Iris Drake is an odd duck. She knows everyone at Artisans Alley arts-and-crafts arcade, but nobody knows her. When she walks into Gilda’s Gourmet Baskets on Victoria Square, she’s a stranger there, too—but not for long. Yet she hasn’t to come to Gilda to buy her wares—she’s there to sell some of her own. All goes well until Iris’s secret is exposed. Should Gilda step in to make things right, or walk away from an unpleasant situation?
Bullies come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Dana Milton finally opens her own dance studio on Victoria Square and one of her Broadway Babies (age 8) is a classic tyrant. Can Dana teach her students about respect for one another—and when it’s time to stand up for oneself, or is it all tutu much?
Two Jeff Resnick Mysteries for the price of one! Murder On The Mind: When a brain injury leaves mugging victim Jeff Resnick able to sense people's secrets, he feels compelled to investigate a murder. Dead In Red: Jeff Resnick takes the job of a dead bartender and must also find out who killed him, endangering everyone he cares about.
Like a sampler box of chocolates–-dip in and find your favorite! Included in A Cozy Sampler are selections of seven of Lorraine Bartlett’s novels. These include the opening chapters of four of the Victoria Square Mysteries (A CRAFTY KILLING, THE WALLED FLOWER, ONE HOT MURDER, and DEAD, BATH and BEYOND, as well as the companion cookbook, RECIPES TO DIE FOR); the opening chapters of the first Lotus Bay Mystery (WITH BAITED BREATH), and a bonus feature of the first three chapters from the Tales of Telenia adventure-fantasy series (STRANDED and JOURNEY). These chapters give readers an overview of her various series as well as a chance to get to know the characters.
It’s 1971, and Betsie Troyer’s peaceful and predictable life is about to become anything but. When their parents flee the Amish, nineteen-year-old Betsie and her seventeen-year-old sister Sadie are distraught. Under the dubious guidance of a doting aunt, the girls struggle to keep the secret, praying their parents will return before anyone learns the truth—a truth that may end all hopes of Betsie’s marriage to Charley Yoder. Worse still, Betsie must learn a trade while she boards with a dysfunctional Englisher family: Sheila, a twelve-year-old desperately searching for a friend and in dire need of her mother; the free-spirited mother, who runs off to "find herself" on the stage; the angry father whose structured life crumbles; and Michael, a troubled college dropout nearly killed in the Kent State Massacre. Thrust into the English world, Betsie must grapple with the realities of war and miniskirts, pot parties and police brutality, protests and desertion. Can she help the Sullivan family and find peace in her new surroundings, or must she forget the bargain she made and seek refuge back in Plain City with protective and reliable Charley?
Mismatched lovers and unexpected attraction catch fire in this timeless Regency romance by the New York Times bestselling author. Forced to wed to keep her inheritance, independent Lady Jocelyn Kendal finds an outrageous solution: she proposes marriage to Major David Lancaster, an officer dying from his Waterloo wounds. In return for making her his wife, she will provide for his governess sister. But after the bargain is struck and the marriage is made, the major makes a shocking, miraculous recovery. Though they agree to an annulment, such matters take time . . . time enough for David to realize he is irrevocably in love with his wife. Haunted by her past, Jocelyn refuses to trust the desire David ignites in her. She never counted on a real husband, least of all one who would entice her to be a real wife. But some bargains are made to be broken—and his skilled courtship is impossible to resist . . . Praise for Mary Jo Putney “Putney’s endearing characters and warm-hearted stories never fail to inspire and delight.” —Sabrina Jeffries “A complex maze of a story twisted with passion, violence, and redemption. Miss Putney just gets better and better.” —Nora Roberts “A gifted writer with an intuitive understanding of what makes romance work.” —Amanda Quick “No one writes historical romance better.” —Cathy Maxwell “Dynamite!” —Laura Kinsale
