The year is 1956. Because business is booming, a misanthropic entrepreneur and businessman, Steven Leroy Zienner, decides to open a fourth U.S. meat processing plant, this one in Mississippi. The larger-than-life Zienner is the 20th richest man in the United States, and has a genius for making money. But he is also a man of many character flaws. Zienner's son, Boris, refuses his father's offer to enter the family business; instead, Boris leaves home for Paris, France, to get away from his domineering father. After Boris leaves, Zienner opens the new plant in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Due to exploitation, the employees soon rebel against Zienner's company. Some employees spread false rumors to reporters that dogs and wild animals are being used to make the company's frankfurters and cold-cuts. The falsehoods are reported as fact. Trying to dispel the rumors and win over his employees, Zienner addresses them at a company picnic, where he is struck by a flying object thrown by an employee and knocked unconscious. This sets-off a chain of events that includes the loss of his wife in a car accident. In his grief, Zienner loses interest in his company and business suffers. Can he come back after such adversity? This is the story of The Downfall and Rise of Steven Leroy Zienner. Jerry Dampier is studying for a doctorate in psychology at Argosy University in San Francisco. He is inspired by larger-than-life characters in novels and in film. He is currently publishing another book, Alphatopbetics, and is writing his next novel, The Romantic Comedies of Clover. http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheDownfallAndRiseOfStevenLeroyZienner.html

Cassandra Blake has raised her three motherless sisters. The girls are the pride of their book-loving, impractical father, and not in a hurry to marry. Then the American Civil War cuts off supplies of cotton to Lancashire, the mills fall silent and there is no work. There is a stark choice: stay and risk starvation or pack up and begin again elsewhere. Cassandra has fallen in love with Reece Gregory, but he can't support a wife. When he's given the chance to start a new life in Western Australia, he seizes the opportunity, promising to send for her. Then an old feud tears the family apart. Cassandra is kidnapped and her sisters are forced to sail with a group of desperate cotton lasses to Fremantle. Penniless and alone, Cassandra is determined to find them again - but when she is offered a way, there is a painful price to pay.

Lai Pek is a self-made man and proud of it. He has reached middle age a successful businessman and patriarch of a thriving family. His outlook on life is smug, self-satisfi ed and complacent. But no one goes through life unscathed and, like a tiger silently creeping through the jungle, adversity stalks Lai Pek, striking swiftly. Faced with a formidable business rival, a horrifying tragedy at his rubber plantation and a shocking crime that threatens the lives of those dear to him, Lai Pek must reassess his values and draw on an inner strength that he may not possess if he is to survive the crises that life has thrown at him. Set in a small town in peninsular Malaya in the 1930's, the story takes place against the colourful backdrop of the lives and customs of the Chinese denizens and the inexorable encroachment of modern ideas and infl uences on their long-held values and ways of life.

'Curl up in a chair with Fenella J Miller's characters and lose yourself in another time and another place.' Lizzie Lane As war looms, can they keep the home fires burning? Lady Joanna Harcourt and her daughter Sarah discover their life of luxury at Goodwill House is over. Because with Lord Harcourt away fighting, the Harcourt girls are facing financial ruin. Lady Joanna is terrified of losing their home, but for Sarah, this means her dreams of becoming a doctor are over. Headstrong Sarah isn't one to quit! War or not, she's determined to find a way to save her home and follow her dreams- whatever it takes! Dashing RAF officer Angus Trent might just save the day. The new RAF base at Manston will soon be full of young women all hoping to serve their country, and Goodwill House will make the perfect home for them. But can Sarah convince Lady Joanna to agree to her plan? Angus has never met a woman quite like Sarah - courageous, brave, unwavering. She has a huge task ahead of her, but if anyone can do it, his war girl can. Book 1 in the brand new Goodwill House series by bestselling author Fenella J. Miller Praise for Fenella J. Miller: 'Curl up in a chair with Fenella J Miller's characters and lose yourself in another time and another place.' Lizzie Lane 'Engaging characters and setting which whisks you back to the home front of wartime Britain. A great start to what promises to be a fabulous series.' Jean Fullerton

Once a home full of love, all that remains in Greyfriars House are secrets and lies . . . On a remote Scottish island sits Greyfriars House, a house haunted by unspoken words and family mysteries. But once it was a happy and comforting place and in the summer of 1939, family and friends gather to forget their fears about the impending war. Nine-year-old Olivia watches the grown-ups with fascination particularly her mother and her two aunts, the three daughters of the family who own the island. Then Olivia she sees something she isn't meant to and when the truth comes out it reverberates through the generations. Almost fifty years later, Olivia has fallen ill and urges her own daughter, Charlotte, to visit Greyfriars to reconnect the existing branches of the family. Charlotte is hesitant to get to know her great-aunts, women who have always shunned her mother, but curiosity and a desire to run from her own life get the better of her and she goes to the island. But Greyfriars House is a shadow of its former self and Charlotte finds her great-aunts tense and cautious. There is something they want to share with Charlotte, but in order to truly understand their secret Charlotte must first understand what happened to them before and during the war . . .

How far would you go to protect your family? 'Full of heart and essential truth, this moving book will sweep you to a very satisfying ending and perhaps a few happy tears' KATIE FFORDE 'A riveting family saga, with terrific characters, that has you utterly engrossed from start to finish. I loved it' PATRICIA SCANLAN 'I absolutely adored every page of it . . . No one blends love and loss, happiness and heartbreak quite the way Carmel does. Not since the late, great Maeve Binchy' CLAUDIA CARROLL 'An emotional family drama . . . full of the warmth we've come to associate with Carmel's writing' HAZEL GAYNOR 'An exploration of familial love and grief . . . and how in the face of our greatest trials, our strongest bonds can be forged' ROISIN MEANEY 'Warm, uplifting and thought-provoking . . . The perfect book club read!' DEBBIE JOHNSON 'Beautifully written, warm and wise. I adored it' ALEX BROWN Hawke's Bay, New Zealand While Rachel Butler likes her life in a pretty Dublin coastal village, her heart lies in Hawke's Bay, where she grew up. Visiting for the first time since tragedy tore her family apart, she and her stepchildren fall for its beauty and outdoor lifestyle. Malahide, Ireland As Rachel picks up the threads of her life as a single parent, she can't shake off the memories of her loving family in New Zealand - and her dream house, the villa on the bay. But it's time to move forwards with their life in Ireland, close to the children's grandparents, amid the familiar surroundings they all know well. Until the children's grandmother, still grieving, starts to interfere, questioning Rachel's position as stepmother. Until Rachel's attempts to strengthen the family she loves so dearly backfires, pitting everyone against each other. And until her late husband's parents mend the rift that has existed as long as she's been married - bringing with them an explosive secret . . .

Seventeen-year-old Bradalynn Collier is used to enduring night after night of unbearable restlessness. In the quiet darkness while everyone else sleeps, dreams that are not only hers take possession of her mind. Brady thinks her gift for entering the subconscious minds of others is a curse-until she meets the mysterious Alexander Connelly on her first day of her junior year in high school.

Alexander is a new transfer student whose mesmerizing green eyes seem to stare straight through Brady. Against the advice of her best friend, Doug Rothen, Brady decides to venture into the dark nights of Alexander's slumber. As she suffers through his relentless nightmares, becoming emotionally attached along the way, Brady finds reason to finally gain control of her unique ability. But just as an unexpected relationship emerges and blurs the line in her friendship with Doug, a devastating accident forces Brady to make an unthinkable decision.

In this compelling tale, Brady must betray the trust of others and make a choice that has the potential to tear her away from the only dream she now desires-a life with Alexander Connelly.

A Marriage and a Sudden Move to a New Town Won't Slow This Mischievous Writer Down

Barbara Buncle: bestselling novelist, new wife...new neighbor?

In this charming follow-up to Miss Buncle's Book, the intrepid writer moves to a new town filled with fascinating folks...who don't even know they might become the subjects of her next bestselling book.

Miss Buncle may have settled down, but she has already discovered that married life can't do a thing to prevent her from getting into humorous mix-ups and hilarious hijinks.

A beloved author who has sold more than seven million books, D. E. Stevenson is at her best with the stories of Miss Buncle.

"Completely charming."

"And funny, in a way that's intelligent without being difficult and cozy without turning sticky-sweet."--Reader Review for the Miss Buncle books

From debut Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Mapepa comes the saga of the four Taha sisters, and the indomitable matriarch who carried her daughters—and her community—through times of drought and violence in their Harare neighborhood.

From the red soil of her garden in Southgate 1, a crowded suburb of Harare, Nyeredzi watches the world. She knows not to venture beyond the grasses that fence them off from the bush, where the city’s violent criminals and young lovers claim the night. But on this red soil, she is sovereign. It is here where she learns how to kill snakes, how to fight off a man, and how to take what she is due. It is here where Nyeredzi and her three older sisters are raised, and where they will each find a different destiny.

Decades prior, a young woman abandons a position of great power to seek justice in the second Chimurenga War, only to return to find her world in shambles. So Zuva Mutongi sets off to build a world of her own, raising four daughters—Nyeredzi, Hannah, Abigail, and Ruth—and defending them from the evils beyond their small Harare home. But when a letter from her long-estranged brother calls her back to a past life, Zuva must reconcile with her duty and heal the broken community she left behind.

Tsitsi Mapepa’s vibrant debut is the history of a new Zimbabwe, with resilient women and men who raised a nation from its ashes. It is the chronicle of an L-shaped house, long awaited and much beloved, and the guests, welcome and unwelcome, who cross its threshold. It is the coming-of-age of four sisters, who will discover the secrets of womanhood on the volatile streets of Harare. But above all, it is a love song to one woman—a soldier, healer, chief, and mother—whose fierce devotion to her people is a testament to the bonds of blood that bind us all.

The Drums of Winter is a sweeping epic, a family saga, a novel of history. Set in the time of the American Revolution, it details the decline and fall of a great family, the proud love of a noble woman, a young man s search for his true father, and a conflict between brothers which moves from Europe to American and climaxes in one of the decisive battles of the Revolutionary War. The Haynows are the most powerful family in Hessia. Baron Haynow is a strong, self-made man, deeply in love with his wife, Anna, whom he rescued from poverty twenty years before. When the American colonists rebel against the British, it seems at first a chance to increase the Haynow family power by monopolizing the American tobacco trade. Then an intrusive figure from the past appears, resurrecting old loves, old jealousies. Anna learns that her first husband, long believed dead, is still alive in America and that Haynow has withheld his letters from her. The revelation sets in motion a chain of conflicts that shatter the Haynow family. How these conflicts are resolved on the battlefields of the American Revolution with Robert a mercenary under the command of his hated brother, Claus; and Anna risking death in search of her first love provides the unexpected climax to this rich and compelling novel."

Ninety-three-year-old Abigail Buckley, who may or may not be in control of all her faculties, is prepared to reveal the skeletons in the family closet to her great-niece, Dawn, who stands to inherit the family's considerable wealth. After claiming to Dawn she has been living with a curse for years, Abigail can do nothing but anxiously await her niece's arrival.A few days later, Abigail sips her tea as she leads Dawn through four generations of history and parallel universes, revealing the story of how Abigail came to be raised by her father and Concha, a Mexican-American woman harboring a deep secret. As Abigail recalls her coming-of-age journey--during which she achieved academic excellence, rode horses, and witnessed a tragic accident--she lays out decades of family history and secrets, along with the details of the dreaded curse, which Dawn soon learns must be passed down. But it is only when Dawn sets off on an adventure that culminates in a chain of remarkable events on an ancient burial ground that another tier of unbelievable history is added to her unique family.In this supernatural novel inspired by New Mexico folklore, a woman nearing the end of her life leads her beloved niece through the past so that she may embrace the future--and all it encompasses--without her.

Some battles will be fought on the Homefront...The war has had a devastating effect on the Sweet Family with young Charlie Sweet, lost at sea, presumed dead and bombs falling on nearby Bristol. Still there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon in the form of Mary Sweet's upcoming wedding to her Canadian beau. But even that has failed to rouse their father from his grief. But in London a baby has been found in a bombed out house, sheltered in the arms of his dead mother. A child to make life worth living again... Discover the gripping, heartfelt second instalment in Lizzie Lane's bestselling Sweet Sisters trilogy. Praise for Lizzie Lane: 'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin 'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton 'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier 'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller

Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Arab American Book Award Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR * Nylon * Kirkus Reviews * Bustle * BookPage "Moving and beautifully written." -- Entertainment Weekly On the eve of her daughter Alia's wedding, Salma reads the girl's future in a cup of coffee dregs. She sees an unsettled life for Alia and her children; she also sees travel and luck. While she chooses to keep her predictions to herself that day, they will all soon come to pass when the family is uprooted in the wake of the Six-Day War of 1967. Lyrical and heartbreaking, Salt Houses follows three generations of a Palestinian family and asks us to confront that most devastating of all truths: you can't go home again. "[Alyan is] a master." -- Los Angeles Review of Books "Beautiful . . . An example of how fiction is often the best filter for the real world around us." -- NPR "Gorgeous and sprawling . . . Heart-wrenching, lyrical and timely." -- Dallas Morning News "[Salt Houses] illustrate[s] the inherited longing and sense of dislocation passed like a baton from mother to daughter." -- New York Times Book Review

When John Barnesworth inherits unexpectedly, he abandons his solitude and returns to London to settle his brother's affairs, only to discover his estates are crumbling and he is now betrothed to his brother's unpleasant fiancee. Her dowry might save him from ruin, but at what cost? His only hope lies with the vivacious, charming Lady Charlotte Stirling, whose audacious solution to John's troubles might actually work. If only he can keep his feelings for her out of the equation . . . Lady Charlotte Stirling knows she can't fall for John. He's her brother's best friend, he's engaged to her mortal enemy, and he wants to return to America. Not to mention he'd never survive in her bustling social life. She can, however, try to solve his money problem. But the closer she gets to ensuring his freedom, the harder it is to let him go . . .

'Wonderfully evocative and richly layered, I couldn't put it down' Alex Brown Painful secrets have kept them apart... can the truth bring them together? London, 1984. Lori and Roland. Anna and Jude. Young, attractive and carefree, these two couples are inseparable friends. A holiday together in Paris seems like the perfect idea... until one reckless mistake tears them apart. Sydney, 2019. Ceri doesn't know the strange man who introduces himself as a friend of her parents. Her relationship with her mother was already fraught with tension... but now she needs answers. Because this man says he's her biological father. Can Ceri find a way to unravel the secrets of the past... and protect her family? A rich and warm-hearted family drama, perfect for fans of Fern Britton, Emma Hannigan and Cathy Kelly. Readers love Sara James' family drama Mothering Sunday: 'I read this book in one sitting!' 'A beautiful read' 'Such a joyous story' 'A real page turner' 'This is a book to escape into'

Einar must take back control of his destiny in this thrilling Viking adventure. How do you defeat the undefeatable? 935 AD, Norway. Recovering from horrendous injuries, Einar finds himself unable to fight. He is not strong enough to defeat his rival, Eirik, who has seized Orkney despite Einar being the rightful Jarl. Eirik's men soon raid the Norwegian coast, led by a warrior called the Bear. Cruel and ferocious, the Bear possesses a legendary blade - one that gives him a skill in battle that cannot be matched. Such an extraordinary sword could be key to Einar's plans - but first he and the Wolf Coats must contend with the Bear himself. Caught between old foes and new ones, Einar must use all his wits to survive. But is a man who cannot wield a sword capable of being a true Viking warrior? Reviews for Tim Hodkinson: 'Will appeal to fans of Bernard Cornwell, George R.R. Martin, and especially Theodore Brun' Historical Novel Society 'A gripping action adventure like the sagas of old' Melisende's Library 'An excellently written page-turner' Historical Writers Association