The Most Wonderful Time is a lovable, unexpectedly thought-provoking Christmas romp of a novel from the ever-sparkling pen of Jayne Allen!" — Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Alice Network The author of the beloved, bestselling Black Girls Must Die Exhausted trilogy returns with an intriguing blend of Such a Fun Age and The Holiday—an irresistible Christmastime novel about heartbreak, hope, love, and the joy that comes from rediscovering oneself. With Christmas around the corner, Ramona Tucker is desperate to get away. She has been lying to her family about her engagement to Malik, her (ex) fiancé. But breakups are fickle, and Ramona is convinced that she can make her pretend wedding real again—but only if she can avoid everyone discovering her secret at her mother’s over-the-top Christmas Eve party. Two-thousand miles away in sunny Malibu, Chelsea Flint needs money to hold on to the beloved beachside cottage she shared with her late parents. The taxes are expensive, and her art isn’t paying the bills. Once an irresistible star of the Los Angeles art scene, Chelsea seems to have lost that spark that vaulted her to the top. If she doesn’t rediscover that magic—and sell a painting—soon, it will be her family’s home she’s selling instead. The two women swap homes, just in time, thanks to some careful planning by Ramona’s best friend and a sturdy nudge from Chelsea’s gallerist godmother. Ramona’s Malibu dreams of sun and surf are interrupted as her first night brings an unwelcome stranger to her door, making her question who she can trust—the meddling neighbor Joan, or Jay, the handsome beachside fitness instructor with a secret of his own. Chelsea, desperate for Ramona to stay, hides what she knows—even if that means jeopardizing her budding connection with charming Carlos, whose dreams for his future could be the very key to unlock Chelsea from the weight of her past. Combining escapist fun and sizzling romance, a dose of poignant self-reflection, and a little holiday magic, The Most Wonderful Time is a warm and relatable novel that will delight at Christmas and throughout the year.
“It’s a good thing that this is only the first book of a trilogy, because after getting to know Tabitha, you won’t want to leave her at the end. . . . Written intimately as if you’re peering into the mind of a close friend, this book is a true testament to the stresses on women today and how great girlfriends (and grandmothers) are often the key to our sanity.” — Good Morning America The first novel in a captivating three-book series about modern womanhood, in which a young Black woman must rely on courage, laughter, and love—and the support of her two longtime friends—to overcome an unexpected setback that threatens the most precious thing she’s ever wanted. Tabitha Walker is a black woman with a plan to “have it all.” At 33 years old, the checklist for the life of her dreams is well underway. Education? Check. Good job? Check. Down payment for a nice house? Check. Dating marriage material? Check, check, and check. With a coveted position as a local news reporter, a "paper-perfect" boyfriend, and even a standing Saturday morning appointment with a reliable hairstylist, everything seems to be falling into place. Then Tabby receives an unexpected diagnosis that brings her picture-perfect life crashing down, jeopardizing the keystone she took for granted: having children. With her dreams at risk of falling through the cracks of her checklist, suddenly she is faced with an impossible choice between her career, her dream home, and a family of her own. With the help of her best friends, the irreverent and headstrong Laila and Alexis, the mom jeans-wearing former "Sexy Lexi," and the generational wisdom of her grandmother and the nonagenarian firebrand Ms. Gretchen, Tabby explores the reaches of modern medicine and tests the limits of her relationships, hoping to salvage the future she always dreamed of. But the fight is all consuming, demanding a steep price that forces an honest reckoning for nearly everyone in her life. As Tabby soon learns, her grandmother's age-old adage just might still be true: Black girls must die exhausted.
From the Tony Hillerman Prize-winning author of Pay Dirt Road comes Hard Rain, Samantha Jayne Allen's mesmerizing next novel set in a hardscrabble Texas town dealing with disaster. In shock and found clinging to a tree branch, Bethany Richter is pulled from thrashing floodwaters that have decimated the town of Garnett, Texas and killed a dozen others. Six months after solving the murder of a local waitress, Annie McIntyre is working as an apprentice P.I. when she's handed her first solo case: uncover the identity of the man who rescued Bethany before he was swept downriver. When Annie's search turns up a different victim—shot dead, not drowned—Annie questions if the hero they seek is actually a killer. Flexing her new skills while relying on the wisdom of her eccentric, ex-cop grandfather, the case leads Annie into a web of drug dealers, preachers, and wayward drifters trying to make sense of life after a disaster. Annie's own convictions are put to the ultimate test as long-held secrets, corruption, and violence are exposed like the ruin that lies beneath receding waters.
“Masterfully written and pitch perfect, Black Girls Must Be Magic is, simply, magic.”—Good Morning America In this highly anticipated second installment in the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series, Tabitha Walker copes with more of life’s challenges and a happy surprise—a baby—with a little help and lots of love from friends old and new. For Tabitha Walker, her grandmother’s old adage, “Black girls must die exhausted” is becoming all too true. Discovering she’s pregnant—after she was told she may not be able to have biological children—Tabitha throws herself headfirst into the world of “single mothers by choice.” Between her job, doctor’s appointments, and preparing for the baby, she’s worn out. And that’s before her boss at the local news station starts getting complaints from viewers about Tabitha’s natural hair. When an unexpected turn of events draws Marc—her on and off-again ex-boyfriend—back into her world with surprising demands, and the situation at work begins to threaten her livelihood and her identity, Tabitha must make some tough decisions about her and her baby’s future. It takes a village to raise a child, and Tabitha turns to the women who have always been there for her. Bolstered by the fierce support of Ms. Gretchen, her grandmother’s best friend, the counsel of her closest friends Laila and Alexis, and the calming presence of her doula Andouele, Tabitha must find a way to navigate motherhood on her own terms. Will she harness the bravery, strength, and self-love she’ll need to keep “the village” together, find her voice at work, and settle things with Marc before the baby arrives?
From Tony Hillerman Prize-winning author Samantha Jayne Allen comes Next of Kin, a mesmerizing novel set in a hardscrabble Texas town, where the past is never far away. At a gathering for her cousin’s wedding party, newly-licensed PI Annie McIntyre gets asked an age-old question: what really makes us who we are, nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents, and that question is on his mind. Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night—in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change. When Annie discovers her client's father is a bank robber who her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. When the brother of her client dies suddenly, his death ruled a suicide, Annie questions whether or not it was in fact homicide—and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried. As Annie sets out to find who killed the brother—and stays out of sight lest she be next—she finds herself searching abandoned, overgrown fields, scouring pool halls and roadside motels, wondering if she will ever escape the sense that her world in Garnett, TX expands and contracts in off-kilter ways, growing smaller and yet still more confounding. Fearing that in a place where everyone knows everyone, your enemy is always closer than you think.
Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen. Annie McIntyre has a love/hate relationship with Garnett, Texas. Recently graduated from college and home waitressing, lacking not in ambition but certainly in direction, Annie is lured into the family business—a private investigation firm—by her supposed-to-be-retired grandfather, Leroy, despite the rest of the clan’s misgivings. When a waitress at the café goes missing, Annie and Leroy begin an investigation that leads them down rural routes and haunted byways, to noxious-smelling oil fields and to the glowing neon of local honky-tonks. As Annie works to uncover the truth she finds herself identifying with the victim in increasing, unsettling ways, and realizes she must confront her own past—failed romances, a disturbing experience she’d rather forget, and the trick mirror of nostalgia itself—if she wants to survive this homecoming.
In this compelling study of the moral principles that most influenced the thinking of Abraham Lincoln, historian Allen Jayne argues persuasively that Lincoln regarded the Declaration of Independence, above all other documents, as the most important embodiment of American principles. This "American manifesto," as Jayne calls it, with its eloquent expression of the ideals of individual liberty and government created to protect and preserve that liberty, was the script that Lincoln followed in his struggle to preserve the Union and extend individual liberties to African Americans. Moreover, Jayne demonstrates that Lincoln''s philosophy was rooted, not in a Bible-based evangelical Christian perspective, but in the European Enlightenment and deism, which so profoundly influenced the thinking of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers. Jayne begins with a chapter devoted to the influence of deism on Jefferson''s formulation of the Declaration of Independence. Next, he discusses Lincoln''s adoption of the deistic perspective and the crucial role that the Declaration played in his thoughts and actions. He also considers Lincoln''s moral sense, based on deism''s tolerance of different belief systems and universal moral idealism. Finally, he describes Lincoln''s role as chief advocate for the Declaration''s principles and how the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address reflect this underlying philosophy. This insightful look into the thinking of one of our nation''s greatest presidents during a time of crisis is highly relevant in today''s climate of religious extremism and debates over the balance between individual liberty and national security.
In this final installment in the acclaimed Black Girls Must Die Exhausted trilogy, Tabitha is juggling work, relationships, and a newborn baby—but will she find the happy ending she’s always wanted? After a whirlwind year, Tabitha Walker’s carefully organized plan to achieve the life she wanted—perfect job, dream husband, and stylish home—has gone off the rails. Her checklist now consists of diapers changed (infinite), showers taken (zero), tears cried (buckets), and hours of sleep (what’s that?). Don't get her wrong, Tabby loves her new bundle of joy and motherhood is perhaps the only thing that's consistent for her these days. When the news station announces that they will be hiring outside competitors for the new anchor position, Tabby throws herself into her work. But it’s not just maintaining her position as the station’s weekend anchor that has her worried. All of her relationships seem to be shifting out of their regular orbits. Best friend Alexis can’t manage to strike the right balance in her “refurbished” marriage with Rob, and Laila’s gone from being a consistent ride-or-die to a newly minted entrepreneur trying to raise capital for her growing business. And when Marc presents her with an ultimatum about their relationship, coupled with an extended “visit” from his mother, Tabby is forced to take stock of her life and make a new plan for the future. Consumed by work, motherhood, and love, Tabby finds herself isolated from her friends and family just when she needs them most. But help is always there when you ask for it, and Tabby’s village will once again rally around her as she comes to terms with her new life and faces her biggest challenge yet—choosing herself.
Jeff is a very innocent funny Penis. His Maverick personality gets him into all sorts of adventures, quandaries, and between him and Hedgy gets into all kinds of trouble. Follow his journey of intrigue and historical interest. They marvel at where there at and in awe of where they are going but mostly fascinated by how they get from one place to another by on the spot decisions. It is a very comical, argumentative relationship and fallouts are not an option for either of them. FOR ADULTS ONLY!
Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The fourth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of six can't-miss novels--either standalone or first in series--publishing Winter 2022 for free for easy sampling. Standalone: From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller that is certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page. Standalone: From the author of Every Last Fear comes a breakneck new thriller about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart, and the one man whose life is inexplicably linked to both. Alex Finlay returns with The Night Shift. First in Series: Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in Under Lock & Skeleton Key, where Tempest Raj returns home to work at her father’s Secret Staircase Construction Company. Standalone: A heart-thumping novel that will shake you to your core, The Resting Place is a masterful novel of suspense and horror from international star Camilla Sten. Standalone: Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes’s The Shadow House follows one woman desperate to protect her children at any cost in a remote village retreat where not everything is as it seems. . . First in Series: Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen.
A reclusive billionaire has invited Steve and Jayne to join the star-studded party aboard his luxury liner making its maiden voyage. Then a dead body turns up in a life boat. That's only the beginning. As more corpses show up in the most inappropriate places, Steve and Jayne get ready to solve the most baffling mystery of their careers.
Lilibat was primarily written to put the Authors dreams down on paper. The dreams were vivid and some of the illustrations done by the Author are what she actually saw. These dreams spill over into books two and three. Phillipa is the main character and is put through some gruesome tasks most of which are out of her control. She meets new friends as well as monsters. Mostly she is put into unusual situations which cannot be solved by her alone. She is also torn between Lilibat and home. She also thinks nobody knows about her secret life but the plot only thinkens in the next book adventure. The Author used to be a Synchronized Swimming teacher and the Ocean is a perfect playground., It is a time of decisions, timing,close encounters, tension and worry for all concerned. All the illustrations and front cover was drawn by Jayne B. Allen.
Imaginary homicides on live, prime time television in a battle of wits and lively banter. But a series of murders that were anything but imaginary quickly turned lively banter into deadly threats and recriminations as, one by, one, the stars of "The Murder Game became very real victims of a killer whose motives were as mysterious as the murders themselves. And as the program's ratings soared with the discovery of each new body; Steve and Jayne suddenly found themselves.
Lilibat is a place of magic. It is also a multifarious of people, places, ideas, change and caring for all and not just for humans. The Ocean is a beautiful place but everyone knows the tragedy that Lilibat people have endured due to ignorance, not caring and down right abuse of the ocean. Lilibat is a caring community of a variety of people who help each other and not just in an hour of need. The past haunts everyone in more ways than one and changes need to be worked on for the better for all. Lilly-Bell is heavily involved even though to start she doesnt know it and gets herself into some awkward situations. In this array of peoples lives there is sadness, Happines and many different decisions to be considered by all. It doesnt stop there though. The third book is full of missions and escape, frightening times just like this one.
TV's Renaissance man Steve Allen is back on the boards, once again playing host to an all-star comedy line-up. The funeral for Benny Whipple, the 93-year-old veteran of vaudeville, radio, stage, and screen, has attracted every comedy superstar in Hollywood. But just as Benny is being laid to rest, Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows discover slapstick king Terry Parker stabbed in the back in a mausoleum.
The latest tale of murder from one of television's most beloved personalities. Steve faces his most challenging performance yet when a show in Las Vegas turns into an engagement with death. When the wife of a legendary crooner is strangled in the sauna, even Steve has to admit that her husband looks like the most likely suspect.
The success of Steve Allen's How To Be Funny led first to the republication of that book, and now occasioned a companion volume, Make 'Em Laugh. This new how-to book about the art of comedy includes an even richer assortment of examples of the author's unique humor. In Make 'Em Laugh, Allen laces his formal instruction with hilarious ad-libs, written jokes, TV comedy sketches, satires, song parodies, humorous essays, amusing autobiographical reminiscences, one-act plays, witty speeches, and stand-up monologues from his comedy concerts. Noel Coward called Steve Allen the most talented man in America, and he is probably the most borrowed-from comedian of all time. The perceptive reader will recognize many of the comic ideas that Allen originated during the "Golden Age" of television comedy - ideas that are still influential in the 1990's. If there were a college course in creating and performing comedy, Make 'Em Laugh would be the ideal textbook.
Why Did Steve Allen Cross the Road? Steve Allen is a legend among comedians and entertainers. He's been playing to audiences on stage, radio, film, and television for more than fifty years, gaining acclaim for his unique wit and energy. Now for the first time, he shares more than a thousand of his favorite one-liners, anecdotes, limericks, quotes, and other generally funny things. The entries are divided into nearly two hundred categories to make it easy for anyone to find the right laugh for any occasion. If you're faced with the prospect of having to "say a few words," Steve Allen's Private Joke File is the perfect place to look for ideas and inspiration on such topics as awards, drinking, baseball, lawyers, dentists, insurance, marriage, the stock market, and dozens of other subjects. A sampling: * My wife and I had words, but I never got to use mine! * If ignorance is bliss, he should die of joy. * "How are the acoustics here?" "Great, I can hardly hear you!" * I learned to rumba very early in life ... I had a tricycle with a loose seat. * Room for rent, by young lady, freshly plastered. Steve Allen has also included a number of his favorite essays and monologues. Steve Allen's Private Joke File is great to flip through for fun or for function, and for those of us looking for a good laugh -- to give one or to have one -- it's indispensable.
The eighth book in Allen's mystery series finds Allen and Jayne Meadows traveling to Hawaii to guest-star on a hit detective series opposite their friend, Bill Markham. But TV's hottest new star has an ulterior motive. He wants them to look into a stalker who is scaring him. Soon, the detective duo is investigating the mystery behind two corpses that have washed up on shore.
Try as I might, I can't ask. Have you ever wanted to ask somebody something, perhaps personal, embarrassing but needed to be questioned? Maybe something has happened, and you need to know but did not want to stick your nose into another person's business? Is there a long-lost void that if you knew the answer would possibly put things into a better perspective? So many questions and so little time. Sometimes it is difficult to ask, 'was I adopted? Are you my parents? Will you go on a date with me? Are you having an affair?' The Ghumf Workers job is to be diplomatic but at the same time ask uncomfortable questions for their paid clients. It is not an easy task and can get rather complicated, especially if you ask it wrongly. Clarity is the key and understanding is the valuable tool for a positive result. Not all results are good though. Sometimes a can of worms (metaphorically speaking) could be opened and left for the client to digest. Yuk! Life has never been easy for any living, breathing thing. There is also a life after work and a Ghumf family to find. The Ghumf shop is a maze of intrigue, deception, weird and wonderful people plus animals alike. It is about caring, sharing and the determination to work things out. Puzzles to solve, places to find and get out of. Danger at every corner and fascinations of what next. Deceit wriggles around the building. Mental health has issues and clues are rife to solve. The end of completing the dilemma in hand is in their reach. Yet another pops up its mysterious head. The job is simple. The tasks behind closed doors are yet to be spoken. Hush, hush, you might actually help somebody. Guess if you can. The outcome has not yet delivered its verdict. Voodoo from the slave trade was rife. Wizardry, Witchcraft, magic, and the colourful past of Pemba Island in Zanzibar are just the tip of the ice burg of healing talents and mischief. The world has a vast array of Witch Doctors from Tanzania to Norway, from Spain to Africa and from the United Kingdom to Australia. The practices are as widely practiced as the sceptical try to find untruths of the true workings of the healers. Today Witch Doctors in Tanzania are actually registered as their profession and are held in high regard. It is also common practice worldwide with qualified doctors testing and learning still from the old and new Witch Doctor concoctions of the ancients. The ancestors of the Ghumf's are mystical. The Rulers of Tanzania were ruthless and did not treat the people kindly. Billy is an eight-year-old dumped at the shop in a maze of conflict, intrigue, heart ache and boat loads of fun to be shared by all. He is an inconvenience that is always in the way for some. Others love him to bits and needs his charisma, charm, and innocence. I hope you enjoy reading, as I have revelled in the maze of possibilities.
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