Maggie Carpenter, hardworking and successful news reporter for the Los Angeles Times, laughs when she first spots the quaint job posting on the Internet. But when the violence of gang activity hits her neighborhood and her teenage son begins to withdraw, Maggie reconsiders. When Maggie and Spencer arrive in Pine Mountain, Oregon, they realize with dismay that the idyllic escape they'd hope for has fallen into disrepair. As she rallies the townsfolk in an attempt to save the community, she makes friends and discovers enemies. Why is the postmaster so unfriendly? What dark secret in the woods threatens the efforts of the Main Street merchants to restore the town? And will Maggie have the courage to open her heart to either the mysterious, wood-working preacher of the outgoing, sophisticated photographer.
A self-told story of one man's rise out of Southern poverty to a position of stature in the world. However he must ultimately return to his roots to make some kind of peace.
From the bestselling author of Tides of Honour and Promises to Keep comes a poignant novel about a young couple caught on opposite sides of the Second World War. In the fall of 1939, Grace Baker’s three brothers, sharp and proud in their uniforms, board Canadian ships headed for a faraway war. Grace stays behind, tending to the homefront and the general store that helps keep her small Nova Scotian community running. The war, everyone says, will be over before it starts. But three years later, the fighting rages on and rumours swirl about “wolf packs” of German U-Boats lurking in the deep waters along the shores of East Jeddore, a stone’s throw from Grace’s window. As the harsh realities of war come closer to home, Grace buries herself in her work at the store. Then, one day, a handsome stranger ventures into the store. He claims to be a trapper come from away, and as Grace gets to know him, she becomes enamoured by his gentle smile and thoughtful ways. But after several weeks, she discovers that Rudi, her mysterious visitor, is not the lonely outsider he appears to be. He is someone else entirely—someone not to be trusted. When a shocking truth about her family forces Grace to question everything she has so strongly believed, she realizes that she and Rudi have more in common than she had thought. And if Grace is to have a chance at love, she must not only choose a side, but take a stand. Come from Away is a mesmerizing story of love, shifting allegiances, and second chances, set against the tumultuous years of the Second World War.
NOW THE HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES ORIGINAL TIME FOR ME TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! The fireplace is lit, the snow is falling, and sleigh bells echo in the distance—it’s Christmas, and it’s time to come home in this charming holiday novel based on Dorothy Shackleford and Blake Shelton’s hit song. Thirty-five-year-old Heath Sawyer has finally made it to the big-time as a country music star. After a year full of the kind of success he could only dream of, it’s December 23, and he’s headlining a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. It’s only as the lights on the stage go down and the Christmas lights outside come on that Heath realizes there’s just one place he wants to be for the holidays: back home in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. But journeying anywhere on Christmas Eve is never easy, and with flight delays, inclement weather, and the unexpected company of a feisty young woman who’s about to become his traveling companion, Heath will need a Christmas miracle to make his way home in time to open presents. Filled with touching anecdotes inspired by the real holiday memories of Blake Shelton and Dorothy Shackelford, Time for Me to Come Home is a sweet and funny story that celebrates the spirit of Christmas and the true meaning of finding your way back home. “It’s funny how going back can get you back to where you belong. It’s the difference between just a melody and my favorite Christmas song.”
Imagine what your life would be like if you could trade your chaos for comfort. Yes, you can experience the calm and contentment promised in Scripture. In Come Home To Comfort, gifted speaker and author Sharon Hoffman spreads a welcome mat of wisdom, inviting you to trust God to refurbish the "home of your heart." Step by inspirational step, she helps you create a home of beauty and blessing, built on the firm foundation of Christ's comfort - a foundation sure to stand the test of time and trials. Brimming with warm, attractive, affordable decorating tips, helpful household hints, and charming ideas for making memories, you will discover how to find hope - even when your home and your heart need a miracle. This encouraging book also includes a nine-week Bible study for individual or small group study. Through Sharon's life-giving words, you'll discover in the end, that when you come home to comfort, you are really coming home to Christ!
For award-winning architect Gil Schafer, the most successful houses are the ones that celebrate the small moments of life—houses with timeless charm that are imbued with memory and anchored in a distinct sense of place. Essentially, Schafer believes a house is truly successful when the people who live there consider it home. It’s this belief—and Schafer’s rare ability to translate his clients’ deeply personal visions of how they want to live into a physical home that reflects those dreams—that has established him as one of the most sought-after, highly-regarded architects of our time. In his new book, A Place to Call Home Schafer follows up his bestselling The Great American House, by pulling the curtain back on his distinctive approach, sharing his process (complete with unexpected, accessible ideas readers can work into their own projects) and taking readers on a detailed tour of seven beautifully realized houses in a range of styles located around the country—each in a unique place, and each with a character all its own. 250 lush, full color photographs of these seven houses and other never-before-seen projects, including exterior, interior, and landscape details, invite readers into Schafer’s world of comfortable classicism. Opening with memories of the childhood homes and experiences that have shaped Schafer’s own history, A Place to Call Home gives the reader the sense that for Schafer, architecture is not just a career but a way of life, a calling. He describes how the many varied houses of his youth were informed as much by their style as by their sense of place, and how these experiences of home informed his idea of classicism as a set of values that he applies to many different kinds of architecture in places as varied as the ones he grew up in. Because while Schafer is absolutely a classical architect, he is in fact a modern traditionalist, and A Place to Call Home showcases how he effortlessly interprets traditional principles for a multiplicity of architectural styles within contemporary ways of living. Sections in Part I include the delicate balance of modern and traditional aesthetics, the juxtaposition of fancy and simple, and the details that make each project special and livable. Schafer also delves into what he refers to as “the spaces in between,” those often overlooked spaces like closets, mudrooms, and laundry rooms, explaining their underappreciated value in the broader context of a home. Part of Schafer’s skill lies in the way he gives the minutiae of a project as much attention as the grand aesthetic gestures, and ultimately, it’s this combination that brings his homes to life. Part II of the book is the story of seven houses and the places they inhabit—each with a completely different character and soul: a charming cottage completely rebuilt into a casual but gracious house for a young family in bucolic Mill Valley, California; a reconstructed historic 1930s Colonial house and gardens set in lush woodlands in Connecticut; a new, Adirondack camp-inspired house for an active family perched on the edge of Lake Placid with stunning views of nearby Whiteface Mountain; an elegant but family-friendly Fifth Avenue apartment with a panoramic view of Central Park; a new timber frame and stone barn situated to take advantage of the summer sun on a lovely, rambling property in New England; a new residence and outbuildings on a 6,000 acre hunting preserve in Georgia, inspired by the historic 1920s and 1930s hunting plantation houses in the region; and Schafer’s own, deeply personal, newly-renovated and surprisingly modern house located just a few feet from the Atlantic Ocean in coastal Maine. In Schafer’s hands, the stories of these houses are irresistibly readable. He guides the reader through each of the design decisions, sharing anecdotes about the process and fascinating historical background and contextual influences of the settings. Ultimately, the houses featured in A Place to Call Home are more than just beautiful buildings in beautiful places. In each of them, Schafer has created a dialogue between past and present, a personalized world that people can inhabit gracefully, in sync with their own notions of home. Because, as Schafer writes in the book, he designs houses “not for an architect’s ego, but [for] the beauty of life, the joys of family, and, not least, a heartfelt celebration of place.”
After her mother dies in 1975, ten-year-old Lemonade must live with her grandfather in a small town famous for Bigfoot sitings and soon becomes friends with Tobin, a quirky Bigfoot investigator.
Thich Nhat Hanh shares 81 personal life stories with his signature simplicity and humor—illustrating his most essential teachings on mindfulness, peace, and social engagement. Collected here for the first time, these personal, autobiographical stories from peace activist and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh perfectly illustrate his most essential teachings. The beauty of these simple lessons is that readers do not need to be versed in meditation or Buddhist practices to find peace, sanctuary, and sustenance here. Told with his signature clarity and humor, these stories are drawn from the long span of Thich Nhat Hanh's life, from his childhood in rural Vietnam to his years as a teenaged novice, and as a young teacher and writer in his war-torn home country. Readers will also join Nhat Hanh on his later travels around the world teaching mindfulness, making pilgrimages to sacred sites, and meeting with world leaders. This inspiring read follows in the tradition of Zen teaching stories—dharma—that goes back at least to the time of the Buddha. Thich Nhat Hanh uses storytelling to share important teachings, insights, and life lessons.
When Charlotte's friend Oliver's life is shattered by the death of his eighty-two-year-old great uncle and guardian, Oliver turns to Charlotte with urgent demands she finds herself unprepared to meet.
"She's smart. She's tough. She's sexy. She's a dairy farmer?"—Booklist Stella Crown works hard and loves her life. She runs her own Pennsylvania dairy farm with the trusted help of longtime farmhand Howie who stuck with her after her parents died. She rides her Harley on the weekends, and has just enough friends to suit her fiercely independent nature. But on her 29th birthday, things start to change. A local child dies from a strange and threatening illness, a string of mysterious disasters place Stella and her farm in peril, and her childhood friend Abe shows up with a new woman on his arm. It seems like bad luck run amok, but when her livestock begins turning up dead, Stella knows that something, or someone, is out to get her. Agatha and Anthony Award Nominee for Best First Novel
