“Illuminates with cutting truth the layers of longing and grief which underlie a transracial adoption . . . sharply written, intense, and page-turning.” —Randy Susan Meyers, bestselling author of Waisted Rowan Kelly knows she’s lucky. After all, if she hadn’t been adopted, she could have spent her days in a rice paddy, or a windowless warehouse assembling iPhones—they make iPhones in Korea, right? Either way, slowly dying of boredom on Long Island is surely better than the alternative. But as she matures, she realizes that she’ll never know if she has her mother’s eyes, or if she’d be in America at all had her adoptive parents been able to conceive. Rowan sets out to prove that she can be someone’s first choice. After running away from home—and her parents’ rules—and ending up beaten, barefoot, and topless on a Pennsylvania street courtesy of Bad Boy Number One, Rowan attaches herself to Never-Going-to-Commit. When that doesn’t work out, she fully abandons self-respect and begins browsing Craigslist personals. But as Rowan dives deeper into the world of casual encounters with strangers, she discovers what she’s really looking for. With a fresh voice and a quick wit, Lauren J. Sharkey dispels the myths surrounding transracial adoption, the ties that bind, and what it means to belong. A Finalist for Foreword Review’s 2020 INDIES Book of the Year Award in Adult Fiction—Multicultural “Stirring . . . a moving account of Rowan’s difficult reckoning with her identity. This is an adept portrayal of the long shadow of abuse and the difficulty of being an adoptee.” —Publishers Weekly

“dee mcquesten brings to life the phrase ‘It takes a village…’ From dee’s early childhood on, the villagers in her life instilled in her the capacity for resilience. The concept of resiliency, attributed to early 20th Century thinker Walter Lippmann, is the capacity for personal growth, for recalibration, and for principled improvisation in the face of new circumstances. dee’s story is this definition expressed in her own life of obstacles overcome, and in a life dedicated to making our village a better place, from the Elwha River Dam Project, to our historic market; but most importantly for the children abused, traumatized and abandoned by the rest of our society.” ~ Christopher Staeheli, M.D., Child Psychiatrist “I’ve always known that dee was a tremendously strong person with unrelenting empathy for children enduring trauma and toxic stress. Now I understand where that came from. She is a model of how to turn childhood trauma into lasting resilience. dee’s experience will bring hope to others and inspire them to give back to their communities. Read this book to be inspired by an amazing woman.” ~ Kaaren Andrews: Washington Director, Center for High School Success; Principal for 9 years of the Academy for traumatized and marginalized teens in Seattle’s Columbia City. “dee’s life exemplifies the saying “ Do not hide one’s light under a bushel.” She was born with a light that years of abuse could not diminish. dee’s story, with her vivid memory of details, including her ‘Norman Rockwell style’ formative years, years of abuse mentally and physically and final happiness, gives us courage to use our talents and become the persons we were meant to be. Her intelligence and creativity, boosted by her sense of spiritual need, have helped her to find many ways to care for others. For the past 38 years, dee has worked and struggled to provide for her son and done so with humility and humor. The amount of personal and communal good work she has done at the same time is truly astounding. We cheer for her when she finds happiness with a man who is equally kind and generous. ~ Pam Schell, Co-founder of two successful theater companies, Seattle’s Intiman Theatre and Whidbey Island’s WICA (Whidbey Island Center for the Arts); formerly Seattle’s “First Lady”, as wife of Seattle Mayor Paul Schell)

Childhood abuse, abandonment, maternal rejection, scandalous treatment under the guise of care in notorious juvenile institutions and life on the streets of Kings Cross are just part of the extraordinary tapestry that is the life of Australian singer and entertainer, Sharyn Crystal. The Inconvenient Child is a gritty account of Sharyn's life, beginning as an abandoned child of mixed race, and her struggle to survive in an often hostile white society, her journey to success as a singer and her remarkable quest to find her African-American father on the other side of the world.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Good unclean fun . . . [a] convoluted, scandal-greased, exposed-backsides-of-the-rich-and-famous story . . . told in a confiding, breathless undertone.”—Entertainment Weekly Jules Mendelson is wealthy. Astronomically so. He and his wife lead the kind of charity-giving, art-filled, high-society life for which each has been carefully groomed. Until Jules falls in love with Flo March, a beautiful actress/waitress. What Flo discovers about the superrich is not a pretty sight. And in the end, she wants no more than what she was promised. But when Flo begins to share the true story of her life among the Mendelsons, not everyone is in a listening mood. And some cold shoulders have very sharp edges. . . .

A steamy feminist Regency romance from acclaimed author Anna Harrington. All's fair in war...and in love... "We all make mistakes." His sensuous lips twisted in amusement, and he murmured a bit too huskily for comfort, "Didn't feel like a mistake to me." He kept his gaze locked onto hers as he raised the glass to take a sip. "We kissed last night, and I strongly suspect that we both want to do it again." His head tilted slightly as he studied her. "If I came around this desk and took you into my arms, would you stop me?" Marcus Braddock, former general and newly appointed Duke of Hampton, is back from war. Now, not only is he surrounded by the utterly unbearable ton, he's mourning the death of his beloved sister, Elise. Marcus believes his sister's death wasn't an accident, and he's determined to learn the truth—starting with Danielle Williams, his sister's beautiful best friend. Danielle is keeping deadly secrets of her own. She has dedicated her life to a charity that helps abused women—the same charity Elise was working for the night she died. When Danielle's work puts her life in danger, Marcus comes to her rescue. But Danielle may not be the one in need of rescuing... Praise for Anna Harrington: "As steamy as it is luscious. My favorite kind of historical!"—GRACE BURROWES, New York Times bestselling author, for Dukes Are Forever "Enchanting...Harrington combines suspenseful mystery and charming romance in this compulsively readable treat."—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "A touching and tempestuous romance, with all the ingredients Regency fans adore."—GAELEN FOLEY, New York Times bestselling author, for Dukes Are Forever

A tale of witchcraft and retribution in 14th-century Yorkshire is told through the eyes of a penitent monk. In the credulous squalor of medieval Yorkshire, a peasant girl is accused of being a sorceress. The suffering inflicted upon her by male superstition sparks a spectacular and terrifying retort which initiates the legend of Sycorax. Many years later, the story is recounted by Edmund, a flawed monk at Byland Abbey, who sets out to write a history of the witch as a penance for lascivious fantasies. In the process, he uncovers a brutal and eerie tale in which he becomes fatally involved. Not just a trip into another epoch, and more than just another supernatural thriller, this cunning mock-translation of the medieval tale of Sycorax reveals that the compulsions and delusions examined are endemic in us all today.