But Leslie isn’t the only one with a claim to Peak.Jay Davenport, Peak’s reclusive caretaker, has his own reasons for holding onto the land bequeathed to him by Leslie’s grandmother. Before she died, Maggie hinted at a terrible secret surrounding Adele Laveau, a lady’s maid who came to Peak during the 1930s and died under mysterious circumstances. Jay is haunted by Maggie’s story, yet the truth eludes him—until Leslie uncovers a cryptically marked grave on the property.As they delve into the mystery of Adele’s death, Leslie and Jay discover shocking secrets that extend deep into the roots of Leslie’s family tree—secrets that have the power to alter her life forever.

    "From birth, Jessica had eschewed the role to which she'd been born. Was it because she sensed that her father's indulgence was compensation for his disappointment in her? Jessica thought too much, questioned, challenged, rebelled. Sometimes Eunice thought her daughter should have been born a male." Born into the wealthiest and most influential family in 1830s South Carolina, Jessica Wyndham was expected to look appealing, act with decorum, and marry a suitably prominent and respectable man. However, her outspoken opinions and unflagging sense of justice make her a difficult-and dangerous-firebrand, especially for slavery-dependent Carson Wyndham. Jessica's testing of her powerful father's love is only the beginning of the pain, passion, and triumph she will experience on a journey with the indomitable, land-obsessed Silas Toliver and headstrong Jeremy Warwick to a wild new land called Texas. PRAISE FOR LEILA MEACHAM "Discovering Leila Meacham and her spectacular talent is akin to discovering gold. With this novel she has become a national treasure." -- Huffington Post "Rich with American history and pitch-perfect storytelling, fans and new readers alike will find themselves absorbed in the family saga that Meacham has proven-once again-talented in telling." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    But when her boss offers her a part-time job caring for his elderly aunt, Helena, Eleanor accepts, hoping this good deed will help atone for her mistakes.On the barrier island of Edisto, Eleanor bonds with Helena over their mutual love of music. Drawing the older woman out of her depression, Eleanor learns of her life in Hungary, with her sister, before and during World War II. She hears tales of passion and heartache, defiance and dangerous deception. And when the truth of Helena and her sister’s actions comes to light, Eleanor may finally allow herself to move past guilt and to embrace the song that lies deep in her heart…

    Born to teenage parents in Mississippi, Starla is being raised by a strict paternal grandmother, Mamie, whose worst fear is that Starla will turn out like her mother. Starla hasn’t seen her momma since she was three, but is convinced that her mother will keep her promise to take Starla and her daddy to Nashville, where her mother hopes to become a famous singer—and that one day her family will be whole and perfect.When Starla is grounded on the Fourth of July, she sneaks out to see the parade. After getting caught, Starla’s fear that Mamie will make good on her threats and send her to reform school cause her to panic and run away from home. Once out in the country, Starla is offered a ride by a black woman, Eula, who is traveling with a white baby. She happily accepts a ride, with the ultimate goal of reaching her mother in Nashville.As the two unlikely companions make their long and sometimes dangerous journey, Starla’s eyes are opened to the harsh realities of 1963 southern segregation. Through talks with Eula, reconnecting with her parents, and encountering a series of surprising misadventures, Starla learns to let go of long-held dreams and realizes family is forged from those who will sacrifice all for you, no matter if bound by blood or by the heart.

    It’s the Great Depression and jobs are scarce, but it seems to Veda that Raymond uses religion as an excuse for why he can’t find work. He can’t work on the Sabbath, he can’t work around crude or vulgar men, and he will not join a union. After years of financial hardship, four babies, and what Raymond calls "Veda's accident”, Veda defies her church and files for divorce. The mysterious loss of her second husband is devastating and in order to raise her kids, she does things she is not proud of. Over the years she has blamed the church, Raymond, fate, and herself for her troubles, but it is Charlie’s recklessness that swallows up every bit of pride she has left.

    Olivia assumed that bigotry was the product of her mother's loyalty to long-dead relatives, an allegiance to maintain the family's white blood line. After Emma's death though, Olivia finds a letter and an old journal among her belongings. Soon she discovers the secret that prompted Emma to irrationally blame an entire race -- a secret that had nothing to do with family history, although it strongly paralleled another tragic event from the past. 1846, Marianne Witherell's journal: Before Lincoln and the American Civil War, slavery is at its peak in South Carolina. A young slave girl named Willa suddenly arrives at Heavenly Plantation with her mother Heddie, destined to serve the wealthy plantation family as house servants. Right away, two of the Master's children-Marianne and Seth-forge a bond with Willa, in spite of their older brother Foster's warnings about the evils of mixing with the "darkies." Although she grows up in the "big house" treated like family by her pair of white friends, Willa cannot forget that she is still a slave. Never is that fact made clearer than when Foster cruelly taunts and threatens her in secret. As it threads through the lives of its diverse characters, this novel captures the complicated and often violent nature of life in the antebellum South. As Willa's story is told, a dramatic tapestry is woven, binding the Witherell family to a web of secrets that include forbidden love and faithful friendships alongside dangerous obsessions, mental instability, and even murder.

    They add their own touches, too: neat little caps, short skirts and roller skates, and the All-Girl Filling Station is born. Their peace doesn’t last long though: skilled women are needed to fly planes for the war effort.Alabama, 2005Mrs Sookie Earle has just married off the last of her daughters and is looking forward to putting her feet up. But then one day a package arrives. Its contents knock Sookie sideways, propelling her back to the 1940s, and four irrepressible sisters whose wartime adventures force them to reimagine who they are, and what they are capable of.

    Rocking on front porches, drinking sweet iced tea out of heirloom glasses while indulging in a little innocent gossip is a way of life in this Southern town. Reverend Rock Clark is the middle-aged preacher of the Presbyterian Church in town and has made peace with the fact that he is “unlucky in love” and will always be a bachelor. He’s become quite comfortably settled in his life, but suddenly a serious car accident involving a mysterious young woman and her daughter throws him into the role of detective. Trying to track down the father of the five year old child while her mother is in a coma, he enlists the help of his neighbor, Liz, an attractive widow. While searching for the child’s relatives, Rock’s comfortable lifestyle becomes quite uncomfortable when he stumbles into a tangled web of deceit and a case of misguided intentions. When things finally settle down, Liz retreats to her mountain cabin when she realizes that her feelings for Rock have grown past the friendship stage. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and her absence has left him confused and baffled at how much he misses her. Will he once again let love slip through his fingers?

    Tadie Longworth doesn't mind acting the maiden aunt in Beaufort, North Carolina. She has a gift shop full of her own jewelry designs and a sweet little sailboat to take her mind off the guy who got away. But now he’s back . . . with the fashion-plate wife he picked instead of Tadie . . . and he’s hitting on her again. When widower Will Merritt limps into town with a broken sailboat and a perky seven-year-old daughter, he offers the perfect distraction — until that distraction turns into fascination when Tadie offers shelter during a hurricane. Over candlelit games of Slap-Jack and Monopoly, Jilly becomes the daughter she could have had and Will the man she always wanted. Only, he’s sworn never to let another woman in his life. Any day now, he’s going to finish those repairs, and that ship's going to sail — straight out of Tadie’s life.

    But in a world where we sometimes know more about the Kardashians than we do the people sleeping right down the hall, it's easy to forget that walking through life with our family offers all sorts of joy wrapped up in the seemingly mundane. There's even a little bit of sacred sitting smack-dab in the middle of the ordinary. And since time's-a-wastin', we need to be careful that we don't take our people--and their stories--for granted. Whether it's a marathon bacon-frying session, a road trip gone hysterically wrong, or a mother-in-law who makes every trip to the grocery store an adventure, author Sophie Hudson reminds us how important it is to slow down and treasure the day-to-day encounters with the people we love the most.Written in the same witty style as Sophie's BooMama blog, "A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet" is a cheerful, funny, and tender account of Sophie's very Southern family. It's a look into the real lives of real people--and a real, loving God right in the middle of it all.

    From Ron Rash, PEN / Faulkner Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Serena, comes a new collection of unforgettable stories set in Appalachia that focuses on the lives of those haunted by violence and tenderness, hope and fear—spanning the Civil War to the present day. The darkness of Ron Rash’s work contrasts with its unexpected sensitivity and stark beauty in a manner that could only be accomplished by this master of the short story form.Nothing Gold Can Stay includes 14 stories, including Rash’s “The Trusty,” which first appeared in The New Yorker.

    Can the Bennett girls ever be whole again?Once, they were the happiest family under the sun, crabbing and fishing and painting on beautiful Edisto Island in South Carolina's lowcountry.Then everything went wrong, and twenty years later the Bennett family is still in pieces. Mary Ellen still struggles to understand why her picture-perfect marriage came apart. Daughter Meg keeps a death grip on her own family, controlling her relationships at a distance. And eldest daughter, Julia, left it all behind years ago, forging a whole new life as an artist and academic in Manhattan. She's engaged to an art dealer and has no intentions of returning to Edisto. Ever.Then an emergency forces Julia back to Edisto to care for her three young half-siblings. She grudgingly agrees to stay a week. But there's something about Edisto that changes people. Can Julia and her fractured family somehow manage to come together again under that low-hanging Edisto moon?

    In his first book, he shares his rugged and fancy style of cooking through 130 delicious recipes, colorful personal stories, music pairings, and beautiful photography.Chef John Currence would rather punch you in the mouth with his fantastic flavors than poke you in the eye with fancy presentation. In his first cookbook, Currence gives you 130 recipes organized by 10 different techniques, such as Boiling/Simmering, Slathering, Pickling/Canning, Roasting/Braising, Muddling/Stirring, Brining/Smoking, and Baking/Spinning, just to name a few. John's fun-loving personality rings true throughout the book with his personal stories and history, and his one-of-a-kind recipes for Pickled Sweet Potatoes, Whole Grain Guinness Mustard, Deep South "Ramen" with a Fried Poached Egg, Rabbit Cacciatore, Smoked Endive, Fire-Roasted Cauliflower, and Kitchen Sink Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. Each recipe has a song pairing with it and the complete list can be downloaded at spotify.com. Over 100 documentary-style color photographs by photographer Angie Mosier complete this stunning look at the South.Pickles, Pigs, and Whiskey is at once irreverent, and at the same time a serious look at Southern food today. John's upbringing in New Orleans, time spent in his grandparent's garden, experience living in Western Europe, and schooling along the Eastern Seaboard all inform this volume of recipes that reflects where today's Southern culinary landscape is going. This book illustrates why Southern food is finally recognized as the driving force in the American culinary movement today.

    “An extraordinary work...” ~ William Peter Blatty “Captures the tragedy of romantic and familial love better than any story I have ever read.” ~ Janeiro Bento Hear the twilight song of Kestrel. He has not always been this night-winged angel. He was once a star, a guitar star so righteous. He was once a lost boy in love.In The Beginning were two grassroots singers, The Brothers Brass. In The End there is no end to what one wounded girl's heart will give. And no end to what one brother will give for the other.Raised in Savannah by the sea, together, The Brothers Brass voices chime like heavenly bells. The oldest brother Kestrel falls in love with a girl named Bettilia, a wild child who hides in the treetops—hiding from her bad daddy on a ghostly mountain called Riddle Top.Soon all the Family Brass falls for Bettilia. She touches Kestrel, she touches everyone. And they touch sweet Bettilia, forever. Then comes that fateful day when Kestrel says "I do" to his dance with the devil—his devil within and without. The Kestrel Waters is an eerie, heroic, and beautiful Southern Gothic tale of human love, like none you’ve ever known. An epic fable of an epic family whose hearts are comic, profane, and profoundly true.“One of the South's wildest new voices.” ~ The Oxford American Magazine

     Symon Sinclair grew up in the caretaker's cottage. Now a successful writer in New York, he's returned home to Savannah to thank his mentor, Miss B, for all her support. But it's her niece Annabelle who greets him at the door. Symon remembers the little rich girl who never gave him a moment's notice. Now she's a beauty who has more depth than he'd ever imagined. As they spend time together, Symon begins to question his attitude toward life—and Annabelle. Former beauty queen Annabelle Yarwood had her life all planned out—until she came face-to-face with the caretaker's son. Suddenly those plans seem stifling. Just as Annabelle begins letting Symon into her heart, she discovers he's been keeping a secret about his life in New York. Has their love story ended before it's even begun? Written for the General Market (G) (I): Contains little or no; sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language. May also contain some content of an inspirational/religious nature. Similar romance novels in this genre may be categorized as: christian romance, inspirational romance, christian fiction, and clean, wholesome romance.

    History files on a bygone era are ripped open and rewritten in temporal games with eternal consequences at the intersection between heaven and hell, between the visible and the Invisible.Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Captain Michael Parker is an unlikely player in a struggle for the soul of America. A ghostly pale embodiment of evil becomes his obsession, and his tormentor leaves a trail of bodies across the South.As snipers ambush Michael and his agents on frozen fields of regret and the woman he loves is stalked by death, he learns that he is not alone as he has to fight for his life against enemies seen and unseen.

    A journey you will never forget!"• "If you only read one book this year, let this be the one."• "An incredible debut novel."A TOWN DIVIDED BY RACE IS HIDING A MIRACLE AMONG ITS SECRETSTravel seventy years through the secrets of the white Thanos family and the black Taylor family, twisted like strands of yarn woven together on a loom. The wealthy, powerful Nikkos Thanos owns a woolen mill and almost everything else on the north side of Delphi, Missouri, and is the overseer of a fractured society. The brave, judicious Thaddeus "Cousin" Taylor owns a grocery store and a tavern on the south side and carries a past hauntingly shrouded in tragedy. Each man tries to shepherd his part of town through the turmoil of racism, the depression, and war. With the passage of time, those caretaker roles are filled by Evangelina, Nikkos' beautiful and strong-willed daughter, and T.J., the grandson who worshipped Cousin. Forty-five years after high school, two friends, Ab and Grady, return for the funeral of their mentor, T.J., and walk into the middle of a mystery. They unweave the black and white threads that are the town's concealed, troubled past, revealing an extraordinary tapestry of life and death, revenge and triumph."This story is more than white and black differences. It's about what it means to be a man, to earn and give respect, to stand tall against adversity, to be a role model."LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO "WALK WITH STRENGTH"

    Broken-down trailer parks and gritty classrooms provide the background for this story of a girl searching for her voice.Trigger Warning -This book deals with heavy subject matter, such as addiction, sexual abuse, and violence. Please read with care.

    Though family and community support helps, her hold on sanity remains tenuous.

    It turned out to be a bumper crop of dear dead men, wearing priest’s collars. It’s bad enough when you are the one finding the dead bodies. It’s plumb awful when you are the man known as Trailer Trash. Join in the often hilarious, sometimes poignant, and always entertaining, epic adventure of Trailer Trash.

    Now, the taste-making editors of Garden & Gun offer a compendium of essential Southern skills-drawn from tradition yet utterly modern-straight from leading experts and writers who embody the contemporary South. Beautifully designed and illustrated, this anthology-style manual includes more than 75 essays and instructional features on essential aspects of Southern life, including Food & Drink, Style, Entertaining, Home, Gardening, Sporting and The Outdoors, and Southern Tradition.The Southerner's Handbook contains such requisite information as:• How to season grits, fry okra, and shuck an oyster• How to drink bourbon, make moonshine, and mix the perfect Bloody Mary• How to fly fish, shoot a dove, and bet on a horse• How to set a sideboard, polish silver, and be a gracious host• How to break in Western boots, fold a pocket square, and embrace seersucker• How to write the Great Southern Novel, play a blues song, and tell a great storyAs flavorful, authentic, and irresistible as the land and the people who inspire it, The Southerner's Handbook is the ultimate guide to being a Southerner (no matter where you live).

    Many consider him a fanatic. Others see him as a prophet. And some simply think he’s insane. Here, he tells his story.

    His luck isn't as good back home in Greensboro, Georgia.Working as a part-time limo driver, Charlie accepts an unusual five night loop from Atlanta to Key West and back. His wealthy passenger, eighty-plus Vivien Granville, refuses to fly anymore, but her youngest son hanged himself in Key West and is being buried there.On the road, the crafty Mrs. Granville maneuvers Charlie into a devil's bargain. He needs money. She needs a shield. Their arrangement solves his cash problems, but at a cost he could never have seen coming.

    

    Dee, a 38-year-old heroine to root for, sets out on a path winding with loveable kooks, wanting to prove there is a great life on the other side of tragedy and a crazed ex behind bars who continues to mail threatening letters from prison. Her new adventure begins two years after the crime spree that nearly stopped her heart and left her flat-lining. She packs up her two young kids and settles in her parents' South Carolina hometown where she deals with a delightful, but over-the-top mama who pretends her grown daughters are virgins. Dee finds new purpose for herself and her children, discovering joy in places she never expected it: in a nursing home where she tends to the likes of 104-year-old Annie Sue who still drives and has a hankering for cold draft beer. Offering heaps of comic relief, Dee's Aunt Weepie lives to crash funerals just to get the covered-dish meals after the gravesides, no matter she has no idea who's in the coffins. Her antics lead her to making a daring decision that could change Dee's life forever. As Dee begins a journey toward recovery and becoming a registered nurse, a dark secret resurfaces, one that if handled right, could be her ticket to allowing herself to love again.

    In 1943, Lottie Johnson's husband and young daughter were tragically killed. Her troubled, estranged cousin, Edgar Dewberry, is the only person who knows exactly what happened and is still trying to forget. In 1972, he returns to Mt. Brayden, South Carolina at the same time the town council wants to buy Lottie's land for their expansion. In her anger she makes a deal with God: if he will show her, in a practical way, how to love the people she hates, she'll do it. His answer is in the two acre garden surrounding her. Following his instructions, her life is altered with such magnitude, even the town she once hated, reaps the benefits of her obedience. Through years of journaling, her endearing relationship with 10-year-old Rebecca, and exasperating relationship with Dovie, her hilarious neighbor, Lottie exchanges her grave clothes for more than she is capable of imagining. Waiting in Deep drops you in the center of southern culture during the 1970s; four unforgettable lives keep you there long after the last page is read.

    One lie. One Josephine Finch to keep them apart…forever. Sixty-four years have passed since Emmy lost her true love, but the curse still echoes through every second, every breath, every heartbeat, and Emmy’s tired of running. With the help of a Wish Listener named Adam, four generations of troubled women will come together for two weeks in a cabin at Angel’s Cove—their last chance to face down the past and put an end to the dark secret that has haunted Emmy for a lifetime. Then Emmy hopes Adam will help her with one final wish: She wants to leave behind something special for her granddaughter, Miranda. But what will Miranda say when she finds out she’s inheriting a man?

    Priscilla Beaty has two sons, a successful career, and an all-consuming interest in Crimson Tide football. She additionally has a very long string of lovers and an even greater number of enemies. Some people are both. It falls to Detective Addie Bramson to untangle the webs of passion crisscrossing Tuscaloosa County to discover who might most want to see Dr. Beaty dead.

    The pit is about to spit something back out.

    In 1931, Spence shocked Arkansas when she avenged her father's murder in a DeWitt courtroom. The state soon discovered that no prison could hold her. For the first time, prison records are unveiled to provide an essential portrait. The legend of Helen Spence refuses to be forgotten--despite her unmarked grave.

    This is a manifesto. When you finish this book, you will know not only how to cook some of the dishes that have brought us some marginal amount of success. You’ll also know why we cook the way we do. Are we trying to convince of you something? Hell, yes we are. We are not playing around here. We are here to work. We want to have fun, but we want to work hard while we do it. We want to show you what happens when you mix southern ingredients with Italian flavors. We want you to experience what it is when you take a lemonade-sipping, Maker’s Mark-swilling, tobaccy chomping redneck and combine it with a loud-talking, wine gulping, grapa loving Italian. We want to express the meaning between food and life. And life and history. And history and food. And yes, how deeply, truly connected everything in the kitchen leading to a plate is. Hold on, we are headed somewhere. We hope it’s fun. And we hope it’s work. This is our manifesto. We really want to focus on the mix of Southern and Italian and we have a vision about how we want to do it.Our idea is that the table of contents reads as a timeline that leads to the opening of the restaurant and from there extends forward as we have, into new obsessions, showing how each new thing is connected to our past.We picture the cookbook as a manifesto with 100 great recipes, rather than a list of recipes. We want to really show who we are in our food, and that comes from the things we’ve been lucky enough to witness and take part in during our lives. In other words, we are preaching a gospel of freshness, of local, of flavor, of Italian Cooking, Southern Roots.We’ve talked about what we like in cookbooks and we think that what makes a great one goes beyond the listing of recipes but frames the recipes in a story. We hope you agree. To that end, here is an early rendering of the table of contents:Chapter 1: Roots and Maw MawsA chapter that profiles our grandmother’s cooking and highlights dishes we’ve done in the restaurant that reflect things they taught us. From Ravioli to Stocks, this chapter would get to the basics.Chapter 2: The Non-Culinary College YearsThis highlights how we went our own separate ways for a bit and found ourselves drawn back to food. Food in this chapter would be reflective of our time as southern boys, from sunflower seed risotto to a recipe for a killer “hot dog.”Chapter 3: Johnson and WalesThis highlights our time in Charleston, living by the water, learning to cook fish, and learning to cook professionally. The food in this chapter would showcase our food that we’ve felt was inspired by really fresh, delish fish and go further into developing professional techniques, like a demi glace.Chapter 4: Memphis and a Master ChefThis chapter highlights our time studying with our Mentor Master Chef Jose Gutierrez. We want to highlight dishes that we’ve had here at the restaurant that remind us of home whenever we’re away, from our barbequed bone marrow to working with rabbits and foie gras.Chapter 5: The Mother Land: ItalyThis chapter highlights our six months in Italy. It’s where we first saw an animal slaughtered and where our food philosophy kicked into hyper focus. From this time forward, we would feel like we had a vision for what we wanted our food to be. Food would include truffled chicken livers to pastas from Calabria.Chapter 6: UsThis chapter would highlight the story of finding AMIK, working on our first menus and how challenging it was to make sure that the day we opened, we opened the restaurant we wanted, a restaurant that defines what it is to do Italian Cooking with Southern Roots. It would also include sections on our inspirations, from Billy Reid, Mark Newman, the SFA to new people and things we are obsessed with, Otis James, offal. Each of these subjects would connect back to previous chapters, showing the full circle of influence to inspiration.

    Like every one of James Villas’s cookbooks, this one is impeccably researched, with flawless recipes, history, and culture. It is filled with gorgeous color photos sure to tempt even health food fanatics, with crispy, crunchy delights in chapters featuring eggs and cheese, seafood, breads, and Southern staples like grits, rice, and potatoes. Today’s deep fryers make frying easier and healthier than ever; it’s as easy as pushing a button, with no risk of splattering oil, and Villas’s expertly written recipes like Sassy Shrimp Puffs, Georgia Bacon and Eggs with Hominy, Country Fried Steak, Turkey Hash Cakes, and Rosemary Pork Chops will ensure perfect results. This isn’t diet food, to be sure, but these are dishes that people love, and it’s safer and healthier than ever to fry without any sacrifice in flavor.

    I learned that deep in the soul of a biscuit, there's more than the flour, fat, and milk. A hot biscuit embodies a memory of place and family, she writes. Ellis's heartfelt tribute to the biscuit celebrates the many possible flavors and uses for this classic southern bread. The first recipe in the book is a master recipe with step-by-step photographs showing how to make the perfect biscuit.In an evocative and enlightening introduction, Ellis delights readers with biscuit history and its intimate connections with southern culture and foodways. The book's 55 recipes range from traditional to inventive offering a biscuit for every occasion: Flaky Butter Biscuits; John Egerton's Beaten Biscuits; Pancetta, Rosemary, and Olive Oil Biscuits; and The Southern Reuben.

    She quickly discovers that gossip travels faster than the press can run, and she's a bit of an outsider looking in until she goes to a grand old mansion for an interview with the president of the historical society, only to find that a murderer got there first. Now, if she can only get Sheriff Sam Bailey to take her hunches seriously...

    We think they keep us safe, but more often than not, they spill out when we least expect and make a mess out of everything. It's a truth Scarlett Jo Newberry knows all too well--a truth Grace Shepherd and Zach Craig are about to learn the hard way. As the lives of this boisterous pastor's wife, polished news anchor, and beleaguered divorce attorney intersect in the tree-lined streets of Franklin, Tennessee, scandal threatens to topple their carefully constructed worlds. Grasping at survival, they embark on a journey of friendship and courage, desperate to find a way back to laughter, love, and life.

    Featuring over 15 stories and poems by new and veteran authors, the writing reflects a diverse range of southern experience. From the post-Katrina New Orleans of Rose Yndigoyen’s “Long Gone Girls” and the deep-rooted family of Hardy Jones’ “Visitin’ Cormierville” to the racial tension of Eryk Pruitt’s “Them Riders” and Shane K. Bernard’s “The Phrenologist,” the anthology represents a new interpretation of the long-established Southern Gothic genre. Each story is paired with original art by Nathan Mark Phillips. Phillips’ images pull at the underside of the stories and bring a thoughtful level of interpretation to each work. Poking at the heart of southern distinctiveness, these writers and artists make a bold statement about the south in the 21st century.

    His new volume of poems, CONCERTINA, recounts in lyrical sweep his entry into the surreal, brutal, and often terrifyingly beautiful netherworld of convicts and their keepers. It is a world with one foot still firmly planted in the old chain gang, the other venturing beyond the manacles of history into a realm of second chances, while the country, in the throes of its bicentennial celebration, still swoons from Watergate and its aftermath.

    But when odd things begin to happen, it becomes clear that other healthy people are around. A friend shows up unexpectedly full of trouble and secrets, and they are not alone. Another group of survivors brings even more secrets and conflict.And then there’s Bruce, the new guy in Clayfield. Bruce likes the zombie apocalypse just fine. He gets to be the person he could not be before the outbreak. He is in Clayfield looking for fun, but his brand of fun could destroy the town.Enemies must tolerate each other out of necessity, and friendships are tested. One person in the group of survivors knows something that the others do not: The rumors are true; something bad is definitely coming to Clayfield, and there could be no way to stop it and nowhere to hide. “Shane Gregory has an engaging writing style that draws you in, comfortably, until you can't back out of the scary, driving climax.” - Briar Lee Mitchell, author of Apparitions

    He wants you to feel something too."—The Huffington PostI walked up to the side of the mountain like I used to do when I was a little boy. I looked out over Rainelle and watched it shine. The coal trucks and the logging trucks were still gunning it through town. They were still clear cutting the mountains and cutting the coal from the ground. Then I heard my mother calling and it was like I was a child again.Beginning to read Hill William is like tuning into a blues station at 4:00 a.m. while driving down the highway. Scott McClanahan's work soars with a brisk and lively plainsong, offering a boisterous peek into a place often passed over in fiction: West Virginia, where coal and heartbreak reign supreme. Hill William testifies to the way place creates and sometimes stifles one's ability to hope. It reads like a Homeric hymn to adventure, to the human comedy's upsets and small downfalls, and revels in its whispers of victory. So grab coffee, beer—whatever gets you through the night—and join Scott around the hearth. Lend him your ear, but be warned: you might not want it back.Scott McClanahan's work has appeared in New York Tyrant, Bomb, Vice, and Harper Perennial's Fifty-Two Stories. His books include Stories II and Stories V! In 2013 Two Dollar Radio will release his book Crapalachia.

    

    But Maggie's effort to define Jake's past has unintended consequences that force Maggie to re-evaluate their friendship as well as her most closely-held values. Jake and Maggie have been best friends their whole lives and lovers from time-to-time. Growing up in the small town of Tempelton, Tennessee, they recognize in one another an inquisitiveness most of their fellow Tempeltonians seem to lack. Jake, the golden boy heir-apparent to an upstanding family's legacy, struggles to reconcile his family and social demands with his innate curiosity and desire to leave the small town he finds so stifling. His friendship with Maggie offers a respite and provides an opportunity for honesty his everyday life does not. Though firmly plot-driven, The Myth of Jake is highly thematic and engages the reader in explorations of loss, religion, commitment, honesty, and authenticity.

    Welty published many of her best-known works in the 1940s: A Curtain of Green, The Wide Net, The Robber Bridegroom, Delta Wedding, and The Golden Apples. During this period, she also wrote hundreds of letters to two friends who shared her love of gardening. One friend, Diarmuid Russell, was her literary agent in New York; the other, John Robinson, was a high school classmate and an aspiring writer who served in the Army in WWII, and he was long the focus of Welty's affection.Welty's lyrical, witty, and poignant discussions of gardening and nature are delightful in themselves; they are also figurative expressions of Welty's views of her writing and her friendships. Taken together with thirty-five illustrations, they form a poetic narrative of their own, chronicling artistic and psychic developments that were underway before Welty was fully conscious of them. By 1949 her art, like her friendships, had evolved in ways that she would never have predicted in 1940. Tell about Night Flowers not only lets readers glimpse Welty in her garden; it also reveals a brilliant and generous mind responding to the public events, people, art, and natural landscapes Welty encountered at home and on her travels during the 1940s. This book enhances our understanding of the life, landscape, and art of a major American writer.

    Everything from mudruns, bonfires, and Southern hospitality to how you should treat your mama. Maters, Taters & Grits invites you to take a trip down a country road, have a seat on the porch of a stranger, have a Mason jar of sweet tea, and lose yourself in the country life awhile.

    Her growing-up companions are a treasured Negro family living nearby. Starlight graduates early from high school and college and is sponsored for law school by a local attorney. Soon she becomes a high-flying, hugely successful New York attorney, rising fast in her firm and her profession. From out of the blue comes a crisis from her past: the father of the Negro family pleads with her to represent his grandson, who is falsely accused of murder. If Starlight is loyal to her roots, she risks losing everything she has worked hard to win in her career. If she rejects her old friend's appeal, the innocent boy will likely swing at the end of a rope and she must live with her conscience. Her choice sets the stage for an explosive courtroom showdown that leads to permanent changes in the nature of race relations in North Carolina. When Starlight understands where her true 'castle' is, she demonstrates God's powerful work in the lives of men and women everywhere.

    The historic plot is charming, suspenseful and fun as it reveals life in a small southern town at the beginning of the last century. The bucolic setting is pierced through with mystery, romance, corruption and violence as the protagonist manages to find justice and redemption by traveling across decades.The “sins” of the past from a small southern town plague the dreams of Sawyer McKinley. The fire, the numbing pain and a female voice echo through his mind. Desperate to silence these nightmares, he calls upon the help of Dr. Edmond, a quirky therapist who specializes in past life regression. Through the process, Sawyer realizes he must go back in order to move forward. Pushing the envelope of his inner psyche, he attempts to free himself from the terror by reliving the events from that exact space and time. He finds himself in the year 1927 in a little town in South Carolina called Abbeville. There Sawyer discovers an even darker nightmare...he is not who he seems. He is part of the secret.

    As she copes with the untimely deaths of her parents, young Helen observes how the community is coping with a different kind of loss—an end to the Jim Crow rules of behavior they’ve always lived by. With love and support from a brainy older brother, an eclectic extended family (many of whom are segregationists), and a wise African-American maid, she tries to make sense of the changes taking place around her, both in her personal life and in society as a whole.

    It was easy to remember how long it had been; it was the last vacation she had taken with her father. They had spent two glorious weeks at her grandmother's cottage that July. After her father drowned that fall, the thought of being on a tiny strip of sand in the Atlantic terrified her, and she never set foot on Ocracoke again. Until today. Within hours of arriving, Tara discovers puzzling clues from her grandmother's life. With each new clue more confusing than the last, she's left wondering how well she really knew the woman who raised her. Despite her promise to stay the entire summer, her plans are to leave Ocracoke as soon as her grandmother's cottage was ready to sell. Then she meets Larry Taylor, a handsome local contractor, who came to Ocracoke a few years before to escape his own demons, and found life on the isolated island a soothing balm to his fractured soul. Finally at peace, Larry patiently pursues a reluctant Tara. Plagued by insecurities and self-doubt, Tara slowly allows Larry into the recesses of her heart, second-guessing and questioning his motives, as well as her own, every step of the way - but it's the unraveling of the mysteries surrounding her grandmother that leave her heart reeling. Set in the picturesque village of Ocracoke, North Carolina, A Summer in Ocracoke is an inspirational story of learning to trust someone enough to tear down the walls that keep your heart safe, yet imprisoned, of missed opportunities, and the courage to love, whatever the cost.

     Growing up in the heart of the historic downtown, in a warbler-yellow house on Charleston’s fabled “Rainbow Row,” brothers Matt and Ted knew how to cast for shrimp before they were in middle school, and could catch and pick crabs soon after. They learned to recognize the fruit trees that grew around town and knew to watch for the day in late March when the loquats on the tree on Chalmers Street ripened. Their new cookbook brings the vibrant food culture of this great Southern city to life, giving readers insider access to the best recipes and stories Charleston has to offer.   No cookbook on the region would be complete without the city’s most iconic dishes done right, including She-Crab Soup, Hoppin’ John, and Huguenot Torte, but the Lee brothers also aim to reacquaint home cooks with treasures lost to time, like chewy-crunchy, salty-sweet Groundnut Cakes and Syllabub with Rosemary Glazed Figs. In addition, they masterfully bring the flavors of today’s Charleston to the fore, inviting readers to sip a bright Kumquat Gin Cocktail, nibble chilled Pickled Shrimp with Fennel, and dig into a plate of Smothered Pork Chops, perhaps with a side of Grilled Chainey Briar, foraged from sandy beach paths. The brothers left no stone unturned in their quest for Charleston’s best, interviewing home cooks, chefs, farmers, fishermen, caterers, and funeral directors to create an accurate portrait of the city’s food traditions. Their research led to gems such as Flounder in Parchment with Shaved Vegetables, an homage to the dish that became Edna Lewis’s signature during her tenure at Middleton Place Restaurant, and Cheese Spread à la Henry’s, a peppery dip from the beloved brasserie of the mid-twentieth century. Readers are introduced to the people, past and present, who have left their mark on the food culture of the Holy City and inspired the brothers to become the cookbook authors they are today.   Through 100 recipes, 75 full-color photographs, and numerous personal stories, The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen gives readers the most intimate portrayal yet of the cuisine of this exciting Southern city, one that will resonate with food lovers wherever they live. And for visitors to Charleston, indispensible walking and driving tours related to recipes in the book bring this food town to life like never before.

    Or so she thinks, until Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat by her side at the local shirt factory where both women worked as collar makers, insists Emmalee come and live with her.  Just as Emmalee prepares to escape her hardscrabble life in Red Chert holler, Leona dies tragically.  Grief-stricken, Emmalee decides she’ll make Leona’s burying dress, but there are plenty of people who don't think the unmarried Emmalee should design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. But with every stitch, Emmalee struggles to do what is right for her daughter and to honor Leona the best way she can, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town’s funeral director. In a moving tale exploring Southern spirit and camaraderie among working women, a young mother will compel a town to become a community.Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content

    We’ve mashed two of our popular mystery books into a single ebook, because if you like one Henery Press mystery, you’ll probably like them all… In this Volume 3, there's more to these mysteries than fabulous high heels and the perfect sketch. Paint and ink won't be the only things tainting the fingertips of our heroines as they race to solve their mysteries and meet looming deadlines. This ebook contains: FRONT PAGE FATALITY (A Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels Mystery #1) by LynDee WalkerPORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY (A Cherry Tucker Mystery #1) by Larissa Reinhart ABOUT FRONT PAGE FATALITY: “Smart, funny, and loaded with surprises. A terrific debut mystery.” – Laura Levine, Author of the Jaine Austen Mystery Series Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke’s days can flip from macabre to comical with a beep of her police scanner. Then an ordinary accident story turns extraordinary when evidence goes missing, a prosecutor vanishes, and a sexy Mafia boss shows up with the headline tip of a lifetime. As Nichelle gets closer to the truth, her story gets more dangerous. Armed with a notebook, a hunch, and her favorite stilettos, Nichelle races to splash these shady dealings across the front page before this deadline becomes her last. ABOUT PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY: “Reinhart is a truly talented author and this book was one of the best cozy mysteries we reviewed this year…We highly recommend this book to all lovers of mystery books. Our Rating: 4.5 Stars.” – Mystery Tribune In Halo, Georgia, folks know Cherry Tucker as big in mouth, small in stature, and able to sketch a portrait faster than buckshot rips from a ten gauge — but commissions are scarce. So when the well-heeled Branson family wants to memorialize their murdered son in a coffin portrait, Cherry scrambles to win their patronage from her small town rival. As the clock ticks toward the deadline, Cherry faces more trouble than just a controversial subject. Between ex-boyfriends, her flaky family, an illegal gambling ring, and outwitting a killer on a spree, Cherry finds herself painted into a corner she’ll be lucky to survive. Praise for FRONT PAGE FATALITY: “Delightful, with engaging characters, a crackling good mystery, and of course, high, high heels. LynDee Walker writes with wit and intelligence and the confidence of a newsroom insider. What fun!” – Harley Jane Kozak, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-Winning Author of Dating Dead Men and Keeper of the Moon“This is a joy to read: Nichelle is a likeable character who does put her nose into whatever seems curious to her…the book can be read in one sitting thanks to the easy and casual language the author has employed in writing the book. Highly recommended to the fans of cozy mysteries!” – Mystery Tribune Praise for PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY: “An entertaining mystery full of quirky characters and solid plotting. Larissa Reinhart writes with panache and flair…Highly recommended for anyone who likes their mysteries strong and their mint juleps stronger!” – Jennie Bentley, New York Times Bestselling Author of Flipped Out“The tone of this marvelously cracked book is not unlike Sophie Littlefield’s brilliant A Bad Day for Sorry, as author Reinhart dishes out shovelfuls of ribald humor and mayhem.

    Rae Chandler is a contemporary woman from New York City with no desire to change that fact; as different from Chase as night and day with only one exception: They are both leaders of elite teams of vampire slayers called Uccisore, but with very different territories. When Chase and Rae meet for the first time, thanks to an introduction by one of Chase's students who happens to be Rae's niece, sparks fly and past life memories surface. Memories that keep Rae off balance and terrified that destiny will claim her heart once more and Rae goes on the offensive.After a particularly nasty fight with Rae, Chase heads out into the night in a rage where he's nearly killed by Gordon Charles, Vampire King. A vampire with a vendetta against all uccisori, and especially Chase's late father.Gordon Charles was uccisore in life . . . in death, he's the most powerful vampire ever created and is now creating his own army to destroy all uccisori. Starting with Chase and Rae's future child . . . a child not yet conceived.

    So far, Emma's young life has been filled with disappointment. Finishing high school has been her greatest accomplishment. Frustrated by her parent's lifestyle and trying to decide what to do with her life, Emma gets a tattoo to celebrate her eighteenth birthday and then goes on a solo camping trip. She witnesses a vicious murder, is captured, tortured, and nearly driven insane. Visited by ghosts of the former Caledonia Plantations slaves and owners, aging County Sheriff, Joshua Eugene Stokes spends a great deal of his free time sitting on his porch drinking and reminiscing the past. His passion for maintaining the pride and chivalry of the Old South make him a desirable lawman; however, the discovery of the mutilated, decapitated corpse of a young woman by a state worker, leads Joshua Stokes on the most challenging quest of his career. The case forces him to question his beliefs, his integrity, and to recollect events in his life and career that have brought him to the present day. It also places his life in eminent danger, as unseen forces seem to work against his every move. A tired, disillusioned Joshua must pull himself together if he is going to be able to save this young girls life.