NOTE: A portion of the net proceeds of the sale of this title will be donated to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). From Afghans and Akitas to Yakutians and Yorkies, and everything in between, there’s a very special connection between dogs and their owners. Our four-legged friends put smiles on our faces, comfort us when we’re down and make us laugh with their antics. They aren’t just “man’s best friend” but a terrific companion to women, children and anyone in ne...

It doesn’t matter if a cat is an Alley Cat or a Turkish Van or anything in between, all cats have traits in common. They’re in turn, annoying and endearing, maddening and loving, where they shouldn’t be and purring on your lap. A cat will put a smile on your face when it’s most needed, cuddle up when you’re sad, and just when you think you can’t take one more thing, they’ll make you laugh out loud. Who could ask for a better companion? Bestselling author and editor Sandra Murphy (Peace, Lo...

An older woman is not limited to church, the grocery or Senior Center if she wants to meet a man, she can also invoke The Obituary Rule. The Rule states that following the publication of an obituary, there is a mandatory thirty-day waiting period before she can approach the widower in question. Be warned! Competition is strong and there are always claim jumpers who make first contact days early. Common opening salvos include (but are not limited to) offers of coffee, a home-cooked meal or ...

This innovative resource provides teachers with a road map for designing a comprehensive writing curriculum that meets Common Core standards. The authors zero in on several “big ideas” that lead to and support effective practices in writing instruction, such as integrating reading, writing, speaking, and listening; teaching writing as a process; extending the range of students’ writing; spiraling and scaffolding a writing curriculum; and collaborating. These “big id...

First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder features nineteen juicy tales of revenge, betrayal, bad breakups, and a few I dos and some I don'ts.Each short story takes ruthless relationships to an all-new level in all kinds of places like destination weddings, riverboat cruises, wineries, bachelorette parties, creepy stalkers, cheating spouses, and sneaky friends trying for their own version of happily ever after. So, settle in for some love stories with a twist of revenge...

Through ideas and practices straight from the classrooms of outstanding teachers, this lively resource illustrates writing that makes an impact on a reader, a writer, or a cause—writing that everyone wants to read. The book is rich with student work that shows how writing can make things happen in the world. The authors provide ready-to-use lessons that include a full range of writing, including poetry, narrative, petitions, proposals, emails, self-reflections, long-term projects, and crit...

What do you call a group of writers tasked with penning tales of crime that must include animals and their collective names? It’s a wording of writers!This wording features twenty-one writers who share crimes stories with a surprising twist. No animals are harmed—the humans don’t fare so well.Here are the usual suspects:Jack Bates, Michael Bracken, Jeanne DuBois, Kaye George, EJ McFall, Kari Wainwright, John M. Floyd, Heidi Hunter, Jacqueline Seewald, Kathryn Gerwig, Earl Staggs, Marianne ...

On a Lark (The Fidelia McCord Series, Book 2) In On a Lark, Fidelia McCord has become the only surviving child of John and Mariah McCord of Pond Springs. After having borne great loss and hardship in mid-nineteenth century Texas – where moments of jubilation and jeopardy carry a girl to womanhood – Fidelia knows the weight of her choices. At the same time, far away in North Carolina, the Maloney brothers, cooking mash into whiskey in the Appalachian mountains, are making t...

Tragedy brings them together. Will love tear them apart?New York City, 1832. Clarissa Tanner is carefree and lighthearted until the sudden death of her parents. Forced to pay off family debts or lose her horse farm, she’s given one choice: auction off her beloved horses or reluctantly enter 1830s New York Society social season to face the dreaded marriage market.Nicholas is a man on a mission, searching for his missing brother. Fearing Liam may be the victi...

Welcome to Whispering Pines, Wisconsin. A place for those who don’t belong.Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O'Shea returns to prepare her grandparents' lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard. Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in invest...

The Northwoods village of Whispering Pines used to be a safe haven for outsiders, but after three deaths in two months, it’s become a hotbed of murder.Exhausted from being the only law enforcement official on duty, while also trying to open a bed-and-breakfast, Jayne O’Shea welcomes the escape she finds in her grandmother’s journals. Each entry gives her a deeper understanding of why her grandparents moved to the secluded spot so long ago. But as questions are answered, deeply hidd...

The quiet time of year as settled over Whispering Pines. For months, Sheriff Jayne O’Shea had been looking forward to a little R&R but now she’s not so sure. What’s she supposed to do with herself? Take up knitting?When a brawl breaks out at the local pub during the Thanksgiving gathering, a patron is critically wounded. Not the kind of distraction Jayne was looking for. There’s a long list of suspects, but she’s fairly certain it was one of the vigilantes who came to save the vill...