Inspirational Fiction

Bailey Flanigan is finally leaving her small-town home of Bloomington, Indiana, for the adventure of a lifetime: she has gotten a part in a Broadway musical in New York City. She's determined to take advantage of this unbelievable opportunity, but is she really ready to leave family and friends for the loneliness of the big city? And what about Cody, her former boyfriend? His disappearance has her worried about their future and praying that their love can survive.

In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose...and rocks. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the tiny coastal Maine town, and he sets his calloused hands to work, but the building halts when tragedy strikes. Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when she learns her Great-Uncle Robert, the man who became her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is now the one in need of help.

We’re all faced with challenges in our lives which in the moment often seem unsurmountable and hopeless. That was the case for Sophie, a high school student who found herself sitting on a park bench one torturous autumn day, ready to end her life and her struggle. In Sophie’s moment of truth, a stranger suddenly appeared next to her, offering his handkerchief which was embroidered with these words: “If you want your life to change, you must change.”

Part of the #TwentyIn2020 collection for Black British writing, In Her Voice is an anthology that celebrates five poetry collections. This includes Locating Strongwoman by Tolu Agbelusi, Where the Memory Was by Hibaq Osman, Jamakespeare by Brenda Garrick, The First Collection by Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh and On Reflection by Adjoa Wiredu.

In the gentle world of one of England’s beautiful old cathedral towns, crisis looms: Funds are short, and the cathedral is in need of major repair. One faction of the community argues that the obvious solution is to abolish the expensive, and nowadays rather irrelevant, boys’ choir. But of course, there are those who disagree: the choir school’s headmaster, a conscientious scholar somewhat out of his depth with his elusive, poetical wife; the cathedral organist and choirmaster, brilliant, wayward, and in love with the lead chorister’s married mother; the former lead chorister, now twenty-three and directionless....

In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary - widely used in schools around the world - was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around 40 common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a “spell book” that will conjure back 20 of these lost words and the beings they name, from acorn to wren.

Beyond Thoughts is a poetry collection that explores the root cause of anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, negative thinking, and emotional suffering to help you heal. This book will take you on a beautiful journey of self-discovery, self-love, happiness, hope, and deep healing to help you find inner peace in a simple yet profound way.

Three-time Christy Award winner Davis Bunn collaborates with the beloved Janette Oke to evoke the spirit of the original followers of the Way. In a first century Jerusalem seething with turmoil, religious and political leaders eye the burgeoning Christian community with suspicion. While a Hebrew merchant and a Roman soldier vie for the hand of a lovely follower of Christ, she finds her heart drawn to another whose tireless care and unflinching faith shine daily.

While others often respond to the cares and concerns of our day through anger, And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World attempts to offer a response steeped in the heartbeat of Love. This book is an invitation to encounter the lived experience and philosophical musings of another as a human, not as a project or agenda to conquer. Without apology, it embraces humanity and all the emotions, back stories, and history that come along with who we are and who Love is inviting us to be.

In Holt Douglas' line of work, there's nothing sweeter than a confession of guilt. Assistant D.A. Holt Douglas makes his living exposing lies and sending criminals to jail in Ashley County, Georgia. His job is always easier when defendants, instead of remaining silent, blame someone else or try to excuse their actions. With a confession in his hand, Holt knows a guilty plea will soon follow. But lurking in Holt's past is a dark secret that could end his successful career and possibly his relationship with Angelina, his hoped-for fiancé.

Bathsheba is a woman who longs for love. With her devout husband away fighting the king's wars for many months at a time, discontent and loneliness dog her steps - and make it frighteningly easy to succumb to King David's charm and attention. Though she immediately regrets her involvement with the powerful king, the pieces are set in motion that will destroy everything she holds dear. Can she find forgiveness at the feet of the Almighty? Or has her sin separated her from God - and David - forever?

NHL Hockey Goalie Wyatt Marshall has everything - fame, money, and a thriving career. But he’s hiding the two things that matter most...a career-ending injury and his broken heart. He’s been in love with Coco Stanley since she walked into his life at age 14, a foster child for the Marshall family. She stole his heart years later, when, after a secret tryst, she returned to her home country of Russia. But she won’t let him back into her life — and he can’t figure out why.

As bombs fall across Europe, fourteen-year-old Lien Vinke fears that the reality of war is inescapable. Though she lives a quiet life with her mother and older sister, Elif, in their small town of Haarlem, they are no strangers to heartache, having recently suffered an immeasurable loss. And when the Nazis invade the Netherlands, joining the Dutch resistance with Elif offers just the atonement Lien craves.

Christine Eisley is the mother of seven-year-old Zach and five-year-old Haley. Her ex-husband provides little, if any, child support and makes life difficult for Christine by using the children as pawns. She works long hours as a waitress to make ends meet, but her job is in jeopardy because she's often late to work due to the unreliable teenage sitters she's forced to use. When Christine saves the life of a woman who works in Wilson's department store, the owner of Wilson's wants to find her, to thank her, but Christine has disappeared, losing another job once again.

So begins Joy Sullivan’s Instructions for Traveling West—a lush debut collection that examines what happens when we leave home and leap into the deep unknown. Mid-pandemic, Sullivan left the man she planned to marry, sold her house, quit her corporate job, and drove west. This dazzling collection tells that story as it illuminates the questions haunting us all: What possible futures lie on the horizon? What happens when we heed the call of furious reinvention?

David Cobb is not a typical lawyer--he's more interested in dispensing God's wisdom than pertinent legal advice. High-stakes litigation is way outside his comfort zone. For many years, Zeke Caldwell has been concocting home remedies made from natural ingredients found in the coastal marshes near Wilmington, North Carolina. One of his remedies proved so effective that he patented it with the help of David's father. Now he suspects a big drug company has stolen his formula. What he doesn't know is that the theft has deeper, more evil roots.

Jenna Burkhart is tired of being "special" and hearing about what she can't do. Even though she suffered a head injury in a childhood swimming accident, she wants a life of her own just like any Amish woman. But now that she, her mamm, and her mammi have moved to Wells Landing, she's having a hard time fitting in.... Until she meets Buddy Miller, a boy just like her, who gives her the confidence to reach for the impossible.

Robert is a successful attorney who has everything in life, and nothing at all. Focused on professional achievement and material rewards, Robert has lost sight of his wife, family and, ultimately, himself. An eight-year-old Nathan is losing his beloved mother, Maggie, to cancer. But Nathan and his family are building a simple yet full life, and struggling to hold on to every moment they have.

A wildly original poetry collection written and read by one of the UK’s most exciting young comics. A poet who favours dark suits, lager and long hot baths, he works on BBC Four in Charlie Brooker's Newswipe and on Radio 4, doing his late night poetry show. In 2009 he won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for his poetical recital The Slutcracker and has filmed some of his verse in black and white to overwhelming critical approval.

Growing up in a house filled with dirty feather boas and fearless mice, Emi Nietfeld dreams of escaping to the Ivy League. Emi’s single mom believes in her, but can’t stop hoarding—catapulting Emi into the underworld of troubled teen treatment, foster care, and homelessness. When her shot arrives to trade sleeping in her car for the hallowed halls of an elite college, Emi must decide: How far will she go to market herself as a perfect “overcomer” when her problems are far from over? And what will it cost to maintain that illusion at Harvard and into adulthood?