A young Amish woman defies her family and their traditions to leave her small community in search for musical stardom. The naive woman quickly learns that all that glitters is not gold and thinks about returning home when some encouraged words from a new found friend makes her reconsider. A chance meeting causes the Amish woman to cross paths with an aspiring female rock band performing at an Italian Restaurant in NYC. The band gets their first chance at stardom when a flashy concert promoter puts them on a cross country tour. Trouble looms this rock band as a bitter sweet mix of success and tragedy makes them think about what's really important. Together they learn a lesson in family values, true friendship and unconditional love. The young Amish woman achieves her dream and returns home with more respect for her lifestyle and herself. The paths she's taken and persons she's met along her journey will always stay in her heart. {www.wix.com/tomjamesh/my-books} {www.wix.com/tomjamesh/my-scripts}

When Tom and Emily Wilks lose their daughter in a road traffic accident, the shattering event proves to be a catalyst that brings suffering and anger to the surface from generations both living and dead that spans a hunderd years, building up to a stunning climax.

Praise for Restless Hearts "Who amongst us would not want to be offered a second chance to correct a previous mistake? Who amongst us would not want the support and participation--even in a dream--of national heroes to help us turn a failed mission into a mission completed? Writing in a smooth, easily reading style, Commander Baker weaves a complex, but almost plausible story of a group of modern-day heroes who use a dream to gain the support and participation by a group of earlier national heroes to turn a failed mission into a mission completed. Drawing on his own experience as an enlisted man and then an officer in the navy, he learned about living right as you go, making amends if need be, and the importance of second chances. I commend this book to your reading." --Lawrence F. Snowden, Lieutenant General, US Marine Corps, retired; veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam; highest ranking survivor of the battle of Iwo Jima "If Ernie Pyle had breached the consciousness of war weary Americans with narrative rather than articles and "cartoons", he would have done so much in the context of RESTLESS HEARTS. For those many patriots, past and currently serving, who have crossed into the line of fire and returned home, especially those bearing the scars of conflict, Dennis Baker's uniquely woven and reflection provoking story of service and sacrifice will be an emotional and satisfying read. We were all changed by our experience in the combat arena, no matter how brief that experience. RESTLESS HEARTS speaks to the humanity of every American warrior, and the countless motivations that lead a Soldier, Sailor, Marine or Airman to shield a comrade in mortal combat." --James H Flatley III, Rear Admiral, USN (Retired) One of three generations to command a carrier fighter squadron in combat, a Navy test pilot and a recipient of the Navy's John Paul Jones Award for "inspirational leadership". Restless Hearts recognizes all warriors and their families, as well as the hardships they encounter from the scars of war, and seeks to provide hope for a new tomorrow. The perfect gift for any veteran, their family, or active military member serving today.

A search for her roots brought midwife Fiona Flanagan to Pennsylvania Dutch country—and made her wonder whether she should turn back. The area's mixture of Amish and English culture confused her, and her first encounter with local police chief Ted Rittenhouse didn't help. he'd thought she was breaking into her own office! Despite the misunderstanding, Fiona could see that Ted's tough-as-nails exterior hid a kind soul—one caught between two worlds, seeking a place to belong. She felt the same, but trusting him with her heart would require the biggest step of faith she had ever taken.

FREE Historical Romance Series Starter Whoever said the streets were paved with gold must have been dreaming. San Francisco in the gold rush era was an intoxicating mixture of the wealthy and the desperate. Where would Sarah fit in? Determined to prove that she can make it on her own, Sarah poses as a married woman and boards a schooner bound for the San Francisco gold rush. Restless and eager to travel, Jamie agrees to set up a branch of his family’s merchant bank in San Francisco. Each has something to prove but will their desire to succeed derail a blossoming romance? Restless Hearts is Book One of the 3-Book Gold Rush Series.

As someone who has been guiding people through the catacombs of their own lives for decades, Francis Dorff, O. Praem. is uniquely qualified to tell stories that evoke personal experiences of the treasures residing within each of us. Readers may recognize their own lives reflected in his description of: being “a stranger in a strange land,” wondering where to turn when a door to one’s “promised land” closes in one’s face, exploring intimations of a Loving Mystery beneath the surface of all of life, embracing parts of our life that we have been neglecting, and creatively getting to know our own deepest self. This book will encourage those of us who are yearning to live more peacefully with others to see how we can “meditatively journey together to the underground place within us that is deeper than all our differences.” Those who are feeling stuck may find some help in Fr. Dorff’s insight into how “widening the scope of my attentiveness has a lot to do with my being able eventually to take a creative next step.” And everyone can be inspired by the author’s “experiment with loving” and how many different forms this loving can take over the course of a long, rich life. Here is a personal invitation to learn how to live with the ongoing tensions between solitude and community, meditation and ministry, “getting it all together” and letting it all fall apart—as well as being a misfit and a mystic on a deeply personal pilgrimage.

Garden City, New York-NAPW honors Eve J. Blohm as a 2013/2014 Professional Woman of the Year for leadership literature and art with this prestigious distinction. As the largest, most-recognized organization of women in the country, spanning virtually every industry and profession, the National Association of Professional Women is a powerfully vibrant networking community with over 600,000 members and nearly 400 local chapters. "I started doing my art in 1965," says Ms. Blohm. "I recently created a catalog of some of my artwork that is for sale." Whether it's peering through the lens of her camera or dipping her brush into watercolors, Ms. Blohm vividly brings images to life. From collages to watercolors to photographs, she enjoys creating art for herself and for others. The artist has recently tried her hand at working in a new medium, felt-tip pen drawing. "I love it. It's like watercolor, only you use ink. It's beautiful," she said.

When Pittsburgh socialite Laura Corey rolled into Reno, Nevada, in 1905 for a six-month stay, her goal was a divorce from the president of U.S. Steel. Her visit also provided a provocative glimpse into the city's future. With its rugged landscape and rough-edged culture, Reno had little to offer early twentieth-century visitors besides the gambling and prostitution that had remained unregulated since Nevada's silver-mining heyday. But the possibility of easy divorce attracted national media attention, East Coast notables, and Hollywood stars, and soon the "Reno Cure" was all the rage. Almost overnight, Reno was on the map. Alicia Barber traces the transformation of Reno's reputation from backward railroad town to the nationally known "Sin Central"—as Garrison Keillor observed, a place where you could see things that you wouldn't want to see in your own hometown. Chronicling the city's changing fortunes from the days of the Comstock Lode, she describes how city leaders came to embrace an identity as "The Biggest Little City in the World" and transform their town into a lively tourist mecca. Focusing on the evolution of urban reputation, Barber carefully distinguishes between the image that a city's promoters hope to manufacture and the impression that outsiders actually have. Interweaving aspects of urban identity, she shows how sense of place, promoted image, and civic reputation intermingled and influenced each other—and how they in turn shaped the urban environment. Quickie divorces notwithstanding, Reno's primary growth engine was gambling; modern casinos came to dominate the downtown landscape. When mainstream America balked, Reno countered by advertising "tax freedom" and natural splendor to attract new residents. But by the mid-seventies, unchecked growth and competition from Las Vegas had initiated a downslide that persisted until a carefully crafted series of special events and the rise of recreational tourism began to attract new breeds of tourists. Barber's engaging story portrays Reno as more than a second-string Las Vegas, having pioneered most of the attractions-gaming and prizefighting, divorces and weddings-that made the larger city famous. As Reno continues to remold itself to weather the shifting winds of tourism and growth, Barber's book provides a cautionary tale for other cities hoping to ride the latest consumer trends.

The author contends that the heart of man is his worst part before it is regenerated, and the best afterward.

No one can write about storytelling like Father Bill Bausch. Both his words and his stories are compelling, convincing, and completely absorbing. Here in this landmark work, which he insists is his last, his goal is to help readers see the centrality of stories, to read and hear Scripture as story and not as history, and to learn to enrich and expand their lives by looking at the ?story behind the story.? He wants to break readers out of the literalism that constricts their spiritual and social lives, so they might gain an appreciation of metaphor and symbol and the ?sacramentality? of the world.