Book Two in Lauraine Snelling's Exciting Wild West Wind Series After fleeing North Dakota and the now defunct Wild West Show, Cassie Lockwood and her companions have finally found the hidden valley in South Dakota where her father had dreamed of putting down roots. But to her dismay, she discovers a ranch already built on her land. Cassie's arrival surprises Mavis Engstrom and forces her to reveal secrets she's kept hidden for years. Her son Ransom is suspicious of Cassie and questions the validity of her claim to the valley. But Lucas Engstrom decides from the start that he is in love with her and wants to marry her. Will Cassie be able to build a home on the Bar E Ranch and fulfill her father's dream of raising horses, or will she be forced to return to the itinerant life of her past?
A heartwarming tale of hope, fate, and folk magic unfolds when a young woman travels to a sleepy southern town in the Appalachian Mountains to bury her best friend. "A feast for the senses. Willa Reece has written a magical, romantic tale about our essential connections to nature and to each other." --Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author At the age of eleven, Mel Smith's life found its purpose when she met Sarah Ross. Ten years later, Sarah's sudden death threatens to break her. To fulfill a final promise to her best friend, Mel travels to an idyllic small town nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains. Yet Morgan's Gap is more than a land of morning mists and deep forest shadows. There are secrets that call to Mel, in the gaze of the gnarled and knowing woman everyone calls Granny, in a salvaged remedy book filled with the magic of simple mountain traditions, and in the connection, she feels to the Ross homestead and the wilderness around it. With every taste of sweet honey and tart blackberries, the wildwood twines further into Mel's broken heart. But a threat lingers in the woods--one that may have something to do with Sarah's untimely death and that has now set its sight on Mel. The wildwood is whispering. It has secrets to reveal--if you're willing to listen . . . Praise for Wildwood Whispers: "Willa Reece has perfectly infused magic, suspense, and a love of nature deep into the pages of this novel. Ultimately filled with hope, love, and the power of growth and resilience, Wildwood Whispers is a thought-provoking, memorable debut." --Heather Webber, USA Today bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café "I loved everything about Wildwood Whispers. Readers craving a witchy story full of found family, lush nature, and small-town secrets will find it utterly enchanting." --Hester Fox, author of The Witch of Willow Hall
A collection of short fiction explores the dark imaginations and experiences of the human mind in tales of horror and duspense by Zane, Tanarive Due, Stephen Barnes, Robert Fleming, and other African-American authors.
USA Today bestselling author Nina Bangs welcomes you back to the Castle of Dark Dreams, a place of otherworldly secrets and sensual men with the power to fulfill your most private fantasies. All Ivy had ever wanted was a safe, secure life with no drama. Now she was working in an adult theme park where visitors came to role-play their wildest imaginings. She reminded herself to stay focused on her job and to ignore everything else. The reminders didn’t work. One man drew her. Murmur was every erotic dream she’d tried to repress, every deliciously dangerous temptation she said she didn’t need. Her instinct suggested that this was a man who walked in darkness. She ignored the warning. But Murmur was more than what he seemed. A powerful demon, he used his demonic gift to destroy as well as seduce. In desiring him, Ivy had opened herself to a menace born centuries ago—one that would risk both their lives and betray the promises made with every one of his wicked whispers.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A memoir as fierce, freewheeling, and passionate as her music." --O, the Oprah magazine A memoir by the celebrated singer-songwriter and social activist Ani DiFranco In her new memoir, No Walls and the Recurring Dream, Ani DiFranco recounts her early life from a place of hard-won wisdom, combining personal expression, the power of music, feminism, political activism, storytelling, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and much more into an inspiring whole. In these frank, honest, passionate, and often funny pages is the tale of one woman's eventful and radical journey to the age of thirty. Ani's coming of age story is defined by her ethos of fierce independence--from being an emancipated minor sleeping in a Buffalo bus station, to unwaveringly building a career through appearances at small clubs and festivals, to releasing her first album at the age of 18, to consciously rejecting the mainstream recording industry and creating her own label, Righteous Babe Records. In these pages, as in life, she never hesitates to question established rules and expectations, maintaining a level of artistic integrity that has inspired and challenged more than a few. Ani continues to be a major touring and recording artist as well as a celebrated activist and feminist, standing as living proof that you can overcome all personal and societal obstacles to be who you are and to follow your dreams.
A gripping and mesmerising retelling of a classic story, filled with romance, mystery and intrigue.There is a pale, penetrating loneliness etched into the walls of this forgotten place. A kind of loneliness made living... is this what it feels like to be a ghost, alone in some kind of half world?Taking shelter from a storm, Rose accidentally strays into a deserted fairy realm, and finds herself trapped there with only a mysterious talking beast for company. Although initially reluctant to befriend her strange companion, Rose quickly finds herself growing closer to him. She names him Thorn, and as the castle blossoms into a place of beauty, so too does their friendship. But something else lurks within the walls, a dark force that will stop at nothing to be free once more... If Rose is to survive and lift the curse placed upon the castle, she will have to face her fears and conquer the nightmares that have haunted her since childhood, as well as confront the terrifying creature that stalks the shadows in the night.A passionate retelling of a classic tale, fairy tale fantasy meets Gothic. Will have you sobbing and laughing, and truly believing in the power of true love.
A middle grade debut that's a heartrending coming-of-age tale, perfect for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Counting By 7s. Eleven-year-old Riley believes in the whispers, magical fairies that will grant you wishes if you leave them tributes. Riley has a lot of wishes. He wishes bullies at school would stop picking on him. He wishes Dylan, his 8th grade crush, liked him, and Riley wishes he would stop wetting the bed. But most of all, Riley wishes for his mom to come back home. She disappeared a few months ago, and Riley is determined to crack the case. He even meets with a detective, Frank, to go over his witness statement time and time again. Frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation, Riley decides to take matters into his own hands. So he goes on a camping trip with his friend Gary to find the whispers and ask them to bring his mom back home. But Riley doesn't realize the trip will shake the foundation of everything that he believes in forever.
The mystery continues in this spine-tingling, creepily atmospheric follow up to Sophie Cleverly's The Lost Twin! Scarlet and Ivy may have been reunited, but they are definitely not out of danger... At the bidding of their cold-hearted stepmother, twin sisters Scarlet and Ivy are sentenced to board for a year at Rookwood School. The headmaster is cruel, the hallways are drafty, and there seems to be a thief afoot. When the finger of suspicion is pointed at Scarlet, she'll do whatever it takes to clear her name—including some late-night detective work. But in the darkness of Rookwood, mysteries of the past come to light. The walls are talking of secrets past, and it's up to Scarlet and Ivy to listen to their story...
Lydia’s job at the library is her world—she never expected to be a suspect to a murder. And now she must rely on the one man she’s not sure she can trust. Just months after the closure of the Chicago World’s Fair, librarian Lydia Bancroft finds herself fascinated by a mysterious dark-haired and dark-eyed patron. He has never given her his name; he actually never speaks to a single person. All she knows about him is that he loves books as much as she does. Only when he rescues her in the lobby of the Hartman Hotel does she discover that his name is Sebastian Marks. She also discovers that he lives at the top of the prestigious hotel and that most everyone in Chicago is intrigued by him. Lydia and Sebastian form a fragile friendship, but when she discovers that Mr. Marks isn’t merely a very wealthy gentleman, but also the proprietor of an infamous saloon and gambling club, she is shocked. Lydia insists on visiting the club one fateful night and suddenly is a suspect to a murder. She must determine who she can trust, who is innocent, and if Sebastian Marks—the man so many people fear—is actually everything her heart believes him to be. “Shelley Gray writes a well-paced story full of historical detail that will invite you into the romance, the glamour . . . and the mystery surrounding the Chicago World’s Fair.” —Colleen Coble, USA Today bestselling author of Rosemary Cottage and the Hope Beach series The Chicago World Fair Mystery series Book 1—Secrets of Sloane House Book 2—Deception on Sable Hill Book 3—Whispers in the Reading Room Book length: 86,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs