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Living hand to mouth ever since her mother’s tragic death, Amelia sells the last of her treasured possessions to avoid being cast out of her home onto London’s streets. Her estranged grandfather unexpectedly bequeaths a small struggling factory making mourning dresses and Amelia dares to dream… Drawing sketches by candlelight, she longs to sew elegant gowns from fine silks and beautiful ribbons for the rich. As the cold winter wind begins to bite, Amelia’s future hangs by a thread – can she keep her hopes alive?

Four years after losing her new husband in a plane crash in South America, Mara Edwards sets sail for a new life in Alaska. Aboard a northbound ferry, a peculiar run-in with an old man signals that her troubles are not yet over when he hands her a feather and utters these prophetic words: "Your present is the future of your past. You will need this to protect your future from your past. All who come here seek the future of their past."

Brand creator and speaker Annie Franceschi is here to give you the answers to the questions that keep you up at night: the powerful objections that keep you from changing your life for the better. It's time to find your purpose in this career advice book of hard-won personal stories, funny anecdotes, and helpful exercises on how to take risks, switch careers, and reinvent yourself. Discover the motivation to begin a new chapter with Annie's best professional and life advice.

This vivid memoir speaks the intense truth of a Bronx tomboy whose 1960s girlhood was marked by her father's lullabies laced with his dissociative memories of combat in World War II. At four years old, Annie Rachele Lanzillotto bounced her Spaldeen on the stoop and watched the boys play stickball in the street; inside, she hid silver teaspoons behind the heat pipes to tap calls for help while her father beat her mother.

Once the top dog, Danny Mckay has walked away from his old gangland life. He’s on the straight and narrow now, looking forward to settling down and living a quiet life. But trouble seems to follow Danny. And when his own family is caught up in a shocking event, Danny is dragged back into the gangland world, hell-bent on revenge. Danny’s determined to make someone pay, but the rules are different this time around—old friends are enemies, and Danny doesn’t know who he can trust.

It's the turn of the millennium and, landing in London with nothing but her CD collection and demo tape, Orla Quinn moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best mate and a band called Shiva. Orla wants to make music, but juggling two jobs and partying every night isn't helping. Back in Ireland her parents' marriage has crumbled, she's not speaking to her father, and her mother and sister are drinking too much.

April 1940. Violet Millington, is ready to rediscover the joy of living. As she waltzes into the Palais, to begin her new life of boosting morale in war swept London, she must leave her family's sorrow behind her. But soon Violet discovers she's not the only one with something they're running from. Violet quickly befriends gutsy American Nancy, the diamond of the dance hall, flame-haired Renee with her enviable foxtrot, and Temperance, who must overcome her bullies to achieve her dreams.

It will take more than Hitler's Luftwaffe to break the spirit of the residents of Lavender Road. If courage, resilience and a sense of humour could win wars, the conflict would already be over. It's not all harmony, though. Nurse Molly Coogan and would-be actress Jen Carter certainly don't see eye to eye. Molly, despite hating the discipline of wartime hospital life, is unimpressed by Jen's prima donna ways while pretty Jen, unaware of Molly's secret heartache, can't resist taking her own personal frustrations out on Molly.

London has been ravaged by war for three years now, and life couldn't be tougher for those living on Lavender Road. Many loved ones have been lost and sacrifices made, but Lady Helen de Burrel is about to take the biggest risk yet. Inspired by the courage of her friends on this South London street, Helen volunteers to join the Special Operations Executive and puts her life in jeopardy for the sake of her country. But it's hard to know whom to trust, and when her heart is on the line even love becomes dangerous.

September 1940. As Luftwaffe bombs rain from the skies over London, the women of Lavender Road are fighting their own battles. Shy Katy Parsons has always been sheltered by her overprotective parents. Enrolling as a nurse was always her dream, but the reality is tougher than she ever imagined. And falling in love isn't all plain sailing either. Privileged Louise Rutherford secretly hoped the war would bring her some fun and romance. But so far it has brought her pain and grief, and now she has a secret....

An internationally renowned writer of mystery fiction, Mary Roberts Rinehart knows her way around an exotic setting. When faced with the Pyramids, the Nile, and the sprawling Egyptian desert in her own life, she does not fall in with the crowd of tourists waiting in line at the tombs of the Pharaohs. Instead, she hikes up her skirt, plants her pumps in the sand, and hops on a camel. She has but one question: Where am I supposed to sit?

Fun-loving Maisie is devoted to her young family and her work at Woolworths. But her happy life with her RAF officer husband and their baby daughter leads her to think of the family she left behind. With the war now into its fourth year, what will she find when she sets about searching for them? Sarah and her husband, Alan, are blissfully happy and long for a sibling for their daughter. But dark days lie ahead for this close family.

Emily Townsend needs closure. And she will do anything to get it, including visit a local BDSM club. What she doesn't expect is for the sexy man she's been ogling for three weeks to waltz over to her table and dominate her in a way she's never experienced.

Cowboys take care of their women in every possible way. Wild and wayward women are gentled by the scent of horse and cow and the sight of sun-kissed skin, the feel of work-hardened thighs and arms, and the sound of a deep-voiced Texas drawl. Contributors at the top of the Western romance genre, including Charlene Teglia, Randi Alexander, and Cat Johnson, have corralled here strong and memorable characters ranging from a rodeo star and a cop on horseback to a feisty female gunslinger.

“Understated” and “tasteful” could never be applied to Annie, and that’s just fine with her. A colorful actress with a decades-long career in TV, film, and theater—including a recurring role on Seinfeld and a center-stage spot touring with The Moth—Annie offers her trademark unabashed takes on both everyday and typically taboo topics.

The Crying Game opens in 1944 and tells the story of Trixie - a girl who has only ever known turmoil. As a teenager, she covers up the terrible truth of her father's death and she and her pregnant mother go on the run. Little does she know that fate has more cruel twists in store.

Determined to build a life for her herself, Trixie becomes a singer in the pubs and clubs of Gosport - but her heart is still set on finding the little brother she had to leave behind years before. It will take Trixie many years and many tears before the truth can finally emerge - but will it finally give her the courage she needs to fall in love?

After the brutal gangland murder of her husband Terry, Tracey Tempest just wants to move on. She’ll never get over Terry’s betrayal, but she’s determined his shady past won’t spoil life for her and her beloved boys Ricky and Jamie. Max Hardcastle just wants a quiet life and to maybe see how things go between him and Tracey. He knows she’s been hurt in the past, but he’s nothing like Terry and he’ll do anything to keep Tracey happy and safe. But some people have other ideas.

London, 1940. Winnie Berry is at the heart of the community in her pub, The Battersea Tavern. Her door is always open to those in need of a cup of tea and sympathy. Winnie's abusive husband has left, and she finds herself foolishly falling in love with black-market trader Harry Hampton. But Harry is married, and Winnie soon finds herself tied up in his web of secrets. Meanwhile Winnie's son is back in London—not to visit his own child, but to charm the latest barmaid at the Battersea Tavern, which will lead to devastating consequences for the family.

The best things in life are never free. Cain Moran wanted Jenny Riley more than he had ever wanted anyone or anything before in his life. But loving Jenny Riley was the easy part; it was telling his wife he wanted a divorce that was going to be the killer.... Jenny is not just any girl. She cares nothing for Cain's hard-man reputation - she just wants to be with him. But Cain is not a free man. And he's about to find out that when his wife Caroline said 'til death us do part, she meant it.

Glenda Jenkins has been beaten by her husband, Harry, one too many times - and this time he's put her in a hospital bed. Battered and bruised, Glenda slowly makes her recovery. But she fears what awaits her back at home.... When Glenda meets kind hospital porter Frank, he offers her a lifeline she can't refuse. The pair decide to run away together, escaping the terror of Harry. But, fearing for her life, Glenda has to make the biggest sacrifice of all and leave her baby, Johnnie, behind.