Historical Homes

When an explosive conflict is determined to destroy lives the world over, Ruby Rose Risler undertakes her patriotic responsibility to the Doughboys being called to defend liberty “over there.” But Ruby’s civic duty becomes a labor of love when her newest pen pal sparks a sweet interest. Farm boy Earnest Steiner cannot fathom the scope of the task before him when he’s pulled from small town America and dropped into the trenches of France. But the touching letters he receives from a gentle young woman provide a lifeline during his time on the Western Front.

Nell and Cave Bear are safe in the company of the animal-loving Sea Clan. But when the Woodland Clan begin causing trouble, the two friends are separated. This time, the Woodland hunters are determined not to return home empty-handed. Can Nell and Cave Bear escape the greatest danger yet?

Meet the Prescott family: a bright and enigmatic mix of characters who struggle together and pick their way through the different perilous minefields of Flushing, Queens, during the Vietnam War era. At the center of this story is a boy becoming a man, simultaneously surrounded and set ablaze by his unstable and supportive family. Set in this tumultuous time of our nation's history and peppered with vivid atmospheric nods to both the time and place, this is the first installment of the War at Home series, a timeless family saga that will reverberate in spirit for generations to come.

With Hope Johnson as connection to culture of privilege, David Taylor develops into top salesman at Fashion on Fremont family boutique replacing menswear manager she fired unbeknownst to father. After work one night drinking at the bar in Golden Nugget Casino, in conversation with Hope, he admits he writes poetry. She laughs it off teasing him about being a working class guy - aircraft mechanic, writing poetry. When the two of them are having dinner with dad, Rob, and Hopes play mom, Vanessa who lives in Long Beach, she jokingly brings it up.

Luke Valenti has never fit into his swaggering family of overbearing loudmouths. Even worse, the world is at war again and Uncle Sam has stamped his draft notice “4-F” - the ultimate rejection - because of a rare eye condition that has left Luke unable to see colors. So instead, he dreams of escaping Brooklyn for the beaches of Montauk. That is, until a stolen prop from "The Maltese Falcon" pitches him down a reluctant path to Hollywood. Luke is tasked with returning it to Warner Brothers.

In Worship of Hollow Gods, James Sniechowski bears witness to the world of a sensitive nine-year-old boy, subjected to the underbelly of his Polish Catholic family in working-class Detroit. The year is 1950. The family gathers for a Friday night family poker/pinochle party. The outcome reveals a world no one ever talked about then and they are forbidden to talk about now - the unspoken, the impermissible, the reality beneath every family's practiced facade - and what lies beneath when the front has been ripped away.

On a stormy night in March 1941, Maisie Rose Hawkins leaves her drunk husband, Stan, out in the rain - and he disappears. Detective Sergeant Bob Robbins and young PC Laurie Oliver are called out to investigate and discover that Stan’s small fishing boat is gone, the rope sawn through. As Bob searches for answers, it becomes apparent that in this small Cornish village where everyone knows everything about everybody, nobody quite knows the truth.

Journey with Jim through An Ambition to Belong, the second book of master novelist Jim Sniechowski’s Leaving Home trilogy. This is an astute and insightful psychological journey into the inner life of Jim, an adolescent in the midst of trying to forge his own identity....

His nightmares were real. Abandoned again - this time on a sinking ship. Running from his past - struggling to survive. Huddled in a dark secluded corner of the ship, Guy hugged his knees, shaking with fear and cold. Total darkness threatened to consume him. His eyes hurt from crying, his body ached from fighting. He jerked as another rat tried to seek refuge beneath his jacket. He was alone. Left to die on a sinking ship. Fourteen years have passed since seven siblings had to separate to survive after their drunken father abandoned them.

Lady Grace’s bargain with the devil guaranteed the life of the man she will always love, but the price was giving him up forever. Now Matthew has returned to England, and she finds it impossible to let him go. Freed from a hellish prison on the Continent, Matthew Stanford, Marquess of Harrington, retreats to his country manor. His days obsessed with thoughts of exacting revenge upon the man responsible for his captivity.

Lady Mary Masterson had no objection to being betrothed to Gilbert Talbot until he ridiculed her. Now, years later, it appears her chance for an adventure on the Continent will be thwarted by the very man when he turns up, vowing to keep her safe. Insufferable! If only it weren’t so difficult to ignore her fluttering heart - and the voices constantly touting the advantages of marrying the man who long ago called her a witch.

It's 1941, and the war rumbles on. Nowhere is immune to the effects of war, not even Ambridge. But in England's favourite village, something else is occupying the residents. When a prominent villager dies, the main beneficiary's name is a mystery, and no one knows who is set to inherit the estate, cottage and all. The name is hidden within a locked box, and the villagers much uncover the password to find out the name of the beneficiary.

"Love ‘em and Leave ‘em" Alice Kim and “Hot” Steve Lowell are perfect for each other. It’ll only take them 10 years to figure that out. In this friends-to-lovers, marriage-pact novella spanning the last decade of the 20th century, life forces a playboy and a playgirl to grow up - and grow apart - before giving them a chance to create a happy-ever-after they can actually be happy about!

Endpapers excavates the extraordinary histories of the author's grandfather and father: the renowned publisher Kurt Wolff, dubbed "perhaps the 20th century's most discriminating publisher" by the New York Times Book Review, and his son Niko, who fought in the Wehrmacht during World War II before coming to America.

Becky Nelson fled her childhood home and risked irreparable damage to her relationship with her only sister for an independent life in Kansas. The bookish bachelorette had no sooner settled in the Sunflower State when her path crossed with Henry, a ruggedly handsome farmer. The draft selects the seemingly untouchable Henry, and the couple rushes to make their union permanent before the war carries him to far-off lands. As the days turn to months, their letters give Becky and Henry the strength to go on as he serves his country, and she shares their home with an unlikely guest.

In a sleepy Southern coastal town crowned the Hollywood of the East, worlds collide, and sparks fly when fate has two TV casting directors acting as accidental rivals. It’s not just that the town isn’t quite big enough for the two of them. Violet Davenport brings deep roots, local allies, and old-fashioned Southern charm to the table. Nate Fowler’s got deep pockets, tech knowhow, and a family that’s been in the biz since the silent film days.

Single mom Isabella York was a celebrity before she had her first kiss, her first date, or her first sip of alcohol. Playing the bad girl—both on and off the set—allowed her to make up for lost time. Back home in Boston, with her “checkered past” behind her, all she wants is to raise her little girl far away from the spotlight, because revealing her secrets could mean losing everything, or gaining more than she ever hoped.

1988 doesn’t end well for Jessica Abraham. In just one week, she turns 30, loses her day job, and loses the role of Ophelia to a younger actress. Rallying, she goes after a part at a theater outside of the city, but the director’s plan to hide her beauty behind hair, makeup, and wardrobe from Cosmo’s “Don't'' column shakes her confidence to the core. For the first time in her acting career, she won’t be able to rely on her carefully managed physical charms. Only her craft will count.