Mossy Creek


Deborah Smith - 2001
    We've got a mayor who sees breaking the law as her civic duty and a by-the-books police chief trying to live up to his father's legend. We've got a bittersweet feud at the coffee shop and heartwarming battles on the softball field. We've got a world-weary Santa with a poignant dream and a flying Chihuahua with a streak of bad luck. You'll meet Millicent who believes in stealing joy, and the outrageous patrons of O'Day's Pub who believe there's no such thing as an honest game of darts. You'll want to tune your radio to the Bereavement Report and prop your feet up at Mama's All You Can Eat Café. While you're there, say hello to our local gossip columnist, Katie Bell. She'll make you feel like one of the family and tell you a story that will make you laugh through your tears. People are like that in Mossy Creek. Award-winning authors Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, Debra Dixon, Virginia Ellis, Nancy Knight and Donna Ball (Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes) now blend their unique voices in a collective novel about the South, the first in a series set in the fictional mountain town of Mossy Creek, Georgia. So welcome to Mossy Creek, the town that insists it "Ain't goin' nowhere, and don't want to." Welcome Home.

The Homeplace


Gilbert Morris - 2005
    She started the habit of writing down everything that happened to her when she was no more than eight years old, and now she had six journals completely full. She thought about the prize at school, almost prayed to win, but somehow she could not. “God,” she finally said, “I’ll do my best, and if you’ll help me, that’s all I ask.”Fourteen-year-old Lanie Belle Freeman of Fairhope, Arkansas, has high hopes for her future. Happy on the five-acre family homeplace, she dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. And with her father launching a new business and her mother expecting the fifth baby, the bright days of an early Southern spring seem to herald expansive new beginnings for the Freeman family.But her mother isn’t as strong as she should be, and it’s going to take time for the business to pay back the mortgage. When unexpected tragedy strikes, it is left to Lanie to keep the family together and hold on to their home. In a world shaken by the Great Depression, it is faith in God and love in a tightly knit family that will help Lanie and her siblings overcome the odds and create a future that promises the fulfillment of love.The Homeplace offers a warmhearted and inspiring saga of a courageous young woman who holds her family together through the Depression era.

Divine


Karen Kingsbury - 2007
    Now a divine power has set Mary free to bring life-changing hope and love to battered and abused women living in the shadow of the nation's capital.Emma Randall is a single mother fleeing an abusive relationship, wondering whether there is hope for her and her young daughters. She is desperate, broken, and unloved, tempted to commit the unthinkable. Then Mary Madison introduces Emma to the greatest love of all, greater than any either of them has ever imagined.

Mother, Please!: What a Girl Wants / The Road Home / Upstairs, Downstairs


Brenda Novak - 2004
    Original.

Cormac


Sonny Brewer - 2007
    So begins a strange adventure that lands Cormac in the back of a red pickup truck driven by a mysterious woman, takes him to a series of dog pounds and rescue shelters, and ultimately brings him to the suburbs of Connecticut. His owner, meanwhile, devastated by Cormac’s disappearance and trying to juggle a family, a book tour, and writing his new novel, becomes determined to solve the “dog-napping” case. With the help of the local veterinarian, bookstore colleagues, animal rescue employees, and old friends, he picks up on Cormac’s trail and watches his small-town community come together in search of his lost companion.Inspired by real events, and embellished only to serve the story through the spirit of imagination, Brewer has, as he says, “mainly told the truth in this story of losing my good dog Cormac.”

Dominant Species


Michael E. Marks - 2008
    This fast-paced, character-driven novel will immerse you in the world of US Marines in lethal powered armor, trapped aboard the ghostly ruins of a starship buried miles underground. Somewhere amid the twisted, frozen decks, these elite Marines will find themselves wrapped in an ancient mystery and a life-or-death battle to see who will become... the DOMINANT SPECIES.

Make Your Move (Harlequin Blaze, #542)


Samantha Hunter - 2010
    Her signature aphrodisiac cookies have been flying off the shelves...and giving Jodie some delicious ideas of her own.Behind his owlish glasses, Jodie's business partner, Dr. Dan Ellison, is the male equivalent of the Naughty Professor. Jodie is more than ready to indulge her fantasies with this wolf-in-geek's-clothing as long as they set some ground rules: sex is sex, business is business and nothing will change. Yeah, right! After that first addictive kiss, it's time to see if they can really satisfy each other's appetites....

One Hundred Percent Lunar Boy


Stephen Tunney - 2010
    In One Hundred Percent Lunar Boy, Stephen Tunney has created one of the most vivid and exciting of literary worlds, with shades of the best of Ray Bradbury, Stephenie Meyer and George Orwell.

Quick & Easy Chinese: 70 Everyday Recipes


Nancie McDermott - 2008
    Using readily available ingredients and a few simple techniques, Quick & Easy Chinese brings the delicious flavors of Asia into anyone'skitchen. Included are many familiar restaurant classics like Cashew Chicken, Hot and Sour Soup, and even Fortune Cookies—all simplified for easy home cooking. With a wide range of appetizers, soups, entrees, drinks, and desserts, Quick & Easy Chinese will bring everyone good fortune and good eating.

The Smoke Room


Earl Emerson - 2005
    In his remarkable new thriller, Emerson fuses together a gripping drama with unforgettable scenes of peril that, in this realm, can explode at any second.Jason Gun, a risk-taking rookie firefighter who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, has found in his firehouse the family he never had as a child. Then, in one ill-fated turn of events, it all begins to go wrong.A bizarre accident brings a thrill-seeking woman into Engine Company 29–and into Jason’s life. Suddenly, his future on the job is at risk. Two fellow firefighters know that he missed a call because of some sexual heroics at the wrong time and place. Now, deeply in their debt, he will find out what kind of men his partners really are.When these two firefighters come upon a fortune in missing bearer bonds–money found in a dead man’s house–Jason is forced to become an accessory to their crime. And when evidence of their greed, foolishness, and thievery begins to emerge, Jason is witness to an even darker deed.Suddenly, the twenty-four-year-old, who only wanted to do the right thing, is trapped behind a wall of silence. Trying to undo his mistake, Jason moves further into the darkness, where a beautiful young woman might just be his emotional rescue–or yet one more very wrong move. Unfortunately for Jason, the worst isn’t behind him. Like a fire hit by wind, the killing has raged out of control.Capturing the thin line that separates a hero from a criminal, and an enemy from a friend, Earl Emerson’s new novel is a gripping tale of a man’s dangerous fall from grace–and of his fierce battle for redemption.

Within Arm's Reach


Ann Napolitano - 2004
    Within Arm’s Reach follows three generations of the McLaughlins, an Irish Catholic family who is jarred into crisis by Gracie’s unexpected pregnancy. This lyrical first novel is told through six different points of view: the unmarried Gracie, her sister Lila, their parents, their matriarchal grandmother, and a family outsider with a curious connection. As the McLaughlins respond to the profound change in Gracie’s life, their own memories and personal stories begin to emerge. Ann Napolitano creates a family quilt of sorts, each person’s life and actions closely woven throughout the fabric of the past, present, and future. Within Arm’s Reach is a rich and deeply satisfying narrative of guilt, love, betrayal, and the ultimate loyalty—that of blood.

Courageous


Randy Alcorn - 2011
    As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners willingly stand up to the worst the world can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark. They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift farther and farther away from them. Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those who are most dear to them? When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God . . . and to their children?

Commuters


Emily Gray Tedrowe - 2010
    Jerry’s daughter, Annette, fearing for her inheritance, takes drastic action to freeze Jerry’s assets; Winnie’s daughter, Rachel, struggling with her own finances, accepts Jerry’s offer of a loan; and Avery, Jerry’s twenty-year-old grandson, a hotshot chef with a cocaine-fueled past, scouts out Manhattan venues in which to start his own restaurant–with Jerry’s money to back him up. With so much riding on Jerry’s wealth, a rapid decline in his physical health forces hard decisions on the family, renewing old loyalties while creating surprising alliances.Commuters traces the interwoven stories of Winnie, Rachel, and Avery as each is changed by the repercussions of one marriage, and by the complex intertwining of love, family, and money.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short


Terry McMillan - 2000
    With her hallmark exuberance and cast of characters so sassy, resilient, and full of life that they breathe, dream, and shout right off the page.

Joy Bauer's Food Cures: Treat Common Health Concerns, Look Younger and Live Longer


Joy Bauer - 2007
    Whether it's unwanted pounds or high blood sugar, mood swings or digestive trouble, the cure can be what you eat every day.Now Joy Bauer, a nutrition consultant to celebrities from actors to gold-medal winning athletes, explains exactly what to eat to lower high cholesterol and blood pressure, improve skin tone, sharpen memory, sleep better, and take charge of PMS, arthritis, and more. Each chapter focuses on one of the many conditions that drive people to seek Joy's professional help and simulates a personal consultation. Readers walk away with up-to-the-minute, scientifically researched recommendations on particular foods to seek out and which ones to avoid, plus grocery lists, meal plans, recipes, and supplement recommendations presented in easy-to-follow 4-step prescriptive plans.