Small Life

Step back in time to the tiny farm community of Osage Bend, Missouri, circa 1930-1945… Part memoir, part how-to manual, The Bumpy Road paints a vivid picture of life on the farm during the Great Depression. The author, recounting stories from his boyhood, brings to life the everyday trials and tribulations of his family and neighbors as they struggle to survive under daunting economic conditions. The hard work they put in was a given (to them), and their solutions to everyday problems were ingenious by necessity. And yet, they still found time to socialize and make the church the center ...

She’s settling into a new life. But when a fishing trip totally capsizes, can she get a friend off the hook for murder? Elizabeth Trout still feels awkward living back home. Discovering a BFF from her raucous high-school days has become the perfect mom is as weird as staying with her mother while awaiting construction of her new home. But she’s shaken to her core when her newlywed husband and beloved dog are nearly blown out of the water in a dockside explosion which leaves another woman dead … and her bestie is arrested for the crime. To clear her friend, Elizabeth and her spouse set...

Kayla has to take a leave from Quill's End. But the Bookshop Harem won't let her get off so easy... It's been a month since the fun at the cabin, and things are going great. Life is busy, but life is good. It was only a matter of time before a wrench got thrown in the works. When a surprise mandatory internship for grad school blindsides Kayla, she has to tell Ethan she can't work the bookshop for a little while. Ethan doesn't mind. He knew he had to hire some more people anyway. But Lucia and Grace see this as a great opportunity for Kayla to be punished. All in good fun, of course. ...

One photographer, one wedding dress, one bride by mistake… Famous actress Fliss Rivers returns to her childhood home in the Bay of Islands after a scandal, hoping to hide from the press for a few weeks. Oblivious to the celebrity gossip on the internet, Dominic is captivated by her, and soon they’re in love. And then a photographer sees her modelling a wedding dress, and suddenly the whole world thinks they’re getting married… * Fans of Catherine Bybee’s Weekday Brides series are sure to love these small-town romances with plenty of sizzle!

At only ten years old, Katherine Forrester has already experienced her fair share of upheaval. It has been three years since she last saw her mother, a concert pianist whose career was cut short by a terrible accident. After a brief reunion, tragedy strikes once more, forcing Katherine from the familiarity of New York City to a foreign Swiss boarding school. Far from home, she struggles with the challenges of growing up. Stifled by her daily routine and the pettiness of her classmates, Katherine’s piano lessons with a gifted young teacher provide an anchor in the storm.

After her decade-long marriage falls apart due to her husband’s infidelity and a devastating job loss, Joanna reluctantly accepts her grandmother’s invitation to help run a bed and breakfast on the scenic Amalfi Coast. Surrounded by salt air, a slower pace of life and mouth-watering Italian cuisine, Joanna begins to unwind—only to find that the idyllic setting stirs up old wounds of betrayal and loss she thought were long buried. As she works through her emotions, unexpected encounters with a charming local spark feelings she’s not sure she’s ready to explore. But, just as she ...

It's been five years since Bridget Theroux's death shocked the small town of Dalton, Maine, leaving behind husband Nate and daughter Sophie, now a vibrant young child. Nate doesn't always know how to answer her questions, but he is intent on raising her with joy—and shielding her from her grandmother, Annette, who remains dangerously locked away in her grief.

Welcome to Steadfast, Kansas. Population: 3,386. A town with down-home values, a fierce gossip grapevine, and a library ghost. Claire Adams is a wealthy mosaic artist from Kansas City who's on the edge of famous—until she feels called by God to abandon her life of luxury and her art to start over. Everyone thinks she's crazy. What will an eager, purpose-seeking city woman do in tiny Steadfast? Sim is a runaway orphan with an attitude and a nose ring. Steadfast has never met a girl quite like Sim, and honestly, they don't know what to do with her. Should they turn her in to authorities? Or...

This audiobook explains many different ways that children can be responsible and show responsibility.

Once, not too long ago, there was just a single Irish country doctor tending to the lively little village of Ballybucklebo: Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. Now his thriving practice is growing by leaps and bounds. Not only has O'Reilly taken a new trainee under his wing, Doctor Connor Nelson, he's also added a spirited Labrador puppy to his ever-expanding household at Number One Main Street. Meanwhile, his trusted partner, young Doctor Barry Laverty, finds himself wondering if he's truly ready to settle down and start a family with his lovely fiancée, Sue.

It’s the go-go 1980s when journalist Wally Pearson gets mugged in Times Square. It’s a jolt that prompts him to throw away his career and open a cafe in his small hometown. Little does he know that in doing so he’s about to get entrapped in the collision of fame, fortune, ambition and love in the northwoods of Wisconsin—all tempered with more than a little delusion. His Loon Town Cafe is the common meeting ground for many different forces. Chicago millionaire Henry Van Elkind plots from his lavish summer camp a transformation of the region. The Native American tribe, whose ...

Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she’d yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa’s world is shattered to the winds. Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey?

In this moving novella, Jeff Hilimire re-introduces us to Will, a successful entrepreneur now grappling with questions of meaning, and Charles, the wise mentor whose final lessons will reshape everything Will thought he knew about making an impact on the world.

In her hilarious New York Times best seller You’ll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again, Heather McDonald recounted her adventures as an unwilling virgin in Hollywood. Now happily married with three wonderful kids, she shows that life as a grown-up - even a pretend grown-up - has its challenges. Heather’s a working mom with parents who live next door, a sister who keeps asking for one of her still-fertile eggs, and friends who are up to more hijinks than even Heather can handle.

Garrison Keillor is the consummate storyteller, gifted with the rare ability, both in print and in performance, to hold an audience spellbound with his tales of ordinary people whose lives contain extraordinary moments of humor, tenderness, and grace. This exclusive recording of Garrison Keillor reading a carefully edited abridgement of the book also includes a few segments taken from live performances recorded during a fundraising tour for public radio stations in 1985.

A Cozy Romance strong on family values and rural principles. Justin is a country boy dealing with big-city culture shock and facing a family crisis. Natalie is a high school graduate with her life’s goal crushed. The story starts with Justin leaving home for Drexel University in Philadelphia. On his way out of town, he stops to see Natalie one more time. As they talk, what they once had crumbles and falls to ashes at Natalie’s feet. When Justin’s family crises brings him back home, will Natalie want him back? What about the beautiful wheelchair-bound blond he’s falling for in ...

One unforgettable night with a stunning man changed everything for me. Now, he's my professor, and he tells me he hasn't moved on. Five years ago, I had a one-night encounter with Julian, and he's always been on my mind. It's hard to forget him when our child is the spitting image of his father. I can still recall every moment of that passionate night: his mesmerizing looks, electrifying kisses, and the incredible climax. Destiny brought us back together, and the chemistry between us is as strong as ever. I still long for him whenever we're together and find myself daydreaming about him, ...

Can a lost love and hidden secrets spark a second chance for the once rejected hero? Colton Fischer felt the sting of disappointment when he was passed over for the position of captain. Shocked and confused, he never expected to be confronted by his ex-girlfriend pleading for his help. Thoughts of her had never truly left his mind, and now she stood before him— with a child. Eris Landry's life was a series of regrettable choices, as misfortune seemed to plague her constantly. When she spotted one of those ‘mistakes’ leaving the fire station, it had to be temporary insanity to follow ...

Lucy has always had a soft spot for Jack. As they grow up together, their friendship turns into something more, but when tragedy strikes, Jack is whisked away, never to be heard from again.Several years pass. The boys in high school don't interest Lucy, and she continues to think about Jack - where did he go? What does he look like? Does he think of her? When she finds out where Jack might be located - halfway across the country in Indiana - Lucy drives to meet him, not knowing what she'll find, if he'll recognize her, if he'll turn her away, or if he'll even be there.But when Lucy's mom ...

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things offers a startlingly original look at the revered writer through a variety of key moments, scenes, and objects in her life and work. Going beyond previous traditional biographies which have traced Austen's daily life from Steventon to Bath to Chawton to Winchester, Paula Byrne's portrait - organized thematically and drawn from the most up-to-date scholarship and unexplored sources - explores the lives of Austen's extended family, friends, and acquaintances.