To say the least. She calls Sweet Meadow, Georgia, home, where she works for her father doing auto repairs. She also drives the tow-truck, although Sweet Meadow's rather colorful denizens tend to treat Bertie more like the local, free taxi service. You know, someone has to get to a doctor's appointment or pick something up at the dry cleaners. Bertie's favorite day of the week is Friday, when she leaves the wrecker with her father for the whole weekend and joins her friends at the Dew Drop Inn for a night of dancing. Her best friend, Mary Lou, sometimes fixes her up with dubious dates, although Bertie has to remind her friend not to tease her hair too high for those occasions. Like the time when they went to Carrie Sue's open house, and a ceramic cow with angel wings hanging from a ceiling fan locked its hooves into Bertie's big hair and refused to let go. She had to wear it all night, dangling chain and all. Bertie's nearly perfect life is about to take a downhill turn, however. It starts when her landlord, Pete, currently a resident in a nearby nursing home, starts showing up at her house. In his birthday suit. A very badly wrinkled birthday suit. And then she goes to her mailbox, a rubber large mouth bass, and finds a notice from the zoning commission saying she can no longer park the wrecker in her driveway. The notice is signed by George Bigham. But when she goes to the courthouse to take care of her little problem, it is only to discover George Bigham is deceased. And Mary Lou's pregnancy test just came up positive. Can it get any worse? In a word... yes.

    After abandoning his new home as a lost cause, he's caught up in the poker craze and moves to Atlantic City with a new dream of "playing poker for a living", but soon finds himself stuck in a dizzying spell of bad luck at the card tables. Or maybe he just sucks at poker, like everybody else. His money all gone, and finding that it's actually difficult to drink oneself to death at 1am, he's suddenly offered a chance to make his money back, and then some, by running an underground poker game in New York City. Once in New York, Tim finds himself on the road to recovery and making real money for the first time—but at what cost? We Run Bad offers an authentic and darkly comic look at underground poker culture, while serving up an indictment of post-recession America. Here, every game is rigged, and the only way to come out ahead is to be the one doing the rigging.

    After being fired from his job as the clandestine stooge on hit TV show Ghostbusters UK, Elliott returns home to find his girlfriend missing. To make matters worse, Hapkido Valentine, the legendary 1980s wrestler, has returned from the dead and taken up residency in Elliott’s flat. Despite a voracious appetite for sausage sandwiches, Hapkido is convinced he has finally become the mystical Japanese warrior he once portrayed in the ring.Together they must undertake a dangerous journey to find out why the Universe created this most unlikely of partnerships. All that stands in their way is a medallion wearing TV psychic, a train-spotting assassin and the murderous intentions of the local over 75’s women’s group. If Elliott thought the day started badly, things are about to get a whole lot worse.

    Do you love a good laugh? Enjoy clean rural humor from a farmer's daughter! What happens when a farmer who’s been wishing for a boy ends up with a girlie-girl?Come along on the humorous and sometimes agonizing adventures from a childhood spent on a farm in the Eastern Oregon desert where one family raised hay, wheat, cattle, and a farm girl.

    Now that Sparrow, her ward, has reached nine years of age, she reckons he needs a male role model in his life. With typical efficiency she sets about finding a father-figure by drawing up a series of checklists for each candidate, and following a strict protocol for interviewing them.So far, all the contenders have failed miserably to get enough ticks in the right boxes. But Ferne is focused and nothing is going to stop her from fulfilling her responsibilities…...except maybe a saboteur out to wreck her business; drunken neighbours; her unfortunate past from which it is so difficult to escape; her estranged mother; long-lost sister; and her Jack Russell, Merrie, who is not above galloping over and nipping any prospective role models she thinks Will Not Do.Katie Fforde (best-selling rom com author and President of the Romantic Novelists' Association) said of 'All His Own Hair': 'Susan Alison handles difficult issues with quirky humour and uplifting results.'(To give you some idea of length - 'White Lies and Custard Creams' is 83,700 words long and 'All His Own Hair' is 87,300 words long.)Susan Alison is the Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner for 2011. She has won competition awards for short fiction and sold numerous stories to commercial publications. Her fiction concentrates on the relationships humans forge with each other (and quite often with their dogs). She is a freelance artist.Jill Mansell (best-selling rom com author) said of 'White Lies and Custard Creams': "Susan Alison has written a lovely, quirky romp packed with off-the-wall characters - original, intriguing and great fun!"

    Some of your favorite inspirational authors have come together in this collection of all-new novellas.From light-hearted romance to laugh-out-loud love, this set will put a smile on your face and keep you reading long into the night.Jane by the Book by award-winning author Pepper BashamShe lives by the plans. He talks to imaginary characters. Can they team up to solve a family mystery?Crossed Out by USA Today bestselling author Christina CoryellRuth Erickson always spends her morning break doing the crossword puzzle. Tate Darrow just messed it up. What’s that old saying about love and war?If She Dares by Mikal DawnHe’s a board game champion, but can he win her heart?Definitely by award-winning author Heather GrayDating isn’t on her to-do list. Dating a pastor? Definitely not.Under the Honey Moon by Jessica R. PatchA honeymoon cottage reunites a pair of childhood friends. Can it offer them a future filled with happily-ever-after?A (wildly) Wonderful Wedding by Krista PhillipsThey may be the worst maid of honor and best man in the history of weddings…Save the Last Word by award-winning author Betsy St. AmantWhen conventional meets creative, who will get the last word?The Long Game by award-winning author Laurie TomlinsonWhoever said all is fair in love and war never dealt with small-town football…

    He's endured close confinement with a hostile camel. He even narrowly averted being the star attraction in a Satanic ritual sacrifice. Yet, despite handling these crises with aplomb, poor Midnight is ill-prepared for his latest, greatest adventure: a perilous foray into the affairs of the heart. He knows all there is to know of love that a farm can teach - but will it be enough to see the young goat through his darkest and most trying times?Midnight's Tale is a 12,000-word literary story of life and love in the treacherous, apple-laden world beyond the comforts of the barn.

    Ancestry, intrigue, and lessons in friendship are part of the narrative. As summer draws to a close, an urgent call sends Kat and Philippe back to Sainte-Mathilde where the family gathers to support each other in an emergency situation. From the splendor of the lavender season through to the changing landscape of autumn and the festivities of the grape harvest, the Love in Provence characters face challenges, make memories and attempt to maintain their usual joie de vivre!

    Haunted by memories of those she cared so dearly for, she soon longs to escape Providence in the hope that doing so will allow her to heal and feel whole once again. While browsing through the Providence Daily Post, she happens upon a series of ads placed by men from Montana who seek brides to join them on the new Frontier. All of the ads quickly begin to sound the same when suddenly, one stands out. Though skeptical, she decides to muster the courage to respond to a man named Mr. Adam Black who seeks an intelligent woman, not just a pleasant woman to keep his home tidy. Upon her arrival, Madeline meets the dashing Mr. Black and is quickly swept off her feet when he gives her a tour of his lavish home and all that lies within. Her hopes are quickly dashed, however, when he reveals to her that in truth, he’s only really looking to settle down to please his father, hoping to continue living his bachelor’s lifestyle. Although Madeline agrees to go along with Mr. Black’s peculiar arrangement, she can’t help but feel the palpable chemistry between them. Will Madeline settle for a picture perfect, yet hollow marriage arrangement, or does Mr. Black share the same feelings, turning her daydreams into a real life fairy tale? Book 2: Montana Mail Order Bride Clara: In 1890, New York City is no place for a woman alone, and that is exactly what young Clara has become. As she struggles to cope with the death of her only living relative, she is also faced with her own set of predicaments. Now, as she attempts to find work in the newspaper, she finds the advertisement of William Dean. William is a rugged man, used to the desolate life of the Frontier, and he’s made a place for himself in Montana--but his success means nothing without the tender warmth of a wife. When Clara notices his ad seeking a marriageable prospect, she responds and their worlds collide. Book 3: Montana Mail Order Bride Emma: When Emma marries her sweet husband James, she thinks she will finally get her happily ever after. But after eight happy years of marriage, Emma is forced to let her dear James fall prey to deathly clutches of a horrible illness. All she has left now is her dearest twelve year old daughter, Margaret. Both take jobs as seamstresses in a factory downtown, but their meager wages just aren’t enough for the two to get by. Emma is forced to admit that she needs the help of another husband, so when a matrimonial ad appears in the paper from a Frontier man, Emma takes a risk and heads to Montana with Margaret and Frederick, a long-time dear friend of her late husband’s who insists on accompanying the ladies as their chaperone. Book 4: Montana Mail Order Bride Julia: When a boy whom Julia has been charged to take care of dies, Julia is left searching for her next path in life. Her choices are limited, as she is not a wealthy woman nor is she married, and she fears that she must take the charity of her only living relative.

    A lesson in chocolates -- and love! Eight years after her painful divorce, Abby Donovan is passionately devoted to making her little chocolate shop in Heartsprings Valley a delicious success.When widower John Buckley and his two adorable kids sign up for a chocolate class, Abby finds herself surprised by the immediate connection she feels with them -- and by the realization that the little shop of her dreams may no longer be enough to keep her fulfilled.With a gentle push from the Christmas spirit, can Abby overcome her wounded heart and embrace a future filled with love and happiness?The Heartsprings Valley Sweet Romance series celebrates love and romance during the most wonderful time of the year.Christmas to the Rescue! (Book 1)A Very Cookie Christmas (Book 2)Sweet Apple Christmas (Book 3)I Dream of Christmas (Book 4)Chock Full of Christmas (Book 5) It's always Christmas in Heartsprings Valley!

    The destinies of an unlikely trio converge at the making of a movie. The eldest Menon daughter and school drama teacher, Neha Menon, must find a way to face the hard times and deal with the loss that threatens to destroy her family.Prithvi Nair’s production house Priyamvada is his grandfather’s legacy and the reason it’s so close to his heart. But the moment Prithvi tries to reopen the company that has been shut down for decades, it finds itself embroiled in one controversy after another and he can’t seem to get it off the ground.Aditya Shankaran is a writer-director with big dreams of directing his debut movie but there are no takers for his script. Down on luck, his future looks bleak. There is only one chance to end the troubles that are set at odds with launching his career and winning the hand of the woman he loves.Prithvi, Aditya and Neha meet under unusual circumstances for the making of a movie that will change their lives in different ways, push them into the world of treachery and deceit, and force them to question their choices.Time is running out. They must quell the sabotage before the final blow to all their hopes and dreams. ***Praise for PRIYAMVADA & CO.*** “At times heart-wrenching, at other times heart-warming – and at all times vividly colorful and appealing – “Priyamvada & Co.” rivals the epic movie world it alludes to.”— Devika Fernando, romance author"Priyamvada & Co. is a beautifully written, heart-warming tale of getting second chances in love and life. Extremely unputdownable.”— Sonia Rao, Writer, Editor, NaNoWriMo ML(India)“Sudha Nair’s latest, Priyamvada & Co., is not one but many stories woven seamlessly to bring out the myriad human emotions—pain, romance, retribution, jealousy—all anchored in real world dilemmas and insecurities. An easy, fast-paced read, set in the back drop of film industry, drama and theatre.”— Ruchi Singh, author of The Bodyguard >>>This is a standalone sequel to the bestseller, The Wedding Tamasha. You can read this even if you haven’t read ‘The Wedding Tamasha.’ This Book 2 of The Menon Women series glimpses into the life of the eldest daughter, Neha Menon, a few years after meeting the Menons in the first book, The Wedding Tamasha. Books in The Menon Women series are:The Wedding TamashaPriyamvada & Co.

    Now I know why my dog likes her better. 2. I wish this were the worst thing she’d ever told me. About the book In “The Warlizard Chronicles”, Warlizard tells the tales of a misspent youth, from the story of his “dog-gasmic” ex-fiancée to the logic of serving as a German linguist in Iraq. The stories are light, fast-paced, graphic, and not remotely safe for work. You have been warned. Reader feedback: - “You tell all women that story? You should wash out your mouth!” - “I think I could listen to your stories for hours.” - “So you owe your marriage to the people who brought down the world trade center?” - “I have nothing else I can add or ask, except MORE STORIES.” - “Holy s**t. I wish I was you.” - “You slept with another man's wife and then lied to him about it, and can say with a straight face it was the right thing to do?” - “Godda***t, I spewed out laughter too loud at work, now I have to leave because everyone knows I'm not doing s**t. F*** this is hilarious, and disconcerting, at the same time.” - “He is the most interesting man in the world.” - “I feel like a failure reading these stories, they're awesome.” - “Your life experience makes me feel good. You good sir are somewhat of a new idol of mine. Nothing much you can do about that. Have a good day sir.” - “Warlizard doesn't always drink beer, but when he does, he prefers Dos Equis.” - “I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that not only a story like this exists but that a Reddit regular would be living it. And it kinda has this enthusiastic ‘and then it happened...’ moments in it that kinda style like you'd write fiction on the go.” - “This guy is either the most creative man in the world or the most interesting man in the world. Either way...”

    With information she receives at an anonymous email address, she produces mostly humorous, sometimes poignant, but always truthful obituaries that magically appear between sections A and B of the morning paper.When several cryptic emails question the official details of a man’s death, Lizzy elicits the help of handsome detective Jackson Clark. Together, they travel halfway around the world to search for answers . . . and maybe even find love along the way.With mystery, romance, and a hefty helping of humor, The Secret Obituary Writer will keep you entertained until the very last page.

    Robert can’t speak. He can’t tell her what makes him happy or sad. Nell has to work that out for herself. Not everyone is happy about Robert’s existence. Can Nell save him from a desolate future, secure his inheritance and ensure he takes his rightful place in society? A love story.