If you are tired of romance novels with unrealistically “perfect” protagonists, then this story of love triumphing over self-doubt is for you… Callie St. Claire is from an abusive household and is overweight and self-doubting. But with a good heart, God, and prayer, she escapes the prison she knows as Indianapolis, Indiana and heads to the quaint, Hallmark-esque, bayfront town of Edenton, North Carolina in hopes of finding herself and her place in the world. When Callie arrives in Edenton and gets to know some of the locals, she finds everything she never knew she wanted or needed. Colt Andrews is a local Edenton rancher who has not fully come to terms with his father’s death, the sudden departure of his mother, and the loss of his girlfriend to another man. He takes solace in running Redemption Ranch, a place where horses and people alike can find redemption from whatever ills life had thrown their way. When Colt meets Callie, he finds everything he never knew he wanted or needed. Colt eventually offers Callie a job and a cabin at Redemption Ranch, where she quickly bonds with a horse named Warrior over their similar pasts of being abused by people who were supposed to love them. As Callie and Colt spend more time together, electricity sparks between them. But they both have past hurts that cause insurmountable insecurities. Can they move beyond this to mend their broken roads and live together in the love God has for them, or will they instead continue keeping each other at arm’s length? Find out here, in Book 1 of the Edenton Bay Romance Series.

If you’ve ever questioned your decisions as a partner or parent, then this story of forgiveness triumphing over self-doubt is for you... Emelia Taylor, a plus-sized single mom, and her four-year-old daughter, Quinn, are on the run from Emelia’s abusive boyfriend, Gary. Emelia and Quinn eventually land in the quaint, Hallmark-esque, bayfront town of Edenton, North Carolina. Soon after arriving, they find refuge at Redemption Ranch—a place where people and horses alike can find redemption from whatever ills life has thrown their way. Or so they think. Luke Herring is a former Marine plagued with demons from his past. He lives at Redemption Ranch, hoping the ranch will help him rid his mind and body of memories he’d rather forget. Luke and the ranch’s other residents, including Callie Andrews—who, like Emelia, escaped an abusive household—show Emelia and Quinn how to care for the ranch’s horses, many of which are also recovering from abuse. Luke hopes for a deeper relationship with Emelia. But with Luke still recovering and with Gary lurking around the ranch, endangering its residents, Luke and Emelia keep each other at arm’s length so as not to endanger each other. As they navigate their blossoming friendship, will they find the safety, security, and love they both have longed for and allow God to heal their hearts? Or when tragedy strikes, will it drive a wedge further between them? Find out here, in Book 2 of the Edenton Bay Romance Series. WARNING: Finding Redemption Ranch is a work of fiction in which a woman struggles to escape an abusive relationship. As such, this book necessarily contains language and scenarios related to physical and emotional abuse, which might be triggering for some audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

SHEILA’S MEN is a dark modern fairy tale that follows the life of Sheila, a naïve romantic living in poverty who blindly marries a man in the hopes of providing a better life for herself and her daughter. Soon after marrying, her husband increasingly subjects her to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. And since he refuses to get a job, Sheila begins working long hours far from home and encounters a seemingly endless onslaught from other manipulative and abusive men. Growing increasingly overworked, distanced from her beloved daughter, and frustrated with the manipulative and abusive men inside and outside her home, Sheila prepares to end her life. If there is a prince charming who understands her worth, he must inspire her to believe in herself soon. (Based on a true story.) WARNING: Sheila's Men is a fictionalized account of one woman’s real-life struggle to escape abusive relationships and is intended, in part, to help others recognize and escape such relationships. As such, this book necessarily contains language and scenarios related to self-harm, suicide, and abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, and financial) that might be triggering for some audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

We all negotiate on a daily basis. We negotiate with our spouses, children, parents, and friends. We negotiate when we rent an apartment, buy a car, purchase a house, and apply for a job. Your ability to negotiate might even be the most important factor in your career advancement. Negotiation is also the key to business success. No organization can survive without contracts that produce profits. At a strategic level, businesses are concerned with value creation and achieving competitive advantage. But the success of high-level business strategies depends on contracts made with suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Contracting capability—the ability to negotiate and perform successful contracts—is the most important function in any organization. This book is designed to help you achieve success in your personal negotiations and in your business transactions. The book is unique in two ways. First, the book not only covers negotiation concepts, but also provides practical actions you can take in future negotiations. This includes a Negotiation Planning Checklist and a completed example of the checklist for your use in future negotiations. The book also includes (1) a tool you can use to assess your negotiation style; (2) examples of “decision trees,” which are useful in calculating your alternatives if your negotiation is unsuccessful; (3) a three-part strategy for increasing your power during negotiations; (4) a practical plan for analyzing your negotiations based on your reservation price, stretch goal, most-likely target, and zone of potential agreement; (5) clear guidelines on ethical standards that apply to negotiations; (6) factors to consider when deciding whether you should negotiate through an agent; (7) psychological tools you can use in negotiations—and traps to avoid when the other side uses them; (8) key elements of contract law that arise during negotiations; and (9) a checklist of factors to use when you evaluate your performance as a negotiator. Second, the book is unique in its holistic approach to the negotiation process. Other books often focus narrowly either on negotiation or on contract law. Furthermore, the books on negotiation tend to focus on what happens at the bargaining table without addressing the performance of an agreement. These books make the mistaken assumption that success is determined by evaluating the negotiation rather than evaluating performance of the agreement. Similarly, the books on contract law tend to focus on the legal requirements for a contract to be valid, thus giving short shrift to the negotiation process that precedes the contract and to the performance that follows. In the real world, the contracting process is not divided into independent phases. What happens during a negotiation has a profound impact on the contract and on the performance that follows. The contract’s legal content should reflect the realities of what happened at the bargaining table and the performance that is to follow. This book, in contrast to others, covers the entire negotiation process in chronological order beginning with your decision to negotiate and continuing through the evaluation of your performance as a negotiator. A business executive in one of the negotiation seminars the author teaches as a University of Michigan professor summarized negotiation as follows: “Life is negotiation!” No one ever stated it better. As a mother with young children and as a company leader, the executive realized that negotiations are pervasive in our personal and business lives. With its emphasis on practical action, and with its chronological, holistic approach, this book provides a roadmap you can use when navigating through your life as a negotiator.

This innovative study re-examines the dynamics of race relations in the post–Civil War South from an altogether fresh perspective: field sports. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wealthy white men from Southern cities and the industrial North traveled to the hunting and fishing lodges of the old Confederacy—escaping from the office to socialize among like-minded peers. These sportsmen depended on local black guides who knew the land and fishing holes and could ensure a successful outing. For whites, the ability to hunt and fish freely and employ black laborers became a conspicuous display of their wealth and social standing. But hunting and fishing had been a way of life for all Southerners—blacks included—since colonial times. After the war, African Americans used their mastery of these sports to enter into market activities normally denied people of color, thereby becoming more economically independent from their white employers. Whites came to view black participation in hunting and fishing as a serious threat to the South’s labor system. Scott E. Giltner shows how African-American freedom developed in this racially tense environment—how blacks' sense of competence and authority flourished in a Jim Crow setting. Giltner’s thorough research using slave narratives, sportsmen’s recollections, records of fish and game clubs, and sporting periodicals offers a unique perspective on the African-American struggle for independence from the end of the Civil War to the 1920s.