Browse A-Z Authors: Rn-Rt

Pirate Series, book 1. Lady Catherine Aldley was en route to London when pirates attacked her ship. Just in time, Captain Jonathan Hale rescued her from his own men, sweeping her into his arms, staking his claim on the pampered daughter of England's ambassador to Portugal. All Catherine had were her wits and the will to beat her captor at his own game. His searing kisses kindled unfamiliar passions, but she vowed to make him her prisoner of desire... He was a legendary pirate, daring, triumphant, free. Jonathan Hale never took captives and always escaped--until he saw the headstrong beauty he couldn't leave behind. She was fire and ice, a lady outraged, a tigress in his arms. Cathy refused to be treated like chattel, yet yielded to his sensual invasion as she conquered his body and soul. She made loving truly dangerous, exposing his deepest fears--and his mutinous heart... First published in 1981.

Pirate Series, book 2. Lady Catherine Aldley fled England to make a home with the infamous Jonathan Hale in Carolina but their perfect life was shattered when Cathy discovered that her marriage to Jonathan was a sham. He was a wanted man, one step from the gallows. The only way she could save him was to wed her despised cousin, to let Jonathan think she had betrayed their love. With a price on his head and vengeance in his soul, Jon Hale led a mutiny aboard the prison ship Cristobel and recaptured his faithless wife. Cathy could rile his blood as no other. The fire in her eyes infuriated and beguiled him. Cathy said she hated him, yet melted at his touch even as Jon tried to despise what he most desired. Then fate threatened to part them forever and Jon risked his life to rescue the woman he could not live without... First published in 1982.

Banning Sisters series, book 1. England, 1810: When Lady Gabriella Banning receives word that her half-brother, the Earl of Wickham, has died on his tea plantation in Ceylon, she faces the reality that she and her younger sisters, Claire and Elizabeth, are suddenly penniless. The family's riches will pass to the next male heir -- a distant cousin -- and the Banning sisters are doomed unless Gabby thinks fast. Which she does. Pretending that Marcus is still alive, Gabby arranges beautiful Claire's London season. She'll keep up the pretense just long enough for Claire to marry a fabulously wealthy nobleman. But when a handsome gentleman arrives at the door and claims to be Marcus, Gabby's plan backfires. For if she exposes this mysterious stranger's deceit, she exposes her own. Bound by secrets and lies, Gabby and the roguish adventurer strike sparks off each other -- and soon London society is abuzz over the scandalous pair of "siblings" who appear to be falling in love.... With this beautifully rendered romance, bestselling author Karen Robards begins a sweeping series about three unforgettable sisters poised to take the ton by storm. First published in 2001.

Banning Sister's series, book 2. Claire Banning fulfilled every debutante's dream when she married a rich nobleman. Soon, however, the celebrated beauty realizes she wed a dissolute wastrel. Bitterly hurt and desperately lonely, Claire vows nonetheless to take her expected place in society. Then on a journey home to her husband's estate on the coast of Sussex, she is abducted, and her life -- and her heart -- are changed forever. Hugh Battancourt -- a dark and dangerous nobleman who long ago turned his back on the ton and now leads a life secretly dedicated to his country's service -- is determined not to be swayed by his prisoner's beauty as they share a cabin on a ship bound for France. Lives depend on his retrieving from her a letter full of secrets she intends to turn over to the enemy. But even as Claire and Hugh engage in a battle of wits and wills, captor and captive find themselves drawn irresistibly to each other. First published in 2002.

Banning Sisters series, book 3. Lady Elizabeth Banning, the youngest and most headstrong of the three Banning sisters, is a shameless, hardened flirt with a reputation for jilting fiances. Perhaps she is reluctant to marry due to her father's appalling treatment of his wives and daughters, or perhaps because she's headstrong and likes to do as she pleases. First published in 2010.

Impetuous English beauty Lady Amanda Rose was determined to escape the loveless marriage that her cruel stepbrother would impose on her. She never imagined that a mysterious rogue from the new world would be the man to change her destiny.

The highly sensual tale of an orphaned beauty's dangerous love for the outlaw nobleman who rescued her from an unspeakable fate, Dark of the Moon has enthralled readers everywhere. First published in 1988.

Gentle, highborn Sarah Markham is not prepared for the proud Irish rebel to burst into her life. Sentenced to exile for acts perpetrated against the Crown, Dominic Gallagher will do anything to convince this timid Australian lady that only he can fulfill her hopes and dreams. Reissue.

Desire in the Sun is a magnificently sensual love story about a gentleman cruelly betrayed and enslaved, and the beautiful, pampered daughter of privilege whose passion saves him. First published in 1988.

When Justin Brant returns to his Irish estate after three years, he discovers that his ward Megan has become a beautiful young woman who is as interested in him as he is in her. Original copyright in 1983.

A beloved classic from the incomparable Karen Robards, Green Eyes provides passion, drama, intense emotion, and breathless love--everything that fans of the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling superstar crave. First published in 1991.

Fate had brought the saucy Jewel Combs far from her shivering, dockside existence to the mansion on Grosvenor Square. Now she was about to be renamed "Julia Stratham", in the Earl's outlandish stand against his domineering mother. His plan: to transform this diamond in the rough into a glittering gem worthy of the family name. But even as Jewel is swept up in all there is to know -- and the critical gaze of her handsome patron -- she unknowingly imparts a few lessons of her own. The Earl of Moorland is about to learn that although his "Julia" is no lady, she is all woman...and one with whom he can't resist falling madly, unexpectedly, and passionately in love.

This story of an innocent Mississippi beauty and a rogue riverboat gambler is alive with the trademark Robards magic--and anyone who loves superior love stories will be enchanted by this Morning Song. First published in 1990.

In Carolina Colony, the community admired Susannah Redmon, plain eldest daughter of the preacher. Her herbal healing skills made her an angel of mercy, her determination held together the family's farm, and her strong will always got her what she wanted--even the buying of a man. But no suitor had ever courted her... Ian Connelly, Marquis of Derne, had been betrayed, branded a criminal, and beaten. Still defiant, he had been indentured and transported to the Colonies, where a bossy, primly proper woman had bought him! But he alone saw the strength of her character, the gold in her tawny hair, and, in her eyes, the fire of her long-hidden desire...

Newly arrived in colonial Connecticut to start a new life with her only remaining kin, her sister Elizabeth, Englishwoman Caroline Wetherby is shocked to learn of Elizabeth's death years before, and turns to her enigmatic brother-in-law for comfort.

Now gorgeously repackaged, the breathtaking tale of a beautiful hostage noblewoman rescued from captivity by the dashing king of London's underworld, Tiger's Eye is one of the most sensuous and beloved novels from the author the Louisville Courier-Journal places "in the top rank of romance writers"--a treat for Catherine Coulter fans. First published in 1989.

Jessica Ford series, volume 1. Jess is thrilled when her law firm's senior partner asks her to meet the President's wife in a Washington hotel late one Saturday night. But when everyone who knew what the First Lady was doing that Saturday night ends up dead, Jess realises that if she remembers, she'll be dead too. First published in 2009.

Jessica Ford series, volume 2. Taking a job with a prestigious D.C. law firm after witnessing the murder of the first lady, attorney Jessica Ford investigates a high-profile rape victim's suspicious recant on the stand, a situation that is complicated by the disappearance of Jessica's predecessor.

Charlotte Stone series, book 1. Investigating the brutal murders of two vacationing families in sunny Virginia Beach, FBI agents Ryan Sinclair and Buzz Crane suspect the work of a notorious serial killer and tap the skills of preeminent clinical expert Charlotte Stone, who is also the culprit's only known survivor.

Charlotte Stone series, book 2. Dr. Charlotte "Charlie" Stone has dedicated her career as a psychiatrist to exploring the darkest territory of all: the hearts and minds of serial killers. It's a job she's uniquely suited for, thanks to the secret talent that gives her an uncanny edge--Charlie can see dead people, whose tormented spirits cry out to her for the justice only she can provide. This blessing--or curse--gives Charlie the power to hunt down and catch madmen and murderers. It's also turned her love life upside down by drawing her into a hopelessly passionate relationship with the lingering ghost of charismatic bad boy. But there's little time for romance with her supernatural suitor when murder comes pounding at Charlie's door in the form of a terrified young woman fleeing a homicidal maniac.

Charlotte Stone series, book 3. New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards brings her irresistible brand of hot passion and chilling suspense to the paranormal romance scene with her third thriller to feature sexy serial killer hunter Charlotte Stone.

Charlotte Stone series, book 4. The fourth paranormal romantic thriller to feature sexy serial killer hunter Charlotte Stone, by New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards.

Bianca St. Ives series, book 1. Growing up, Bianca St. Ives knew she was different from all her friends. Her father prepped her well to carry on the family business. Now she makes a living swindling con men out of money they stole. But her latest gig goes horribly wrong. Not only do two hundred million dollars and top secret government documents go missing, but her father is killed during the heist. The thing is, the US government doesn't believe he's really dead. They'll stop at nothing to capture Richard St. Ives, a high-value target and someone who has been on most-wanted lists all over the world for over two decades--and they mean to use Bianca as bait. First published in 2017.

Bianca St. Ives series, book 2. Still navigating the fallout from a shocking revelation that's left a network of assassins' crosshairs trained on her, Bianca's ready to take fate into her own hands. It's kill or be killed, and she's got her finger flush against the trigger. Faced with threats that circle closer with every move she makes, she knows the stakes have never been higher, but when you're already living on borrowed time, you have to hustle if you want to live to see tomorrow. First published in 2018.

Bianca St. Ives series, book 3. With her back against the wall, everything's on the line for Bianca St. Ives. She's either going to save the world-or die trying It took one hell of an effort for the authorities to finally get the jump on master manipulator Bianca St. Ives, but now that they have, it's far from the capture she expected. Instead of taking her in, there's an offer on the table, a one-shot deal that would allow Bianca to walk away scot-free as if they'd never found her. And all she has to do is run one last mission-the kind she might never return from.

Narrowly escaping an attempt on her life while on a business trip in New Orleans, attorney Maddie Fitzgerald is unnerved by attractive FBI agent Sam McCabe, who reveals that Maddie is being targeted by an elusive hired killer.

Taking the summer off from a high-stress job, Bonnie travels to a cozy Carolina beach where she falls for a handsome drifter, but when she realizes that the women in a string of killings all resemble her, she fears she may be next. First published in 2003.

A brilliant ornithologist is trapped on the remote Attu Island in Alaska, fighting for her life--and that of a handsome stranger--before they're swallowed up in darkness forever.

A young woman, with her eight-year-old daughter, returns to the family estate, only to have to deal with deadly family secrets. First published in 2000.

Kate White, single mother and assistant Philadelphia DA, must fight for her life and the life of her son as the terrible events of her past return with a vengeance and the only hope she seems to have lies with homicide detective Tom Braga--a man she has no reason to trust. Originally published: London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008.

When divorcee Lynn Nelson, a beautiful single mother, agrees to help chaperone her teenage daughter Rory's wilderness trip, she and Rory become separated from the rest of the group, surrounded by an unknown menace, with only outfitter Jess Feldman standing between them and the mysterious evil.

Caroline Wallace is one of New Orleans Police Department's top hostage negotiators. This time, the hostages include her father and the mayor. And this time, she's trying to negotiate with Reed Ware, a former co-worker who left the force in disgrace, and who is considered to be volatile and extremely dangerous.

Molly Ballard was desperate. So when Agent Will Lyman catches her in a lie, she agrees to cooperate in a sting. She'll do anything to protect her family, to shield the secrets of her past, and guard her heart from further hurt. Molly will even spy for Will and let him pose as her lover. But soon the passion they pretend becomes searingly real as they court danger in bluegrass country and cross the path of a killer who will stop at nothing under a Hunter's Moon. First published in 1996.

When Riley Cowan finds her estranged husband Jeff dead in his palatial home, she's sure it's no coincidence. The police rule it a suicide, but Riley thinks someone's out for blood -- specifically someone Jeff's father ripped off in one of the biggest financial fraud cases of all time. Riley's in-laws might be billionaires, but she's afraid that not even their dirty money can protect her from an irate investor who will stop at nothing to get his hands on his misappropriated cash.

Maggy is trapped in a secretly abusive marriage to a powerful man when she meets her first love. First published in 1994.

A successful judge struggles with her teenage daughter's slide into drug abuse and delinquency, while trying to protect her from a drug dealer who is stalking the girl, hoping to silence her. First published in 1999.

The new novel from the author of Amanda Rose, To Love a Man, and Dark Torment is a contemporary love story in which a mild-mannered author of romantic thrillers becomes unwittingly embroiled in a hair-raising adventure with a handsome stranger that surpasses anything in her fiction. First published in 1987.

While the special assistant to the head of the National Security Agency has been whisked away by the CIA, a mystified and expendable look-alike--who had been told she has amnesia--begins to realize she's being used, in this electrifying new novel from New York Times bestselling author Robards.

As the town's anger grows against Johnny Harris, a man who has just finished serving time for a murder he did not commit, schoolteacher Rachel Grant's love for Johnny also grows.

The rolling fields of Shelby County are home to some of the finest horseflesh and bluest blood in Kentucky. With its rural beauty and tranquil lifestyle, it is easy to see why the locals call it Paradise County. But beneath the serene exterior lies a dark underside, and an evil that threatens everyone who touches it. First published in 2000.

When a senator from Mississippi dies mysteriously in the midst of a sticky scandal, his second wife must clear herself and the senator's campaign manager of suspicion. First published in 1998.

Lisa Shewmaker was a rising star in a prestigious law firm in Lexington, Kentucky until the firm went bankrupt and she lost her job. With an ailing mother to care for, Lisa takes the first position offered: research assistant to DA Scott Buchanan. While reviewing cold cases in the Fayette County courthouse, Lisa discovers a thick envelope with engrossing details of an entire family's disappearance. And that's not all: The mother in the photo could have been Lisa's twin.

That night, Samantha Jones was doing what she always did: just trying to get by. Left to make her own way on the mean streets of East St. Louis, the pretty twenty-three-year-old single mother supported herself and her son as best she could by repo-ing cars. When she hooked her junker of a tow truck up to the BMW she'd been sent to haul in, the last thing she expected was to find a beaten, bloody man in the in the trunk--or to be catapulted into a terrifying fight to survive.

While house-sitting for her Uncle Nicco, policewoman Micayla Lange catches Jason Davis in the act of stealing money from her uncle's locked safe. When they find incriminating photos that implicate Nicco in the murder of a city councilman, Mick and Jason hurtle into a race for their lives. First published in 2011.

A story on a series of fifteen-year-old unsolved crimes and a television show featuring a renowned psychic draw reporter Nicole Sullivan and police chief Joe Franconi into a perilous search for a murderer when the killer returns.

In this thrilling contemporary romance, a journalist discovers that she is out of her element in a world of war. Lisa Collins came to Africa to get a story, but what she got instead was a dramatic rescue from terrorists by a rugged soldier of fortune. Now, in the isolated bush country, danger is very near, and heroes are hard to come by. First published in 1985.

While investigating Sid Carlson's possible adultery on behalf of his wife, Julie, Mac McQuarry becomes attracted to his beautiful client, stumbles into the middle of a mob assassination gone wrong, and finds himself on the run with Julie. First published in 2001.

Ten years after her six-year-old daughter disappears without a trace, Sarah Mason receives a phone call from a child with her daughter's six-year-old voice, causing Sarah to turn in desperation to private investigator Jake Hogan.

Anthology. When the sun goes down, the mood is right -- for heart-pounding romantic suspense! A sizzling, stay-up-all-night anthology featuring the national bestselling and award-winning talents of four sensational storytellers! KAREN ROBARDS/Once in a Blue Moon Danger and desire ignite when Charlotte Bates drives straight into a DEA agent's hot pursuit of a drug smuggler. But when the lawman takes Charlie hostage, an electrifying adventure begins.... ANDREA KANE/Stone Cold An architect inherits the house of her dreams -- a mansion by the sea -- only to find that someone will do anything to keep her away.... LINDA ANDERSON/Once in a Blue Moon When a killer targets her book club friends, a small-town librarian sees a handsome visiting professor in a new light: is he her happy ending? Or a fatal attraction? MARIAH STEWART/Til Death Do Us Part Coming home to Montana after a stalker's attack, a model finds an old love rekindled and a safe place for healing. Until her attacker finds her....

The nude male body lay on the embalming table, battered beyond recognition. Gingerly, Summer McAfee, chairman, CEO, and sole employee of Daisy Fresh cleaning service, reached out to touch an arm to reassure herself that she hadn't just seen the corpse move. Suddenly, shockingly, her hand was in the grip of a man very much alive and desperate enough to take her captive on a no-holds-barred run from cops, killers, and his own decidedly complicated past...

After a bitter divorce, a young with the reputation as the town's "good girl" decides to spend some time on the wild side--with devastating consequences. A richly suspenseful, tightly plotted new novel by "one of the most popular voices in women's fiction" ("Newsweek").

A blistering romantic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pursuit. Far from her sensible life as an English teacher in Kansas, Lora looks forward to a relaxing vacation in Cancun. But fate thwarts her careful plans when a darkly handsome American named Max jumps into her car with a loaded gun.

First published in 1999. In this sequel to Conversations with Kentucky Writers, L. Elisabeth Beattie brings together in-depth interviews with sixteen of the state's premiere wordsmiths. This new volume offers the perspectives of poets, journalists, and scholars as they discuss their views on creativity, the teaching of writing, and the importance of Kentucky in their work. They talk frankly about how and why they do what they do. The writers speak for themselves, and their thoughts come alive on the page. Beattie's interviews reveal the allegiances and alliances among Kentucky writers that have shaped literary trends by bringing together people with shared interests, values, subjects, and styles. The interviewees include authors who are captivated in other writers and in what they have to say about the process and craft of writing; educators who are interested in Kentucky writers and what their work reveals about the nature of creativity; and historians who are concerned with Kentucky's literary and cultural heritage. The interviews reveal patterns in Kentucky literature from mid-century to the millennium, as authors talk about how their sense of place has changed over the decades and reveal the ways in which the roots of Kentucky writing have produced a literary flowering at the century's end. Includes: Sallie Bingham, Joy Bale Boone, Thomas D. Clark, John Egerton, Sarah Gorham, Lynwood Montell, Maureen Morehead, John Ed Pearce, Ameilia Blossom Pegram, Karen Robards, Jeffrey Skinner, Frederick Smock, Frank Steele, Martha Bennett Stiles, Richard Taylor, and Michael Williams.

Fiction. "The story of an innocent girl's impassioned love affair. Dena Janes, a pretty girl from a small Kentucky village, had never known adult passion until she met Langtry--darkly handsome, brutally masculine, and persuasive. In Langtry's arms, Dena became a woman, but this did not prepare her for what was to follow." --Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society

Fiction. "A novel filled with simple beauty and unexpected love. Andy Blair lived in the Kentucky hills, absorbed in the family struggle of wresting a living from the soil. Then one day he discovered a pot of gold--a literal buried treasure--and believed he was rich beyond his dreams. But was he? This is the story of what happened next--of footsteps in the dark, whispered secrets, sudden and surprising marriage, of how in a few days the lives of several people changed." --Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society

First published in 1930 and shortlisted for the Pulitzer, the winner of Hesperus' "Uncover a Classic" competition is a long-neglected American classic, a romantic saga of young love on the Kentucky trail in colonial America. Diony Hall has waited for many years for her betrothed to return to marry her. Trying to fathom the nature of identity and her place in the vast newly created America, Diony spends her time at the family hearthside, combining her love of reading with her roles within the family circle and the daily tasks on the homestead. When Berk Jarvis returns and they are married, they both bid farewell to Virginia, family, community, and security to head out to found a new family and a new life together in the wilderness of Kentucky. What follows is a breathtaking story of love and death, as the settlers cross the Appalachian mountains and struggle to carve a new life on the unforgiving frontier at the mercy of shortages, harsh winters, and the perpetual danger of Indian attack. This astonishing novel, with its rhythmic prose, has too long been forgotten.

Fiction, short stories. Reprint of the ed. published by Viking Press, New York, 1932. "Stories from this volume originally appeared in the American caravan, Harper's magazine, the American mercury, and Letters (University of Kentucky)." Includes: On the mountainside; The sacrifice of the maidens; Record at Oak Hill; The scarecrow; Children of the earth; Death at Bearwallow; and The shepherd's interval.

Fiction. "The powerful novel of a man's obsession and the women he enslaved. When the woman he loved died, Stoner Drake's magnificent world shattered. That was when he made his strange vow. This is the story of Stoner Drake's haunting obsession, of his hold over Martha's will, and of Jocelle's fight for freedom from those whose love threatened to smother her." --Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society

Fiction. "A glowing romance of love and joy in the wide open hill country. The story of an unforgettable hero, Jeremy, and Tulip, the girl who captures his heart." --Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society

"The overwhelming novel of a girl driven by the brutalities of passion and life. A young girl, Theodosia, is driven to the far edges of madness by the blows of fate and the wayward passions of others." --Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society

Fiction; short stories. Originally published: New York : Viking Press, ©1941. Includes: The haunted palace; I love my bonny bride; Swing low, sweet chariot; Holy morning; The betrothed; Love by the highway.

A neglected American classic, written in subtle, soaring prose for which this underrated Kentucky writer was known, this is the spectacular coming of age story of a young, independent, pioneering woman Set at the turn of the century, this is the moving story of Ellen Chesser, a young woman with a mind of her own. She and her family travel from one small community to another in rural Kentucky, eking out a living as itinerant farm workers. Initially she feels isolated and lonely, resenting the hardship of her life and longing to be with her childhood friends. Yet slowly she learns what it means to fall in love and forges lasting friendships with other young people at the local dances. She is left stunned, therefore, when the man she is to marry comes to her to confess a dark secret. His past is shameful to him and heartbreaking for her but Ellen's independent spirit and strength of character sustain her in the aftermath. When further accusations come to light, they threaten to disturb the tranquility of her life and that of the community where she lives forever. As she grows older, Ellen Chesser is forced to confront the darker side of human nature but ultimately manages to overcome the difficulties she faces with a resolute dignity. First published in 1926.

Children's poetry. An illustrated collection of poems reflecting the activities and impressions of the author's childhood in a Kentucky farm community. First published in 1930.

Poems. "Fifty-six mature, deep-flowing, and marvelously lyrical poems. The first group includes poems of childhood in the vein of her first work. The lyrics of the second group concern themselves with the world today, and embrace an astonishing variety of moods and scenes. The final section contains Kentucky legends in verse." --Elizabeth Roberts Madox Society

"Early poetry depicting the wildflowers of Colorado. Photography by Kenneth Hartley" --Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society. Available to view online through ExploreUK.

Ficton; short stories. Contents: King Solomon of Kentucky / James Lane Allen -- An Experience on the Dress Line / Lucky Furman -- Courtin' on Cutshin / John Fox Jr. -- Hoodooed / Alice Hegan Rice -- Snake Doctor / Irvin S. Cobb -- Children of Noah / Ben Lucien Burman -- The Sacrifice of the Maidens / Elizabeth Madox Roberts -- Old Red / Caroline Gordon -- The Immortal Woman / Allen Tate -- Room in the World / Leane Zugsmith -- Dawn of Remembered Spring / Jesse Stuart -- Mrs. Razor / James Still -- Blackberry Winter / Robert Penn Warren -- Evenings at Home / Elizabeth Hardwick -- Ebbie / A.B. Guthrie Jr.

M.A. University of Missouri, St. Louis. Manuscript.

Biography. Twayne's United States Authors Series, 38.

Thesis/dissertation from the University of Kentucky. Archival material.

Biography; 283 pages.

Criticism, interpretation; 336 pages.

Thesis/dissertation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archival material.

M.A. thesis from the University of Louisville. Manuscript.

Ph.D dissertation from Boston University.

Biography; 180 pages.

Pioneers and Caretakers was first published in 1965. In a series of stimulating and highly readable essays, Mr. Auchincloss discusses the work of nine American women novelists in whom he finds a unity of common tradition. As the title of the book implies, Mr. Auchincloss regards these novelists as caretakers of our culture and, at the same time, as literary pioneers. The writers he discusses are Sarah Orne Jewett, Edith Wharton, Ellen Glasgow, Willa Cather, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Katherine Anne Porter, Jean Stafford, Carson McCullers, and Mary McCarthy.In explaining his thesis Mr. Auchincloss writes: "In the migrations of tribes the women were responsible for the packing and preservation of the household goods. They have always been the true conservatives, the caretakers of the culture. But because in our nation we have to go back so few decades to get to the Indians, the functions of the caretaker and of the pioneer have become curiously blended. To preserve a bit of the American tradition, one has to preserve a bit of the frontier."A notable thing about our women writers is that they have struck a more affirmative note than the men. Their darkness is not as dark as that of Dreiser or Lewis or Faulkner or O'Neill, which is not to say that they see America less clearly, but that they see it more discriminatingly. They have a sharper sense of their stake in the national heritage, and they are always at work to preserve it. They never destroy; they never want the clean sweep. They are conservatives who are always trying to conserve."

Ph.D. dissertation from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Archival material.

Reading Roberts series, no.2.

Ph. D. dissertation from New York University. Microfilmed by University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1978.

Ph.D dissertation from Auburn University. Manuscript.

Ph.D. dissertation from Emory University. Manuscript.

Named persons: Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton; Frances Hodgson Burnett; Mary Austin; Willa Cather; Margaret Deland; Ellen Glasgow; Fannie Hurst; Julia Peterkin; Elizabeth Madox Robert; Edith Wharton; Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin; and Elinor Wylie.

Reprint of 1954 edition. Contents: I Bought Me A Dog -- Jack Outwits the Giants -- The Magic Sausage Mill -- Dick and Dock -- The One-Eyed Giant -- Merrywise -- Bag O'Gold -- Jack and the Bull's Horns -- Raglif Jaglif Tetartlif Pole -- The Witch Store-Robber -- The Fox and the Cat -- The Candy Doll.

South from Hell-fer-Sartin, a short creek flowing into the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River, lies one of the of the most isolated regions in Kentucky. There, on the north slope of the Pine Mountain range in Leslie and Perry counties -- probably the last stronghold of white, English-language folk tales in North America -- Leonard W. Roberts recorded this rich collection more than three decades ago. To a people who, at that time, watched dancing hearth fires more often than television, the adventures of Jack in the land of witches and giants, monsters and beautiful princesses, provided first-class entertainment. Here are such old favorites as "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Golden Arm," retold in the idiom of the Kentucky mountains. Here are hauntingly beautiful cantes fables and earthy Irishman jokes. Here are encounters with Indians and marvelous hunting escapades. Roberts introduces his collection, first published in 1955, with a sympathetic description of the mountain way of life. He notes especially the bewildering and rapid changes that came to the Pine Mountain watershed in that decade as the highways and electric lines at last brought in a sophistication that preferred the soap opera to the folk tale. Although the stories Roberts recorded were still a firm part of folk tradition at the time, he believed that within a decade or two they would be forgotten -- a prediction, sadly, by now no doubt fulfilled. Any lover of the vanishing art of tale telling will relish this rich treasury of folklore and humor. Full notes on sources, types, motifs, parallels, and possible origins of the tales make this collection valuable also for folklorists. Full text available through ExploreUK.

Folk tales of the Southern Mountains. Reprint of the 1958 edition.

Biography; 165 pages. Along the isolated headwaters of the Kentucky River -- Cutshin and Greasy creeks -- folklorist Leonard Roberts found the Couches, a remarkable mountain family of gifted memory and imagination. For half a century they had preserved the traditional ways of their forebears -- the farming methods, the household arts, and the games, ballads, dances, and tales that were their chief entertainment. In Up Cutshin and Down Greasy, brothers Dave and Jim Couch, born about the turn of the century, recall clearly their childhood days on Sang Branch of Greasy and Clover Fork of Big Leatherwood. Dave, a professional moonshiner and bottlegger in his younger days, tells of his brushes with the law. Jim engaged in lumbering and coal mining, with a little moonshining on the side. His accounts of mine accidents, in particular the one that cost him his leg, give an insight into the minds of those who risk their lives underground for the sake of high pay. First published in 1959, the book is available once again in paperback to pleasure a new generation of readers.

215 pages.

Musical score; 319 pages. Collected by Leonard Roberts ; music transcriptions by C. Buell Agey ; consultant, Jan Philip Schinan.

Publications of the American Folklore Society, Memoir series, v. 61.

Folk Tales delighted and instructed children five hundred years ago. We believe that they can still delight and inform the children of today. Some tales were "collected by a pioneering folklorist, Leonard W. Roberts, who gathered a great body of tales mostly from the Appalachian third of Kentucky ... Several others are from James Taylor Adams, who collected tales from his family and neighbors for the Virginia Writers Project ... These tales are included ... [from the James Taylor Adams collection] of the John Cook Wyllie Library of the University of Virginia's College at Wise."--Page 7-8. Contents: Ezell and the black-speckled gizzard stone / by Aileen Kilgore Henderson -- Raglif Jaglif Tetartlif Pole / by Leonard W. Roberts -- The three gold nuts / by James Taylor Adams -- Ashpet's dreams / by Brenda Gough -- Little Esmond / by Patty Reese -- Nail soup / by Bob Rennick -- The boy who wanted gold / by James Taylor Adams -- Cheese and quackers / by Anne Shelby -- Mutsmeg / by Loyal Jones -- Robin Hood, mountain man / by James Taylor Adams -- Jack goes a-hunting / by Loyal Jones -- Through thick and thin / by James Taylor Adams.

Biography; 338 pages. William McCoy was born between 1750 and 1755. He and his family settled on Johns Creek near Gulnare, Kentucky. Includes Hatfield, Scott and allied families.

Biography; 181 pages. Sam McCoy (1855-1941) was a descendant of William McCoy (1750-1820), who was an early pioneer in Pike County, Kentucky. "Big Sam" or "Squirrel huntin' Sam" was involved in the Hatfield-McCoy feud. He married three or four times. Descentants lived in Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Montana and elsewhere.

Historical papers (University of the Witwatersrand Library), no. 3. 125 pages.

A print copy of The Kentucky Encyclopedia is available in William T. Young Library on the second floor in the Reference Collection.

Called "John Cheever's heir apparent" by the New York Times Book Review, Roxana Robinson, the author of A Glimpe of Scarlet, chronicles the carefully hidden realities of WASP family life in this stunning new collection set in Manhattan, Connecticut, Long Island, and Maine, and peopled with men and women whose lives are in various stages of repair or disarray.

When Julia Lambert, an art professor, settles into her idyllic Maine house for the summer, she plans to spend the time tending her fragile relationships with her father, a repressive neurosurgeon, and her gentle mother, who is descending into Alzheimer's. But a shattering revelation intrudes: Julia's son Jack has spiraled into heroin addiction. In an attempt to save him, Julia marshals help from her looseknit clan: elderly parents; remarried ex-husband; removed sister; and combative eldest son. Ultimately, heroin courses through the characters' lives with an impersonal and devastating energy, sweeping the family into a world in which deceit, crime, and fear are part of daily life. Roxana Robinson is the author of Sweetwater, which Booklist called a hold-your-breath novel of loss and love. Billy Collins praised Robinson as a master at moving from the art of description to the work of excavating the truths about ourselves. In Cost, Robinson tackles addiction and explores its effects on the bonds of family, dazzling us with her hallmark subtlety and precision in evoking the emotional interiors of her characters. The result is a work in which the reader's sense of discovery and compassion for every character remains unflagging to the end, even as the reader, like the characters, is caught up in Cost's breathtaking pace.

A cinematic Reconstruction-era drama of violence and fraught moral reckoning. In Dawson's Fall, a novel based on the lives of Roxana Robinson's great-grandparents, we see America at its most fragile, fraught, and malleable. Set in 1889, in Charleston, South Carolina, Robinson's tale weaves her family's journal entries and letters with a novelist's narrative grace, and spans the life of her tragic hero, Frank Dawson, as he attempts to navigate the country's new political, social, and moral landscape. Dawson, a man of fierce opinions, came to this country as a young Englishman to fight for the Confederacy in a war he understood as a conflict over states' rights. He later became the editor of the Charleston News and Courier, finding a platform of real influence in the editorial column and emerging as a voice of the New South. With his wife and two children, he tried to lead a life that adhered to his staunch principles: equal rights, rule of law, and nonviolence, unswayed by the caprices of popular opinion. But he couldn't control the political whims of his readers. As he wrangled diligently in his columns with questions of citizenship, equality, justice, and slavery, his newspaper rapidly lost readership, and he was plagued by financial worries. Nor could Dawson control the whims of the heart: his Swiss governess became embroiled in a tense affair with a drunkard doctor, which threatened to stain his family's reputation. In the end, Dawson--a man in many ways representative of the country at this time--was felled by the very violence he vehemently opposed.

Fiction, short stories; 200 pages. Relationships and marriage are the central themes in this collection of short stories.

In Roxana Robinson's lucid and elegant prose, her characters' inner worlds open up to us, revealing private emotional cores that are familiar in their needs, their secrets, and their longings. These people tell us the truth--not only about themselves, their relationships, and their lives, but about ourselves as well. In "Family Christmas," a young girl takes a holiday trip to her grandparents', where the formal atmosphere is shattered by a mysterious and chaotic event that she knows she's too young to understand but struggles to comprehend. In "Blind Man," a college professor copes with the onslaught of grief after his daughter's death. In "The Face Lift," two college friends renew their bond across a great cultural divide. The sad and hilarious "Assistance" flawlessly details the tragicomic aspects of ageing--seen through the eyes of a daughter-turned-caretaker. The terrors of illness are explored in "The Treatment," and in "Assez," a trip to Provence reveals the true volatility of love--and reminds us that we often don't realize that what we have is enough until it's gone. "A Perfect Stranger" powerfully and affectingly examines the complex, intricate network of experiences that binds us to one another. These stories are tender, raw, lovely, and fine--and they reaffirm Roxana Robinson's place at the forefront of modern literature.

Conrad Farrell does not come from a military family, but as a classics major at Williams College, he has encountered the powerful appeal of the Marine Corps ethic: Semper Fidelis comes straight from Sparta, a society where every citizen doubled as a full-time soldier. When Conrad graduates, he joins the Marines to continue a long tradition of honor, courage, and commitment over the course of a four-year tour in Iraq. When we meet him, he has just come home to Katonah, New York. As Conrad attempts to find his footing in the civilian world, he learns how hard it is to return to the people and places he used to love. Gradually, he awakens to a growing rage and the realization that something has gone wrong. Suspenseful, compassionate, and perceptive, Roxana Robinson's Sparta "is a beautifully written novel that illuminates what happens when we're estranged from the world as we know it" (Chicago Tribune).

Roxana Robinson's great gift for the telling detail and strong sense of the emotional shoals lurking just beneath even the calmest surface have inspired comparisons to literary greats like John Cheever, Henry James, and Edith Wharton. In her first novel, we meet Laura, a 29-year-old wife, mother, sister, friend, lover, and erstwhile photographer whose life is painfully out of focus. A month's vacation on the Maine coast with her son, her lover, Ward, and her sister's family is supposed to be an idyllic period of sustenance and calm, but for Laura, who believes that "entropy governed the world, the universe, and the dinner hour," it turns into the ultimate test of her ability to trust herself and others. With trademark intensity and a deft touch for character and place, Robinson creates a perceptive, believable, and gently humorous portrait of an individual "waiting for something that would set her life in order." Laura is as much a study of light and shadow as the photographs she takes. Beautiful but insecure, talented but unwilling to take risks, loved but unable to make a commitment, she is paralyzed by fear and locked into a stasis that Ward is no longer willing to accept. "You don't dare take a stand on anything," he tells her. "You're so terrified of failure you don't dare do anything." When her estranged husband arrives for a weekend visit, however, the emotional collision rocks Laura's inaction, causing a tiny shake of the kaleidoscope that creates a vastly different pattern. The image is razor sharp at last: "As though she were changing lenses, as though she had suddenly discovered another light source," she sees that her life is her own. That new understanding empowers her to make a symbolic -- and a literal -- leap of faith that saves her own life and the lives of those she loves.

In this brilliant, luminous novel, one of our finest realist writers gives us a story of surpassing depth and emotional power. Acclaimed for her lucid and compassionate exploration of the American family, Roxana Robinson sets her new work on familiar terrain--New York City and the Adirondacks--but with Sweetwater she transcends the particulars of the domestic sphere with a broader, more encompassing vision. In this poignant account of a young widow and her second marriage, Robinson expands her scope to include the larger natural world as well as the smaller, more intimate one of the home. Isabel Green's marriage to Paul Simmons, after the death of her first husband, marks her reconnection to life--a venture she's determined will succeed. But this proves to be harder than she'd anticipated, and the challenges of starting afresh seem more complicated in adulthood. Staying at the Simmons lodge for their annual summer visit, Isabel finds herself entering into a set of familial complexities. She struggles to understand her new husband, his elderly, difficult parents and his brother, whose relationship with Paul seems oddly fraught. Furthermore, her second marriage begins to cast into sharp relief the troubling echoes of her first. Isabel's professional life plays a part as well: a passionate environmental advocate, she is aware of the tensions within the mountain landscape itself during a summer of spectacular beauty and ominous drought. In her cool, elegant prose, Robinson gracefully delivers a plot that is complex, surprising and ultimately wrenching in its impact. As the strands of family are woven tightly and inevitably together, and as the past painfully informs the present, the vivid backdrop of the physical world provides its own eloquent dynamic. Sweetwater is a stunning achievement by a writer at the peak of her craft. From the Hardcover edition.

When Peter and Emma, both refugees from failed first marriages, decide to create a new life together, they do so with an optimistic commitment to creating a union -- and forging a new family from two existing ones -- bonded by love and trust. Their young daughters, however, are not partners in this new venture, but helpless participants. Like all children of divorce, the girls feel sorrow, loss, and a longing for their earlier lives. As the tensions and complexities grow steadily more powerful, This Is My Daughter moves inexorably to a stunning and emotional climax. Roxana Robinson, who has established a reputation as a perceptive chronicler of WASP family life, delivers a beautifully moving and compassionate account of a marriage in peril, proving once more that class and privilege provide no protection from the passion of opposing desires.

The biography of a great woman whose ideas and work put her in the vanguard of the modern movement in American art and helped redefine women's social roles. This biography draws on many sources closed to writers during O'Keeffe's lifetime and has the co-operation of the O'Keeffe family. O'Keeffe's life spanned nearly a century of ferment and change in America and although part of the modernist movement she established her own unique vision. 32 black-and-white photos.

Includes "Mr. Sumarsono" by Roxana Robinson

It was in New York City that Edith Wharton's literary and cultural sensibility was formed. The regular rows of somber brownstones, the inexorable codes of behavior, the solid layers of bullion on which the elegant social structure stood, all played a crucial part in the awakening of Edith Wharton's mind. Though she moved in 1911 to France, where she spent the rest of her life, New York continued to figure for Wharton as a fixed point of reference - the North Star on the firmament of her imagination - even as, over the years, her views of the city changed. In her early work the city was stultifying and confining, rigid and materialistic. Later, it took on a certain nobility as a place supported and dignified by its own curious codes of honor. This original collection, the first to focus on Wharton's relation to her native New York, shows the arc of Wharton's own response to the city that shaped her view of the world.A partial list of the stories to be included-- The Rembrandt- The Dilettante- The Other Two- His Father's Son- Roman Fever-The Long Run- Autres Temps...- After Holbein

These masterfully crafted stories from writers who have served reflect the entire breadth of human emotion--loss, anger, joy, love, fear, and courage--and the evolving nature of what has become America's "Forever War." From debut writers to experienced contributors whose work has been featured in the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the New Yorker, this exceptional collection promises to be the definitive fictional look at the aftereffects of the Iraq and Afghan Wars, and will resonate with the reader long after the final page. Including stories by: Elliot Ackerman, Benjamin Busch, Brandon Caro, Maurice Decaul, Teresa Fazio, Thomas Gibbons Neff, Aaron Gwyn, Alex Horton, Matt Robinson, Kristen L. Rouse, Chris Wolfe, Kayla M. Williams, Brandon Willitts, and many others.

"You carry it around-that hurt and anger-because you're afraid if you leave it behind it's the same as saying it was okay for them to hurt you. Of course it's not okay, but you are the one who is weighted down by its burden. You are the one who can barely breathe under the weight of it." These are the words of Grayson Armstrong, the central character in Sherry Robinson's novel, Blessed. Grayson Armstrong's vision for a dying church has everyone in small-town Mercy, Kentucky, talking. The truth is everyone has been talking about Grayson ever since this dark-haired twenty-eight-year-old preacher with shoulder-length hair and an ill-fitting suit drove into town twelve years before in his silver convertible with his pretty wife and two rambunctious boys. It s his untimely death, though, that has everyone trying to understand who they thought he was. This vivid, poignant, and heart-breaking story is told by multiple characters whose paths intersect with Grayson: a homeless Vietnam veteran haunted by demons of war; the local diner's young waitress grappling with her family s dark history; aggrieved and supportive congregants and townspeople confronting change and the power of love and hate; and Grayson s wife and his coming-of-age gay son, struggling to understand their own feelings about Grayson. During a time when communities and countries are split apart, Robinson's calming prose and timely story encourages us to put aside our fears, hate, and biases, open our hearts, and challenge our perceptions. Blessed is ultimately a story of hope and of the power of forgiveness.

A poignant novel in which the journal entries of seven women living in the same house over two centuries are shared, and how each one's revelations of history and change shape all of their lives.

When Shawna Kay Rodenberg was four, her father, fresh from a ruinous tour in Vietnam, spirited her family from their home in the hills of Eastern Kentucky to Minnesota, renouncing all of their earthly possessions to live in the Body, an off-the-grid End Times religious community. Her father was seeking a better, safer life for his family, but the austere communal living of prayer, bible study and strict regimentation was a bad fit for the precocious Shawna. Disciplined harshly for her manyinfractions, she was sexually abused by a predatory adult member of the community. Soon after the leader of the Body died and revelations of the sexual abuse came to light, her family returned to the same Kentucky mountains that their ancestors have called home for three hundred years. It is a community ravaged by the coal industry, but for all that, rich in humanity, beauty, and the complex knots of family love. Curious, resourceful, rebellious, Shawna ultimately leaves her mountain home but only as she masters a perilous balancing act between who she has been and who she will become. Kin is a mesmerizing memoir of survival that seeks to understand and make peace with the people and places that were survived. It is above all about family-about the forgiveness and love within its bounds-and generations of Appalachians who have endured, harmed, and held each other through countless lifetimes of personal and regional tragedy.

Lynwood Roe spent his young years toiling in fields of tobacco and corn that grew lushly on the rolling hillsides of the eastern Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. He grows up expecting to follow a life not unlike his father and his grandfather before him. That is, if he were to reach his majority. At nine years of age he is felled by rheumatic fever which leaves him hindered with a weak heart and an uncertain future. While recovering he becomes a keen observer of his surroundings and the people who are in and out of his life. His father's passing ends his hope that he can go to college and direct his life onto a different course. Then a girl enters his life and convinces him that the future he believes to be impossible can still be realized, if he is willing to leave the farm and strike out audaciously to pursue it. The nearest big city is Louisville where he seeks employment as a first step to attaining his dreams. It is to be a summer full of awakening and discovery. Through it all he recalls moments of the past episodes in a boy's life that shaped the young man he was to become. He is adrift but watching the horizon for a safe harbor.

Fiction. Barren River is set in the southern Kentucky cave country in 1962.  Arnie Travers and Morgan Hargett are lifelong friends who have taken to exploring caverns in the region hoping to find one interesting enough to develop and exploit through public display.  The story begins with the proceedings of a coroner's inquest into the death of Morgan who has become trapped in a cave that he and Arnie are exploring.  He apparently has fallen into a pit inside the cave and died of his injuries.  Arnie has found his way out and summoned help for Morgan, but too late.  During the inquest Morgan's wife accuses Arnie of murdering Morgan and reveals that she and Arnie have had an affair and have planned to go away together.  Arnie's testimony convinces the jury that the affair had ended and that he has held no grudge against Morgan.  The coroner's jury is sent out to deliberate the verdict and most of the members who have known Morgan and Arnie for several years are ready to rule it an accident.  One member, a young man new to the town, demurs.  He thinks this is a rush to judgment and he wants further discussion of the other two possible verdicts murder or suicide.  He is finally beaten down by the others of the jury and a verdict of accidental death is returned.  But has justice been served?  How have we arrived at this moment?  The book recounts the events leading up to the time of the inquest to reveal the startling facts behind the death.

Fiction. Trent Lowery is a writer of pulp fiction thrillers living in Cincinnati in 1900. He has achieved great success and is content in his chosen occupation while anticipating his upcoming betrothal to a Bluegrass Belle. His publisher interrupts to persuade him to journey into the country near the headwaters of the Big Sandy River with the objective of gathering material on the raging feuds there that can be converted into popular fiction. One of these feuds is over the mineral rights to the coal that lies plentifully in the area. Trent soon discovers that his fiances father is complicit in cheating the local people out of their property. He finds himself in a dispute with her while at the same time drawn to the young daughter of one of these families. And rather than being a passive observer he finds himself choosing sides. Roe does a masterful job of capturing the sights and sounds of this bygone era. He weaves a tale that is thrilling and romantic at the same time. The reader finds him/herself caring greatly for these people and rooting for Trent to right the wrongs visited upon them.

Fiction. 406 pages; 23 cm.

Fiction. In the waning days of the Revolutionary War, Kike Stuart leads his family from North Carolina over the Wilderness Road blazed by Daniel Boone and into the Great Meadow of the Bluegrass Country.

"“Gallimaufry” is a word derived from Middle French referring to a ragout or hash. The dictionary defines its current meaning as medley, mixture, hodgepodge, or mishmash. To a French cook medley or mixture might be acceptable, but the other terms most assuredly do not refer to a properly put together ragout. I believe that this current collection of stories presents more than a loose hodgepodge of different story types. In fact, they properly form a medley, an intellectual ragout, if you will, with identifiably different tastes and textures producing in the whole a pleasing and nourishing combination. At any rate I hope in this Gallimaufry collection, with a proper combination of ingredients, to satisfy a medley of tastes for my readers. A Gallimaufry Collection of Stories is my third book of short stories. Unlike the first two that concentrated on stories set in the Kentucky Mountains and in the Bluegrass Region where I was brought up, this present volume flits about here and there to other places about the country and the world. Even to other worlds. And back and forth in time. Most have been recently written although I again pulled some from my novels to include and round out the book." - Amazon

Fiction. "Floyd Rogers lives with his widowed mother on a small Kentucky hillside farm with a weathered house and a rundown tenant shack. Crops do not prosper on the hard scrabble land and Floyd and his mother are hard-pressed to make ends meet. It is perhaps inevitable that he will be driven into one of the two prime industries of the area - mining and moonshining. When Mrs. Rogers rents the tenant shack to a known moonshiner, Hemp Wagoner, Floyd is soon involved in the main's nefarious activities and deeply in love with his daughter, Callie. He and Callie dream of the future and trying to start a new life elsewhere, but a thousand threads as strong as steel seem to bind them to this place ..."--Back cover.

Fiction. Angie Murelli, a small-time thug, is caught burglarizing a south Philadelphia business. A policeman's bullet ends Angie's career and he finds himself in a place called Starfield that may or may not be heaven, but which is certainly in the heavens. The problem for Angie is that he may not be admitted because of his past sinful life. He is given a task and sent back to Earth to make amends. He must intercede in the lives of Dawn Mulky, a girl crippled in infancy by polio, her mother, Arliss, the town harlot, and her father, Floyd, a poor miner scarcely able to provide for his family. They all meet in Stoney Gap, Kentucky, a poverty-stricken area of played-out mines and forlorn hopes. Angie, reborn as the high school luminary and sports hero, Mike Angelo, has just the school year to complete his mission. He feels the time slipping away as his love for Dawn and the other people of this depressed town grows, helpless to change the fateful course of events.

Short stories. Autobiographical fiction. 251 pages; 22 cm.

Fiction. 330 pages; 23 cm.

Thistles is a book about aspirations and dreams. It is about simple people living close to the earth. But the Franklins of Kentucky are a family buffeted by ill winds and misfortune. They struggle against the anguish of lost chances and the vagaries of their lives. Fate will lead them into a series of personal crises in one short week. Their story will culminate in a drama that familial love and concern cannot predict and will play out to an unexpected and startling conclusion.

Edition of book used: AuthorHouse, 2007.
Subtitle devised by cataloger.
Assembled by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
For in-state use only. Requests must be submitted by Kentucky public libraries.
14 books (294 pages), 1 discussion guide; in container.

"In her second collection of poetry, Audrey Rooney explores the joys of the present moment from the perspective and experiences of a well-lived life. We can all learn from the wisdom, generosity of spirit, as well as the language precision of these poems." "In this impressive new collection, Audrey Rooney gives us poems that evoke the sensibilities of Wordsworth and, more in tune with our time, Mary Oliver. These poems show us how our lives can be enriched by paying close attention to the earth and what it offers." —Jeff Worley. Description and review from publisher's website.

In Fountains for Orpheus, Audrey Rooney invites us to bring our artist eyes to the beauty-filled and bewildering scenes of her well-lived life. "Come, Gardener," she writes, and we are introduced to a world of violet skies, river deaths, and small talk. She's a keen writer, wise and intelligent. Emotionally, she never strays far from her music or her man. Congratulations to Audrey for this delightful debut collection --Neil Chethik

Poems; 181 pages.

The Supernormal Sleuthing Service series, book 1. "Monstrous fun!"--Booklist Three kids. A hotel full of monsters. And a stolen magical artifact that could disrupt the balance between the humans and the supernatural. Welcome to life at Hotel Monster! Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library meets Hotel Transylvania in the first book of this hilarious and spooky new series that blends mystery with monsters. Stephen's dad has moved their two-person family across the country to New York City, where he is taking over as head chef in an exclusive hotel. A hotel that has the most elite of clientele: monsters (though they prefer to be called supernormals). Surprise! And an even bigger surprise? Stephen is part supernormal himself. When a magical family heirloom is stolen and Stephen is framed, he must work with two new friends to navigate this whole new world and clear his name. After all, consequences can be dire in the world of monsters. Spooky, funny, and full of monstrous hijinks, The Lost Legacy is an inventive and accessible mystery-adventure full of friendship and humor--perfect for fans of Pseudonymous Bosch and R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series.

The Supernormal Sleuthing Service series, book 2. Living in a hotel full of monsters isn't always easy, especially when all the adults have fallen under an evil spell! Stephen and his friends have three days to undo a sorcerer's magic before the spell becomes permanent and their parents are cursed forever. Hotel Transylvania meets Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. It's only been a few weeks since Stephen started living in the New Harmonia--a hotel that caters to a supernormal clientele, including bigfeet, vampires, dragons, and talking gargoyles--and he still has a lot to learn. His latest discovery? The lions at the New York Public Library are actually sphinxes, guarding a secret underground collection of magical artifacts. But just as Stephen makes this discovery, a mysterious warlock named Edmund the Enchanter turns the sphinxes to stone and steals a powerful wand from the library's collection. With the wand, Edmund could take control of the entire supernormal world. Stephen and his two best friends, Sofia and Ivan, have only three days to thwart Edmund's evil intentions. The Sphinx's Secret is an adventure-filled monstrous romp with a time-travel twist. This inventive and accessible mystery-adventure is full of friendship, humor, and a curious cast of characters perfect for fans of Pseudonymous Bosch and R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series. Features black-and-white art by Glenn Thomas throughout.

Shortlisted for the Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards. There are ten stories here including one readers have waited ten long years for: in new novella The Border State Rowe revisits the world of his much-lauded story The Voluntary State. Competitive cyclists twins Michael and Maggie have trained all their lives to race internationally. One thing holds them back: their mother who years before crossed the border ... into Tennessee.

A hero rises from the ranks of slaves! The genasi control almost all of Calimshan for their djinn overlords--all but a few outposts like the floating Island of the Free, where escaped slaves from Calimport's coliseum run their own brutal games. There, Cephas, a genasi with no memories of his past has spent his entire life fighting But one day a circus of misfits, lead by the crowlike Corvus Nightfeather appear and free Cephas--and for the first time Cephas can harness his inborn powers and control the stones and dirt beneath his feet. The newest Forgotten Realms® author brings his talents to an area that has changed dramatically with the fresh take of Dungeons & Dragons® 4th Edition. The powerful elemental race of the genasi and the xenophobic and ruthless cultures of Calimshan are revealed through the rise of the Forgotten Realms' newest hero.

Nancy Royden traveled the world wild with curiosity in search of an authentic spiritual path. After being admonished for her open-mindedness of heart and spirit, she extracted herself from naysayers and went on a journey that catapulted her across oceans to discover the many different ways to experience divine truth. Among many life lessons from her voyages, came this beautiful book of poetry.