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PRETENDING NORMAL - A Young Adult Novel

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Pretending Normal, formerly Lies Imitating Life, was a past quarter finalist in Ray Bradbury’s New Century New Writer Award contest. It was also a past semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.

1976 Before-Sara Polokovich wants out of Norwood, Pennsylvania, population 4,582, where the undertaker and the butcher are the same person. All she has to do is earn a scholarship. Just two more years…but until then, she pours over classics to strengthen her comprehension skills, reviews for the SAT, and continues to request college brochures from every school in the northeast.

Sara’s just buried her mother, her father drinks too much, and her kid sister won’t leave her alone. Why can’t her life be normal? Even half-normal? Why does Frank, (she refuses to think of him as her father anymore), spend all of his time in the garage with that damn ‘57 Chevy? And why does he have to hide bottles all over the house; in the red metal cupboard in the garage, behind the faded orange curtain in the kitchen, under the sink in the bathroom? Why can’t anybody talk about what’s happening?

As Sara struggles to free herself from a life of dysfunction and disease, she will learn the true depths of a parent’s love and the ultimate sacrifice given— and taken— in the name of that love. Pretending Normal follows Sara Polokovich’s coming of age as she discovers the truths about family with all of its flaws and weaknesses as the bond that holds one to another, in love, loyalty, even death.

PULLING HOME

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She’ll risk anything to save her child…even the truth

It’s taken nine years and a cross-country move, but Audra Valentine Wheyton has kept her secrets safe. She’s created the perfect life—a husband who loves her, a daughter she adores, and a position as head writer for an award-winning daytime soap. When her husband dies suddenly, Audra returns to her hometown for the funeral and faces a community that has not forgotten her meager beginnings and a man who has never forgiven her for marrying his brother.

Jack Wheyton is a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who is about to become engaged when Audra walks back into his life with her daughter. He forgave his brother long ago for taking something that had been his, something he hadn’t even realized he wanted until it was gone. But forgiving Audra is another story…and forgetting her? Near impossible.

When a shattering illness strikes Audra’s daughter, she turns to Jack to save her child and risks exposing a secret that will change their lives forever.

THE WAY THEY WERE

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Tragedy tore them apart...now destiny may just bring them back together.

At eighteen, Rourke Flannigan and Kate Redmond thought they’d spend the rest of their lives together, until a family tragedy tore them apart. Fourteen years have passed and they’ve both carved out separate lives hundreds of miles apart – hers as a wife and mother, his as a successful, driven businessman. But once a year, on the anniversary of her daughter’s birth, Kate pulls out a red velvet journal and writes a letter, which she’ll never send, to the man who still owns her heart. Once a year, on the anniversary of the first and only time they made love, Rourke permits himself to read the annual investigative report detailing an ordinary day in Kate’s life.

When a subcontractor at one of his holding companies is killed, Rourke decides to pay the widow a visit and offer condolences, never dreaming the widow will be Kate. As they embark on a cautious journey of rediscovery, one far greater than they could have imagined, secrets and lies threaten to destroy their new found closeness – forever.

NOT YOUR EVERYDAY HOUSEWIFE

Previously published by Wings e-Press Books 2009
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A wise and humorous tale of living large after 40 as women finally make peace with themselves- wrinkles, blubber, neuroses, exes, and all.

Three women embark on a month long ‘discovery’ journey and uncover quite a few tidbits along the way…one bottle of Clairol Midnight will not cover a full head of red hair, and never talk to men wearing polyester pants hiked up with a tan belt. But most of what they unearth is about themselves—who they are, what they really want, what they really DON'T want. The center of controversy is a Maid-for-You mixer which symbolizes a boring, routine suburban life with NO second chances—then along comes insight in the form of Tula Rae, a sixty-something Salsa dancing, Dalai Lama quoting, four time widow in spandex and a gray braid who gives them a different perspective on life, love, do-overs and the real reason a man buys his woman a Maid-for-You mixer, (which she says is all about S-E-X.)

THE SEDUCTION OF SOPHIE SEACREST
An Unlikely Husband Series – Book One

An ebook original
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Love and Betrayal . . . Regency Style

When Holt Langford, the new Earl of Westover, returns to England after twelve years at sea, he resembles more pirate than nobleman, a far cry from the scrawny youth shipped off by his father to become a man. No one recognizes him and he’ll use this anonymity to enter a game of subterfuge in order to expose the scoundrel who has vowed to destroy Holt’s family business.

Unfortunately, that scoundrel has a devoted daughter - Sophie Seacrest. Sophie can’t deny her attraction to the unorthodox stranger who stirs her blood and makes her think things no proper lady should. Holt and Sophie are drawn into a seductive tangle and just when he’s about to reveal his true identity and his honorable intentions, she discovers the truth and must choose between love and family duty.

PIECES OF YOU

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PIECES OF YOU is book one of The Betrayed Trilogy

Sometimes hiding in the shadows is the only way to protect your heart.

Quinn Burnes’s mother disappeared when he was only fifteen leaving him with a despondent father, a little sister who suffers panic attacks, and eight notebooks containing the truth about his mother.  He guards this secret for eighteen years, until on an otherwise normal day, his mother re-enters his life, pleading for his help.  She’s in danger and the only thing that can save her is reclaiming the identity she shunned years ago.

Quinn is a master of emotional detachment, from his successful career as a personal injury attorney to his strings of meaningless relationships with beautiful women who possess uneasy temperaments; a sure formula to keep his heart safe and insure he’s the first to walk away.  Until he meets the mysterious ‘Danielle’ a woman with too many secrets who is on the run from the abusive, estranged husband she shot and may have killed.  Danielle isn’t like any woman Qinn’s ever met, but can he risk his heart for someone who’s doing exactly what his mother did eighteen years ago?  Someone who may ultimately leave him, just like his mother?

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Previously published by Jocelyn Hollow Romance 2006
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Real families aren't always the ones you know about...

When Christine Blacksworth’s larger-than-life father is killed on an icy road in Magdalena, New York, a hundred miles from the ‘getaway’ cabin he visited every month, she discovers a secret that threatens everything she’s always held to be true. Her father has another family which includes a mistress and a daughter. Determined to uncover the truth behind her father’s secret life, Christine heads to Magdalena, prepared to hate the people who have caused her to question everything she thought she knew about her father. But what she finds is a woman who understands her, a half sister who cherishes her, and a man who could love her if she’ll let him. The longer she’s around them, the more she questions which family is the real one.

INNOCENT BETRAYAL

The Wild Rose Press
Previously published by Kensington Publishing in 2000
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English noblewoman, Emily St. Simon wants nothing more than to escape the constraints of a society that demands she turn in her breeches and secure a husband. She cares nothing about men or love until she encounters daring sea captain, Noah Sandleton, a man who steals her heart and her innocence with searing kisses and bold touches.

Noah Sandleton sails the sea avoiding anything that resembles commitment - until he meets the golden-haired temptress with a will to match his own. One night of passion binds them together but a debt of honor forces Noah to abandon his bride. When he discovers Emily is caught in a dangerous game of intrigue, Noah devises a secret plan to return to her side where he will risk his life to protect her and earn the chance to rekindle the greatest love either has ever known.

A TASTE OF SEDUCTION

The Wild Rose Press
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A young woman of noble blood, raised as a peasant girl . . .

An orphaned stable boy, now grown and the surrogate son of a powerful earl – the same earl who just so happens to be the young woman’s father . . .

Meriel and Anthony have nothing in common--she runs barefoot and talks to animals, he won’t loosen his cravat unless the bedroom door is firmly closed.  Meriel believes in love, hope, and happily ever after.  Anthony believes in keeping a safe distance from anything resembling an emotion.  They have nothing in common but an undeniable, burning desire for one another they can’t ignore or understand, and an ailing "father" who will do anything to see them together. Unfortunately, there are others, cunning and manipulative, working behind the scenes.  Others who will stop at nothing, willing even to kill, to keep them apart.

THE SWEETEST DEAL

Carina Press
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An impossible demand...

Max Jernigan is ready to close the most important business deal of his life—all he has to do is agree to one request from Grayson Crowell: impregnate the mogul's daughter.

No way can Max do this. He's a decent guy. But he would love a child. He just doesn't want a wife.

An impossible man...

C.C. Crowell gave up on dreams of a family after Mr. Worse-Than-Wrong broke her heart. Hiding behind spreadsheets, boring suits and an icy attitude, she's more than a little suspicious when arrogant, handsome Max is suddenly chasing her. But she can't deny their chemistry. Until she learns about the deal and plans to pay Max back in kind....

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