A Grand Day To Get Lost

A wrong turn down a remote Florida backwoods highway turns into the ride of a lifetime for Emily Weaver, a university librarian, when she mysteriously discovers a manuscript written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, dated years after the beloved author's death. Emily unwittingly begins a treasure hunt in a world that is as beautiful as it is dangerous, and it is a hunt that could not only change her life, but the landscape of the entire literary world. Is it really possible that the renowned author of The Yearling faked her own death in 1953? Parading through the scrub country in Rawling's seemingly fresh footsteps, Emily must separate fact from fiction as she discovers more than one secret world, opens up her heart to new friendships and challenges, encounters ghosts from the past, and puts her own life in danger to uncover the truth. A Grand Day to Get Lost not only resurrects a bold literary icon but also explores the emotional landscape of loss, survival, and forgiveness in a world where anything is possible for those who dare to risk and follow their dreams.

Danger comes to Cork in the seventh County Cork mystery from New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly, and it’s up to Maura Donovan to find a way to protect all she’s worked for. Pub owner Maura Donovan is settling into a charmed life in Ireland—until a mutilated body on her property ends her lucky streak. Boston expat Maura Donovan came to Ireland to honor her grandmother’s last wish, but she never expected to stay in provincial County Cork—much less to inherit a house and a pub, Sullivan’s, in the small village of Leap. After a year-long struggle to stay in the black, Sullivan’s is finally thriving, and Maura has even brought back traditional Irish music to the pub. With a crop of new friends and a budding relationship with handsome Mick Nolan, Maura’s life seems rosier than ever—but even in Ireland, you can’t always trust your luck. It begins with Maura’s discovery of a body in the ravine behind the pub. And then, the Irish gardaí reveal that the victim’s face has been battered beyond recognition. Who is the faceless victim? Who wanted him dead? And why was his body dumped in the backyard of Sullivan’s Pub? Even after the dead man is finally given a name, nobody admits to knowing him. In the tight-knit world of Leap, no one is talking—and now it’s up to Maura to uncover the dark secrets that lurk beneath the seemingly quiet town. Laced with warm Irish charm, a delightful small-town setting, and a colorful cast of characters, New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly’s seventh County Cork mystery, The Lost Traveller, conspires to delight.

An inventive historical thriller that reimagines the tumultuous presidential election of 1860, capturing the people desperately trying to hold the nation together—and those trying to crack it apart. Abby Kelley Foster arrived in Springfield, Illinois, with the fate of the nation on her mind. Her fame as an abolitionist speaker had spread west and she knew that her first speech in the city would make headlines. One of the residents reading those headlines would be none other than the likely next president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln, lawyer and presidential candidate, knew his chances of winning were good. All he had to do was stay above the fray of the slavery debate and appear the voice of reason until the people cast their votes. The last thing he needed was a fiery abolitionist appearing in town. When her speech sparks violence, leading to her arrest and a high-profile trial, he suspects that his political rivals have conspired against him. President James Buchanan is one such rival. As his term ends and his political power crumbles, he gathers his advisers at the White House to make one last move that might derail Lincoln’s campaign, steal the election and throw America into chaos. A fascinating historical novel and fast-paced political thriller of a nation on the cusp of civil war, The Day Lincoln Lost offers an unexpected window into one of the most consequential elections in our country’s history.

Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with newfound friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure. As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment.

“Bronto wasn’t much of a horse. At least that’s what everybody thought till Bill came. He was small and brown and not much to look at.... He just wasn’t any use, and Bronto knew this and was unhappy.... Then Bill came. He didn’t look like much either. Just thin and pale and sandy-haired....” And feeling lonely and lost on his arrival at the ranch on the great Dobie flats—his new home. So it was only natural that Bill and Bronto should become friends. It didn’t happen all of a sudden, but Bill was persistent and, must to the surprise of the cow hands on the ranch, he won Bronto’s heart completely. After he learned to ride Bronto, Bill began to dream dreams of Bronto and himself becoming famous as the finest cowpunching team in the country. But that couldn’t happen all of a sudden either, it seemed. There was much to learn, and it didn’t help any that the cowboys refused to take either Bill or Bronto seriously, but Bill and Bronto remedied that. Every boy and girl who ever dreamed of having his own horse or of becoming a cowboy will be intrigued with their adventures. This is a horse story beginning readers can read themselves, it is simply and amusingly told and illustrated throughout with the author’s own black-and-white drawings.

Briar Logan is a loner who has already survived a wretched childhood, near starvation, and the harsh western frontier in the 1860s. Just when she is on the brink of finally opening her heart to the possibilities of happiness, the love of her life is kidnapped by lawless gold miners—and she steels herself for what could be the greatest loss of her life. Desperate to save her husband and the solitary life they have carved out of the wilderness, Briar is forced to accept the help of a damaged young man and a notorious female horse trainer. Facing whiskey runners, gold thieves, unpredictable elements, and men who will stop at nothing to get what they want, the unlikely trio must forge an uncommon bond in order to survive. Full of lessons of love, letting go, and the real meaning of family, A Dangerous Woman From Nowhere is a timeless western adventure story about courage, change, risk, and learning how to unlock damaged hearts and live in the sweet moments of now.

Grandparents are story tellers. Early-day lessons are learned while listening in their laps . . . in the rocking chairs . . . by the winter fireplaces . . . on the summer porches. These pages just pass on some tales my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and others of their generation told. And a few of mine. The tales were sent one at a time via e-mail to my children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends scattered from Texas to California, Canada, Virginia, and Florida. As the yarns were received and read, the readers responded, provided critical comments, and helped compose a book of remembrances for those yet to come. There may have been some enhancement in the lore and spiel of those who came before me. There might be a wee stretch in some of my contributions. But mostly this is the way it was.

Spavin Lawson kept his promise to the united human population of 32nd Century Texas City. He and his wife, Clarissa, had gathered the brightest minds they could find and put together the Technology Development Plan. The Plan was a template to build a civilization based upon ecologically sound principles. Unfortunately, the completion of The Plan required a population density that did not exist in the 32nd Century. Cataclysmic events a millennium earlier had reduced humans to uncivilized tribes totaling fewer than ten thousand people in what was once North America. Unknown to the citizens of the new city, long lost humans who were struggling to survive on Mars and Luna also assisted in the development of The Plan. A secret node on the Technology Development Plan was dedicated to the eventual reunification of all Humankind. Spavin could not entrust the future of his progeny and the human race to chance. He knew that the two-hundred year plan would need a boost at the critical point of Reunification. With his family and Shadow Warrior Nevlyn Bydman, he used his time dilator so he could guide the completion of The Plan and ensure Humankind would find better times.