Mim has lived on Topsail Island her whole life until love takes her away to a life she never could have imagined. The words, there's no place like home, ring true as she finds out that love isn't everything she thought it would be.

Waterlogged is the first book in A Murder by the Sea series by Carol Ann Ross.There are three communities on Topsail Island: Surf City, Topsail Beach, North Topsail Beach. Residents of all three enjoy a low-key, laid-back lifestyle most months of the year. Folks stop and chat for a few minutes at the grocery store, romantic souls stroll leisurely along the beach, searching for sand dollars and shark's teeth. Many relax by fishing and boating in the calm coastal waters. Yes, life is...

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Ralph Waldo EmersonBorn with severe brain defects, Suzy was sentenced to a life of “nevers.” With the unwavering support of her mother, Jane, and extended family, Suzy’s miraculous journey has given many experts reason to question the medical textbooks that have been written. From predictions that she would never walk, talk, or function in society, Suzy overcame all ...

The Sneaky Freaky begins in 1966, in the fishing town of Sneads Ferry, North Carolina. Naomi's husband is fighting in Vietnam. The sight of Courthouse Bay, Camp Lejeune, from her window reminds her every day of that fact. The reality of the war is everywhere. It's on the nightly news, it's in the movies, it's in the music, and all Naomi wants to do is get away from it all. A magic cat, omens, the stars and dreams figure into a big dose of reality for a woman caught in the hippie era.

The 1960s was a turbulent time, even for the innocent.

Bridge Tender is the second book in the Murder by the Sea series by Carol Ann Ross.The little swing bridge that takes you to Topsail Island has been there for over half a century. It’s seen just about everything, who comes across, who goes across-with whom, at what times, and how often. It’s all normal for small-town life and small-town gossip.But as the population of the island soars, sights it’s never seen before have become commonplace. There’s been another murder and it...

The Tower is the third book in the Murder by the Sea series by Carol Ann Ross.The Tower, an old missile observation structure built in the 1940s, stands staunchly against the ocean-the gales, squalls, and hurricanes that come year in and year out. It seems a fortress of strength and endurance and has become a beloved landmark of Topsail Island.The view from the tower is astounding as it rises above the dunes to rose sunrises, azure seas at twilight, lazy days watching beach...

All These Little Things is the sixth book in the Murder by the Sea series by Carol Ann Ross.The series continues with the bad guy having won—well, maybe. But does he have both oars in the water or is he simply complex and slick? In the meantime, everybody keeps asking, what about Estelle? You love to hate her. She’s that gnawing, nagging itch that won’t quite go away. She sort of lingers on the edges of your sanity. Estelle is part of all that is good and bad. Just a little part, m...

Shark’s Breath is the 5th book in the Murder by the Sea series by Carol Ann Ross.It was supposed to be a vacation. It was supposed to be a time when they could all get away, relax, and enjoy the company of friends and the coolness of the season. But, damn, if E.J. didn’t bring along her juju and there was no telling where things would go now. But that was part of the intrigue and gratification of Don’s job. It was all about solving and playing a game of cops and robbers, like when ...

The Mermaid Did It is the 4th book in the Murder by the Sea series by Carol Ann Ross.A trip to Weeki Wachee in Florida proves to be very enlightening as Carrie and Don are led to this Mermaid Capital of the world, a resort in Florida founded in the late 1940s. Who would have thought mermaids existed? Aren’t they fantasy? Oh, they are alive and well and are doing just fine in Florida, a few of them have even made their way to Topsail. But there seems to be different kinds of mermaid...

Jason Warner thought he understood danger... until the night he is abducted and thrust into The Farm, a covert network designed to reprogram young Black men. Here, discipline replaces freedom, labor replaces choice, and the old rules of survival no longer apply.Jason has no idea his arrival was orchestrated, or that the elders know exactly who he is. Beyond The Farm, America has entered a new era where constitutional protections have been dismantled and legalized slavery has return...

This collection spotlights the diachronic dimensions of the linguistic landscape, the importance of exploring temporal dissonances in historical events in order to better understand semiotic, political, and social transformations across different communities over the last century.The volume seeks to expand the current borders of linguistic landscape (LL) research by situating the analysis of signs in the LL within their time–space organization, which has been understudied in existi...