This is the story of a half-German, Half-Irish middle class family, some of them first generation immigrants, coping with tragic sudden death in a pre silicone San Francisco Bay Area. Like the mighty tides pounding through the Golden Gate, the lives of these family members ebb and flow through generations. The narrative is seen through the eyes of a young student architect who suddenly becomes responsible for five orphans. The saga depicts the sharp edges of Old World social and religious bigotries being worn down in the great American melting pot. The orphans grow into amazingly successful adults as the old generation cycles into the great beyond.

"The Vineyard on Mulberry Street" is a saga of the Ghirardis, an Italian American family, who leave their roots in Armento, Potenza, in Italy to relocate to Mulberry Street in New York's Lower East Side. It begins with Francesco Paolo Ghirardi who comes to America in 1890 to live with his uncle who marries Angela when he was a young man and has four children. The eldest of the second generation, Catherine, develops into the beauty of the family, an Italian-American Scarlett O'Hara; strong, independent and enigmatic.
When Catherine is nineteen, she meets and falls in love with a charismatic, powerful, political figure, Jack Paterno, at a ball she attends, but is warned by her father to stay away from him as he is married and has children. She continues to see Paterno despite the strong objections of her family, meeting in secret two days a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Jack cannot seek a divorce because of his close ties to the Catholic Church and his political aspirations, so eventually Catherine marries Dr. Martin Cabotte, a surgeon, and gives birth to a baby girl, Alessandra. Martin joins the Army, is transferred to Australia, and Catherine and her daughter move in with her mother and father in their new home in a small town in New Jersey.
Catherine defies the mores of the time and continues the forbidden love affair while living in the highly traditional Catholic household. Meanwhile, the family refuses to sanction the arrangement, and Alessandra must bear the burden of living with her mother's secret, as well as trying to shield her from her grandmother's wrath. The two of them lead a double life, walking a tight rope between Jack's orbit of Washington D.C., meetings on Capitol Hill, courtrooms, dockets and banquets and the simple, warm comfort of the Ghirardi house in Oak Grove with the grape arbor in the back, where the three generations live under one roof.
The story begins during World War II when patriotism is at an all time high and there are sharp distinctions between good and evil: as evidenced in the strict moral code of the Catholic church. We see America's home front; rations and food stamps, Black Market goods and swing shifts. Almost every family has someone in the Armed Services, never knowing if they will return. The Ghirardis are no different. Their youngest, Sonny, the family's "golden boy," is a naval officer on a battleship in enemy waters. We see the Sunday feasts, with O Sole Mio and guinea stinkers, tarantellas and Irish jigs, the wine cellar where the potent homemade brew is served to male guests who emerge glassy eyed and giddy and finally the grape arbor, the "soul" of the house with its lush grapes and hearty vines. There are the Saturday afternoons with Aley in the kitchen with her grandmother, when her mother is out with Jack, as she listens to the matriarch's stories. And the other Saturday afternoons with Jack, Catherine and Aley at "The French Place, " a restaurant, their home away from home, where the three of them almost feel like a family. There are the threesome vacations at fancy resorts, Wednesday dinners at New York City's restaurants, Broadway shows (usually with a "beard") and Jack's generous gifts. We become familiar with the eclectic cast of characters; Tot, another daughter, a cross between Snow White and Marilyn Monroe with her bosom jiggling Charlestons and Hick, her husband with his outrageous antics and whiskey "ho-ho-ho's," delivering Christmas presents in the late afternoon because of his Christmas Eve hangover.
The story progresses to include the Post-War years, the healing period of the fifties, then the colorful sixties beginning with Camelot and hope, the Civil Rights, Women's Liberation and Antiwar Movements and ending with assassinations, rage and despair while the lives of the family parallel the climate of the country. The tapestry, as seen through Aley's eyes, reveals

In early spring of 1872, Donya Heidsheim stood on the banks of the Weser River looking out at the raging waters. Her father had been brutally murdered, her mother was dead from a broken heart, all she had left was unanswered questions. She would no longer pray to the God her parents taught her to love. In anger she screamed out for revenge.

Someone heard her. It appeared. Something gave her peace and a chance for revenge. Something gave her a chance to see her child again. But it all came with a high price tag.

The peaceful village of Brunstoke, Germany, surrounded by the beautiful Harz Mountains, was invaded by an ancient sect. A presence as old as the Garden uses the manipulation of lust and avarice to wrap its talons around Brunstoke's nobility.

Sent from the throne of God, two unlikely companions join forces to work together to combat the curse placed on the Brunstoke family-Shomer, a warring angel for the righteous, and Leb, a mystery character fight the forces of the fallen ones who try to destroy God's seed born of faith through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Secrets of the Singer Girls is Kate Thompson's heartwarming and moving novel about the brave, hardworking women who kept the homefires burning in the East End of London during World War Two. 1942. Sixteen-year-old Poppy Percival turns up at the gates of Trout's clothing factory in Bethnal Green with no idea what her new life might have in store. There to start work as a seamstress and struggling to get to grips with the noise, dirt and devastation of East London, Poppy can't help but miss the quiet countryside of home. But Poppy harbours a dark secret - one that wrenched her away from all she knew and from which she is still suffering . . . And Poppy's not the only one with a secret. Each of her new friends at the factory is hiding something painful. Vera Shadwell, the forelady, has had a hard life with scars both visible and concealed; her sister Daisy has romantic notions that could get her in trouble; and Sal Fowler, a hardworking mother who worries about her two evacuated boys for good reason. Bound by ties of friendship, loyalty and family, the devastating events of the war will throw each of their lives into turmoil but also bring these women closer to each other than they could ever have imagined.

Latitude 18 is a novel about Greg Star and Mark Barrett, two childhood friends in their mid-twenties who were fed up with their routine lives in Baltimore. What began as a desperately needed vacation in the islands of the Caribbean soon set the stage for a totally life-changing experience for the two young adventurers.

The Caribbean has always been dominated by patriarchal figures, those men who unofficially run their small communities in their own style. Greg and Mark unwittingly find themselves entangled with one such individual, Arsene Louis Fleming; who was always loyal to his friends, but merciless to his foes. The young men quickly realize that they are no match for the old-timer that everyone in the region refers to as "Sun;" that is, until they all discover there is a much stronger force to reckon with in the islands of the Caribbean-Mother Nature.

As you follow the adventures of Mark and Greg, prepare yourself for the twists and turns that thrilling, emotional journeys often bring. Love affairs, betrayal, jealousy, and the mighty bond of friendship, which is truly tested to the breaking point, are all features of this exciting adventure.

From the sweeping blue waters of the Caribbean to the majestic shores of America, Out of the Depths shares one woman's amazing journey from orphaned child to enlightened woman.

Born on a Caribbean island to humble parents, Beth Gaston tragically loses her mother in childbirth. Her father, Andre, showers her and her older brother with love and affection, making Beth's early years a source of delight. But when her father dies in a boating accident, five-year-old Beth is adopted by her Aunt May.

For a time, Beth continues to enjoy a happy childhood until May marries Boze, a freeloading drug addict who inflicts physical and mental abuse on Beth. At Sunday School, she learns more about God and the Bible, leading her to begin a lifelong quest to understand her faith. But as Beth grows older, other questions on racism and discrimination start to beg for answers.

In her late teens, Beth seizes the opportunity to immigrate to the United States, and becomes a nanny in the home of a world-famous doctor. But even in this great land of new beginnings, she still struggles with issues of morality, religion, and prejudice. Beth soon learns, however, that some questions have no answers, and the biggest journey of all takes place within our own hearts.

An emotionally compelling saga of guarded passions and family intrigue, spanning thirty years from the onset of World War II 1943. Wartime England. Married to a Guardsman at the age of eighteen after a whirlwind courtship, Helen Woodley believed her future was assured - only to be widowed before she was forty. Though she put on a brave face, Helen could no more reconcile herself to Adam's death than she could accept the hemmed-in, incestuous life of the Army and all its intrigues and affairs. And now Helen is faced with an unwelcome sense of deja vu. For her impulsive, free-spirited daughter Ruth, eighteen years old herself, has fallen madly in love with a soldier about to be posted to Northern Ireland, a man whom she's desperately anxious to marry. Can Helen prevent history from repeating itself?

As a sixteenth century Himalayan mountain girl, Tara knew a husband would be chosen for her. One day, Mughals riding sleek Arabian horses arrived seeking a woman prophesized to be one of the sultan's wives. Fear and excitement mingle in Tara's heart as she realizes she is the chosen one. Tara is taken to live in sultan Ibrahim's desert fortress. Since assuming power at eighteen, Ibrahim had established a vast empire where the arts flourished and religious tolerance meant peace. There, Tara joins Ibrahim's wives, each representing a region and religion, and quickly grows to love the exotic people and their rituals. Ibrahim is consumed by Tara's beauty and passion, and she quickly becomes his exclusive nightly companion. Tara's intelligence bonds her to Ibrahim's very first wife, Kiren. Together, Tara and Kiren serve Ibrahim, Tara as his lover and Kiren as his political advisor. As jealousy simmers among Ibrahim's wives, a southern governor, Bhaji, builds power by encouraging Hindu nationalism against Ibrahim's empire. Working against both time and karma, Tara, Kiren, and Ibrahim must devise a strategy to confront the tide of unrest. The task seems insurmountable as culture, religion, and ethnic politics collide in this riveting story of love, faith, and karmic tragedy.

"A Walk Among Blue Slate Markers" is a historical novel about that "peculiar institution" called slavery. In the early seventeen hundreds, Tobias Rutherford, a shopkeeper in Liverpool, England, sets in motion a cruel chain of events that followed his son, Winfield, across the Atlantic Ocean and into his mansion at Irongate Plantation. Winfield and his wife, Beatrice, are consumed with jealousy and hatred, not only for each other, but for their house slaves, as well. And when passions erupt in candlelit bedrooms, Winfield attempts murder and Beatrice forces Absalom, a house slave, to commit a crime, that if revealed, would find him hanging from the end of a rope. After Winfield's death, Matilda, his great-great granddaughter continues the violence. Out of revenge, she accuses Celia Godwin, a free black, of harboring a slave. The slave is thought to be a Rutherford, but old Dulcie, midwife at Irongate, is made to swear that Cressa, a slave girl, gave birth to the child. In the end, it is Tobias' great-great-great granddaughter, who becomes the victim to violence at the hands of runaway slaves.