Children’s book illustrator Garet Allen has just escaped her most recent ill-fated relationship and accepts a temporary teaching position at a rural public school. After all, how hard can teaching kids about art really be? Apparently, pretty hard because her first day on the job is a complete disaster, and that has nothing at all to do with the fact that Tess Hill, the captivating and overly conscientious music teacher, shares the same classroom. Tess, a dedicated teacher and single mother focused on creating a stable life for her daughter, is immediately attracted to the handsome, cavalier Garet for all the wrong reasons. Everything about Garet says short-term, and Tess refuses to consider anything less than forever. She’s not about to give her heart away to someone she can’t count on. Can Garet and Tess survive three months sharing the same classroom without killing each other…or falling in love?
"Yuck, this milk is spoiled! Now, what am I supposed to eat?" Ms. King glumly walked to her kitchen sink filled with soggy paper plates and plastic spoons. She poured the seven-day-old milk down the drain and exhaled deeply. "Dang it, I really waned some Coca-Puff's today. Oh well, there's no used to complain over spilled milk I guess...'" Carla's Lunch is a comedy surrounded by food and unique friendships that simmer into troubled waters during an unexpected lunch break.
The Mandolin Lesson is a unique, quirky story of commuting to another country for music lessons. Beautifully redolent of an Italy before emails and mobiles, low cost fares and the channel tunnel, it relates an inspirational story of following one’s passion against all the odds. It is a journey of the moment that happened ahead of its time. Frances Taylor plays an unusual instrument – the mandolin – and when she gets an unexpected opportunity to study her instrument in its native land, Italy, she feels compelled to do so. The only problem is that as a thirty-something with family and work commitments in England, she has to study part-time, commuting once a month. Travelling to Padua during the nineties, Frances stays in Brescia and Bologna. Seduced by the charms of the Italian way of life, she helps with the cherry harvest, learns to cook local dishes and finds out how to dress elegantly. Frances thinks at first she is finding out about her instrument and music, and then about another culture, but ultimately she is on a journey to find out about herself, an interior journey in which she learns to reconnect with her spirit... The Mandolin Lesson is an evocative memoir from the only female professional classical mandolinist in the country – and the only British person to have studied mandolin in Italy at Conservatoire level. The theme of the book is both timeless and universal, about a journey we are all on; a journey to find out about ourselves and to reconnect with who we really are. It will resonate with readers interested in inspirational self-development books, and will also appeal to fans of human interest stories, as well as those interested in Italy and its culture, music in general and the mandolin. ‘A fascinatingly detailed account of how a love affair with the mandolin became a love affair with Italy as well. It shows the lengths to which an excellent musician will go to become an even better one.’ Louis de Bernières, author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
The Fourth Book is about my later years in this farming community and working in a foundry, grandkids, older parents and things I learned along the way that others might relate to.
Wesley Holden migrated west with her brother, Clyde, to build a life neither of them could hope for back East. To share the homestead claim, Wesley had to disguise herself as a man. As brothers, Wesley and Clyde began to carve a new home out of the Kansas frontier. When Clyde is unexpectedly killed, Wes is left alone with the farm, determined to carry on, but more isolated as the days pass. Romanced and abandoned, Charlotte Rose embarks on a journey west in search of a better life. But the trip is cut short by disaster. Even worse, Charlotte can’t return home because she discovers after arriving in Kansas that she’s pregnant. Her only hope is to find a frontier husband. Desperate and out of options, Charlotte is resolved to win Wes’s heart. Allowing Charlotte to get too close is dangerous. If Wes marries, she’ll have to reveal her secret and risk everything for a woman who might never really love her, but resisting Charlotte is easier said than done.
Detective Bo Alexander knows the perils of drugs and alcohol all too well, and she’s made it her mission to keep people safe. Cass Halliburton grew up in the Voleurs, the most ruthless motorcycle outlaw club in the world, and she’s in Galveston Island to watch over the national expansion of her "business." Bo’s assigned to the task force looking to take her down, and Cass plans on making sure Bo keeps her nose out of club business. But the clues aren’t adding up, and the attraction surging between them only makes things more dangerous. When Bo stumbles on a secret far more threatening than anyone anticipated, a stranger in the shadows wants payback. Bo and Cass are on opposite sides of the law, and their battle of wills may not only decide their chances at love, but also their fate.
Demon hunter Jordan Price has a sacred calling she can’t escape. But when her target turns out to be an innocent, the truth shakes the foundations of her belief. Betrayed, conflicted, and badly wounded, Jordan retreats to consecrated ground to recover. Grace Jameson wakes in a shallow grave, terrified and alone. She stumbles toward a light in the thick woods with no memory of how she got there. The light from a cabin window guides her through the darkness until she collapses. The last thing Jordan needs is a beautiful stranger showing up in the one place she thought was truly safe. She’s certain Grace is not who she claims to be, but as the days pass, an overwhelming attraction builds between them. Doubts are vanquished by desire until Jordan discovers Grace’s demonic secret. Jordan is honor bound to hunt her, but Grace may be the only thing standing between Jordan and certain death.
Nico Marshall’s living her best life. Her packaging company’s turning a profit and she’s just been labeled Chicago’s most promising up-and-coming artist. The only thing missing is love. When she meets a beautiful woman on the train with an indescribable sweet and sugary scent, Nico’s ready to make her move. Sophia Sweet doesn’t have time for distractions. Never mind how fit and tan Nico is, or how she has the most beautiful eyes ever. Sophia only has one goal: keep the family business alive. Her third-generation chocolatier shop, Sweet Stuff, is tanking. In a last-ditch effort, Sophia creates an upscale version of their product and needs the perfect package to ensure success. When Sophia recognizes Nico from the train but mistakes her for the packaging company’s warehouse employee, Nico doesn’t bother to correct her. She’s been burned by women in the past wanting her for her money. This time, she’s determined to win Sophia over with her charm.
As winemaker at Tangle Valley Vineyard, Madison LeGrange relies on science and logic to make the best vintage possible. It’s also how she manages her life. But with her career in its prime, her accountant thinks it’s time she diversifies her income. Not a problem because her favorite café, the Bacon and Biscuit, is up for sale. What she didn’t plan on was the time she’d spend with Clementine, who has her feeling anything but logical. Clementine Monroe loves her job managing the Bacon and Biscuit Café. In fact, after escaping a difficult past, it’s all she has. When Clementine is offered the opportunity to step out from behind the counter and buy the place, her longtime dream is about to come true. That is until it’s snatched out from under her by the very same girl she crushed on in high school. Old habits are hard to break, but Clementine has no plans to forgive Madison anytime soon.
Landing the lead role in a movie is exactly the break TV actress Cole Calder needs. Her rise to fame has made her the target of an obsessive group of fans who ship Cole with her straight, married costar, turning what used to be her dream job into a nightmare. Thankful for the opportunity to start something new, Cole is more than ready to leave the show, and its troublesome fans, behind. Eris Whyte has her career path all planned out, and accepting her first movie role opposite Cole Calder is an unmissable opportunity. Eris has no plans to be distracted from the course she’s set for herself, but unfortunately, Cole is gorgeous and very distracting. Cole and Eris are dedicated to making their movie a success, but one fan won’t accept that Cole has moved on. She’ll stop at nothing to see her favorite characters together again, no matter who she has to hurt in the process.
