Small States

The Center for women's reproductive health offers a last chance at hope - but nobody ends up there by choice. Its very existence is controversial, and to the demonstrators who barricade the building every day, the service it offers is no different from legalised murder. Now life and death decisions are being made horrifyingly real: a lone protester with a gun has taken the staff, patients and visitors hostage.

When a powerful hurricane sweeps across the Outer Banks, field researcher Riley Thorne finds herself stranded in a battered cabin — and in over her head. She's used to studying migration patterns, not surviving natural disasters. As isolation threatens her research and safety, unexpected help arrives in the form of Micah Boone, a local carpenter with a knack for fixing broken things — cabins and hearts alike. Micah is no stranger to storms or stubborn outsiders. Riley's fierce independence draws him in, but her guarded heart might be harder to mend than the storm-damaged porch. Forced ...

An Iraq War veteran turned small-town homemaker, Colleen works hard to keep her deployment behind her - until pregnancy brings her buried trauma to the surface. She hides her mounting anxiety from her husband, Derby, who is in turn preoccupied with the retrial of his father, Hare Hobbs, for a decades-old civil rights-era murder. Colleen and Derby's community, including the descendants of the murder victim, still grapple with the fallout; Corrections Officer Doc and his wife, Jessica, have built their life in the shadow of this violent act.

Years ago, I left Clarkstown with a sourpuss on my face and better hopes for the future. But what I ended up with was extra baggage, in more ways than one, and even more reasons to leave. Now that I’m home, I’m not sure if Austin Walters looks at me with pity, hatred…or something else, as most of the townsfolk do. But when he figures out the real reason why I left, he looks at me in a different light. Even more importantly, he realizes more of what I need now that I’m back. And now I seem to look at him and everyone else differently, thanks to him.

Adventures in Colonial America is a 13-part series focusing on the history of each of the original 13 American colonies from their founding, through expansion, the American Revolution and ultimately the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Addie’s first Apple Festival is about to turn deadly... The Apple Festival kicks off the fall festival season in Stargaze, and that means colorful trees, cozy coats, apple cider, and fun! It also means an influx of tourists, including a stranger from Betty's past. It turns out the palm reader has a secret past, and it's coming back to haunt her. When a body turns up in Betty’s fortuneteller tent at the Apple Festival, she becomes the prime suspect in the killing. She claims she’s innocent, but her connection to the deceased only makes her appear more guilty. Addie is determined to ...

When Jerry returned to his hometown of Perfect, he was upset to learn that the local bowling alley, where his father had worked and where he spent time as a child, was gone. Asking friends what had happened, Jerry discovered that in a town like Perfect, everyone has a story to tell, even if they are all different.

Summer was dying in Perfect. But boys will be boys and Jimmy Becker discovers something in the woods just beyond town, unwittingly unleashing something upon his hometown. But it was not the first time, and the town of Perfect was being watched by a group that was as old as recorded history, a group that sends someone in the take care of the problem, someone only known as Hunter.

It's the most wonderful time of year in Perfect, WA. Christmas. Although, in Perfect, things are never really... perfect.

hn Signal, fleeing from a murder charge in a fair fight, arrives in the mining town of Monument. Calling himself John Alias, he is made a deputy sheriff by Sheriff Peter Ogden, who puts Alias between two crooked factions and fails to give him any support.

Most people think the reason Prudy Millings married the best-looking preacher in the Carolinas—who inexplicably turned psychotic and mowed her down with the church van—is that she was raised all wrong. So not true. Prudy's reclamation of her life begins two years after the crime spree that nearly stopped her heart. She packs up her two precocious children and settles in her parents' South Carolina hometown where she deals with a delightful Proverbs-spewing mama who pretends her grown daughters are virgins.

In Chia-Chia Lin’s debut, The Unpassing, we meet a Taiwanese immigrant family of six struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and repairman while the mother, a loving, strong-willed, and unpredictably emotional matriarch, holds the house together. When 10-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes up a week later to learn that his little sister Ruby was infected, too. She did not survive.

A disappearing body. Hidden magical talents. An adorable mind-reading dog. And small-town secrets . . . Addie James’s life imploded when she discovered her fiancé cheating and got downsized from her biotech job. So she left Silicon Valley for the haven of her Aunt Kate’s tea and apothecary shop in the peaceful mountain town of Stargaze. There, she plans to take a deep breath and figure out what’s next. But when Addie reaches Stargaze, there’s no trace of her aunt. Until one night, Aunt Kate’s lifeless body shows up and then disappears from the locked shop. And that’s when ...

This collection takes us to a forgotten corner of the rural South, full of cemeteries, soybean fields, fishing holes, and Duck Thru gas stations. We meet a runaway teen, a mattress salesman, feral kittens, an elderly bachelorette wearing a horsehair locket, and a little girl named after Shania Twain. Here, time and memory circle above Phillips’ characters like vultures and angels, as they navigate the only landscape they’ve ever known. Corn reaches for rain, deer run blindly, and no matter how hungry or hurt, some forgotten hymn is always remembered.

The fourteenth installment in Melanie Jackson's bestselling Chloe Boston Cozy Mystery Series is a 9k word short story. Melanie Jackson is a talent to watch." —WritersWrite.com It's Saint Patrick's Day in Hope Falls and the citizens are celebrating by having the mayor of their sister city in Ireland over to join in the festivities. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse as rivers run red, drinking of Guinness takes its toll, and a criminal pursuit by Officer Bill is required. This is a fast paced short story with plenty of laughs as Saint Patty's becomes a day to remember not for the ...

The Brotherhood of Trees started off innocently enough, just four friends opening a private club in the town of Perfect, but sometimes, just sometimes, especially in a town like Perfect, things happen. When the founding members of the Brotherhood start disappearing, local police and FBI Special Agent Kyle Smith investigate and uncover something more insidious than anyone could possibly consider, something larger, a bigger picture beginning to emerge.

When environmental consultant Quinn Hale is forced into a corporate acquisition, she expects backroom politics and condescending handshakes—not an invitation to spend two weeks at a billionaire’s remote New Hampshire estate for “strategic alignment.” Elias Ward isn’t what she imagined. He’s worse: poised, brilliant, unshakably cold—and convinced Quinn’s passion is getting in the way of progress. He wants clean data, sleek automation, and scalable profit. She wants people-first sustainability, meaningful impact, and autonomy. They agree on nothing. Except the attraction. ...

Time often slows and even stops in the small town of Cottage Park, Iowa. In fact, time is best measured not by the hands of a clock but by the innings of a baseball game. Praying and playing baseball are two of the town's primary activities. Actually, they are one in the same in a town where baseball is a religion. Still, time does eventually flow on. Much like the Des Moines River just outside Cottage Park, time leads to the site of the 1974 Iowa high school baseball tournament. Cottage Park's Holy Trinity High School has never won the Finals. The team's three elderly coaches vow to at ...

Tras la muerte de su marido, Maria Leonor, madre de dos hijos, se siente abrumada ante las dificultades para administrar su hacienda en el Alentejo, las expectativas de la sociedad y el férreo control de su entorno. Después de unos meses sumida en una profunda depresión, decide finalmente afrontar su responsabilidad como propietaria de las tierras, pero su corazón está atormentado por un pecado secreto: a pesar del duelo, su deseo no se ha apagado.

Feeling lost in the maze of bookkeeping and taxes? Is managing your author finances leaving you in a fiscal fog? Are you dreading tax season?With over twenty years of experience in accounting and a passion for helping writers thrive, Certified Public Accountant Christy Nicholas is your guide to navigating the complex world of author finances. In WRITE IT OFF: An Author’s Guide to Bookkeeping and Taxes, you'll find everything you need to turn financial confusion into financial clarity. WRITE IT OFF! is more than just a manual. It's a roadmap to mastering your author business's financial ...