The Last Prodigal Son is a collection of poems written during the pandemic lockdown and beyond. The poems deal with isolation, love, the existence of God, spirituality, death, psychology, childhood fantasy and the ever-changing wordplay in our secular culture.

This issue, we feature the remarkable results of our first short story contest. We asked for submissions based around a painting by Ron Miller (featured on the cover), and we received more than a hundred entries, most of which were terrific. We had to make some painful choices to pare down the list, and we finally came up with a list of winners and runners-up. Here are the results:FIRST PLACE“Kat’s Ninth Life,” by Pam BarnsleySECOND PLACE

Aimed at visitors and residents alike, this companion to the history of Chester is an indispensable reference guide to the long, varied and sometimes surprising story of the town. Essential information on the people, places and events that played key roles in the story is presented in a convenient A to Z format. Famous and notorious individuals are portrayed here, dramatic, sometimes tragic events are remembered, and familiar local myths and legends are explored. The volume is a source of ...

Welcome to Connor, My Hometown is a novel about a small town in Ohio and, more importantly, its various people, their lives, loves, failures and successes, and their interactions with one another.   It employs a device, first seen in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, whereas, in that play, the stage manager would talk to the audience several times throughout the play. In this case, the town’s editor of the Connor Gazette speaks to the reader. He himself is one of the stronge...

Warm, humorous and completely irresistible. All you want for Christmas is right here!“Terrifically warm, with lovely, lively characters.” Fiona Walker“This story warms you like a cosy cup of cocoa.” CloserThese three friends are dreading Christmas…Cat needs to get off the ‘has-been’ heap and rescue her flagging TV career, but the demands of her extended family are reaching fever pitch and she barely has time to breathe. Meanwhile, Pippa has got too many ball...

"The next great New York novel" is a page-turner about a young couple whose marriage is challenged during the 2008 market crash ( Town & Country ).Julia and Evan fall in love as undergraduates at Yale. For Evan, a scholarship student from a rural town, Yale is a whole new world, and Julia--blond, beautiful, and rich--fits perfectly into the future he's envisioned for himself. After graduation, and on the eve of the great f...

Meet Prinny, Chelsea and Diana. Prinny is the owner of Cosmos, a shop that sells crystals, potions, candles, and hope. It’s also a place where no one turns down a little extra-special cocktail that can work as a romance potion or heal a broken heart. But Prinny is in love with her married lawyer and she’ll need nothing short of magic to forget about him.Chelsea works as a living statue at tourist sites around Washington, DC. It's a thankless job, but it helps pay the rent. That, an...

The highly-anticipated sequel to the Chronicles of Kerrigan series, by USA TODAY bestselling author, W.J. MayIt's time.Fame is a fickle friend...After the world discovers that the infamous Simon Kerrigan is alive, public opinion of Rae and her friends begins to shift. While most people remain fiercely loyal, there are many who call for justice. There are even more who call for blood.Caught in the volatile beginnings of a civil war, Rae struggles to ...

Lane Austin would do almost anything for his local firehouse, even model for a sexy calendar. But now he’s allowed himself to be talked into auctioning himself off. What was he thinking?Abby has just walked away from a terrible relationship that should have ended years ago. What better way to celebrate than having her cousin take her to watch a bunch of firemen be auctioned off to horny housewives? But when Jenna secretly buys Mr. September for her, her entire world and all of her ...

SEASON OF SECOND CHANCESAmish widow Sarah Wyse does not see wedding bells in her future. Still, she can’t think of a better way to spend the Christmas season than helping her handsome, shy neighbor Levi Beachy find a wife. But once the single ladies of Hope Springs start visiting his buggy shop, Levi sends the town’s eligible men Sarah’s way.Neither expects to find love—but with help from the close-knit community, they just might mend each other’s broken he...

From the bestselling author of A Widow's Hope and Never Far from Home comes a brand-new Amish novella that will add joy to the Christmas season.Sarah Beachy has plenty to be joyous about as autumn leaves start to fall. She loves her job at the English bed-and-breakfast where she cooks and refreshes rooms between guests. She has a serious beau, and everyone expects an engagement soon. Why, then, would she jeopardize everything by suddenly deciding to take a trip to Cleveland to track down a...

Brian's Choice is an e-only novella prequel to the brand-new Plain and Simple Miracles collection from popular author Vannetta Chapman (A Promise for Miriam). These stories of love and family and Amish community in Oklahoma tell of the miracles that can happen when lives are lived in service to God and to one another.Brian Walker has it all—a trust fund, the job of his dreams, and a beautiful woman at his side. But all of that changes in one tragic moment. Six mon...