When Jack Frost returns home to Minnesota, he meets the town's newcomer. She's bubbly, beautiful, and his latest adversary. Considering that her name is Merry Noel Blake and she was born on Christmas Eve, it's not surprising that Frost, Minnesota's newest resident, is crazy about the holiday. She has single-handedly convinced the entire town to help her turn Frost into a Christmas destination; there's a tableau of the stable in Bethlehem, a concert, many events at the church, and Merry's own holiday boutique. Jack Frost has always tried to live down his whimsical name -- a gift from his playful parents -- and he does his best to deter Merry from making what he considers a kitschy mockery of the town and the season. But she believes that below Jack's frosty exterior is a warm heart -- and that she is the one to thaw it.
Julia Cavanaugh has never left New York. But in 1889, the young woman rides the orphan train west to deliver the girls in her care to new families. After Julia's final stop in Montana, she plans to kick the dust off her heels and head straight back east. But upon arriving in the remote town of Lonesome Prairie, she learns to her horror that she is also supposed to be delivered-into the hands of an uncouth miner who carries a bill of purchase for his new "bride." Julia turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from the marriage, but with no return fare, no home, and few friends, her options are bleak. What is God's plan for a lonely woman stranded in the middle of the vast Montana prairie?
Julia Cavanaugh has never left New York. But in 1889, the young woman rides the orphan train west to deliver the girls in her care to new families. After Julia's final stop in Montana, she plans to kick the dust off her heels and head straight back east. But upon arriving in the remote town of Lonesome Prairie, she learns to her horror that she is also supposed to be delivered-into the hands of an uncouth miner who carries a bill of purchase for his new "bride." Julia turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from the marriage, but with no return fare, no home, and few friends, her options are bleak. What is God's plan for a lonely woman stranded in the middle of the vast Montana prairie?
Julia Cavanaugh has never left New York. But in 1889, the young woman rides the orphan train west to deliver the girls in her care to new families. After Julia's final stop in Montana, she plans to kick the dust off her heels and head straight back east. But upon arriving in the remote town of Lonesome Prairie, she learns to her horror that she is also supposed to be delivered-into the hands of an uncouth miner who carries a bill of purchase for his new "bride." Julia turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from the marriage, but with no return fare, no home, and few friends, her options are bleak. What is God's plan for a lonely woman stranded in the middle of the vast Montana prairie?
"Love finds you ... Against the backdrop of the breathtaking Bridal Veil Falls in a historic Oregon logging community, a schoolteacher finds herself torn between a past love and the man who could be her future. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Garvey had promised her heart to Nathaniel Cooper the night he disappeared from town. Four years later, just as she's giving love a second chance with Andrew, a handsome logger, Nathaniel suddenly returns to town with a devastating secret. While grappling with the betrayal of those she trusted most, Margaret risks her reputation and position by harboring two troubled runaways who might be involved in the murder of a local man. And as disaster strikes the town and threatens the welfare of its citizens, Margaret will be faced with the most important decision of her life."--Page 4 of cover
“A memoir with the fierce narrative force of an eastern Montana blizzard, rich in story and character, filled with the bone-chilling details of Blunt’s childhood. She writes without bitterness, with an abiding love of the land and the work and her family and friends that she finally left behind, at great sacrifice, to begin to write. This is a magnificent achievement, a book for the ages. I’ve never read anything that compares with it.” —James Crumley, author of The Last Good Kiss Born into a third generation of Montana homesteaders, Judy Blunt learned early how to “rope and ride and jockey a John Deere,” but also to “bake bread and can vegetables and reserve my opinion when the men were talking.” The lessons carried her through thirty-six-hour blizzards, devastating prairie fires and a period of extreme isolation that once threatened the life of her infant daughter. But though she strengthened her survival skills in what was—and is—essentially a man’s world, Blunt’s story is ultimately that of a woman who must redefine herself in order to stay in the place she loves. Breaking Clean is at once informed by the myths of the West and powerful enough to break them down. Against formidable odds, Blunt has found a voice original enough to be called classic.
It is 1945, and a group of American soldiers liberate a Nazi concentration camp. Helene is the abandoned wife of an SS guard who has fled to avoid arrest. Overcome by guilt, she begins to help meet the needs of survivors. Throughout the process, she finds her own liberation--from spiritual bondage, sin, and guilt. Readers will be intrigued and touched by this fascinating story of love, faithfulness, and courage amidst one of the darkest chapters of mankind's history.
Montana Territory, 1883 When Luke McCutcheon finds Faith Brown about to give birth in her rickety wagon, his first instincts are to ride for help. Instead, he stays and delivers a beautiful baby girl. Unable to leave the pretty young widow and her little son and newborn unprotected in the Montana wilderness, he brings them along on his family's cattle drive, to the absolute delight of the other friendly cowboys.
A teenager in Depression-era Montana with finds danger and adventure with a gangster’s watch in this coming-of-age tale. From the nationally bestselling author of Painted Horses, Malcolm Brooks returns with a soaring, spirited novel set during the summer of Amelia Earhart’s final flight—a tale of American ingenuity and optimism set against the backdrop of a deepening Great Depression . . . The summer of 1937 will be a turning point for fourteen-year-old Houston “Huck” Finn. When he and a friend find a dead body in a local creek, a rare Lindbergh flight watch on its wrist, it seems like a sign. Huck is building his own airplane, a fact he has concealed from his mother. That summer also marks the arrival of his cousin Annelise, sent to live with the family under mysterious circumstances. As it turns out, she has had flying lessons—another sign. As Huck’s airplane takes shape, so does his burgeoning understanding of the world, including the battle over worldliness vs. godliness that has split Annelise from her family, and, in a quieter way, divides Huck’s family too. And meanwhile, there’s the matter of the watch, which it turns out the dead man’s cohort of bank robbers would very much like back. In Brooks’ trademark “lush, breathtaking prose” (San Francisco Chronicle on Painted Horses) and with a winking nod to the Sam Clemens who inspired its hero’s nickname, Cloudmaker is a boisterous, heartfelt novel that brings to life the idealism, inventiveness, traditionalism, and deep contradictions of the American spirit. Praise for Cloudmaker “A sweeping yet personal coming-of-age story. . . . Evocative . . . in pitch-perfect dialect that will immerse readers firmly in Brooks’s beloved American West.” —Shelf Awareness “With a nod to Ivan Doig’s straightforward folksy style, this impressive second novel . . . tells an earnest, heartfelt family story with laugh-out-loud humor, deep-seated family conflicts, and distressing coming-of-age crises. Enthusiastically recommended.” —Library Review (starred review) “Tender friendships and passionate pursuits combine in Cloudmaker—a rich, evocative, soaring novel rooted in particulars and populated with characters so nuanced and real you can’t help but admire and miss them long after you’ve turned the last page.” —Erin Lindsay McCabe, author of USA Today bestseller I Shall Be Near To You “Epic in scope, beautifully crafted in its prose, and always—always—adoring of its cast of unforgettable characters, Cloudmaker is a stunner of a novel. A book that absolutely soars.” —Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Little Faith
