Three friends are reunited through unlikely circumstances five years after their high school graduation in Jasper, Illinois. A violent storm causes Jody Hansen to make some ill-fated decisions that land him in jail, accused of car theft, possession of an illegal firearm and assaulting a police officer who later died. Although he is innocent, Jody's family lacks the funds to hire a seasoned criminal attorney, settling instead for one used to handling simple domestic cases. His opponent is a high-priced prosecuting attorney who relishes an easy conviction. Anna Sanchez returns to Jasper, Illinois from her home in Chicago to help her father Miguel who suffered a stroke during the storm. When she learns Jody is also in town, she realizes the feelings she had for him in high school are still very much alive. Anna's amorous feelings intensify when Jody informs her that he planned to begin a marketing internship in Chicago prior to his arrest. When Jody sees how Anna has transformed herself into an attractive woman with the physique of a competitive runner, he can't stop thinking about her. Aaron Cole, who makes up the third member of the trio dubbed fuerzas especiales or special forces, returns to Jasper from his home in New York to come to the aid of his brother, who was arrested while protesting the George Floyd murder. Jody's legal predicament isn't the only conflict in his life. When he learns it's been his father's dream to work as a fatther/son tandem at a local hardware store he now owns, Jody feels torn. Does he honor his father's wishes or act on a desire to move to Chicago to be with Anna, the woman he now loves? It will take a galvanized effort from all three, plus an overmatched lawyer's determination to right a wrong for the group to have any chance at proving Jody's innocence. If he can secure his freedom, Jody must now choose between breaking his father's heart or his own.

A contemporary look at domestic violence and the toll it takes on one girl's life as she finds love and hope in a new city from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde… I didn’t have a game plan when I decided to leave St. Louis on a Chicago-bound train for the summer. Just a reason. One I couldn’t share with anyone. Not Hadley, my best friend from college, who lets me stay in the guest bedroom with no questions asked. Or Hadley’s boyfriend Garrett who befriends me when I have no one else to turn to. Or Brennan, the local bartender, who I find myself falling head over heels for. Desperate to hide, I’m plunged into a new life in the city. Everyone around me starts to reveal sides of themselves I never expected. And just when I start to get comfortable, I find that my past just won’t stop…following me.

Chicago's system of elevated railways, known locally as the "L," has run continuously since 1892 and, like the city, has never stood still. It helped neighborhoods grow, brought their increasingly diverse populations together, and gave the famous Loop its name. But today's system has changed radically over the years. Chicago's Lost "L"s tells the story of former lines such as Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kenwood, Stockyards, Normal Park, Westchester, and Niles Center. It was once possible to take high-speed trains on the L directly to Aurora, Elgin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The L started out as four different companies, two starting out using steam engines instead of electricity. Eventually, all four came together via the Union Loop. The L is more than a way of getting around. Its trains are a place where people meet and interact. Some say the best way to experience the city is via the L, with its second-story view. Chicago's Lost "L"s is virtually a "secret history" of Chicago, and this is your ticket.

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Arkansas 1940s After the Emancipation Proclamation passed black people werent called slaves they were called sharecroppers. Sharecroppers living on plantations in shacks, very close to the main Big House. Sharecropper is a system that was used to earn a living. Blacks picked cotton, took care of the farm, planted crops, tended to the farm animals, and daily chores such as wash clothes, wash dishes, and cook at the mercy of the Big Boss. There were rules that needed to be followed on a daily basis according to the Big Boss and if they werent met, you could possibly lose your life. They were forced to live this way if they wanted to survive. After many years passed, there were blacks in the White House and they started to migrate from the South to the North for a better life.

A Heritage Not Forgotten is based on the adventurous lives of four of the author's great-grandparents who were among the first settlers in Mower County, Minnesota, in the 1850s. Adam left his family in Germany, sailed the Atlantic, worked at a lumber camp, and hopped the freight trains to arrive in Wisconsin as a farm laborer. Matilda, a teenage girl, left Hamburg with her family for a grueling journey to Wisconsin. The book includes the romantic account of Adam and Matilda's courtship and marriage in Wisconsin and their eventful journey to Minnesota by covered wagon. Phillip, a lonely, discouraged young man, left Germany and worked his way through the port in Amsterdam onto a ship bound for New York. As a lumberjack and a farm hand, he found his way to Minnesota Territory. Lucinda, as a nine-year-old girl, traveled with her family about six hundred miles by covered wagons from Ohio to Minnesota Territory. When she was sixteen, Phillip convinced Lucinda's father that she was old enough for courtship and marriage. Woven into the stories are the faith longings of these four people that drew them to transforming conversion experiences that sustained them through the hardships of pioneer life. These two couples conscripted land, raised large families, and were pillars of faith who helped establish a dynamic church in the author's hometown of Racine, Minnesota.