But what is so moving about Staci Layne Wilson’s unconventional coming-of-age story is that in spite of her rocky childhood, she describes her parents with deep affection, generosity, and pride. Hers is a story of triumph over a legacy of alcoholism, suicide, and Hollywood burnout, but more than that, it’s a tender, gripping tale of unconditional love (with a healthy dose of humor). Despite the downsides, her upbringing gave her the powerful determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. Vintage Los Angeles Staci Layne Wilson tells tales of bygone eras – she grew up with showbiz parents in L.A. in the sixties and seventies, had ponies in the backyard and a psychotic monkey in the house, mingled with the stars on the Sunset Strip rock scene in the eighties, partied at the Playboy Mansion, nearly died (twice!). She ultimately found love, purpose, and success as an author, film director, screenwriter, pop culture pundit and notable red carpet reporter has interviewed the biggest celebs in the world. First-hand stories about: The Doors Led Zeppelin Guns N’ Roses Metallica Keanu Reeves Heath Ledger Liam Neeson Jennifer Lawrence Denzel Washington Ben Stiller Mia Farrow …to name just a few! Dozens of full-color photos PRAISE “A touching, laugh-out-loud memoir.” – Daily Sweets “Refreshingly honest look at Los Angeles, past and present.” – Curb Appeal “Charming, self-deprecating.” – Los Angeles Readers & Writers “As a music fanatic, I was in heaven over all the inside stories about The Ventures (through their 50+ year career!), Metallica, Led Zeppelin, and the glam-rock scene on the Sunset Strip. There’s also a whole master class on the heavy metal hangouts of Hollywood: The Rainbow, The Roxy, The Troubadour… Staci’s seen it all!” – Gene Katz, director of The Hair Band Tease If you want to read a time capsule of a specific period in Southern California pop cultural history, look no further. If you want to read a book that’s as delightful as it is insightful, one that stays with you long after you close its covers, this is that book. If you want to be simultaneously educated and entertained, you won’t find a better reference than this one. Staci Layne Wilson not only has a penchant for detail, she has a memory like a bear trap. Nothing escapes her notice, and she has been kind enough to let us see the world through her keen, sentimental (but never maudlin) eyes. The book should come with one caveat emptor, however: if you read it at night, you can forget about sleeping. Not all the coffee in the world can knock down the reading hangover you’re going to have the next day after flipping page after page the night before. – Stacey Keith, author of Stripped Down: A Naked Memoir A book that rivals the best of Huell Howser's TV shows digging up the cherished as well as perished landmarks of the City of Angels.

    As he struggles to make a dent in the icy exterior of the townspeople he wonders if his efforts will be wasted--then he meets Matilda, and everything changes.From the moment they meet Danny finds himself entranced by her ambition, and Matilda is captured by his passion and determination. But life in Bear Creek is difficult for outsiders and despite the attraction, their blossoming romance could end in tragedy.How can Danny choose between the chance at love and his life's dream? Will Matilda lose her independence if she admits how she feels?Grace Cranfield dreams of freedom from high-society and the suitors her parents push onto her. When all seems lost, she finds a chance at hope when she spots an ad in the church from a Montana rancher looking for a wife.Left alone after the sudden deaths of his brothers, Malcolm Wilson longs for someone to help build a new life from the rubble of his old one. Grace is charming and kind, and as sparks fly she finds herself on a train speeding towards a new home, but also a world like nothing she's ever known.Will Grace be able to find a place in this new world and discover who she truly is? More importantly, will she survive long enough to get the chance?All Mayme Ruble wants is to feel like she belongs. When she comes across an ad from a farmer looking for a wife, she feels a glimmer of hope--a chance to start over and maybe even find love.Thomas Harris has spent most of his life running his farm, and now it's time for him to marry. Mayme's kind, honest response strikes a chord with him and there is instant chemistry. She leaves her hometown with tentative optimism that a new chapter in her life is about to begin.Despite Thomas' warmth and the welcoming townspeople, Mayme struggles to shed her self-consciousness. All seems well, until disaster strikes in Bear Creek and Mayme is forced to make a decision: will she step up and be the woman she hopes to become? Or will she lose this chance at happiness once and for all?When Rachel Maxwell discovers that her home - and her hand in marriage - have been sold to notorious poker player, Salis Dangerfield, her world is thrown into turmoil. Despite the stories swirling around town, Rachel has no plans to give in easily.Salis is a ruthless businessman and highroller. But right now, he's just a man in search of a safe haven. Faced with distrust from both his wife and the locals, it seems as though he and his young sister will never find their footing in Bear Creek.Rachel soon discovers the kind man behind the facade and Salis thinks he may have finally found the peace he's been looking for.Will Salis be able to overcome his demons? Can he and Rachel find a way to be together even when the whole world is against them?In Bear Creek Brides: Books 9-12, you will discover four captivating stories of vulnerability, danger, and determination as these four brides navigate peril and heartache to hold onto the chance for true love.

    This digital box set contains the fourth, fifth and sixth books in this thriller series: Full Blast: Hawk embarks on a mission to Prague to stop an attempt on the life of Jordanian Prime Minister Yaseen Abbadi. Meanwhile, Firestorm leader J.D. Blunt uncovers another Al Hasib plot to kill thousands of innocent Americans—and he needs Hawk’s help. Target Zero: As alliances begin to crumble, Firestorm agents Brady Hawk and Alex Duncan are requested to help a lone CIA operative thwart Al Hasib from getting their hands on Sarin gas at the Somalian port city of Berbera. The mission gets complicated when Emily Thornton re-enters the scene and tries to convince Hawk to join forces with Searchlight as secrets about Alex’s past come to light. Fury: World-famous hacker Black Wolf has extracted a list of intelligence operatives embedded in terrorist organizations around the world—and he's selling it to the highest bidder at an exclusive event in Vienna. When the Firestorm team gets wind of the sale, Hawk and Alex travel to Austria to infiltrate the event and prevent the list from falling into the hands of Al Hasib and dealing a devastating blow to the security of agents and innocent civilians alike. What readers are saying: ★★★★★ “R.J. Patterson is up there with Baldacci.” ★★★★★ “First Strike delivers excitement, intrigue and action from the first page to the last.” ★★★★★ “This story was imaginative, but certainly came across as realistic.” ★★★★★ “This is a first rate action thriller!” ★★★★★ “If you are looking for some adrenalin packed action, don’t think twice, just grab a copy and start reading, you won’t be sorry.” ★★★★★ “A well crafted page turner.” ★★★★★ “Brady hawk is the next Jack Reacher!” ★★★★★ “Another great book by R.J. Patterson! I liked that way he makes his characters so real.” ★★★★★ “This book is in the vein of Brad Thor and Vince Flynn with a bit of Ian Flemming.” ★★★★★ “R.J. Patterson's short chapters and fast moving plot render this novel impossible to put down.”

    But the day he meets Ameenah, he becomes consumed by an entirely different and more attractive distraction--his bold, beautiful, sexy neighbor with the "glorious hips" and a penchant for ice cream. Ameenah Porter, daughter of successful New York restaurateurs, moves to the beach town of Black Diamond to fulfill her dream of opening a smoothie shop. She doesn't need the distraction of a new man but the tall, dark and handsome Wade, who's staying in the giant sized home at the end of her block, is irresistible. Ameenah's days at Tikis & Cream are spent cooling off her customers with her gourmet smoothie blends. Her nights on the shores of Black Diamond Bay are enchanting and romantic, and soon Wade and Ameenah find themselves in the middle of a Beach Thing... a fun, meaningless tryst that will end when the summer is over. Or will it? Wade is returning to Brooklyn at the end of the summer. Ameenah lives on Black Diamond. Neither want this Beach Thing to end... so is this fling really a fling or is it the beginning of something real... and will they realize it in time?Indulge in a fun, steamy #beachyblackromance and join me on Black Diamond.

    When he gets word that he's been chosen, he can't believe it, but as his last few relationships have ended the same way, he decides to try something different and take a chance. However, he gets more than he bargained for when he falls for a woman who is not a contestant.Laney Swann has been running from her high school insecurites for years, but when she loses her job, she ends up having to return home and reunites with an old friend who convinces her to do the makeup for a reality tv show. Laney expected it to be just a job until she met the bachelor. Now she has to control her feelings while watching him date other women.Will she ever get the courage to tell him how she feels and if she does, will he prove different from the other men in her past?

    Now, drawn together by tragedy, they’re forging a bond that will help them right the wrongs committed against them and discover an inner strength they didn’t know they had.Payback:In Myra Rutledge’s beautiful Virginia home, the friends have gathered to embark on their second mission. Julia Webster’s husband, a U.S. Senator, has used his wife’s graciousness and elegance to advance his career even as he’s abused her trust at every turn and left her dreams for the future in tatters. Now, on the eve of his greatest political victory, he’s about to learn a serious lesson in payback.Vendetta:The Sisterhood is ready to answer the call for the woman who started it all, Myra Rutledge. Five years ago, Myra’s pregnant daughter was killed by a hit-and-run driver - the playboy son of an ambassador with diplomatic immunity. Myra was left to grieve while the murderer was free to return to his lavish lifestyle. But not for much longer. The Sisterhood has gathered for a little creative planning, and what they have in mind is a gift for Myra of long-awaited and very sweet revenge…

    With the help of her fiancé’s caring best friend, it’s sure to draw much-needed tourist revenue to Cape Hudson, a town rich in southern history.However, it’s Spring House, the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds, that holds the most intriguing history for Megan. In a cache of old letters, she’s drawn into the captivating life of a young woman who embarked on her own dream adventure a century ago. With each one, Megan is swept away into her enthralling world—and all its secrets. But Megan has secrets too.Now, as one woman’s past unfolds in each revealing letter, Megan will discover more about herself and about the emotional tides of family that can be weathered with those you love and trust the most.

    Four people. Two couples. Six months that will change their lives forever.Kate wants to go travelling before she reaches the big Three-O, while her long-term boyfriend Ed just wants to settle down.Jack is desperate to be a published writer for many reasons, but mainly to save his relationship with fiancee Emma.Emma wants to be an actress more than anything in the world, or at least that's what she thought until she finds out she's pregnant.Told uniquely from all of their perspectives, this is a story about love, growing up and, of course, the search for a happy ending.

    Her life is one of stunning extremes. The author tells her whole story of what it was like to have love affairs with the likes of Paul Newman, Errol Flynn, Tommy Smothers, Rod Taylor, Vince Edwards, and Hugh O’Brian, plus exciting friendships with the Rat Pack, Judy Garland, Bobby Kennedy, Jay Sebring, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and Marilyn Monroe (to name only a few!).

    Times are tough and, to support her sister, Daisy has to work hard as a dancer in a nightclub, getting home late and hardly seeing Mary-Jane. One night a fire starts and Mary-Jane is alone in the house. The night's events lead to the sisters being split up and Daisy May begins to fear that she will never see Mary-Jane again...

    A successful accountant, full of confidence and charm, he's got it all, including the beautiful girlfriend and the high flying job. But when his brother inherits a ranch in south Georgia, he leaves everything behind to help him run it. Emily Zhu is a driven and ambitious surgeon from Boston. Everything in her life is structured and planned, down to the last detail. When she doesn't get the job she's been promised and has been working toward, it seems everything could come tumbling down around her. Suddenly the future is clouded with uncertainty.When Eamon and Emily's paths collide at a wedding, they fight an immediate attraction. Eamon could be the only person who can help Emily find her feet in a world where nothing makes sense. The one to show her opportunity where all she sees is failure. But will she be willing to give Eamon a chance to prove he's the one thing she really needs? And what will they do when an unexpected tragedy strikes at the heart of everything they've fought for?Travel back to the Cotton Tree Ranch for another summer of fun, horses, and burgeoning love. Read this sweet and heartwarming contemporary romance from bestselling author, Vivi Holt.

     Train robbers, amnesia, love at first sight to a confirmed bachelor, and marrying the wrong man to save the right man. On Leila’s way to meet her intended as his mail order bride, Dan McCall, a federal agent, finds her lying on the side of the road unconscious. He rescues her and she attaches her heart to him immediately. Dan is NOT the marrying kind...or is he? Joe, her intended, is not happy to lose yet another mail order bride, and takes drastic measures to insure their marriage. Leila faces a dilemma, risk the man’s life who saved hers, or marry a man she despises.

    As an only child, with her parents long gone, she's financially independent and has an undemanding job as a travel writer, working from her picturesque cottage in Gloucestershire.

    

    Can three sisters find true love? It doesn't come easily for the Gardner clan.The sisters share two major things in common - their love of God and great difficulty finding soulmates.Will the run-away bride ever be satisfied?Will career ambition trump finding love?How will pregnancy change a rocky relationship?You'll fall in love with this first installment in The Sisters of Rosefield Series. Get it now.