Four Years from Home
Larry Enright - 2010
He was the one God, and Grandma Ryan, had called to the priesthood.I never understood why, but his path changed in seventh grade and he chose not to enter the seminary, not to honor his promise to Grandma Ryan on her deathbed, and eventually, not to be a Catholic anymore. It was a big change for all of us, going from living with someone on the road to heaven to enduring the unsettling life of a boy on an express train to hell. This went on throughout high school and when Harry left for school for his freshman year at college, he almost left without saying goodbye. I remember to this day the last thing he said to Mom and Dad: "Don’t worry about me. I'll see you later. I love you." And that was that. He was gone.For four years, Harry never came home and no one went to visit him. He rarely wrote, never called, and invariably found a job there over the breaks and summer vacations. His letters were overly formal, typed, report card-like messages - “Got all As, very happy with classes, people are great, miss everyone…” Even I realized they were emotionless and not like Harry at all. He had completed the transformation into someone so completely different that he was unrecognizable as Harry to any of us. No one spoke of him at the dinner table or wondered aloud how he was really doing or why he had changed. His picture disappeared from the living room mantle. It was as if he had ceased to exist, had never existed, that the shining star had in fact been but a passing comet lost in time and memory. It hurt Mom and Dad a lot, so much that even I realized it, and I’m fairly insensitive. But it was Christmas 1972, Harry’s senior year, and he was coming home.
Convictions
Julie Morrigan - 2011
Published in 2011, it featured in the Grift Magazine readers’ survey of the best books of the year, and was voted one of the top five books of the year at the Crime Fiction Lover website. A stolen child. A family devastated by loss. A man of God. When 12-year-old Tina Snowdon and her little sister Annie gratefully accept a lift from a helpful stranger, she has no way of knowing that only one of them will make it home. As days turn into weeks with no news of Annie, Tina must face her mother’s anger; she would do anything to turn back the clock. As her life is torn apart by pain and recrimination, the only evidence the police have points to George Cotter, a respected pillar of the local church. But as the investigation continues, it seems that perhaps a deeper and more disturbing truth may lie behind Annie’s abduction. And until Tina learns what that truth is, she will always be the little girl who escaped, only to be imprisoned by her own grief and guilt.
When I'm Gone
Emily Bleeker - 2016
I didn’t want to leave you...
Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there’s something he’s not prepared for—a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie’s handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home.The letter inside, written on the first day of Natalie’s cancer treatment a year ago, turns out to be the first of many. Luke is convinced they’re genuine, but who is delivering them? As his obsession with the letters grows, Luke uncovers long-buried secrets that make him question everything he knew about his wife and their family. But the revelations also point the way toward a future where love goes on—in written words, in memories, and in the promises it’s never too late to keep.
Voices
R.E. Rowe - 2015
A brilliant but tormented street artist and an ex-track star whose career was cut short by a heart condition. Aimee DeLuca had a promising athletic career before her heart gave out during a high school track and field contest. Aimee struggles to find her way after spending time with a deceased grandmother during a near death experience. Reizo Rush is a street artist whose torment fuels his desire to add color to the gray walls of the city. But Reizo's tagging and the two voices only he hears land him in perpetual trouble with both his teachers and the law.
During a chance encounter, the two quickly find out they have much more in common than love. When they stumble upon a century-old storm cellar hidden underground on Aimee’s uncle’s ranch, they unearth a cellar full of artifacts and a hundred-year-old Will. Once the news of the discovery leaks out, a drug-dealing teen and a mysterious soul named General are determined to bury the truth along with anyone who gets in their way.
Name and Number
John Hoskison - 2012
The ones often referred to as 'holiday camps'. Instead, his worst nightmare comes true.Locked up in HMP Blackthorpe, a prison known for its medieval-like squalor, Nick lives at the mercy of the drug barons and in fear of the lifers. Constantly stalked by danger he has to find a way to survive.To earn protection money he turns to the one thing he's good at—art. But can selling pictures to visitors be enough to keep the mob at bay? Or will he be made an example of by the hard men and suffer the worst type of prison punishment?Based on the experiences of the author.
No More Wasted Time
Beverly Preston - 2012
Life isn’t about tomorrow ~ Life is about todayAfter losing her husband to a sudden heart attack, Tess Mathews escapes to Bora Bora to lay her husband and sorrow to rest. What she doesn’t expect is a new beginning.Tom Clemmins is an A-list actor whose life revolves around work and an onslaught of women. He travels to Bora Bora for a much-needed break. Tom has a few ideas of how he’ll enjoy his vacation, but love isn’t one of them. Until he sees Tess.Reserving a private shark-feeding excursion to scatter her husband’s ashes into the lagoon, Tess is furious when Mr. Hollywood bribes his way onto the boat, leaving her no other choice but to share the boat ride.Tess is torn between tremendous guilt and zealous lust when their boat ride turns into a week full of romance and desire neither thought imaginable. Utterly smitten with a woman for the first time in his life, Tom casts his commitment phobia aside and whisks Tess off to Malibu where he introduces her as his “girlfriend” on the red carpet. As the paparazzi besiege, can Tess survive the media blitz that ensues in order to find her second chance at love?
Dark Wolf
Angelique Armae - 2016
DARK WOLF is the 1st book in National Bestselling author, Angelique Armae's, Scottish shapeshifter series.
Welcome to Dundaire, Scotland, a magickal city that doesn't appear on any map, where kilt-wearing, immortal Highlanders are plentiful, and where romance and danger brew daily...
When Highland wolf Callen MacHendrie catches intern Miranda Kendrick stealing his prized sword, the term wild romp takes on a whole new meaning.