Heartwarming books with characters you'll love: have you been to Pajaro Bay? Camilla Stewart desperately needs to start over. Her ex-fiance ripped her off and disappeared, leaving behind his eight-year-old son. She soon finds herself out of gas in a tiny beach town with the lost boy in tow and the key to an abandoned cottage in her pocket. But there's more to the village of Pajaro Bay than meets the eye, including a handsome local cop poking into her business, a bunch of quirky neighbors determined to pull her out of her shell, and, oh yeah, a killer on the loose who is somehow linked to her, the young boy, and the darling little house known as the Honeymoon Cottage. Get away to the little California beach town where the cottages are cute, the neighbors are nosy, and it's always possible to find your personal Happily Ever After. The Pajaro Bay novels can be read in any order.

Carmel is a microcosm of California's architectural heritage, sited at one of the most scenic meetings of land and sea in the world. Mission San Carlos Borromeo became a root building for California's first regional building style, the Mission Revival. "Carmel City," as it was called in the 1880s, was marketed as a seaside resort for Catholics. Its pine-studded sand dunes survived the imposition of a standard American gridiron street pattern, with a Western, false-front main street, to become "Carmel-by-the-Sea." Artists, academics, and writers embraced the arts-and-crafts aesthetic of handcrafted homes built from native materials, informally sited in the landscape. In the mid-1920s, Tudor Revival and Spanish Romantic Revival styles enhanced the storybook quality of the community. Carmel's architectural character is primarily the product of working builders. Its design traditions have been interpreted and modified for modern times by noted architects, building designers, and craftsmen. Individual expression continues as an ongoing aesthetic theme.

It is hard to believe that just three little words, Isles of Shoals, can evoke as much romanticism as they do. Yet when those words are spoken, remembrances of years long past--of one of New England's earliest and most prosperous fishing communities; of Celia Thaxter and her life well spent surrounded by beautiful flowers, fine art, and high-society friends; of "Uncle Oscar" Laighton and his ancient but unfailing smile; and of the Victorian grandeur of the expansive Oceanic and Appledore Hotels--bring one back to the glory days of the Isles of Shoals.

Something old, something new–sister one or sister two? After her parents’ vast fortune is stolen in a shady wire transfer, Dory Lambert, armed with a hard-earned M.B.A. and a savvy entrepreneurial spirit, vows to clear the family name and recover their wealth. But just as she sets her plan in motion, Dory is thrown off-kilter by the return of her childhood crush: the chauffeur’s son, Chase McKay. Can Dory charm this handsome man using her dark good looks and sharp mind, or will he fall prey–again–to Dory’s gorgeous blond sister, Jill, a carefree soul whom every man desires? Nearly sixteen years ago, Chase was caught in a compromising situation with Jill–and he was quickly sent away to college. Now he is a millionaire architect, returning to the Lambert estate to visit his father. Dory is certain that this time the attraction between her and Chase is mutual. Wedding bells are ringing . . . but will true love answer?

In this provocative collection of true stories of love, marriage, and divorce, prominent women--including Terry McMillan, Joyce Maynard, and Annie Echols--candidly discuss the good times, the bad times, and what makes or breaks a marriage.

All I Have Is Me is a fictional novel that tells the story of how the Logan family grieves and suffers after their lives are broken and shattered by the loss of their teenaged daughter in an automobile accident. The parents blame the death on their younger daughter, Theresa, who is driving the car. The story is told from Theresa’s viewpoint. Life as Theresa has known it changes forever in a matter of seconds. With the death of her older sister, there is no longer any warmth, happiness, or love in the family’s life. Theresa is heavily burdened watching her parents’ endless grief. She becomes tired of being the recipient of the accusatory looks of disappointment and hurt from her parents. She feels that no one cares if she lives or dies. After a failed suicide attempt, Theresa decides to do her best to stay out of her parents’ way and bide her time until she can graduate from high school and leave home. Upon high school graduation, she joins the army because she has nowhere else to go. The army provides all her basic needs for survival. The army becomes her life for twenty years. Theresa learns to exist and function without allowing herself to get emotionally involved in life. After retirement from the military, Theresa feels a need to put down roots. She stumbles upon an old dilapidated farm cottage in a small community. She feels a connection to the empty cottage that no one cares for or loves. Theresa finds that as she repairs the flaws and cracks in the old cottage and brings it back to life, she is also repairing the flaws and cracks in her own life. She renews her faith in God. By accepting love from others, the story tells how Theresa is able to find joy and beauty in living as she allows herself to love, forgive herself, and learn to live again.