When middle-aged mother of three Francie Newburg goes to visit her doctor, she tells her she must lose weight. Francie begins a daily, early-morning walking regimen that sends her walking and watching through her little town of Shady View, Ohio. One day, on her morning walk, she becomes a hero when she rescues a man trapped in an abandoned building. Now a local celebrity, Francie is soon approached by the big guns in town. The Society for the Beautification of Shady View likes to keep things tidy. They plant flowers where flowers are needed, and they keep an eye on outsiders. Francie joins the society, and it feels good to give back to her community. Even so, Francies observations soon lead to trouble for Lanie and Bill Blau, owners of the With or Without Caf. Lanie and Bill like giving second chances. By hiring Paul Santone, a waiter with anger management issues and a criminal background, the restaurant becomes a target for the Society. When Lanie and Bill refuse to fire Paul, tension escalates, and the lives of everyone associated with the caf become endangered. The Societys efforts to beautify the town may ruin lives, and Francies helpful nature may prove to be the source of serious troublebut its never too late for compassion.

The Blue Gonk Cafe decided to hold a storytelling day... some of the best writers from Thirteen Press went to the sessions... the result being an anthology of almost 170 pieces of flash fiction, ranging from SF through gentle humour to outright horror. Pick up and put down or start at the beginning and read through all five storytelling sessions, either way the collection is a delight for the senses, far ranging stories covering all aspects of Life. Come on in and be part of the storytelling sessions. You won't regret it!"

Set in a diner where the food isn't very good and the ambience veers between heaven and hell, this bestselling novel from the author of Mama Day and The Women of Brewster Place is a feast for the senses and the spirit. "A virtuoso orchestration of survival, suffering, courage and humor."--New York Times Book Review.

NANCY GIDEON CONTINUES HER COMPELLING, SENSUAL NEW SERIES WITH A SEDUCTIVE TALE OF FORBIDDEN ALLEGIANCE AND REDISCOVERED LOVE. His town. Susanna Duchamps came to New Orleans to settle a debt and to temporarily escape the controlled constraints of her life among the Chosen. What she finds is an opportunity to make miraculous strides with her research into Shifter genetics . . . and an unexpected, but never forgotten, man from her complicated past. Her rules. Shifter club owner Jacques LaRoche is fiercely protective of his freedom. Stripped of his memories of a former life, he longs for the mate he lost . . . until the enticingly familiar presence of a mysterious stranger from the north ignites a primal, nearly uncontrollable need to release the untamed beast inside him. Their last chance. Susanna dares not tell Jacques it was she who sacrificed his past and her future years ago, to protect him and the secret she carried. But her arrival in New Orleans comes with consequences. When a bloody confrontation erupts between their enemy clans, will she betray her lover once again—or throw her own life on the line so they can finish what they started?

Poor Penny Lanethe afterlife just isnt getting any easier. She has barely had time to recover from her grueling life lesson (let alone her own murder) and a brutal course in mortal mapping. She now finds herself thrown unexpectedly into her craziest mission yet. The aliens are at it again, fighting a civil war that threatens to tear their society apartas surely as the tremors, fires, and other instigated disasters menace their separate afterlife world. Fortunately, Roy, the cowboy archangel, has a plan. He has gathered a select army of humans, aliens, and angels to bring peace to this embattled world. They seek to settle the dispute between the warrior aliens and their weaker counterparts and to subdue the powers of their tyrant leaders. Along with every friend she has made since her murder, Penny is reunited with her ghost retrieval team, including the handsome and charismatic Avery and the groovy archangel, Eric, for a mission that is equal parts unique and dangerous. The humans and angels are forced to venture out across a mysterious and unpredictable landscapethe once-experimental and ancient plane of existence of the Titans and Olympians. In Ancient Gods and the Angel Caf, Penny Lanes chaotic yet hope-filled journey continues, and this time, she is sharing her epic adventure with all of her favorite fellow adventurers.

The Caf du Coin, with its view of the back of Notre-Dame, was teeming with police. Table No. 5 was still in shock. Jean-Michel Jolivet had seldom seen so many sad faces. Twelve in all, one of them dead, face down in his croissant. The retired inspectors bride of three weeks was sitting directly across from the deceased, General Sbastien Reboursier; Amy had quickly forgotten about her articles on cafs, cups, and salt and was now wondering how this could have happened with all of them at the same table. Witnesses and the police agreed that the manner of death was by poisoning. But why? The general had been primarily a desk general and had taught military history at Saint-Cyr. He was well liked and had no known enemies. Perhaps it was all a mistake. Maybe he wasnt the real target after all. Could it be a random poisoning by a deranged person with a grudge against society? Could the intended victim be someone else at the table? Wasnt one of them a former spy? Indeed, why were there so many retired spies on the Ile Saint-Louis? Why did the Ile provide them with a safe haven? With the help of Amy and colleagues, Jean-Michel finds out exactly what it is former spies do in retirement, if in fact they are retired, but neither Jean-Michel nor Amy could imagine what lay ahead.