Scorned by the father who was incapable of showing him affection and nearly consumed by the mean streets of Prince George’s County, Maryland, Carson did what no one else could: he saved himself. After joining the police force and building a family with his wife, Bunny, Carson is finally in control of his life in the enclave where African American wealth and privilege shares the same zip code with black American crime and tragedy. Both Carson and his wife have great careers and three beautiful children: Roslyn, Roseanne, and Juwan. Carson is a devoted father, determined not to be the father that Jimmy Blake was to him. But while Juwan’s astounding artistic talent is his father’s pride, the boy’s close relationship with classmate Will conjures up emotions and questions in Carson that threaten to spill over and poison the entire Blake family.And then, one night in March, nearing the end of a routine shift, Carson stops a young black man for speeding. He orders Paul Houston to exit the car and drop to his knees. But when Houston retrieves something from his waistband and turns to face Carson, three shots are fired, one man loses his life and two families are wrenched from everything that came before and hurled into the haunting future of everything that will come after. When it is revealed that Paul, a son of educators and a teacher in Southeast D.C., was only holding a cell phone, Carson’s carefully woven world begins to unravel.After is a penetrating work of discovery for a man whose life careens more than once off the edge of disaster. Golden’s astounding prose will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

     Love on the Rebound Add a little Aloha to your Christmas this year! When Everly Watson takes her young son Jordan to Hawaii, she’s not just celebrating Christmas but also searching for answers surrounding a tragedy from her past. She doesn’t expect to be faced with a tsunami threat her second day on the island. Nor does she count on meeting the famous Christian Ross, superstar of a hit action-movie series. Sparks fly as Everly and Christian have an instant attraction. But things spiral out of control when Everly realizes someone is following her and watching her every move. Christian soon finds himself drawn into Everly’s complicated world of betrayal and deceit and feels the need to protect her from a perilous threat. Can Christian and Everly’s newfound love withstand the growing obstacles? Or are they doomed to keep reliving the heartaches of the past? Loving the Movie Star Actor Blade Sloan gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he lands a leading role in the new Jase Scott action movie, co-starring with Hollywood megastar Christian Ross. Too bad Blade’s having stress issues brought on by a longtime stalker who’s getting more aggressive. If Blade can’t find a way to loosen up on set and perform to the best of his ability, he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard to achieve. Dani Fairchild is trying hard to turn over a new leaf and transcend into adulthood. Yes, she may have been irresponsible in the past when she jilted billionaire Liam Barclay and ran off with a surfer, but that’s all behind her. Dani has a food blog she wants to take to the next level, and she’s holding down a full-time job. Granted, being a receptionist isn’t her dream job by any means, but hey, it’s a start. Too bad she can’t keep her big mouth shut and gets fired when the boss acts like a jerk. An unlikely encounter on the public bus brings Blade and Dani together where sparks fly and attraction sizzles. But Dani isn’t having it. No matter how charismatic Blade is or how good he looks with his chiseled abs and piercing blue eyes she’s vowed to never again get involved with someone who doesn’t live on the island permanently. Long distance relationships are a kick in the pants, and she’s tired of being hurt. Home alone for Christmas while Samantha and her family go to the mainland, Dani settles in for a quiet, predictable holiday. But fate has other plans when Dani and Blade are unwittingly thrown into a cycle of events that lead to a heart-pounding climax. Can Dani and Blade find a strong enough love to sustain them in the face of danger? Or will the stalker win in the end? False Identity Believe in miracles … believe in hope … believe in love. It's Christmastime, and Chancy Hamilton can’t bear the thought of spending the holidays without her late husband Max who died in a plane crash. When Chancy and her teenage son, Travis, have an argument, Travis storms out of the house and ends up in the wrong part of town where he is attacked by a group of thugs. When a homeless man comes to his rescue, he invites the man home to have a meal with his mom and little sister. Gabe Jones is not like any other homeless man Chancy has ever seen—he’s confident, intelligent, and devastatingly handsome. Jake, Chancy’s boyfriend, takes an instant dislike to Gabe and warns Chancy to stay away from him.

    Both their solids worlds are about to get shaken up. Their morals, lives, and status will come into question. Something brews on the horizon for the country of Gildemer. Will Gabby follow Etu's plans? Will Koi come to terms with his feelings? How does Luca play into it all? Will Gabby receive the affection from Amon that she's been longing for? Will it be everything she dreamed it to be? Read on in the world of the Gate.

    Jack "The Cannon" Kennedy thinks he's living the American Dream. A fancy house in the Houston suburbs. A promising career. And a loving wife who tolerates his long hours and selfish ways. In one horrific instant, he loses his wife. Then his job. Then his hope. And that just leaves Kellen, the young son Jack hardly knows or understands. Jack realizes he must reconnect with Kellen or they'll never get past their shared grief. But Jack's biggest obstacle is staring back from the mirror. Desperate to reach Kellen, he turns to baseball, the game he once loved. With Jack, a win-at-all-costs former star pitcher, coaching his son's Little League team, what could possibly go wrong?

    

    Life was a despairing time in the 1950s, as Veronica sought desperately to keep away from his cruelty. Astonishingly, to her and her mother, she won a scholarship to Ackworth Boarding School where she began to shine above her class-mates. A champion in all sports, Veronica at last found some happiness until her brother-in-law came into her life. It was as if she had stepped from the frying pan into the re: he took over control of her life removing her from the school she adored, two terms before she was due to take her GCEs, so he could put her to work as a cheap option on his market stall. Abused for many years by these two men, Veronica eventually ran away and applied to the Prison Service, knowing it was the only safe place she could trust. This is the astonishing, and true story of Veronica Bird who rose to become a Governor of Armley prison. Given a ‘basket case’ in another prison, contrary to all expectations, she turned it around within a year, to become an example for others to match. During her life inside, her ‘bird’, she met many Home Secretaries, was honoured by the Queen and was asked to help improve conditions in Russian Prisons. A deeply poignant story of eventual triumph against a staggeringly high series of setbacks, her story is filled with humour and compassion for those inside.

    From cowboys to unexpected newcomers, from weddings to adventures, you will fall in love with this cozy small town in the Rocky Mountains and become friends with the Wyatt family. Meet Emma, Hannah, Anna-Jane, Carson, and Jake! Five very different personalities, each in search of their own happily ever after...Read all the books in the Serenity Falls series together! This Collection includes:♥ Wishes from the Heart (Hannah & Rafferty's Story)♥ Art of the Heart (Anna-Jane & Cody's Story)♥ Baking from the Heart (Emma & Gavin's Story)♥ Call of the Wild Heart (Carson & Bella's Story)♥ Detours of the Heart (Jake & Mackenzie's Story)If you love uplifting, feel-good romance stories with irresistible characters, prepare to be roped into Sophie Mays' Serenity Falls series!

    Once he gets there, what he finds is worse than his most hellish imaginings: a young woman, beaten and burned almost beyond recognition, a trauma case as terrible as any he has ever seen. What Jackson's colleagues don't know is that the victim, Allie, is actually his lover. With Allie in a coma, Jackson keeps their relationship quiet and takes part in her reconstruction, a complicated and grueling set of procedures that only the most skilled specialists can perform. But as he and the other doctors struggle to put her back together, the fractures in Jackson's own life begin to break apart dramatically. When the San Francisco Police Department's investigation of the attack leads to his door, Jackson knows the truth can no longer be suppressed."Ghost Image" is an expertly plotted, chillingly vivid, and wholly absorbing mystery, signaling the debut of an unforgettable new voice in the genre. Taking readers inside the operating room and literally under the skin of its patients, it's a story that will appeal to those fascinated by medicine and forensics. It is also a story -- like all classic crime novels -- about guilt and innocence, good and evil. But, above all, it is a story of love -- the kind of love that might prove deadly, or that might just save your soul.

    

    Will the new boy overshadow Jamie's skill? From the school pitch to the beaches of Rio, Jamie Johnson is going to learn there's more to being a great footballer than he ever imagined.

    A war breaks out and the peaceful Gaea are no match for the brutality of the Holyan soldiers or the sheer destruction of the Holyan mages. Having no defense against the Holyan magic, the desperate Gaea hatch a plan to create a weapon capable of stopping the Gaea advance, before the weapon can be put to use, the Gaea are routed and their people were taken as slaves. Rae’al’nor was that weapon but was too young to be of any use and was taken as one of the slaves. As Rae’al’nor grows up, he is adopted by a Holyan noble and given the name Ray Riverdale. Ray was content in his life until the evil of mages is so strong he cannot ignore it any more. Join Ray as he remembers his purpose in life and transforms from prey to the Mage Slayer.

    . .They never knew what hit them . . .IRRESISTIBLE?Starving artist Ellie Sutherland is taking drastic measures to correct her nonexistent love life -- including offering herself as a guinea pig in a sex study! And something's definitely working . . . because suddenly, Ellie has men falling all over her, including lawyer Mark Blackwell. But once the study is over, will he still find her irresistible?KIDS IS A 4-LETTER WORDJo Montgomery is an interior decorator, not a baby-sitter. Still, when she discovers her new client's baby-sitter tied to the stake, what can she do but untie the poor woman and watch her run for the hills? And after ten minutes with the little darlings, she's ready to do the same -- until she meets the kids' gorgeous father . . .WIFE IS A 4-LETTER WORDAlan Parish thinks things can't get any worse, when he finds himself dumped on his wedding day. But when Pamela Kaminski decides to join him on his honeymoon, Alan's really in a fix. Because Pam is beautiful, desirable . . . and his former fiancée's maid of honor. And the more time Alan spends with her, the less honorable his intentions become . . .

    

    Brave, unwavering in his devotion to the queen, his courage knows no bounds. But it was not always so. Every story must begin somewhere, but some beginnings are darker than others.The Shadow is a prequel to the Legend of the Gate Keeper series. Although this installment features the early years of one of the main characters in the series, it is a standalone, and can be enjoyed with no prior knowledge of the series.Book 1: Land of Shadows - Our story begins here. A blacksmith from the small town of Bryer, Eric believed he would live out his days leading a peaceful life doing the work he loved. But it seems fate had other plans for him. When his home town is attacked, Eric is uprooted from his familiar surroundings and forced to embark on a journey for answers. Only one thing is certain to him now. It's painfully clear that his whole life has been nothing more than a series of lies.Book 2: Siege of Night - Whispers of the Gate Keepers return rage through Tarmerria like a forest fire. Could it be true? Has this mystical figure actually returned? Some have embraced the idea while others want to see Eric dead. Lines have been drawn, sides have been taken. There is only one way to stand for what you believe in. Tarmerria must go to war.Book 3: Lost Empire - The war is over and the city of Taron is still recovering from one of the darkest days in its history. With one battle over, another is about to begin. Our heroes must leave their familiar lands to embark on a journey by sea, far away from Tarmerria.Book 4: Reborn - Is the Gate Keeper some sort of demon? The people of this new land seem to think so. For years they have been tormented by a being with abilities similar to Eric's. So how is this foreigner who washed up on their shores any different? The Gate Keeper must prove himself and transform before their very eyes. In the eyes of the Gods and in those of the people, he must be...reborn.Book 5: The Trials of Ashbarn - The world has seen what Eric can do. Is this the one man who can take down the demon Krytoes? He has proven himself to the mortals, but must now establish himself in the eyes of the Gods themselves. Let the trials begin.Book 6: End of Days - The Gate Keeper has been named... The prophesies have come true... The world as we know it will never be the same...End of Days is the exciting conclusion to "The Legend of the Gate Keeper" series. Join Eric and his friends as they make their final push against the forces of evil.Warning Graphic Content: These books are intended for mature audiences