. . Bartholomew Thorne, an infamously ruthless pirate, seeks to destroy Ross and any who stand in his way of the legendary treasure hidden by a mysterious order of monks.  With these intriguing characters and many more, Wayne Thomas Batson weaves a spell-binding adventure filled with high-seas drama where battles rage, storms brew, a long-dormant volcano awakens, and a sea creature slithers in the deep as pirates race for a cliff-top fortress.

    . . but what comes after?Darbury, England, 1814Amelia Barrett, heiress to an ancestral estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s infant baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word—even to the point of proposing to the child’s father, Graham, a sea captain she’s never met.Tragedy strikes when the child vanishes with little more than a sketchy ransom note hinting to her whereabouts. Fear for the child’s safety drives Amelia and Graham to test the boundaries of their love for this infant.Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she examines her soul and must face her one weakness: pride.Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline.Both must learn to accept God’s sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future He has for planned for them.

    What happens next in this brilliantly crafted novel of literary suspense will change Emma Smith’s life forever—and ignite a dark, erotic drama of suspicion, loss, and awakening.In the year 1898, Emma makes a New Year’s resolution: to become a better person. So, under the tutelage of her novelist husband, she begins an innocent correspondence with Chance Wood, a man serving his sentence for the murder of his wife. But from the beginning, in words that shock and intrigue her, Chance dares Emma to unveil her unspoken thoughts and desires. And when Chance receives a pardon, Emma is set dangerously free. She will use her freedom—and Chance’s—to pursue the fantasies that have been swirling dizzily around her. Slowly, recklessly, Emma exchanges all that was familiar and safe for her new, dangerous double life. As the risks mount and a friend turns blackmailer, Emma cannot stop her fall. For once she has given in to her truest, basest desires, she cannot avoid the ones that come next.…

    She had hopes for a chance to find love and a new life, but instead her husband-to-be doesn’t want her, and is ready to send her back home. After losing his wife and young child, John is sure he would never love again. So when his brother’s wife sends for a bride without his consent, his mind is made up. She has to go, as soon as he can save up enough money for her fare back East. Sarah and John agree that she will leave in the spring, after the winter season. And as they spend time together, their love begins to grow despite their intentions. But as the holidays bring back memories of his lost family, John withdraws. Can Sarah find a way into his broken heart, or will he send her home, and go back to his lonely life?

    

    For 19-year-old Jonas Switzer, the promise of a productive life as an Amish farmer is only as real as a dream on the western horizon. Living on the charity of the Bylers, and with no claim to a family farm, Jonas’s future depends on a bold plan and an ambitious move. He also longs to catch the eye of Caroline Hersberger, the most beautiful young woman in the village, and share his dream with her. Will Matthew Kennel woo her first? Will she reject Jonas outright? Only God knows, and only He can provide Jonas with a godly wife and a home in the West.

    

    Josiah Richardson seems almost too good to believe. He’ll provide a home, work for her pa, and a new beginning for her family...if only Katherine will accept his proposal. A marriage of convenience is the last thing she wants, but there doesn’t seem to be a better option for her family or herself. Setting aside her dreams of love, Katherine agrees to the arrangement.The gentleman in Josiah Richardson can no more force his frightened bride into his bed, than he can force her into loving him, so he sets out to gently woo her. He works hard to befriend her, to earn her trust and win her love.Katherine is pleasantly surprised to find herself drawn to the man she thought she would never love, until an unexpected friendship tears apart all they’ve worked for. Where once the promise of love had budded between Josiah and Katherine, now they wonder what to do with their so-called marriage. Is love strong enough to weave its healing power through two broken hearts?

    

    An almost magical grove of maples on their property inspires them to dream of a real home built within the grove, not the tiny log cabin they’ve come to live in. Misunderstandings and tempers get the better of them when difficulties and troubles arise. Just months after they wed, Edward leaves pregnant Beryl in the midst of the coming winter to tend the farm and animals while he goes to be a teamster at a northern Wisconsin logging camp. Will Beryl and Edward walk into the future together to build their house of dreams in the grove of maples, or will their plans topple like a house of sticks when the winds of misunderstanding and disaster strike?

    Only now the county is demanding back taxes and the women have only three months to pay.Though facing eviction, Rosa falls in love with the countryside and the wonderful extended family who want only her best. They welcome her vivacious spirit and try to help her navigate puzzling American customs. She can't help but stand out, though, and her beauty captures attention. Where some offer help with dangerous strings attached, only one man seems honorable. But when Weston Garner, still grieving his own lost love, is unprepared to give his heart, Rosa must decide to what lengths she will go to save her future.

    Whentheir plan takes them south to Roseland's Plantation, Laylie meets fifteen-year-old Millie Keith, a strong abolitionist who helps Laylie understand a freedom more precious than any other. With this new discovery, Laylie's life of faith begins as she and Luke make their way north, against impossible odds, to New York City and to true freedom.MISSION CITY PRESS is a Christian publishing company dedicated to teaching kids to live a life of faith with passionate devotion to Jesus Christ.

    and the secret you've spent a lifetime guarding is finally laid bare? Determined to become one of the country's premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life.Daniel Ranslett is a man shackled by his Confederate past, and he'll do anything to protect his land, and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He's a man of his word, but repaying that debt could reveal secrets from his past he would prefer remain buried.Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth's lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met from a distance.

    The wilds of Gibson County are just being tamed in the year of 1850, and Jubilee ekes a meager existence. But when Rafe Tanner, a cousin of her abusive dead husband, shows up with the deed to her property, Jubilee’s dream of her own home dissolves. Rafe, stinging from his ex-fiancée’s rejection, offers a business marriage, throwing him and Jubilee together in an effort to make the farm successful. But scars from the past keep her in constant fear of her new husband. The pair masquerades as a love-struck couple at Rafe’s family farm, enduring the romantic notions of his family, and the jealousy of his ex-fiancée. Once home, Rafe realizes his newfound love for Jubilee, and sets out to court her. Meanwhile, Jubilee fights demons from her past as her husband reveals his interest. Can Jubilee let go of her distrust and pain to embrace God’s plan of true love and finally find a place to belong?

    Her prayer is heard and an angel is dispatched to assist Felicity in finding the answer to her heart's desire. Prescott Jones arrives in Appleton, Idaho with plans to build a cannery, find a woman to marry, and settle down. He and his partner have managed to acquire all the property needed—except for a plot of land owned by an old-maid seamstress. With the help of a large white cat named Angel, Prescott sets out to change Felicity's mind. About the cannery … and about him. A NOTE TO READERS:A Wish & a Prayer is a bit different from my usual fare. It was written for fun and is pure fantasy. It isn't meant to be anything more than that. It definitely isn't theologically correct when it comes to angels. The angels of the Bible are portrayed as quite different from Angel Emeline. Whenever angels appeared to mankind in the Bible, they did it in a human form, and the Bible is what we should trust for an understanding of all things spiritual, including angels.Still, I hope you'll enjoy reading this romantic bit of whimsy. It's a story that made me smile as I wrote it.Robin Lee Hatcher