TICHELAAR AWARD for BEST HISTORICAL FICTION — MARQUETTE FICTION2020 First Place Award, Historical Fiction for Reader's View Contest2020 Book Excellence Award for Historical Fiction2019 Distinguished Favorite for the New York City Big Book Award.2019 Silver Medal Winner, Historical Fiction, Readers Favorite Contest. Combining excellent historical research with a compelling storyline, the hard work of author Karla M. Jay really pays off the more deeply involved you become with the characters in her plot...As the plot threads and connections slowly come together, the conclusion marks the realities of war and sticks in your mind for a long time after. When We Were Brave is a highly recommended historical read.2019 FINALIST in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards- Adult FictionAug. 2019 Silver medal winner in Reader's Favorite Contest for historical fiction. Nov. 2019 New York City Big Book Award® Distinguished FavoritesIn WHEN WE WERE BRAVE, we find a conflicted SS officer, Wilhelm Falk, who risks everything to escape the Wehrmacht and get out the message about the death camps. Izaak is a young Jewish boy whose positive outlook is challenged daily as each new perilous situation comes along. American citizens, Herbert Müller, and his family are sent back to the hellish landscape of Germany because of the DNA coursing through their veins. In the panorama of World War II, these are the high-stakes plots and endearing characters whose braided fates we pray will work out in the end.

    Like most hormonally challenged women negotiating the change of life, she is a hot mess. To retain her sanity, she attends weekly AA meetings and adheres to a strict diet of organic, locally-sourced, (mostly) cruelty-free human blood from the hospice facility where she works. Her life stopped being fun about a hundred years ago, right about the time her teenage daughter stole her soul and took off for California with a hot, older guy. These days, Veronica’s existence is just that – an existence, as flat and empty as her own non-reflection in the bathroom mirror.When her estranged daughter contacts her via Facebook, Veronica learns that she has one chance to escape her eternal personal summer: she must find and apologize to every one of the people she’s turned into vampires in the last century. That is, if they’re still out there. With raging hormones and a ticking clock, Veronica embarks on a last-ditch road trip to regain her mortality, reclaim her humanity, and ultimately, die on her own terms.

    Jake's great at leaving things behind - his mum's a diplomat, and he never settles anywhere for long. His latest friends and new favourite places are lost with depressing regularity. Marisol's great at finding things - she's American and she's Bolivian, and this cross-cultural childhood has taught her to pay attention to details. She's got such an eagle eye, and she's so gifted at finding things, that sometimes she even wonders if things find her.Together, Jake and Marisol are about to discover The World Between Blinks. The place where everything we lose - from the front door keys to ancient cities buried under hot desert sands - eventually appears.The trick's going to be finding a way home. Before they're lost forever.

    That is, until the grandmother he never met dies in Greece and he receives an odd letter at her funeral. An invitation to a dusty old barbershop in Washington, DC.Accompanied by his new friend Victoria, Tom finds himself in wild pursuit of clues to solve the Cicada riddle. They believe it’s their only chance of reaching the old barber who turned their lives upside down and mysteriously disappeared.But what they discover is an ancient scheme to open human consciousness. A scheme that is finally coming to fruition thanks to modern technology. And unless the two most unlikely people uncover the elusive truth—visible for all to see but neglected for generations—humanity will face a prospect too sweet to resist.Fans of Dan Brown will be delighted by this raw and provocative spiritual mystery. Get ready for a thrill ride that may leave you enlightened and shaken.The Divine Joke is raw and provocative spiritual mystery. Get ready for a thrill ride that may leave you enlightened and shaken.

    Especially when there’s a murderer in their midst.Investigative reporter, ‘Justice’ Harper stumbles into a fresh murder scene of a hated businessman. Justice’s mere presence at the scene soon adds him to the list of suspects. Along with three other local citizens. Each one with a unique motive. Blaze Barbeau, a wealthy woman, married to a local business man and rumoured to be having an affair with the victim. Lucinda Boyd, a generous widow, heavily involved in charity events, whose business was recently conned out of her control by the victim obtaining majority shares by dubious means. And Belladonna Dede, a Voodoo Queen whose wares were found at the crime scene. Justice is determined to find out the truth regarding the demise of this wealthy man which leads him into some uncertain situations. He must be getting close when the threats start arriving. He will not stop. He’s close. Who committed this crime? The Sinner? The Saint? Or the Serpent? Fast paced, with plot twists bursting from every page, Sinner, Saint or Serpent will keep you on the edge of your seat until the shocking end.

    Eren - part monster, part dream, part myth. Eren who always seems so interested, who always wants to hear more about Oli's life. Eren, who needs to hear stories to live, and will take them from Oli, no matter the cost.Learn more at http://www.erentales.com

    KISS THE EARTH is a collection of poetry, prose, and photography that explores the bliss of falling in love, perseverance through adversity, finding peace within one’s self, and reverence for all that this life has for us to experience.

    . . and they know you by name?Years after the grisly murder of her older sister, Lissy Oullette—a waitress in a small mountain town—is struggling to move on with her life when something rips it all apart . . . again.At the lake near her home, Lissy discovers another body. And much like her sister’s, it’s been torn to pieces.As she searches for answers, Lissy finds herself being lured back to the lake by something so evil, it seems inevitable that hers will be the next body found.

    What starts out as a simple trip around India soon becomes a psychological journey into the darkness of Sam’s past. One he knows there's no running from. When Sam decides to give up his mundane life and travel to India he has no idea what he’ll do when he gets there and it isn’t long before his lack of preparation takes its toll. Vulnerable and alone, Sam is haunted by memories of his childhood and as he struggles to make sense of the pain he has suffered he follows a dangerous path that has devastating consequences.

    Mendac was the Fifth of Five, making him the final hero in the Of Five—a five-part series of fairy tales that stretches over 1,500 years.Bryson, unfortunately, was given the impossible task of following in his dead father's footsteps. And after sixteen years of mediocrity, the only time people notice him is to ridicule his existence. The world has given up on Mendac's son.But there are two people on Bryson's side: a stone-faced, lifelong best friend who's never expressed an emotion in her life, and a secret-riddled man who has taken care of Bryson since his father's death. They're his rocks. He has learned to appreciate and lean on their friendship, regardless of their more mysterious side … even if those mysteries put Bryson's life in jeopardy.Things are looking up for the young LeAnce as the new school year at Phesaw begins. He receives a letter informing him of his induction into the recreation of the Jestivan, an elite group of students that had only existed once in the school's history. Its formation presents the opportunity of new friends for Bryson. But when ten highly talented students come together, there is bound to be conflict.Warring personalities and competitive attitudes are minor hurdles, however; considering the fact that warring kingdoms are more pressing. A 1,500-year war boils over as a traitor turns his back on his realm, threats of a dangerous king rising from the ashes begin to surface, one of the Jestivan goes missing, and someone close to Bryson is hiding something with more regard for the thing being protected than Bryson’s life.The Jestivan must develop camaraderie, and do it fast. Otherwise, they’re going to have to force it. And that can end in devastation.Alternate Cover EditionISBN10: 0692606408ISBN13: 9780692606407

    Some kids believe her house near the swamp is haunted. Others think there's something "unusual" about her.But Sparrow's not lonely--she has a best friend who's always with her. He sits with Sparrow on her porch swing. He makes her smile by playing pranks in church. Yet Sparrow is the only one who can see him . . . because the Boy is a ghost.So when her mama passes away, Sparrow doesn't give up hope. After all, if the Boy can linger after death, then surely Mama can return as well.But the Boy has a secret of his own, one that Sparrow will need to uncover before the ghost will lead her to Mama. To solve the mystery, Sparrows join forces with some unlikely allies--Maeve and Johnny, siblings from a family of town outcasts--and Elena, a visiting child fortune teller.With its loving depiction of small town life, and characters who feel like old friends, this magial debut will enchant you, dazzle you . . . and make you feel at home.

    But navigating around their controlling stepfather and their aloof new siblings becomes the least of their worries.There is a vague sense of menace in their state of the art lavish smart home with its cutting edge calm technology. And something is not quite right with the bright, cheerful kids at Santomon’s private school where the girls are enrolled. Undergrads from prestigious universities and ivy-league colleges are vying for the coveted internships within Santomon Village. The mega-corporation is the darling of the tech world and a philanthropic superstar when it comes to awarding educational scholarships to low-income families who require rehabilitative services for their teens at Santomon’s troubled youth program called Salinger House.But not everyone is singing Santomon praises. A growing number of parents whose children have returned home from the program are voicing concerns that at first seem vague, while a social activist group called The Disruptors has been investigating a cash-for-kids scandal in South Dakota that involves Santomon. For Tori, she can feel that something ominous, something evil is afoot, and as her mother begins to have doubts about her marriage and there is talk of divorce, Tori yearns to return to Inglewood and the simple life they had. But her sister, Laila ‘s not so sure leaving the village will be easy because what she has discovered is a treacherous web of lies unfathomable in their scope. What Laila wonders is if they can get away from Santomon before it’s too late.

    The Sachem, chief of the Unified Tribes, is to blame.It is this conviction that drives Annilasia and Delilee to risk their lives. Afraid of the aether magic he wields, they enact a subtler scheme: kidnap his wife. In her place, Delilee will pretend to be the chieftess and spy on the Sachem.Unaware of this plot against her husband, Jalice is whisked away by Annilasia. Pleading with her captor proves futile, and she rejects Annilasia’s delusional accusations against the chief. After all, the Sachem has brought peace to the land. Yet a dangerous truth hides in Jalice’s past. As she and Annilasia flee through a forest of insidious threats, they must confront the evil plaguing the tribes and the events that unleashed it.What Reviewers are saying:"A slick, modern sword-and-sorcery tale!" - Christopher Ruocchio, Author of The Sun Eater series"A suspenseful, intriguing, and highly original fantasy tale from a promising new author." - Kirkus Reviews"With slick original plotting and high octane action, there's much to keep the most ardent of fantasy fans on tenterhooks with Bailey's The Jealousy Of Jalice." - Book Viral Review"A riveting and brilliantly penned novel...This is an electric debut, and newborn fans of Jesse Nolan Bailey will eagerly await the sequel, as The Jealousy of Jalice is an imaginative and impressive start to a new fantasy series." Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½

    She frames this journey using the five fundamental elements of the universe as themes, grouping poems using the principles of earth, water, air, fire, or essence. Not only does this framework help with the discovery of meaning but also the attribution of it, coloring each poem with a new light.Though Sara’s approach to poetry is often described as an inside-out way of knowing, she prefers to call it inside-in, to bring recognition to the directness of the paths of understanding. You’ll find profound truths penned with clarity, lightness, and simplicity as you share in her journey, poem by poem. And after you experience all the joy, freedom, grief, and peace quintessence offers, you may discover a new understanding of your own true nature.

     Two Lives… separated by millennia but nevertheless linked irrevocably. What possible link could Mark Hayek, an introverted twenty-first century research scientist, have to Raven, a young healer who lived during the late Pleistocene? It has everything to do with an injured Neanderthal man taken captive by Raven’s band while he and his brothers were hunting bison. After Raven heals the captive, he leaves for his tribe, and she tries to forget him as she struggles to remain within the band. But it’s not possible to stay when several band members make her life with the group untenable. Seeking the Neanderthal man she’d helped and facing her fear of being alone on the dangerous steppes, she begins crossing that grassy land—but a woman like Raven isn’t destined to be by herself for long. In the future, Mark Hayek is forced into making his own journey when his uncle dies in the Levant. His travels place him firmly in the footsteps of his Neanderthal and Early Modern Human ancestors, crossing the same ancient lands as he struggles against the fate a wayward kinsman has imposed. He’s been made a pawn in a cruel game, but when he encounters a woman being held prisoner in a cave, he seeks a way to save her. Help arrives for the pair, flowing from an unexpected, ancient source, igniting a struggle deep within Mark to accept that the illogical as well as the logical make up existence. Peoples come and go, one group replacing another over time, and echoes from ancient events have always affected the future, but Mark and Raven discover that in certain environments echoes are able to bounce back and forth, blurring their origins.