But her personal life (including a failed marriage and an exciting but unfulfilling affair) makes Bev feel she is lacking as a woman. Using all of her strength and intuition to reach the very pinnacle of success, she is still constantly searching for love.Public Smiles, Private Tears is not only Bev's story --- it is the story of an entire generation of women who find themselves in a world where traditional standards and assumptions no longer work. There is Ruth who followed the rules, Marion who broke them, and Sylvia --- who created her own. Here too are the men who loved them, used them, worshiped from afar, hurt them --- and sometimes left them. Helen Van Slyke draws upon her own experience in the glittering world of the powerful to tell a fascinating story of the people she knows so well: their successes and failures, their triumphs and tragedies, their public smiles and their private tears.This is Helen Van Slyke's tenth and final novel, the first half of which she had completed before her untimely death on July 3, 1979. Although she had begun writing only nine years at the age of fifty, she achieved international acclaim as the author of such bestsellers as No Love Lost, A Necessary Woman, The Mixed Blessing, and The Heart Listens. James Elward, novelist (Storm's End: Tomorrow I Mine) and play-wright (Best of Friends; Hallelujah!), had always admired Helen Van Slyke, both as a writer and as a person. When he read the unfinished manuscript of Public Smiles, Private Tears, he truly felt that it was Helen's greatest achievement, and immediately began the enormous task of finishing the book. The result is a novel so completely faithful to the spirit of Helen Van Slyke that it is sure to captivate and move her readers just as her previous books have done --- a fitting tribute to a writer beloved by millions.

    And because she has a child with her, seemingly out of marriage, they want nothing to do with her – except for pub landlord Mick Castle. When Emma opens an academy and sets herself up in competition with the local school, she provokes a savage response from the community. But she will not be deterred – even when her past catches up with her and Mick is forced to choose between family and love.

    "Take some water," one of them said. Catherine shoved the cup aside, afraid she'd be sick. The floor rocked. The air smelled of the sea. She clambered to her feet, staggering, and fought the panic threatening to overwhelm her. He'd put her aboard a ship. Unlike the other women aboard ship, Catherine de Villeroy had assumed Fate intended her to live an aristocratic life of ease and luxury. Instead she is transported to a fetid jungle to be tied to a secretive stranger who reeks of pigs. Catherine's shipmate Marie Claude has had few expectations in life, and even they have been disappointed. When her only options become prostitution or starvation, Fate decrees she will become the wife of a stranger in a strange land. Even if her new husband is a cruel man, how can life not be better in this rough paradise of alligators and wild orchids? Agnes expected a life spent in her father's bookstore, perhaps married to a gentle, scholarly man. Betrayed and ruined, Agnes retreats into herself and hardly notices when she is transported to Louisiana. Married to a stranger who desires only an amenable bed partner, Agnes strives to stay present in her new life and to explore what more Fate allows a ruined woman.

    

     The day her kitchen ceiling collapses on top of her, Patty’s life unravels. Whether a sign from above or plain bad luck, she has no idea. But her brush with death shakes her to her core. With no boyfriend, no plans, and no where to stay, she leaves her condemned home and heads to California wine country to be near Cece, her best friend, confidant, and quintessential voice of reason. A few days in the quiet small town of Clearwater will give her the comfort she needs to contemplate one of life’s most enduring questions: "What now?” But instead of quiet and comfort, Patty is met with even more troubles—Cece suffers a crisis of her own, a new friend ropes her into a demanding situation, and an enticing yet complicated man has her spinning toward romantic disaster. However, it’s the mysterious arrival of her younger sister that pushes Patty to the brink and forces her to question everything she thought she knew about her siblings and about the family that rejected her. Now, faced with a monumental decision, Patty has no choice but to gamble on the one person she trusts the least —herself.

    He never had a place to call home. While camping out one night, hoping to find the next town, he had a feeling he was being watched. He ignored his instincts and went to sleep to wake up in the morning with a splitting headache from being hit on the head, and his horse, food, and saddlebags stolen. Following the footsteps left behind by the thieves, he found it led to a cabin and to a patchwork family in dire need of help. Sadie Carman lost her pa and took in two boys and a little girl that needed her to care for them. The boys were a trial, but she loved them like her own children. When Stryker Steele showed up at her door and told her that someone stole his horse and belongings, she was worried the boys had something to do with it. She agreed to let him stay until he could figure out what to do, but she never figured that he would give them a Christmas like they never had and forgive the boys for what they did. She worried Stryker would leave and she wished he'd stay forever.

    She struggled organizing the wedding as Viren Dewan’s classy extravagant attitude kept hurdling her work. Least did she know they had a history together, a knot which his family easily forgot and hers denied to accept. What would happen when that past resurfaced?A roller coaster ride of a forgotten accidental marriage, claiming its identity between Innocence versus Power.

    

    

    

    But when his eyes met with those of a simple and beautiful woman he grew up with, his heart longs for her. He wants her but fights the fierce attraction towards her even if he can't take his eyes off her. The way he looks at her makes her heart thud with excitement but she knew he is supposed to marry another woman. How long will they be able to deny the passion between them? Bound by Love is a standalone, passionate romantic short story.

    She is relieved to find a man willing to take on a pregnant wife, and resolves to make the union work. Even is the man is a bit loud, spends too much time at the pub, and speaks to her as if she had no mind of her own. Robert Killiam works as a bricklayer in the city, and living a solitary life has not does much for his manners. He’s used to folks who speak their mind, and mild-mannered Alice seems happy to go along with whatever he suggests. She’s lovely and kind, but—he thinks—also a bit dull. But the Christmas holiday bring back sad memories for Alice, and she finally puts her foot down. Robert sees something new in this timid woman, and he’s more determined than ever to make her happy. And when the baby suddenly arrives early, he realizes how much this budding family has already changed his life.

    Rebekah is uninterested in marriage, but her Uncle wants nothing more than to see his nieces happily settled with loving husbands. He attempts to find Abigail a beau in the form of Elijah Cook, an eligible and wealthy bachelor. Life begins to get complicated as Abigail has her heart set on marrying Elijah, but it is evident that he has fallen for Rebekah. Rebekah is forced to face her feelings and her ideals while trying to maintain the relationship she has with her sister. As she battles the truth and her sister's displeasure, Rebekah learns that there is more to being the woman she wants to be than being the perfect sister. Find Out Now - Get Your Copy of 'A Change of Heart' - Today!

      Lime Peak Ranch is home to the Dumont and Ruggles families who raise cattle, train horses, and compete in PRCA rodeos. Life down the dirt road isn’t as perfect as it seems and secrets have roots deeper than the maple trees.   Ellie Dumont isn’t ready to face the music and return home to Lime Peak Ranch. She’s done the unthinkable and put a fence right down the middle of the family. To overcome her betrayal, the family will have to forgive thirty years’ of wrongs and look beyond her new last name. Dr. Robert Canton is falling in love with Olivia Dumont. After an electric kiss, he knows she’s aware of what’s happening between them. That’s why he has to tell her why he really came to the ranch. If Olivia understands, then they have a future together. If not, then he’ll have to pack his things and go because the Lime Peak Ranch isn’t home without Olivia’s hand in his. Carol Dumont agreed to move to the ranch so her son, Levi, could be closer to his father. In subtle ways, George has changed, he’s softer, more considerate of her feelings. And in other ways he’s still the same. He can melt her knees with a look and make her heart pound like a queen’s horse circling the arena. She’s fallen for his charms before and ended up alone and lonely. She’ll have to work extra hard to keep her heart safe with this cowboy living down the lane. Bonnie Ruggles is on the move. She has the money she needs to make one of her lost dreams come true and she’s feeling crazy enough to follow through even though. This leap may mean the end of her marriage—or it could save her soul from withering away.    Follow this family full of heart and love and loyalty as they work to navigate the revelation of long-buried secrets, bitter rivalries, and love in the second book in the Lime Peak Ranch series.