Although the plot is fictional, the central character is based on Giles's mother and some of the episodes are drawn from her life. This is the story of a dedicated teacher who moves to the hills of Kentucky to teach in a one-room schoolhouse at Piney Ridge. Zealously she tries to change the ways of the stubborn and proud Appalachian people - but to no avail. They listen to her crazy ideas about sanitation and other foolishness because to argue would be rude. But in the end they quietly go about their accustomed ways. Ultimately Miss Willie realizes that the hill customs have a beauty and dignity of their own and that some of her efforts to reform them were ill-conceived. Her warmth, generosity, and humor help her bridge the gap and find fulfillment in Piney Ridge. This is a story of reconciliation and the coming together of two different ways of life. Above all, it is a story of people and of the land to which they belong.

    My hope is that you'll consider my words and remember my heart.... LETTERS FOR EMILYHarry Whitney is dying. He has Alzheimer's disease, and he knows his "good" time is dwindling. So he compiles a book of poems for his beloved granddaughter, Emily, hoping that his words of hard-won wisdom will heal the old wounds that are tearing his family apart. But Harry's poems contain much more than meets the eye; clues and riddles that lead to an extraordinary cache of letters and a promise of hidden gold. Are they the ramblings of a man losing touch with reality? Or has Harry given them a gift more valuable than any one of them could have guessed?A memorable tale of the power of love and family, Letters for Emily is a novel sure to enrich readers of all generations.

    

    One choice. Someone must die.From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz comes this pulse-pounding thriller that starts with a terrifying decision we all might face one day: Help—or run. Timothy Carrier is an ordinary guy. He enjoys a beer after work at his friend’s tavern, the eccentric customers and amusing conversations. But tonight is no ordinary night. The jittery man sitting beside him has mistaken Tim for someone else—and passes him an envelope stuffed with cash and the photo of a pretty woman. “Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”Tim Carrier always thought he knew the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. But tonight everything he thought he knew—even about himself—will be challenged. For Tim Carrier is at the center of a mystery of extraordinary proportions, the one man who can save an innocent life and stop a killer as relentless as evil incarnate. But first he must discover resources within himself of which he never dreamed, capacities that will transform his idea of who he is and what it takes to be . . .

    But a tragedy in her past has made her an outcast. Only by facing down her ghosts--and her hometown--will she learn to accept the liberating challenges of belonging, identity, and love.

     Amazon UK reviews for Steven's first book, No Place Like Home, Thank God: "A superb book I devoured in two days." "This book made me laugh out loud." "Great read. Laugh out loud funny." "I really enjoyed this book!" "Steven's style of writing made me laugh out loud." "I couldn't put it down." "One of the best books I've read in a long time." "Found his one liners very funny." "A highly entertaining read." "So well written with brilliant humour." Seventy year-old British ex-pat miserymonger George Pearly lives on the Costa del Sol, all alone except for his ancient, three-legged dog, Ambrose. George hates his life and everybody in it. These feelings are mutual. Everyone hates George too. From this unhappy equilibrium the situation quickly deteriorates. First, George discovers he is dying of a mystery illness. Then his 35 year-old ape-child nephew, Kevin, moves into George's tiny and once tranquil home with a passion for Vimto, Coco Pops and slobbing around in his greying underpants. Worst of all, George's neighbours start to disappear and all accusing fingers point towards George. Pull up a sun lounger, grab yourself a piña colada and enjoy a murder-mystery romp on Spain's sunny southern coast.

    It was a choice that even earned him the respect and admiration of one of the most wealthy Virginians, and it's part of the huge secret he's hiding from his friends. Kari Albury is a very smart, ambitious, and attractive young woman who has set her sights on Marlin, and at the same time she's managing the biggest real estate project on Virginia's Eastern Shore. What's not to love about a woman who can handle a boat as well as Marlin, and truly appreciates custom fishing rods as a birthday gift? Kari helps Marlin discover that there's actually a lot more to his secret than he was willing to believe. Now, with the help of their friends, "Murph," Lindsay, Casey, Dawn and Rikki, the two of them might just manage to keep from getting killed over it, and have a shot at a "happily ever after." Hopefully without getting shot in the process.

    . . WINDCHILL SUMMER HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS. . . . A LITTLE MYSTERY, SOME HUMOR, [AND] A DASH OF CHARM."-The Denver Post"WONDERFULLY SATISFYING AND APPEALING . . . It's the summer of 1969 in a place called Sweet Valley, Arkansas. Cherry and Baby [are] soon to be college seniors at the dinky university just a few miles away. . . . It all looks like a pleasant, predictable American life, but a long second look reveals that things aren't exactly what they seem to be. . . . [Mailer] loves her characters, and we fall in love with them, too."-The Washington Post Book World"IN GENTLY ROLLING SOUTHERN CADENCES, MAILER CAPTURES THE HORMONAL UPS AND DOWNS OF YOUNG WOMEN TEETERING ON THE VERGE OF ADULTHOOD."-Entertainment Weekly"THIS WINSOME COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL OFFERS MUCH TO MANY. Cherry, the narrator, is my kind of woman: good-looking, straight-talking, and able to describe what it's like to get amorous when you're wearing ten thousand petticoats. Most important, she's willing to decide for herself what's true."-ELIZABETH BERG"SMOOTHLY WRITTEN, SWEETLY SENTIMENTAL."-The New York Times Book Review

    Now, the only cheers he gets are from boozing and one-night stands-until a mysterious physical therapist hands him a second chance at the big time.

    Drug paraphernalia litters his bedroom. Then the phone rings. What he hears chills him to the core, and sends him into hiding with little more than fear and a 72-hour kit.Framed for unspeakable crimes, Jason turns to the only person who may be able to help -- and ex-girlfriend he has not seen in years. As the police net around the city tightens, and a foreign assassin draws closer, Jason realizes that the only way he can clear his name and survive is to hunt the hunter.

    But his deductive abilities will be put to the test when he’s called on to detect philatelic forgeries at Thwaites, one of the city’s great auction houses. The recently knighted cat also finds time to coach a croquet team, oversee rehearsals of a sequel to Cats, and help deliver a baby. Not to be outdone by cheesy actors or blundering attorneys, he makes his film debut and testifies in a criminal trial at the Old Bailey. But he has a special place in his heart for St. James’s Palace, the address he longs to call home. This delightful sequel to James the Connoisseur will prove irresistible catnip for feline lovers.

    Murder Must Advertise. Gaudy Night.

    Though she has big plans for her new home, none of them involves falling in love — least of all with Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of the nearby château. As romance blossoms in the beautiful Provençal countryside, disturbing events at the farmhouse hint at a dark mystery — a destructive, centuries-old attachment between the ladies of Bellefontaine and the ducs de Coste. As Amy struggles to unravel the mystery, she begins to wonder if it may not just be her heart at risk, but her life too.

    It follows the fortunes of a young girl from a small village in Tyneside, to a new life in America as the wife of a wealthy man, only to return and encounter the enmity of her former neighbors and townspeople.

     After his longtime girlfriend marries another man, Tom Gorman, owner of a large ranch in southeastern Wyoming, thinks there will never be a happy ending for him. To avoid people’s knowing stares and nosy questions, he rarely comes to town and then only briefly. Working on his ranch and taking care of his two siblings becomes his life. As a favor to an old friend, he invites a young widow with her two little boys to stay at his ranch. Lottie Donovan grew up as an orphan raised in foster care, and she has been alone for most of her life. Now at thirty years of age, she is alone again after her husband Wyatt, a police officer, is killed during a bank robbery. She struggles to take care of her two boys from her income as a schoolteacher. When her house sells faster than she expected, she has no place to live. Tom Gorman offers her temporary shelter at his ranch and Lottie wants to pay him back by transforming his house into a home and making his family happy. The approaching Christmas celebration is a great opportunity to bring his family together. If only she could ignore the attraction she has felt for Tom ever since they were in high school when Tom was the high school quarterback. Lottie was secretly in love with him then, while Tom had eyes only for his beautiful girlfriend Faith Parker. Will the magic of Christmas bring together these two lonely people who are so much in need of true love?