A Footpath in Umbria: Learning, Loving and Laughing in Italy
Nancy Yuktonis Solak - 2010
As ordinary boomers, they simply wanted to experience “The Dream” – to live in Italy. They settled down in traditional Umbria, just east of Tuscany.Constrained by a strict budget, their experience took on challenges as diverse as getting accustomed to the vagaries of Italian appliances to gathering their own wood. Transportation was by train, bus, bicycle or footpath. What neither of them knew when they began was how the adventure would challenge their habits, upbringing, and outlook on life. Most surprising of all was how the experience would challenge their relationship to each other.A Footpath in Umbria is a celebration of the joys and revelations to be found by changing venues, whether it’s living in another country or simply venturing cross town.
RomeAntically Challenged
Marina Adair - 2020
Helena Vineyard series that fans of Emily Henry, Jen DeLuca, and Kate Clayborn will adore. Growing up the lone Asian in a community of WASPs, Annie has always felt out of place. Her solution? Start a family of her own. Not easy when every man she’s dated, including her ex-fiancé, finds “his person” right after breaking up with Annie. Even worse than canceling the wedding eight weeks beforehand? Learning the “other woman” plans to walk down the aisle wearing her wedding gown. New plan—find a fresh, man-free start. Too bad her exit strategy unexpectedly lands her working at a hospital in Rome, Rhode Island, rather than Rome, Italy, and sharing a cabin with a big, brooding, and annoyingly hot male roommate. Home on medical leave after covering a literally explosive story in China, investigative photojournalist Emmitt embarks on his most important assignment—cementing his place in his daughter’s life. Three men and a baby might work in the movies, but with a stepdad and devoted uncle competing for Paisley’s attention, Emmitt has lost his place at the family table. Then there’s the adorably sexy squatter in his cabin, who poses another problem, one he’d very much like to solve up close and personal. But he can’t win—Annie has sworn off men, Paisley’s gone boy crazy, and Emmitt’s estranged father reappears with a secret that changes everything. Annie and Emmitt are about to discover love comes in many forms, and sometimes the best families are the ones we make.
The Darkening
Paul Antony Jones - 2016
As a hundred-year storm descends on Los Angeles, Birdy's not the only one looking for answers to the city's vanishing population. A wheelchair-bound Army veteran watches the world from his apartment window, and what he sees terrifies him. An LA detective has two missing patrol cops, a bloody crime scene, but no bodies. A desperate mother will stop at nothing in her search to find her missing daughter. But the storm that holds California in its grip also provides the perfect cover for an even greater threat; an ancient and terrible evil that stalks the city's residents, mercilessly hunting them within their homes and on the flooded streets. Together, the survivors must fight to escape their drowning city and the creatures that now roam freely under the cover of perpetual darkness.
Two Years After
Paul J. Teague - 2019
A tortured mind. A return to work that becomes a living hell ... When Rosie Taylor returns to work after a long recovery from a tragic accident, she can't believe how much things have changed for the worst. Not only is there a new HR guy in charge, everybody's fighting to keep their job and there are some new recruits with very unusual habits. Rosie needs this job. Social services are threatening to take her child, she's struggling to recover from mental illness and if she doesn't bring some money in fast, she'll lose the house. But somebody at work has got it in for her and she's struggling to hang on to what's left of her shattered life. Two Years After is an unsettling psychological thriller which will have you looking over your shoulder next time you go to work.
What She Witnessed
Cole Baxter - 2021
She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her.She has reasons that are more genetic than environmental. Dan, like his grandmother, is a sociopath: manipulative, impulsive, and almost remorseless.Intensive therapy has helped him and his mother a great deal, but she has always worried that he is a ticking time bomb whose impulsiveness and lack of empathy will lead him straight to jail.So, when Dan’s girlfriend goes missing after the two get blackout drunk on a date and Dan believes that he may have killed her, Kelly scrambles to cover for him.But his vindictive grandmother has other plans and no qualms about lying to get what she wants.A desperate mother willing to take any steps to protect her son must face a grandmother with no conscience in the ultimate battle over the life of Daniel and be prepared to suffer the consequences.
Your Every Move
Vanessa Garbin - 2022
So when she finds a bag of money under a bush after dropping her kids off at school, she’d be forgiven for thinking her luck has changed for the better.Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse. She starts getting threatening letters. They claim to be from her “number one fan”, referring to a time when she was a popular actress on an Australian soap opera. The person writing them knows about the money.Unsure what to do, and wishing she’d never found the cash, paranoid and suspicious, Dana is forced to comply with her fan’s ever more demanding and bizarre requests.But when her kids are threatened, she’ll have to dig deep to turn the tables on her stalker. Yet putting her life on track will mean confronting her own murky past.
Waiting to Derail: Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Alt-Country's Brilliant Wreck
Thomas O'Keefe - 2018
Lumped into the burgeoning alt-country movement, the band soon landed a major label deal and recorded an instant classic: Strangers Almanac. That's when tour manager Thomas O'Keefe met the young musician.For the next three years, Thomas was at Ryan's side: on the tour bus, in the hotels, backstage at the venues. Whiskeytown built a reputation for being, as the Detroit Free Press put it, "half band, half soap opera," and Thomas discovered that young Ryan was equal parts songwriting prodigy and drunken buffoon. Ninety percent of the time, Thomas could talk Ryan into doing the right thing. Five percent of the time, he could cover up whatever idiotic thing Ryan had done. But the final five percent? Whiskeytown was screwed.Twenty-plus years later, accounts of Ryan's legendary antics are still passed around in music circles. But only three people on the planet witnessed every Whiskeytown show from the release of Strangers Almanac to the band's eventual breakup: Ryan, fiddle player Caitlin Cary, and Thomas O'Keefe.
The Three Fates
Kate Quinn - 2015
His brutal successor Hadrian draws ever nearer to Rome. And three desperate souls try to forge new paths in a world turned upside down . . . THE EMPEROR’S NEMESIS. Battered warrior Vix has always been Hadrian’s bitter enemy, and he vows that will never change, even when he is made Praetorian Guard and Imperial watchdog. But with his family’s lives on the line, Vix faces a bitter choice: kill a friend, or serve a foe? THE EMPEROR’S RIVAL. Mild, scholarly Titus might once have been favored as Imperial heir, but he never wanted the throne. All he desires is peace in the arms of his new bride—but the jealous Hadrian has other ideas. A horror of bloodshed and violence interrupts Titus’s wedding night, and the man of peace finds a choice at sword-point: honor and death, or betrayal and a cell? THE EMPEROR’S WIFE. Elegant, elusive Sabina is desperate to escape the bleak future that awaits her as Hadrian’s Empress, and even more desperate to conceal the secret growing in her own body. But when she begs a famous seer for a glimpse into her future, she receives an astonishing vision of the Eternal City under Hadrian’s rule, and the new Empress must choose: her own freedom, or the glory of Rome? Three former friends find new futures in blood, omen, and prophecy. Three prequel vignettes to Kate Quinn’s long-awaited "Lady of the Eternal City."
All The Hidden Pieces
Jillian Thomadsen - 2018
Within minutes, she and her family hastily pack up their belongings and abandon their home. Where did the family go and why? Det. Roberta Hobbs has been assigned to uncover the family's whereabouts. Hobbs is a confident, intelligent police veteran. However, each passing day brings her closer to her unresolved past. When Hobbs digs deeper into the mystery, all leads point to her own longtime ex-boyfriend - a former drug dealer turned philanthropist named Steven Vance -- as the primary suspect. This riveting dual-timeline suspense novel takes us back to 2004 -- the year Greta Carpenter first realizes something is wrong with her young son, John. Over the course of his childhood, John's learning disabilities become apparent. Greta's unfaltering advocacy on his behalf puts her at odds with the school system and strains her relationship with her husband Griffin. Eventually Greta and Griffin's marriage falls apart, and during the divorce trial, Greta reveals that she was a teenage runaway, and a local entrepreneur named Steven Vance rescued her from the streets. Vance is certainly a man of many shades - a local celebrity for his philanthropy, a cunning CEO who sits atop a questionable mini-empire, a benevolent former father figure to Greta and a lying, evasive former companion to Hobbs. It seems that only Vance has the power to make people disappear in this small town and he emerges as the most obvious suspect...but Hobbs remains uncertain of his role. While her colleagues question whether she can truly be impartial, Hobbs realizes she has a reason to suspect them as well. Nothing is obvious in this thrilling mystery...except that Hobbs must race to solve the mystery before it's too late.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
William Shakespeare
One has a crush on a girl, Julia, though he hasn’t yet told her. Sent to court to learn to be “perfect gentlemen,” Valentine and Proteus are derailed by their attraction to Sylvia, the ruler’s daughter. Valentine’s mental denseness does not deter Sylvia from returning his love, but he is caught, and banished, when he tries to elope with her. Proteus’s desire for Sylvia wipes out his former love, leading him into despicable acts that win scorn from Sylvia and wound Julia, who has pursued him disguised as a boy. When Sylvia follows Valentine into banishment, Proteus follows Sylvia, and Julia follows Proteus, the stage is set for a disturbing ending. But the stage is also set for the “gentlemen” to take small steps toward maturity. The authoritative edition of The Two Gentlemen of Verona from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Jeffrey Masten The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
An Italian Home - Settling by Lake Como
Paul Wright - 2011
They soon found work; Paul as a mural painter and Nicola in an office in Milan, Paul was recruited by the local football team and they both took part in the fabulous summer and Christmas festivals and the mangialonge - the 'long eats' where groups of locals drive off into the country to feast on the best local food and wines, all day. They gain a new neighbour, George Clooney, who gained great popularity amongst the locals, and they lose an older, very near neighbour, fashion designer Gianni Versace who brought back to rest in his native Moltrasio after he was gunned down in the USA Paul's dry sense of humour and artistic observation brings the village of Moltrasio and its inhabitants to life, and he is guaranteed to make your mouth water with his wonderful descriptions of the local food
I Want Never Gets
Tracey Waples - 2018
OBSESSION. REVENGE. Years after she fell out with her best friend, Laura remains terrified of the past coming back to haunt her… Laura, the only child of doting parents, is at the centre of what seems a perfect family. Daughter of a well-known television personality, she spends her time between their idyllic Northumberland farmhouse and summers on the Amalfi coast. New girl, Evelyn, arrives at Laura’s prestigious boarding school desperate to escape her miserable home life. The two quickly become friends, inseparable, and Evelyn relishes the chance to become close to Laura’s family. But when Laura discovers her friend has betrayed her and her family she calls an immediate end to their friendship with devastating consequences. Decades later, Laura is forging a successful career as a journalist, happily married and keen to leave the past firmly behind her. Evelyn, however, filled with resentment and blighted by their estrangement, believes she paid a price that should have been shared… It’s time to settle the score.
Who Are You?
Barbara Taylor Bradford - 2016
But before long, she discovers how little she really knew about the man she married.Lies, betrayal and double-crossing shock to the core, and treachery that threatens to destroy more than a marriage…
Blood & Honour
Richard Foreman - 2018
But what is his ultimate plan?Varro must get to the heart of the conspiracy, or die trying.'Spies of Rome: Blood & Honour' is the first book in a new series by bestselling author Richard Foreman.