In a novel rich with heartache, deeply felt spirituality, and down-to-earth humor, a talented woman dares to face her demons-as a secret from the past threatens the love she's fought so hard to keep.

SONGBIRD

After her mama dropped out of her life, Myrtle Charmaine dropped her first name forever. But eleven-year-old Charmaine has her singing and her beloved Sunday school teacher, who takes her into her own God-fearing family. Yet Charmaine's out-of-the-ordinary odyssey has only just begun...

There are foster homes…a fateful encounter with a college man when she is barely fourteen…and gigs that range from the down-home sweetness of the Suds 'n' Strikes Forever bowling alley to the rhinestone dazzle of Atlantic City to the pure joy of singing gospel in church. And when a traveling preacher named Harlan who loves the Word and her arrives, Charmaine knows for sure God is smiling at her. Still, even on a countrywide crusade, her ineffable sense of longing lingers. It will lead her to paths Harlan would never approve of-if he knew! And to something that can end her sadness and give her the keys to healing.

It's a wonder to behold what happens when love moves in ...Former child star Fiona Hume deserted the movie biz a decade ago-right after she left rehab. She landed in Baltimore, bought a dilapidated old mansion downtown, and hatched dreams of restoring it into a masterpiece, complete with a studio for herself. She would disappear from public view and live an artist's life. That was the plan. Ten years later, Fiona's huge house is filled with junk purchased at thrift stores, haggled over at yard sales, or picked up from the side of the road. Each piece was destined for an art project ...but all she's got so far is a piece of twine with some antique buttons threaded down its length. She's thirty-two years old and still recognizable, but Fiona's money has finally run out. She's gotten pretty desperate, too, and in her desperation she's willing to do almost anything for money. Almost. So it is that she comes to rent out the maid's quarters to a local blacksmith named Josia Yeu. Josia is everything Fiona isn't: gregarious, peaceful, in control without controlling ...in short, happy. As the light from the maid's quarters begins to permeate the dank rooms of Fiona's world, something else begins to transform as well-something inside Fiona. Something even she can see is beautiful.

The ash tree has long been an integral part of the British landscape, its familiar branches protruding from limestone scars and chalky cliff faces. But tragically ash dieback, a disease from mainland Europe, now poses a serious threat to the trees' survival. And their grave prognosis took on a personal resonance when, while writing this book, Lisa Samson was diagnosed with a brain tumour, forcing her to contemplate her own mortality while the trees' likely fate emerged. Taking us from the lowlands of Norfolk to the northernmost reaches of the British Isles, Epitaph for the Ash offers up a rallying cry to treasure these remarkable woodlands while we can, before it is too late.

"If you want God to laugh, tell him your plans."
For Jose the cook and Nina the beautiful waitress life has not turned out the way either had planned. Living with the weight of guilt and lost dreams, each struggles to survive and to make sense of what life now holds. But the events of one ordinary day in New York City turn into an unforgettable experience that changes both of their lives forever.
Based on the #1 top-rated movie of 2007 and one of the most honored films of the year--winning the highly coveted People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, Best Picture and Best Actor at the 2008 MovieGuide Awards--"Bella" is a story about redemption, family and finding love unexpectedly.

Sometimes you have to go a little bit crazy to discover the life you were meant to live.

Heather Curridge is coming unhinged. And people are starting to notice. What's wrong with a woman who has everything--a mansion on a lake, a loving son, a heart-surgeon husband--yet still feels miserable inside?

When Heather spends the summer with two ancient Quaker sisters and a crusty nun running a downtown homeless shelter, she finds herself at a crossroads. Life turns upside down for Heather in a "Quaker Summer."

"One of the most powerful voices in Christian fiction, Samson delivers ...a staggering examination of the Christian conscience."

" "-"Publishers Weekly"

Lark Summerville’s life has few surprises–and that’s just how she likes it. All she wants is to live out her angst-riddled life in her blue-collar Baltimore neighborhood, punctuated by weekly trips to her local parish, where Lark is organist, and telephone conversations with desperate souls who dial her hotline at 1-777-IPRAY4U.

Then one night, Lark’s home is destroyed by a fire, forcing her out of her comfortable nest and back to the childhood home she has avoided for years. At Stoneleigh House, Lark is surrounded by three very different women: her grown daughter, Flannery; her barely tolerable socialite mother, Leslie; and Prisma Percy, housekeeper and family confidante, all of whom believe Lark was widowed years before.

In this circle of women, Lark’s carefully constructed existence begins to unravel, even as the promise of a new one unfolds. But when her contrite ex-husband shows up, longing to assume his role as Flannery’s father, twenty years after his desertion, Lark finds that she must face her own lies–and her past–before a new life can unfold.

Competition for church members in Mount Oak has reached a furious peak. When tragedy strikes one of their hometown sons, the church women are drawn together through compassion. The Church Ladies is a contemporary tale illustrating how women can have a major impact on the church. Through friendships that reach beneath surface level -- and trials more severe than simple -- they unite with common purpose: to pray, share, and comfort. Slowly, the community of believers learns that the church grows when it is rooted in love. Characters you'll laugh and cry with, in situations every woman will instantly relate to, light up this page-turner about a miracle that could happen anywhere.

Mary-Margaret has always planned to join the church as a religious sister, but falls in love with her childhood friend, Jude Keller, a ne'er-do-well with a soul needing saving. Born in 1930 on a beautiful island off Chesapeake Bay, Mary-Margaret Fischer knows exactly what she wants to be: a religious sister. Despite the violent circumstances of her conception and birth, she simply wants to be in love with Jesus and serve Him the rest of her life. When Mary-Margaret met Jude Keller, the lighthouse keeper's son, she was studying at a convent school on a small island off Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life where she could never marry, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude-gorgeous, rebellious, promiscuous Jude. But Jude, driven by demons no one really understood, disappeared into Baltimore's seamy red-light district to a life working the streets. Mary-Margaret moved on with her life, preparing to serve God with her sisters as a teacher and artist. Then Jude comes home-but now he's bitter, dissolute, and diseased. And Mary-Margaret receives a divine call that shakes her to the core, a call to give up her dreams and marry the troubled man who befriended her so long ago. For Jesus' sake, can she forsake the only life she ever wanted for a love that could literally cost her life? A beautiful novel of God's grace in impossible circumstances Book length: approximately 90,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs Also by Lisa Samson: Quaker Summer, Embrace Me, Bella, and The Sky Beneath My Feet

Trabaje para el bien en el mundo mediante su amor por los demas
Bella cuenta la historia de una mesera soltera en la ciudad de Nueva York, que queda embarazada y sufre conflictos por su situacion apremiante. Su afliccion es exacerbada cuando pierde su trabajo, y termina encontrandose con un misterioso chef latino, cuyo corazon carinoso y bondadoso le ayuda a ver las cosas claramente.

Being married to a saint isn't all it's cracked up to be. Pastor's wife Beth fears her marriage is over when her husband retreats to the backyard shed to await a sign from God as she is left to manage life with their two sons. Beth's husband won't be joining the family on vacation at the beach this year. He's not even joining them in the house. Instead, Rick has holed up alone in the backyard shed. Nobody knows exactly what he's up to. Maybe he's immersing himself in prayer. Maybe he's lost his mind. Maybe he's even the modern-day prophet or the saint the neighborhood artist imagines him to be. But while "St. Rick" waits for an epiphany, Beth will have to figure out what to do with herself and their teenage sons, possibly for the rest of her life. What happens next is both uproarious and bittersweet: a peace march turns violent, her son is caught with drugs, and she embarks on an ambitious road trip that turns into something nearly surreal. Will Beth rediscover the idealistic woman she used to be, once upon a time? Can her marriage survive Rick's backyard vigil? Will anything ever be the same? And should it be? Truthful, comic, heartbreaking, and magical in the very best sense of the word, The Sky Beneath My Feet gently tears the veil off our egos and expectations to reveal the throbbing, redemptive, and achingly beautiful life beyond and within us. Thought-provoking contemporary standalone novel Book length: approximately 90,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs