Small States

După ce a petrecut zece ani în Anglia, Bill Bryson vrea să-şi rememoreze copilăria, aşa că pleacă din locul în care s-a născut, Des Moines, Iowa, într-o călătorie prin 38 dintre statele americane, pe care o documentează cu mult umor. Autorul speră să se reîntîlnească cu peisajele idilice ale copilăriei sale, însă găseşte lanuri nesfîrşite de porumb, benzinării, moteluri şi localuri care arată peste tot aproape la fel şi sunt populate de oameni care seamănă uimitor de mult unul cu altul.

Summer, 1851. Racial tensions in America were higher than ever. The year before, President Millard Fillmore had passed the Fugitive Slave Act to return runaway slaves to the South. In February, Congress had established the reservation system, forcing Native Americans to leave their homelands. White Americans were strengthening dominance over people of color across the continent. In Oregon City, one biracial man named Jacob Vanderpool found himself in the crosshairs of this racist discrimination.

Black Jack Hollis was a daring outlaw before he was shot down. In the wake of his death, it's discovered that Hollis left behind an infant son. Elizabeth Cornish, coowner of the Cornish Ranch alongside her brother, Vance, takes it upon herself to raise the child as her own. Elizabeth names the boy Terry Colby and gives Terry a fictitious aristocratic background, believing the way the boy is raised will determine the man he will become. But Vance is convinced that Terry is destined to become an outlaw himself.

Eat Like a Local: Illinois by author Elaine Joy Nicholson Small offers the inside scoop on food in Illinois, USA.

Mariella Jacob was one of the world’s premier bridal designers, but one viral PR disaster later, she’s trying to get her torpedoed career back on track in small-town Magnolia, North Carolina. With a secondhand store and a new business venture helping her friends turn the Wildflower Inn into a wedding venue, Mariella is finally putting at least one mistake behind her. Until that mistake—in the glowering, handsome form of Alex Ralsten—moves to Magnolia too.

The "Last Best Class" of Fish River Community School had lost one of its members every year since the second grade. Waffle Houses were popping up throughout small-town Alabama with one corporate rule: "Good Food Fast." Struggling to cope with the tragedy that shadowed him most of his life, Dr. Jimmy Ryan dedicated himself to bringing people back from the brink, driven by his own guiding principle "Ain't Dead Yet." Not until Jimmy's own death did the folks at the Waffle House in Penelope, Alabama, learn the full extent of the secrets buried with the dead.

The Right Man: 15 Bite-Sized Contemporary Romance Stories Served with Love in Small Doses. Fall in love fifteen times over with The Right Man, a charming collection of short, contemporary romance stories perfect for a cozy afternoon or bedtime escape. Each story is a quick read—just enough to tug at your heart, spark a smile, or leave you breathless. Heartbreak. Hope. And the moment you finally meet the right one. The Right Man & More Romantic Short Stories delivers touching, tender tales of love found in unexpected places. From second chances to serendipitous meetings, each story offers ...

Secretos, mentiras y actos terribles han estado rondando en Burdensville durante mucho tiempo. Durante un viaje por todo el país, el tren hace una escala en la pequeña ciudad de Burdensville, Scott decide visitar un pequeño café para almorzar. Pero termina visitándolo por más tiempo del que esperaba, Scott observa a un hombre borracho tratando de golpear a una camarera poco dispuesta en el restaurante. Él trata de intervenir y protegerla, pero el sheriff Darby termina enviándolo a la cárcel por su buena acción. Pronto, se vuelve evidente que la gente de Burdensville tiene serios ...

From the author of the million-copy global best seller Lilac Girls, comes a captivating new historical novel, set during the American Civil War. It's a sweeping story of women caught in a country on the brink of collapse, in a society grappling with nationalism and unthinkable racial cruelty.

Charlotte Van Cleave’s hissy-fit reaction to her husband’s infidelity sours her world like a pot of boiled chitlins. She’s left with no husband, no job, and no home—well, besides the dilapidated farmhouse inherited from her nana. But Charlie learned early that Southern girls dig deep when things go sideways. She’d climbed out of the mire when her missionary parents were killed in Congo, endured two late-term miscarriages, and survived the death of her nana and papaw. Too poor to paint and too proud to whitewash, Charlie follows a new path with her interior design skills.

NEW ENGLAND CHRISTMAS ROMANCES: Six States of Love Journey through New England's most charming towns in this heartwarming collection of Christmas romances. From Maine's rugged coastline to Connecticut's historic town green, six complete novelettes capture the magic, faith, and love of a New England Christmas. LOVE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE - Where Maine's harbor mist hides more than just the shoreline LOVE AT THE MILL - When Massachusetts history meets modern dreams LOVE ON THE SLOPES - As Vermont's winter winds carry whispers of romance LOVE AT THE LAKE - Where New Hampshire waters reflect second ...

It's the 1790s, and the circus has arrived in Durham, Maine. Before weaver Will Rees is able to take in its spectacle, he spots Magistrate Hanson - the man he blames for his family's having to flee Dugard two years earlier. On his journey home he encounters Shaker brothers searching for a girl from their Zion community. Despite women not being allowed inside the circus, Leah had snuck out to visit it. They quickly come across her lifeless body beaten and thrown into a farmer's field on the road leading to the circus.

Enjoy this sweet cowboy novel by small-town romance author Erin K. Wright… Maybe it’s not too late for her happily ever after… As the owner of the only flower shop in the small mountain town of Sawyer, Idaho, Carla can quote every line in The Princess Bride and still believes in true love. Which wouldn’t be quite so pathetic if she wasn’t thirty-seven and single. So single, in fact, she’s forgotten what it’s like to have a man give her so much as a carnation. Then Christian walks into Happy Petals, and she knows the fragrance of flowers has gone to her head. It’s ...

Welcome to Stargaze, home to a secret community of friendly zombies—or are they? The Fall Gala is the crown jewel of the festival season in Stargaze, and Addie can hardly wait to help Aunt Kate host a charity tea and attend a fancy dinner with her not-quite-boyfriend, Bennett. But when the MC of the Gala turns up dead, Addie begins to uncover a plot to expose the secret supernatural community that includes her aunt and new friend Marvin. If that happens, the special local magic that gives Addie her psychic abilities and keeps her aunt alive will disappear forever. Now the race is on to ...

A dying man, Hank Peyton, tells his son Jerry Peyton that, after a lifetime of evil deeds, his only gift to his son will be his extremely valuable gun called The Voice of La Paloma. When Jerry is wrongfully accused of horse thievery, a cunning sheriff blackmails Jerry into stealing the gun from his father in exchange for a clean slate, even though the sheriff has already found the real horse thief.

He can't seem to shake the memory. From the top floor of his office building, he stands in the window and looks out over his domain, one of the cities that never sleeps in the north. His mind is drawn to a simple uncluttered encounter, a scene stuck in his mind for over 15 years. Miles away, on the outskirts of a place called the "Shanty Town", Mrs. Craft remembers a person met by accident at the train station's taxi turnabout. She barely said thank you as he held the taxi door for her. But as he held the door, there was an undeniable sensation that he'd see her again.

Reniqua Allen tells the stories of Black millennials searching for a better future in spite of racist policies that have closed off traditional versions of success. Many watched their parents and grandparents play by the rules, only to sink deeper and deeper into debt. They witnessed their elders fight to escape cycles of oppression for more promising prospects, largely to no avail. Today, in this post-Obama era, they face a critical turning point. Interweaving her own experience, Allen shares surprising stories of hope and ingenuity.

What readers are saying... "Lacy is heart wrenching, heartbreaking, and completely healing. I love the healing nature of love. I felt the entire journey in these pages. This is a story that needed to be told and a message of faith that needs to be heard." Amazon reviewer She had the perfect life, until she didn’t. Lacy Fields was so blessed, she felt like God’s favorite daughter. A husband she loved, a daughter she adored, and a soon-to-be granddaughter she planned to dote on. When a tragic accident wipes away two thirds of those blessings, everything in her life comes into question. ...

The gravy train hasn’t stopped in the hollers of western Virginia for more than 30 years when Stony Shelor starts his junior year at Jubal Early High. Class divides and racism are still the hardened norms as the Eisenhower years draw to a close. Violence lies coiled under the calm surface, ready to strike at any time.

In this continuation of the Southern Roads series, Dr. Jay Cross is worried things are getting serious between Rachel Hutchins and Barry Devine, and decides if he's going to land the brainy beauty, he's going to have to up his game. So Jay approaches the three Armstrong brothers, all of them strapping ex-military men, and asks them to make him over from a small-framed British intellect into an alpha male Southern boy who will get Rachel's attention. The brothers agree and are determined to make a southern man out of him, but will all the sweat and humiliation be a waste of time?