Completely unprepared and suffering an acute sense of loss, she and her father continue quietly, trying to live by the well-intentioned advice of friends, hoping that time really is a great healer and that they will, eventually, move on. Life changes very little until Sarah leaves for university and begins her first serious relationship. Along with her new boyfriend comes his mother, the indomitable Hazel Poole. Despite some misgivings, Sarah finds herself drawn into the matriarchal Poole family and discovers that gaining a mother figure in her life brings mixed blessings. A mother-in-law who just can't let her sons grow up, a midwife who treats her charges like girls in a private school dormitory. These are some of the people who Sarah must deal with as her own pregnancy turns to motherhood and she realises that she must find her own two feet. Looking Past is a tale of family, friendship, love, life and death – not necessarily in that order. This is the second novel from Katharine E. Smith, author of Writing the Town Read. The narrator’s voice is clear and strong, with vivid descriptions and intelligent observations. Readers will quickly empathise with Sarah, whose grief and confusion at the loss of her mother at key moments in her life is contrasted with a dry and sometimes subtle humour derived from situations and characters which help colour the book. The father-daughter relationship which develops between the bereaved husband and daughter feels very real, as both come to terms with their grief and learn how best to live together. Sarah's father is unassuming and appealing, as he struggles to find a way to deal with his broken heart and support his daughter throughout school, puberty and on into adulthood. Smith's readers have praised her honesty, realism, warmth and humour. Both Looking Past and Writing the Town Read - Katharine's first novel - are written from a strong female first person perspective. However, don't be fooled into thinking this is chick lit - or indeed exclusively women's fiction. Looking Past has received praise from a number of male readers, including an ex-US Marine. You don't get much more macho than that! Nevertheless, this is a story guaranteed to strike a chord with mothers, daughters - and daughters-in-law - everywhere. The dual settings of Yorkshire and Cornwall will interest people with strong links to those places but the characters and events hold universal appeal. This is a book for people who like people. Looking Past was selected for the People's Book Prize Winter 2015 Collection.

    Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, is tormented by the thought that maybe his aunt is lying to him about how his mother died. To find the truth he has to overcome his fears: the local bully, the large dark shapes that he imagines in the middle of the dock at night, and the thought that maybe his brother is right, he's just a warped kid who thinks too much. Will he find the courage to stand and fight? Q&A with Lawton Paul Q: What sparked this novel? A: Two things. One: I wanted my kids to know where I came from. The very southern setting—North Florida on the St. Johns river, is where I grew up. And I wanted to give them a feel for that time and place. Watching the sunrise on a stinky crab boat in the St. Johns—what could be better? And the second thing: When I'm not writing, I'm teaching kids. I see a lot of young people who have such promise but for some reason or another, give up right before they're about to make headway. I see my own kids struggling at certain points in their lives. And one thought keeps coming back: don't give up. So I wanted Jesse (main character in Seagull) to really have some heavy issues to navigate through: the death of his mother, Johnny the bully, and of course, the girl, Hailey. You'll have to read the book (savvy marketing ploy alert!) to find out how it all turned out for Jesse. Q: Why should readers give this novel a try? A: If I've done my job well, you'll enjoy the ride and maybe even get that little happy-glow feeling at the end like you just watched Rocky again, or someone said your hair looks nice, or you got an “A” on a pre-calc test. (Another genius bit of marketing there.) Q: What kind of book is Seagull? A: It's a coming of age southern novel with a young main character that should appeal to fiction readers of all ages. Younger readers will sympathize with our teen heroes Jesse and Matty and adult readers will be taken back to earlier days. My style has a literary feel, but the story is plot-driven and suspenseful, especially at the end. And even has a hint of romance. Thanks for giving Seagull a try. Please let me know what you thought of it. —Lawton Paul

    In the midst of the overwhelming struggles that accompanied autism, he continues to persevere. Her father’s love enabled her to overcome insurmountable obstacles, discovered the power of love and embraced the gift of life.

    Before it happens.Gift or curse? As the lone survivor of a school bombing, she's hid from the press for twenty years. Her new job as a photographer in the rural town of Bend, PA offers her another safe haven from bold reporters.Until women start disappearing.Each missing woman appears to have a connection to a mysterious local cult, and Seth, Bend's only reporter, sets out to investigate. His drastic plans to expose the members make Kate fear for his--and her own--safety, but can she trust him enough to reveal her secrets?The wrong answer could get one, or both of them killed.

     Gwen Mongan is a thirty-three-year-old Marketing Communications executive in an innovative startup. Besides her exciting career and dream home, former social worker Gwen’s life is full with great friends, community service, and a passion for matchmaking. The only problem is her boss: the impossibly demanding and maddeningly charismatic hi-tech superstar, Jake Folton. When Jake goes too far, Gwen thinks it’s time to look for a new job. But Gwen soon discovers it’s going to take more spunk and ingenuity than she knew she possessed to get away from a guy who doesn’t take no for an answer. In fact, it’s going to turn her tidy existence upside-down. Can a racehorse named Purple Lemonade, a deadly Funnel-Web Spider, and a dubious Bachelor-of-the-Year contest finally show Gwen that some people are not what they seem and some risks are worth taking? Debut novelist Myra Kendrix brings her own experience in hi-tech marketing to this page-turning comedy, set against the vibrant cityscape of Sydney, Australia.

    So when successful, kind-hearted Jack Hughes—with his home in Silicon Valley, his safely remarried ex-wife, and his two grown children—proposed, it seemed like a dream come true. After all, how hard could it be? All you had to do was be nice to everybody and you’d all get along. Welcome to the perilous world of the second wife, where nothing turns out quite as expected. With an unemployed, unmotivated stepson who declares he’s moving in “temporarily,” a stepdaughter who oozes scorn, and a husband who’s hiding something, Lynn’s imagined domestic bliss begins to crack. Add in an ex-wife who shows up at inopportune times, a law partner who may be involved in illegal dealings, and a client whose attractions prove far too tempting, and Lynn finds both her marriage and her career could be in trouble. Not even the Anne Boleyn Society—an informal support group for second wives—has all the answers. Sure, they can commiserate when Lynn says, “I never thought it would be so hard,” but they don’t know the half of it… “A smart, darkly funny novel about the plight of a second wife… Lynn’s wryly funny, rueful voice is what makes Secret Lives appealing.” —Diane White, BOSTON GLOBE “Sassy, irreverent, and smart. Catherine Todd has a wicked sense of humor.” —Carla Neggers, bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series “Not only should this book be required reading for any second wife as well as anyone contemplating a second marriage, but it’s a riveting, beautifully written story on its own. I stayed up very late reading just to see how Lynn worked through the same turbulent mess that hits so many Second Wives who enter into a marriage without realizing how much baggage inevitably comes along with it. VERY HIGHLY recommended." —RENDEZVOUS MAGAZINE

     Anna Dedrick lives a life of strife and determination. Where others give in, Anna presses on. It’s what makes her a helluva investigator. Now she has met her match, a serial abductor with unclear motive and an unlimited amount of resources. This job will require more than finesse and skill. Anna will need an iron will and an unyielding resolve. Luckily, she embodies those traits… but will it be enough?

    Why did her parents decide that she should grow up with acquaintances rather than family? How do you raise a girl you do not even know? Secrets and lies are revealed and everything starts to get complicated Noa does not find her place in Israel. Yael takes her back to Toronto to look for a more suitable adoptive home. The search reveals answers to questions that have not even been asked about parenthood, marital relations, love, one’s home, and the fragility of life. Can life ever be the same again? As Yael delves into Noa’s past to better understand her, she discovers some unflattering things about her own partner and that the connection between her family and Noa is deeper than it had seemed. These shocking revelations leave Yael with a serious dilemma about her own family relationships. Scroll up now to get your copy of Another’s Child now!

    A story about friendship and growth, love and loss, and life and death. Adam Spencer, a happily married 37 year-old father of two young boys, has everything he wants. A successful business, a beautiful home, two cars in the garage, and a dog. What he doesn't want is to die. But Adam doesn't have a say in the matter. He just found out he has brain cancer.Troubled by his newly-discovered death sentence, Adam joins a support group for the terminally ill. There, he meets six strangers who are struggling to cope with their own impending demises.When one member of the group dies, leaving behind an unfulfilled dream, the others realize just how limited their time is. Now, as the youngest member nears the end of his short life, they become determined to make sure the boy's dream comes true before it's too late. Together, they embark on a road trip that will teach them all what it means to live and to die.

    The rarest of gems, one capable of turning any mage into an unstoppable force of destruction. A gem found only in the empty lands surrounding the Tyber River. And now war has come. Endless war between Esteria and the native Tyberons, a savage and mysterious people who prowl the grass-covered land with spearpoints ready. Unable to end the conflict the Esterians rely on mercenaries to bolster their military, desperate men like Dain Gladstone, a disgraced Paladin. Dain dreams of a peaceful life, a quiet home of his own, and he’s willing to fight for it. The Esterians have a new plan to conquer their enemies. A bold expedition to strike into the heart of the Tyberons and Dain finds himself caught at its center. Can his dream survive the River of Spears?

    But in war-ravaged Sicily, food was scarce, and his parents were as scarred as the land. His father said they must move to America so they could start over and be a family once again. Dominic got a new start, and he got a new family—but not the kind of family he expected.

    As they take turns driving south together through hundreds of miles of new territory, their old lives fall away and their hopes for a bright future are born. Where will they end up? Who will they be when they get there? Will they become lifelong friends or simply fellow travelers thrown together a few days by fate? If you love characters who grow through adversity to discover strength, passion, and joy, ride along with Meg and Sully to Someplace Warm. Annie Katz, after many transformational road trips of her own, is now happily staying home in Maui. Please see her first novel, Lila Blue, a heartwarming coming of age story set on the Oregon Coast, and follow her current news on www.anniekatz.com.

    Her book practically writes itself. She marries her gorgeous agent. Her name is on all of the best seller lists. Billionaire author Jay McCallister takes an interest in her meteoric rise to fame and invites her into his world of alien-believing celebrities. Her life changes forever when he tells her that they were both created inside of a laboratory. These authors are embedding an alien genetic code within the pages of their novels that originated from Nazi Germany because... The time has come. They are here.

    No one knows who steals into the cemetery after the gates are closed and locked, least of all the head groundskeeper, Bob.When Bob is warned he’ll be fired if the rose-givers sneak in again, his ten-year-old granddaughter, Briar Ann Wade, decides to find out who the perpetrators are and why they only come each fall.Briar discovers the answer to the mystery only to learn, as her grandpa says, grief and love take many forms…and there is healing in both.

    . . Thirteen year old Ephraim Wright suffers the depredations of war along with the white family who reared him. Raised with the family since he was two years old, he is never once required to call Jonathan Wright, his benevolent owner, "master." His speech, manners and outlook on life are more akin to his white "siblings than the other slaves in the community who chide him for being a "pet" and "talkin' like white folk." He is stranded between two worlds; that of free whites, and of enslaved blacks. His life is irreversibly changed when Confederate conscript officers take the family's oldest son at gun point and a bushwhacker gang guns down Jonathan Wright. The law forbids a slave to touch a firearm, because a “negro with a gun is a nervous thing to white folks.” But where his family is concerned, Ep is never one to care about what the slave laws say. By seeking to send men to hell, will Ephraim send himself there as well?Advance Praise for The Secret of Wattensaw BayouWhile reading the book my feelings of anger and resentment toward the institution of slavery and those who fought to protect such rights were sometimes overwhelming and required me to take a deep breath. Nevertheless, the story from a historical perspective, although it was a work of fiction, was masterly woven and I found myself with the urge to continue reading. . . The book is well written and the author provides a fascinating glimpse into the everyday existence of many Southern families during the Civil War. Commander Harold Barnes (US Navy, retired)