He made her feel worthy and loved. Their marriage was also an escape from her sister’s bullying, her father’s scrutiny, and her chilly and enigmatic mother. But when tragedy strikes on the night she gives birth, Julia’s happiness is shattered. She has no choice but to return home to her family’s South Carolina mansion, where the grief and guilt buried in her mother’s past await her.As a young woman trapped in a bitter marriage, Julia’s mother, Iris, once needed her own means of escape. In Lily, she found a best friend. In the flower shop they opened, she discovered independence. Then came a transgression—unforgivable, unforgettable, and unresolved—that changed Iris’s life forever.Now, in Iris’s most desperate hour, her only hope is to regain the trust of the daughter she loves—and to share the secrets of the heart that could rebuild a family’s broken bonds.

    She lives contentedly with her fiery mother and her quiet, headstrong daughter. But the unexpected arrival of two men on Glory Road make her question if she's really happy with the status quo. Handsome, wealthy Sumner Tate asks her to arrange flowers for his daughter's wedding, and Jessie finds herself drawn to his continued attention. And Ben Bradley, her lingering what-could-have-been from high school days who's known her better than anyone and whom she hasn't seen in years, moves back to the red dirt road. Jessie finds her heart being pulled in directions she never expected.Meanwhile, Jessie's fourteen-year-old daughter, Evan, is approaching the start of high school and trying to navigate a new world of identity and emotions--particularly as they relate to the cute new guy who's moved in just down the road. At the same time, Jessie's mother, Gus, increasingly finds herself forgetful and faces a potentially frightening future.As all three women navigate the uncertain paths of their hearts and futures, one summer promises to bring change--whether they're ready for it or not.

     What was supposed to be a one-time fling between Heavenly and Fabian transpired into a full-blown, secret relationship. Certain her son, Maverick, would not approve of them, Heavenly swore to keep their relationship discreet. Fabian’s feelings were growing for ‘Miss J’ by the day. He wanted Heavenly and would do anything to keep her happy. Harboring their secret was the plan he agreed to, until Maverick’s dad, Mason, came into town trying to get back what Fabian had deemed his. Fabian loved his best friend, Maverick, but he loved his mother more. He wasn’t willing to let her go that easily. Will Fabian and Heavenly get the happily ever after they deserve? Or will their love for Maverick stand in the way?

    After being hurt countless times by men, she shut her innermost feelings and desires off from men. Focusing on being happy with herself was her main agenda. Having a great job at the federal prison and owning her independence, Shana has everything. However, when she meets Red Anderson at the Houston Livestock Show, everything changes. Life has finally become worth living for Craig 'Red' Anderson. Having a horrible childhood, then growing up a ward of the state wasn't exactly a cake walk. After a chance encounter with a cowboy, his life is changed forever. Channeling his energy into learning to be the best steer wrestler in the world, Red Anderson is able to push out all the negativity in his life. Honing his skills and learning from the best, Legend Semien, Red becomes a force to deal with in the rodeo arena, but in life, another force brings him to his knees. Shana Albert comes in Red's life like a whirlwind and swallows him whole. Fighting demons of their past, it seems that Red and Shana face drama at every turn and difficulties of that drama threaten to tear them apart. Both being stubborn, opinionated individuals, causes unnecessary rifts that put their relationship on the line. Will Red and Shana finally figure out what loving one another is all about? Or will they decide to cut their losses and chalk it up as a lesson learned?

    Pat and Cassandra ultimately married, ending Pat's long commutes from coastal South Carolina to her native Alabama. It was a union that would last eighteen years, until the beloved literary icon’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2016.In this poignant, intimate memoir, the woman he called King Ray looks back at her love affair with a natural-born storyteller whose lust for life was fueled by a passion for literature, food, and the Carolina Lowcountry that was his home. As she reflects on their relationship and the eighteen years they spent together, cut short by Pat’s passing at seventy, Cassandra reveals how the marshlands of the South Carolina Lowcountry ultimately cast their spell on her, too, and how she came to understand the convivial, generous, funny, and wounded flesh-and-blood man beneath the legend—her husband, the original Prince of Tides.

    Being the sole provider of his household before he was old enough to get a job, it was no surprise that he maintained that position when super stardom landed at his door…Kenny She was born into the struggle, a place where abandonment was just one of the many things that could fall into your path. She learned early on that it was her responsibility to protect herself, and sometimes the ones she loved. In her eyes, pain was not a thing to be shared. It was better managed alone. And the weight of it, though crippling, was hers to carry and no one else’s…Tashena They were born into the struggle, separated by a few blocks of concrete and heavy doses of pain, somehow finding their way back to each other after life and its perils pushed them apart. The truth needed to be told before either of their hearts could mend. Healing was needed on both ends before reception was an option. Trust needed to be established before love was a possibility. Such heavy burdens to bare for souls that were already carrying too much. Plus, a story of love...through the struggle.

    It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café.It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    . . and all of its contents. Despite her suspicions that her aunt was murdered, Molly wants nothing more than to sell everything and get back to the life she loves. Especially once her homecoming reignites the decades-old family conflict that drove her away in the first place. But when Molly uncovers caches of cash, journals revealing secrets-and a body-amongst the stockpiles, she finds herself locked in a cat-and-mouse dance with a deadly endgame. Molly teams with local sheriff, Greg Olson, to find the truth. But will her determination and his skills be enough, or will the killer-or killers-put an end to their efforts once and for all?

    She, her two brothers, and her parents work hard on their land—hoeing, planting, picking—but only Sonny loves the rich, dark earth the way her father does. When a tragic accident claims his life, her stricken family struggles to fend off ruin—until their rich, reclusive neighbor offers to help finance that year’s cotton crop.   Sonny is dismayed when her mama accepts Frank Fowler’s offer; even more so when Sonny’s best friend, Daniel, points out that the man has ulterior motives. Sonny has a talent for divining water—an ability she shared with her father and earns her the hated nickname “water witch” in school. But uncanny as that skill may be, it won’t be enough to offset Mr. Fowler’s disturbing influence in her world. Even her bond with Daniel begins to collapse under the weight of Mr. Fowler’s bigoted taunts. Though she tries to bury her misgivings for the sake of her mama’s happiness, Sonny doesn’t need a willow branch to divine that a reckoning is coming, bringing with it heartache, violence—and perhaps, a fitting and surprising measure of justice.

    This much could definitely be said for the Fold Family’s middle child, Jadalynn. Having met when they were just twelve years old, Jadalynn and Andrew experienced some of their best and worst moments together. Falling in love was inevitable as they grew older and remained close. And falling out of love was just as certain when the two finally bumped heads. After a lengthy separation based on a lack of communication, fate and the hand of God himself brought the two back together, forcing them to either continue running from love or stop and surrender to it. Take this journey of heartbreak, laughter and everything in between in this story of love lost and found in the first installment of The Fold!

    . .Generations of Sassers have made moonshine in the Brushy Mountains of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Their history is recorded in a leather-bound journal that belongs to Jessie Sasser's daddy, but Jessie wants no part of it. As far as she's concerned, moonshine caused her mother's death a dozen years ago.Her father refuses to speak about her mama, or about the day she died. But Jessie has a gnawing hunger for the truth--one that compels her to seek comfort in food. Yet all her self-destructive behavior seems to do is feed what her school's gruff but compassionate nurse describes as the "monster" inside Jessie.Resenting her father's insistence that moonshining runs in her veins, Jessie makes a plan to destroy the stills, using their neighbors as scapegoats. Instead, her scheme escalates an old rivalry and reveals long-held grudges. As she endeavors to right wrongs old and new, Jessie's loyalties will bring her to unexpected revelations about her family, her strengths--and a legacy that may provide her with the answers she has been longing for.

    When a major gas line breaks, leaving them with no heat, no hot water, and no way to cook for Christmas, Jace Applewhite invites Tara and her sibs out to his family's Christmas tree farm. Will a good old fashioned farmhouse Christmas be enough to get Tara to give him a second glance?See You Again (Book 8)Mayor Sandra Crawford has survived divorce and cancer, but she's not at all sure she'll survive the discovery that her town's benefactor is actually the man she nearly left her husband for almost 30 years ago. Gerald Peyton, III didn't fight for Sandy back in college--a decision he's regretted ever since. Now Trey's older, wiser, and determined to win the heart of the woman he's never forgotten.The Christmas Fountain (Book 9)After finding out her Mr. Right was actually Mr. Wrong, Mary Alice is taking a break from love to chair her favorite holiday charity. Chad thinks volunteering is the perfect way to get to know his Christmas crush. Will he manage to overcome her once bitten, twice shy caution?

    Orgasms? Yeah, I give those. Fairytales? Never wanted to live those Because I'm simply not that chick Hearts? Yeah, I broke some Love? These niggas can't get none Commitment? I'm probably the wrong one But you can stop by and lick this clit If a freak is what you're looking for Be prepared when you step through my door On the bed, couch, or kitchen floor I can give you what you need I prefer my kisses down low We can do this fast or we can take it slow Either way, I think it's best I let you know When it's over, please, get up and leave My name is Melody Bledsoe and I got some freaky things to tell you. You ready? Probably not!

    A Blue Ridge camping trip goes sideways for two young brothers and their minder in this sweet, brief novel of calamity and kindness.

    And when she loses her baby in the forest, her whole world turns upside down. She’s even more distraught upon discovering she has an inexplicable power that makes her both beautiful and terrifying—and something of a local legend.Meanwhile, migrant workers Vern and Paul discover a violet-eyed baby and take it upon themselves to care for her. The men soon pair up with a widow and her two children, and the misfit family finds its way in fits and starts toward taking care of each other.As survival brings one family together, a young boy finds himself with nary a friend to his name as the dust storms rage across Kansas. Fourteen-year-old Coot, a child preacher with a prodigy’s memory, is on the run with thousands of stolen dollars—and the only thing he’s sure of is that Mobile, Alabama, is his destination.As the years pass and a world war looms, these stories intertwine in surprising ways, reminding us that when the dust clears, we can still see the stars.

    Hoyt is desperate to hear his daughter's voice again, but he and the bookstore's pretty owner, Anna Delaney, share a less-than-friendly past. Working together is complicated enough...but can they avoid falling in love?

    I would have said it was a setup that was doomed to fail each and every time. I had friends who had been there, done that, and got the keyed car and broken windows to prove it. I didn’t need to experience it for myself to know that I was good on that. That’s what I would have said before if anyone wanted to know my opinion. In a way, I still thought like that, except… I’d known Aisha since I was thirteen years old and if you would have asked me, I would have said I knew her pretty well. That couldn’t have been further from the truth, and when she revealed some things to me—things I had somehow missed over all these years—I found myself uttering words I never thought I’d say. It was just an agreement. You could almost call it a selfless act on my part. I was just being a good friend. The thing was, I forgot who drew the lines in the sand and before long I found myself caught up in the more-than-friendly benefits with my very good friend. Author’s Note: This is short, steamy read featuring explicit language and situations. If either of those offend you, this might not be the story for you.

    But when romance beckons, can they take a shot at love without giving up their musical dreams?Rissa Walker dreams of making it big in country music, but after seven years in Music City—and with very little success to show for it—she’s beginning to lose hope. When she’s offered the chance to join an all-girl country band, Rissa finds herself surrounded by five of the most talented musicians in Nashville, a tough-talking manager with a heart of gold, and her manager's son. A son who happens to be a handsome single father whose kiss leaves her weak in the knees.Jake McCann grew up in the business, so he knows a thing or two about country music. When he hears Rissa perform at a wedding reception, he thinks she’d be the perfect addition to the all-girl country band his mom hopes to bring to Nashville. What he doesn’t know is just how hard he’ll fall for the beautiful songwriter. And he really doesn’t know how he’s going to live without her when she and the band go on tour.With a hectic tour schedule, and hundreds of miles of highway between them, can Rissa and Jake’s relationship stay in tune? Or, will Rissa have to choose between her music and her heart?

    After the investigation into her husband’s suspicious death in Texas stalls, she decides that the best way to begin moving forward with her life is to pull up stakes and head back home to Alabama. But when Glory stumbles over a body in the graveyard during a church picnic, she finds herself at the top of the suspect list. Which isn’t surprising since the murder weapon is engraved with her initials. Looks like this murder has her name written all over it. Glory decides to put her mystery-solving instincts to work and “help” her brother, a detective on the local force, prove her innocence. But when his new boss, the hunky Hunt Walker, steps in and takes over, Glory can’t seem to stay out of hot water. And it’s getting hotter by the minute! Can Glory find the killer before another dead body is found? This fun, southern cozy mystery is full of lovable characters and a small town you can’t help but fall in love with. And, don't miss out on the great recipes at the end of the book!

    He was a singular American treasure." —Tim McGrawA career-spanning collection, Tiny Love brings together for the first time the stories of Larry Brown’s previous collections along with those never before gathered. The self-taught Brown has long had a cult following, and this collection comes with an intimate and heartfelt appreciation by novelist Jonathan Miles. We see Brown's early forays into genre fiction and the horror story, then develop his fictional gaze closer to home, on the people and landscapes of Lafayette County, Mississippi. And what’s astonishing here is the odyssey these stories chart: Brown’s self-education as a writer and the incredible artistic journey he navigated from “Plant Growin’ Problems” to “A Roadside Resurrection.” This is the whole of Larry Brown, the arc laid bare, both an amazing story collection and the fullest portrait we’ll see of one of the South’s most singular artists.

    He wants her back. In the grift. And in his life. Can Finley Goodhart convince Lex that doing good is the greatest hustle of all? Ex-grifter Finley Goodhart may try to stay on the straight and narrow, but walking that thin line becomes wobbly when she believes her friend Penny was murdered. The last thing she wants is to work with her ex-partner (and ex-boyfriend), the brilliant (brilliantly frustrating) British con artist, Lex Leopold. However, when it appears Penny's demise might be related to an exclusive matchmaking service for millionaires, Fin needs Lex's help to pull a long con to get the goods on Penny.  Romance is in the air for hustlers, gangsters, and their marks. Unfortunately for Fin and Lex, infiltrating the racket doesn't make for a match made in heaven. This Valentine swindle could stop their hearts for good.

    The path isn't always easy but the destination is always worth it. To Buy a Vow, Book 1: What if we could buy a vow to right our wrongs? For Nedra Phillips, the strain of portraying a strong Black woman to outsiders is finally taking its toll on her. Her marriage to her college sweetheart has begun to fizzle out, with conversations dwindling down to nothing and intimacy becoming sporadic at best. Unwilling to endure the stigma of being a 30-something divorcee, she does everything in her power to hold onto her marriage, but Chris isn't just on a different page, he's in a whole other book entirely. Despite their disconnect, her vows meant something to her and marriage is supposed to be forever. When all seems lost, she makes a last-ditch effort in hopes of generating results, but what exactly does a Hail Mary look like between friends and lovers? Jermaine Hawkins is nearing the end of a prominent career playing professional basketball and is ready to put his retirement plan into action. That plan includes many things but most important on the list is putting an end to his status as a hermit and starting a family. A chance encounter with a firecracker of a woman makes him think he's found his capital F. But whether that F is for "future" or "frustrating" is to be determined. Can Jermaine convince Nedra that everything happens for a reason while also getting her to give him a chance at something real? To Build a Vow, Book 2: Lisa Sutton enjoys her simple but satisfying life in the southeastern Arkansas town that she settled in after graduating from college years ago. There, she met a man who enriches her life and makes her believe in fairy tales, gave birth to her sometimes too intelligent daughter, and curated a tribe of loving and dependable people. If there is a more perfect existence on the planet, she hasn’t found it. She isn’t just happy, she’s content. All of that changes when she takes a weekend trip with her girlfriends. For Jeremiah Hawkins, nothing could make his life more perfect than it already is. Well…almost nothing. The only thing missing from his life is an “I do” from his longtime girlfriend and the mother of his daughter. That, and another baby. This time, a son. He bides his time on one, and makes plans for the other, but things don’t always go according to plan. In the span of one evening, everything he knows is swept from underneath him and now he has to scramble to find his footing in a world that doesn’t make much sense. How can something so innocent cause a chain reaction of events? To Break a Vow, Book 3: The middle child of the Hawkins clan, Jereth has always felt the need to create something that was just his. This need—and the impulsive actions he often takes to satisfy that need—has earned him colorful titles such as “rebel” or “wild child” amongst most everyone who knew him. Marrying a stranger in Vegas seems right up his ally and his family probably wouldn’t bat an eye at the news—if they knew about it. Latonya Black lives a mostly satisfying existence working in her family’s business and caring for her adolescent son. Taking care of everyone else keeps her busy, but not too busy to realize she could use some male attention. On a trip to Sin City in celebration of her cousin’s nearing wedding, she comes across an enigmatic man who sweeps her away with his outlandish proposal. What follows is the give and take of a budding relationship between two people who could have it all if they just got out of their own way.

    Though now a freelance travel writer, the one place she rarely goes is home--until she learns of her dad's failing health.Returning to Watersend means seeing the sister she has avoided for a decade and the brother who runs the family's Irish pub and has borne the burden of his sisters' rift. While Alzheimer's slowly steals their father's memories, the siblings rush to preserve his life in stories and in photographs. As his secret past brings Lena's own childhood into focus, it sends her on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

    Classically trained, highly strung and wedded to London life, Emma was about as country as a gin martini. So why did it feel like a homecoming?Answering that question takes Emma deep into the Appalachian mountains, where she uncovers a hidden culture that confounds every expectation - and learns some emotional truths of her own.

    Reva forms an unlikely bond with the man who reported her parents to authorities, and as they navigate through her painful history, he helps her confront her failing marriage and stalled career so she can find the courage to let go of the life she so carefully planned and reach for the one she deserves.

    In the spring of 1961, ten-year-old Nate "Weenie" Dooley has a revelation-his father is not a good one.Inspired by National Geographic, his favorite thing next to the Bible storybook his mother gave him before she died, Nate plans to leave his father and their home in the Smokies to set out on adventure.When he discovers that his father has left him first, it will take the help of a stray dog, some kind neighbors, a one-man-band, letters from a long-lost-aunt, and a new understanding of God to figure out he isn't really alone.Will he find that Copper Creek is where he's always belonged? Or will his wanderlust keep him from ever coming back?In her second novel, Heather Norman Smith demonstrates that love makes a family, and that while fathers may leave, our Heavenly Father is faithful, and He has a plan for all of us.

    Both Lucy and Bill wrap themselves in new skins of ink, wrought by the same artist, a "shaman" who convinces them that every design will alter their futures. Exiled from his corporate life and from the failed marriage he left behind in a gated community, Bill journeys through the dark side of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he meets con artists and displaced hillbillies, each of them seeking transformation in the Queen City. Ultimately, Bill confronts the necessity to leave the city in search of his rural roots. There he must come to terms with his estranged family and with the skin he shed many years ago.

    When the ladies' group at her church partners with the local children's home, Colleen jumps in as usual, volunteering to share her passion for cooking with a troubled teenager named Grace. But Colleen must balance the new project with her pursuit of becoming a contestant on a television game show, along with all the other ideas her brain continually spins out.Colleen's daughter Melody is quite different. She lives a calm, simple life and is content with who she is. That is, until an unexpected opportunity to work with Grace, too, pushes her to reevaluate life and dare to take on bigger dreams. The path starts with a newly-found interest in soap-making and leads her to responsibilities she didn't even know she wanted.Grace & Lavender is a book for all audiences a heart-warming story that reminds us to seek God's purpose for our lives.

    What is it about gumbo that continues to delight and nourish so many? And what explains its spread around the world?A seasoned journalist, Ken Wells sleuths out the answers. His obsession goes back to his childhood in the Cajun bastion of Bayou Black, where his French-speaking mother’s gumbo often began with a chicken chased down in the yard. Back then, gumbo was a humble soup little known beyond the boundaries of Louisiana. So when a homesick young Ken, at college in Missouri, realized there wasn’t a restaurant that could satisfy his gumbo cravings, he called his momma for the recipe. That phone-taught gumbo was a disaster. The second, cooked at his mother’s side, fueled a lifelong quest to explore gumbo’s roots and mysteries.In Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou, Wells does just that. He spends time with octogenarian chefs who turn the lowly coot into gourmet gumbo; joins a team at a highly competitive gumbo contest; visits a factory that churns out gumbo by the ton; observes the gumbo-making rituals of an iconic New Orleans restaurant where high-end Creole cooking and Cajun cuisine first merged.Gumbo Life, rendered in Wells’ affable prose, makes clear that gumbo is more than simply a delicious dish: it’s an attitude, a way of seeing the world. For all who read its pages, this is a tasty culinary memoir—to be enjoyed and shared like a simmering pot of gumbo.

    They, like all of us, wrestle with the people, places, and memories they cling to, belong to, and run from, learning (sometimes too late), that these experiences remain with them forever. The nine stories in The Lightness of Water and Other Stories are bound by a strong sense of place—Appalachia and the South—and prove that no matter where we go, there’s no place far enough to leave home behind.

    Earl Scruggs's instrumental essentially transformed the folk culture that came before it while helping to energize bluegrass's entry into the mainstream in the 1960s. The song has become a gateway to bluegrass for musicians and fans alike as well as a happily inescapable track in film and television. Thomas Goldsmith explores the origins and influence of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" against the backdrop of Scruggs's legendary career. Interviews with Scruggs, his wife Louise, disciple Bela Fleck, and sidemen like Curly Seckler, Mac Wiseman, and Jerry Douglas shed light on topics like Scruggs's musical evolution and his working relationship with Bill Monroe. As Goldsmith shows, the captivating sound of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" helped bring back the banjo from obscurity and distinguished the low-key Scruggs as a principal figure in American acoustic music.Passionate and long overdue, Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown takes readers on an ear-opening journey into two minutes and forty-three seconds of heaven.

    Haunted by memories of sexual abuse, he hitchhikes from Pittsburgh to rural Georgia in search of a blood relation. His quest for family is fulfilled in unexpected ways after he makes a deal with Ben Stempton, a grizzled old pulp-wooder. Through events that follow, Randy experiences culture shock, hard labor, funerals, friendship, extramarital sex, and jealousy. When old man Stempton dies in a gruesome accident, Randy shoulders the burden of the man’s business for the sake of his wife and daughter. Episodes unfold, and Randy finds himself holding a baby. Little Benji’s mother is Ben Stempton’s daughter, Stacy. Unfortunately, she is married to Randy’s rival, an abusive redneck named Ty. More tragedy follows, resulting in Stacy’s emotional breakdown. By this time Randy has grown close to his work partner Buster, a light-skinned black youth of uncertain parentage who anchors and guides him. These two plus Benji form an unlikely trio, struggling against vines from the past and present that are as constricting as kudzu—twisted stalks sprouting from society’s soil, Ben Stempton’s grave, and their own personal histories. Breaking free will require drastic measures and the formation of new bonds rooted in love.

    Divorced and at odds with her older sister, she does little more than sit in the cemetery where her son is buried and write letters to him in her journal. While cleaning out her parents' house before putting it on the market, she discovers letters written in the late 1800s to her great-great-grandmother, for whom she is a namesake. She goes to Ireland with a plan to write about her family history. The magic of Ireland, however, has other ideas, and Margaret discovers that the only thing harder than holding on to the past is...letting it go.

    . . In the heart of New Orleans, the Creole clairvoyant Beulah Laveau makes a harrowing decision. A decision of great sacrifice: entrusting her only child to a couple who swear to keep his lineage a secret. Thus, the gifted boy walks into a life he wasn’t meant for and it places him in a dire situation that requires the birth of unique survival skills—colder blood, thicker skin, and a killer instinct. Beulah is a mom on a mission to right wrongs and protect her son. Standing in her way is a man obsessed with revenge and a government on a quest for global domination. A quiet legion of CIA agents lurks in the shadows as the boy grows to become the Gator, killer for hire. As the number of people who learn the Gator’s secret increases . . . so does the body count. Secrets, promises, and conflicting loyalties threaten to incite consequences beyond everyone’s control. A son, a mother, a government. All willing to fight . . . all willing to sacrifice. Birth of the Gator is the pulse-pounding prequel to the award-winning novels that comprise The Gator Leaves Nothing Behind. Follow Kami Boley into the mid-twentieth century as she spins an intricate web of our history and her imagination in The Disturbing History Saga, a thrilling illumination of government secrets, underworld violence, and the mysteries of the human heart.

    Who will protect her now? It’s 1861, Florida has seceded from the Union, and residents of Pensacola evacuate inland to escape the impending war. But Kate McFarlane’s impulsive act of rebellion changes her life and that of many others in ways she never expected. As a result, Kate finds herself with an eccentric aunt in an unfamiliar place. Lieutenant Clay Harris, a handsome Confederate officer, offers a chance for romance, but his actions make Kate question his character. When a hurricane brings an injured shipwrecked sailor from the Union blockade to her aunt’s house, Kate fights attraction to the man while hiding him from Clay. She’s determined to warn her sea captain father about the blockade, but needs someone to help her. Who can she trust - her ally or her enemy? REVEALING LIGHT Sally Rose McFarlane follows her dream of being a teacher when she accepts a position as governess in post-Reconstruction, Florida. A misunderstanding of her previous experience in Ohio forces her to keep a secret to retain her job. When she learns about the recent Jim Crow laws, she realizes she also has to hide her bi-racial ancestry. What will happen when the family Sally Rose works for learns the truth of her work experience and her parents? How will Bryce react when he finds out? And will anyone find her when she’s captured by smugglers, or will it be too late? REDEEMING LIGHT Cora Miller, a recent widow, moves to St. Augustine in 1875 with her young daughter Emily to start life over as a single mother. She opens a fine millinery shop to court the tastes of the wealthy and become part of the town’s social elite. She succeeds in gaining the hat business of tourists Pamela Worthington and her daughter Judith, as well as, the attention of their family friend, extravagant Sterling Cunningham. But aloof Daniel Worthington, Pamela’s son, is more interested in the Indian captives recently brought to the fort. Just when Cora’s business is picking up, jewelry from her wealthy customers begins to disappear and then mysteriously reappear in Cora’s shop. What will happen to her when she is accused of theft? Will her reputation and future be ruined? Or will someone else step up in her defense? REKINDLED LIGHT At the onset of the Civil War, Sarah Turner’s hope to marry fiancé Josiah Hamilton crumbled when her father forbade her to ever see Josiah again because he chose the Union side. Now the war has ended, and Sarah and her family return to Pensacola to start life over. For seven years, Sarah harbored hope that she and Josiah could be reconciled, but she never heard from him again, and her father is pushing her toward marrying his business partner, a man Sarah has no attraction to. But when she sees Josiah with another woman, her hope of a future with him ends. Lieutenant Josiah Hamilton has returned to Pensacola as well, as an engineer for the US Army with orders to find the original lens of the Pensacola Lighthouse and build the new keepers’ house. He still loves Sarah, but when he sees her with a young child, assumes she is married, and the child is hers. Meanwhile, Josiah is being pursued by the lightkeeper’s daughter and distracted by an apparent plot to prevent him from carrying out his job. Who is the arsonist starting fires at area lumber mills? What will happen when Sarah’s life and Josiah’s mission collide with someone who wants to end them both?

    In the state's complex loyalties, its sprawling and diverse geography, and its dual role as a home front and a battlefield, North Carolina embodies the essence of the whole epic struggle in all its terrible glory.Philip Gerard presents this dramatic convergence of events through the stories of the individuals who endured them--reporting the war as if it were happening in the present rather than with settled hindsight--to capture the dreadful suspense of lives caught up in a conflict whose ending had not yet been written. As Gerard reveals, whatever the grand political causes for war, whatever great battles decided its outcome, and however abstract it might seem to readers a century and a half later, the war was always personal.

    with a Foreword by Tom Gray is the definitive biography of one of bluegrass music’s most important artists of the genre. Through his work as a founding member of these two pioneering bands, John Duffey urbanized bluegrass and introduced it to a broad new audience. John’s quotes from a four-hour, never-before-published 1984 interview are italicized throughout and provide the book’s foundation. The book begins with a profile of his father, John Humbird Duffey Sr, Metropolitan Opera star and chronicles Duffey’s earliest exposure to music, listening to opera on the radio with his dad. Childhood friends Bill Blackburn, Bill Emerson, and Sterling Ellsworth serve up memories of Duffey from the 2nd grade through high school. Accounts of Duffey’s early musical career provide an overview of John’s first bands, leading up to how The Country Gentlemen were formed following a horrific car accident. The Country Gentlemen’s Bill Emerson, Charlie Waller, Eddie Adcock, and Tom Gray are profiled and interviewed. For the first time, John’s biological daughter, Ginger “Sam” Allred, speaks candidly about her relationship with both Duffey, and her father, Pete Kuykendall. Duffey discusses why he quit The Country Gentlemen, setting up the complete story of The Seldom Scene, as told by Duffey, John Starling, Ben Eldridge, Dave Auldridge, Mike Auldridge, Phil Rosenthal, and Tom Gray. More than 50 rare or never-before-seen photographs create a fascinating portrait of the complex, iconoclastic entertainer. Gary Oelze, the owner of the Birchmere music club where the Scene became stars, share his memories of John. Sam Bush, Jonathan Edwards, Pete Kennedy, Martha Adcock, Akira Otsuka, Dick Cerri, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Gaudreau, Bryan Bowers, Peter “Dr. Banjo” Wernick, Tom Travis, Cliff Waldron, and others are among the many voices that contribute informative and compelling interviews. The book’s narrative is supplemented with a 43-page Discography that provides track listings, recording dates, producers, composers, and musicians for every time Duffey entered a recording studio. The book includes a Duffey genealogy and index. Reviews for JOHN DUFFEY'S BLUEGRASS LIFE: "An exhaustively researched profile of bluegrass legend John Duffey (1934-1996) that covers not only his life in music but also those of his colleagues and contemporaries... Despite the copious detail, however, the book offers a rich and entertaining musical history of the bluegrass scene as well as more academic materials, including an essay by Robert Kyle on Duffey’s Irish roots and a lengthy discography... A truly definitive look at a bluegrass legend and the scene that produced him." — Kirkus Reviews "The definitive John Duffey biography. Stephen Moore, who interviewed Duffey for this book, with co-author G.T. Keplinger, a bluegrass historian, have captured a faithfully compelling and comprehensive portrait of John as both performer and person." — Cerphe Colwell, WHFS pioneer radio broadcaster and founder of today’s online Music Planet Radio. "A great overview of the acoustic side of the DC music scene, with a unique focus on the inception of the progressive bluegrass movement and the cast of colorful characters who pushed the music forward, while respecting and preserving the roots. It's all there in these pages." — Pete Kennedy (multiple WAMMY award winner and member of Kennedy Center Artists-in-Residence, The Kennedys)

    To help a contributor turn images or words into a tangible object, something you can hold in your hands, is one of the coolest things we ever get to do. And we hope you enjoy reading — and staring at for hours — "Waffle House Vistas" in book form.Order yours today! Hardbound 11 inches tall x 9 inches wide 96 pages

    This is true whether measured by population, territory, history, or culture, high and folk. In 2002 a group of scholars led by Donald Livingston founded the Abbeville Institute to combat intellectually the ongoing campaign to eliminate the South from “America,” a campaign now dominant in public discourse. Their intent was to defend, explore, and apply all that “is true and valuable in the Southern tradition,” which they believe has a permanent and constructive role for the present and the future.In pursuit of its mission The Institute has produced public programs across the land and has conducted 17 Summer Schools for college students, many of whom have gone on to higher degrees. The Institute publishes five articles a week, a weekly podcast, and houses an online library of about 1000 lectures and articles covering a variety of aspects of Southern history and culture—all of which are available online at no cost! This volume contains only a small representative sample of subjects addressed by the Abbeville Institute and of the distinguished body of thinkers who have participated. As an introductory volume, we invite you to join with the Abbeville Institute as they continue to explore what is true and valuable in the Southern tradition. Contributors: David Aiken, Boyd D. Cathey, William Cawthon, Tom Daniel, John Devanny, Richard Gamble, Paul Gottfried, Paul C. Graham, Ben “Cooter” Jones, Thomas H. Landess, Donald Livingston, Brion McClanahan, Michael Martin, James Rutledge Roesch, Carey Roberts, Samuel C. Smith, Karen Stokes, Ryan Walters, Clyde N. Wilson, and Aaron Wolf

    At 23 years old, she was married to her childhood sweetheart, was a successful real estate agent and lived in the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina. Some days she wondered if she should pinch herself because it was such a dream. But sometimes when things seem too good to be true, they often are, and Charlie's perfect life came crashing down around her when she walked in on her husband, Joe, on top of his secretary in their bed. Two years later, single and a successful interior designer, Charlie was celebrating the high-profile remodel of her parent's Bed and Breakfast, Southern Lady Inn, with her two best friends, Everleigh and Chase. The unveiling of the newly refurbished inn was the talk of Charleston high society and all of the movers and shakers were at the party toasting Charlie's success. Charlie felt like everything was finally clicking for her again, she even had the inside track on a brand-new condominium conversion in the heart of downtown that would take her business, Whimsical Designs to a whole new level. As she slid into one of her parent's guest rooms to catch her breath and take a break from all the well-meaning guests, she never expected the heart racing encounter that would change everything.Luke Coleman didn't care about being Charleston's most eligible bachelor. His heart and soul belonged to the business he had built with his best friend Ethan and more importantly, to the apartment community they had just acquired in the hottest part of downtown. He had big plans for his little piece of historic Charleston and no one was going to get in the way of his success. Luke loved women and he especially loved to walk away after an evening of mutually satisfying consensual fun. Nearly every mother in Charleston society had tried to throw their beautiful single daughters his way and he had no interest. So when he wandered into one of the guestrooms at the Southern Lady Inn relaunch party, he never expected to have his world rocked by just one kiss. The last thing he was looking for was a complicated relationship, but that was before he laid his eyes on one fiery redhead. Suddenly, both his brand-new project and the heart he worked so hard to protect were at the mercy of Charlotte Finley.About Lowcountry Liaisons: The South has never been steamier as Luke, Charlie and their group of friends pursue their dreams by day and awaken their passions at night in the beautiful scenic city of Charleston, South Carolina. Each book is a stand alone romance about two of these friends, but the supporting players continue to pop up and add to the good times throughout the series.