Best of
Womens-Fiction

2013

The Secrets She Carried


Barbara Davis - 2013
    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.

This Fragile Life


Kate Hewitt - 2013
    You trust her with your life. But could you give her the most precious gift of all?Alex's life is a mess. She's barely holding down a job, only just affording her apartment, and can't remember when she was last in a relationship. An unexpected pregnancy is the last thing she needs.Martha's life is on track. She's got the highflying career, the gorgeous home and the loving husband. But one big thing is missing. Five rounds of IVF and still no baby.The solution seems simple. Alex knows that Martha can give her child everything that she can't provide. But Martha's world may not be as perfect as it seems, and letting go isn't as easy as Alex expected it to be. Now they face a decision that could shatter their friendship forever.

Did I Mention I Won The Lottery?


Julie Butterfield - 2013
    The only problem is – she hasn’t told her husband. So at weekends she’s a dutiful wife in Darlington, working at the local deli and making shepherd’s pie for dinner, but during the week she’s living in her new mansion in Leeds spending her days shopping whilst her husband thinks she’s looking after her sick mother. Will she get the courage to tell him before he finds out for himself? And can several million pounds in your bank account save a failing marriage?

I'll Be Seeing You


Suzanne Hayes - 2013
    Filled with unforgettable characters and grace, it is a timeless celebration of friendship and the strength and solidarity of women."I hope this letter gets to you quickly. We are always waiting, aren't we? Perhaps the greatest gift this war has given us is the anticipation…" It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother, impulsive and free as a bird. Rita is a sensible professor's wife with a love of gardening and a generous, old soul. Glory comes from New England society; Rita lives in Iowa, trying to make ends meet. They have nothing in common except one powerful bond: the men they love are fighting in a war a world away from home. Brought together by an unlikely twist of fate, Glory and Rita begin a remarkable correspondence. The friendship forged by their letters allows them to survive the loneliness and uncertainty of waiting on the home front, and gives them the courage to face the battles raging in their very own backyards. Connected across the country by the lifeline of the written word, each woman finds her life profoundly altered by the other's unwavering support. A collaboration of two authors whose own beautiful story mirrors that on the page, I'll Be Seeing You is a deeply moving union of style and charm. Filled with unforgettable characters and grace, it is a timeless celebration of friendship and the strength and solidarity of women.

The Time Between


Karen White - 2013
    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…

The Promise of Stardust


Priscille Sibley - 2013
    Now in their late 30s, the deeply devoted couple has everything-except the baby they've always wanted.When an accident leaves Elle brain dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear the thought of life without her, he knows Elle was afraid of only one thing-a slow death. And so, Matt resolves to take her off life support.But Matt changes his mind when they discover Elle's pregnant. While there are no certainties, the baby might survive if Elle remains on life support. Matt's mother, Linney, disagrees with his decision. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive on machines. Linney is prepared to fight her son in court-armed with Elle's living will.Divided by the love they share, Matt and Linney will be pitted against each other, fighting for what they believe is right, and what they think Elle would have wanted resulting in a controversial legal battle that will ultimately go beyond one family . . . and one single life.

Between Heaven and Texas


Marie Bostwick - 2013
    . .Welcome to Too Much--where the women are strong-willed and the men are handsome yet shiftless. Ever since Mary Dell Templeton and her twin sister Lydia Dale were children, their Aunt Velvet has warned them away from local boys. But it's well known that the females in Mary Dell's family have two traits in common--superior sewing skills and a fatal weakness for men.While Lydia Dale grows up petite and pretty, Mary Dell just keeps growing. Tall, smart, and sassy, she is determined to one day turn her love of sewing into a business. Meanwhile, she'll settle for raising babies with her new husband, Donny. But that dream proves elusive too, until finally, Mary Dell gets the son she always wanted--a child as different as he is wonderful. And as Mary Dell is forced to reconsider what truly matters in her family and her marriage, she begins to piece together a life that, like the colorful quilts she creates, will prove vibrant, rich, and absolutely unforgettable. . .

Single Ladies


Blake Karrington - 2013
    This monthly Urban Soap, "Single Ladies" takes you to a whole nother level of play. There will be no holding back, no biting of the tongue and best believe the gloves are coming off when five childhood friends take you through the everyday life of living as a female in the hood. Expect everything... But boredom!!!

The Promise of Provence


Patricia Sands - 2013
    But instead of receiving an anniversary card from her husband, she finds a note asking for a divorce.Fifty-five and suddenly alone, Katherine begins the daunting task of starting over. She has her friends, her aging mother, and her career to occupy her, but the future seems to hold little promise—until, after a winter of heartbreak, Katherine is persuaded to try a home exchange holiday in the South of France.In Provence, bright fields of flowers bloom below medieval hilltop villages with winding cobblestone streets. Charmed by the picturesque countryside, the breathtaking Côte d’Azur, and the enchantment-filled boulevards of Paris, Katherine feels life opening up once again. Lavender perfumes the air, and chance encounters hint at romance and passion. But memories of heartbreak and betrayal linger—and her former life waits for her back home. Can she find the courage to begin again? Revised edition: This edition of The Promise of Provence includes editorial revisions.

The First Lie


Diane Chamberlain - 2013
    It’s 1958 in rural North Carolina, where Ivy lives with her grandmother and sister on a tobacco farm. As tenant farmers, Ivy and her family don’t have much freedom, though she and her best friend, Henry, often sneak away in search of adventure…and their truest selves. But life on the farm takes a turn when Ivy’s teenage sister gives birth—all the while maintaining her silence about the baby’s father. Soon Ivy finds herself navigating the space between adolescence and adulthood as she tries to unravel a dark web of family secrets and make sense of her ever-evolving life in the segregated South.

If You Could See What I See


Cathy Lamb - 2013
    The dynamic in Meggie’s family, however, is perpetually dysfunctional. In fact, if Meggie weren’t being summoned back to Portland, Oregon, by her grandmother, she’d be inclined to stay away all together. Since her husband’s death a year ago, Meggie’s emotions have been in constant flux, and so has her career as a documentary film maker. Finding ways to keep the family business afloat—and dealing with her squabbling sister and cousin—will at least give her a temporary focus. To draw customers to their website, Meggie decides to interview relatives and employees about their first bras and favorite lingerie. She envisions something flip and funny, but the confessions that emerge are unexpectedly poignant. There are stories of first loves and aching regrets, passionate mistakes and surprising rendezvous. And as the revelations illuminate her family’s past, Meggie begins to find her own way forward.With warmth and unflinching humor, If You Could See What I See explores the tender truths we keep close—and what can happen when we find the courage to bare them to the world.

Summer at the Lake


Erica James - 2013
    If she hadn't been so distracted at the thought of having to witness the one true love of her life get married, she would have seen the car coming and there would have been no need for elderly spinster Esme Silcox and local property developer Adam Strong to rush to her aid. If she hadn't met them she would never have had the courage to agree to attend Seb's wedding in Lake Como. For Esme, Lake Como awakens memories of when she stayed at the lake as a 19-year-old girl and fell in love for the first time. So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart all those years ago, a man who changed the course of her life.

The Inn at Rose Harbor / When First They Met


Debbie Macomber - 2013
      Jo Marie Barlow first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a sense of peace and a fresh start. Coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly christened Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Yet the inn holds more surprises than Jo Marie can imagine.   Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. But a long-lost acquaintance from Joshua’s high school days proves to him that forgiveness is never out of reach and love can bloom even where it’s least expected.     The other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories from her past. And while Abby reconnects with family and old friends, she realizes she can only move on if she truly allows herself to let go.   A touching novel of life’s grand possibilities and the heart’s ability to heal, The Inn at Rose Harbor is a welcome introduction to an unforgettable set of friends.From the Hardcover edition..

Becalmed


Normandie Fischer - 2013
    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.

The Midnight Breed Series 10-Book Bundle


Lara Adrian - 2013
    Together in one convenient eBook bundle, here are the first ten books in the Midnight Breed series, now including Darker After Midnight.   Part human, part otherworldly, the Breed has lived among humankind for thousands of years, maintaining a tentative peace built on secrecy, power, and the dark justice carried out by the formidable warriors of the Order. But now, a blood war within the race is set to ignite.  “Evocative, enticing, erotic . . . Enter Lara Adrian’s vampire world and be enchanted!”—New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward  Vampires are going Rogue in startling numbers, feeding without discretion, killing humans in the streets. It is up to the Order to stop the spreading threat of Rogue domination—and in so doing, each of the warriors will be forced to confront private demons, darkest secrets, deepest fears. Some will know triumph, some will know loss, but each warrior can count on one thing: Love, when it finds him, will often come at the worst possible moment, with the least likely woman . . . and it will bring each of these powerful males to his knees.  KISS OF MIDNIGHTKISS OF CRIMSONMIDNIGHT AWAKENINGMIDNIGHT RISINGVEIL OF MIDNIGHTASHES OF MIDNIGHTSHADES OF MIDNIGHTTAKEN BY MIDNIGHTDEEPER THAN MIDNIGHTDARKER AFTER MIDNIGHT   Also includes the eBook novella “A Taste of Midnight”! Praise for Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed novels  “A thrilling blend of dark passion and heart-pounding action. Lara Adrian always delivers a keeper!”—New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter  “A riveting novel that will keep readers mesmerized . . . If you like romance combined with heart-stopping paranormal suspense, you’re going to love this book.”—BookPage, on Darker After Midnight   “A fast-paced tale of romantic suspense and intense realistic characters . . . Adrian compels people to get hooked on her storylines.”—Romance Reviews Today, on Shades of Midnight   “An entertaining ride and as usual kept me riveted from page one.”—The Romance Reader Connection, on Ashes of Midnight   “Will enthrall you and leave you breathless for more.”—Wild on Books, on Veil of Midnight   “Packed with danger and action . . . Adrian has hit upon an unbeatable story mix.”—RT Book Reviews, on Midnight Rising   “An adrenaline-fueled, sizzlingly sexy, darkly intense addition to Lara Adrian’s addictively readable paranormal Breed series.”—Chicago Tribune, on Midnight Awakening

What Matters Most


Bette Lee Crosby - 2013
    A woman who wants nothing more than to remain in the same house until the day she dies. When her husband, Clay, announces an intention to quit his job and move to Florida, her life is thrown into a turmoil of mixed emotions and strained loyalties. Torn between Clay’s desire for “the good life” and the lifelong friendships of her quilting club, Louise struggles with what to do…until her best friend hatches a scheme to thwart the move. Before she discovers the truth of what matters most, a marriage will be tested, family relationships will fall apart and the friendships Louise tried to hold onto will change dramatically.

The In-Between Hour


Barbara Claypole White - 2013
    But when his father's aging mind erases the memory, Will rewrites the truth. The story he spins brings unexpected relief…until he's forced to return to rural North Carolina, trapping himself in a lie. Holistic veterinarian Hannah Linden is a healer who opens her heart to strays but can only watch, powerless, as her grown son struggles with inner demons. When she rents her guest cottage to Will and his dad, she finds solace in trying to mend their broken world, even while her own shatters. As their lives connect and collide, Will and Hannah become each other's only hope—if they can find their way into a new story, one that begins with love.

Starcrossed / Dreamless


Josephine Angelini - 2013
    But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen . . .

Rescue Me, Maybe


Jackie Bouchard - 2013
    On her way, she finds a scared stray at a rest stop. But Jane can’t bear the thought of ever loving and losing another dog. She’s determined not to let the mutt steal her heart. She’s also determined to have next to no interaction with the B&B’s demanding guests and its annoying (yet handsome) handyman. As the dog works her charm, soon Jane must admit that just as much as she rescued the dog, the dog has rescued her. Revised edition: This edition of Rescue Me, Maybe includes editorial revisions.

Curtsies & Conspiracies - FREE PREVIEW EDITION (The First 87 Pages)


Gail Carriger - 2013
    A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.In this sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

All We Dream


Pamela Cook - 2013
    A family secret. Two women hiding from the truth.When successful Sydney lawyer Miranda McIntyre searches for something old to go with her wedding dress, she remembers an antique necklace from her childhood. Her mother's denial of its existence only deepens Miranda's curiosity but the discovery of a faded wedding photo and an old newspaper clipping reveal long-buried family secrets.Who is the woman in the photo? And why are these keepsakes hidden in her mother's closet?Miranda's quest for the truth takes her on a road trip south to the idyllic seaside village of Pelican Point where she stumbles upon a secluded cliff-top cottage and the reclusive Esther Wilson. As Miranda begins to unravel the mystery, a tale of daring rescue, forbidden love and shocking betrayal unfolds.Meeting enigmatic horse trainer Vincent Kennedy forces Miranda to question the life she has worked so hard to create, throwing into turmoil everything she thought she knew about the past and about herself.A multi-generational story of family, hope and following your heart.

Maggie's Turn


Deanna Lynn Sletten - 2013
    For the first time in years, Maggie contemplates what she wants from life and soon realizes that her deteriorating marriage can no longer continue as it is. Can she and Andrew repair their broken relationship, or is their marriage over?Left to his own devices, Andrew is forced to take over the household responsibilities and bridge the growing divide between himself and his children. Slowly, he begins to understand what drove Maggie away—and how he can’t bear to live without her. But is it too late? Will Andrew lose Maggie forever?

Taking Charge


Bridgitte Lesley - 2013
    She was sure she was going to have a lot of uphill from the townsfolk. There were many changes that would have to be made at the school. Would she be able to win the parents and pupils over? As far as her looks, Joy knew she was totally different to what everyone expected. She was young and full of life, outgoing, an extrovert, and a go getter. Would the parents accept her as the new Principal? The first day that Joy was in town she met Jordan. She hadn’t planned on falling in love but it happened so fast. The way Jordan sang to her and looked at her sent Joy’s pulse racing. Jordan was drawn to Joy. There was something about her that grabbed his attention. Everything was about to change for both Jordan and Joy. Her presence made a huge impact on the townsfolk. It was the little things that she did that made a huge difference. Not only did the pupils benefit but so did every single person in town.

Ripple: A Tale of Hope and Redemption


E.L. Farris - 2013
    Finding herself in trouble, Helen must relinquish control and put her faith in a process she knows to be flawed. As a team of lawyers, therapists and women from a safe house help Helen and Phoebe find hope and healing, a sociopath lurks, waiting for his moment to strike. A lyrical, dark fairytale that will resonate with fans of women’s literature and psychological thrillers, Ripple delves into the nature of evil, without seeking to provide final answers to the issue of what makes a human commit evil acts. And while the author takes readers to scary places, she ultimately shines a light on the human condition and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit in the face of great tribulation.

The Silent Tide


Rachel Hore - 2013
    But someone is sending Emily mysterious missives about Hugh Morton's past and she discovers a buried story that simply has to be told…One winter's day in 1948, nineteen year old Isabel Barber arrives at her Aunt Penelope's house in Earl's Court having run away from home to follow her star. A chance meeting with an East European refugee poet leads to a job with his publisher, McKinnon & Holt, and a fascinating career beckons. But when she develops a close editorial relationship with charismatic young debut novelist Hugh Morton and the professional becomes passionately personal, not only are all her plans put to flight, but she finds herself in a struggle for her very survival.Rachel Hore's intriguing and suspenseful new novel magnificently evokes the milieux of London publishing past and present and connects the very different worlds of two young women, Emily and Isabel, who through their individual quests for truth, love and happiness become inextricably linked.

The Christmas Spirit


Susan Buchanan - 2013
    Something her regulars badly need.Newly dumped Rebecca is stuck in a job with no prospects, has lost her home and is struggling to see a way forward.Pensioner Stanley is dreading his first Christmas alone without his beloved wife, who passed away earlier this year. How will he ever feel whole again?Graduate Jacob is still out of work despite making hundreds of applications. Will he be forced to go against his instincts and ask his unsympathetic parents for help?Spiky workaholic Meredith hates the jollity of family gatherings and would rather stay home with a box set and a posh ready meal. Will she finally realise what’s important in life?Natalie sprinkles a little magic to try to spread some festive cheer and restore Christmas spirit, but will she succeed?

Looking for Me


Beth Hoffman - 2013
    Now her unique flair for evocative settings and richly drawn Southern personalities shines in her compelling new novel, Looking for Me. Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky. She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and eventually finds a way to open her own shop in Charleston. There, Teddi builds a life for herself as unexpected and quirky as the customers who visit her shop.  Though Teddi is surrounded by remarkable friends and finds love in the most surprising way, nothing can alleviate the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to Kentucky.  It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last.  But first she must decide what to let go of and what to keep.Looking for Me brilliantly melds together themes of family, hope, loss, and a mature once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. The result is a tremendously moving story that is destined to make bestselling author Beth Hoffman a novelist to whom readers will return again and again as they have with Adriana Trigiani, Fannie Flagg, and Joshilyn Jackson.

The Funeral Dress


Susan Gregg Gilmore - 2013
    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

The Last Goodbye


Caroline Finnerty - 2013
    . . and sometimes we cannot shake off the shackles of decisions made by others in the past.Kate Flynn has spent her whole life running away. She reckons the best decision she ever made was to leave Ireland the day after she finished school. Having seldom returned since, she would be perfectly happy if she never had to go back there. She is happy in London where she runs a successful photography gallery with her best friend Nat, though their relationship is going through a rocky patch since Nat began an affair with a married man. When Kate becomes pregnant and her partner Ben persuades her to make the trip home, she is forced to confront everything she left behind and memories of Eva, the mother she feels betrayed her. Kate finds it impossible to forgive Eva who chose to refuse cancer treatment while pregnant and died, leaving a young family motherless. Do some wounds go too deep to ever heal? Must Eva's Choice forever deny Kate real happiness?The Last Goodbye is a powerful story of love and loss, forgiveness and new beginnings - a heart-wrenching and emotional page-turner for mothers and daughters everywhere.

I'm Virtually Yours


Jennifer Bohnet - 2013
    Need a virtual PA? Then Polly Jones is your girl!Polly Jones is taken aback when a new client asks her to investigate the Robertson family business in Devon, after all, a ‘virtual assistant’ doesn’t usually leave their home office! But she needs the work – and less proximity to an endless supply of tea and biscuits can only be a good thing right? So she sets off, with energetic puppy Rosie close by her side.Polly’s new job isn’t quite in her comfort zone… Arriving in the small fishing village where everyone knows everyone’s business, any upsides (all those yummy scones and clotted cream) of course have their downside - she’s completely forgotten to pack her sea legs, and the temptingly handsome Will Robertson is making her job difficult at every turn.It’s so much easier to keep things strictly professional in the virtual world – but with no e-mail to hide behind Polly must admit that Will’s smile is incredibly, deliciously distracting…

A Heart for Grace


Bethany Largent - 2013
    Young Olivia Marston has been released from the abusive husband forced upon her by her father, but struggles against the pain she carries inside. Alone and destitute, she moves to Arkansas to live with her grandmother. There, she accepts a job caring for the daughter of a young widower named Jed Bailey. Soon she finds herself falling for her employer. Vivian Wrathers also has her sights set on Jed and will stop at nothing until she gets him. When Vivian disappears, Olivia's employer is the prime suspect. To further complicate matters, Olivia discovers she is carrying her deceased husband's child; suddenly her past is intruding into her future again. When her estranged father reappears in her life, she struggles to find the grace to forgive him, and the courage to face her destiny. About the author: Bethany Largent is a former elementary teacher who resides in Benton, Kentucky with her husband of fifteen years, Chuck, their two sons, and her little black Chihuahua, Moe. Bethany has always considered herself somewhat of a dreamer, and to be able to put her stories into words is a dream come true. She enjoys fishing, reading, and writing. It is her sincere hope to encourage and point others to Christ through her work.

Dear Thing


Julie Cohen - 2013
    She's already a single mother, and she has no desire for any more children. But Romily isn't prepared for the overwhelming feelings that have taken hold of her and which threaten to ruin her friendship with Ben and Claire-and even destroy their marriage.Now there are three friends, two mothers and only one baby, and an impossible decision to make...Thought-provoking, heart-rending but ultimately uplifting, Julie Cohen's Dear Thing is a book you won't be able to put down, until you pass it on to your best friends.

Just As I Am


Kim Vogel Sawyer - 2013
    Daisy Forrester has been raised in Brambleville, Kansas at Dunnigan's Orphan Asylum by Levi and Christina Jonnson. As she has watched younger, more appealing orphans come and go on to new families, Daisy has spent years becoming a valued helper for Ma and Pa Jonnson, as the orphans call them. However, she is coming up on her sixteenth birthday, and it will soon be time for her to make her own way in the world. Nervous about leaving the farm, she turns to the one connection she has out in the world--Robby, a friend who left the asylum before her and is now employed in Sinclair, Kansas at Dinsmore's World Famous Chocolate Factory. Daisy heads for the safe harbor that is his friendship, but the outside world doesn't offer the friendly welcome that Daisy dreams of and Robby faces unique challenges of his own in the form of an eager co-worker bent on sending Daisy back to Brambleville. Can Daisy look beyond her own insecurities to embrace a young man with great affection for her, and a God who calls her 'beloved'--just as she is?

Sing a New Song


Michelle Lindo-Rice - 2013
    She hasn't simply gone home to die, though. Tiffany has another mission. She desperately wishes she could leave her past in the past, but in order to secure her daughter's future, she must tear open past wounds. Life wasn't always easy for Tiffany. With a stepfather who abused her and a mother who didn't believe her, she acted out by becoming promiscuous. Fifteen years later, she's back to reveal to her ex-husband that he might not be Karlie's biological father. In fact, there are four men who could have fathered Karlie--four that she's willing to acknowledge, anyway.As Tiffany reveals her truth and searches for Karlie's father, she reconnects with old friends and old lovers. Some reunions are happy, but some innocent lives are torn apart, leaving Tiffany to wonder if she's doing the right thing. Through it all, she will have to learn to rely on the healing power of God's unfathomable love. "There is no way Sing a New Song by Michelle Lindo-Rice could be adebut novel. The author's writing is crisp and her characters'emotions are authentic. Get ready, readers of Christian fiction. Thereis a new kid on the block that will minister to your soul!"--Pat Simmons, award-winning author of the Guilty series.

Married to Maggie


Jan Romes - 2013
    Ditching an environmental conference in Atlanta to play in Reno, Ty suffers razor-sharp chest pains at the airport. The pains were becoming a common occurrence that started showing up after he lost his father in a fiery crash a year earlier. The woman who comes to his aid not only helps him with what she can only assume is a heart attack but she also fibs to keep airport security and paparazzi from descending on him. She's brilliant, unemployed and not his type which makes her the perfect choice for a temporary spouse. If he can ignore her extraordinary blue eyes then everything will go according to plan.Cardiac rehab nurse, Maggie Gray finds herself the victim of hospital downsizing. When T. Loy Vincent, I, a former patient, offers her a million dollars to get his grandson under control, Maggie is pressured by her father to enter into the wife-for-hire scheme. All she has to do is convince Ty Vincent to marry her. When she tracks Ty down at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport to put things in motion, she finds him in the middle of chest issues. The nurse in her takes over and before she knows it she's eyebrow deep in yet another deal. The second she says yes to both agreements, her life is turned upside down. To top it off, she can't seem to curb an annoying attraction for Dallas's most famous womanizer.Six months. No Sex. No telling each other what to do. It should be a win-win for them both. Will the mayhem of wealth, media attention, meddlesome friends and chemistry so hot it could melt plastic ruin their lives? Or will it be the catalyst for happily-ever-after?

Odyssey


Alexandra Anthony - 2013
    While this book can be read as a stand-alone, it is highly recommended that you read Fated and Illusion to fully experience this book.*This book contains sexy vampires, graphic language and highly erotic scenes that are not for those 18 and under or are of the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.*

The Sisters Café


Carolyn Brown - 2013
    She's taken step one and gotten engaged to a reliable man, but she's beginning to question their relationship. Does he really love her, or is she just arm candy for his political career? Why is her future mother-in-law getting increasingly hostile? Worse, why does he stand up for his mother when she says those awful things, instead of protecting her? Cathy is full of self-doubt. Both of her options—going through with the wedding or breaking off her engagement—are beginning to look like a nightmare either way. She knows her friends will back her up, but she's the one who has to make a decision that's going to tear her apart.

Learning to Love


Sheryl Browne - 2013
    But when Andrea Kelly’s house burns down, taking all her earthly possessions with it, it’s the distant and aloof Doctor David Adams – the person she would least expect – who opens his door not just to her, but to her three kids and slightly dotty elderly mother as well. Andrea needs all the help she can get, dealing with aftermath of the fire and in the suspicious absence of her husband, Jonathan. But, as she gets to know David and his troubled son, Jake, she begins to realise that maybe they need her help as much as she needs theirs … Previously published by the author. Revised and updated by Choc Lit May 2016.

A Jersey Kiss


Georgina Troy - 2013
    The last thing Bea needs is a distraction in the form of surly builder Luke, or old flame Tom. Will Bea find a way to keep her dream home and maybe fall in love? And what exactly is, A Jersey Kiss?

Walk a Straight Line


Michelle Lindo-Rice - 2013
    Two brothers. Two weddings. Too many secrets. Colleen MacGregor rededicated her life to God when she met and married Terence Hayworth. However, her happily-ever-after will have to wait, because she has some serious dragons to slay to sustain her marriage and keep her friendship with Gina Price intact. After fifteen years of friendship, Colleen must now draw the line and stop telling Gina everything. What did God do to her friend? Gina finds it hard to deal with Colleen's newfound faith. She thinks Colleen has become self-righteous, subjecting Gina to her holy tirades whenever the mood strikes. When Gina begins dating one brother, while simultaneously falling in love with another, boy, does she get an earful! Gina, however, is way too busy trying to sort her way through her own murky feelings to worry about her soul. Her heart wants what it wants. Michelle Lindo-Rice explores the complicated world of female friendships. Can a friendship survive when one friend becomes saved?

The Unfinished Child


Theresa Shea - 2013
    Her best friend, Elizabeth, has never been able to conceive, despite years of fertility treatments. Marie's dilemma is further complicated when she becomes convinced something is wrong with her baby. She then enters the world of genetic testing and is entirely unprepared for the decision that lies ahead.Intertwined throughout the novel is the story of Margaret, who gave birth to a daughter with Down syndrome in 1947, when such infants were defined as "unfinished" children. As the novel shifts back and forth through the decades, the lives of the three women converge, and the story speeds to an unexpected conclusion.With skill and poise, debut novelist Theresa Shea dramatically explores society's changing views of Down syndrome over the past sixty years. The story offers an unflinching and compassionate history of the treatment of people with Down syndrome and their struggle for basic human rights. Ultimately, The Unfinished Child is an unforgettable and inspiring tale about the mysterious and complex bonds of family, friendship, and motherhood.

Camelot & Vine


Petrea Burchard - 2013
    Casey's got a cushy Hollywood condo, an efficient cleaning lady and a rich boyfriend. (Never mind that he's married.) When Casey feels dissatisfied she fantasizes: about winning an Oscar, about finding real love or about her childhood hero, King Arthur.It feels like an acting career, sort of, until the day before Casey's 40th birthday when she loses everything she never cared about, falls through a gap in time and lands in the 6th century war camp of King Arthur himself. He mistakes her for a wizard and takes her in. But as she finds her feelings warming to him she also finds enemies. War is fast approaching, and the Dark Ages are a perilous time for an actress with an honesty problem. That is, if she wants to make it back to the 21st century alive. Not that she could if she wanted to. Not that she wants to.

Confessions of a De-cluttering Junkie


Chautona Havig - 2013
    So, armed with a stack of books that each guarantee to teach her the secret to living a clutter-free life, Kaye embarks on a journey that takes her from clutter bug to clutter free–and beyond. Her family doesn’t know what to think of her and her. While Jacob does enjoy the streamlined beauty of his new life, he is also just as frustrated as their sons as Kaye goes from clean up to clear out–including treasured possessions. Who knew that what started out as a survival technique would become an addiction?

What goes around comes around


O.C. Shaw - 2013
    And I can’t for the life of me really tell you much about it – what I was doing, what I achieved, what the hell happened.Caught in an unhappy marriage to a controlling man, who has become increasingly resentful about the hand life has dealt him, Lily Lambert has been forced to manage both the home and income for their family over the last nineteen years.At 37 Lily finds herself approaching middle age, lacking in confidence and unhappy with her life. Determined to finally do something about it, she decides to get healthy. At the gym, she meets a new group of friends — including a man with bright blue eyes and killer abs — who opens her eyes to what she has been missing. In the end Lily faces choices, but all choices have consequences, and Lily learns that some come at a higher cost than others.What goes around comes around is an adult contemporary romance, part 1 of a 2 book series that concludes the story with Full Circle, and is recommended for readers aged 18+

She Does Good Hair


Terri Gillespie - 2013
    Only God could bring together four of the most unlikely of women to be a blessing to each other--that is if they don't kill each other first!

Cooking With Love


Cynthia Hickey - 2013
    Traveling alone to the rough-and-tumble West just isn't done by young ladies of good breeding. But far more dangerous is her powerful attraction to Adam Foster. Family means everything to the widowed chef, but the self-sufficient Tabitha cherishes her freedom above all else. Adam is captivated by the fiercely independent Tabitha. Fraternizing with the female employees is strictly forbidden, but the Harvey Girl awakens feelings too compelling to ignore. Can Adam convince Tabby to share his dream of a future in California—together?

Blogger Girl


Meredith Schorr - 2013
    A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim, with her blog, Pastel is the New Black, has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm. While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads—and pages—across the land. It’s also popped into Kim’s inbox—for review. With their ten-year reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her offline life.Books in the Blogger Girl Series:BLOGGER GIRL (#1)NOVELISTA GIRL (#2)Books by Meredith Schorr:JUST FRIENDS WITH BENEFITSA STATE OF JANEHOW DO YOU KNOW?Part of the Henery Press Chick Lit Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all...

Done Deal


Rene D. Schultz - 2013
    what would be your legacy?" Death does not begin with the loss of the ability to breath, or the last beat of your heart. Cissy learns this as she takes us on an inspiring and eye-opening journey filled with love, friendship, laughter... and hope. This book is about the value of every moment of your life and fighting a good fight. Cissy is your typical hard working, single mother, who leads a very simple life. Until one day, when a cancer diagnosis has her spinning in circles. Not one to sit around and do nothing, and with years of experience in the medical field, she decides to research new medications and clinical studies on the Internet. Then all of a sudden, she hits a block wall. Why are the pharmaceuticals holding back 'orphan' drugs that have the ability to save thousands of lives? And..why are the greedy insurance companies refusing to pay for these medications to keep people alive? Cissy goes on a quest to find these answers. What she discovers is shocking. With an anger that leaves her cynical, and with time running out, she sets out to 'right a wrong.' She does the unimaginable... In this new age of technology... Hackers become a reality, and new Robin Hoods become our heroes!

The Girls of Tonsil Lake


Liz Flaherty - 2013
    They were four little girls living in ramshackle trailers beside a lake in rural Indiana. They shared everything from dreams to measles to boyfriends to more dreams. As they grew up, everything in their lives changed--except their friendship. Through weddings and divorces, births and deaths, one terrible secret has kept them close despite all the anger, betrayal, and pain. Now, forty years later, facing illness, divorce, career challenges, and even addiction, the women come together once again for a bittersweet month on an island in Maine. Staring down their fifties, they must consider the choices life is offering them now and face the pain of what happened long ago. Secrets are revealed and truths uncovered, but will their time together cement their lifelong friendship--or drive them apart forever?

Parallel Pasts


Julia Blues - 2013
    Usually she enjoys calling the shots in her love life,but when she runs into a mysterious man on a night out, everything changes. Cory Hines would give anything to undo his childhood. Growing up with an abusive father and distant mother left him wary of family and relationships. And as he tries to straighten out his life, the nightmares return and send him down a drunken spiral. His siblings force him into therapy, but its not until he meets Fatima that he begins to learn what commitment is all about. Though their pasts continue to haunt their relationships, it is their common problems that draw Cory and Fatima closer. In the process of getting their lives on track,they find out more about themselves and their pasts than they bargained for and realize they must rid their demons for good in order to survive. But just when Cory and Fatima get comfortable with each other and the idea of a relationship, news of an unexpected pregnancy sends them both running back to the familiar. Full of raw emotion and a vulnerability that pulls you in, Parallel Pasts offers an inside look at what it takes to escape a history of domestic abuse, as Cory must suppress the urge to fight anything that gets in his way, and the women who love him through the process.

The Honey Queen


Cathy Kelly - 2013
    And amidst all this activity, two women believe they are getting on just fine.Francesca’s boundless energy help her to take everything in her stride, including a husband who has lost his job and the unwelcome arrival of the menopause, which has kicked in – full throttle.Peggy, on the other hand, has always been a restless spirit. But now, focused and approaching thirty, she has opened her own knitting shop on the town’s high street. It’s a dream come true, but she still feels adrift.When Australian-raised Lillie finally makes it back home to Ireland, she is drawn right into the heart of Redstone’s busy, close-knit community. But what she thought would be an ending is actually just a beginning – all is not quite as it seems in the picturesque town.Soon, Lillie’s hard-earned wisdom will be called into play as she helps new friends navigate unchartered territory…

Freckled Venom: Copperhead (The Freckled Venom Series)


Juliette Douglas - 2013
    Both are bent on justice, one by law, the other, out of vengeance!

The Sea Glass Sisters


Lisa Wingate - 2013
    Then a rough case on the boards of her 911 operator's job collides with a family conflict at home, and Elizabeth finds herself finally coming apart at the seams. A four-state road trip--trapped in a car with her mother--is the last thing she needs. Their destination may be beautiful Hatteras Island, but the reason for going is anything by pleasant. After one disastrous hurricane, and with a second one working its way up the coast, it's time to convince Aunt Sandy to abandon her little seaside store on North Carolina's Outer Banks and return to the family fold in Michigan. But when the storm sweeps through, the three women will discover that sisterhood and the sea can change hearts, lives, and futures . . . often in the most unpredictable of ways.

Sunset's Dawn (Christian Romance) (Sunset Series)


J. Brent Eaton - 2013
    Can Jake Jennings, a man who has suffered unspeakable loss find peace and God's grace in his new home town of Sunset, or will the woman he never hoped to find be the answer to his prayers? Jacob Jennings Jake escapes the emotional entanglements of Houston, where he lost his wife and baby over a decade ago, to start a new life in Central Texas. His desire is to live in solitude on a quiet ranch and continue his ministry as a chaplain:From the Prologue:   "Mindy, I'm starting my new job in Sunset in two days. I've talked to you about the reasons   for my move for a long time. I only hope you understand why I'm leaving Houston. You would    love the log cabin I built there. It's a lot bigger than what we dreamed of raising Adam in, but   it really doesn't feel like home without the two of you.   "I know I wanted to get away from a lot of things here and move to a smaller and quieter   place, but the way I feel right now, I don't know if I'm really leaving anything behind. Sunset is   the kind of town I was looking for when I decided to make a move. Maybe I just need to give   myself more time.   "Just because I've moved three hours away doesn't mean I won't come to visit. Your Mom says   I'm abandoning you and Adam by moving. That's not it at all. You know I'll be back to see the   two of you. I miss you... I love, Mindy."   The Reverend Jacob Jennings stood motionless for a moment, then turned toward his truck and   walked over the green manicured lawn past the rows of carved stones, each a gray granite   reminder of the same sadness and loss he suffered thirteen years before. Jennifer Lawson Jen is a nurse, a single mother, and wants nothing more than to rid herself of ties to her ex-husband, the man who wrecked her dream of a loving family for her children. The last thing she wants is an attraction to another man:   It seems like I am just getting Steve out of my hair, and poof! Jake appears. This ain't fair,   God. It just ain't fair. I asked you to make it so that I could manage my life and be happy,   not make it more complicated. Now I find myself drawn to this guy like a mosquito to a bug   light and we both know how that ends. Why, Lord? Why? Then they meet... It's Jake's first day on the job.Can Jake overcome his fear of loving again and risk sharing his soul with another woman? Is it safe for Jennifer to be close to another man? How will a relationship affect her children?Sometimes, God's grace is difficult to accept. Jake and Jen learn that grace can overcome even the most difficult circumstances and pain. Author's Note I'm writing from experience as a hospice chaplain and a hopeless romantic. I hope you fall in love with the story of Jen and Jake and what they do to make life better for the people they serve. It's a deeply emotional and spiritual journey that I know will touch your heart and your soul.While this is a Christian romance novel and romantic religious fiction, the patient-related events are real with some details altered to protect privacy.There will be future stories about Jen and Jake as well as other wonderful people from Sunset, Texas. I'm committed to bringing you high quality romance under $3.

Comfort of Fences


Stacy Overman Morrison - 2013
    Ruth knows she has been overprotective, but hoped that she would outlive her special-needs daughter. Metastasized cancer crushes that hope and forces Ruth to find a way to provide for Denise once she is dead. First Ruth turns to Social Security for Disability benefits. After tests, pokes and prods, doctors, nosy psychologists, and ill-furnished waiting rooms, the government declares Denise not eligible for benefits. Mad at the world and daring the government to arrest her so they will have to take care of her since they wouldn't her daughter, Ruth takes up smoking pot in the backyard. A few joints in, Ruth begins to realize her anger is self-directed. She doubts every decision she has ever made in raising her daughter that doctors, in the 1950s, labeled "retarded." Partially to coax her mother from the backyard and partially because Ruth will not speak of the past, Denise asks her mother to write down their history of which Denise has no memory. Trying to atone and explain how she could be so obtuse, Ruth agrees. Telling her story becomes an obsession for Ruth who sees the history as her only chance to leave a place for herself in the world since cancer is steadily eating away her physicality. While Ruth writes, Denise begins to pursue her own independence, despite the minor setbacks of a chopped off fingertip and chemo poisoning. She begins to make choices for herself and finally tells her mother pieces of her own truth: Denise stayed with her mother because she chose to, because she loved her mother more than any life she could make for herself. In claiming her own truth, Denise also chooses silence about the biggest secrets of all. Comfort of Fences explores the messy business of mothering. It is a story about the love between a devoted mother and her special daughter that exposes the irony that the people we love the most can also be the ones we underestimate the greatest.

Sacred Blood


Alys Marchand - 2013
    Claire flees from near-death at the crushing hands of her boyfriend, to find her closest friend, Tristan Larocque, only to discover he has kept a vital secret about his identity.​Juliette lives her existence resigned to her boyfriend, Nathaniel Jensen's violent whims. After a particularly violent evening, she has had enough, and a high window is her only chance at escaping with her life. Desperate to live through the night, she flees.Finally free, Juliette finds her best friend, but just when she needs him the most, Tristan must leave. She learns that he needs to find and warn a lost coven of his kind that they are in danger from instinctively violent Nathaniel, who is determined to abolish them. Rather than hide from the danger her ex presents, Juliette, determined to keep Tristan safe, insists that she accompany him on his mission.Over the course of a multi-country journey to save the mysterious coven, Juliette discovers she has more internal strength and courage than she'd ever realized. She leads the coven into battle and discovers she alone holds the power to destroy her terrible ex-boyfriend, or to mercifully spare his life.

Pedigree Mum


Fiona Gibson - 2013
    A broken heart. And a crazy rescue dog in a town of posh pooches…When Kerry Tambini upped sticks with her family to a new home on the coast, she couldn’t have been happier. Then husband Rob made the biggest mistake of his life…Stranded with her children in snooty Shorling, Kerry has plenty on her plate. So how can she say no to the kids' pleas for a dog when they're missing their father dreadfully? Will adopting a wayward hound lead Kerry to a new love – or has she bitten off more than she can chew?As she steps back into the dating world Kerry must juggle her family, her neurotic dog and try to fit in with the local pedigree mums, making her a true heroine for our time.

The Vicar's Wife


Katharine Swartz - 2013
    Jane has been city-based and career-driven but when her fourteen year old daughter Natalie falls in with the wrong crowd at school in Manhattan, she and Andrew decide to try country living. However Jane has trouble getting used to the silence and solitude of a remote village. Natalie hates her new school, and eleven-year-old Ben struggles academically. Only seven-year-old Merrie enjoys country life. Has Jane made a horrible mistake? The Hattons have bought the old vicarage in the village. When Jane finds a scrap of shopping list, she grows curious about Alice, the vicar’s wife who lived there years before. As we follow the twin narratives of Jane, in the present, and Alice in the 1930s we discover that both are on a journey to discover their true selves, and to address their deepest fears.

Charisse


Fay Lamb - 2013
    She's quit law school, but the money just isn't there. Her only option is to work as a law clerk for her ex-friend, Gideon Tabor. The only problem: Gideon is the judge who let her husband's killer go free, and Gideon doesn't know the connection.Gideon Tabor can't believe that the woman interviewing for the job is the girl he loved in high school. Charisse is hesitant about accepting his job offer, and when she does, Gideon makes every attempt to apologize for his relationship-ending blunder in high school. Charisse accepts his apology, but she keeps him at a distance. When Gideon learns that Charisse's anger actually stems from his release of the man who ran down her husband, he tries to explain, but Charisse doesn't want Gideon's excuses or the love he has to offer. She wants her husband's killer to pay.

For No Apparent Reason


S.K. Derban - 2013
    She has successfully planned each phase of her life and resigned to the fact that there will be plenty of time for love after she passes the bar exam—that is, until the single act of seeking shelter from a spring downpour dramatically alters the course of her life. Madison is lured away from the security of law school into a world where she learns about the destructive nature of greed. Thrust in a maze of money laundering and murder, Madison experiences the value of true friendship and witnesses the healing power of love.

To Know You


Shannon Ethridge - 2013
    Now she must find them to try to save the life of her son.Julia and Matt Whittaker’s son was diagnosed with biliary atresia at birth. Dillon has beaten the odds for thirteen years only to have the odds—and his liver—crash precipitously. The only hope for his survival is a transplant. He can receive a “living liver” transplant but neither his parents, nor various family members and friends, are compatible.The transplant list is long and Dillon’s time is short. Very short. He has two chances for a compatible liver: his two older half-sisters, born eighteen months apart and adopted at birth.But can Julia ask a young woman—someone she surrendered to strangers—to donate a portion of her body to a brother she’s never known? Will either sister even be a match for their half-brother? Will either of them show mercy and courage if they are? Julia knows she’s probably on a fool’s errand—reaching out to the daughters she abandoned only now that she needs them. But what other choice does she have except to try?

Redemption Mountain


Gerry FitzGerald - 2013
    Virginia and meets a small-town woman and her son who open his eyes to a richer life than he could have imagined.On the surface, Charlie Burden and Natty Oaks could not be more different: She, the daughter of many generations of rural farmers; he, an executive at a multi-national engineering firm. But, in each other, they find the new lease on life they both so desperately need.Natty dreams of a life beyond her small town. She is unhappily married to her high school crush (who now spends more time at the bar than at home) and passes the time nursing retired miners, coaching her son, The Pie Man's, soccer team and running the mountain trails she knows by heart, longing to get away from it all. Charlie has everything he ever thought he wanted, but after 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder, he no longer recognizes his own life: his job has become bureaucratic paper-pushing, his wife is obsessed with their country-club status, and his children have grown up and moved on. When he is sent to West Virginia to oversee a mining project, it is a chance to escape his stuffy life; to get involved, instead of watching from the sidelines. Arriving in Red Bone, though, he gets more than he bargained for: his new friends become the family he was missing and Natty, the woman who reminds him what happiness feels like. When his company's plans threaten to destroy Natty's family land, his loyalties are questioned and he is forced to choose between his old life and his new love in a fight for Redemption Mountain.

Peggy Sue Got Pregnant


Deanna R. Adams - 2013
    After one reckless night with the boy she loves, sixteen-year-old Peggy Sue Lawrence's life changes forever. It is 1957. "Nice" girls don't have sex before marriage, and if they do and it leads to pregnancy, they are whisked out of town. In Peggy Sue's case, she's put on a bus in Hereford, Texas, headed for Cleveland, knowing she'll probably never see Frankie London again. She gives birth to a daughter, Charlee, and hands the baby over to an aunt and uncle, who adopt her with the agreement that the truth never be revealed. But it's too late. Someone knows. And that person will haunt Peggy Sue for years. When a teenaged Charlee forms an all-girl rock band, and gets international press, Peggy Sue is confronted with the realization that keeping secrets is sometimes worse than the secret itself.

Hot Flashes & Cold Lemonade


Susan Flett Swiderski - 2013
    No matter how hard she tries, she can’t ignore the fact that he’s gone… or the fact that she’s becoming a drama queen who can sweat like a sumo wrestler doing push-ups in a sauna. It’s almost enough to suck the blush out of her rose-colored glasses. Whether she likes it or not, she’s gonna have to turn some of her wishbone into backbone.Layer by layer, assumptions and misconceptions peel away, as Pearl learns to buck up in the face of reality, and to laugh at her imperfect… but not so bad… life. Supported by a down-to-earth husband who loves her with every blue-collar bone in his body, a mother who isn’t the self-centered witch Pearl imagined her to be, three terrific grown kids… okay, make that two terrific kids, and a Golden Boy who’s a far cry from 24-carat… and a bunch of wonderful wacky gal pals, Pearl comes to realize that her mixed bag of family and friends makes her life damned near perfect. Pearl being Pearl, she’ll never give up her rosy specs entirely, but learning to handle reality also means learning to deal with death.

The Jewel Box


C. Michelle McCarty - 2013
     Back in the Sixties while Motown hits filled the airwaves, naïve Jill Novak acknowledged her knack for choosing losers when boring Husband Number One vanished, leaving her to support their two-year-old. The perpetual daydreamer soon morphs from small town Jill to sophisticated big city Cherie, but a new name does not a better future bring. In 1969 Houston, Cherie encounters a rogue’s gallery of characters unlike those from her small Texas hometown; a drop-dead gorgeous transsexual, a snarling wannabe Mafia hit-man, a hairy cop who incorporates fondling girls into his job, and a ditzo neighbor whose desire for friendship borders on stalking. But it is two distinctly different men—a middle-age gregarious gambler and a twenty-something gruff intellectual—who jump on board her turbulent thirty-year roller coaster ride and journey with her into the 21st Century and womanhood. A tough and tender Texas-sized romance with a mild metaphysical slant, The Jewel Box highlights moments from the mystical, laid-back Age of Aquarius through the materialistic, high-speed Internet era. Music and references to the times/political climate convey the nations rocky terrain (and subsequent growth) parallel with that of the main character. This is a story of an engaging and open-hearted woman with no plan, making her way through life by fits and starts, and ultimately succeeding by turning out to be stronger than she thought.