"Take some water," one of them said. Catherine shoved the cup aside, afraid she'd be sick. The floor rocked. The air smelled of the sea. She clambered to her feet, staggering, and fought the panic threatening to overwhelm her. He'd put her aboard a ship. Unlike the other women aboard ship, Catherine de Villeroy had assumed Fate intended her to live an aristocratic life of ease and luxury. Instead she is transported to a fetid jungle to be tied to a secretive stranger who reeks of pigs. Catherine's shipmate Marie Claude has had few expectations in life, and even they have been disappointed. When her only options become prostitution or starvation, Fate decrees she will become the wife of a stranger in a strange land. Even if her new husband is a cruel man, how can life not be better in this rough paradise of alligators and wild orchids? Agnes expected a life spent in her father's bookstore, perhaps married to a gentle, scholarly man. Betrayed and ruined, Agnes retreats into herself and hardly notices when she is transported to Louisiana. Married to a stranger who desires only an amenable bed partner, Agnes strives to stay present in her new life and to explore what more Fate allows a ruined woman.

    

    Her goal was to become an accountant and work her way up to run her own company. Unfortunately, before her 21st birthday changes had to be made in her life that would cause her to leave everything she once knew behind; including her mother.Caleb was your average bachelor that ran through women like water. The problem was he wanted to settle down but never found anyone good enough to do that with.When Kharis and Caleb finally meet face to face, sparks fly and a flame is ignited in both of them that won't allow either one of them to walk away; no matter what obstacles are placed in front of them. The two of them will take a journey unlike any other showing everyone that it's ok to have that different kind of love.

    It is a new, never been told before story about Matt and Nicole.) AN EXCERT FROM THE BOOK (It’s Nicole in the middle school lunch line)— My stubborn eyes keep clinging to Matt. No matter where I try to make them look, they keep lingering back to him. He’s like a magnet to my eyes. A magnet that I want to strangle … yet hug. Both at the same time. Matt must feel my eyes on him, because he glances up at me and our eyes lock. I get this ache in my chest. This longing. Longing for us to be close again; best friends again. (Or maybe even MORE than friends—gulp!) Embarrassed that Matt caught me spying on him, I quickly turn away from his hypnotic stare. My mangled heart feels like it’s going to explode. SUMMARY OF THE BOOK: Best friends, Matt and Nicole, are in a fight. What’s that about? Can they make up and be friends again? Or maybe even become MORE than friends? Hmmm. NOTE: This book also contains a short story about Ally and Griffin in middle school. And now a free bonus story as well: MIDDLE SCHOOL POWERS (VOL. 4). It’s just an added story because readers have been asking for more to the Middle School Powers series—so here it is—a new story included in this book, free. (This book is 190 pages) Update: Now there is a another story about Matt and Nicole added to this book as well. Enjoy! Melanie Marks' newest book is: "Ally and Griffin (Middle School)" Also new: Beck Bait

    But Salamanca Cottage is not all that it seems and soon she finds that she is not alone. Then she has decide if the being she talks to and finds herself becoming fond of is real or merely a manifestation of her grief and longing.

    Wanting a chance at a new life, away from the pitying stares and loneliness of her life in England, she answers an ad as a mail order bride in America. Brooks is a gambling man, who wants revenge against his father's killer. His plans are complicated when Fiona lands in his lap after a winning hand. He doesn’t have time to be looking after a woman, especially one who should have known better than to come to a strange country on her own. But, somehow, she has become his problem. Will the final wager cost him his heart? BOOK 2: A Drifter’s Fortune - She needs to escape the brutality of the life she’s living, and he needs a wife to win a fortune… Patience has been raised by family who treat her as little more than a servant. After years of pain and abuse, she knows it’s time to get her and her younger brother to safety before it’s too late. She answers an ad looking for a mail order bride, knowing that whatever the future holds with a complete stranger, it could never be worse than what it is now. An eccentric man has left his beloved Last Chance Ranch to the first man who can find a woman to marry him. Problem is, it has to be a woman they’ve never met, and they have to get her to agree to come to the desolate ranch full of surprises, in the middle of nowhere, and stay for at least six months. The race is on to win the fortune. Harrison is determined to send the woman away after the term is up, paying her dearly for her time. He’s lived in the shadow of his family name long enough, and wants to create his own mark in the world. He doesn’t have time for anything else. But, when Patience shows up, his plans change as he realizes there might be more to life than earning a fortune. And, maybe the fortune he has in front of him is already worth more than he could have dreamed. BOOK 3: A Lawman’s Reward - Can he prove she’s worthy of the love he has to give? Lydia is ready for her fresh start as the teacher in the growing cowtown of Abilene, KS. Her brother isn’t happy about her living in town on her own, so only agrees if his friend—the local sheriff—is willing to keep an eye on her. Lewis Kinkaide has left a life behind, following his dreams of working as a lawman in the wildest town in the west. He agrees to keep his eye on Lydia, knowing it’s no hardship since he’s already had his eye on her for a long time. Can Lewis prove to her that her disability, which she believes leaves her with nothing to offer a man, is in her eyes only? And, what will happen when secrets from his past come forward, threatening to ruin the hope and trust they've started to build? BOOK 4: Jessie's Bargain (This book crosses over and continues into this series featuring the same characters you will meet in the first 3 books). Cora left England for a new life in America as a mail order bride - only to find the man she’s come to marry has been killed in a gunfight. She has a sister in Kansas, but how can she get there? Jesse needs this job driving cattle to Kansas so he can marry the woman who’s given him an ultimatum - buy land and settle down, or she’ll marry someone who will.

    

    

    He never had a place to call home. While camping out one night, hoping to find the next town, he had a feeling he was being watched. He ignored his instincts and went to sleep to wake up in the morning with a splitting headache from being hit on the head, and his horse, food, and saddlebags stolen. Following the footsteps left behind by the thieves, he found it led to a cabin and to a patchwork family in dire need of help. Sadie Carman lost her pa and took in two boys and a little girl that needed her to care for them. The boys were a trial, but she loved them like her own children. When Stryker Steele showed up at her door and told her that someone stole his horse and belongings, she was worried the boys had something to do with it. She agreed to let him stay until he could figure out what to do, but she never figured that he would give them a Christmas like they never had and forgive the boys for what they did. She worried Stryker would leave and she wished he'd stay forever.

    

    She struggled organizing the wedding as Viren Dewan’s classy extravagant attitude kept hurdling her work. Least did she know they had a history together, a knot which his family easily forgot and hers denied to accept. What would happen when that past resurfaced?A roller coaster ride of a forgotten accidental marriage, claiming its identity between Innocence versus Power.

    Ellie Greene wants a quiet life with Grams on the Wyoming farm, and quiet could happen if someone would stop sabotaging them. Each week something more dangerous happens and Ellie doesn't know how much more she can stand. Forced to seek help, Ellie would prefer anyone else other than the tall, dark, sexy-as-sin cowboy with the knight-in-shining-armor complex she gets stuck with. While the chemistry between them flares brighter than fireworks, Ellie knows they want different things from life. She wants an easy-going farm boy, and nothing about Shane is easy. Besides, soon he’ll be moving on. He’s not meant to be a civilian… Shane Hannigan doesn’t know how to be anything but a Marine sniper. Honestly, he’s not sure he’s good at anything else. Since the IED explosion took his leg—and most likely his career—he’s not sure where he belongs. As a man whose job is to protect others, coming across the blonde-curly haired beauty with a flat tire is a nice distraction, that is until he finds out the flat was no accident. Someone is out to get Ellie, and even though she’s the most stubbornly competent woman he’s ever met—and damn if that’s not a sexy trait—he knows she's in danger and he’s going to help her, despite her obstinate objections. Can they work together to find who is determined to destroy Ellie before it’s too late? Or will Ellie lose her heart and her farm?

    As in, ALL of their free time. As the days go by, Bayleigh's not even sure Jace has remembered the occasion. But she's hoping he'll prove her wrong. This is a novella. Also available: Part 1 - Summer Unplugged Part 2 - Autumn Unlocked Part 3 - Winter Untold Part 4 - Spring Unleashed Part 5 - The Beginning of Forever - A full length novel Part 6 - Autumn Adventure Part 7 - Winter Wonderful Part 8 - The Girl with my Heart (a novel from Jace's point of view)