Contemporary Inspirational

You’re Not a Girl in a Movie is a new collection of powerful poems by Hala Alyan, winner of the Arab American Book Award in Poetry and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In these nine extraordinary poems, Alyan wrestles with the intimate themes that have driven her acclaimed body of work to date: the aching loss of homeland, the image and worth of women, and the violence of love. In Beirut, Brooklyn, and roads in the American West, she unravels the effects of decades of war and displacement on love and human worth and identity.

Dalton, I loved you once. A love I thought irrevocable. A love I mistakenly believed could transcend both time and circumstance. Under the influence of my dimwitted, naïve, traitorous heart, I became intoxicated with what I now know was simply a figment of my self-indulgent imagination. So drunk on the feeling, I couldn't see what was right in front of my face. So foolishly enamored, I blindly followed my heart into the depths of an emotion that would ravage me.

The gift of heaven on earth. It will become the biggest story in the world... When the residents of a small town on Lake Michigan start receiving phone calls from the afterlife, they all become the subject of widespread attention. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. This is a story about the power of belief - and a page-turner that will touch your soul.

It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's 60 years old.

In the morning, she was gone and had taken my solace with her. I left for the military that day, vowing never to return to Pennsylvania. When my father dies, I’m forced to go home to bury him. At least I'll finally be rid of his farm, which is grown over and tangled with memories I've fought to forget. And that’s when I find her. She’s even more beautiful than I remember and has the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen. Years have passed, but my feelings are the same, and this time I refuse to let her go. They say you can't bury the past, and they're right.

Literary Giant seeks young man to push bathchair. Own room in Hampstead, all found, exciting cultural milieu. Modest wage. Ideal 'gap year' opportunity. So orphan Struan Robertson, leaves his native town of Cuik, and arrives in London. His job is to care for Phillip, paralysed by a massive stroke. Struan finds himself tangled in a midsummer's dream of mistaken identity and overwhelming passions. For everyone, it is to be a life-changing summer.

Career-driven Dani Trahan wasn't interested in finding a husband. At only 28, she had plenty of time in her future to settle down and have a family, but for now, her sole focus was keeping her restaurant afloat. When tragedy strikes, however, she's forced to examine her priorities and relationships.

Rob Jackson didn't do relationships. He'd long ago accepted that happily ever afters didn't belong to him. That was a decade ago, right around the time he stopped believing in God. Then he met Dani, and for the first time in 10 years, he wanted to believe again: in love and in God.

To move beyond friendship, Dani and Rob must first accept several truths, but can they learn to rely on faith before it is too late?

Raising my daughter on my own is hard enough, but when you add in a psycho ex-husband and not enough money to make ends meet, there are times when I want to put my head down and never pick it up again. Except my daughter deserves more than that. I deserve more than that. And then...I meet David Carmichael. A man with a quick smile, infectious laughter, and a protective streak so wide, even the Grand Canyon sighs in admiration.

For single mother Kayla Brady life is hectic raising a rebellious teenage daughter and running her own business. Longing to date again, and perhaps find love, she prays for the right man to come into her life. What she did not expect was a man on a motorcycle with tattoos, a charming smile, and a mysterious past. James Cole knows what it is like to have chaos in one’s life, but now he is looking at starting over in the picturesque mountain town of Hopes Crest, Colorado.

Secrets are stubborn things when they refuse to remain hidden. They tear through your soul, clawing and lashing until the pain becomes so unbearable, you're left no choice but to silently scream your agony. No one hears you, of course. You smile on the outside and drift through life as though your mind is at peace, but all the while you remain your own tortured prisoner.

The one man Laurie Fields would most like to avoid just became her boss. A thousand women would love to be in her shoes, working up-close-and-personal with billionaire philanthropist, Finn Anderson. Though alluring at first glance, he's less than charming around Laurie. She's not about to cut him any slack, even if her job depends on it. Finn Anderson may look healthy, but chances are he won't live to collect Social Security. That's why he has to be careful never to fall in love. So far, he's been pretty safe, since he drives away every woman who gets close.

Wisconsin, present day. Audra March’s adult life is haunted by a teenage misstep. Taking an assumed name and enjoying simple things, the thirty-something comes upon a vintage recipe box while thrift shopping and hunts down the owner’s daughter. So when a longtime adversary threatens her with blackmail, she jumps at the invitation to escape to the dead lady’s estate and avoid an old enemy.

Isn't your wedding day supposed to be the happiest day of your life? Not if you're the emergency substitute bride! But how could Rylie say no when a child's life hangs in the balance? Now she's married to the man she loves, but he's still pining for her sister! Jarrett owes Rylie a huge debt. She's giving up a year of her life to help him adopt Gabe to get him the medical treatment he needs. But the more time he spends with Rylie, the more he's beginning to think he fell for the wrong twin. Rylie doesn't believe him! Will these two stubborn computer nerds ever admit their feelings?

Jenna Burkhart is tired of being "special" and hearing about what she can't do. Even though she suffered a head injury in a childhood swimming accident, she wants a life of her own just like any Amish woman. But now that she, her mamm, and her mammi have moved to Wells Landing, she's having a hard time fitting in.... Until she meets Buddy Miller, a boy just like her, who gives her the confidence to reach for the impossible.

Two years after losing her husband, Angela's apartment suffers a fire and forces her out. Taking up her cousin Serenah's offer to visit Eastern Washington for the holidays, she looks forward to a white Christmas while repairs are being completed back home. On the plane ride to Spokane, she is confronted head on with a fear that shakes her to the core. Through the comfort of a thoughtful prayer with a stranger, Angela finds peace. Could she ever see the mysterious man again? Or are some things never meant to be?

A marriage of convenience might be crazy...or an answer to both of their prayers. Mandy Hudson swore she'd never marry. Abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandparents, she has a hard time trusting that real love will last. When her grandmother dies, Mandy is shocked to discover a stipulation in the will. Considering marriage to her best friend may be the only way to keep her family's beloved bed-and-breakfast.

Hope Sparrow has mastered the art of outrunning her tragic past. Never stay anywhere too long. Never allow anyone control over her life again. Coming to Wanishin Falls in search of her family's history already feels too risky. But somewhere in the towering stacks of this dusty old shop are the books that hold Hope's last ties to her late mother—and to a rumored family treasure that could help her start over. Only, the bookshop is in shambles, and the older owner is in the beginning stages of dementia and can’t remember where the books lie.

Lockdown is putting Sophia’s life on pause - just as she planned to put herself out there and meet someone. When the first clap for the keyworkers rings out around her courtyard, she’s moved to tears for all kinds of reasons. Jack is used to living life to the fullest. He’s going stir-crazy after just days isolating. Until the night he hears a woman crying from the balcony under his. He strikes up a conversation with the stranger and puts a smile on her face. Soon their balcony meetings are the highlight of Jack and Sophia’s days.

John had been a free agent, not looking for serious commitment of any kind, and he had no plans to change any time soon. But when a tragedy strikes, he finds himself thrust into a situation that he had not anticipated. This upheaval brings John into the orbit of the captivating Elena Russo, and he soon finds that, perhaps, it is not just his life that is changing. Maybe, it's also his heart?

Jayne was mid-40s when she experienced the worst and the best times of her life. She fell in love, so desperately in love. She lost everything overnight. No matter how bad life gets, how far down that dark tunnel you are, there is always a glimmer of hope. From her dream house in Kent, via the "nuthouse", and eventually to a cottage in Cornwall, Jayne takes a journey that is to wound, to destroy, and eventually heal her.