Down Home

Avril Vasconcelos had one very good reason for ditching her fiance at the altar: He was already a father…to someone else's child. Now, to add insult to injury, he's just hit her with the bill for the entire wedding! Enter charismatic matrimonial attorney Dale Lambert, who's about to sweep one betrayed runaway bride off her feet. Nicknamed the "Wolf," Dale is a legend in his field. But the go-for-the-jugular lawyer has never had a client quite like Avril. Proud and independent, the beauty contest winner is one sexy, glamorous woman. Can Dale convince her to risk her heart again? And together, can they transform sizzling nights of passion into a lifetime of love?

Meet the Neelys: Pat and Gina, husband-and-wife team, hosts of their own television show, and proprietors of the celebrated Memphis and Nashville eateries, Neely’s Bar-B-Que. The Neelys’ down-home approach to cooking has earned them the highest accolades from coast to coast. It has also won them millions of viewers on the Food Network. Simply put, the Neelys are all about good food and good times. In this, their eagerly awaited debut cookbook, the Neelys share the delicious food they have been cooking up for years both at home and in their restaurants. Pat and Gina hail from families with a boundless love of cooking and bedrock traditions of sharing meals. At the Neelys’, mealtime is family time, and that means no stinting on “the sauce.” Indeed, that’s one of the Neely secrets: the liberal application of barbeque sauce to almost anything—spaghetti, nachos, salad, you name it. Of course, there are other secrets as well, and you will find them all in the pages of Down Home with the Neelys, along with more than 120 mouthwatering recipes. Here are the tried-and-true southern recipes that have been passed down from one Neely generation to the next, including many of their signature dishes, such as Barbeque Deviled Eggs, Florida Coast Pickled Shrimp, Pat’s Wings of Fire, Gina’s Collard Greens, Grandma Jean’s Potato Salad, Nana’s Southern Gumbo, Memphis-sized Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Slaw, Get Yo’ Man Chicken, and Sock-It-to-Me Cake. Certainly, no self-respecting southerner would dream of offering a meal to a guest without a proper drink, so Pat and Gina have included some of their favorite libations here, too. The Neelys work, laugh, love, and play harder than any family you’ll ever meet. Their love for good food is infectious, and in Down Home with the Neelys, they bring their heavenly inspired cooking down to earth for all to share.

Hailed as a classic in music studies when it was first published in 1977, Early Downhome Blues is a detailed look at traditional country blues artists and their work. Combining musical analysis and cultural history approaches, Titon examines the origins of downhome blues in African American society. He also explores what happened to the art form when the blues were commercially recorded and became part of the larger American culture. From forty-seven musical transcriptions, Titon derives a grammar of early downhome blues melody. His book is enriched with the recollections of blues performers, audience members, and those working in the recording industry. In a new afterword, Titon reflects on the genesis of this book in the blues revival of the 1960s and the politics of tourism in the current revival under way.

"A collection of outstanding folk blues lyrics composed and sung by black Americans and sold on commercial records in American black communities during the dozen or so year following World War II."--Preface.

Jerrilyn McGregory explores sacred music and spiritual activism in a little-known region of the South, the Wiregrass Country of Georgia, Alabama, and North Florida. She examines African American sacred music outside of Sunday church-related activities, showing that singing conventions and anniversary programs fortify spiritual as well as social needs. In this region African Americans maintain a social world of their own creation. Their cultural performances embrace some of the most pervasive forms of African American sacred music—spirituals, common meter, Sacred Harp, shape-note, traditional, and contemporary gospel. Moreover, the contexts in which they sing include present-day observations such as the Twentieth of May (Emancipation Day), Burial League Turnouts, and Fifth Sunday. Rather than tracing the evolution of African American sacred music, this ethnographic study focuses on contemporary cultural performances, almost all by women, which embrace all forms. These women promote a female-centered theology to ensure the survival of their communities and personal networks. They function in leadership roles that withstand the test of time. Their spiritual activism presents itself as a way of life. In Wiregrass Country, “You don't have to sing like an angel” is a frequently expressed sentiment. To these women, “good” music is God's music regardless of the manner delivered. Therefore, Downhome Gospel presents gospel music as being more than a transcendent sound. It is local spiritual activism that is writ large. Gospel means joy, hope, expectation, and the good news that makes the soul glad.

Recipes for affordable meals presented so polished you'd never know their "lowbrow" origins, complete with tips and tricks that prove fabulous hosting doesn't have to break the bank. Rachel Hollis, blogger and founder of "The Chic Site," which reaches over 600,000 users a month, delivers this swoon-worthy cookbook packed with delicious and easy comfort food that's sure to wow at both family suppers and the fanciest dinner parties. Rachel puts a finger-licking gourmet twist on classic American favorites in sections that include recipes for: *Casseroles: balsamic bacon-wrapped meatloaf, bacon and green chili mac n'cheese *Potluck: loaded baked potato salad, seven layer salad *Dips: grilled guacamole, corn dip, chili cheese dip, pizza dip *Sips: strawberry rosemary moonshine, Grandma's sweet tea *Somethin' Sweet: banana pudding parfaits, Mema's carrot cake Packed with big flavor and simple enough for a beginner home cook to master, Upscale Downhome focuses on great-tasting food and beautiful presentation that is guaranteed to impress. This is the kind of food that we all like to eat, served up with a chic twist.

An African American preacher returns to his hometown to open a church, outwitting a segregationist plantation owner to make it happen.

DOWNHOME DARLIN' It happened one night… Recently unengaged Abby Stanton is determined to prove to her ex-fiancé—and to herself—that she is not boring and that she is not predictable. So on the day of what was to have been her wedding, Abby decides she's going to put aside her girl-next-door persona and be a "wild woman" for one night. Her aim: to lasso good-lookin', boot-wearin' cowboy Cal Ketchum—who just happens to be looking for a girl-next-door on a very permanent basis…. THE BEST MAN SWITCH Identicial Twins… The last thing in the world best man Grant Whiting wants is to be set up with the maid of honor at his friend's wedding. So he blackmails his identical twin brother into performing the best man siwtch. Only after Mitzi decks Grant's brother, he's forced to take his brother's—that is, his own—place and realizes he's found the woman of his dreams. Mitzi, however, is pretty sure she's met the successful, sexy and insane man of her nightmares!