The friend, in turn, gives it to someone else. For twelve days the fruitcake exchanges hands, improving the life of everyone who receives it. Charming, heartwarming, and magical.

    It's been five years since the idyllic oceanside town of Port Elspeth was rocked by tragedy. Shortly after their high school graduation, Evangeline Maddingly, daughter of one of the town's wealthiest old-money families, and Oliver Prescott, son of one of the town's wealthiest new-money families, were found dead in an isolated cabin in the woods outside of town. The circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths are murky at best, thanks in large part to a coroner with connections to the town's founding families and a sweeping effort from those in power to shut down any negative publicity that could harm the reputation of their pristine community.Five years later, a small group of strangers gather to create jewelry for one of Port Elspeth's many fundraisers. Before long, friendships are forming and old secrets are being revealed. Along with solving the mystery of how to make a perfect pair of chandelier earrings or cabochon necklace, these unlikely friends find themselves at the heart of solving the murders that took place half a decade earlier.

    As soon as she arrives people look at her oddly, treat her like royalty and keep referring to her as Rosie Reynolds. She discovers that Rosie is the Big Apple’s favourite talk show host and after Rosie’s botched face-lift, Jane is offered the job of emergency stand-in on Happy Hour, the show that made Rosie famous. But here she meets Lou, a dangerously charming man who also happens to be Rosie’s husband...

    the reader is seduced by that willful voice, wavering between shock and grudging admiration at Friedmann's high-wire balancing act. And laughing all the way." -The New Orleans Times-PicayuneA tour de force whose heroine falls somewhere between the southern elegance of Walker Percy and the zany black comedy of THE CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES.Surrounded by the splendor and excess of old money in New Orleans, Eleanor Rushing is a wry and witty young woman who first locks eyes with the love of her life at a City Council meeting—or so we’re led to believe. What starts as an innocuous infatuation with Dr. Maxim Walters, a Methodist minister who just so happens to be married already, quickly turns into an outrageous and obsessive passion: she orchestrates an automobile accident outside his house, volunteers to stuff envelopes at his church, follows him to Nashville on a business venture, sets up camp in the toolshed in his backyard… Eleanor’s voice is both acutely perceptive and macabrely unhinged. She considers herself blessed with the ability to “remember everything,” except that her recollections and impressions seem to be at odds with everyone around her. As her “relationship” with Dr. Walters begins to spin frantically out of control, we can't help being her willing and faithful admirers. Magnificently showcases Friedmann's touted powers of psychological acuity and laugh-out-loud black humor. A fitting Kindle addition for fans of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.Excerpt:I think it is impossible to change the world unless you are truly evil and so mad for control you never sleep. And it’s ridiculous to try to change yourself at all. Scientists have studied identical twins who feel pain in the gut at the same time, as if everything were laid out from the moment they were conceived. Sometimes I figure all you can do is watch yourself, as if you’re viewing a simple, dull film; eventually you find out what was going to happen. Unless death catches you by surprise.So I go to City Council meetings. I haven’t missed one in four years, not even for a case of B-type influenza, which I probably picked up from a crowd in the City Council chambers. Sitting in those meetings is the only way I can pretend to feel any breezes of serendipity. Somewhere between the global and the personal, they play out the grandest battles of silliness, and I like to guess at them. When I was twenty-three I lived in Washington, DC and sat in regularly on the proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives. But they mumbled and shuffled a lot, and you couldn’t see their eyes unless they passed close by. It was good to learn about carcinogens in the Iowa corn after the drought and how the turnips in western Montana swelled like giant melons for years after Mount Saint Helens blew, and I believed money should be set aside to study such matters, but I couldn’t see the congressmen’s eyes.

    Their chemistry is strong, and not wanting to scare him off, she avoids telling him she’s a local politician. She doesn't want the night to end—until she realizes he’s one of her opponents in the primary.Jack Bengston can’t place where he’s seen Lily’s pretty face. He's taken with her, and he's sure the feeling is mutual—until she leaves him hanging and without her number.When Jack and Lily meet again as candidates, California State Senator John Bengston and Sonoma County Supervisor Ursula Robles, they find an awkward romantic encounter is no way to kick-off a campaign, but how do you stop an attraction once it starts? There are times when politicians want to put their identities aside.

    He’s all she has left of her sister, Debbie, who was killed in a car accident six months ago. She’s prepared to fight for joint custody even as she battles feelings she knows she shouldn’t have for the man who is Kyle’s father – and her sister’s husband.Ben Martin is outraged that Shelby wants joint custody of his baby. Yet after his initial anger and feelings of betrayal, Ben suggests a marriage of convenience so that together he and Shelby can provide the love and security he and Debbie wanted their baby to have. What first seems like a workable solution quickly turns into a nightmare of grief and guilt when Ben and Shelby find themselves fighting a fierce attraction – an attraction that seems the worst possible betrayal of Debbie. But Debbie has her own opinion and reaches out from the other side to Shelby and Ben, bringing them the love and healing they need to move forward with their lives.

    For twenty-something Boston school teacher Ruth, she's gotten by just fine on playing it safe, thank you very much. But now her risk-free life and nice-girl demeanor are leaving her increasingly heartsick. So when she meets bad boy Derek, she's willing to overlook her “no romance” rule and give him a chance to prove her fears wrong. Because he, also, is plagued by a sense of ennui and pointlessness, wanting to change his fast-and-loose living but not knowing how.Neither can deny the inexplicable, illogical attraction drawing them together, and they are hard-pressed to resist it. But what will their unlikely relationship cost, and who will be caught in the crossfire?The Light Between Us is a sassy and sensual romp. Part love story, part comedy of errors, and part coming of age tale, The Light Between Us is a delicious read for fans of the romance and new adult genres alike."The Light Between Us is a raw and powerful love story about forgiveness and learning to trust our instincts. Sexy and intense, I couldn't put this novel down and wished, at the last chapter, for more." - H. Mattern, author of Saving Katie Baker"The Light Between Us is the kind of book that reaches into you and settles in. The implication of this genre is to find a light summer beach-bound read. That is the not the case here. The characters are fulfilling, the plot more than a little unexpected, and just sensual enough to keep you blushing without dropping the book. Riveting." - R. L. Haas, www.dramaticelegance.blogspot.com

    When her boss sends her to Ruby Lake, a small, rural town in northern Wisconsin, the last thing she was looking for was love at first sight, not to mention a place in the world where she finally fits. Add in her city-savvy best friend, a jealous ex-girlfriend, a famous father, and a coffee shop full of off-the wall characters, and it becomes more challenging for Sydney to manage than a spinning plate competition. When disaster strikes close to home, Sydney is left with the unbearable choice of her family, or the life she has always dreamed of. Come with Sydney on her journey and laugh, cry and rediscover why some choices are not really choices at all, they are simply fate.

    Even till the age of seventeen she believed that Father Christmas existed somewhere, but just before her 18th Christmas her world changed and so did her beliefs and thoughts. That's till she runs into the plaza's Santa who sported a very sexy six pack under that pot stomach of his, not that she cared. She didn't. But with all the christmas spirit in the air, he was a dose of a miracle that she needed. Even if it was just for Christmas, she can let loose...right?

    She’s been jilted at the altar by Stephen-the-indecisive, is paying off a mountain of wedding debt by holding down two jobs, and her flat is mostly made of cardboard and spackle. Then at work she meets a man in need of a date to his ex-fiancée’s wedding. Annie goes, and one wedding and four bottles of wine later, she finds herself getting married in Vegas to Dorian, an erotic illustrator.Of course, it’s all great and romantic, until someone loses an eye, which here means, ‘until Annie gets home, and realizes that her best friend (and boss) Will, has kind of been working up to popping the question himself. Will is not happy to see Annie married, in fact he’s willing to trade his Mohawk and every Ke$ha CD he owns to get Dorian out of the way.As if that wasn’t enough to make things tense at work, Annie’s best-work-friend Yvonne (who knows something really fun you can do with a rugby player, some roller skates and chocolate spread) can’t resist getting involved in Annie’s love life. Neither can Dorian’s kleptomaniac sister Fifi, Dorian’s ex-bride and Annie’s mother.In between breaking into cafés, having her door kicked down by the police and trying not to kill each and every one of her friends and relatives, Annie tries to work out how the hell her life got so complicated.

    Read at your own risk ;)We Fight, We Fall (Fight and Fall #1)Two fallen people, consumed by secrets. Can they heal each other? Or will past demons destroy everything worth fighting for? There are times when we must fight before we fall.24-year old Emma Blackwell is running. Running away from the life she once had in Arizona. She moves to Astoria, Oregon, hoping for a new beginning. Can she finally repair the damage that was done to her?Aiden Crowe is hiding. Hiding the man that he wants to be, before everything fell apart. All he wants is to live day to day, his pain a bitter reminder of the past. He's broken beyond repair, and nothing can change that.Two people, who find themselves with nowhere to go, find exactly what they weren't looking for. When ruptured hearts cross paths, will they finally mend or forever remain shattered?In We Fight, We Fall, love decides who is worth fighting for and what is worth falling for.

    The hot-as-hell footballer Veronica had crushed on in high school. And that he’d ask her out on a date... Veronica Damn Joel Marketis was hot! So why was he asking her out through a dating app? The super hot Patriots footballer didn’t exactly need a dating app to meet women. And if he was like all the rest of the men on those dating apps — players with no manners looking for quick sex — then she wasn't interested. Besides, she was just using the app to prove her point: dating apps have created a terrible hookup culture. But as the dates get hotter, the clothes come off and the sex gets heated, Veronica may just lose track of her goal…but is Joel as nice as he seems? Or is this just an act to promote the dating app. Joel Veronica. His high-school crush. A firecracker lawyer to be. A hot-as-hell woman. He hadn’t planned on meeting her through the app. He hadn’t planned on meeting anyone. He has his sexual needs taken care. Thank you very much. So why is he so attracted? Life of a sportsman with its highs and lows is bringing him down. He is done with one night stands and wants a real woman. Someone he can have a real conversation with. Veronica seems like that person. Except Veronica is nothing like he expected…and what she does to him between the sheets…ahh…. ***The Right Swipe is a standalone online dating romance novel, with plenty of steam, a guaranteed HEA and no cliffhanger ***

    Lenise claims to have witnessed a disturbing incident involving Jennifer's husband, Hank, but as far as Jennifer is concerned, the forty-something single mother is a vindictive backstabber out to make trouble.But Jennifer soon discovers this is no sick joke. Hank has a dark side she knew nothing about.As Jennifer's life spirals out of control she has no one to turn to, apart from Lenise, who appears only too willing to help. But who is Lenise? What does she want from Jennifer? And just how far is she willing to go to get it?A tale about secrets and obsession, and what can happen when you forget to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.If you like fast-paced, gripping domestic thrillers, you love this dark tale of secrets and obsession from exciting new crime writer Deborah Rogers

    Her weasel of a boyfriend dumped her two weeks before Christmas and she hasn't told her mother about the break up yet. Just when Callie thinks all is lost and she'll be spending another holiday at the kids' table drinking margaritas solo, a handsome stranger comes to her aid and pretends to be her boyfriend, just through Christmas. Could the gorgeous and mysterious Henry actually be 'the one' for Callie? Things go crazy when the press finds out royalty is on the loose in the Florida Keys and that they could have their very own American Kate Middleton! When Callie finds out Henry's actually an incognito prince and marriage is tricky business, she's stunned. Could a royal ever love a chef and cafe owner? Could he marry her even if he wanted to? A sweet romance with inspirational undertones, set in the fictional small town of Sunnyside Key, Florida, HER CHRISTMAS PRINCE is the first book in the Love in the Keys series of tropical flavoured seasonal novellas.

    She decided to stay home and work on her family's ranch, when many of her friends went off to college. Although Paige could have become anything she wanted in life, she loved the everyday ranch life. One day a familiar face pops back into town and creates a buzz. Paige had a history with the handsome man and a flood of emotions came rushing back. Unsure of what the future holds with the blast from the past, Paige embarks on a journey of finding if true love is still real. *This book is part of a 3 book continuing series.