I did not believe he could survive it.” When Major Gryffth Hockaday is called to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s three-hundred-acre farm and infant son. Placidia, a mere teenager herself living far from her family and completely unprepared to run a farm or raise a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two years later, Placidia is bound for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence and murdering it. What really transpired in the two years he was away? Inspired by a true incident, this saga conjures the era with uncanny immediacy. Amid the desperation of wartime, Placidia sees the social order of her Southern homeland unravel as her views on race and family are transformed. A love story, a story of racial divide, and a story of the South as it fell in the war, The Second Mrs. Hockaday reveals how that generation--and the next--began to see their world anew.

     "Sample’s sleuth is an endearing character readers will adore.” RT Book Reviews DYING FOR A DATE (Book 1) # 1 Amazon Bestseller in Humor and Cozy mysteries Unsure if she is looking for Mr. Right, or Mr. Every Other Saturday Night, divorced mother of two, Laurel McKay reluctantly joins THE LOVE CLUB, a popular local dating service. Dressed to kill, she meets bachelor number one at a trendy restaurant. But the date is a bust, literally, when the guy decides Laurel is dessert, and she breaks his nose with her cell phone. It gets even worse when the man is found murdered the next morning, and Laurel has his blood on her clothes. Despite her now being a person of interest to the police, Laurel bravely ventures out on date number two. When that unlucky bachelor disappears during dinner, Laurel’s only alibi is a bottle of Dom Perignon. The sexy investigating detective thinks she’s innocent and is worried she may be the next target. That’s more than enough motivation for Laurel to find a murderer determined to kill her social life––before dating becomes a dead end she can’t escape. DYING FOR A DANCE (Book 2) Northern California Publisher & Authors Fiction Winner and 2012 LEFTY Finalist Best Humorous Mystery Discovering she has two left feet isn’t the biggest problem for Laurel McKay when she agrees to learn a foxtrot routine for her best friend’s Lake Tahoe wedding. Stumbling over the lifeless body of a sexy Russian dance star with her broken shoe heel stuffed in his mouth… is far worse. Almost as bad as running into the hunky detective she dated briefly before he disappeared from her life. When another death occurs on the ballroom floor, Laurel finds herself waltzing her way into the dark secrets of the Golden Hills Dance Studio. Navigating kids, career, wedding planning and murder requires some fancy footwork. Can Laurel tango with a killer and stay alive? DYING FOR A DAIQUIRI (Book 3) 2014 SILVER FALCHION Finalist Best Traditional Mystery and 2014 LEFTY Finalist Best Humorous Mystery When Laurel McKay attends a Hawaiian wedding, her vacation soon becomes more deadly than the calorie count in her daiquiri. Her post-wedding holiday upends after a beautiful hula dancer is found dead on the rocks below the oceanfront restaurant owned by Laurel's brother and sister-in-law. When a family member is arrested for the murder, Laurel is plunged into a mystery where exotic Big Island locations--a coffee plantation, black sand beaches and a volcano--reveal their deadly side. And where is her hunky on-again/off-again boyfriend detective when she needs him? Laurel zip-lines and four-wheels her way through the island paradise unearthing long hidden secrets. Will ingenuity and pluck be enough? Or will this hula be her last?

    Mistletoe & Murder is a festive boxed set of six (6) cozy Christmas mysteries—five (5) short stories and one (1) full-length novel. A limited edition of fun, holiday-themed whodunnits written by WSJ, USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors. C’mon, cuddle up with a mug of hot chocolate and a book of stories that you won’t want to put down. It’ll put you in the mood for everyone's favorite time of the year. Authors in Mistletoe & Murder Boxed Set Abby L. Vandiver Sonia Parin Kathryn Dionne Constance Barker Ani Gonzalez Zanna Mackenzie

    Solve the mystery behind Jane’s past and how it connects to her newly found circle of friends. Enhance your experience, expand your imagination with the use of this powerful study guide. It’s the perfect guide that keeps you glued and acquainted to the story, chapter after chapter. Big Little Lies is a story of three women with unique backgrounds, each coping up with the lives they have chosen. Read how three women’s lives linked together in one event that will change their lives forever. When you get hold of the study guide Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - Review Summary, you will come to understand each character and get a better hold of the plot, the theme and the representation of each character, a type of symbolism that represents the realm of our society. You will get chapter by chapter summary, analysis and essential quotes. Plus, get a sneak peak of critical reviews from various well known publications, editors and world acclaimed critics. Use this study guide to help you cope with your literature class, book club or just to help you better grasp the book itself. A WORD OF WARNING FOR READERS – This book is not the original copy of Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty’s book. However, this is a detailed summary and study guide that is designed to help you read the original work. Buy the original work along with this study guide!

    

    John died and was reincarnated into a world that resembles his favorite RPG. His in-game level carried over with him and he is overpowered in this run-down world. Keeping his stats secret he looks for a way home, but there are others, reincarnated with stats from their own games hunting for him.

    In this honest Advent devotional, best-selling progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz reminds us that God came to meet us in the low places of our lives — and that Jesus continues to come low this Advent season. When we plant our feet firmly in the dirt of everyday life, we see Jesus meeting us in the low places: when we live humbly, when we seek forgiveness, in our grief and suffering, when we act on behalf of someone else, when we pray. As we walk the road of Advent, Jesus reminds us the invitation is not to escape this world to an elevated Heaven somewhere else, but to bring Heaven down. “God with us” is Jesus, getting low. Each devotional includes a scripture and Advent reflection on Jesus meeting us on the ground.

    Or did she? He wonders if there is more to the story. For 3 years, Min Bradshaw has remembered the handsome guardsman who courted her for her fortune. She didn't expect to see him in her workshop, and she certainly doesn't intend to let him fool her again.

    Called The Nocturne, it is a book full of fairy stories and the heroic adventures of their people who generations before chose to live by starlight.And with every story that Levon’s grandmother tells them in their new home, the desire to live as their ancestors did grows. And that is when the magic begins…Nobody can explain why nocturnal water dogs start appearing at the heels of every citizen of Paris-by-Starlight like the loyal retainers they once were. There are suddenly night finches in the skies and the city is transforming: the Eiffel Tower lit up by strange ethereal flowers that drink in the light of the moon.But not everyone in Paris is won over by the spectacle of Paris-by-Starlight. There are always those that fear the other, the unexplained, the strangers in our midst. How long can the magic of night rub up against the ordinariness of day? How long can two worlds occupy the same streets and squares before there is an outright war?

    Titles In This Set:- The Cuckoo's Calling;The Silkworm;Career of Evil;Lethal White. Description:- The Cuckoo's Calling: When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case. - The Silkworm: When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days - as he has done before - and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home. - Career of Evil: When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman's severed leg.Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. - Lethal White: When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike's office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story.

    Carol Wall, a white woman living in a lily-white neighborhood in Middle America, was at a crossroads in her life. Her children were grown; she had successfully overcome illness; her beloved parents were getting older. One day she notices a dark-skinned African man tending her neighbor's yard. His name is Giles Owita. He bags groceries at the supermarket. He comes from Kenya. And he's very good at gardening. Before long Giles is transforming not only Carol's yard, but her life. Though they are seemingly quite different, a caring bond grows between them. But they both hold long-buried secrets that, when revealed, will cement their friendship forever.

    And so begins the unforgettable season that deposits the noncooking, nonbiting, ever-whistling Rose Llewellyn and her fond-of-knowledge brother, Morris Morgan, in Marias Coulee along with a stampede of homesteaders drawn by the promise of the Big Ditch-a gargantuan irrigation project intended to make the Montana prairie bloom. When the schoolmarm runs off with an itinerant preacher, Morris is pressed into service, setting the stage for the "several kinds of education"-none of them of the textbook variety-Morris and Rose will bring to Oliver, his three sons, and the rambunctious students in the region's one-room schoolhouse. A paean to a vanished way of life and the eccentric individuals and idiosyncratic institutions that made it fertile, The Whistling Season is Ivan Doig at his evocative best.

    This is her one chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of her successful decorating business. The plan this year: a trip to New York City to see all the sights and lights. What the plan didn’t include was a side trip to a small town jail in the middle of Pennsylvania. Nor did it include Officer Hunky. However... Single police officer, Michael, is working the holidays — again. With no local family and no interest in accepting the pity invitations to Christmas dinner from his married friends, he’s content to work and earn extra cash. Besides, this year looks to be as uneventful as every other year. Until he pulls a curvaceous spitfire over for speeding and discovers she’s wanted on charges of fraud. As Michael begins to investigate and learns that Holli isn’t who her file says she is, sexual tension spikes between them. Answers are slow in coming due to the holidays, but Michael is soon granted permission to remove Holli from the jail cell and place her under supervised house arrest. Only, his idea of house arrest is much more personal than the law ever intended. Warning: Gourmet food, melting marshmallows, snowball fights, and handcuffs... What more could a girl want for a New Year's celebration? Previously published as Arrested Holiday by Loose Id, LLC

    With gimleteyed wit and illuminated prose, Augusten shows how the holidays bring out the worst in us and sometimes, just sometimes, the very, very best.You better not cry --And two eyes made out of coal --Claus and effect --Ask again later --Why do you reward me thus --The best and only everything --Silent night

    Our tales range from heartwarming and sweet to scorching hot erotic, medieval to futuristic, humans to aliens and shape-shifters, vanilla committed couples to kinky ménage fun. THE NIGHTWIND’S VISIT Charlotte Boyett-Compo Be careful what you wish for. The NightWind hears every whisper, every sigh, every need and he's coming to grant your every wicked, wanton desire. DEAR SANTA...I WANT A MAN FOR CHRISTMAS Marianne Stephens Frustrated with untrustworthy men, Melissa orders a man doll. When delivery guy, Nick, shows up, she has second thoughts about how to satisfy her needs. PRELUDE TO A MOST UNUSUAL MARRIAGE Katherine Kingston Guilty secrets torment widowed Elizabeth Fitzhugh. A Christmas visit to the Earl of Chisenholm offers redemption, if she can find the courage to grasp it. NO GENTLEMAN Francesca Hawley Librarian Abby Kelly comes west finding a roguish shapeshifter who desires her. Will Goldwolf is no gentleman, but Abby discovers he’s just what she wants. JEWEL’S MENAGE CHRISTMAS Berengaria Brown The excitement has left Jewel, Donovan, and Oscar’s relationship. Jewel plans to spice things up, but will Donovan and Oscar rise to the challenge? TUNE ME UP Lainey-Jo Charles Jason catches Dani having an intimate moment with a recording of him singing to her, and is ready to move them from friends to forever. ON THE EIGHTEENTH OF JANUARY, ’78, OR, A NIGHT AT VALLEY FORGE Regina Kammer During the infamous winter of ‘77-‘78 at Valley Forge, two soldiers fanboy over their charismatic leader, General George Washington. THE CHRISTMAS LEOPARD Lynne Connolly Two gorgeous Italian hunks save art restorer Sandi when she accidentally summons an ancient evil from a mosaic. Their methods are unconventional—and scorching hot! CHRISTMAS BAD GIRL Trinity Blaico She only had one wish this Christmas. To find the one man who was strong enough to master her in bed and out. HOW THE ALIEN STOLE CHRISTMAS Belle Scarlett On board a deep space station Christmas Trent learns her sexy cyber lover, who may not be human, wants to steal her for his own. MERRY CHRISTMAS, KITTEN Nicole Austin Sirena Petra wants one thing for Christmas—an orgasm. And sex toy expert Kenyon Fort has exactly what the lion shifter needs to find more than just her happy place. VIKING IN TARTAN Suz deMello Medieval romance from the Highland Vampires series. A Viking raider brings change to little Clan Kilbirnie, especially to the chieftain's daughter, Rhona. HOLDIN’ ON Alexa Silver Rock star Max is terminally ill. When Aislin falls into his life, rocking his world, everything changes. Is she his Christmas miracle?