Let’s Hope They Did!

Four beanbags. Three nosy busybodies. Two hearts entwined and one game that unites us all:
Cornhole — where board-om doesn’t exist, and the unexpected can happen.

Josie

Married for years and happily in love, Morgan and I trade in our city-slicker lifestyle after I’m diagnosed with the big, bad “C.” It’s not the end of the line. It’s only the beginning.

Wanting peace and quiet, we move to a small town in the heart of Texas where the bovines outnumber the people 50 to 1, and chucking corn is considered a professional sport.

Embracing the Christmas spirit and needing something to do, I volunteer us to run the afterschool program. It turns out that I bit off more than I could chew.

Thankfully, I have God, my husband, and the “Baggersville Biddies” on my side. The one thing I’m afraid I don’t have is…

Time.

Morgan

A riding lawnmower, a suped-up truck, and a trunk full of cornhole boards sounds like the start of a joke, but it’s my life.

Moving from the city to the country, I’ve traded in my tailored suit and shiny shoes for butt-hugging jeans and cowboy boots. I’ll admit, it’s a good look for me, and my wife agrees.

With a bat of her lashes, Josie wrangles me into building the backyard game as a fundraiser to help the community. After she ends up in the hospital, it’s the community that comes to our rescue.

I’ve never cared about getting presents before, but this year I ask for a gift that only God can give. Because what I really want more than anything is a Christmas miracle. My Josie.

Andromeda is a priestess without a temple.
She escaped the horrific fate her sister priestesses faced at the hand of the Usurper King’s men years ago and has resigned herself to a life in a brothel, hiding from her past and those who would wipe the priestesses and their Goddess from memory.

Captain William Lennox is a pirate with an unsavory and violent reputation.
After years of avoiding the notorious Captain Lennox, Andromeda finds herself ensnared by the rogue. She begrudgingly accepts her fate – to accompany the handsome, yet dangerous, pirate on his latest voyage across the sea; both as entertainment for him and his crew and to keep watch over a younger girl trapped in the same bargain. It’s the only sure way to earn their way to a new life across the ocean, safe from the King’s bigotry.

Despite her best efforts, Andromeda finds herself surrounded by reminders of who she was before her future was taken from her.
Can she continue to wear the mask she has donned for almost a decade and escape her past for good? Or will her traitorous heart push her toward a new future solidly entwined with the painful secrets she has tried so hard to forget and the Captain who harbors secrets of his own?

It’s the Roaring Twenties. London’s bright young things are partying and Augusta Peel is hiding in her basement.

Book repairer Augusta Peel needs some peace and quiet after serving her country in the war. Forget jazz bands and sequins, she’s happy with a canary for company and old books.

But events take a turn when Augusta agrees to chaperone a young woman for the night. Failing to get her home on time, she ends up in a rowdy nightclub. She can’t imagine the evening getting worse when the police raid it. But then the murder happens.

Who shot Jean Taylor? An old acquaintance at Scotland Yard persuades Augusta to help with his investigation. But how can a reluctant sleuth navigate Soho’s world of actresses, gangsters and theatre impresarios to discover the truth?

A new puppy is brought into the family. Knox learns quickly that being part of the adventure pups means developing new skills, facing new dangers, fighting against new foes, and being amongst great new friends. His first few weeks in the country house with the other pups finds Knox discovering his own bravery, the loyalty and love of his brothers and sisters, and the friendship of some strange new creatures.

Meet Detective Edison Kane. South End murder squad’s finest. Three months ago, his wife was killed on a night out. She wanted him there with her, but he always put work first. And the killer’s never been caught. Now he thinks he’s ready to be back at work…
Until a body washes up. On the godforsaken mudflats near Leigh-on-Sea. One look at the dead man’s face, and Kane feels himself start to unravel.

Where the eyes should be, there are only empty sockets.

Kane’s mobile pings with an anonymous message. Murder was so much easier than I thought. See no evil…
Everyone knows how that saying goes…
It’s up to Kane to stop the twisted killer, before they write their perfect ending.

But he couldn’t protect his wife — and can’t get justice for her now she’s dead and gone. Why should this case be any different?