This is the story of a young girl, Shinichi, who was abandoned by her parents and was brought up under the custody of her grandmother. During Shinichi's maturation, the grandmother experiences strange hallucinatory dreams. Shinichi eventually earns a degree in psychology. She meets her future husband, Kaz, a medical student, at the university, and their life together brings them as volunteers to the Kobe earthquake where Shinichi learns of the whereabouts of her mother and half-sister. The grandmother dies of a massive stroke. This story reflects on Japanese culture and travels to many scenic areas and is a testament to the will and strength of a young person.

THE INN OF DREAMS Sweet Laughter! Sweet Delight! My heart is like a lighted Inn that waits Your swift approach . . . and at the open gates White Beauty stands and listens like a flower. She has been dreaming of you in the night, O fairy Princes; and her eyes are bright. Spur your fleet horses, this is Beauty's hour! Even as when a golden flame up-curled Quivers and flickers out in a dark place, So is it with the flame of Beauty's face— That torch! that rose! that wonder of the world! And Love shall weep to see—when he rides by Years hence (the time shall seem as a bird's flight)— A lonely Inn beneath a winter sky. Come now, sweet friends! before the summer die. Sweet Laughter! Sweet Delight!

Brand NEW from the bestselling author of The Village Shop For Lonely Hearts. After escaping her parents’ unhappy marriage to sleepy Cranbridge a long time ago, Belle Clarke dreams of staying at The Black Swan Inn forever. But with the rundown Inn threatened with closure, Belle may be forced to leave, unless a buyer can be found ... quickly. So, when her oldest friend Pete Kennedy returns from working abroad with a plan to save the Inn, Belle should be overjoyed. The trouble is, Pete has some rather radical ideas for the renovation which Belle disagrees with. But when a snow storm hits, Belle and Pete are forced to put aside their differences and work together to help the village. Can Belle realise her dreams to stay in Cranbridge and can Pete ever stop running from his past? As they try to save The Black Swan Inn, secrets are revealed and just maybe they’ll finally find out how they really feel about each other. Praise for Alison Sherlock: 'Glorious escapism. Uplifting, heartwarming and joyful, Alison Sherlock writes with a warmth and lightness of touch' Kerry Fisher 'A lovely story of finding yourself and discovering what home means. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Loved it.' Jessica Redland

New beginnings take determination… Welcome back to Star Gazer Inn. Alice McIntyre’s fresh start after buying the Star Gazer Inn is filling her days, and she’s now ready to open with the help of her best friend Lisa’s culinary skills and uplifting attitude. And her soon-to-be daughter-in-law Nina by her side, too. And the magic of her new friend and contractor Seth Roark’s tireless attention to detail. Seth and Alice have both suffered loss, both are starting over, and both are treating this new friendship and attraction they feel toward each other with caution. Alice’s son Dallas is realizing he may not have what it takes to continue riding in the pro rodeo bull riding circuit. He’s home at the South Texas McIntyre Ranch after injuring his shoulder and checking out what’s going on at his mother’s new inn. When he meets a beautiful woman on the beach under unusual circumstances, he has no idea how his life is about to change… Meanwhile: Riley McIntyre is full speed ahead on getting the new "glamping" venue on the ranch’s coastal beachfront property up and going for the ladies who like a little glamor and luxury to their camping experience. Jackson and Nina are planning their wedding. Lisa’s past is causing problems and with the opening of the inn, Alice needs her to be focused and her culinary skills to be at their best. Can she handle the pressure? Three women find friendship and courage on the shores of Corpus Christi Bay. Come visit the Star Gazer Inn, with a side trip to the McIntyre Ranch, as Alice finds her way between two worlds. This new series follows Alice, her sons, and her friends—and new loves—on the South Texas coast with its sparkling topaz water. You’ll want to dip your toes in and stay awhile.

The Chelsea Hotel, since its founding by a visionary French architect in 1884, has been an icon of American invention: a cultural dynamo and haven for the counterculture, all in one astonishing building. Sherill Tippins, author of the acclaimed February House,delivers a masterful and endlessly entertaining history of the Chelsea and of the successive generations of artists who have cohabited and created there, among them Thomas Wolfe, Dylan Thomas, Arthur Miller, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol, Sam Shepard, Sid Vicious, and Dee Dee Ramone. Now as legendary as the artists it has housed and the countless creative collaborations it has sparked, the Chelsea has always stood as a mystery as well: why and how did this hotel become the largest and longest-lived artists' community in the known world? Inside the Dream Palaceis the intimate and definitive story.

In this heartwarming, feel-good novel, a snowstorm brings a cast of very different characters together at a sleepy New England inn, just in time for Christmas—and maybe even in time for a Christmas miracle. A New England inn seems like the picture-perfect place to spend the holidays. But when a snowstorm shuts the roads and keeps them all inside, the guests find themselves worrying that this Christmas may not be exactly what they dreamed of. Molly just needs to keep her head down and finish her latest book, but her writer’s block is crippling. The arrival of Marcus, a handsome widower with two young girls, is exactly the distraction she doesn’t need. Hannah was hoping for a picturesque winter wedding, but her plans come crashing down when her fiancé calls everything off. She reconnects with her childhood friend, Luke, when he comes to check on his grandmother before the storm. Jeanne and Tim don’t know how they’re going to keep the inn open another year—or how to bridge the distance between them in their marriage. With a flurry of unexpected guests, they’ll have to work together to fix all the problems that crop up. But will it be enough to rekindle their relationship? With faith, and a little bit of Christmas magic, the inn—and its inhabitants—might just make it through the holidays after all in this “beautiful story about strangers becoming friends…and having an unexpectedly joyous time” (Publishers Weekly).