In all the Ages of Man, there have been decent and honorable men. Jarl Brand Ketilsson is one such man. He is a leader who does not seek or covet wealth, but wishes only to maintain peace in his realm. Unfortunately, Ketilsson is forced to go to battle and shed blood in an effort to achieve his goal. But, he will fight-fight to the death to save his people and those aligned with him.

Set against the historical backdrop of ninth-century Scandinavia, when Viking history was every bit as romantic as it was brutal, "Forced Blood: The Norseman" offers a multidimensional depiction of the Norsemen who survived the Viking Age in their own country.

With its vivid attention to detail, "Forced Blood: The Norseman" is an epic tale of one man's strength and courage against those who would rob him of his land, his culture, and his life.

"City of God," the latest installment in Beverly Swerling's gripping saga of old New York, takes readers to Manhattan's clamorous streets as the nation struggles to find a compromise between slave and free, but hears the drums of war. This is New York when one synagogue is no longer adequate for thousands of Jewish immigrants, when New Evangelicals rouse complacent Protestants with the promise of born-again salvation, and when it first sees Catholic nuns and calls them whores of Satan. It is New York when ships bring the fabulous wealth of nations to its wharves and auction houses, while a short distance away rival gangs fight to the death with broken bottles and teeth filed to points.

Into this churning cauldron comes young Dr. Nicholas Turner. Nick knows that the discoveries of antisepsis and anesthesia promise medical miracles beyond the dreams of ages. He learns that to make such progress reality he must battle the city's corrupt politics and survive the snake pit that is Bellevue Hospital, all while resisting his love for the beautiful Carolina Devrey, his cousin's wife. Sam Devrey, head of the shipping company that bears his name and a visionary who believes the future will be ushered in by mighty clipper ships spreading acres of sail, battles demons of his own. The life he lives with Carolina in the elegant brownstone on newly fashionable Fifth Avenue is a charade meant to disguise his heart's true home, the secret downtown apartment of the exquisite Mei-hua, his Chinese child-bride. The worlds of all four are imperiled when Sam must rely on Nick's skills to save the woman he loves, and only Nick's honor guards Sam's secret. On a night when promises of hellfire seem to become reality and the city nearly burns to the ground, Carolina and Mei-hua confront the truth of their duplicitous marriages. Rage and revenge join love and passion as driving forces in a story played out against the background of the glittering New York that rises from the ashes, where Delmonico's and the Astor House host bejeweled women and top-hatted men, both with the din of commerce in their ears and the glint of gold in their eyes.

As always, Swerling has conjured a dazzling cast of characters to people her city. Among those seeking born-again salvation are Addie Bellingham, befriended by the widow Manon Turner but willing to betray her, and Lilac Langton, who confesses her sins but avoids mentioning that she's a skilled abortionist in a city that has recently made abortion a crime. Ben Klein, a brilliant young physician, must balance devotion to his mentor and dedication to research with duty to the Jewish community. Wilbur Randolf, Carolina's father, indulges her in everything but fails her when she needs him most. Jenny Worthington, Wilbur's longtime mistress, is driven by avarice to make common cause with Fearless Flannagan, a member of a New York police force as corrupt as the city it serves. Ah Chee, Mei-hua's devoted servant, struggles through Manhattan's streets on bound feet and burns incense to the kitchen god in this place of foreign devils. They are all here, heroines and saints, villains and victims, and a vanished New York made to live again in an intricate tale of old debts and new rivalries.

Winner of the Friends of American Writers Award for Fiction

As seamstresses, the young sisters Emilia and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, mend, and conceal--useful skills in the lawless backcountry of Brazil, where ruthless land barons feud with bands of outlaw cangaceiros, trapping innocent residents in the crossfire. Emilia, a naive romantic, dreams of falling in love with a gentleman and escaping to a big city. Quick-tempered Luzia also longs for escape, finding it in her craft and secret prayers to the saints she believes once saved her life. But when Luzia is abducted by cangaceiros led by the infamous Hawk and Emilia stumbles into a marriage with the son of a wealthy and politically powerful doctor, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never would have imagined.

Determined to get accepted into Harvard, Porter Miller decides to begin her freshman studies at the University of Virginia and then apply for a transfer. Thinking that she can switch programs once she arrives on campus, she enrolls in nursing school merely as a formality. To Porter's surprise, she learns that she must continue in the nursing school for her first semester.

While working at the medical center one evening, Porter tends to Thomas Lancaster, a cancer patient at the university hospital. Thomas's kindness and down-to-earth ways captivate her, and the two become romantically involved. But in the course of her relationship with Thomas, Porter makes a startling discovery about her family-one that could sever her relationship with Thomas forever.

"Small Surrenders" focuses on the rippling effects of moral turpitude and how past mistakes can resurface to ruin two entire families. But it is also a story of faith, forgiveness, and survival as Porter works through the aftermath of her devastating discovery.

#1 New York Times Bestseller An Amazon Best Book of 2020 The thrilling and addictive prequel to The Pillars of the Earth--set in England at the dawn of a new era: the Middle Ages "Just as transporting as [The Pillars of the Earth] . . . A most welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series." --The Washington Post It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns. In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when his home is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in. . . . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband's homeland are shockingly different, and it soon becomes clear to her that a single misstep could be catastrophic. . . . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power. Thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, Follett's masterful new prequel The Evening and the Morning takes us on an epic journey into a historical past rich with ambition and rivalry, death and birth, love and hate, that will end where The Pillars of the Earth begins.

Mountain of the Lord's House is a divinely inspired expose that captures the life changing power of God in its entirety.This book exemplifies the typical lives of Christians as they strive earnestly to maintain a relationship with God, in the midst of the various challenges and trials of life they go through. Naomi Rollins married the wrong man for her, and she reaped the consequences of disobeying God. Her husband abused and sexually molested her in front of her children. She ended up in jail, and later became a prostitute and eventually had to battle with the terminal cancer that was destined to take her away from her children. Her lifelong misery became a miracle when she encountered the awesomeness of our God. If you have ever wondered, if there is really a God or if God really answers prayers, this book is the perfect opportunity for you to have a divine encounter with the creator of Heaven and Earth. I want to assure you, that after reading this book your life will never remain the same. It is a challenge.

I want to state that I have lived one of the most bizarre, wildest, dangerous and tragic life any human being could have ever lived. I have been stabbed and shot before, damn near beaten to death by people with baseball bats, and being Catholic received my last rites two times.

In my life I made a lot of big money, blew a lot of big money, did a lot of gambling, drank a lot of alcohol, did a lot of drugs, and from becoming a normal sex addict, I became a hardcore sadist and masochist sex addict.

An epic story of love, betrayal, courage and war that brings together two of Wilbur Smith's greatest families in this long-awaited sequel to his worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun.

Cairo, 1887. A beautiful September day. Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand. The future is theirs for the taking.

But when Penrod's jealous former lover, Lady Agatha, plants doubt about his character, Amber leaves him and travels to the wilds of Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. On a mission to establish a silver mine, they make the dangerous journey to the new capital of Addis Ababa, where they are welcomed by Menelik, the King of Kings.

Back in Cairo, a devastated Penrod seeks oblivion in the city's opium dens. He is rescued by an old friend, who is now in the Italian army, and offered the chance to join the military efforts. Italy has designs on Abyssinia, and there are rumours of a plan to invade . . .

With storm clouds gathering, and on opposing sides of the invasion, can Penrod and Amber find their way back to one another - against all the odds?

One woman knows the baking business, one woman can organize. Together they become rich. The raise thier Black and white familes with love and intelligence.
Equality and justice previal, until lowlife scumbuckets step in and turn the two women's lives upside down.
Through love, laughter, church ladies and gentlemen, streaking, cancer, a tearjerker funeral, the seeking of justice, and a white suit, "Imitation of Life: the Next Millennium" is a 21st century version, of a 1930s, uncomfortable America.

A new stand-alone saga set in Yorkshire at the outbreak of the second world war and the unlikely relationship between a master and servant.As a small child, Nellie Peace was always dreaming but sensed her mother's rejection. Abandoned and sent into service at Beaumont House at an early age, Nellie is lost and alone until she meets the unpredictable and reclusive artist, Lucas Harrington and falls in love with him. This unlikely association between master and servant is encouraged by Lucas's gentle natured Aunt Alice as Lucas sees something unusual in Nellie and is compelled to paint her. Broken promises lead to inevitable heartbreak and Nellie flees Beaumont House in disgrace for London. Alone again, Nellie must learn to live and fend for herself and her new-born child. Can Nellie win a second chance of happiness and can she solve the mystery of her mother's tortured past? Nellie's Heartbreak was previously published as ALL THEIR DAYS in hardback by Linda Sole.

In this extraordinary breakout novel--a rich, devastatingly humorous epic of one unforgettable family--award-winning author Eric Dupont illuminates the magic of stories, the bonds of family, and the twists of fate and fortune to transform our lives. Over the course of the twentieth century, three generations of the Lamontagnes will weather love, passion, jealousy, revenge, and death. Their complicated family dynamic--as dramatic as Puccini's legendary opera, Tosca--will propel their rise, and fall, and take them around the world . . . until they finally confront the secrets of their complicated pasts. Born on Christmas, Louis Lamontagne, the family's patriarch, is a larger-than-life lothario and raconteur who inherits his mother's teal eyes and his father's brutish good looks and whose charms travel beyond Quebec, across the state of New York where he wins at county fairs as a larger-than-life strongman, and even in Europe, where he is deployed for the US Army during World War II. We meet his daughter, Madeleine, who opens a successful chain of diners using the recipes from her grandmother, the original American Fiancee, and vows never to return to her hometown. And we end with her son Gabriel, another ladies' man in the family, who falls in love with a woman he follows to Berlin and discovers unexpected connections there to the Lamontagne family that re-frame the entire course of the events in the book. An unholy marriage of John Irving and Gary Shteyngart with the irresistible whimsy of Elizabeth McCracken, The American Fiancee is a big, bold, wildly ambitious novel that introduces a dynamic new voice to contemporary literature. Translated from the French by Peter McCambridge.

1910. When eighteen-year-old Lorne Malcolm runs off on her wedding day with the landowner?s son, Daniel MacNeil, the jilted groom, turns to Lorne?s older sister, Rosa, for comfort. Rosa?s feelings for Daniel grow and the pair soon marry. But are tragedy and heartbreak just around the corner?

Far from the heart of the powerful Avan Empire, on the cold, Spireward edge of the tributary kingdom of Tyr, lies the serene, comfortable town of Longmyst. There, the humble son of the town's innkeeper enjoys his quiet, uncomplicated life. Nian is content to spend his days visiting with old friends and tending to the needs of an endless stream of guests from wilder, more dangerous places. His largest concern is helping his bold, elder sister care for their ailing father and his small, but thriving business. However, he is about to become entangled in events beyond his wildest dreams.

In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. The last practitioner of an honoredcenturies-old tradition, the Seanchai enthralls his assembled audience forthree evenings running with narratives of foolish kings and fabled saints,of enduring accomplishments and selfless acts- until he is banished from the household for blasphemy and moves on. But these three incomparable nights have changed young Ronan forever, setting him on the course he will follow for years to come- as he pursues the elusive, storyteller..and the magical tales that are no less than the glorious saga of his extraordinary i

Hardworking widow Dilly Carey has struggled out of poverty to make a successful life for herself. Surrounded by her children and grandchildren, Dilly should be content, but she is still troubled by the one secret she must never share. Olivia, the daughter Dilly gave away at birth, cannot find out the real truth about her parentage. It's time for Dilly to make her peace with the choice that she was forced to make. As Dilly finds the strength and courage to visit her son's grave on the battlefields of the Great War, will she also find a way to a new happiness - and a new love?

A novel based on the lives of the brothers Mann has allowed the author to portray both the powerful story of their personal drama and the tragedy of a horrific era. Two of Germany's literary lions, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, are the central characters of Selig Kainer's novel, Brothers in Exile. Their rivalry is set against the background of Hitler's rise to power, and the novel opens in 1932 as Hitler becomes Chancellor. In real danger from the Nazi, Heinrich has already fled, while Thomas briefly nurtures the hope that his stature as a Noble Prize winner could be a balancing force against Hitler. The novel then takes the reader back to the powerful sturm und drang of Thomas and Heinrich's outwardly comfortable early family life. Their story is rife with love, rivalry, artistic strivings, and forbidden longings. With his deep affinity for the work of these two great writers, Selig Kainer has written an intimate account of them that reveals their rivalry and innermost conflicts, and illuminates the foreboding landscape of the demonic forces unleashed in Germany during their time. "It is a wonderful novel... One need not be a reader of either Mann brother to appreciate Brothers in Exile, for here the curious interplay between life and literature, between imagination and reality, is played out to the full." Jeffery Paine, former Literary Editor of the Wilson Quarterly, a judge of the Pulitzer Prize, author of Father India, Adventures with the Buddha, and Editor of Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism comes to the West. "Thomas and Heinrich Mann grew up in Germany, portrayed Germany, then finally fled Germany, ending their lives in American and Swiss exile. Now, Selig Kainer has explored their early lives, not as an historian or biographer, but as a creative novelist, using the bones of their youth to X-ray their evolution as sons of imperial Germany, as nascent artists, and as siblings. Kainer's intricate fictional journey is a Bildungsroman at once tender, profound, epic and original. Enjoy " Nigel Hamilton, author of JFK: Reckless Youth and The Brothers Mann. "Selig Kainer dives into the complex relationship between Thomas and Heinrich Mann and comes back up with a pearl of a book. He transports us into the imagined landscape of their inner lives, their rivalries, discontents, desires and dreams. The vivid detail he brings to his story is gripping; his obsession with his characters thoroughly contagious." Andrea Weiss, author of In the Shadow of Magic Mountain: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story.