After only one brief visit, Diana Armstrong, a cookbook author and food and travel writer, buys an ancient stone house right in the middle of the historic center of a village sandwiched between Tuscany and Umbria. Somewhere South of Tuscany is fun and witty! Of course, with Diana's culinary background, food is never very far from the surface. Diana, her husband and her family are as much concerned with their meals as they are with fixing their house. Restoring a 400 year old house in the backwoods of Italy makes for a fertile breeding ground for disasters, scrapes and a few discoveries too. (Everyone considering buying and renovating a home in Italy should ready her book!) Her culinary adventures in this Umbrian region are never very far from center stage. Diana, ever the passionate cook, provides deliciously simple recipes for all the food she mentions in the book. She gives every American cook the tools to transport themselves and their guests right into this green heart of rural Italy.

    Four fiercely independent cowboys must learn to trust if they hope to find love. FIRE AND RAIN Luke MacKenzie was haunted by the Rocking M’s legacy of grinding women into dust. He has vowed never to marry—the bitter legacy of the Rocking M will end with him--until Carla arrives. His best friend's little sister has grown up. Now Luke must choose between Carla and the ranch that is part of his soul. OUTLAW Tennessee Blackthorn is ramrod for the Rocking M, a remote western ranch where Anasazi ruins have recently been discovered. His new job is to protect the ruins and the delectable blond archaeologist who wants nothing to do with him. GRANITE MAN Cash McQueen had learned the hard way not to trust a woman. When he met Mariah MacKenzie, he thought she was like nearly all the women he had known, looking for a man to take care of every little thing for her. Mariah had come to the Rocking M looking for the brother she adored. Instead, she found Cash. Together they look for Mad Jack's lost gold mine and find instead a blazing passion. But will passion be enough to convince a hard-rock miner like Cash to trust her, to return her love? WARRIOR Nevada Blackthorn has spent too many years in too many war zones. He no longer believes in anything except his family. Then he meets Eden. He fights their mutual attraction as savagely as a wolf in a trap. She knows there is no guarantee that her love will be returned, yet still she loves.

    Her shock at being evicted is quickly replaced by surprise when her beau suggests they finally buy a house together. Billie agrees to go house hunting only to find that every home has history, and trying to find a house that doesn't have old ghosts proves tricky for someone who can see the dead. Detective Mockler faces a challenge of his own when he's put in charge of a newly formed cold case unit to clear the backlog of old homicides. He dives into the new job eagerly only to hit an unexpected snag that could prove troubling to both himself and his psychic girlfriend. When the search for a house proves futile, Billie stumbles across her dream home; a quaint fixer-upper with vintage charm and a lack of ghosts. But nothing is ever simple when it comes to the paranormal and the new home-owners find themselves under assault from a violent presence that can elude Billie's psychic abilities. Meanwhile, John Gantry, the occult expert/con man, faces his own terrifying ordeal when he learns that his family is coming to visit for the holidays.

     BOX SET INCLUDES: BRIDE ADVENTURES OF THE WILLIAMS FAMILY SERIES Betsy's Bride Adventure Scott's Bride Adventure April's Bride Adventure Brian's Bride Adventure STANDALONE BOOKS: Misled Bride Meets Misled Sheriff The High Society Bride The Calamity Bride Maggie: A Misfit Bride for the Sheriff The Fearful Bride and Her Fearless Son THE BRIDES OF PRAIRIE CREEK RANCH SERIES Catherine: A Mail Order Bride for William Lucy: A Mail Order Bride for Andrew Josephine: A Mail Order Bride for Peter

    Handsome Rancher Gunther Marlboro washed his hands of Lee Ann the day she left him behind but now she’s back looking defeated by the world. Can Gunther show Lee Ann how to trust again and most importantly how to love again?

    Orphaned at the age of ten, she has been shuffled around and on her own most of her life. She moved west in anticipation of meeting the man who had stolen her heart, only to be crushed when she finds out she was not wanted.This Christmas, will a meddling mother's scheme bring love to those who are hurting? Find out in this short, holiday story of thirty pages.Other titles available from Leah Atwood:Unlikely Substitute (Mail-Order Husbands)The Not Quite Mail-Order BrideThe Mail Order Bride's Quilt

    She sees no other choice. She is forced to purchase a husband. With unwavering faith, she reluctantly follows a seemingly crazy prompting to bid on a huge, terrifyingly barbaric Irishman. Within hours of their wedding, she finds herself questioning her decision. He is a criminal with a violent past that she can only guess at, yet she witnesses his capacity for love and loyalty, and decides to trust in that prompting that had led her to choose him. Bought by a crazy lass for two bits. The old fellow with her is just as insane, he keeps calling her ‘Your Highness’. Patrick’s first thought is to relieve her of the money remaining in her bag and escape to find his brother and then a new life, but as the day progresses, he decides she needs him. She needs a husband and father for her brood of wee ones, and he can be that for her. He knows nothing will make up for the decisions made in the past, and after the loss of his own wife and child, he will never be able to love again, but he can protect and care for this family of heartbroken strays. ~The dangers of Frontier life, mail order brides,stepping into the unknown, trying to tame the wild west, struggling to survive and keep their ever growing families alive and well, disappointments, indians, bandits, deaths, and struggling with their own inner demons. The "Frontier Brides of Stormy Valley" series is Wild west romance at it's best! ~Nestled in a picturesque valley in Idaho Territory. The residents of Stormy Valley are a diverse handful of pioneers brimming with courage, strength, integrity and the spirit of adventure. Working together to turn their valley into a thriving community, growing ever richer for the friendships they’ve made and the trials they’ve overcome. ~Two Bits for Her King is the story of how it all began.~

     Book 1: Lost and Found When big-city girl Audrey wakes up on the cold, front porch of a working ranch, she’s got lots of questions. But before she can answer them, she’s greeted by three handsome brothers — cowboys — and their Ma, complete with a warm feast and a welcoming smile. Following the doctor’s orders to stay put for a few days, Audrey makes herself useful around the ranch; baling hay and hunting for coyotes. But the cowboys, one handsome one in particular, want to get to the bottom of her story. Can she trust these people she just met? And what she’s about to reveal is a dark past she’s trying to escape. Will the ranch be the future she’s looking for, or can she turn back to her flashy, city-sicker lifestyle? Book 2: Breaking Away Jace Coulter looks like a cowboy but he certainly doesn't feel like one. As the middle brother at the Coulter ranch in Wolf, Wyoming he's been groomed to become the business manager. He's resigned to his fate until feisty Kelsey Harper drops into his life. A tough-as-nails lawyer, Kelsey might be just what he needs to turn his life around. It may not be the right time for romance, though. The Coulter ranch is in big trouble and Kelsey is the only one with the know-how to save them. But Gage and Riley aren't onboard with her plan and time is running out. Can Jace win her heart and convince his brothers to accept her before it's too late? Book 3: Night and Day With the Coulter ranch in serious trouble, free-spirited Riley is being forced to grow up and fast. When he and Sam have a drunken fling one night, he’s had just about enough of his womanizing ways. He’s tired of always kicking women out of bed and enduring awkward mornings. But when Sam gets pregnant, Riley isn’t sure he can handle the responsibility. His reaction almost drives Sam away forever. It’s up to Riley to come through and be the man he’s always meant to be and love the woman he’s always meant to be with. NOTE: These books are for mature audiences of 18+

    It is a story about a boy lost in life, the system and finally found. It is a moving and troubling sotry to read

    Stumpy was the kind of man who saw his duty and did what had to be done. When Janet Cate's three step-brothers showed up with less than honorable intentions, it was time for Stumpy to act.

    

    

    “It’s our dance, Rose.” Seated in the old maid row at the country dance, Rose Laura Corey freezes at the sound of that familiar male voice … the voice of the man she once loved, the voice of the man she sent to prison.Now orphaned and alone, Rose raises the finest horses in Presidio County, Texas. Someone is stealing those horses, and Thorn Maxwell’s return arouses her suspicions … and her long-simmering passions. Rose might be able to stop Thorn from stealing her horses, but can she keep him from stealing her heart?WILD TEXAS ROSEA Western historical novella of approximately 120 pages/33,000 words.

    To escape that lifestyle, Ruby answers a mail order bride ad of a man in Waterhole, Texas looking for someone with upstanding morals to help clean up his town.When Ruby arrives in town, dressed in a saloon gown and toting her younger brother, Timmy, Seth thinks he's been duped and the last thing he wants is a child in his life, having recently lost his own.Will time spent together prove to him that Ruby is who she said she was and can Seth learn to love again?