When the German war machine rolled over the Netherlands in May 1940, Titia Wetselaar Bozuwa was an eight-year-old girl living in the southern city of Breda. She wrote about her family’s endurance of that five-year Occupation in her memoir, In the Shadow of the Cathedral. In Defiance, her first work of fiction, she pays tribute to the many who defied the German Occupation. Challenging the expectations of Dutch society, Anna Smits enrolls as a medical student at Utrecht University. But in a country occupied by Nazi Germany, student life is not what Anna expected. Social clubs are closed; Jews are forbidden from attending schools; and in 1943, students are ordered to sign a declaration of loyalty to the occupying German government. Anna and her seven closest friends—the Group of Eight—refuse to sign. Inspired by a sermon about the Good Samaritan—a sermon that got the minister thrown into prison—the Group of Eight vows to help the victims of Hitler’s brutal regime. They hide Jews and provide them with fake IDs; they keep desperately needed medicines out of the hands of the Nazis; they raise funds for orphaned Jewish children. But as the war drags on and the Nazis’ hold tightens, the Group of Eight shrinks. The few that remain defiantly resist the ever-onerous Occupying force. But how can they fight the lawlessness with which the Germans shoot first and don’t bother with questions? How can they fight the devastating Hunger Winter of 1945? Anna clings to her beliefs and mission, aided by her remarkable grandmother, Baroness van Haersolte, as the country waits for liberation. But will they all survive that long?

    Following an emotional and traumatic escape from the advancing German forces they arrive in England. As a result of their experiences, and the manner that they combated the Nazi regime, the three sisters, all civilians, are seconded, along with the survivors of their group, into the intelligence section of General De Gaulle’s newly formed Free French Force. After extensive training in England they return to occupied France living in fear of betrayal and capture.

    Now, she must learn to survive.Forced to be both mother and father to her siblings after Ada’s mother turns to gin, and no longer able to scour the banks of the Thames as mudlarks, Ada turns to picking up cigarette butts from the filthy streets and repurposing the tobacco into a saleable item.Assisted by Elijah the son of a stonemason the Blair family manages to keep a roof over their heads, until their mother’s addiction spirals out of control and they find themselves out on the street.Desperate for safety, Ada takes a risk and is befriended by the well to do Mr Beauregard. But not all things are as they seem and soon Ada is torn from her family and thrown into a world of corruption she could not have imagined.When a chance meeting with Elijah reveals the truth, Ada’s life is at a crossroadsCan Ada leave behind the new life she now finds herself in? Will Elijah ever forgive her for what she has become? Or should Ada let the past remain behind and leave her family in peace.Nell Harte writes sweet and clean Historical Romance.

    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.

    Living near the docks in Liverpool with two other families under the same roof, money for rent is a constant struggle and food is scarce. Made even more difficult by a lecherous gambler who refuses to pay his share of the rent.When their father succumbs to the 1849 cholera epidemic that sweeps through Liverpool, the young orphan’s situation becomes even more perilous. They are forced to do whatever they can to make their share of the food and rent.Robert grew up in privileged circumstances. That all changes when his father dies suddenly, leaving his estate tied up for months in probate. Robert has no other option but to seek employment at a former competitor of his fathers. The same family that employs Verdie.Robert is overjoyed.But Verdie is blinded by the amorous attentions of the household's handsome son, Carson.Trouble ensues, for everyone.Robert, with limited resources and influence, rises to the challenge to defend Verdie’s honor. Will it be enough to stop Carson from pursuing her? Can Robert’s fledging love for Verdie prevail?“Girl From the Docks” and all Catharine Dobbs' novellas are wholesome Victorian Romances.

    

    Keeping her job as a barmaid in the East End wasn’t easy, but with the support of her sweetheart Jack Adams, a local constable, and Frankie Buchanan, whom she loves like a brother, she dreams of a bright future.But there is no love lost between the men. Hackney is ‘Frankie’s manor’ and because of his protection racket, Jack is determined to put its ringleader behind bars.When talk of wedding bells for Jack and Rose meet opposition, Rose isn’t prepared to have her happiness ruined for family pride. But when Rose finds herself alone and heartbroken, Frankie is there to pick up the pieces… A gripping and emotional saga, perfect for readers of Rosie Goodwin and Val Wood.

    There he begins to learn the duties and responsibilities, together with the hardships, of a life at sea in one of His Majesty's ships. He is quickly introduced to the fight against slavery and privateers...and also how to kill in the name of the King. Ultimately commissioned as a Lieutenant, Courtenay is involved in the reverses of Toulon and Corsica, and in 1794 takes part in the major sea-battle known as the Glorious First of June. Also, he meets the first member of the family with whom he will have a feud during his career as a sea officer.

     He rides into Bowie County to take over the ranch, hoping to leave his grim past behind him and find some sort of future for himself. But Jory soon discovers that taking over his uncle's path is no easy assignment. Land grabbing greed has overwhelmed the local ranchers, and Bowie County is rife with trouble. Jory's arrival brings things to a head and in no time at all, he finds himself up against Ben Sharkey – an expansionist rancher who is used to getting what he wants. But while the townsfolk lay the blame for recent troubles on Sharkey’s doorstep, Jory has suspicions about deeper undercurrents to the range war that threatens to erupt. Jory must get to the bottom of the mess amidst a quickly growing body count and in the face of mounting mortal perils. If Jory proves quick on the draw, he stands to find himself a sizeable homestead and a beautiful wife. But who amongst his friends can he depend upon? Will he end up losing everything that he holds dear? Bullets at Sunset is a classic western thriller – a captivating tale of gunslingers and cattle rustlers, of taciturn heroes and ruthless outlaws. Praise for Alan David ‘A classic of the genre’ - Tom Casey, bestselling author of Trade Off Alan David is a prolific writer of over 500 novels in a wide range of genres, from classic westerns, to historical thrillers. His other western novels include Fight or Die, Gun Hell, Gun Wages and Draw or Die.

    PERFECT FOR FANS OF 'CALL THE MIDWIFE', Jodi Picoult, Katie Flynn, Nadine Dorries & Rosie Goodwin it's about TWO WOMEN CAUGHT UP IN A PHARMACEUTICAL DISASTER . . Sandy an aspiring model has a one-night stand with a journalist that results in pregnancy. Shunned by her family, she quietly checks herself into a maternity home to wait out her pregnancy and prepare to have the baby adopted. Rona and her husband have been trying for a baby for years, but Rona is unable to conceive. When Sandy delivers a child disabled by thalidomide, Rona commits a terrible crime and makes a life-changing decision that will have dramatic consequences.Meanwhile, Sandy’s journalist lover stumbles upon the scoop of a century. As he investigates corruption entrenched in the company that developed thalidomide, he is surprised to reconnect with Sandy. He and Sandy feel drawn to each other, but both will have to confront old wounds if they want to be together. An interesting slice of social history which will stir every emotion within you.

    But wait? Meriday, the slave girl “You want every slave to walk behind you and be a fart catcher. I could never be like that. Not ever.” – Hatred of slavery is the lifeblood that compels her. The story of her life’s journey from the plantation South to Chicago mesmerizes in its brutality and soothes by its exploration into the human spirit. The men she encounters along her odyssey: a field-hand slave forced to shed his Christian name and accept the one his masters give him in jest, a dwarf with a giant’s heart, a ship’s captain, and a black Union army sergeant; they are heroes of epic proportion.Santine – Fascinated by a photo of Meriday taken more than a hundred and fifty years before, she has an affiliation with it, but doesn’t understand why. She is comforted and frightened at the same time by her daily talks with the slave girl, now an angel, that she believes has taken her under wing. Accepting a challenge with an unbelievably large prize on the line, the Harvard bound high school senior from Chicago leads her all black inner-city chorus to Boston in competition against the elite Ivy League High Schools. By nobody’s reckoning were they ever supposed to be there, and by nobody’s reckoning could they ever compete for the win. And by her reckoning, there was never supposed to be a boy in in the faraway Massachusetts city.Grandma Brown – Meriday’s second great granddaughter and Santine’s eighty-year-old mentor who never saw a computer she didn’t love. Going to the chorus competition as a chaperone, she’s feisty and fearless as she steamrolls over obstacles. The Beantown prima donnas never saw her coming.This delightfully unusual story easily flows back and forth through history, from slave times to modern African American consciousness while touching on the spiritual theme of guardian angels and the protections they so lovingly provide. A powerful novel that touches all the emotional bells. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll fist pump till your arm tires. This is coming of age, contemporary and historical fiction, a page turner for the teen, young adult, mother, father, or grandparent reader who just enjoys a whopping good tale.Scroll to the top of the page and select the 'buy button' now.

    First it took his mother, then his father, and now it threatens to end his own life as well. Merciless killer Kip Lane found Brett and his sweetheart, Allie, while they were out for an afternoon ride. Now Allie is missing and Brett lies at the bottom of a deep hole carrying three bullet holes. He’s got to escape and then rescue Allie from Kip’s clutches, but first he’s got to survive the cold lonesome night. Kip Lane isn’t Brett’s only concern though. There’s another man lurking behind the dashing outlaw. A dangerous man with money, powerful friends, and more than one gunfighter on his payroll. He aims to be the territory’s biggest rancher and Brett’s ranch is the key. Brett has a few allies he can count on. Gideon Sweeney and his daughter Lisa at the local Mormon settlement along with Red Elk, an old Crow medicine man, and Mourning Song, a beautiful Cheyenne woman with her own tragic history. Will it be enough to take back Brett’s heritage or will young Rawlins find his end beneath the guns of his enemies? Either way there will be Blood on the Bighorns.

    Many Southerners were losing everything they had, many more people than just those few who had held slaves. While most tried to stay and hang on to the decorum of Southern gentility, a few decided that rather then lose their family farms and businesses it would be better to build a new life elsewhere. This is the story of one such group, who determined that their future and the futures of their friends and families was to be found in Texas. Jed Simpson and his partner Roscoe Sartain are joined by families from both North and South, black and white, and on the advice of a fellow Confederate, they stop in Rusk. Finding an old, now vacant, plantation, they manage to buy it and start rebuilding it as a small ranch, The Chalice. All is going better than any of them expected, until Jed’s past comes calling. Aided by friends both new and old, blood flows freely as Jed tries to put that past behind him once and for all. But the toll it takes may be too much for him as he faces down the last of his tormentors.

    Sean's recklessness and Ana's sense of entitlement create a family secret that comes home to roost in the following generation. Sean's trail of sins and Ana's deceit and thirst for revenge lead to disaster for each of them.It is 1936. Emotionally deserted by distraught parents after the death of his baby sister, Sean refuses to abandon his father's forsaken American dream. Left to his own devices, the young man travels a road strewn with bad choices and risky behavior. Trapped into marriage and unexpected parenthood at a young age, Sean begins down a path of destruction - first stop - Ana Lapinski.Ana Lapinski is born with the gift of beauty. Her old-world parents are incapable of reigning in their willful, wild child. Time and again, Ana effectively abuses her God-given gift as a means to whatever end she desires - with one exception - Sean Kinnarney.FALLING OFF THE FAMILY TREE is a three-generation saga told against the backdrop of the first 70 years of the 20th century. The story moves from southern New Jersey to the wealthy suburban enclaves of the Main Line outside Philadelphia. It ends in tragedy on the Chesapeake Bay.

    The Brewer children have all grown up and started families of their own and Dovie Pearce is content. She’s married to a wonderful man, Gabe, and her adoptive daughter, Ellie, is a wonderful companion. But one cold March night, the peace is broken with a midnight knock at the door that ends with the cries of an abandoned baby by sunrise. Joy Smith has fallen into her own quiet life. At sixteen, she has little to worry about, until she finds the marriage certificate of her parents that doesn’t make sense. She questions her family members, trying to figure out the mysterious document, but once she discovers the truth, her life is shattered.Jaded by her parent’s lack of trust, Joy finds a kinship with baby Jeffery. When she finds out who the abandoned baby belongs to, she vows to make things right for him. Will her actions give Jeffery the life he deserves or is she putting him in the hands of the very person who will destroy him?