Book picks similar to
Persistence of Dreams by Ann Warner


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Slow Fade


Rudolph Wurlitzer - 1984
    It is a profound and utterly convincing portrait of a man whose career and life has been devoted to the manipulation of imagesand the story of how, at the age of 71, he tries to divest himself of illusions and make peace with his demons and his past.

Dark Chocolate and Death


Samantha Silver - 2019
     When her parents are arrested for fraud, Megan drops her Healer studies at Spellford, the most prestigious university in the paranormal world, and rushes back to Pacific Cove to be with her two sisters and help run the family business, a local chocolate factory. But things go from bad to worse when she stumbles across the body of one of the employees the next day, and it turns out he's been murdered. With the family reputation in tatters and everyone in town thinking Megan is a murderer, she and her sisters decide to take matters into their own hands and find the killer. The three of them find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of an investigation that takes them to Western Woods, but are Megan and her sisters flying too close to the sun? Will they find the real killer and save the family's repuation before they find themselves in jail along with their parents - or worse? Dark Chocolate and Death is the first book in the Pacific Cove paranormal cozy mystery series.

Marty Feldman: The Biography of a Comedy Legend


Robert Ross - 2011
    He was an architect of British comedy, paving the way for Monty Python, and then became a major Hollywood star, forever remembered as Igor in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. A writer, director, performer and true pioneer of his art, he died aged only 48. His name was Marty Feldman, and here, at last, is the first ever biography. Acclaimed author Robert Ross has interviewed Marty’s friends and family, including his sister Pamela, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, and also draws from extensive, previously unpublished and often hilarious interviews with Marty himself, taped in preparation for the autobiography he never wrote. No one before or since has had a career quite like Marty’s. Beginning in the dying days of variety theatre, he went from the behind the scenes scriptwriting triumphs of Round the Horne and The Frost Report to onscreen stardom in At Last the 1948 Show and his own hit series Marty. That led to transatlantic success, his work with Mel Brooks, and a five-picture deal to write and direct his own movies.From his youth as a tramp on the streets of London, to the height of his fame in America – where he encountered everyone from Orson Welles to Kermit the Frog, before his Hollywood dream became a nightmare – this is the fascinating story of a key figure in the history of comedy, fully told for the first time.

Cyclops


Harley Wylde - 2022
    Add in all my honorary uncles in the Dixie Reapers MC and going on dates is next to impossible. So when Lyssa invites me to visit her at the Reckless Kings in Tennessee, I jump at the chance. Maybe I can finally experience life a little. I know my family goes after bad men, the kind who hurt women and kids. I never counted on becoming a victim myself. The biker who comes to my rescue is… scary. Hot. And all alpha. He’s exactly what I need!Cyclops -- My stint in the military left me a parting gift. Scar tissue that not only left me blind in that eye, but makes the damn thing look spooky as fuck. I’m used to people staring. Mostly. Then my brothers had to stick me with the road name Cyclops. They’re not funny, even if they think they are. Uncle Sam may no longer find me fit for duty, but it doesn’t mean I’m useless. When I hear a scream, I don’t hesitate. Thought I was saving a girl. Turns out she’s a woman -- and one I shouldn’t touch. The daughter of a Dixie Reaper, she’s her daddy’s little angel… and damn if I’m not tempted to lure her to the dark side and get her a little dirty.WARNING: Cyclops is part of the Reckless Kings MC series. It contains an age-gap relationship of more than 10 years, violence, bad language, and adult situations. Some readers may find the subject matter difficult to read. But there’s a guaranteed happily-ever-after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

Messages from Above: What Your Loved Ones in Heaven Want You to Know


Monica the Medium - 2019
    It's for anyone who's ever struggled with unresolved questions and feelings such as guilt or disbelief after losing a loved one. It's for people who've wondered: What happens when we die? Do dogs go to Heaven? What are soul contracts? Can the dead watch us have sex?Monica Ten-Kate, star of Freeform's Monica the Medium, answers your burning questions while sharing Spirit's most profound insights to help you heal in the midst of grief. Different types of loss are addressed, including: the death of a child, tragic accidents, terminal illness, suicide, overdose, miscarriage, and more.Additionally, Monica weaves in uplifting channeled messages, jaw-dropping stories of past readings, and candid anecdotes of what life's like as a twenty-five-year-old medium.You'll feel more connected to your departed family, friends, and pets. You'll learn how to spot the signs they send from the Other Side. More than anything, you'll be able to move forward with peace, comfort, and clarity knowing that love never dies.

Sailing in a Spoonful of Water


Joe Coomer - 1997
    "Sailing in a Spoongful of Water" is his memior of your years spent aboard his vintage motorsailor, Yonder, off the coast of Maine. This is a book that will entrance lovers of the sea, yet more deeply is it's abook about family: In prose rich with humor and awe, Coomer revisits the signal moments in his life and finds in his wife and their parents and grandparents his own safest harbor. The work of a writer whose powers grow with each book," Sailing in a Spoonful of Water" is that uncommon thing--a book full of welcome and joy.

An Ordinary Woman


Donna Hill - 2002
    So I may as well say it now. I slept with my best friend's husband. There is no explanation. Not a real one, anyway, not one that people will accept, especially people who know me. . .But I want to tell my side. . .Just hear me out. . ."Asha and Lisa have been best friends since grade school and they have always shared everything. A beautiful and accomplished photographer, Asha never seems to lack excitement or a man to share it with. Yet, for a woman who appears to have it all there is always "that something" she needs to make her feel whole. . .worthy.Lisa, "the good girl," has always dreamed of the perfect marriage to the perfect husband. Now she has both with Ross Davis and she has their future planned to the last, perfect detail.Ross didn't want to believe that he and Lisa had married too soon. He didn't want to believe that each day the man he thought himself to be was being stripped away by the woman he loved--leaving him feeling like a kept man instead of the man of the house.And then--betrayal. No one knows how it happened, how they could have done this to each other. But now, they each want to tell their side of the story.As Asha, Lisa and Ross travel down the road to discovery, you will root for them, hurt for them, hate them and love them. But you will never forget them.An Ordinary Woman is about the betrayal of the most sacred of trusts. It is about the that one moment when a single choice will change lives forever. It is a cautionary tale that dares to look deep inside the hearts and minds of the characters involved. Most importantly, An Ordinary Woman attempts to answer the question: How?

Salvation: Quest for Glory: Quincy Harker Year Four


John G. Hartness - 2019
     This novella collection features all four of the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter books that make up Year Four - She Talks to Angels Shout at the Devil Angel of Harlem Sympathy for the Devil She Talks to Angels - She's part Harley Quinn and part Wynona Earp. She's the granddaughter of the greatest vampire hunter who ever lived. She's part of The Shadow Council, a secret group of people working to save the world. She's Gabriella Van Helsing, and she's going to blow some crap up. In the fifth part of the Quincy Harker crossover series, Gabby helps hunt down a rogue archangel in St. Louis, learning more about herself, about history, and about that cute doctor's son than she expected when she took the gig. The fate of the world is in her hands, and now this non-magical woman from Chicago has to suit up and play in the metaphysical big leagues to hunt down The Voice of God and keep the Midwest from becoming Ground Zero for the Apocalypse! Shout at the Devil - For the past year, Quincy Harker and the Shadow Council have been hurtling toward a climactic confrontation with Lucifer for the fate of the world. That final battle moves ever nearer as Harker learns of the murder of an old friend in San Francisco. He puts his quest on hold to find his friend's killer, but when he gets to the City by the Bay, he finds that his two cases are irrevocably entwined and leading to a cataclysmic confrontation that may leave all of San Francisco a smoking ruin! Ah crap, aren't angels supposed to be the good guys? Well, nothing is ever easy with Harker and the gang! Angel of Harlem - The Quest for Glory rushes toward its conclusion as Quincy Harker steps in for a missing Shadow Council member and goes to New York City to find the last Archangel. But when pieces of his past come back to haunt him, Quincy Harker must face feelings long buried and horrors brand new when the Big Apple and a band of angry demons try to take a bite out of him! Sympathy for the Devil - t's been a two-year quest that has spanned the continent, and now Quincy Harker, Charlotte, NC's favorite (and only) Demon Hunter is crossing dimensions to do battle with Lucifer and restore his Guardian Angel Glory's divinity. Harker and his band of merry angels, monsters, and humans set off to keep Lucifer from re-starting the War on Heaven, but things go sideways right from the jump. How will Harker navigate the tortures and temptations of Hell to save his friend and the world? Can Harker keep himself together in the face of everything Lucifer and his minions will throw at him? Is he really hero enough to stand toe to toe with the Devil himself and come out alive? Or will he fall prey to the "man of wealth and taste?"

Unexpected Valentine


Kay Marie - 2021
    Luckily, her friends talk her into taking her already paid for romantic weekend getaway in Georgia. If anything, she can have a weekend of pampering and relaxation to help mend her broken heart.Her weekend was supposed to be time for her to be by herself, to unwind and decompress after her catastrophic breakup.Although, that isn't what happened -- meeting him wasn't in the plan.Weston Callahan is in Georgia for business and business alone. The only place in town where he's able to get a room is a bed and breakfast full of happy couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Being surrounded by those evidently in love, constantly gushing over one another only brings him pain and anger. All it does is remind him of last years fiasco, something he'd rather forget. He considered it torture until he met her -- afterwards, it became pure serendipity.One weekend is all they have.Or at least, that's what they originally thought. Fate intervenes, bringing these two star-crossed lovers back together to only reveal how their families have a long lived feud. Everything they thought they knew changes in an instant. Now they have to decide if fate will keep them together, or if their families will tear them apart.

Deliberate


Dixie Burns - 2015
    Head down and deep into a job, an eleven-year-old son, and a failing marriage, she hasn't got time for jury duty. Who does? However, the county court has other ideas. Serving on an all-female jury, she is forced to deliberate about more than the trial at hand. Old memories surface and Leigh makes a deliberate decision to take a hard look at her life and where it is going. I've certainly been there. Haven't you?

Those Children Are Ours


David Burnett - 2015
    Twelve years later, she petitions the family court for visitation with her daughters, Alexis and Christa.Her attorney tells Jennie that, ordinarily, she could not imagine that some type of visitation would not be granted. But, she warns, the situation is hardly ordinary.True, Jennie suffered from a bipolar disorder when she began to drink heavily, abandoned her family, and moved in with another man. True, she has turned her life around: leaving her boyfriend, returning to school, entering therapy, taking medication, finding a job, and joining a church. But she pressed no claim for her children when her husband divorced her, and she has made no attempt to contact them in any way since then. Her daughters, now sixteen and fourteen, live four hundred miles away. They have busy lives that do not include her, lives that will be totally disrupted by the visitation that she requests. Their father is engaged to be married to a woman who has taken the role of their mother for a decade. Alexis remembers nothing good about Jennie. Christa recalls nothing at all. Conflict ensues as soon as Jennie’s petition is served: her former husband does not want to share his children with the woman who deserted him; her children have no interest in knowing the mother who abandoned them, and her father insists that she is being timid and ought to demand full custody, not simply visitation. As court convenes, Jennie’s past is dredged up− the desertion, the men, her drinking, her mental health − and paraded before the judge. Her claim to be a different person, now, is attacked. The judge hesitates to grant Jennie’s request, but reluctantly agrees to order three trial visits.If persuading the judge to let her see her children was difficult, convincing them to allow her to be a part of their lives seems to be almost impossible. She struggles through two visits and is almost. What happens next tests her confidence in herself, her love for her children, and, ultimately, threatens her life, itself.

The Murder of Napoleon


Ben Weider - 1961
    Napoleon himself, expiring at 51 after a lifetime of robust health, suspected otherwise and ordered a thorough autopsy. His suspicions were well founded. So clever was the crime, however, that until recent developments in forensic science, it was impossible to prove a case of murder, let alone name the killer. Now, the authors of The Murder of Napoleon assert, it has been done-by a brilliant man whose 20-year inquest, a feat of detection, has produced one of history's greatest surprises. "Sensational...as gripping as a detective novel yet scrupulously observant of historical fact" (Publishers Weekly) Author Biography: David Hapgood was an editor and writer for The New York Times. He is author or co-author of The Murder of Napoleon, The Screwing of the Average Man, Monte Cassino, and Africa from Independence to Tomorrow. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and lives in New York City.

The Metaxy Project


Layton Green - 2014
    . . Rising above a hardscrabble childhood to become a star at one of Atlanta’s most prestigious law firms, Derek Miller is reliving The Great Gatsby in his own backyard. The spell is broken, however, when Derek’s investigation into the death of his mentor, a prominent psychologist, runs afoul of a mysterious government project involving research into psychic phenomena. As Derek digs deeper, convinced his mentor was murdered, he is plunged into a rabbit hole of government experiments, clandestine figures, and supposed paranormal events. His investigation also puts him at odds with shadowy forces deep within the corridors of power -- including those on the top floor of his own law firm. With his career in shambles, a warrant out for his arrest, and his life in jeopardy, Derek is running out of time to unravel the secrets surrounding his mentor’s research. And if he fails, it’s not just his own life that will be at risk, but the lives of those he holds most dear. From a theoretical physicist to a clairvoyant housewife to the charismatic pastor of a mega-church, from lavish Southern mansions to desperate urban wasteland, Derek’s investigation turns into a race for survival that hinges on one thing alone: finding, and stopping, the most powerful psychic the world has ever seen.

The Storm over Paris


William Ian Grubman - 2018
    Mori Rothstein, an art dealer and expert in master paintings from Rococo to Realism, has been sought after by every major museum in the world. Also seeking his expertise is Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering. As his friends and fellow Jews disappear one by one, Mori struggles to protect himself and his family by cooperating with the Germans to catalogue stolen paintings for the Fuhrer’s museum. Mori is neither a prisoner nor a free man as he forges a questionable relationship with one of the most notorious Nazis in Europe—his fidelity and morals tested daily. His once-charmed life transforms into a web of intrigue, kidnapping, and murder, against the backdrop of the world’s most treasured art. How does he get himself and his family out the other side of the war, while also attempting to rescue some of the greatest paintings of all time?

Introducing The Witcher: The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny and Blood of Elves


Andrzej Sapkowski - 2020