And now she’s returning after ten years of being gone, with a PhD and plans to use her new position to transform their struggling high school into a center for educational excellence.She soon realizes that her biggest challenge isn’t going to be the rival gangs embedded in the student body, although they’re a close second on the list. It’s Josh Hawling, who has somehow convinced their aging superintendent that he and his security firm partner can coach their backwoods collection of farm boys into a football team that’ll make the playoffs.How is a woman of her refined background and education supposed to improve test scores and graduation rates when her students’ biggest idol is a man who spent more time in the principal’s office than in the classroom? Even though she feels safer having him on their crime-ridden campus, she’s so not looking forward to her daily encounters with his cocky self. Or being socked in the heart all over again by his devastating smile. Or having to finally face her unwanted attraction that might have kindled into a lot more if she’d never left Texas in the first place.Welcome to Heart Lake! A small town teaming with old family rivalries, the rumble of horses’ hooves, and folks on both sides of the law and everywhere in between — faith-filled romance that you’ll never forget.

    In the Spirit of...Christmas by Linda Goodnight released on Oct 25, 2005 is available now for purchase.

    From the foothills of North Carolina to the mountains of West Virginia, Birdie weaves her story with homespun simplicity, creating a tapestry that vibrates with the colors and textures of her life and times, spinning a tale from the years before the Great Depression on up through the end of World War II. Enthralled by her first taste of womanhood, she follows her heart with the man of her dreams, only to find that life is not fair. Or perfect. Or easy. Will she find the courage to risk everything in order to reclaim what she once had?

    (Yes, potatoes. *eye roll* Can we talk about something else?) And I love it here. Small town values galore and it’s right where I want to raise my girls after my jerk ex traded me in for a “younger, newer model” (his words, not mine).My mom’s the volunteer fire chief in our town and I’m pretty happy hanging out with the auxiliary at the fire hall and doing her grunt work – NOT fighting fires, because, please, I read, love science and my idea of a lot of exercise is having to walk up the stairs twice in the morning before I send my girls off to school and leave for my job as a home nurse.I guess it’s kind of weird that I also coach basketball. Long story.I was pretty happy with my life until the hot shot, all-state baller from my teen years moved back in next door. (I babysat him, yes, but I never changed his diapers. Just wanted to be clear about that.)Guess who’s now the assistant b-ball coach?Logic would say me – especially since I coached my entire first year holding the play book upside down (it turned out to be an old football playbook from the ‘80s, so it’s not like it mattered which way I held it) but the accurate answer is Trey Haywood, my all-star neighbor, and I’m honestly not sure which of us is more upset about it.Anyway, the team was trying to set us up (girls, they’re such romantics) and I don’t think they would have succeeded, but in celebration of breaking our 37 game losing streak, they locked Trey and me in the septic system control room.That changed everything. Not in a good way. Trey Yeah. What she said.And…when I first saw her again, I thought she was a catastrophe.New thought post septic control: she’s a cute catastrophe. (And, holy man, can she kiss.)Books in the Sweet, Small Town Romantic Comedy in Good Grief, Idaho series:1. Me and the Cute Catastrophe2. Me and the Tidy Tornado3. Me and the Helpful Hurricane4. Me and the Sweet Snowstorm5. Me and the Dreamy Doomsday

     After four months on the job, twenty-four-year-old Rebecca Harper has become something of a jack-of-all-trades on the Cooper Bar-6 Ranch...except for her cooking. But the four strapping sons who run the ranch in their father's absence need wise counsel more than unburnt bread, and Rebecca is perfect for the job. Whether dealing with the driven eldest, the belligerent youngest, or the personalities in between, she recognizes the source of each young man's pain is a lifetime of a father's indifference. As soon as the rogue returns, Rebecca aims to give "Mr. Cooper" a thick piece of her mind. Not that dishing out hard truth will make her feel any more alive. Past betrayal has taught her to live at arm's length from anyone who might mean too much to her. So she cooks and cleans and counsels, at once harboring anger against a man she has never met and numbing herself against the life she has forgotten to desire. Until one night, one thunderstorm, and one heroic stranger changes it all. In that fleeting moment, Rebecca Harper dares to hope her heart will beat again. * * * Breath Without Life novels portrays seven bachelor ranchers, each so broken down by old wounds that he cannot conceive of ever finding love. Be there when one Cooper after another meets the one incredible woman who can make him whole again. Every book within this series is a stand-alone love story, though ranch life circumstances run chronologically through all six novels.

    Despite the many mishaps she encounters, she is determined to get that deed. If not for Luke, the Amish, tenant-farmer's oldest son, she could stay on task, but her attraction to him is becoming a little more than a distraction.

    But she's not happy about having to spend so much time with the best man, Taylor. Not only does she distrust men, but being around him annoys her. The last thing she expects is for him to kiss her impulsively at a party before the wedding. And the main problem is, she wants him to kiss her one more time, but she’s not sure she can let her heart trust again.Straight-laced surgeon Taylor Roberts is tired of being teased about being eternally single by the other groomsmen. He makes a bet that he can get the beautiful maid of honor to date him before the wedding is over. The problem is, she can’t stand him! He promises he’ll give up his booth in the Maple Creek Fall Festival to her mom’s crystal shop if she’ll pretend to date him, an offer he knows she can’t pass up.The longer Onyx is around Taylor the more she feels drawn to him, despite being his polar opposite. Can she continue the facade of dating him when her heart gets involved?If you enjoy sweet romantic comedy set in a small town where opposites attract, then you’ll love this book!

    But there is a unique and underlying charm to this small town that has other plans for those looking to slip into the silence of a solitary life.With nothing but a desire to fade into the background, this close-knit community guides Claire along a different path, in a direction that encourages her deep-seated need to connect with others.Hank Charles is a produce shop owner full of quirky facts. Lizzie Perkins is the niece Claire hasn't seen in years because of a falling out with her brother. Jack Burgess is a sketch artist whose troubled past intersects with Claire's in serendipitous ways. If only she gives herself the chance to discover it. Can this small mountain town help Claire connect the dots to create a life she's always imagined?Will Pigeon Grove's beloved message answer her soulful call for guidance before the opportunity escapes her? It's never too late to come home.

    When she shows up again at a family event, Hawthorne finds himself trying to dig a way out of a hole he didn't realize he was in.When Avery Chase returns to Indiana, the last thing she expects is to run into her childhood crush, let alone to realize in the years since she left, he's turned into a complete jerk. Hoping for a man to change is a mistake she's made once before and is determined not to make again.Then again, it's hard to resist when your childhood crush finally notices you.

    Nurse Kathleen Hart is a single mom racked by guilt over her husband's death. Firefighter Gideon O'Brien—orphaned as a young boy—has lost too many people he cared for. To rise above the storm's devastation, Gideon helps Kathleen and her sons rebuild their home. As Christmas approaches, they discover that even the strongest of storms can't destroy a romance built on the foundation of faith.

    The only bright spot in a childhood of neglect and loneliness was the town librarian, Marie. Now settled as a teacher in sunny Fresno, Daisy does her best to forget everything about Liberty including her drunk father, her MIA mother, and the town she hated with every beat of her heart.Lane Bennett’s life as a small town cop is pretty close to perfect. He’s got his dog, a pretty date when he needs one, and plenty of time to fish on the weekends. No other place can compare to his hometown and he’s happy to devote his life to keeping the folks of Liberty safe. When Marie passes away, Lane knows one of the best parts about living in Liberty is gone, along with the old Carnegie library. It needs repairs the city can’t afford and the city managers won’t pay the new flood insurance. It’s too bad but safety comes first.When Daisy comes home for Marie’s funeral and hears the only safe place she knew as a child is going to close, she refuses to let it happen. She hatches a plan to save the old library, run the summer reading program, and keep Marie’s legacy alive. Nothing can go wrong with this plan... Only that she's renting Lane's cabin, he's winning her heart, her dad wants to reconcile, and it just won't stop raining.By the time the river jumps the banks, there's a whole lot more drama going in Liberty than a spring flood. The town pulls together to save the library, the quilt holds a startling secret, and two young people in love must decide if NEVER really means FOREVER.She once vowed never to come home and he’s vowed never to leave. Daisy and Lane discover together that true love happens when you least expect it and you should 'never say never' in Liberty.

    The killer's only mistake was leaving behind a survivor...a four-month-old boy. For his sake--and for his murdered mother's--Sheriff Mandy Scott will see justice served. And she already has her prime suspect: the boy's father, Garrett Bowen. Yet despite the evidence against him, something about the reclusive rancher makes Mandy question his guilt. Nothing is as it seems as crime starts spiraling out of control in Timber Wells. If Mandy lets herself trust Garrett, will he shield her from danger, or send her racing into another lethal trap?

    Veteran teacher Shay returns to one of her favorite settings and vividly portrays the teachers, administrators and students of Crystal Corners High School. As is her trademark, sizzling romances are back-dropped by controversial, complicated and sometimes dangerous situations. “As always Kathryn Shay tackles what most see as unthinkable material for a romance novel and ends up with a winner of a book. Her characters are just so human! Another one I couldn't put down…such a good read.” A reader In STILL THE ONE, Annie Jacobs has made something of herself after a rough adolescence. A single parent, she’s now the mother of twin boys, a respected and well-liked English teacher and has good friends. But when her former high school teacher, Dylan Kane, comes back to town, Annie’s carefully created world starts to crumble. She and Dylan have a past, one which almost destroyed her. Now, he wants to be the next principal of her school. Annie’s afraid their previous relationship will endanger the job she loves. She’s even more fearful that her feelings for Dylan will rekindle, or worse, never died. Dylan doesn’t know he almost destroyed Annie all those years ago, but he feels guilty about developing feelings for her, a student! He did the honorable thing by leaving town, but now he’s back, unaware that she teaches in the school where he’s applying for a principalship. But Dylan is sure of one thing—this time, he can never leave the wonderful woman she’s become. If you like books about teacher romance, high school romance, reunion romance and teacher student relationships, look for the other two stories in the Educators series: SOMEONE LIKE YOU and MAYBE THIS TIME Reader Praise for STILL THE ONE: "Kathryn Shay never shies away from tough or controversial subject matter. I thought all the issues in this book were handled with care, and ably so. She made both characters immensely appealing, so I was really rooting for them to make it work. It was as difficult for the reader to find a way out of their predicament as it was for Annie and Dylan. But Shay comes up with the perfect (and only, IMO) solution available to them." Lori Sherden, Goodreads “I love this series by Kathryn Shay. She writes such passionate stories that take you into heart and lives of the story.” “I am a retired librarian from a middle school where I worked for 25 years. Ms. Shay's books make me feel like I am right there again.”

    Previously a high flyer in the city, she now runs her small business, Tied Up With String, from her cottage in Lantern Square.Her handmade gifts and care packages are the perfect way to show someone you care, and while her brown paper packages bring a smile to customers across the miles, Hannah also makes sure to deliver a special something to the people closer to home... But as Butterbury glows with the sunshine and sparkling lights of the Summer Fair, Hannah finds herself facing old memories, familiar faces, and perhaps even a new romance... *** Step into the cosy community of Lantern Square... A delightfully heartwarming story told in four parts - perfect for fans of Holly Hepburn and Cathy Bramley

    Karen has carried the burden of responsibility for her aging mother ever since her sister left town years ago to pursue a career in theater. But Val had other reasons for moving away-as well as a secret to keep-and coming home has never been an option . . . until their mother suffers a stroke.Reunited in their hometown, Karen and Val must grapple with past mistakes as they care for their ailing mother. When two handsome men enter the picture, the summer takes on a surprising new dimension. As their lives intersect, can each of them learn how to forgive, let go, and move on? And strengthened by the healing power of faith, might they also find the courage to love?