books.

Books 1 and 2 of the Christmas at the Winter Palace Novella Collection. Set in the times of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine the Great, Alyona Arkadyevna leaves her sheltered life in Kazan for the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg.

“I make no pretensions of being anything close to an honorable man. However, as we have been joined in matrimony, I shall do my best to behave in a manner more worthy. More than that, I cannot promise.” Not exactly the words a girl longs to hear on her wedding day. Still, Countess Alyona Arkadyevna Vorontsova enters her arranged marriage with dreams of a happy family on a happy estate. Her much older husband, Count Lev Petrovich Vorontsov, enters the marriage eager for a son and heir. When children are slow in coming, things begin to fall apart. Can Alyona still find peace, and even joy, when dream after dream fades away?

(Christmas at the Winter Palace Book 1) Alyona Arkadyevna Balashova dreams of the glamor and romance of the faraway Russian court. When her father, the much decorated General Balashov, agrees to take her to St. Petersburg for the summer season, even Empress Elizabeth sends gifts. All of Alyona’s dreams are finally coming true. But then the unthinkable happens, and Alyona’s future hopes are lost forever. Or so it seems… until Empress Elizabeth summons her to St. Petersburg to live as her ward. At the Imperial court, things are not as Alyona had imagined. She discovers a beautiful exterior often disguises something darker and uglier—in sumptuous palaces as well splendidly dressed courtiers. Can she still find happiness in the midst of it all?

When past secrets hold the only key to hope for the future… Caroline Chap man is reeling from a broken engagement. Determined to start again, she moves cross-country for her d ream job of planning events in the historical mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. Just as her life is getting back on track, she gets an email that shakes her very foundations. Linda Riley’s life looks picture perfect – a wonderful husband, two great kids, involved in church and the community. Then comes the diagnosis that shatters the facade. In order to save her son’s life, she must reveal secrets that can rip everything apart. Connected by more than painful circumstances, these two women discover a sacred bond. In this beautiful story of love, loss, and the fight for life,…

A Tale of Unexpected Friendship and Old Hollywood Glamour Lauren Summers is in hiding. Her fashion house internship was supposed to launch her career, but a red carpet accident has left her blackballed. The only job she can find comes with little pay, but at least offers a free place to live–a rundown cottage in the shadow of a cliff-side mansion. Planning to live on savings until she figures out what’s next, she’s unprepared to be contacted by a reporter. Kendall Joiner is researching Charlotte Montgomery, a former Hollywood ingénue who lives a reclusive life in the cliff-side mansion. Rumors have swirled for decades about Charlotte and now, Kendall wants to find the real story. In return, she may just have the key to getting Lauren back into the fashion…

A Contemporary Drama of Family Lies and Forgotten Loves   After her father and stepmother’s accidental death, Kelli Huddleston sorts through their belongings and learns a shocking secret. Years before, her father faked his death during a boat wreck at sea–and faked Kelli’s as well. He’d run from a wife, a son, and a daughter back in Tennessee, meaning Kelli has a family she’s never known. She’s already cashed the payout on her dad’s life insurance check and looks at it as her ticket to a new life. The lure and puzzle of digging into this hidden past is too much to resist, and she soon finds herself in Tennessee. When the trip threatens to open doors to the past better left shut, and her plans for the future are…

A story of shattered dreams and second chances A talented runner fully committed to Olympic dreams, Sabrina Rice’s future was shattered by a devastating diagnosis. One forfeited scholarship and several years later, she has new goals and dreams that have nothing to do with running–something that’s become far too painful to think on. Until the day she sees Brandy Philip running across the community college campus, easily outpacing security. Sabrina immediately recognizes world-class speed, and it’s all the more painful that it belongs to a teenage graffiti artist. When a chance encounter brings the two young women together, Sabrina becomes Brandy’s best hope for staying out of juvenile hall. Soon, Sabrina begins to feel an uncomfortable nudge that her new life is just about to be toppled…that God may be…

  Julie Charlton is at the breaking point. She’s overwhelmed and burned out, and in today’s unrelenting society, her kids are, too. When her sister-in-law Susan, a Martha Stewart-in-training, lands the chance to participate in a reality TV series promoting simple living, and needs another family to join her, it seems like the perfect opportunity. The location is an idyllic farm outside an Amish community in Tennessee. Julie, with her two children, joins Susan and her teenage daughter for a summer adventure. Susan needs to succeed in order to become self-sufficient after an ugly divorce, Julie needs to slow down long enough to remember what her priorities are and regain a sense of purpose and meaning. It becomes clear from the start that “living simple” is no simple matter. With…

  Grace Graham returns to Shoal Creek, Tennessee with her four-year-old son on a short unpaid leave from work. Her goal: help her father recover from surgery, and spend some quality time with her sister. But Shoal Creek seems more backward than ever after her years in California, and it’s hard to find organic food anywhere. When the unthinkable happens and her son is diagnosed with measles, Grace’s fears over modern medicine take a dangerous turn. Worse, the town has fallen into quarantine and its residents focus their anger and blame on Grace. She is alone and scared, until one brave woman chooses to reach out a hand of forgiveness and mercy. But when the outbreak takes a life-threatening turn, will Grace be able to forgive herself?

By Kathryn Cushman and Sheila Walsh Angels eagerly watch over Annie Fletcher’s every move. She just doesn’t know it yet. When Annie Fletcher returns to Charleston to see her younger sister, Sarah, receive her master’s degree, she finds herself riding in the back of an ambulance, watching helplessly as Sarah fights for life. During the ride, Sarah appears to talk to someone who is not there, humming a melody Annie has never heard before. Neighbor Ethan McKinney is there to lend a shoulder when Sarah unexpectedly dies. And as a carpenter, Ethan volunteers to help Annie get the Fletcher family home into shape for selling. Ethan’s presence is distracting, but what troubles Annie is her neighbor Tammy’s 12-year-old son. Keith has Down Syndrome and the guile to believe he can…