Experience her anxiety; feel her fear. Watch her survive by her wits. Connie has recruited her friend, Paul Russo, to serve as cook and first mate. Paul can't join her on her maiden voyage, so Connie is forced to rely on pick-up crew for her first two weeks at sea. Trouble erupts aboard Diamantista as soon as she leaves shore. Anticipating that Paul will join her in the Virgin Islands before their first guests arrive, Connie stays in touch with him during her voyage. As they converse, neither one will acknowledge that their growing attraction is deeper than friendship. Love for Sail is the first book in the Connie Barrera Thrillers, a romantic thriller series from the author of the best-selling Bluewater Thrillers. The next Connie Barrera Thriller will be published in the fourth quarter of 2014. If you enjoyed the Bluewater Thrillers, you'll see a different side of some of your favorite characters when they appear in the Connie Barrera Thrillers. Connie Barrera first appeared in C.L.R. Dougherty's Deception in Savannah. She discovered her Love for Sail in Bluewater Ice and Bluewater Betrayal. Now she has her own stories to tell. Welcome aboard!

    A life of scholarly solitude and adventure was more than enough for me. I never wanted to play politics. I never wanted to get married. I most certainly never dreamed of becoming a god. Yet when I ventured into the depths of the Soulless Desert, I found... something- a power so ancient it has been forgotten by mankind. That day unleashed a chain of events that, once started, cannot be stopped. It is the Rise of the Forgotten Sun. It is the beginning of the end.

    But she is soon forced to keep her investigation "off the record" and gets paired with an unusual consultant. The world of crime and conspiracy takes on a dangerous edge as she finds herself dealing with kidnapped bankers, high stakes cover ups, and criminals who are determined to keep her quiet. To save herself from the unthinkable, she must sort out the conspiracy from the crime and find out who she can trust to finish the case before they can derail her investigation, permanently!

    None of these distract James Holtzclaw from his employer's mission: to turn the fading gold-rush town of Auraria, GA, into a first-class resort and drown its fortunes below a man-made lake. But when Auraria's peculiar people and problematic ghosts collide with his own rival ambitions, Holtzclaw must decide what he will save and what will be washed away. Taking its inspiration from a real Georgia ghost town, Auraria is steeped in the folklore of the Southern Appalachians, where the tensions of natural, supernatural and artificial are still alive.

     Like the historical Maid of Orleans in medieval France, better known as Joan of Arc, Zhanna displays a charisma and military prowess that win her command of an army to defend her homeland against the Bolshevik Terror. MAID OF BAIKAL is a richly imagined speculation on the Russian Civil War that vividly portrays its violence, bitterness, and hardship, while telling the inspirational story of a determined young woman who perseveres in the face of overwhelming obstacles and who dies for her beliefs, not knowing whether her dreams will be realized. SYNOPSIS: In a quiet town near Siberia’s Lake Baikal, Zhanna Dorokhina turns eighteen as the Russian Civil War rages. She is a bright, headstrong girl, with normal hopes and dreams, but for years, she has heard inner voices. The voices tell her to be virtuous, study well, and nurture her faith, for a great task lies ahead. Lately, however, the voices have turned ominous, foretelling Russia’s doom if the White Armies fail to crush the Bolshevik usurpers in Moscow. They direct Zhanna to travel to Omsk to alert the Siberian dictator, Admiral Kolchak, and to seek command of an army to besiege Moscow. When Zhanna informs her father, he thinks her mad. But a young American intelligence officer and his Russian counterpart help win her an audience with the Admiral, and the two young men become her wartime companions. Though Zhanna and the American officer harbor tender feelings for one another, Zhanna must put those feelings aside, because her voices demand that she remain pure. During the coming months, Zhanna persists despite relentless opposition. Displaying remarkable charisma and military aptitude, she leads her army across vast expanses of untamed forest and steppe, where suffering, violence and treachery await at every turn. But over time, Zhanna’s obsession with victory arouses powerful enemies. Defying a ceasefire, Zhanna wins her greatest battle, only to ride into a Bolshevik ambush soon after. Held captive, she must endure a vengeful show trial and face the verdict alone, without knowing whether her prophecies will be fulfilled.

    Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.

     Cassandra, or Cassie to her friends, sticks out like a redheaded weed amidst her family of tidy blooms. At Bramfield Park, Cassie’s prim parents and attractive older sister, Sophia, wish for nothing but an advantageous marriage for their eldest and prettiest—and for Cassie to stay out of the way. But when the surprisingly charming Lord Peter Courtney pays Bramfield a visit to take in Cassie’s father’s renowned collection of art—and, if the Earl of Wychhaven has anything to say about it, to add his daughter Sophia to Courtney’s own collection—fate throws Cassie and the Lord together under most extraordinary circumstances. What began with a simple ruse to aid a friend grows more complex as Cassie’s feelings for Lord Peter grow stronger, and soon she finds herself in over her head. From the beloved author of the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series, M.C. Beaton’s Regency Romance novella, The Summer of Discontent, delivers an enchanting summertime tale of mistaken identities, unlikely friendships, and unexpected love. About the Author M. C. Beaton is the pen name of bestselling novelist Marion Chesney. She is a prolific writer of historical romances and small village mysteries. Born in Scotland, the author began her writing career as a fiction buyer for a Glasgow bookstore and has worked as a theater critic, newspaper reporter, and editor. The author has written under various names, most notably as M. C. Beaton for her Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series. She also has written under the names Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Marion Gibbons, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward. The author lived in the United States, but now splits her time between the Cotswolds, England and Paris, France.

    Former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson draws on her own experiences to take readers inside a haunting story of Iraq at the turn of the millennium and the impossible choices faced by families under a deadly regime. At night, in Huda’s fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the mukhabarat—the secret police who watch and listen for any scrap of information that can be used against America and its allies. They have ordered her to befriend Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador’s wife. Huda has no wish to be an informant, but fears for her teenaged son, who may be forced to join a deadly militia. Nor does she know that Ally has dangerous secrets of her own. Huda’s former friend, Rania, enjoyed a privileged upbringing as the daughter of a sheikh. Now her family’s wealth is gone, and Rania too is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women’s lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing possible betrayal at every turn, all three must trust in a fragile, newfound loyalty, even as they discover how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their families.

    He is asked by a dying man to investigate an unsolved murder. Seeking help, Danny turns to a retired killer--his father. Set on Long Island in 1982, this book follow's Danny's adventures as he tries to escape those trying to kill him and find the truth.

    That's what Harriet and Arthur Bloomsbury think, but that comforting feeling is a fiction. Hiding among the stone walls, picturesque barns, and hay bales is a horror they can't imagine. It's deadly, impossible -- maybe even paranormal. This short story isn’t your average murder mystery, because this time, the threat isn’t quite so clear. Is it the serial killers hunting you? Your own paranoia? Or the very laws of nature? The suspense is free.

    After decades of turning her back on her past, she’s forced to return to Appalachia when she receives news of her estranged mother’s death.But going back means revisiting the traumatic childhood she escaped—and the family that cast her out when she needed them most. Back on the land she has inherited, she’s flooded with memories of the forest where she once roamed free, of her beloved lost brother, and of the old house in the West Virginia hills where she grew up. Her mother has left her another legacy, too, which reveals secrets that Isabel is only beginning to understand.As forces bear down and threaten to take what she has left, it’s time for Isabel to step into her power, reclaim her roots, and finally confront the painful memories that have kept her from the life she truly wants.

    So why would a team of killers want to murder him and frame it as a suicide? Finn survives the encounter to discover the killers have left behind a “suicide note” detailing a dark incident from Finn’s past no one could possibly know about.Finn escapes to Musqasset Island, his former home, to seek refuge with an old friend, but soon realizes he has trapped himself on the small island with the very people who want him dead—and with old debts that need to be paid. His only hope for survival, and redemption, is to figure out who’s trying to kill him and why they’ve waited eighteen years to act—no easy task in a raging nor’easter, where communications are shaky and relationships (and Finn’s mental state) are even shakier.

    The lush grounds soon become a haven for Hollywood hopefuls to meet, drink, and revel through the night. George Cukor is in the pool, Tallulah Bankhead is at the bar, and Scott Fitzgerald is sneaking off to a bungalow with Sheilah Graham while Madame Alla Nazimova keeps watch behind her lace curtains.But the real story of the Garden of Allah begins with its first few residents, three kids on the brink of something big.Marcus Adler has a lot to prove after his father catches him and the police chief’s son with their pants down. He flees Pennsylvania for Hollywood with his mouth shut and his eyes open, and begins to write the lines all those starlets will say out loud. Can a smart, sensitive guy find his own voice in a town that’s just learning to talk?Kathryn Massey’s childhood was a grinding routine of auditions, but she couldn’t care less about being a movie star. When she takes off with her typewriter, determined to become a newspaper reporter, she finds that breaking into the boys’ club is tougher than breaking free of her bossy mother. To make it in this town, she’ll need some serious moxie.Gwendolyn Brick is a sweet Southern beauty who’s come a long way to try her luck on the big screen. She’s hoping the same succulent lips the guys want to kiss will land her more than a bit part on a casting couch. She’s going to need some help keeping everyone in line.Nobody gets a free pass in Hollywood, but a room at the Garden on Sunset can get your foot in the door.

    Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone--or something--is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow a disastrous experimental route West, or just plain bad luck--the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest and most disastrous western adventures in American history. While the ill-fated group struggles to survive in the treacherous mountain conditions--searing heat that turns the sand into bubbling stew; snows that freeze the oxen where they stand--evil begins to grow around them, and within them. As members of the party begin to disappear, they must ask themselves "What if there is something waiting in the mountains? Something disturbing and diseased...and very hungry?"

    As the wall between East and West falls, Miriam Winter cares for her dying father, Henryk. When he cries out for someone named Frieda – and Miriam discovers an Auschwitz tattoo hidden under his watch strap – Henryk’s secret history begins to unravel.Searching for more clues of her father’s past, Miriam finds an inmate uniform from the Ravensbrück women’s camp concealed among her mother’s things. Within its seams are dozens of letters to Henryk written by Frieda. The letters reveal the disturbing truth about the ‘Rabbit Girls’, young women experimented on at the camp. And amid their tales of sacrifice and endurance, Miriam pieces together a love story that has been hidden away in Henryk’s heart for almost fifty years.Inspired by these extraordinary women, Miriam strives to break through the walls she has built around herself. Because even in the darkest of times, hope can survive.