perilous stagnation

'Not as if I always lived here, mind you...I started off in Govan. Never dreamt in those days I'd end up this side of the river. Real step up in the world that was...I'm grateful for it. Despite everything, I'm grateful for it' Glasgow, the 1970s. Martha and Amie are old neighbours, trapped in their decaying tenement and cut off from family and friends. With the present closing in and the future uncertain, Martha and Amie's real companions are the past and their memories of ordinary lives peopled by extraordinary characters and their struggles and triumphs. I Didn't Always Live Here is a compassionate and heart-rending journey into the forgotten lives of the dispossessed and elderly, as well as an uplifting journey into the human spirit's capacity to cope with social exclusion and financial hardship. One of multi-award-winning playwright and poet Stewart Conn's earliest works, I Didn't Always Live Here now receives its first production since its world premiere at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre in 1967.

Amber applies a dash of red lipstick and checks herself out in the mirror before heading out on a date. ‘Don’t wait up!’ she calls to her housemates as she leaves. But Amber never returns home that night. Amber Slater is never seen again. The last person to see Amber was her housemate. He remembers everything she was wearing that night. He watched her leave. He listened to every word of her phone conversation with her friend before she left. He knows more about Amber’s movements than anyone. At university, she is well-liked by her fellow students and teachers. Her tutor’s voice shakes when he is questioned by the police. Some say he and Amber were very close. Too close. Some say his wife had just found out about their relationship. The manager at the restaurant where Amber was supposed to eat that night says she didn’t show up. Yet the chef at the restaurant is overly chatty about her. He wasn’t working that night. He wasn’t answering his phone. Nobody knows where he was when Amber went missing. Rumours begin to circulate about Amber, it seems that everyone has a story to tell. But when the young girl’s lifeless body is found in a local park, with her blue lips glued shut, the gossip suddenly goes quiet. As the police trace the last few hours of Amber’s life, it seems that the girl simply vanished on her way to catch her bus. And when another woman goes missing in the dead of night, it’s a race against time to find her before she too is silenced forever. Fans of crime books from Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will love The Broken Ones. What readers are saying about The Broken Ones: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow, what a fantastic book, I absolutely loved every page!... A rollercoaster of ups and downs and twists and turns.’ Nicki’s Book Blog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Amazing thriller… Kept me up all night.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Tense, gripping, exciting and nerve-wracking.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another riveting instalment in this gripping and addictive series… I loved every part of it.’ Bookword86 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this… I was blown away.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I wish I could give more than five stars.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Exciting and tense with so many suspects.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Brilliant… I couldn’t put it down.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I love it.’ Goodreads reviewer What readers are saying about Carla Kovach: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I read this in a single sitting, unable to put it down.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow!… Absolutely amazing!… I was hooked from the first page.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Fantastic. Five stars from me.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow! What a great read!! This was full of so many twists and turns.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Fast-paced and gripping… Read it! You won’t be disappointed.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What an amazing thriller!’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘One hell of a series.’ Nigel Adams Bookworm ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Gripping and addictive. An easy five stars.’ Goodreads reviewer

An Amish sweets contest is interrupted when a bitter rivalry turns deadly in this cozy mystery by the Agatha Award-winning author of Criminally Cocoa. Harvest, Ohio, is a long way from New York City, where Bailey King left a coveted job as a chocolatier to take over Swissmen Sweets, her grandparents’ Amish candy shop. She wants to honor her grandfather’s memory, but she may be biting off more than she can chew when she enters the annual Amish Confectionery Competition. Between cooking up lavender blueberry fudge and chocolate cherry ganache truffles, Bailey’s search for a missing pot-bellied pig leads her to a dead body. Josephine Weaver, an Amish candy maker who wanted Bailey disqualified for being an Englischer, died from a licorice allergy. Now Bailey finds herself topping the list of murder suspects, along with Josephine’s niece, a young woman going through her rumspringa. Now it falls to Bailey, who’s sweet on the local sheriff’s deputy, to clear both their names and catch a killer with a cast-iron stomach for cold-blooded murder… Recipe Included!

Life took a big turn when Jaron found out that Zekiah was engaged to a guy named Jayce Westwood, but he knew it wasnt true, until he discovered from Jeremiah that Jayce is bisexual. But Zekiah was still playing hard to get around him. Little did they know, trouble was around them again, and they both knew they needed each other. When Zekiahs grandmother died in her sleep at Jeremiahs place, she was heartbroken, knowing that the person she loved sharing her thoughts to and adored so much was gone. But Jaron fought his way to her heart to be with her as she grieved for her grandmothers death. But Jadens name has been heard again, and hes back to ruin them both. Jaron knew just what to do to get rid of him again so that he could be with the love of his life again, Zekiah Wonder. Will they be able to get through their problems together, or will they have to lean on themselves to work it out?

With the help of newfound comrades, our otaku protagonist makes a valiant return to the fantasy world of Mesteria—as a pig, of course! However, his most precious heroine, Jess, is missing. But that doesn’t matter because he didn’t come back to enjoy a fluffy fantasy life with Jess. He totally doesn’t miss the girl he fell head over heels for! He’s not s-whining or dis-grunt-led at all! There are also more pressing problems Mister Pig must deal with. Mesteria changed completely during his absence. The nation’s torn apart by a war between the royal court and the underground society, and the handsome huntsman Naut has become a revolutionary focused on liberating all Yethma. Our protagonist’s mission is to help Naut and save the poor Yethma of this world! Together with Ceres and a new pig companion, Sanon, Mister Pig sets out on a journey filled with twists and turns. Will he reunite with his sweet, angelic savior?

Inspirational poetry with a call to strengthen your Christian walk.

Hip-hop artist Queen Pen's powerful debut novel is a love story of ultimate passion and desperate measures set on the tough streets of Brooklyn.

She’s a hopeless romantic...for everyone but herself. Can the least romantic man alive convince her love isn’t just for other people? Willow There are certain expectations when you’re born into a multigenerational family of matchmakers, which is why I fled my hometown and tried to build a life of my own. But it turns out matchmaking is hard to quit, and I can’t stop trying to match the customers at the bakery I manage—including my boss and the tea shop owner next door—even though I’m hopeless at love. So it seriously crimps my style when Alex Hunter starts coming around, working on his book at the bakery. He’s hot, grumpy, and thinks romance is a dirty word. Worse, he keeps distracting our customers. He needs to go away. Which means someone needs to matchmake him. And I’m just the girl for the job. Alex I’m a writer who can’t write, and lo and behold, I meet a matchmaker who’s allergic to love. Me being me, I fall for her. Most of the people in this town seem insane, but I have to turn my frown upside down and show Willow Mayberry that matchmakers deserve love too. **An interconnected standalone in the Bad Luck Club series.**

Who am I? How did I get here? I am an ordinary person. Ive spent my life making decisions and laying out plans. It took many years for me to find out that the plans were already laid out. All I had to do was decide to follow the plans. The plans god had for me. This journey is a struggle every day. But its worth every step when you see whats at the journeys end. Live for Christ, he died for you.