Showing results by narrator "Elinor Bell" in All Categories

Join Liz Eckardt and the lovable members of the Material Girls quilting group in the peaceful town of Pleasant Creek, Indiana. The scenery and serenity at the heart of Indiana's Amish country will envelop you as these women embark on heartwarming adventures to uncover the truth about the town's fascinating past.

The quaint Indiana town of Pleasant Creek is bustling with activity as Christmas draws near. Boston native and innkeeper, Liz Eckardt, is learning to embrace her new home's holiday traditions and welcomes the slower-paced life at the heart of Amish country. The little town is brimming with yuletide cheer, and the brisk air is filled with the smell of freshly baked Christmas cookies and the merry sounds of carolers.

Every love story has two sides. Just as she was flowering into her teens, life uprooted Dawn from the tanned crowds and sunny beaches of southern California. It transplanted her into rainy, rural Washington, where she strove to adjust, mature and thrive. Love came to Dawn - and was ripped from her by events and manipulations she could not control. But Dawn had a core of steel. An emotional castaway, she battled grimly through life's trials and sorrows, safeguarding her heart against further ravages.

Steve Larson and Elizabeth Coleman had been the best of friends - inseparable - since middle school. Once in college, they found themselves in love, but too afraid to admit it: Steve, because he thought Elizabeth was too beautiful to want him; and Elizabeth, because she thought Steve was too wealthy to be interested in someone so poor. But then, a family tragedy strikes, and they are pulled apart and lose touch with each other.

Myla Alvarez, novice, walks into the Sonoran desert near Tucson, Arizona, and begins telling stories about the Old Mermaids who were washed ashore onto the New Desert when the Old Sea dried up. In this mystical new world, they lived, created, and walked in beauty. Myla finds sustenance and meaning in their lives and stories. But she worries that Homeland Security may discover the illegal immigrants she harbors at the Old Mermaid Sanctuary.

Liz Eckardt is more grateful than ever that the discovery of her mother's secret Amish history brought her to the idyllic town of Pleasant Creek, Indiana. Her work at the Olde Mansion Inn gives her a deep sense of fulfillment. She has been welcomed and embraced by her newfound family, and she's constantly kept in stitches thanks to her new friends in the local quilting group, The Material Girls. The hustle and bustle of the inn's opening has finally settled down, and Liz is able to enjoy the so-called "simple life" at last.

In the cold shadow of tragedy, hope is like a ray of sunshine.... Celia Bennett does her best to be a good mother. She is devoted to caring for her eight-year-old son Caleb and takes him to soccer practice on weekends. But in the middle of a drill, tragedy strikes...and Caleb collapses on the field. Celia rushes the unconscious boy to the hospital, hoping the doctors there can help. But their shocking diagnosis completely blindsides her, bringing her face-to-face with every parent’s worst nightmare. Her child is dying, and Celia feels powerless to help him.

With her handler, Shiba patrols her territory for illicit magic. But Shiba has just lost her lifelong partner, and his replacement doesn't trust her. With nasty illicit magic sneaking across the border, what's a bitch to do? Of course, the real question is, "Will she do it in time?"

What if, after a lifetime of marriage, the person who knew you best and loved you most forgot your face, and couldn't remember your name? A nursing facility is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband, Jack, can't bear to live without her. He is committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer's disease. He and Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams, and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas.

Remnants of Passion is a collection of essays that examine one woman's search for love, sex, and a sense of belonging from adolescence into middle age. It's equal parts queer and quotidian, ranging in its focus from lesbians fighting over the politics of penetration to first kisses, from apologies never made to a marriage held together with spaghetti.