She is drawn to Izzy Montgomery, a gifted trauma counsellor who is struggling through personal and professional challenges. Lisa-Marie also befriends Liam Collins, a man who goes quietly about his life trying to deal with his own secrets and guilt. The arrival of a summer renter for Izzy's guest cabin is the catalyst for change amongst Crater Lake's tight knit community. People are forced to grapple with the realities of grief and desire to discover that there are no easy choices - only shades of grey.

    He didn’t trust himself.The death of Sarah Greer’s husband granted her two things—freedom from his abuse and his large estate.  In hopes of freeing her younger brother from their controlling grandfather, the pair travels to the new mining town of Central City, only Sarah finds herself caught up in scheme that forces her to marry again.The last thing widower Mac MacPherson wants is a marriage of convenience. Haunted by the past, the only reason he left his family’s Colorado ranch is to hunt down the last man to see his wife alive. But when he finds himself hitched to Sarah, he can’t ignore the woman who gets under his skin—or the sparks that fly when they’re together. Can Sarah and Mac put the past behind them and find a future together?This edgy historical romance is Book 1 in the MacPherson Brides series.Book 2: The Scar and The StarBook 3: The Hawk and The Eagle

    Held captive by regret, 23 year-old trauma RN, Tori Sales, has seen the reality of many nightmares. But there is one nightmare she will never wake from—her last memory of Anna. Her efforts to save the little girl were not enough; she was not enough. After a year of living alone, Tori is forced to return home—a place where heartache, loss, and broken relationships lurk around every corner. Isolation is her only solace; running is her only escape. But she cannot outrun the truth forever. When a handsome, compassionate stranger enters her world, Tori is inspired to deal with her past and focus on the future—one she never believed possible. But before her quest for closure is complete, a new revelation surfaces, tainting her world yet again. Will she accept the recovery she so desperately needs? Or will she choose the escape she knows best...

    Under the dubious guidance of a doting aunt, the girls struggle to keep the secret, praying their parents will return before anyone learns the truth--a truth that may end all hopes of Betsie's marriage to Charley Yoder.Worse still, Betsie must learn a trade while she boards with a dysfunctional Englisher family: Sheila, a twelve-year-old desperately searching for a friend and in dire need of her mother; the free-spirited mother, who runs off to find herself on the stage; the angry father whose structured life crumbles; and Michael, a troubled college dropout nearly killed in the Kent State Massacre.Thrust into the English world, Betsie must grapple with the realities of war and miniskirts, pot parties and police brutality, protests and desertion. Can she help the Sullivan family and find peace in her new surroundings, or must she forget the bargain she made and seek refuge back in Plain City with protective and reliable Charley?

    Despite the many mishaps she encounters, she is determined to get that deed. If not for Luke, the Amish, tenant-farmer's oldest son, she could stay on task, but her attraction to him is becoming a little more than a distraction.

    She's content running her antique store and caring for her grandmother and sister - at least that's what she tells herself. If the secret desires of her heart go unmet... that's just the way it has to be. Right? Oil & gas negotiator Andrew "Ace" Conners has always planned to be alone. He'll do his duty and settle the affairs of his aunt and then get out of Reliance, Montana. But when his late aunt’s neighbor insists on finding treasures among the estate’s belongings, he can't help falling for the dynamic, compassionate woman, even though he knows she's not for him. When a man from Ace’s past appears seeking retribution, Ace and Nicole must face their biggest fears - together - or lose the love they both long for. Other books in this series:Forever in My Heart Everlasting Love Inheritance of Love

    Just ask her. She’ll tell you. After all, he is her sister’s best friend, “royalty” in her high school, a senior, and so talented he would never notice a nobody like her. So Paige resorts to pouring her non-existent feelings for Nelson into a very special notebook, a notebook of the words that cascade through her without her knowing how or where they come from. She’s always been like that, writing words that are poetic, ephemeral, and too precious to share with anyone else. But what happens when she loses the notebook that contains the words that are such a part of her? Worse, when Nelson starts to want to hang out, can she play it cool or will he learn all the secrets she’s been keeping from everyone, even herself? Nelson Samuels knows he’s always been a little weird. For as long as he can remember, he’s done his best to keep just how weird a secret from those closest to him. Yes, they know he writes music. What they don’t know is that he hears music in haunting melodies all the time. Having learned to capture some of them into notes on a page, he struggles to share just enough of his talent without risking anyone knowing all of it. It’s only when Nelson starts to notice his best friend’s younger sister that life is about to dare him to open the deepest secrets he holds about himself to someone else. Will he be brave enough to share the imagination side of him, or will he forever stay trapped in knowing he has this amazing gift but being too afraid to share it with anyone? “Becoming Me” begins The Imagination Series by USA Today Best-Selling Christian author Staci Stallings. This set of stories begins in the very real world and takes the reader on a journey to learn that we all have gifts and talents, and those were placed inside of us by a God Who loves us and wants us to learn to use them—for ourselves, for our friends and family, for the world, and for His Kingdom. Come along on this journey that dares to ask what would happen if we all stopped judging our differences and started celebrating them instead.

    However, deep inside, she is suppressing a yearning for adventure and excitement. Unbeknownst to her, her life is about to change, when a long-lost uncle, left her with a dubious fortune in the West. There is only one condition; in order to inherit the ranch, she must move and live there for six months. Alone... When Caroline accepts the challenge, she could never imagine what life in the ranch will compel her to deal with...Jack Charley is a man's man. Trying to get over a painful past, he has been working on a ranch in Bonita Canyon for the past few years. When he finds his way to Caroline's door, he is enchanted by her and he sets a new life mission; to keep her safe. Being a lone-wolf himself, he avoids giving much explanation to her and makes a proposal that could help them both. Will he find a way to conquer his own demons and give himself a second chance to love? Will he eventually give in to the chemistry that has been built between them all this time? Tangled up in a situation she would never expect, Caroline must make life-critical decisions. Will she find love in the eyes of her unsolicited guard? Or will the hurdles that came along with her inheritance tear them apart before they had even begun to live?"The Courageous Guardian of Her Heart" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after. If you are in for plot twists and unexpected love being revealed, grab your copy now!

    Who cares if she's ten years older than he is. She's perfect. When Mari Baker moves in next door, Eli Rhodes is captivated by her fiery spirit and brunette curls. Sure, she's nothing like the singles bar hook-ups he usually entertains, but someone like her could make a man change his ways. When Mari Baker moves in next door, Joe Rhodes is unofficially engaged to Beth Havland, so why is this little snippet of a woman getting under his skin? Yeah, she's sweet and smart and shares his faith, but he and Beth have made plans. At least they've talked about making plans. When Mari Baker moves to Colorado Springs, she's looking for a fresh start--a new path. The first path she walks, however, is up the steps of the big Victorian house next door after she slips on the ice and throws her purse down the storm drain before she even has a chance to open the door of her new rental. The Rhodes brothers become her rescuing angels that night, and the next path that forms is the one between their house and hers.

     After her husband's suspicious death, her father and uncle arrange for her to head West as a mail order bride to secure her safety. Once she arrives she is married to a local dirt farmer with big dreams and an even bigger heart. Samantha has no intentions of falling in love with her handsome new husband or making friends in the small town that is so different from the vast city she came from. She is just going to pass the time until she gets word that she can return home. Seth Jenkins wanted a real marriage, so he placed an ad in a nationwide paper advertising to mail order brides. He never expected to receive a letter from an attorney offering his niece in marriage, along with a hefty sum in exchange for Seth ensuring her safety. When danger follows Samantha from the East, can Seth keep his promise to keep her safe? Can Samantha overcome her past and embrace the love standing right in front of her?

    Seth can’t let go of the past. Recent Wellesley College graduate Caroline Prescott’s future is set in stone. After Harvard Law School, she’ll step into place beside her two brothers in their father’s legendary Boston law firm. Caroline secretly longs for the quiet, peaceful life and a career designing jewelry with precious gemstones instead of life as a hotshot Boston attorney. On a hiking trip with her two best friends weeks before entering law school, Caroline meets Seth Barnes in charming Evergreen, Maine. A mineralogist and part-time college professor, Seth drives a truck sporting an I DIG ROCKS license plate, lives in hiking clothes, flannel shirts and jeans, and loves Jesus. Two years later, when they meet again, Caroline and Seth confront both the promise of possibility and the pain of past heartaches. What’s a girl to do when the man she secretly loves has a serious girlfriend and seems determined to hold her at arm’s length? And what’s a guy to do when he can’t stay away from a certain irresistible woman no matter how hard he tries? Does the Lord have His own design for their hearts? Heart’s Design, a story filled with faith, friendship, love, family, and the power of forgiveness.

    Did she make a mistake? Her engagement off, Zoe Griffin retreats to tiny Wildflower Island in the Puget Sound. Hiding out as a cook and maid at a shabby bed-and-breakfast seems crazy for a chef who’s used to running her own five-star kitchen. And just as she starts to feel at home, her klutzy mishaps make Zoe fear her handsome new boss will fire her. Dr. Nick Jackson is done with medicine, and owning a B&B is as far from doctoring as he can get. He needs help, but his only employee’s mistakes give him doubts. As Zoe lets her defenses down, Nick begins to see a competent and caring woman. One whose wounds are as deep as his own. But as they fall for each other, Nick and Zoe must learn the hardest lesson of all—to forgive. Only then can they heal the past and embrace the future . . . together. Author Bio Kimberly Rose Johnson, soon to be empty-nester, lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their yellow lab. Island Refuge is her sixth published book and the first in a series of three. Kimberly enjoys long walks, chocolate, and mochas, not necessarily in that order.

    The Black Heart Clan assassins have hunted him ever since. In the six years that have passed, King Braxion continues his ruthless tyranny against citizens and neighboring Kingdoms alike. He controls the dragon nobility through powerful spells of beast shamanism cast by the Hakkadians, sorcerers from the northlands.Princess Sebine, the girl the King believes is his daughter, plots to one day break free from the palace and discover the mystery behind her true father. Tempted by the lure of sorcery, she studies in secret with the Hakkadians in the palace dungeons. When a merchant from the east delivers her the Ring of Galdora as a gift from the Elven Kingdom of Drazal'tan, the course of her life will change forever.At the author's request, this book is offered without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

    She is the daughter of a notorious traitor who decimated the clan during a post-Jacobite uprising. Having grown up lonely and unloved, she’s astonished when the dying and much revered chieftain of Clan Carmichael chooses her to wed his younger son. She’s perplexed when the older son and heir, Gavin Carmichael, arrives to claim her as his bride. Hasn’t her beautiful cousin, Vanora, the heiress of Gilmour Hall, boasted since girlhood she will marry Gavin to enjoin their bordering lands? Gavin expects nothing more from his arranged marriage to Alana than a compliant wife who will produce the future heir and an escape from her malicious, deceitful cousin. He underestimates Vanora’s schemes, however. Trouble erupts between the Carmichael and Gilmour clans. With rumors swirling of tainted blood and witchcraft, Alana becomes a prisoner in her own home. Attacks on his wife stir Gavin’s protective nature, and his feelings quickly turn to love. But it will take a higher power to save Alana from the evil hidden behind the walls of Gilmour Hall.

    Ginny struggles to make the holidays joyful for the residents, while still mourning the death of her fiancé. Edith and Frank decide it’s time for an intervention. The two conspire to play matchmaker between Ginny and Chester. The task isn’t an easy one. Ginny must find a way to let go of her grief and Chester’s past may stop any romance from growing. But the two matchmakers are nothing if not persistent. They’ve lived too long, and learned too much, to give up hope. They know that barren winter trees bloom again in the spring and everyone deserves a second chance at love. Semi-finalist Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel Contest 2010