secret she is deeply entangled in a secret of her own ... one that has made her a virtual prisoner, hopelessly trapped in a world dreadfully different from her previous existence as mistress of her gentle father's palatial plantation home along the Savannah River. Stunned by what she sees, she must harden herself to her new surroundings or perish ... along with the cowed and scarred Negroes who toil in her husband's rice swamps and cotton fields.
As Union troops burn their way across Georgia and swarm onto Ella's property and then into Savannah, she must make a harrowing journey downriver where danger lurks around every shadowy bend. Can she save herself and those who depend on her? What will she do when the past that she has long blamed for her misery steps unexpectedly out of the darkness to face her?
1939. The tenth year of the Great Depression in America. Europe teeters on the brink of war. In Atlantic City, New Jersey - a seashore resort town that springs to life every summer - Jack Laurel comes of age.
At 15, Jack’s life is turned upside down by an almost magical convergence of people and events. A mysterious boardwalk entertainer inspires a love of literature, a feud with neighborhood bullies escalates, and innocence is lost. Jack stumbles into commodities trading with two men: one a reclusive mystic, the other a charismatic pitchman and mathematical savant. The musings of a boardwalk fortuneteller set the three partners up to reap unimagined profits - but a house of cards is about to come down around them and, with it, the wrath of an iron-fisted crime boss.
In his first novel, J. Louis Yampolsky evokes the days when Atlantic City was the "Playground of the World" - the home of gilded Arabesque hotels, parades, pageants, and the famous Steel Pier. A Boardwalk Story is a startling debut from a remarkable new voice in American fiction.
Linda Smallwood, a sometimes difficult, sometimes depressed criminal defense attorney, finds that her life mirrors what the Rolling Stones call That Demon Life. Here in over the course of a grueling week, Linda encounters a parade of thugs, slackers, and eccentrics—hookers, lawyers, bartenders, cab drivers, and political fixers of various stripes, a world with echoes of A Confederacy of Dunces. She loses her job, falls back into a relationship with her now-married ex-fiancé, and convinces her best friend to seduce and blackmail the man she holds responsible for her misfortunes. Linda’s absurd and dislocated life reflects the rhythms of the city and culture she lives in, yet when she finally confronts her enemy who she then attempts to rescue, she discovers that the joys of love and revenge are not all they’re alleged to be.
On the outside, Nick O'Reilly has it all: a high-flying legal career, as a partner of an elite Wall Street law firm, and financial security, with an expensive apartment overlooking Central Park. Having grown up in a working-class family, it has always been Nick's dream to make something of himself. But at the age of thirty-six, after several years of sacrificing his personal life for professional gain, Nick begins to question his future and consider the mark he wants to leave on society both professionally and personally. He is facing the penetrating question, "What is my legacy?"
After being chastised in the press for turning a cold shoulder to the community, the firm calls upon Nick to help rehabilitate its image by handling its first pro bono case. Nick is asked to represent Dawn Nelson, a domestic violence victim who is fighting for custody of her young son, Jordan. A far cry from Nick's specialty of defending the misdeeds of Corporate America, it is up to Nick to set Dawn and Jordan on a path to a better life. But Nick gets much more than he signed on for as Dawn forces him to reassess his life choices and, ultimately, be true to himself. Only when Nick finally realizes what is truly important in life does he face his toughest-and possibly final-challenge: a battle for his own survival.
Exploring the flaws of being human and the importance of controlling one's own destiny, The Life O'Reilly reminds us of how precious life is and how quickly and tragically it can change. Written with great empathy, The Life O'Reilly is an emotional and unforgettable novel that will challenge one's expectations of the modern love story and introduces a poignant and sensitive new voice in fiction.
Aaron Livingston is a highly respected gastroenterologist practicing in a large Boston hospital. His dream for his own GI endoscopy center is suddenly destroyed after his political views are bought to the attention of his financial backer by a jealous colleague. When Aaron learns of this, he enlists the help of a friend and devises an elaborate and risky scheme to exact revenge.
Aaron's actions trigger a cascade of emotionally staggering events involving his reluctant accomplice, alienated son and wife, a ten year old girl, and several other key people. These experiences dramatically shape his fragile psychological state as he desperately searches for some measure of meaning and value in his life.
The Struggle probes deeply into the psyche of an emotionally traumatized man, exposing the harrowing personal and social consequences of obsession, anger, grief, vengeance, and guilt, but ultimately also reveals the enduring power of the human spirit to find forgiveness and redemption in the face of tragic circumstances.
K did not want to be King anymore. Not without his mother. And not on his father's terms. But Railroad wasn't called Railroad for nothing. And no was not an answer he would accept from his only son, the son whose duty it was to take over the family media empire. K knew it would have helped to have a plan of his own, a direction, an ambition, anything. And he wished he did. A girlfriend would have been nice too, would have been better than his clumsy imaginary friend Jerry Lewis. But when nothing much seems worth doing, it's hard to have a future worth having. Until one morning, Railroad kicks K out of the house and the family, then somehow manages to frame his son for his assassination. Never mind that the real assassins are as bumbling as the FBI agents trying to catch K.
From that moment forward, K's future is no longer a matter of whether K wants to be King, it's a matter of whether he can slip out of the noose tightening around his neck.
Ward McNulty had it all: his own syndicated column, the love of a beautiful woman, and powerful friends--including congressional hopeful, Chet Garner. But when Garner convinces him to back the conversion of a sleepy island town into an exclusive resort, it pits Ward against his father in a bitter legal battle. IN-SIGHT is the story of fall, forgiveness, and redemption...of deeply instilled family values triumphing over impossible odds...and of a lost son coming home. It’s for anyone who believes that a Higher Power has a hand in destiny, and is not completely surprised when that Power draws back the curtain for a brief instant and allows a glimpse at another reality.
Camilla Miranda grows up in a house full of love, but she’s hiding something: Old man Gomez, a neighbor, sometimes visits her and not just as a friend. He tells her not to tell anyone, and although the relationship sometimes makes her feel uncomfortable, part of her enjoys sharing a secret.
For years, Camilla tells no one, and she becomes a vibrant young woman. As a psychologist, she helps women in abusive relationships and others who are trying to cope with their problems.
Even though Camilla has friends and a great career, something is missing. She seems to find it when she meets Troy Mauvais, who just might be the man of her dreams. But as she gets to know him, all of the insecurities and weaknesses that she’s been suppressing for so long slowly begin to surface.
This unconventional and inspiring story shows that even a person who seems to have it all together can really be suffering inside. Find out if Camilla can overcome the demons of her past and learn the value of a love that’s real in Rainbow House.
Eighteen years ago, on a stormy night, the worst tragedy to ever hit Mount Kelven occurred on a lift bridge over the Esarno River. Many said it was caused by two reckless young people on their way to a Justice of the Peace. For 18 years, Nate Morrissey has stayed away from his hometown of Mount Kelven. He didn't even return for his grandfather's funeral, or to try to stop Laura's wedding. But this long absence is about to end. A documentary is being filmed in Mount Kelven about a now prominent government official's role in events connected to that tragedy. Nate, a New York lawyer, is assigned by his firm to go to Mount Kelven and investigate the revelations this documentary will make about a scandal involving the government official, now a client of the firm. Nate checks into an old run-down motel, hoping that this will keep him out of the eye of old family and friends, but just the opposite occurs. The owner of the motel, a single woman in her mid-thirties, is trying to buy and renovate the historic hotel once owned by Nate's grandfather. As he is drawn into this endeavor, Nate will learn not only how his past is connected to his client's, but how that connection led to the lift bridge tragedy. He will also discover the haunting secret long harbored by Laura, his former lover.
For Barbara Monroe, the daughter of an abusive, alcoholic mother, growing up in a rural Ontario town is anything but normal. When she is eleven she takes part in a shameful act that sets in motion a train of guilt and violence that will end in murder.
As a self-loathing teenager she is thrown out of her family home for assaulting her mother. She flees to Toronto where she dreams of beginning a glamorous new life.
After a disastrous start, Barbara finds safety in the gay world of 1960's Toronto. Blossoming into a flamboyant beauty, she struggles with her assertive and ambiguous sexuality.
Forever seeking forgiveness, Barbara concludes that killing is easy, but forgetting is difficult indeed.
For Katherine Orr the words ‘I love you” are not enough. Only a demonstrative expression of her husband Jayce’s love can rescue their relationship. But Jayce’s personal demons prevent him from giving her this even though she is all that keeps him from a descent into chaos.
Simultaneously, Bryan struggles to repair the breach of love in his life caused by his daughter’s death. But his wife, Jayce’s sister, grows ever more distant. Social activist Faith, who longs for love but fears losing herself in it, becomes the catalyst for change in all four lives.
The paths of these four converge toward a tragic event. Each discovers in their own way that love is the living core of human existence and that how we love defines who we are.
Michael Collins's life is fast approaching a dead end. Passed over for an expected promotion at work, his only friend is bourbon, and his soon-to-be-ex-wife is having a shameless affair with her boss. When he discovers he owns the 23 million dollar winning Lotto ticket, he thinks he has won the key to happiness--his cheating, venomous wife never needs to know.
One fateful summer night ...when one rule is broken ... five teenagers will discover an unexpected adventure full of magic, romance, and true friendship. Seventeen-year-old Whitnee has spent six years rebuilding her identity after her father's mysterious disappearance left her with more questions than answers. With her two best friends, she returns as an employee to the summer camp of her childhood. Nestled in the Texan hill country, Camp Fusion is everything Whitnee remembers ... except for the haunting visions that only she can see. One fateful night, Whitnee and her friends embark on a magical journey where unexpected adventure and heart-stopping romance collide - a journey that might unlock the dark, complicated mysteries of Whitnee's family history. But will she find the answers she is looking for before it is too late?
Nysa is an up and coming DNA retrieval expert well known in the scientific community for her advances in the technology used in the field. After being recruited to work on a secret project by an extraordinarily wealthy and mysterious benefactor, Nysa is moved to a hidden lab outside Denver, Colorado. Isolated from the world and forbidden from contact with anyone outside the facility, she is unaware of the strange occurrences that begin to plague the planet. Her fiance Alastair becomes concerned about her welfare and, with the help of his father, begins a frantic search for her. They soon come to realize that their quest is producing more questions than answers, and some very unsettling questions at that. Only one person, the silent man financing the operation, knows the real nature of the experiment. Although unaware of his true identity, Alastair comes to realize his foe will stop at nothing to see the experiment through to its completion.
Two years after the death of artist Mattie Wickham's teenage son, she realizes her marriage has not survived the crushing weight of grief. Searching for a new way to live her life, she follows her heart into the Appalachian foothills of Southeast Ohio where she joins a tight-knit group of nature-loving, historical reenactors. They fill their days with storytelling, music, and laughter while making a living re-creating eighteenth century accoutrements for the muzzleloading crowd. As Mattie's heart and spirit grow strong amid the towering hemlocks, sandstone cliffs, and misty ravines of Turtle Hills, however, her new friends face the crumbling of their handcrafted nirvana. One friend breaks the group's tacit covenant with Mother Earth, while another dies in a desperate act against a gas company's pipeline.
After drifting apart through a season of anger and sorrow, the friends come together again in their need to forgive and heal, to maybe recapture the idealism that comes from living in the company of trees.
Meet Leslie Andrews, a wry, sensitive teenager dealing with her mother’s suicide, a sudden move, and an unrequited love for ex-Beatle George Harrison. Her father doesn’t understand her. The kids at school don’t understand her. But that’s okay because Leslie doesn’t always understand the rest of the world, either.
All Things Must Pass is an unforgettable odyssey of a young women’s coming of age during the 1970s. The story follows seven years of Leslie’s life through boarding school, a turbulent second home rifted by domestic violence and alcoholism, and sudden homelessness that is the key to Leslie’s freedom. This survivor’s tale blends courage, strength and humor with the unique voice of Phyllis Zimmerman, a veteran journalist.
A psychopathic martial arts master spends years grooming an innocent teen to work as an assassin, until one day when she starts killing the wrong people.
A good old boy from Texas is marked for death, but his would-be-killer falls in love.
This action-packed thriller takes place in China, the USA, England, Israel, and reaches an exploding climax in Monte Carlo.
Haunted by a virus, young Dr. Boris Pozdeev becomes obsessed with a desire to eradicate it. During the course of his career at the Ministries of Health in Moscow, Boris privately develops a method of elimination. Unexpected events during 1988 provide the means Boris needs to accomplish the goal he dreams of. With time running out, Boris determined the solution is to use terrorism to assure the success of his cure.
ATTORNEY RILEY MORGAN is still recovering from a devastating personal loss when a long-time friend and colleague convinces her to take on a new high-profile client at her Florida law firm. Little does she know the case will soon have federal agents knocking at her door and a highly skilled special agent, Kent Donovan, working behind the scenes to uncover a fraudulent enterprise that spans continents.
From the depths of space, two alien armadas converge on a small solar system containing a shining gem called Earth. To one armada the planet represents a resource it can harvest, to the other an obstacle in its mission of revenge. Dade never gave much credence to extraterrestrial life until the day he was abducted. In an experiment intended to create a means of communication with Earth’s inhabitants, his memories are transferred to an alien conscript named Teela. As the probability of victory in their pursuit of revenge falters, all hope rests on an unlikely alliance with the leaders of Earth. Using Dade’s knowledge and memories, Teela must rise above her humble origin to stop a mutiny, and arrange for communications with the hostile planet. However, she soon discovers she has received more than just his memories, and the success of the mission, and her continued survival, will depend on her ability to moderate the stubborn and unrelenting essence of Daedalus Rimes.
1970: a young British woman leaves home for a job as a nurse-midwife in a remote community in the Canadian Arctic. Through her diary, we see through fresh eyes a remarkable place and the people who inhabit it.
An Inuit elder sits watch at the bedside of his critically ill daughter. Through his stories, we witness the extraordinary changes that marked his generation, as they were transformed from hunters to wageworkers.
A young Inuit man writes letters to his adopted kid brother, who is away at a hostel school. Through his correspondence, we learn about the joys and challenges of contemporary settlement life.
As the lives of these characters become intertwined, they confront issues of love and loss, identity and belonging. All the while, political forces are reshaping the map of Canada, as the new Territory of Nunavut is created in 1999, on the eve of a new millennium.
The cover-up operations they were involved in were sinister, illegal and without precedence.
Matt and Niki were partners working for the agency and were trained by Aleksandar Blinski to do the risky work their fellow sworn agents couldn't, or wouldn't do.
Matt Savage was a policeman working for a small town department but dreamed of "Playing in the Big League." He was hired by the Los Angeles Police Department and it was there he met agent Webb, who offered him a job with the agency through a program called "Back Door." Matt felt good about what he had agreed to. He had taken the first step but wondered, with some concern, where this road would take him. Few people would ever know about the dangerous assignments, "for God and Country."
Keeping his secret life from his fellow officers and loved ones proved to be a life-altering challenge.
Protection specialist Natasha Chamberlain thinks guarding popular English rock star Giki during a tour of the Southern states will be easy and loads of fun, but she couldn’t be more wrong. In no time at all, she finds herself bogged down in Giki’s crazy world of sex, drugs, shoplifting and an uncontrollable sweet tooth. If that's not bad enough, Giki is being hunted by a ruthless cyber-stalker intent on putting an end to her career.
When Natasha is shot after the first concert, her fiancé, Jonce Striker, steps in. Determined to keep Natasha safe, he sends his best men, Pitt and Bigun, to watch over her. Striker wants Natasha to marry him and give up her dangerous line of work, but he's having trouble convincing her of that fact.
Natasha's torn between her love for Striker and her desire to do her job. Will she give in to Striker's demands and forget about her profession? Or will she stay with Giki and do whatever it takes to protect her? The choic is obvious to Natasha, but will she live to regret it?
Dr. David Franklin, a respected obstetrician, places a classified ad in the newspaper and hires six Mexican women to secretly become surrogate mothers to his own offspring, hoping to use embryonic tissues from the fetus to save his daughter. But when he uses experimental methods to obtain fetal tissue samples, in a desperate attempt to find a tissue match for thirteen-year-old Elizabeth, he crosses the line into the illegal. Unable to watch Elizabeth die of the same disorder that destroyed her mother, he kills his own offspring in an attempt to save her. But using illegal methods leaves David open to blackmail by the husband of one of the surrogate mothers. To prevent being exposed and ending his work, David hires Donald MacNally, an ex-con, to murder the blackmailer where unexpected twists and turns rupture, leaving readers gasping for more.
Do you believe in Fairies, Sprites, Elves or Gnomes? Just because we cannot see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist….
Welcome to The World of Traegonia where mystical things really do happen. Close your eyes hold out your hand and allow the spirit of the Sunbow Prophecy to draw you in to a place you have never been before. Meet a community of unknown beings who are the protectors of the Earth. See how they bring hope to a seemingly hopeless situation, a home to those who are at risk of losing theirs and a voice to creatures who cannot speak for themselves. Watch as three young friends work together to bring about change. No matter how big or how small one is, belief and passion can change the world. Choose to see the beauty in that which is different. Put aside the fear of what you do not understand and you just may find something truly special in the gifts that others hold. What they have to share could just be the thing to change our lives or maybe even our world.
In the year 2084, recent widower Carlton Smith, an executive with a robotics company named RUR, is forced to take his eighteen-year-old daughter Tori with him on a cross-country trip in a souped-up Humvee. If they can't find out who murdered the chief engineer for RUR and stole his prototype computer chip, the company will be forced into bankruptcy.In their quest, they must survive extreme weather conditions, as well as mutants, refuges, and gangsters, as they make their way between embattled city-states.In San Angeles, Carlton is befriended by the beautiful but mysterious Julia O'Brian. Is she really who she claims to be? Or is she part of the conspiracy to kill him and destroy the company?
Paul Fields, the Senior Aircraft Accident Investigator, having completed just under a hundred crash investigations, is dispatched to investigate the crash of an A6 Prowler, piloted by a skilled Marine Officer, Max Sturgess. Leading the investigation and the Safety Board from Sturgess’ Squadron at Cherry Point Marine Base, Fields quickly learns that there are opposing motives being orchestrated by the pilot’s Wing Commander, Colonel Sam Ramsey.
The investigation is detailed as the crash site is located on a mountain ridge in Virginia. With the body of the pilot and the two survivors found and evacuated, the hard work of the investigation goes from the pick up at the site to the layout in an a blistering hot airport hanger. Back at Cherry Point Fields finds himself unable to agree with the Board as to the reason for the crash. Aware of some subterfuge but unable determine a final answer to why the crash happened, Fields submits an opposing report to the Safety Board’s.
Knowing Field’s skill and trusting his instincts, the Admiral in charge of the Naval Safety Center secretly dispatches Fields back to Cherry Point to find why the investigation was diverted to an unlikely answer.
Once back on the investigation, Paul Fields begins to unfold the plot to keep the truth from being found. He suddenly finds himself a target as he is beginning to unravel the plot to keep the investigation from finding the answer. With the help of the wife of the dead pilot, Fields learns the truth, a truth that changes the lives of everyone involved and finally, the balance between honor and duty and the critical importance of learning the truth.
As dramatic as it is compelling, Joseph N. Crew explores the intricacies of human behavior in Abraham’s Burden with a brilliant cadence. Crew examines with unique insight the role our past endlessly plays in the formation of our present day prejudices. Newly elected congresswoman Helen Sparks and her lover go missing, and the authorities believe Charlie Abraham, a Native American on the wrong side of Helen’s political agenda, is involved. While the media zeros in on Charlie, the real killer’s half brother plants evidence to ensure Charlie will be charged with the crime. As an ethnically divided jury struggles with their deliberations, the body of a headless woman is discovered in the nearby woods. The public is convinced it is their popular congresswoman. The brothers know the truth, but familial ties break and a strange justice is served, and redemption becomes possible for the wronged.
Johnny Farrell can no longer ignore the suffering of his 7-year old neighbor, Dylan. Feeling helpless, he decides to at least befriend the boy. Then, one day the kid and his abusive father disappear. While dealing with the death of his mother, and his needy girlfriend's attempts to control him, Johnny follows a trail of evidence until he stumbles on the unthinkable. His quest is one of self-discovery and healing. Set in the world of child exploitation, Anyone's Child takes a daring look into one of our culture's most heartbreaking realities.
An epic suspense-thriller that ranges in location from Siberia to Florida to the steps of the Capital, and in time from 1968 to the dawn of the twenty-first century. In This Way Madness Comes a host of sharply etched characters confront the madness of wars, ambition, technology run amok, and out-of-control ideologies. Dr. Alexi Truskov was sure his groundbreaking discovery of the MAD principle (Mater-Antimatter Duality) would bring an end to the cold war, and usher in an era of unprecedented peace an prosperity for the entire world - but his Soviet mentors didn't see it that way. Now Alexi must decide between loyalty to his country or loyalty to humanity. A decision that could change the course of human history - or end it. Major Dan Dawson is in charge of project ANUBUS, America's first attempt to employ Truskov's MAD principle. Dawson's plans for ANUBIS, however, extend far beyond its use as a mere military weapon. KGB agent Dimitri Belenev is sent to find Truskov and assure that America's test of the MAD principle fails. Undercover CIA agent Virginia McDonald is sent to stop Belenev, but soon finds herself in his clutches with only her wits and feminine wiles for weapons. Captain Steve Von Bremer is selected test the new ANUBIS weapon; a routine mission - or so he thinks. How could he know of the approaching madness that is about to sweep him into a world he could never have imagined? These are just a few of the characters caught up in a desperate quest to control and understand one of nature's most wonderful, and most deadly secrets, and in a desperate race to find, somewhere under the placid waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the device that will unlock that secret.
For handsome, hard-riding cowhand, Heck Benham, life is as solid as the New Mexico countryside he loves, as predictable as the annual spring roundup. Yet, that all changes when Mrs. Ruth Reynolds moves from back east into his homeland and into his heart.
The stark contrast in their lives is played out in a territory that is, itself, coming into its own. As Ruth and Heck face a trail of pivotal, life-changing decisions, their love is challenged at every turn. What will it cost them before they find what is most important in life?
With strong characters, true-to-life emotion, gentle humor, meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy, Liz Adair paints a passionate tale of love and learning, of romance and redemption.
A fast-paced plot with a sharp edge, Five Days in Babylon by P. L. Reiter proves to be a high-octane novel that blends action and adventure with science and technology in a timely thriller that exposes the roots of bio-terrorism. For Jack Stone, a down-on-his-luck alcoholic living on the shores of California's Salton Sea, there is no saying no to a Viet Nam War-era friend. When Jack is asked to track down and bring to justice one Maria Elena Castillo, a young, chic, and savvy Latina wanted for the murder of prominent biologist Dr. Richard Rockaway, he will have to pull his act together to tackle the assignment and succeed. With the exasperating voice in his head constantly badgering him, Jack searches for his target in a surprisingly dangerous eco-terrorist world where Maria may prove to be the only lifeline he has for his survival.
In depression era Key West, Ernest "Papa" Hemingway becomes embroiled in a plot that involves illegal gambling and smuggling refugees when he finds himself the suspect in the murder of a Cuban prostitute. Working with the mysterious former Scotland Yard inspector, Emmet MacWain, they must delve into the dark side of this sunny paradise and find the answers that may help save hundreds of innocent lives as well as their own.
While the strife of the Civil War is over, the conflict in Monaville, Texas, is just beginning—and John Ross Wilhite seems to be in the middle of it all. For John Ross, the world is a confusing place. The slaves have been freed, but only some of the occupants of Monaville seem to accept that fact. The Klan is growing in number and political power, but John Ross doesn't understand what the fuss is all about. The General—his revered grandfather—seems to be on the wrong side of the law. And everybody is just a bit too interested in his friendship with Miss Afton.
But John Ross doesn't have the luxury of youth any longer, as tensions mount and the most respected men in town become the most fearsome—for good or ill. With richly drawn characters, poignant stories, and a gut-wrenching climax, The General and Monaville, Texas delivers a powerful tale of secrets, politics, and discord in the Reconstruction south—and the coming of age of a boy and a town.
Author Betty Byrd has seen it all-including drilling her very own oil well! She now brings her unique vision and experience to Utopia Texas, a riveting tale of Brya Harrison, a woman created by chance and circumstance. Part gambler, part geologist, Brya knows that in the West Texas oil country upbringing may not matter, but status is everything. She has worked hard to secure her position, but she finds her plans unravel when she discovers that her daughter, Olivia, is somehow "different," and is forced to face the unfathomable-one startling revelation at a time. Drawn into a maelstrom of events fueled by her daughter's indiscretions, Brya sets out to cover each one up-whatever the cost. But will she be able to combat the demons plaguing her daughter as skillfully as she is able to face down her competition in the cutthroat world of big oil?
In this stunning followup to the author's debut novel, Trinity's Daughter, Betty Byrd has woven a brilliant tale of wealth, greed, love, and the pursuit of power-and how one particular woman holds her own in the male-dominated oil business.
When Hannah Reilly steps off the ship on the shores of Ellis Island in 1912 she has no idea that it is not a convent that awaits her. It is a man who finds her far too beautiful to marry God. Madly in love, Hannah and Wade settle in Jacksonville, Florida, where the world holds the promise of sunshine. They have two wonderful children before life changes and Wade insists that Hannah abort her third child. When Hannah refuses, Wade turns to alcohol and other women. Joy turns to darkness after Wade commits his wife to a mental institution where her life ends by her own hand in 1934. Hannah's third child, Vita, flees her aunt's motel where she is forced to work as a cleaning maid and winds up in Miami in Kit Malone's high class brothel. Beautiful and stately, vita becomes a high class prostitute, a millionaire mistress and a Billy Rose showgirl. When Vita meets the love of her life in Manhattan, the charming but naive Julius Clark, life blossoms into something both frightening and titillating. But when Vita gives birth to her daughter, Fanny, it is this shadowy and stormy relationship that alters the course of both of their destinies and defines their future.
It's so perfect, this life they have made together - Andy, Marian, and their little son, Aaron. After having spent years searching for what he has now, Andy doesn't for a minute take any of it for granted. And Marian would do anything for her husband and son.
Marian has fears, though, from the loss of her parents when she was young and the death of her grandfather. She knows all too well how suddenly life can change and joy turn to sorrow. She is torn between her need to watch over her son and her desire to be with her husband when he is touring with the rock band, Blue Sky. And he wonders sometimes about the wisdom of bringing her into this lifestyle, of marrying someone so much younger than he. But their love runs so deep and the days when they are apart seem long.
Then, another man comes into her life. A ruthless man, a man who wants her. A man who will stop at nothing to get what he desires. A man who has the power to destroy everything her husband has spent his life building, and even, she fears, Andy himself. Certain of how Andy would react if he knew about the man's advances, Marian believes she has no choice but to handle the situation herself, carefully keeping him at bay, walking a tightrope. Praying that Andy never finds out. But this man has the patience of a serpent as he maneuvers her, counting on her love for her husband, slowly bringing his plans together. Beautiful from the riveting beginning to its heart-rending, romantic ending, this is the long-awaited sequel to Loving Andy, Sharon Edwards' poignant novel of learning to trust and to love. Marian and Andy's story is one you will remember long after the final page is turned.
While some people are not courageous enough to explore life’s endless possibilities, the brave ones dare to grab every opportunity that comes their way. After all, it’s not everyday that we get the chance to prove ourselves to the world. When a young, inexperienced lawyer gets a major investigative assignment from his superiors, he makes a stab at pinning down the perpetrators. But will he change his mind when he learns that his arch-enemies are capable of destroying his life? Friendly Enterprise, a compelling crime novel authored by Harold Anderson, will take readers to the edge of their seats as they witness its relentlessly heart-stopping events.
That question is the subject of The Second Cycle, a thoroughly entertaining yet thought-provoking story that examines the disconnect between belief and truth.
Kira Blakely receives a letter about a problem with her scholarship. The letter leads to the discovery of a shocking truth about her past. Julia Edwards goes abroad to school to learn more about her Christian religion. She returns home, having lost her faith in God. Daniel Aiello makes a miraculous recovery after doctors pronounce him dead. Now, every year on the anniversary of his healing, God speaks to him and reveals truths that contradict the teachings of all existing religions. Peter Grayson is involved in medical research project that seeks to solve the mystery of human memory. What he uncovers challenges the idea that death brings an end to life.
These characters are connected by their need to find new truths about beliefs that were destroyed. Their search will bring them closer to the discovery of life's most important truth.
Set in a small town in the early 1900's, Heads Deacon Tails Devil is the story of Robert Grant, an elementary school teacher and long-standing deacon and spirit-stirring soloist at Nazarene Baptist Church, who shows his best side to his adoring, unsuspecting public, but is the devil incarnate at home. Rachel Grant, who, as a young woman, married Robert against her mother's advice and was sorry for it from her wedding night on, tries her best to shield herself and her five children from Robert's devil side. But, Rachel's strong and wise mother, Mom Maggie, has to step in. With her prophetic gifts, cunning and mother-wit, Mom Maggie fights Robert every step of the way and tries to give her daughter and grandchildren a happy, normal life. As he becomes increasingly frustrated with his ability to control his family and his life, Robert's devil side grows stronger, and Rachel and the children suffer horribly because of it. Blaming Rachel, the children and Mom Maggie for anything he doesn't like about his life, Robert turns to other women to ease his mental and physical needs. As Robert tries to destroy one life in hopes that another will satisfy him, Mom Maggie and Rachel plan to show Robert that the devil is a liar.
