Showing results for "Publishing Lives" in Small Town & Rural

Chicago surgeon Emily Hartford has never quite shaken off the dust of her hometown in Michigan. She may be a professional success and have a princely boyfriend in the Windy City, but she can’t seem to let go of being “the coroner’s daughter” from Freeport. Once again, she finds herself pulled back to her hometown when Jeremiah—the eleven-year-old son of her best friend, Jo—goes missing on the frigid shores of Lake Michigan.

The Llewelyn family's livelihood largely depends on the ferry, run by Siona Llewelyn, the kindly yet rugged head of the family. The family is large but close knit, held together by their mother Emily—a hard-working woman made old before her time having borne seven sons, and now with child once again. As the boys grow into young men, tensions flare in the family unit, made worse by a web of rivalries and ambitions. When a death shocks the family to its core, it will take the intervention of a special person to remind them of what they have lost.

The South Wales village of Hen Carw Parc is a haven of rural peace. But times are changing and, although Nelly Luke and the older villagers stick resolutely to tradition, the younger ones have caught tantalising glimpses of a world beyond their quiet valley. For Fay Cartwright the lure of a career strains her marriage to home-loving Johnny, while Amy, the happy-go-lucky shopkeeper, is saddened when her son is given Army leave but fails to return to his family home. And there are other, more serious intrusions, not least a spate of robberies.

This powerful debut thriller from "a major new talent" (Kirkus) set in a poor, rural community where loyalty is everything, "packs an emotional punch" (Lisa Gardner) as the daughter of a meth kingpin is forced to choose between family, or freedom. Never cut the drugs--leave them pure. Guns are...

Early one morning in 1929, Mary Seneca Steele spontaneously packs a suitcase, gathers up her son and daughter, and drives away in her abusive and dissolute husband’s brand-new Auburn Phaeton automobile, leaving her privileged life in Charleston behind. It is the beginning of a journey of enlightenment that leads Mary “Sen” to the mountains and mysteries of Appalachia, where she will learn unexpected family secrets, create a new life for herself and her children, and finally experience love and happiness before tragedy will once again test her.

Mulberry Hotel, perched on a clifftop above a sweeping bay, was once the heart and soul of pretty seaside town Mulberry Bay. Run by the Harte family for years, the place itself is almost as beloved as cheery landlady Anna. The hotel was also once home to 30-something sisters Eleanor and Penny, and while youngest sister Penny still lives close by, it's been some time since Elle has visited. But following a family tragedy, Elle is forced to return from her busy London life and reassess her past.

In the peaceful Wiltshire valley of Essington St Mary, architect Corin Drayton stumbles upon a ghastly new building development that is set to destroy the tranquil atmosphere and Edwardian features of this quiet neighbourhood. He is horrified. For only recently has he inherited - and spent his life savings on renovating - a home for himself and his newly pregnant wife Lucia in Larch Tree Lane. From the cottages and farms to the local shop, pub and old manor house, residents' lives are set to intertwine, relationships bloom, and both romance and heartache lie ahead.

When Maisie Vasey leaves her husband and brings her daughter to live on Pendragon Island, she causes unrest within more than one family. Underneath the happy surface of this Welsh seaside town, relationships can seem fragile and easily destroyed. When Maisie comes to work for Edward Jenkins at Montague Court, he soon makes his intentions clear, but she has very different ideas about where their friendship is heading. Lewis and his fiery wife Dora continue to row with each other, even though they both know that love still binds them together.

Edward Jenkins dreams of opening a sports shop in the Welsh town of Pendragon Island. Then his ambitions become a possibility through his and his sister Margaret's inheritance, but Margaret has plans of her own. Can Edward stand up to her for the very first time? Rhiannon and Charlie Bevan want to start a family, but her father Lewis is living with them, refusing to accept the happiness of their marriage. If only they could find a way to reunite him with her mother Dora, they could finally have the home they've dreamed of.

Janet and Hywel Griffiths dream of seeing their son Frank happily married, but Mair, the daughter of the local police constable, does not seem to be the wisest choice. And anyway, she is far more interested in the secretive Carl Rees, who refuses to even be seen with her in public. Elsewhere in Pendragon Island, Jennie Francis must rethink her life as she is forced to say goodbye to her business and her marriage. All she ever wanted was to run a successful shop, but now she will have to start again. How can she manage if she is completely alone?

Poachers and dealmakers, the Griffiths family have always managed to scrape by on the edge of the law. As rationing finally draws to an end, the tight-knit community finds itself coming to terms with a new world in which social boundaries are being eroded and opportunities are growing for all. Heartache remains a constant though, with Caroline Griffiths trapped in a sham marriage to Barry Martin, and Rhiannon Lewis still mourning their broken engagement.

Journalist Sadie is home for the first time in fifteen years, staying in her small childhood bedroom as she deals with her estranged father’s death and her surprising inheritance. When Sadie meets Rebecca, the reclusive new owner of the solitary cottage at the edge of nearby Whisper Lake, she’s taken aback by the older woman’s request for help: ‘I need to find my family. Will you help me?’. She’s even more surprised when afterwards, Rebecca acts as if she never made the plea.

On the enchanting Isle of Arran, three sisters find themselves at Meadowbank Cottage, their childhood home. But it’s the first time they’ve been together since their mum died. And now they’re back in Arran for the wedding of middle sister Emma. One thing is for sure: there’s going to be lots of laughter and buckets of tears along the way. But how will the sisters come together when Emma receives some unexpected news?

Inlet Creek, Australia: Tragedy compels three estranged sisters to reconnect. Seeking a sense of belonging, Daisy Sheldon moves back to the small coastal town, but she soon realises where her heart really lies, hoping she hasn’t left it too late. Maddie Harwood-West hopes to rebuild her life after a wrenching loss. Her father wants her to stay and help him run the family sheep station, but Maddie is torn. At Inlet Creek, she meets a local fisherman who isn’t what he seems—and when he learns about her past, Maddie fears rejection.

After nearly two hundred years of housing retardants, as they were once known, the Beechwood Institute is closing the doors on its dark history, and the complicated task of reassigning residents has begun. Ella Jules, having arrived at Beechwood at the tender age of eight, must now rely on the state to decide her future. Ella’s aging parents have requested that she be returned to her childhood home, much to the distress of Ella’s siblings, but more so to Lynetta, her beloved caretaker who has been by her side for decades.

A single mum, Noni lives with her young son Harley, and her Aunt Win, a free spirit and the beating heart of Burra Guest House. Noni's world is disrupted when Iain McCloud and his pregnant teenage daughter Jacinta move into the guesthouse to await the birth of her baby. There's instant chemistry between Iain and Noni, although he has no plans to stay on in town. But when Jacinta shares explosive family secrets with Noni and an unexpected crisis occurs, everyone's lives come crashing down around them.

Ireland. County Wexford, 1951. A father and son go swimming in the sea. The waves crash. The wind rises. Only one comes back - Colin, aged six. His mother, Eileen, runs to seek help, but this is a tragedy that will haunt them forever. Colin won't speak a word. He is mute and struggling to cope. But Eileen can see he has a talent for painting. She shows him his father's artwork and gives him a print of a Paul Henry landscape, and slowly, with her encouragement, he begins to follow his dream.

When they meet in the 1930s, Doris and Tup’s love is immediate. They marry quickly and Doris commits to the only life Tup ever wanted: working the Senter family farm. Soon their first child, Sonny, is born and Doris and Tup understand they are blessed. More children arrive - precocious, large-hearted Dodie and quiet, devoted Beston - but Doris and Tup take nothing for granted. When an unimaginable tragedy turns the family of five into a family of four, everything the Senters held faith in is shattered.

William and Emma Sinclair have settled into life at Moorend Farm in North Yorkshire and live happily with their growing family, believing they have left the shame of their past behind. William is determined to prove his success to his embittered mother and charts a secure living for his sons to follow in his footsteps and reap the benefits of William and his wife's hard work. When Emma takes Jamie and Meg to visit her parents in Scotland, they receive a warm welcome from all their relations, except 'Grandmother Sinclair'.

A never-before-seen Christmas guest arrives to the island, filled with secrets of her own. The Sheridans welcome a brand-new baby. Complications arise left and right as the Sheridan sisters grapple with another season of changes. The Sheridan sisters’ mother, Anna Sheridan, never spoke much about her family, which is why the appearance of her younger sister is a surprise for all of them. She brings with her a host of troubles at the very worst time, as Audrey arrives home from a tumultuous semester at Penn State, just as Christine gives birth to her very first child.