Narrator

Erica Sullivan

Erica Sullivan
  • Aven Green, the remarkable heroine of Dusti Bowling’s Life of a Cactus series, marches to her own beat in this hilarious, upbeat, and unforgettable chapter book. 

    Third-grader Aven Green is an expert soccer player. She even has her own top secret moves! But when her friend Sujata joins the team, Aven has a hard time learning to help the new player shine. When the time comes to choose a new team captain, will Aven learn to share the spotlight and understand what it means to be a team player?

  • Aven Green, the remarkable heroine of Dusti Bowling’s Life of a Cactus series, marches to her own beat in this hilarious, upbeat, and unforgettable chapter book.

    Third-grader Aven Green is a real professional musician! She just needs to choose what instrument to play. When she decides to try the piano, Aven is disappointed when she can’t master Mozart in one whole day. To pick up Aven’s beat, her parents take her for a four-hour drive to see someone just like her play the guitar. With new inspiration and a special gift from her great-grandma, Aven is ready to take on the school talent show. Will she be ready in time? Or will she blow her big chance?

  • Now that third-grader Aven Green has retired from sleuthing, it’s time to conquer a whole new world: baking!

    Aven knows she is an expert baker of cakes and cookies since she has been baking with her mom for a really long time. Plus no one bakes quite like she does. She cracks eggs and measures sugar and flour with her feet—plus measuring cups—since she was born without arms.

    And now Aven has her eye on the prize: a beautiful blue ribbon for baking at the county fair. So she teams up with her friends Kayla, Emily, and Sujata. But it turns out they all have very different tastes and a lot of opinions about baking. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

  • Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a really long time—a whole month! 

    She has solved many important cases like The Mystery of the Cranky Mom, The Mystery of the Missing Ice Cream, and The Mystery of the Smelly Feet. Her record is nearly 100 percent, with only The Mystery of the Cereal in My Underpants remaining unsolved to this day.

    Aven asks all the right questions, wields her detective kit carefully, and follows up on every clue. Then her teacher’s lunch bag, with her lunch still in it, is taken, and Aven’s great-grandma’s beloved dog goes missing. Can this perceptive detective crack two cases at the same time?

    Luckily, Aven has a superpowered brain full of lots of extra brain cells to take on both cases. See, she was born without arms, so all of the cells that were supposed to make her arms went into making her brain instead. At least that’s her working theory for The Mystery of Why I Have So Many Extra Brain Cells.

  • The bestselling suspense author shows her softer side in this endearing love story of two searching hearts …

    Georgia Enright has dedicated her life to dance. But at age twenty-six, her hopes of becoming a lead dancer are dashed. So she ventures to Pumpkin Hill, an old farm owned by her newly found half sister, Laura Bishop, to contemplate her future. There, discovering an affinity for country life—and a barn just perfect for giving dance lessons—Georgia enjoys an oasis of peace … until Matthew Bishop arrives.

    An abandoned child taken in by the same parents who adopted Laura, Matt has plans of his own for that barn—plans that include a veterinary clinic, not a ballet studio! The only thing the rugged doctor resents more than Laura's interest in her birth family is his having to share the premises with one of them. Yet he can't deny there's something about Georgia that has brightened his world—and if he's not careful, she just may dance into his heart.

  • Twenty-eight, single, and struggling to keep her little shop of handicrafts afloat, Zoey Enright is pleasantly surprised when a knockout audition for a home-shopping network lands her an impressive job as an on-air saleswoman. Little does she know, Delaney O’Connor, the company’s CEO, is bringing his only grandson and the hero of Zoey’s childhood, Ben Pierce, home from Europe to run the network.

    Ben’s one true passion was Grand Prix racing—until he laid eyes on Zoey again, all grown up and more beautiful than ever. But he also must face his haunted past and the near-fatal accident that brought his driving career to a screeching halt. Confronting painful emotions he crossed an ocean to forget, Ben must barter his old dreams for new ones if he and Zoey are to claim the wonderful future they are meant to share.

  • Though India Devlin left her hometown to pursue a brilliant career as a criminal prosecutor, she has always loved historic Devlin’s Light, visiting as often as her busy schedule permits. But when her brother is found murdered on the steps of the lighthouse—the town’s namesake—she returns to uncover who killed Ry. When her brother’s good friend, Nick Enright, offers to help in her investigation, India accepts—after all, he’s the one who found Ry that night, and heard his mysterious last words.

    As the list of suspects begins to narrow, India and Nick find themselves undeniably drawn to each other—a feeling India isn’t sure she is ready to admit. Soon a wonderful new emotion is glowing at Devlin’s Light—a sweet, irresistible, very mutual attraction—intensifying with each wave that crashes on the beach of the enchanting town by the bay.

  • Nothing is as it appears in this twisting novel from the nationally bestselling author of Dead Even

    A fashion magazine features editor, Leah McDevitt is haunted by the memory of her cherished younger sister, Melissa, who vanished years ago. Missy, whose extraordinary eyes—one blue, one brown—may have lured her abductor to her. When Leah receives a letter from death row inmate Raymond Lambert, she eagerly agrees to pay him the long-standing reward for information about Melissa—even if it means coming face-to-face with a notorious serial killer.

    But before Lambert can impart his secrets, he himself is killed. Devastated but determined, Leah heads to the Maine woods to seek out private investigator Ethan Sanger, who authored a book about Lambert in exchange for yet another of Lambert’s terrible secrets. Leah and Ethan strike a sparking passion with the power to heal their painful pasts. But someone has his eye on Leah—someone who knows more than he should … and who won’t be satisfied until Leah sees the truth with her own eyes.

  • FBI agent Genna Snow’s successful career cannot fully erase the heartache of a shattered childhood. After breaking the silence surrounding the abusive acts of a summer camp counselor, young Genna was abandoned by her family even as justice was being served in the courtroom. Years later, Genna was forced to relive the pain of abandonment when the man she loved, special agent John Mancini, walked out of her life without explanation.

    Now, having returned from his own private hell, John is determined to win Genna back. Even as she struggles to keep their relationship strictly professional, Genna is selected for a special FBI team led by John, charged with tracking down the person behind a series of seemingly random abductions of young women across the country. But as a terrifying pattern begins to emerge, Genna faces the chilling realization that someone else from her past may be on the way back into her life—and that she stands in danger of losing more than just her heart.

  • In her New Jersey town, beautiful, vibrant Athena Moran is well known as the young widow of a police officer slain in the line of duty and as the daughter of a beloved former city councilman. But when she meets Quentin Forbes, a tough newspaper reporter, emotions that she believed died along with her husband start to stir again.

    Then she is asked to run for mayor, and the political contest that follows will test her newfound feelings to the breaking point, teaching her that things are not always as they appear and that much of what she has believed is more smoke than substance.

    The new direction Athena chooses tests her strength and courage and ultimately leads her to see herself and everyone she knows in a totally new and different light.

  • Reality is only an illusion. Except for those who can control it …

    Worst. Birthday. Ever.

    My first boyfriend dumped me—happy birthday, Josie!—my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening …

    Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.

    When hottily-hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead …

  • From Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini comes this historical mystery, The Paradise Affair.

    Quincannon’s pursuit of two con men who have absconded to Hawaii with a considerable sum of his employer’s assets dovetails nicely with Sabina’s vision of a second honeymoon. But neither is wont to stay out of trouble, and Sabina inadvertently becomes involved in a locked room murder involving a dying message in Honolulu.

  • In the latest mystery from S. J. Rozan, Bill Smith and Lydia Chin must track down a serial killer stalking women in New York’s contemporary art scene.

    Former client Sam Tabor, just out of Greenhaven after a five-year homicide stint, comes to Bill Smith with a strange request. A colossally talented painter whose parole was orchestrated by art world movers and shakers, Sam’s convinced that since he’s been out he’s killed two women. He doesn’t remember the killings but he wants Smith, one of the few people he trusts, to investigate and prove him either innocent or guilty.

    NYPD detective Angela Grimaldi thinks Sam’s “a weirdo.” Smith has no argument with that: diagnosed with a number of mental disorders over the years, Sam self-medicates with alcohol, loses focus (except when he’s painting), and has few friends. But Smith doesn’t think that adds up to serial killer. He enlists Lydia Chin to help prove it.

    Smith and Chin delve into the world surrounding Sam Tabor, including his brother, two NYPD detectives, and various other artists, dealers, collectors, curators, and art connoisseurs. No answers appear. Evidence is found and lost again. And more bodies turn up.

    Sam Tabor might be just a crazy artist. But someone is killing people in his orbit. If not Sam, who? Why? And who will be next?

  • After a tough year losing her mom and bills mounting, Holly Yates is in for a lonely Christmas. But when she hears a news report that the small principality of Coronia is looking for their lost princess, Holly is astounded to recognize the baby photo. It’s her!

    Felix, also a Coronia royal, whisks Holly into her very own fairy tale including a castle nestled within the quaint snow-covered Coronia capitol. With Felix by her side as she meets the people of her would-be kingdom and prepares to attend a ball in her honor, Holly begins to fall in love, not just with Coronia, but also with the would-be prince.

    Will the handsome prince still be at the side of this unexpected fairy-tale princess when the clock strikes midnight?

  • In this debut psychological thriller, two women on opposite sides of the law delve into the heart of a years-old crime in order to stop a future one.

    Claire Fontaine is convinced that her ex-husband killed their teenage daughter all those years back and believes he’s capable of killing again. When she sees him move in with another woman, to play stepfather for a girl the same age as the one she lost, Claire tries desperately to warn the new bride of the danger her family is in. But when the woman dismisses her admonishments, she feels she must take matters into her own hands and stop the crime she failed to stop before.

    Sloan Wilson left the LAPD to work as a “sin eater,” a contractor for hire who specializes in cleaning up inconvenient situations―situations which, for whatever reason, are better handled outside the law. Like, for example, an ex-wife who stalks her former husband, throws paint on his door, and makes vague, violent threats to his new wife. A domestic dispute like that can get messy when the cops are called; plus, there is a risk that their presence will aggravate the woman in question.

    As Sloan investigates her newest mission, however, she finds that there is more to it than meets the eye, uncovering a history of trauma that casts aspersions on the stories of both Claire and Sloan’s client. In a case where objective truth is increasingly muddled by passions, suspicions, and fears, she soon loses the ability to distinguish fact from fiction. But Sloan knows one thing for certain: sometimes the only way to prevent a crime is by committing one.

  • She thought her prayers had been answered. Now she’s praying for time.

    Vanessa Everly is a successful actress in Los Angeles, but she’s still traumatized by the night that ripped her world apart. Eight years ago, Vanessa and her younger sister Roxanne were attacked on the beach in their hometown in Oregon—and Roxanne was kidnapped. Devastated, Vanessa ended her relationship with handsome medical student Christian Montgomery, whose troubled brother Brody was the police’s prime suspect.

    Now, Vanessa receives the news she never thought she’d hear: Roxanne is alive. Arriving back in Everly Cliffs, Vanessa is reunited with her sister—and with Christian. Roxanne can’t remember what happened that night, but someone else can … Who’s making threatening phone calls to Vanessa, and why has Brody suddenly gone missing?

    Vanessa’s torment should be over, but it’s about to get much darker …

  • In the face of overwhelming obstacles, she’ll need courage, grit, and a tender heart

    Worie Dressar is seventeen years old when influenza and typhoid ravage her Appalachian Mountain community in 1877, leaving behind a growing number of orphaned children with no way to care for themselves. Worie’s mother has been secretly feeding several of these little ones on Sourwood Mountain. But when tragedy strikes, Worie is left to figure out why and how she was caring for them.

    Plagued with two good-for-nothing brothers—one greedy and the other a drunkard—Worie must fight to save her home and the children now in her begrudging care. Along the way, she discovers the beauty of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness as she cares for all of Momma’s children.

  • In this heartbreaking Turkish novel based on the real-life sinking of a refugee ship during World War II, an elderly professor leaves America to revisit the city where he last glimpsed his beloved wife.

    Istanbul, 2001. Maya Duran is a single mother struggling to balance a demanding job at Istanbul University with the challenges of raising a teenage son. Her worries increase when she is tasked with looking after the enigmatic Maximilian Wagner, an elderly German-born Harvard professor visiting the city at the university’s invitation. Although he is distant at first, Maya gradually learns of the tragic circumstances that brought him to Istanbul sixty years before, and the dark realities that continue to haunt him.

    Inspired by the 1942 Struma disaster, in which nearly eight hundred Jewish refugees perished after the ship carrying them to Palestine was torpedoed off the coast of Turkey, Serenade for Nadia is both a poignant love story and a gripping testament to the power of human connection in crisis.

  • The Stolen Gold Affair is the latest charming historical mystery in Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini’s detective series.

    In response to a string of gold thefts in a Mother Lode mine, Quincannon goes undercover as a newly hired miner to identify and capture the men responsible.

    Meanwhile, Sabina finds herself not only making plans for her and Quincannon’s wedding, but also investigating both an audacious real estate scam and an abusive young man’s villainous secret.

  • A distinctive, funny, inspiring, and intimate dive into urban nature.

    With wonder and a sense of humor, Nature Obscura author Kelly Brenner aims to help us rediscover our connection to the natural world that is just outside our front door—we just need to know where to look.

    Through explorations of a rich and varied urban landscape, Brenner reveals the complex micro-habitats and surprising nature found in the middle of a city. In her hometown of Seattle, which has plowed down hills, cut through the land to connect fresh- and saltwater, and paved over much of the rest, she exposes a diverse range of strange and unknown creatures. From shore to wetland, forest to neighborhood park, and graveyard to backyard, Brenner uncovers how our land alterations have impacted nature, for good and bad, through the wildlife and plants that live alongside us, often unseen. These stories meld together, in the same way our ecosystems, species, and human history are interconnected across the urban environment.

  • Endometriosis is a physically and mentally debilitating disease that has tortured women for centuries. It currently affects 176 million women of childbearing age worldwide, including one in ten in the US. Despite those startling statistics, this horrific and incurable ailment is still relatively unknown to the general population and medical professionals alike.

    Symptoms of heavy periods and excruciating pain most often begin in middle school or high school, yet doctors take an average of twelve years to diagnose it in a patient. As a result, these undiagnosed and misdiagnosed women suffer into at least their mid-twenties or early thirties, repeatedly told that the pain is in their minds, that it’s simply part of becoming a woman, or that it’s caused by some other disease or condition. That nonsense must stop, and it must stop now!

    This guide will explain what endo is in terms that adolescents can understand, along with potential remedies, treatments to avoid, and how to manage the psychological and social effects of the disease. It will also include riveting stories from women in their teens and mid-twenties, and from those closest to them such as mothers, fathers, teachers, and coaches.

    One of the most terrifying aspects of having endo is feeling like nobody believes the pain is real or severe, which can cause a woman to feel scared, isolated, and depressed. This guide will fully arm her with the truth and knowledge about the disease so that she can overcome her fears and confidently advocate for herself. If her cry for help has been dismissed by anyone, she will be able to educate them so that they can empathize with her and fully support her in her quest for healing.

  • This groundbreaking multicultural anthology shares moving personal stories about the impacts of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

    An estimated 5.7 million Americans are afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease, including ten percent of those over sixty-five, and it is the sixth leading cause of death. But its effects are more pervasive: For the nearly six million sufferers, there are more than sixteen million family caregivers and many more family members. Alzheimer’s wreaks havoc not only on brain cells—it is a disease of the spirit and heart for not only those who suffer from it, but also for their families.

    This groundbreaking anthology presents forty narratives, both nonfiction and fiction, that together capture the impact and complexity of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on patients, as well as their caregivers and family. Deeply personal, recounting the wrenching course of a disease that kills a loved one twice—first they forget who they are, and then the body succumbs—these stories also show how witnessing the disease and caring for someone with it can be powerfully transformative, calling forth amazing strength and grace.

  • Will I still be loved if I show people who I really am?

    Four high school seniors. Four secrets about to be told.

    If Indie had it her way, she would never choose to river raft with three other high school seniors, mostly strangers to each other, from her journalism class.

    A loner, a jock, an outsider, an Instagram influencer. At first they can’t see anything that they have in common. As the trip unfolds, the unpredictable river forces them to rely on each other. Social masks start to fall as, one-by-one, each teen reveals a deep secret the other three don’t know.

    One is harboring immense grief and unwilling to forgive after the death of a loved one. One is dealing with a new disability and an uncertain future. One is fearful of the repercussions of coming out. One is hiding behind a carefully curated “perfect” image on Instagram.

    Before they get to the end of Hells Canyon, they’ll know the truth about each other and, more importantly, learn something new about themselves.

    What the Other Three Don’t Know is a poignant and gripping YA novel about the unlikely friends who accept you for who you really are and the power of self-acceptance.

  • A romantic comedy about death and second chances

    Thirty-year-old Nashvillian Julia Holmes is just weeks away from becoming Mrs. Aaron DeMinthe. For as long as she can remember, she’s dreamed of getting married at Whitfield Chapel, and now her dreams are about to be realized. Julia has meticulously planned every detail of her big day, from the flowers to her gown, but the one thing she didn’t plan for is Aaron’s announcement: he needs to tick something off his bucket list before they tie the knot, and that something is to hike the last leg of the Appalachian Trail—a project several years in the making.

    Julia is appalled by this idea and tries to dissuade him from going, but his mind is made up and so she reluctantly gives him her blessing. Less than forty-eight hours later, as he summits Mount Katahdin, the last mountain of the trek, he’s struck by lightning and killed, effectively kicking the bucket while ticking something off his bucket list.

    Julia is grief stricken and inconsolable, and despite the fact that she’s surrounded by her best gal pals, her parents, and Lincoln Douglas—who was on Mt. Katahdin with Aaron when he died—she loses her grip on reality and quickly starts unraveling at the seams. Returning to Whitfield in search of closure, she happens upon the Chapel’s wedding director, who offhandedly mentions that they’re looking for a weekend wedding assistant, and before she can even think about it, she takes the job. As she ushers four brides a weekend down the aisle she was supposed to walk down herself, Julia tries to understand why she said “I Do” to a job she never set out to get, in a place she’d only meant to occupy for an afternoon, and wonders if she’ll ever find true love again.

  • Go deep into your dreams and discover their hidden meanings.

    No matter how weird or out there your dreams might be, you can learn to interpret their meanings. With The Dream Interpretation Handbook, you’ll be able to access the mystery behind your wildest dreams and use what you discover to connect more deeply with yourself and make changes in your waking life.

    This book offers a comprehensive guide to the dream interpretation process, including methods for deciphering the plot lines and connections within your dreams, as well as the symbology behind colors, numbers, and common tropes (like teeth or falling).

    The Dream Interpretation Handbook includes:

    • The best of both worlds—Explore theories and studies about dream interpretation based on both science and mysticism.
    • Interpret and apply—Find ways to understand what your dreams are telling you―and how to carry those meanings into your daily life.
    • Dream dictionary—Identify over one hundred symbols―like elephants, money, and loved ones―and what they represent.

    Dream interpretation is easier than you think―and The Dream Interpretation Handbook proves it.

  • Fall asleep, stay asleep, wake up rested―proven strategies for beating insomnia.

    Make your bed and actually sleep in it. The Book of Sleep provides dozens of quick, easy, and evidence-based strategies that are more effective and sustainable than sleep medication for people who suffer from insomnia.

    Based in CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia), the techniques in this book were developed by a clinical psychologist who specializes in insomnia treatment. Find the relief you need and wake up feeling truly restored. A good night’s sleep isn’t just a dream anymore.

    The Book of Sleep includes:

    • Stand-alone strategies―Each helpful strategy is complete by itself so you can pick this book up anywhere and find help.
    • What’s your sleep pattern?―Keep a daily log of the quantity and quality of your sleep so you can remember details that are helpful in addressing your insomnia.
    • Sleep tight―From kicking caffeine to keeping cool, get pointers on how to properly set the stage for restful sleep.

    Rise and truly shine. Follow the seventy-five effective sleep methods in this book and get out of bed feeling your best.

  • An exploration of the earth’s last wild frontier, filled with high-stakes stories that explores a vast territory undergoing tremendous change and the people and places facing an uncertain future

    On a life raft in the Mediterranean, a teenager from Ghana wonders whether he will reach Europe alive, and if he does, whether he will be allowed to stay. In the North Atlantic, a young chef disappears from a cruise ship, leaving a mystery for his friends and family to solve. A water-squatting community battles eviction from a harbor in a Pacific Northwest town, raising the question of who owns the water.

    The Imperiled Ocean by ocean journalist Laura Trethewey is a deeply reported work of narrative journalism that follows people as they head out to sea. What they discover holds inspiring and dire implications for the life of the ocean―and for all of us back on land.

    As The Imperiled Ocean unfolds, battles are fought, fortunes made, lives lost, and the ocean approaches an uncertain future. Behind this human drama, the ocean is growing ever more unstable, threatening to upend life on land. As we explore with Tretheway, we meet biologist Erin Stoddard tracking sturgeon in the Pacific Northwest. Unable to stop the development and pollution destroying the fish’s habitat, Stoddard races to learn about the fish before it disappears. This prehistoric fish has survived more than 300 million years on earth and could hold important truths about how humanity might make itself amenable to a changing ocean. As a fisher and scientist, Erin’s ability to listen to the water becomes a parable for what faces the ocean today. By eavesdropping on an imperiled world, he shows a way we can move forward to save the oceans we all share―through listening and discovery.

  • A practical, bipartisan call to action from the world’s leading thinkers on the environment and sustainability

    Sustainability has emerged as a global priority over the past several years. The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the adoption of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals through the United Nations have highlighted the need to address critical challenges, like the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, water shortages, and air pollution. But in the United States, partisan divides, regional disputes, and deep disagreements over core principles have made it nearly impossible to chart a course toward a sustainable future.

    This timely new book, edited by celebrated scholar Daniel C. Esty, offers fresh thinking and forward-looking solutions from environmental thought leaders across the political spectrum. The book’s forty essays cover such subjects as ecology, environmental justice, Big Data, public health, and climate change, all with an emphasis on sustainability. This book focuses on moving toward sustainability through actionable, bipartisan approaches based on rigorous analytical research.

  • Millennials vs. all other generations

    Everyone reads the headlines. Millennials aren’t buying diamonds or saving for retirement. Millennials want cushy jobs handed to them by organizations with futuristic nap pods. Millennials are killing the housing market because they eat too many avocados.

    The truth is, millennials were raised being told they could do anything if they worked hard, and then they worked hard only to be told the world owes them nothing. Here’s a headline people need to read: Millennials were set up.

    The strength of generational differences: The older generations begrudge so-called dependence on technology and social media, but this connection allows millennials to join together and adapt to new challenges faster than ever before. It allows people to plan massive socio-political movements at the drop of a hat, learn about new concepts and cultures, and understand more about ourselves and each other.

    Social media and social awareness: Social media has spread the word about recognizing emotional abuse and its effects on mental health and behavior, inspiring younger generations to take back agency and power. For every injustice someone experiences, they can find someone else to say, “Me too. You are not alone.”

    Millennials rising and revolting: The tide of young adults standing up for themselves is culminating in massive societal change. The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation uncovers the misconceptions about millennials, examining not only their unique strengths but also the baggage they have inherited from Baby Boomers. It shows just how different millennials are from previous generations and why that’s a very good thing.

  • Even good parents often underestimate the dangers their children face. Research indicates that one in four females and one in six males are sexually abused before age eighteen. In most cases, the enemy is not a faceless stranger; it’s someone you know and trust—a neighbor, a coach, or even a family member.

    This book provides practical steps to ensure you’re doing all you can to reduce the risks of abuse. But since you cannot be with your children 24/7, it goes beyond what you can do as a parent to teach you how to increase your child’s own awareness and strategies in the face of potential dangers—without making them fearful.

    Dr. Robinson, whose decades-long practice focuses on abused and endangered children, calls on her own case studies to show age-appropriate conversation starters for parents, teaching them how
    to ask the right questions and provide the right boundaries.

    This book will help you move from fear to confidence on this heavy topic that is just too important to ignore.

  • The Triumph of the Egg is a fictional panorama of a great region of our country, unfolded by a writer who—to quote the New York Times—“depicts life in the Midwest as Dostoevsky pictured the many colored life of Russia, with almost as wonderful a touch of genius, with a more concentrated and daring skill.”

    This coveted 1921 collection is an example of what a book of stories can be when a writer of vision deals with the materials of American life.

  • Sarah Morgan Dawson used her diary to record her thoughts and experiences from 1862 to 1865, during the height of the American Civil War. A Confederate Girl’s Diary provides a thorough account of civilian life in Louisiana during and after the war.

    “I wrote a description of the whole, just a few hours after it occurred…Early in the war I began to keep a diary and continued until the very end; I had to find some vent for my feelings, and I would not make an exhibition of myself by talking, as so many women did. I have written while resting to recover breath in the midst of a stampede; I have even written with shells bursting over the house in which I sat, ready to flee but waiting for my mother and sisters to finish their preparations.”

  • Addie loves nothing more than curling up on the couch with her dog, Duck, and watching The Great British Baking Show with her mom. It’s one of the few things that can help her relax when her OCD kicks into overdrive. She counts everything. All the time. She can’t stop. Rituals and rhythms. It’s exhausting.

    When Fitz was diagnosed with schizophrenia, he named the voices in his head after famous country singers. He loves puns, foreign films, and T-shirts with witty sayings. The adolescent psychiatric ward at Seattle Regional Hospital isn’t exactly the ideal place to meet your soul mate, but when Addie meets Fitz, they immediately connect over their shared love of words, appreciate each other’s quick wit, and wish they could both make more sense of their lives.

    Fitz is haunted by his past, and he’s often not sure what’s real. One memory weighs heavily on his mind—a tragic death he fears he may have caused—but he knows if he can just get to San Juan Island, everything will be okay. If not, he risks falling into a downward spiral that may keep him in the hospital indefinitely.

    Escaping the hospital becomes the first step of a journey for Fitz and Addie as they learn about life and love, forgiveness and courage, and what’s necessary to let go and what’s worth waiting for.

  • Erik and Emily skillfully show it is possible to live big on a shoestring budget while giving their family an astonishing education in adventure, creativity, purpose, and grit. Linda and Richard Eyre are the bestselling authors of Teaching Your Children Values

    Working the night shift as a temp in a high-rise cubicle, Erik Orton knew something had to change. He felt the responsibility of providing for his wife and their five children, the youngest with Down syndrome, but craved a life that offered more than just surviving.

    Watching the sailboats on the Hudson River during his sunset dinner breaks, Erik dared to dream. What would it be like to leave the hustle of the city and instead spend a year on a sailboat, somewhere beautiful, as a family? Despite having no sailing experience, his wife Emily’s phobia of deep water, and already stretching every dollar to pay rent and buy groceries, the family of seven turned their excuses into reasons and their fears into motivation. Sure, they would miss their friends, they could go broke, they could get injured or die. Worst of all, they could humiliate themselves by trying something audacious and failing. But the little time they still had together as a family, before their oldest daughter left for college, was drifting away. The Ortons cast off the life they knew to begin an uncertain journey of 5,000 miles between New York City and the Caribbean, ultimately arriving at a new place within themselves.

    A portrait of a captivating and resilient family and a celebration of the courage it takes to head for something over the horizon, this is a deeply compelling story, told alternately by Erik and Emily, for all those who dream of leaving routine in their wake.

  • Discover the gift of friendship!

    In a time when many women feel lonely and isolated, Girls’ Club calls us to embrace the delight and comfort that can be found in life-giving friendships with women―and to cultivate relationships that not only offer emotional affirmation and acceptance but also inspire, educate, and stretch us to live out our God-given potential.

    Told through stories and encouragement based on the authors’ experiences―Sally, a seasoned mother and well-beloved author; her daughter Sarah, an Oxford scholar and new mother; and her youngest daughter Joy, a professional young woman pursuing her doctorate―Girls’ Club will speak to the importance of cultivating deep and lasting friendship at every stage in life.

    Join Sally, Sarah, and Joy as they explore the power, difficulties, potential, beauty, and satisfaction of friendships that help us live purposeful, Godly lives and that satisfy our longing for meaningful and intimate companionship.

  • The forest brought them together. What’s in it could tear them apart.

    Maggie Sullivan has returned to Wolfe Creek, determined to find out why her best friend vanished one fog-shrouded night a year ago. But it quickly becomes clear that if the residents of the secluded mountain town know what happened, they aren’t talking.

    Sheriff’s deputy Koda Wolfe reluctantly agrees to help Maggie, even as he tries to convince her to leave town for her own good. Soon he’s compelled to protect her from herself, his family’s ancient curse, and a killer who could strike again.

    The nights heat up in more ways than one as Maggie and Koda delve deeper into the haunting disappearance. The eerie woods come alive with secrets bound to tear them apart, while someone is watching their every move.

  • When you hear a riveting story, does it thrill your heart and stir your soul? Do you hunger for truth and goodness? Do you secretly relate to Belle’s delight in the library in Beauty and the Beast?

    If so, you may be on your way to being a book girl.

    Books were always Sarah Clarkson’s delight. Raised in the company of the lively Anne of Green Gables, the brave Pevensie children of Narnia, and the wise Austen heroines, she discovered reading early on as a daily gift, a way of encountering the world in all its wonder. But what she came to realize as an adult was just how powerfully books had shaped her as a woman to live a story within that world, to be a lifelong learner, to grasp hope in struggle, and to create and act with courage.

    She’s convinced that books can do the same for you.

    Join Sarah in exploring the reading life as a gift and an adventure, one meant to enrich, broaden, and delight you in each season of your life as a woman. In Book Girl, you’ll discover

    • how reading can strengthen your spiritual life and deepen your faith,
    • why a journey through classic literature might be just what you need (and where to begin),
    • how stories form your sense of identity,
    • how Sarah’s parents raised her to be a reader―and what you can do to cultivate a love of reading in the growing readers around you, and
    • 20+ annotated book lists, including some old favorites and many new discoveries.

    Whether you’ve long considered yourself a reader or have dreams of becoming one, Book Girl will draw you into the life-giving journey of becoming a woman who reads and lives well.

  • Ten months ago, Allie Harper—smart, feisty, too broke to get her car fixed—rescued Thomas Bennington III—a hot, blind, college professor—from a crosswalk in her dicey Cleveland neighborhood. When Allie saved Tom and his groceries from traffic, she unwittingly retrieved his winning $550 million MondoMegaJackpot ticket. The payout steered the two of them into a wild dash from romance to mayhem and multiple murders.

    Nothing’s changed. Sure, Allie and Tom now reside in a rented nine-thousand-square-foot lakeside mansion with a sky-lit shower and breathtakingly high-thread-count sheets. True, Otis Johnson, Allie’s deliverer from last summer’s would-be-kidnapper, is now their live-in bodyguard and gourmet chef. Yes, Allie’s dream of creating the T&A Detective Agency to solve “mysteries of the heart” by using Tom’s money, Otis’ PI credentials, and Allie’s intrepid … intrepidness … now has its first case.

    That’s where the real trouble kicks in.

    Lloyd Bunker’s obsession with avoiding stoplights has run him and his ’67 Pontiac GTO off the road, maybe for keeps. As they race to figure out what happened to Lloyd, T&A recruits Allie’s former nemesis, Officer Tony Valerio, plus her best friend and ex-landlady Margo and television reporter Lisa Cole, to help them follow a lethal trail of escalating crimes ranging from scrapping to pushing opioids to multiple murders. It’s no longer just about Lloyd.

    An assault on the mansion’s high-tech security system by a talented hacker signals the presence of a formidable adversary, one with big bucks and a ruthless plan to destroy the lucky couple. As the action ramps up, Allie and Tom are plunged into a high-speed race against danger and death.

  • Lonely and broke, Cleveland divorce survivor Allie Harper believes all her problems would be solved if she could find a nice, smart, hot guy and enough money to get her car fixed.

    The hot guy arrives first: he’s in a crosswalk clutching a bag of groceries while a blonde in a Hummer is leaning hard on her horn, sending the man’s groceries and white cane flying. How has this woman missed the fact that the man is blind? From the curb, an outraged Allie jumps to his rescue, rebagging the groceries as well.

    The money is in the bag—literally. Thomas Bennington III, for that’s who the handsome guy proves to be, has bought a MondoMegaJackpot ticket along with canned tomatoes. Allie takes him home and turns his groceries into dinner for two. Later that night, Tom hears the numbers announced. He’s won. And he’s less than thrilled. PhD Tom had gambled on the odds of losing (175 million to one) to prove a point to Rune, a kid from the projects he’s befriended, that only losers buy lottery tickets. Instead, Rune, who’d helped pick the Mondo numbers, will share Tom’s jackpot.

    Allie and Tom grasp two things: one, they’re hot for each other, and two, the ticket is a hot target, and now so are they. Every scheming weasel in Cleveland will be after Tom’s $550 million. Yes, once the Mondo ball drops, it’s game on with killers and kidnappers as players.

    Allie and Tom need to get smarter about the threats all around them. On the run from one fancy hotel refuge to another and from one dangerous moment to the next, with only Allie’s feisty landlady, Margo, and a couple of Cleveland cops for backup, Allie and Tom evolve a strategy. First, turn in the ticket and claim the jackpot. Second, set up accounts to manage the millions. Third, stay alive to the end of the week … if they can.

  • A wife leaves her abusive husband but soon realizes nothing will keep him away—not even death.

    Josie Collins is the wife of a world-famous rock star and the envy of nearly every woman in the country. But the horrific truth is her husband wants nothing more than to see her dead.

    Josie finally summons the courage to leave her famous, abusive husband and returns to her hometown among the winter wheat of Kansas. When her husband is killed in a fiery car accident while on his way to find her, she thinks she has escaped him at last, but she’s wrong. It quickly becomes clear that even in death he has no intention of letting her go.

    As Josie develops a rapport with sexy police chief Paul Stark, trouble begins to brew. There’s something special about the tall, mysterious officer with the long, jagged scar down his face. But Josie soon learns that he’s haunted by a nightmarish past.

    Sparks fly in their small, Midwestern town, and as their attraction grows, so does a dead husband’s fury. To smother this dark, sinister spirit and perhaps find true and lasting happiness with each other, the living must learn to let go, give in, and leave their ghosts in the past.

  • Do you remember your first love? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had a second chance to follow your heart? In this collection of novellas written by award-winning and bestselling authors, come home to Echo Ridge as summer winds down and hearts once broken and lost are given one more chance, a second chance to love.

    A Brand New Second Chance by Lucy McConnell

    With a broken heart and an unsure future, Abigail Martin moves home to Echo Ridge to capture the parts of her teenage years she missed out on because she’d had a steady boyfriend. Kissing a random guy, flirting with strangers, hanging out at Fay’s after a football game—all of it. Carter Montgomery offers his help, because he’s a helpful kind of guy, and she quickly falls for his quiet humor, kindness, and heated kisses. Fearing that she hasn’t lived enough of life to settle down, Abigail must decide if she’s going to break Carter’s heart or give love a brand-new second chance.

    A Perfect Fit by Janette Rallison

    Jojo Halifax believes that winning Echo Ridge’s float competition is just what her fledgling art career needs. And if that means giving her ex-boyfriend, Anthony, a second chance so she can be a designer on his team, well, she’s willing to make the sacrifice. But when a lost bet leads to a blind date with her brother’s friend Wyatt, she begins to have second thoughts about second chances. Wyatt is handsome and charming and just might have been paid to make her forget about Anthony. Is falling for his charm worth the risk, or should she take Anthony back again?

    Almost Home by Heather Tullis

    Damon lived in ten towns while growing up, but Echo Ridge is one of the few that started to feel like home before his parents relocated their family again. Now a widower, moving back to the small ski resort town is irresistible for him—but somewhat less so for his daughter, Maggie. Learning that Haley, the girl who had gotten away, is back in town is an unexpected bonus. When Haley left a high-powered job in New York City to take care of her grandmother, she never expected to run into the boy she’d been crushing on sixteen years earlier. When they end up working together on the homecoming float, she finds the attraction between them just as compelling as before. But when given a choice, will she give him her heart or leave love behind to return to her job in the city?

    Change of Plans by Cami Checketts

    Kaitlyn Johanson comes home to Echo Ridge planning to bring the sparks back with her high school boyfriend, Mason, work at Kenworth’s, and enjoy family and the beautiful valley. She never expected her heartthrob—nationally-acclaimed lacrosse player, Axel Olsen—would visit her hometown. When Axel steals her attention, and possibly her heart, from the man she was supposed to marry, she has to choose between taking a risk on new love or giving old love a second chance.

    Coming Home to Love by Rachelle J. Christensen

    When Laney Richins left Echo Ridge, New York, eight years ago, she vowed she’d never return, but life had other plans. Those plans included her cute little boy and a divorce, so Laney moved back home and started over. Working in the flower shop seems like the perfect plan until Billy Redford, the man she should have married shows up. Billy Redford’s heart was broken when his high school sweetheart turned her back on him and fled Echo Ridge for the big-city lights. Running into Laney in Echo Ridge now brings up past feelings he thought were long gone. She’s prettier than ever, still seems to read his mind, and despite his protests, ends up on the homecoming dance’s building and decorating committee with him. Billy knows how to build just about anything, but he isn’t sure he knows how to mend a broken heart.

  • Silver Screen Kisses is a collection of stories inspired by movies that are on every favorite-movie list. Written by award-winning and bestselling authors, these contemporary romances take the reader back to Echo Ridge in the spring, when the promise of new love is budding just like the tulips around the Emerald Inn Bed & Breakfast.

    In “My Fair Lacey” by Janette Rallison, we hear the story of Lacey, who has dreamed of opening a restaurant for years—but first she needs a loan. When Garrett Halifax, her roommate’s Harvard-educated brother, offers to help her clean up her appearance and manner to impress the bank manager, she jumps at the chance—but will she be able to keep up appearances without falling for the sexy Garrett?

    “The Princess Bride of Riodan” by Rachelle J. Christensen is the story of Elise, who accepts the help of a good-looking stranger in redecorating her old bed & breakfast. When she finds out who he is, she doesn’t know whether to curtsy or run and hide—but her heart is already tangled up with the handsome prince. Will she chase the fairy-tale ending or choose her high school sweetheart and stay grounded in reality?

    The anthology also includes “You’ve Got Email” by Heather Tullis, a story of sexy mistaken identity and online romance; “My Best Man’s Wedding” by Cami Checketts, in which a fake fiancé becomes a real lover; and “While You Were Skiing” by Lucy McConnell, the tale of a handsome skier with a head injury who thinks the beautiful hostess of the ski lodge is his fiancée—so of course, she plays along.