13:55 EST makes - she counts on her fingers - about 6pm in Berlin. He'll be on his way home. Alice settles into the armchair and dials the number...If Alice hadn't bumped into Will then she would probably never have phoned that afternoon. And if Alice hadn't called, then Michael, poor Michael, might still be alive today...In a digital age of world-spanning communications and easy travel these stories explore how interconnected and yet fragmented our lives have become, and how - no matter where we live or what we do, no matter how different our lifestyles - the universal desires for love and happiness draw us ever onward.Both short story collection and novel, 13:55 Eastern Standard Time finds Nick Alexander at his best. Sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny, these are stories of lives that cross and collide in life-ending drama, or simply run peacefully alongside for a few hours - lives filled with characters who are attracted and repelled, hopeless and yet inspired. Narrated in Alexander's trademark tense prose, these interwoven stories explore the ripples emanating from our every act, ripples that alter distant destinies, and occasionally bounce back, catching us from behind to haunt or inspire.13:55 Eastern Standard Time repeats the success of Alexander's first novel, 50 Reasons to Say Goodbye because again, as with life itself, the whole is mysteriously greater than the sum of the parts.

    In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely. Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers. Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with. As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.

    The multi-billion dollar hotels to steel conglomerate, founded by her mercurial father, liquor baron Madhusudhan Reddy, has many suitors, all of them plotting a hostile takeover. Aratrika’s estranged husband, Siddhartha is one of them. His inside knowledge is the real ace up his sleeve. The Rathores, the Reddys’ arch-rivals are looking to buy ARYA too and thereby settle old scores. Aratrika has to weave her way through a litany of lawyers, politicians, bankers, bureaucrats, investors, power brokers and her dreaded family. Behind the scenes, Jagannath Rao, her wily uncle, is playing a dangerous double game of manipulation. Her father Madhusudan is furiously pulling the strings from behind the scenes. To add to the confusion, overseeing the whole sale process is her old flame, Peter. Over the course of a single night, 8 Hours to be precise, Aratrika must fight the demons at the gates of her company and those within. It’s a fight to the bitter end. A fight that Aratrika does not want to lose…

    Deserts, jungles, even held captive by the enemy, and never lost her cool, but when town loud-mouth, Celia Arceneaux, confronts her about her lack of domestic ability in front of her main squeeze Deputy Carter LeBlanc, Fortune let’s her mouth write a check she knows she can’t cash. Now, with Valentine’s Day only a day away, and no idea how to cook a meal fit for a king, or a hunky deputy to be exact, she needs help… and a lot of it. With her partners in crime, Ida Bell and Gertie, and their friend, culinary genius Ally by her side, they’ll help her either create a night Carter will never forget, or one they all wish they could.

    The exciting story witnesses the journey of an honest cop to discover his true dharma and a brave women army officer’s selfless service for her country.

    and Madison's overly exuberant cousin to Texas. Unfortunately, the R.V. breaks down on the edge of Sinful, Louisanna - on a Sunday.

    An African American Brooklyn woman finds that her light complexion brings her trouble as she falls in love with a Black businessman fighting his own struggle against prejudice.

    The hitmen are hot on her trail, and soon no one will be safe at Brady's ranch. Texas feels a lifetime away from Grand Springs, but going home and facing up to her old life may be the only way to hang on to the new one. Randi's days of running are over–she just hopes that Brady can face his fears about love and stop running, too….Don't miss the continuing drama of Grand Springs in Marriage by Contract by Sandra Steffen.

    Corral is the ultimate Western adventure--and Estleman's novel is the definitive account* Estleman is the author of This Old Bill, Journey of the Dead, Billy Gashade, and City of Widows "High Drama... Estleman's account of events following the O.K. Corral gunfight is the best one I've ever read, by far."--Elmore Leonard

    Allie is organizing her teacher to death. Jessie is crying in class. Meggie is becoming almost reclusive. Jacob is told what the triplets need is a woman in their lives. But the last thing Jacob needs is to exchange girl trouble for woman trouble. Jacob's gone that route before. All it did was get his daughters' hopes up - his hopes up - only to end in disappointment. Maybe the answer is to enlist the help of a friend, someone like his partner, Michelle.Unfortunately, what Jacob begins to feel for Michelle is more than just friendship. And while Michelle's willing to be a surrogate mother to Jacob's children, it's going to take a lot of convincing for her to consider the idea of being a wife to him.

    Even if that means staying in South Carolina to care for the fierce, accomplished giant whose world has suddenly turned dark. Though Saxon’s raw emotions are unsettling, Maggie is able to help him confront his new reality, and soon the beauty is drawn to this beast. Can she resist his knee-weakening kisses and passionate embraces? Color Love Blue Bumping headlong into sexy stranger Nick Scarpelli shakes artist Jolana Shannon’s head out of the clouds. He’s drop-dead gorgeous and incredibly arrogant, and surrendering to passion with him is utter bliss. But when Nick makes it clear he doesn’t want forever with Jolana, it breaks her heart. Still, memories of Nick linger—until one day he resurfaces in her life. Could the man who walked away offer her everything she’s ever wanted?

    Seeing her again fueled his desire. Far from the mountains of Afghanistan, Abby Stewart found solace in the wild country of western Colorado. But after finishing one war, she was caught in another. In securing the crime scene, Lieutenant Michael Dance was more surprised to see Abby than the dead body. How could he forget her face after caring for her wounds and saving her life? And yet she didn't remember him at all. That wouldn't stop him from embarking on a high stakes investigation leading to much worse than murder. And if it helped jog Abby's memory and soften her toward him, he wouldn't leave her side until she was safe once more…

     Christmas Cozy - Christmas in Ashton Falls is always a magical time of year. The first big snow has arrived, the tree in the town square has been decorated, the window displays completed, and Hometown Christmas is just around the corner. Zoe finds herself knee deep in holiday shopping and Children’s wishes as she and Zak play host to nine year old Scooter Sherwood and his friend Alex. Although a bit hectic, the magic of Christmas is in full bloom and things couldn’t be more perfect until Zoe finds the body of history teacher Holly Jolly in the Ashton Falls High School Christmas Tree lot run by best friend Levi Denton and is pulled into a dangerous holiday investigation. Alaskan Alliance - Zak and Zoe fly to Alaska after Zoe is asked by her dog trainer friend Peter to fly to Moosehead Alaska to deliver a search and rescue dog to a team who is desperate for some canine help after their own dog is injured during a rescue. Within twelve hours of arriving in the isolated little town, Zoe stumbles onto a murder scene where everything must be questioned because nothing is exactly as it seems. When a second body is found and a five year old cold case is reexamined, things go from complicated to bizarre. Meanwhile Levi and Ellie are home in Ashton Falls dealing with complex emotions as they solve their own thorny mystery.

    Until she realizes Nico isn’t the groom… Mortified, she can’t escape the church fast enough! But when Nico follows her, their burning fire spectacularly reignites, leading to one last night in Nico’s bed… A night that leaves Sienna shockingly pregnant with the Italian’s child!Get lost in this marriage-reunited romance!

    FOG The Yankee sharpshooter turned out to be a lousy judge of character. He had three officers in his sights, a captain and two lieutenants. If he killed the right one, the Union Army’s victory at the Battle of Martin’s Hill would be guaranteed. So he made his choice and killed the Rebel cavalry’s commanding officer, Captain von Hartz. Big mistake. He should have concentrated on the small, insignificant-looking first lieutenant instead. Because the death of Captain von Hertz put Dusty Fog in command of the Texas Light Cavalry’s hard-riding, harder-hitting Company ‘C’. And with Dusty at their head, there was going to be hell to pay for the Bluebellies. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Thomas Edson was born at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on February 17 1928, the son of a miner who was killed in an accident when John was nine. He left Shirebrook Selective Central School at 14 to work in a stone quarry and joined the Army four years later. As a sergeant in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Edson served in Kenya during the Emergency, on one occasion killing five Mau Mau on patrol. He started writing in Hong Kong, and when he won a large cash prize in a tombola he invested in a typewriter. On coming out of the Army after 12 years with a wife and children to support, Edson learned his craft while running a fish-and-chip shop and working on the production line at a local pet food factory. His efforts paid off when Trail Boss (1961) won second prize in a competition with a promise of publication and an outright payment of £50. The publishers offered £25 more for each subsequent book, and with the addition of earnings from serial-writing for the comic Victor, Edson was able to settle down to professional authorship. When the comic's owners decided that nobody read cowboy stories any more, he was forced to get a job as a postman (the job had the by-product of enabling him to lose six stone in weight from his original 18). Edson's prospects improved when Corgi Books took over his publisher, encouraged him to produce seven books a year and promised him royalties for the first time. In 1974 he made his first visit to the United States, to which he was to return regularly in search of reference books. He declared that he had no desire to live in the Wild West, adding: "I've never even been on a horse. I've seen those things, and they look highly dangerous at both ends and bloody uncomfortable in the middle. My only contact was to shoot them for dog meat." His heroes were often based on his favourite film stars, so that Dusty Fog resembled Audie Murphy, and the Ysabel Kid was an amalgam of Elvis Presley in Flaming Star and Jack Buetel in The Outlaw. Before becoming a recluse in his last years, JT's favourite boast was that Melton Mowbray was famous for three things: "The pie, Stilton cheese and myself but not necessarily in that order."