Download or read book Back When Mary Alice Was Still a Blonde written by Robert F. Hastings and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life is usually peaceful in Buford, Alabama-especially for Elba Rae Van Oaks. She teaches school, attends church, and typically leaves the drama to others. But when Elba Rae's mother takes her last breath, Elba Rae must reunite with the only person in the world with whom she has absolutely nothing in common-her sister, Lila. As Elba Rae busily prepares for her mother's funeral, the last thing she has time to deal with is a sister who wants to butt into the otherwise orderly execution of making arrangements. But even though the two women have happily avoided each other for years, Lila's already on her way. As Elba Rae begins placing calls, making lists, and deciding on musical selections, she has no idea that when Lila arrives, she will be as close to coming undone as Elba Rae has ever seen her. Both women are about to find out what happens when avoidance is no longer an option, when ignoring their history is nearly impossible, and when death may be the least of their worries. "Hastings shares the hilarious antics of a family of characters from rural Alabama ... wonderful tales similar to the ones heard at family reunions ..." -Linda Harris, New 50 Magazine

Download or read book Devil s Heart written by Ron Walden and published by Publication Consultants. This book was released on 2009-06-15 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jodi Eagle knew at an early age that he was going to leave the reservation. Being raised by his grandfather, Jodi had learned the ways of his Sioux heritage, but reservation life was not for him. He had seen too many friends come to a bad end. With help from friends he had made along the way Jodi became a Deputy Sheriff at North Bend, Washington where a killer was kidnapping and killing children.Local parents were terrified for their children. One of the victims was the son of Jodi's friend Earl Campbell. Jodi's own son was a school mate and friend of the murdered child. Jodi tried to help control his own son's grief with stories and customs of his Native American heritage. After eight years fingerprint evidence gathered at one of the crime scenes is matched with a body found near Anchorage, Alaska. This would solve the child murders, but opened a new question; Who killed the killer. The effect of this turmoil on residents of the small western Washington town was great and the wounds deep. His department would find closure to this eight year search with the implication of a one-time deputy. With enough twists to keep the reader engrossed and turning the pages and enough surprises to bend the mind.

Download or read book The Christmas Fountain A Small Town Southern Romance written by Kait Nolan and published by Take The Leap Publishing. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elementary school teacher Mary Alice Reed wanted a nice, stable guy to share her happily ever after. When she thought she'd found him, everyone tried to tell her that the guy she thought was her Mr. Right, was really Mr. Somebody Else's. Living with a town's worth of I-told-you-so isn't easy, but she's coping. And definitely taking a break from love in order to get past her last disaster to chair her favorite Christmas charity. Trauma surgeon Chad Phillips gave up the intensity and long hours of a big city hospital to move to Wishful. He wants a home and family, a town with a slower pace, where he can actually build a life. Being one of Wishful’s most eligible bachelors has gotten him a lot of pie and casseroles, but it hasn’t helped him find that special someone to come home to. When a friend’s accident lands Mary Alice in his ER, Chad finds himself more than intrigued. Part Martha Stewart, part Mary Poppins, and all Girl Next Door, she’s exactly what he’s been looking for. Volunteering for the Fountain of Hope charity seems like the perfect way to get to know his Christmas crush. But just as he seems to be overcoming Mary Alice's once bitten, twice shy caution, that one tiny thing from his past, that he probably should have told her about, shows up for a Christmas season visit. Chad's gonna have some explaining to do.

Download or read book Christmas in Wishful written by Kait Nolan and published by Kait Nolan. This book was released on 2024-11-22 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A time-limited holiday set of three small-town Southern romance novellas, including: DANCE ME A DREAM As guardian to her younger siblings, Tara Honeycutt has forgotten what it's like to be a normal twenty-something. When a major gas line breaks, leaving them with no heat, no hot water, and no way to cook for Christmas, Jace Applewhite invites Tara and her sibs out to his family's Christmas tree farm. Will a good old fashioned farmhouse Christmas be enough to get Tara to give him a second glance? THE CHRISTMAS FOUNTAIN After finding out her Mr. Right was actually Mr. Wrong, Mary Alice is taking a break from love to chair her favorite holiday charity. Chad thinks volunteering is the perfect way to get to know his Christmas crush. Will he manage to overcome her once bitten, twice shy caution? A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS Hannah's waiting tables at Wishful's Dinner Belles diner and dreaming of getting an interior design business off the ground. What better way to practice and show off her skills than with some holiday decorating? Jaded Ryan, an Army medic on leave, and his cantankerous great uncle, Percy, are desperately in need of Christmas cheer—and a referee. Can Hannah's warmth thaw these frosty hearts? A VERY CAMPBELL CHRISTMAS The Campbell clan is in for a very special Christmas surprise in this exclusive bonus short story!

Download or read book Rapture Practice written by Aaron Hartzler and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2013-04-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes salvation is found in the strangest places: a true story. Aaron Hartzler grew up in a home where he was taught that at any moment the Rapture could happen. That Jesus might come down in the twinkling of an eye and scoop Aaron and his family up to heaven. As a kid, Aaron was thrilled by the idea that every moment of every day might be his last one on planet Earth. But as Aaron turns sixteen, he finds himself more attached to his earthly life and curious about all the things his family forsakes for the Lord. He begins to realize he doesn't want the Rapture to happen just yet--not before he sees his first movie, stars in the school play, or has his first kiss. Eventually Aaron makes the plunge from conflicted do-gooder to full-fledged teen rebel. Whether he's sneaking out, making out, or playing hymns with a hangover, Aaron learns a few lessons that can't be found in the Bible. He discovers that the best friends aren't always the ones your mom and dad approve of, and the tricky part about believing is that no one can do it for you. In this funny and heartfelt coming-of-age memoir, debut author Aaron Hartzler recalls his teenage journey to find the person he is without losing the family that loves him. It's a story about losing your faith and finding your place and your own truth--which is always stranger than fiction.

Download or read book The Pajama Game written by Eugenie Seifer Olson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Moxie Brecker chose her kicky nickname back in college, it suited her perfectly. But now she feels it's one big misnomer. After graduation, she set out to command her own seventh-grade science class and was stunned to find the job too challenging. She didn't have the energy necessary to get a roomful of pre-teens excited about atoms, and she never felt like herself, so she handed in her chalk and lesson plans. Stumped about where to turn next, she followed the advice of her best friend Gerard and took a job folding underthings at the chain lingerie store in the mall. She's got plenty at home to distract her, including her neighbor, Steven Tyler (no, not that Stephen Tyler) and the kindly septuagenarian Joe, who runs the joke shop downstairs, but she spends her days languishing in the store. Though she feels tired and just out of it physically, she still gets bored steaming peignoir sets, protecting the thong table from shoplifters, and readjusting bras straps for hours on end. Maybe that's why, when a handsome guy named Allan starts hanging around the store for little chats, Moxie sees hope on the horizon. Maybe, just maybe, her employee discount won't go to waste for much longer…

Download or read book The Return of Spring heeled Jack written by Jennifer Caress and published by Black Bed Sheet Books. This book was released on 2012-10-17 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spring-Heeled Jack is a British urban legend, first appearing in 1837. Eye witnesses tell of a man who could leap several stories in the air with little effort. Some say he could breathe blue fire, others say he lured women out of their homes and attacked them by clawing at their faces. By all accounts he was a thief and a menace. Sightings of Spring-Heeled Jack continued for several centuries and crossed numerous continents, but he has been mysteriously absent from the 21st century. Until now. Spring-Heeled Jack breaks into the houses of two women, brutally attacking them both. Police report that a few items from each house were stolen and neither women were critically injured. His appearance is frightening: dressed in all black with hat, full face mask, goggles, cape, shirt, pants, and boots. He then breaks into an antique store, searching for special items for their energies including a rare glass knife. With the correct combination of objects and energies, Jack can open portals to different times and places. Enter Alice, who works at the store. Jack suspects she herself can open portals and the two develop an unlikely alliance in a search for a portal to a mythological utopia.

Download or read book Murder Gets a Life written by Anne George and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-02-24 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patricia Anne can't imagine why Mary Alice is in such an uproar over her son Ray's new bride. Sunshine Dabbs is Ucute as can be," even if she is a bit unconventional, which should hardly come as a shock to Mary Alicc given that she's the one who raised her boy. But with all her motherly instincts, Mary Alice is sure that this sweet little blonde Barbie doll--who met her son in Bora Bora after she won the trip on Wheel of Fortune--thinks she's found herself a fortune in Ray's hefty wallet. The sisters can't wait to get a look at Sunshine's family, and quite a look it turns out to be. As soon as Meemaw Turkett invites Mary Alice and Patricia Anne into her cozy trailer on the family compound they stumble over a corpse, and Meemaw's best hog butchering knife is stuck in its chest. Meemaw, a Cabbage Patch look-alike and Sunshine's grandmother, guardian, and the family matriarch is shocked to pieces and immediately summons the family to her trailer. Pawpaw, a lovable bearded grump has his own trailer, and their grown kids each enjoy a private home-away-from-home on the five-trailer compound. The discovery of the mysterious body brings in Mary Alice's nemesis, good ol' boy Sheriff Reuse, who, she knows from her experience at the Skoot 'n' Boot, is nothing but trouble. Within minutes, the compound is strewn with a weird collection of friends, neighbors and relatives. There's Meemaw's spooky channeler, ready to give guidance as needed; Sunshine's jilted boyfriend skulking around; a bunch of dogs ready to attack...and Kerrigan, Sunshine's mostly absentee mama, who stars in the kind of video flicks that might even shock Mary Alice. Patricia Anne can't imagine why Mary Alice is in such an uproar over her son Ray's new bride. Sunshine Dabbs is Ucute as can be," even if she is a bit unconventional, which should hardly come as a shock to Mary Alicc given that she's the one who raised her boy. But with all her motherly instincts, Mary Alice is sure that this sweet little blonde Barbie doll--who met her son in Bora Bora after she won the trip on Wheel of Fortune--thinks she's found herself a fortune in Ray's hefty wallet. The sisters can't wait to get a look at Sunshine's family, and quite a look it turns out to be. As soon as Meemaw Turkett invites Mary Alice and Patricia Anne into her cozy trailer on the family compound they stumble over a corpse, and Meemaw's best hog butchering knife is stuck in its chest. Meemaw, a Cabbage Patch look-alike and Sunshine's grandmother, guardian, and the family matriarch is shocked to pieces and immediately summons the family to her trailer. Pawpaw, a lovable bearded grump has his own trailer, and their grown kids each enjoy a private home-away-from-home on the five-trailer compound. The discovery of the mysterious body brings in Mary Alice's nemesis, good ol' boy Sheriff Reuse, who, she knows from her experience at the Skoot 'n' Boot, is nothing but trouble. Within minutes, the compound is strewn with a weird collection of friends, neighbors and relatives. There's Meemaw's spooky channeler, ready to give guidance as needed; Sunshine's jilted boyfriend skulking around; a bunch of dogs ready to attack...and Kerrigan, Sunshine's mostly absentee mama, who stars in the kind of video flicks that might even shock Mary Alice.

Download or read book Joe Baker is Dead written by Mary Troy and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using the character of Joe Baker, Troy playfully creates a simple thread of connection among all of the stories in the collection. Yet Joe Baker is not the only unifying force. Each story is set in St. Louis, especially in the southern part of the city, creating a distinctive urban flavor replete with working-class neighbourhoods, corner bars, crumbling shotgun houses, hair salons, and dances in church basements. More important than the city or Joe Baker, however, is faith - faith in the future, in what has been taught, in the responses of others, and in oneself.

Download or read book Close to Home written by Lisa Jackson and published by Zebra Books. This book was released on 2014-05-16 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An atmospheric and riveting novel of suspense from the #1 New York Times bestselling author that uncovers the horrifying secrets buried within a ramshackle house on the shores of Oregon’s wild Columbia River. Will appeal to all fans of thrillers and suspense fiction. “WILL SEND CHILLS DOWN YOUR SPINE.” –Book Reporter Along the shores of Oregon’s wild Columbia River, the Victorian mansion where Sarah McAdams grew up is as foreboding as she remembers. The moment she and her two daughters, Jade and Gracie, pull up the isolated drive, Sarah is beset by uneasy memories—of her cold, distant mother, of the half-sister who vanished without a trace, and of a long-ago night when Sarah was found on the widow’s walk, feverish and delirious. “JACKSON DEFINITELY KNOWS HOW TO JANGLE READERS’ NERVES. . . . PERFECT FOR READERS OF JOY FIELDING OR FANS OF MARY HIGGINS CLARK.” –Booklist But Sarah has vowed to make a fresh start and renovate the old place. Between tending to her girls and the rundown property, she has little time to dwell on the past. . . . Until a new, more urgent menace enters the picture. “A REAL PAGE-TURNER.” –Suspense Magazine One by one, teenage girls are disappearing. Frantic for her daughters’ safety, Sarah feels the house’s walls closing in on her again. Somewhere deep in her memory is the key to a very real danger. And only by confronting her most terrifying fears can she stop the nightmare roaring back to life once more . . .

Download or read book The Last Time I Saw You written by Elizabeth Berg and published by Random House. This book was released on 2010-04-06 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the beloved bestselling author of Home Safe and The Year of Pleasures, comes a wonderful new novel about women and men reconnecting with one another—and themselves—at their fortieth high school reunion. To each of the men and women in The Last Time I Saw You, this reunion means something different—a last opportunity to say something long left unsaid, an escape from the bleaker realities of everyday life, a means to save a marriage on the rocks, or an opportunity to bond with a slightly estranged daughter, if only over what her mother should wear. As the onetime classmates meet up over the course of a weekend, they discover things that will irrevocably affect the rest of their lives. For newly divorced Dorothy Shauman, the reunion brings with it the possibility of finally attracting the attention of the class heartthrob, Pete Decker. For the ever self-reliant, ever left-out Mary Alice Mayhew, it’s a chance to reexamine a painful past. For Lester Heseenpfeffer, a veterinarian and widower, it is the hope of talking shop with a fellow vet—or at least that’s what he tells himself. For Candy Armstrong, the class beauty, it’s the hope of finding friendship before it is too late. As Dorothy, Mary Alice, Lester, Candy, and the other classmates converge for the reunion dinner, four decades melt away: Desires and personalities from their youth reemerge, and new discoveries are made. For so much has happened to them all. And so much can still happen. In this beautiful novel, Elizabeth Berg deftly weaves together stories of roads taken and not taken, choices made and opportunities missed, and the possibilities of second chances. BONUS: This edition contains a The Last Time I Saw You discussion guide and an excerpt from Elizabeth Berg's Once Upon a Time, There Was You.

Download or read book Bergdorf Blondes written by Plum Sykes and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2005-04-07 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you think Brazilian is a nationality, that PJ's are pyjamas and that Beyond is somewhere far away, then you have never met a Bergdorf Blonde. Plum Syke's heroine is British but has moved to America, working for a glossy magazine. She takes us with her into the glamorous world of Park Avenue Princesses who careen through New York in search of the ever elusive 'Fiance,' the perfect fake tan and that Chanel from the sample sale. In a fabulously witty style, Plum Sykes makes us root for her glorious heroine all the way from New York to the South of France and back by PJ (private jet.) She will get her Harry Winston and her Vera Wang wedding dress yet!

Download or read book The Prodigal Daughter written by Jeffrey Archer and published by St. Martin's Paperbacks. This book was released on 2004-05-16 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From international bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, The Prodigal Daughter, "A page-turner" (The Washington Post). HER FUTURE IS AMBITION. With a will of steel, Polish immigrant Florentyna Rosnovski is indeed Abel’s daughter. She shares with her father a love of America, his ideals, and his dream for the future. But she wants more: to be the first female president. HIS FUTURE IS WEALTH. Golden boy Richard Kane was born into a life of luxury. The scion of a banking magnate he is successful, handsome, and determined to carve his own path in the world—with the woman he loves. BUT THEIR PAST HOLDS A SECRET... With Florentyna’s ultimate goal only a heartbeat away, both are about to discover the shattering price of power as a titanic battle of betrayal and deception reaches out from the past—a blood feud between two generations that threatens to destroy everything Florentyna and Richard have fought to achieve. “Archer is a master entertainer.”—Time

Download or read book Approaching New Bethel written by Robert W. Witt and published by PublishAmerica. This book was released on 2007-03-19 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Approaching New Bethel is set in a fictional town in Kentucky and narrates the story of Linda, a bright young Kentuckian who is stifled by the middle-class genteelism and small-town conventions that surround her. Linda is continually defeated by the people who are trying to do the best thing for her... until she tragically takes her own life. The novel opens with Linda's suicide, but flashback scenes portray different episodes in Linda's life that move her toward her suicide while scenes in the present reveal the effect of her death on those close to her."

Download or read book Wishes Are Free written by Diana Mercedes Howell and published by Diana Howell. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten-year-old Rose O'Reilly feels abandoned when her best friend moves two thousand miles away. Determined to find a new best friend, she turns to Grandpa, whose wife - his own best friend - has recently died. They hold Sunday chat cafes in the kitchen and with Grandpa’s help, Rose discovers friends can be found in unexpected places, from a lost dog to a boy with cerebral palsy. Still, she wishes for a new friend to fill the hole in her heart her best friend left behind. If you enjoy heartwarming coming-of-age stories you'll love this intergenerational story of love and friendship that takes place in 1959. From Amazon Reviews: "...a wonderful read, full of positive thoughts and the warmth of friendship," and "Uplifting storyline and lovable characters all infused with a delightful sense of humor."

Download or read book Unmasking the Maverick Prince written by Kristi Gold and published by Silhouette. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SLEEPING WITH A PRINCE? Her assignment was to interviewmillionaire Mitch Warner, theMaverick Prince of Oklahoma, notto sleep with him! But the confirmedbachelor soon had Tori Barnettentering into a scorching affair thathadn't been part of her agenda.Nor had she counted on theunexpected result of their union.…When Mitch made a bet that hewouldn't marry for ten years, hehadn't counted on meeting someone like Tori. Thebrown-eyed beauty had branded him with her white-hotkisses and had him contemplating commitment. Yet hecould tell she was keeping secrets, and the man who hadbeen burned too many times wondered if giving his heartto Tori meant the world learning of his every desire.

Download or read book Spoonbenders written by Daryl Gregory and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2017-06-27 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEBULA AWARD FINALIST ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR "Hilarious, heartfelt and brimming with humanity.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest Teddy Telemachus is a charming con man with a gift for sleight of hand and some shady underground associates. In need of cash, he tricks his way into a classified government study about telekinesis and its possible role in intelligence gathering. There he meets Maureen McKinnon, and it’s not just her piercing blue eyes that leave Teddy forever charmed, but her mind—Maureen is a genuine psychic of immense and mysterious power. After a whirlwind courtship, they marry, have three gifted children, and become the Amazing Telemachus Family, performing astounding feats across the country. Irene is a human lie detector. Frankie can move objects with his mind. And Buddy, the youngest, can see the future. Then one night tragedy leaves the family shattered. Decades later, the Telemachuses are not so amazing. Irene is a single mom whose ear for truth makes it hard to hold down a job, much less hold together a relationship. Frankie’s in serious debt to his dad’s old mob associates. Buddy has completely withdrawn into himself and inexplicably begun digging a hole in the backyard. To make matters worse, the CIA has come knocking, looking to see if there’s any magic left in the Telemachus clan. And there is: Irene’s son Matty has just had his first out-of-body experience. But he hasn’t told anyone, even though his newfound talent might just be what his family needs to save themselves—if it doesn’t tear them apart in the process. Harnessing the imaginative powers that have made him a master storyteller, Daryl Gregory delivers a stunning, laugh-out-loud new novel about a family of gifted dreamers and the invisible forces that bind us all.