The Potluck Club (The Potluck Club, Book 1)

    Especially when dead bodies keep ruining your romantic dinner plans. But fashion designer turned amateur sleuth Maddie Springer is determined that her husband's latest case, dubbed the "Sex Shop Murder", will not keep him from celebrating their first anniversary together, which just happens to fall on the most romantic of all holidays, Valentine's Day. She's ready to do whatever it takes to make this night special and distraction-free - even if it means solving his case herself!

    Now one of those schemes has come true, and Ian is the only person alive who knows how it was done...and who is behind the plot. That makes him too dangerous to live.Ian goes on the run, sweeping up an innocent bystander in his plight--Margo French, a dog walker and aspiring singer. They are pursued by assassins and an all-seeing global-intelligence network that won't stop until Ian and Margo are dead. Ian has written thrillers like this before, but this time he doesn't know how it's going to end--or if he will be alive to find out.

    A girl disguised as a boy.A villain with a brothel to fill.A hero wondering why he’s in love with a lad in breeches.Serving murder, mayhem and pies, Stealing Mercy is a romantic adventure set in 1889 on the eve of the Great Seattle Fire when more than the city is set on fire.

    But after three years of self-imposed exile, he has returned to take over DMI at the gentle urging of beautiful Abigail, who was once his father’s assistant. His brother, Joel, plagued by a slew of illicit affairs and poor judgment, is plunging the business into ruin, and Don’s plans to secretly assume control of the ministry come into question when his estranged sister refuses to help him. Don must decide whether to face down his power-hungry brother to save the ministry his father worked so hard to build—and take a chance on an unrequited love he never dreamed Abigail would reciprocate—or return to South Africa to find refuge in his own thriving company and the budding romance he left behind. After much soul searching, Don comes to realize that his destiny is inescapable. Patricia Haley’s evocative modern-day interpretation of these popular biblical tales will keep readers riveted until the stunning conclusion.

    For starters, Amber accidentally shoots Chief Inspector Janice Skipper and gets thrown off the police force. The only one who knows the truth about the incident is Amber, but no one will believe her. After accepting a job as an insurance investigator from her ex-fiancé, Brad Beckett, it turns out that Brad thinks they've still got unfinished business and the job description includes sexual favours that come with a price. When fashion designer, Umberto Fandango, goes missing, Amber becomes embroiled in a complicated case. But Amber's arch-enemy, Chief Inspector Skipper, is also investigating his disappearance, and it's a race against time for Amber to solve the mystery before Skipper does and get her old job back. And just when Amber thinks things can't get any worse, she's being stalked by some crazy mobsters. Who is Umberto Fandango? Is he dead? And can Amber stay one step ahead and stay alive?

    But in a world where we sometimes know more about the Kardashians than we do the people sleeping right down the hall, it's easy to forget that walking through life with our family offers all sorts of joy wrapped up in the seemingly mundane. There's even a little bit of sacred sitting smack-dab in the middle of the ordinary. And since time's-a-wastin', we need to be careful that we don't take our people--and their stories--for granted. Whether it's a marathon bacon-frying session, a road trip gone hysterically wrong, or a mother-in-law who makes every trip to the grocery store an adventure, author Sophie Hudson reminds us how important it is to slow down and treasure the day-to-day encounters with the people we love the most.Written in the same witty style as Sophie's BooMama blog, "A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet" is a cheerful, funny, and tender account of Sophie's very Southern family. It's a look into the real lives of real people--and a real, loving God right in the middle of it all.

    Although raised by loving grandparents, it’s the G-FOURce—the Gustafson Four Sisters Club—that binds them together when their differences would tear them apart. All grown up now, Juliette has become the quintessential doormat, Renata, two years younger, the self-appointed matriarchal figure. Phoebe is borderline narcissistic, according to Renata at least, and Gia is on the verge of a major identity crisis. But they’re still a force with which to be reckoned as they continue the time-honored tradition of meeting together to love and support one another, and if necessary, to intervene in each others lives. What none of the sisters has been willing to address is the hovering presence of Angela Clinton, the senior class darling who drove her cherry black 1970 el Camino into the side of their parents’ car on the night of Juliette’s high school graduation. But Angela’s prison sentence is winding down; soon she’ll be eligible for parole, so face her, they must. Will the G-FOURce be strong enough to hold them together as they step into the eye of the storm that’s been brewing for the last fifteen years? Will they finally be able to let go of the past and embrace the future, no matter what it holds? JULIETTE AND THE MONDAY MANDATES Juliette Gustafson is heart-broken after waiting nearly ten years for a proposal from her boyfriend that never came. Determining she isn’t “getting over Mike” quickly enough, her three younger sisters come up with The Monday ManDates; an intervention plan requiring Juliette to endure what turns out to be a series of remarkably disastrous blind dates. Between TheraPaul, Frisky Frank, TAZ the rock star, and the stoic Tim Larsen, the Monday ManDates are doomed from the start. Then there’s Victor Jarrett, the police officer with an affinity for pulling Juliette over when she’s at her very worst. But no one is more surprised than Juliette when she meets the one man who can right the wrongs in her past and change her future, if she will only let herself fall in love with him.

    A little bit of mystery, a whole lot of whimsy. When a matchmaking cat takes it upon himself to find his young mistress a new mate, he accidentally stirs up memories better left forgotten.Melody’s husband was murdered by what seemed a random act of violence. Two years later, the killer hasn’t been caught, and Melody is coping in unhealthy ways. During the day she’s a mild-mannered children’s librarian, but at night she’s a party girl, hanging out in bars, drinking with new friends, and often bringing home strange men. Although acquaintances have tried to keep in touch, Melody has cut herself off from most of the people in her old life. Max, her eccentric cat, doesn’t approve of her new friends, he’s tired of the parade of losers, and he finally takes it upon himself to find Melody a new man.

    Will they find love or wave it goodbye? If their man goes down on one knee, will they say yes or no? If an old flame suddenly appears, will it start a fire or fizzle out? Read on and find out...Stories included:* All the World's a Page by Jennifer Gilby Roberts* Miss Understanding in the Ballroom with the Wrench by Geralyn Corcillo* The Wonder of India by Julie Farrell* Vodka and Chocolate Hearts by Jean Oram* Cupid, with a Eucalyptus Tree, in the Teachers’ Workroom by Amy Gettinger* Sugar, It’s Cold Outside by Celia Kennedy* Fly, Robin, Fly by Kathryn R. Biel* Not Just for Valentine’s Day by Karen E. Martin* Cupid’s Second Chance by Lisa Bambrick* And The Winner Is… by CeCe OsgoodThese short reads are perfect for a bit of me-time. So, pour a glass of wine, open a box of chocolates, put your feet up and indulge.

    The leaders of these guilds have complete control over their members, but one man is about to challenge that authority.Follow the tale of The Artificer’s Apprentice to see what he shall fashion in his shop...

    . .A beautiful glass paperweight . . .Escape to the wilderness."Don't bury yourself in that wilderness!" her relatives say. "Even though you're a widow, you're still young." No matter what they think, Madeleine decides to go. She'll help her aunt restore the old house; she'll sign up for an online baking course; and she'll bury--yes, bury--those terrible memories. ''From now on," she tells herself, "I'm going to be strong and independent." Her plan seems to be working, except for the panic attacks, until she has to deflect the attentions of two men.The doctor, who has a fire-scarred past, is not upset by her panic attacks and knows he can help her to heal. The writer, who conceals more than one secret, admires her spirit and is certain that she needs him.God uses both men and her father's gift of a floral paperweight to remind her of His enduring "forever love," and as she yields to Him, she finds the courage to take a new and challenging path.

    That’s when the name-calling began. Stretch, skinny-minny, boy in girl’s clothes, all because of the slender height that had her towering over even the tallest boys in the class. Now, nearly thirty years later, Grace is head chef of the failing restaurant and still hiding in the kitchen. Like many businesses during the current recession, Coulter’s may have to start laying off employees or even close. But Grace has a plan to save the restaurant and the people she’s known all her life; a plan that will force her to go out into the world and face her fears.

    When foster kid Elroy is thrust into his life, Frank decides to turn this forced relationship to his advantage – launching a string of absurd decisions, inappropriate behaviors and unexpected glimpses of tenderness that ultimately turn a New Jersey suburb upside down. A laugh-out-loud celebration of bad choices for good causes, Managed Care is an offbeat story about three misfits on the social fringes of suburbia and their ridiculous campaign to introduce an unfiltered version of intimacy to their stale, impersonal community. Because, according to Frank, it’s probably what Jesus would have wanted.

    Xavier Ireland is a radio DJ who by night listens to the hopes, fears and regrets of sleepless Londoners and by day keeps himself very much to himself - until he is brought into the light by a one-of-a-kind cleaning lady and forced to confront his own biggest regret.