Showing results by author "Shelly" in All Categories

Born the youngest of 15 siblings in Lakewood, Ohio, Shelly McNamara began writing as a child to explore her inner self and make sense of the world around her. From the grief of losing close friends and family, the pain of estrangement and rejection, and a deep desire to make the world a more respectful, loving, and inclusive place, Shelly wrote poetry and stories of hope and strength. Writing helped her embrace her own identity while she waited for the world to recognize her lifelong commitment to the woman she loves and the family they built together.

On a sparkling spring morning in the Blue Ridge, small-town realtor Miranda Davis approached the tailgate market, intent on dealing with her whimsical cousin Skip’s unexpected arrival from New York. It turns out that Skip was on the run, and in his panic, grabbed his beloved tabby Duffy, recalling that Miranda had a recent part in solving a case down in Carolina.

We cannot get green lights before we are on the road. At the lights, we are told what to do. When we get to life's intersections whether it’s decision-making, career, business, or relationships, he tells us what to do. In this book of prayers, you will find: inspirational short stories and exhortations to uplift you, prayers for difficult journeys, and devotions to boost your prayer life.

Although this is a sequel, it may be heard as a stand-alone novel. The sequel to Vegas to Varanasi catches up with Anna and Kiran a couple of years after the event that brought the once “ugly duckling” high school acquaintances together. But will their romance continue to flourish in the face of a whole new set of insecurities brought on by middle age? First, there’s Kiran, who has an unexpected health scare.

Janene, Cora, and Amadahy live in the same North Carolina town centuries apart. Janene, a modern-day high school teacher, loses her career and identity in the face of a devastating illness. Cora, an enslaved person during the Civil War, flees the Yarbrough plantation after her family is murdered. She finds refuge at Mama Hattie’s house only to encounter the killer years later. Amadahy, a Cherokee before the European invasion, loses a child and her husband leaves. She finds an unlikely love while on a river adventure and returns to find trouble at home.

There is a world of communication that is far beyond simply speaking to one another. It is one where the true nature of others is better understood, if you know what to look for. Body language seldom lies to us. We can be deceived successfully by people who tell us lies when they speak, but to lie with the body is far harder, and when we understand it, we are better placed to make critical decisions.

Would you like to be able to improve your emotional intelligence? How would enhanced social skills help you become a better leader and influence those around you? This book is the first step to expand your influence....

Ever since Abigail moved to the cozy seaside town of Wallace Point, intrigue continues to unfold. She already solved one murder, only to have another spring up at a nearby motel, thought to be the work of the infamous Wallace Point Ripper. To further complicate things, James Wilson, a hot-headed PI, arrives in town. Abigail is convinced that James is up to something. The whole town, however, welcomes Sheriff Wilson’s prodigal son with a warm embrace, leaving it up to Abigail to uncover his secrets herself.

Abigail Lane is a petite spitfire and proud owner of a Great Dane twice her size. She’s been struggling to make it in Boston when a call beckons her down to the cozy seaside town of Wallace Point. Now’s her chance to meet a grandmother she never knew - if Grandma survives, that is! Grandma is in a coma after an apparent break-in at her antique store, leaving Abigail to run Whodunit Antiques in her absence.

There’s no way to know what college has in store for innocent Brandy. Or who. Brandy has been yearning after her smouldering English professor since she first started his college class. Brandy gets unexpectedly tangled up with her heart’s (and body’s) desire: the mysterious, irresistible professor Dragos. Deep dark eyes, tall, muscled, and breathtakingly handsome. A writer, a true artist at heart, with intense and dangerous desires. Maybe he can replace the love that was lost when her father died. Brandy desperately needs love, protection...and Dragos.

Bina MacLaine is having a rough day. Still haunted by an ugly breakup that meant walking away from her fiancé and her high-rise apartment, now the dance teacher faces the possibility of losing her job, too, if her school closes. When Maurice Hewett, one of her old students, arrives in town, Bina sees he’s not the boy she once knew - but a grown and sexy man. She wonders if he can weave a spell that can help her forget all her woes.

She's generous, kind, and compassionate - yet Delilah Grey will forever be an outcast in the small seaside town of Camden Beach, Maryland. She takes in women shattered by abuse, poverty, illness, or events beyond their control. But no matter how far she's come or how many she's helped find their way back, there is no safe place for Delilah. Acquitted of her rich husband's mysterious death decades ago, she lives in her beautiful mansion consumed by secrets - and mistakes she feels she can never atone for...until she takes in desperate mother Tracey Walters and her two young children.

Leadership demands courage. You have to make good decisions while balancing inevitable tensions and knowing when to take risks. And that's where The Courage Way comes in. It's a guide to leadership that shows how to access and draw upon courage in all that you do. It has its roots in the work of Parker J. Palmer, who in 50 years of teaching, speaking, and writing has explored the human spirit - what he has called "the inner landscape" - and its role in life and leadership.

Believe. A message that still taunts her years after the passing of her daughter. In the days of her daughter's illness, she considered herself a seeker, open to the possibilities of prayer and faith. Now cynical and guarded, she is forced to reexamine her beliefs and relive her past when an old love resurfaces, with a sick child of his own. Believe is a story that examines fractures to our foundations in the face of tragedy. It is a story that asks if prayers are always answered, but often in ways we do not see.

Anna has never been the beautiful one; she's always been the nice one. So when the gorgeous man sitting across the table at a wedding reception remembers her from high school -- and quite fondly at that -- she's taken off guard.

Fiercely You is a creative, playful approach to the serious problems that women face regarding confidence and risk-taking. Drawing on her own experiences and interviews with the world's top drag queens, Huba offers five Keys to the Queendom that will help listeners ignore criticism and live life more fearlessly. This is not a guide to drag, it's a guide to life - but in a sense, all life is drag. As RuPaul, the most famous drag queen in the world, herself says, "We're born naked, and the rest is drag."

In order to save money shopping, you need to do what others don't do and look where others don't look...because whenever there is word of a gold mine, it will be over before anybody else has the chance to pick up a shovel. You need to approach discount shopping and bargain hunting from a different angle, like pro shoppers do.

Baden Tranor had a hard life. He hadn't helped it along by taking the wrong turn now and then. His job parking cars downtown paid the bills. Barely. Then a freelance gig at a social event turned the tables and opened the door to a future that surpassed even his measly dreams. Suddenly he came front and center with the guy he could have been. The guy he should have been. And he made a choice to rid himself of the guy that people said "no-way" to.

Milo is trouble. He lives it, breathes it. He embraces anything that numbs and takes his mind somewhere else, a world where his mother is herself and not just a shell, and his brother didn't almost kill her, severing any relationship they had. But more importantly, Milo drowns out the guilt for leaving his mother and not being able to forgive his brother. He drowns his pride and moves on to another girl and another party, pretending that life isn't moving on around him and he's stuck in the same place. He's stuck in the past and doesn't know how to let go.

When Artemus Ackerman, retired magician and mayor of Calendar, hears about the first fire on Sabbath Street, he sends his publicist, Maggie Wakeling, to the fire department to find out what caused it. Artemus, who still performs conjuring tricks for his constituents, has his heart set on turning the shabbily elegant Baldwin Theater into a museum of magic. All he has to do is convince wealthy widow Claudette Goodwin to donate the Baldwin to his beloved town. But the theater is located on Sabbath Street, where that first disastrous fire occurred....