The Gifts Of Pelican Isle
When Ally Albright’s husband and unborn child are killed by a drunk driver, Ally is certain her life has ended, as well. But a request from a beloved professor to teach a first-grade class on Pelican Isle draws Ally from her grief and the security of her parents’ home to the remote island off the coast of North Carolina. Though her plan is to teach only until a permanent replacement can be found, Ally is immediately captivated by her enthusiastic and endearing students. Befriended by the islanders, including charming Dr. Chris Cruz and loving yet eccentric neighbor Joy Summers, Ally accepts the community’s hospitality and discovers that Pelican Isle is not just a way station, it is a safe harbor for recovery, rebirth, and hope—not just for Ally but for all the residents of the island.
Lessons I Learned From Nick Nack
B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree
2014 Writer's Digest Honorable Mention
When Rowdy Murphy’s husband, Mark, abandons her for a younger woman, leaving behind a dog that Rowdy hates, never wanted, and vowed she’d never walk, feed, bathe, or poop scoop, she is livid. But the divorce, Mark’s new family, and breast cancer forge an unlikely friendship between Rowdy and the much-reviled dog, Nick Nack. LESSONS I LEARNED FROM NICK NACK is the story of one woman’s journey through anger, loneliness, illness, pain, and fear and her ultimate surrender to the power of unconditional love.
Getting The Important Things Right
Padgett Gerler’s debut novel follows the lives of Colonel Thomas McChesney Albemarle, III and southern debutante Lydia Rose Carlyle, known as Ma’am, from their first meeting at the USO during World War II to the Colonel’s death forty years later. While Colonel Tom physically and emotionally batters his family, Ma’am escapes the turmoil with alcohol. Their children, Percy, Sis, and Oops, with no adult guidance, learn to sidestep their family minefields alone, forming a loving bond that will sustain them through the most poignant and tragic of circumstances. Told with captivating grit, humor, and insight, this tale of family discord carries the Albemarles through decades of turbulence until tragedy teaches them to forgive and understand by GETTING THE IMPORTANT THINGS RIGHT.