D.E. Stevenson (1892 – 1973) had an enormously successful writing career, with more than 4 million copies of her light romances sold in her native Britain and 3 million in the United States. Like E.F. Benson, Ann Bridge, O. Douglas or Dorothy L. Sayers (to name but a few) her books are funny, intensely readable, engaging and dependable.
The past few years has seen a renewed interest in Ms. Stevenson’s work with the reissue of two of her most popular novels, Mrs. Tim of the Regiment and Miss Buncle’s Book, which tops today’s Buffet. As one reviewer put it, “there are no vampires, no faeries, no weird creatures, just a sweet story about real people living in a world I’ve always dreamed of.”
Ms. Stevenson’s father was the lighthouse engineer David Alan Stevenson, first cousin to the author Robert Louis Stevenson. She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated at home by governesses. She started to write at eight years of age, but because her parents and governesses disapproved, she had to write in secret. She later wanted to go to university but her father refused, concerned about having an educated woman in the family.
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Miss Buncle’s Book
Literature & Fiction > Humor & Satire
Author: D.E. Stevenson
Barbara Bunde is in a bind. Times are harsh, and Barbara’s bank account has seen better days. Maybe she could sell a novel … if she knew any stories. Stumped for ideas, Barbara draws inspiration from her fellow residents of Silverstream, the little English village she knows inside and out.
To her surprise, the novel is a smash. It’s a good thing she wrote under a pseudonym, because the folks of Silverstream are in an uproar. But what really turns Miss Bunde’s world around is this: what happens to the characters in her book starts happening to their real-life counterparts. Does life really imitate art?
A beloved author who has sold more than seven million books, D. E. Stevenson is at her best withMiss Buncle’s Book, crafting a highly original and charming tale about what happens when people see themselves through someone else’s eyes.
Christmas Roses
Christian Fiction > Romance
Author: Amanda Cabot
Celia Anderson doesn’t need anything for Christmas except a few more boarders, which are hard to come by in this small mining town. She certainly doesn’t have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a wandering carpenter finds lodging at her boarding house, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man–the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle to get roses during a harsh Wyoming winter. But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . .
Amanda Cabot invites readers to cozy up with a romantic, heartwarming tale of the greatest gift of all–love.
Psion Beta (Psion series #1)
Children’s eBooks > Science Fiction, Fantasy & Scary Stories
Author: Jacob Gowans
Sammy, a 14-year-old fugitive, accidentally discovers he has the powers of a Psion. Plucked off the streets, he is thrust into the rigorously-disciplined environment of Psion Beta headquarters. As a new Beta, Sammy must hone his newfound abilities using holographic fighting simulations, stealth training missions, and complex war games. His fellow trainees are other kids competing to prove their worth so they can graduate and contribute to the war effort.
But the stifling competition at headquarters isolates Sammy from his peers. Learning to use his incredible powers is difficult enough, but when things go horribly wrong on a routine training mission, he must rely on the other Betas to stay alive.
The Silent War is at a tipping point; even one boy can be the difference. But to do so, he must survive.
The Case of the Not-So-Fair Trader
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Jim Stevens
A despicable stock trader is found buried under an avalanche of his own garden rocks, causing fired-from-the force- Richard Sherlock to be yanked off the bowling alley and whisked to the crime scene by his pampered protegee Tiffany Richmond. He must prove murder and stop payment of the twelve-million-dollar Richmond Insurance policy.
Nothing makes sense. Crime scene is a mess. There is no money trail. There are too many motives from too many suspects who have too many alibis. Worst of all Sherlock’s bad back is acting up, his ex-wife wants more money and the murder investigation is putting a serious dent in his parenting schedule of his two daughters.
Richard Sherlock hates his job, and may be a reluctant dick, but he is better at finding the WHO in WHODUNIT than anyone else.
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The Diary Of A Hapless Father: months 0-3
Humor > Fatherhood
Author: Pete Sortwell, Graham Peterson
Not only is Graham Peterson unlucky in his choice of careers, he’s also been terrible with women throughout his adult life. That changed when he met Alison, but within a month of meeting, he got the news that he was about to become a father for the first time.
‘The Diary of a Hapless Father’ charts those first three terrifying months of parenthood. With all the angst and fear of a new father, Graham needs to pull his socks up if he’s going to become the father he always dreamed he would be.
With all the pitfalls and worries of a new father charted, this book is for all those who have been through early parenthood or just want to know how a man deals with all those things internally.
First Class to New York
Contemporary Romance
Author: AJ Harmon, Christopher Harmon
A year after losing her husband, her high school sweetheart and the love of her life to cancer, Janie Anderson embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City. Trying to escape the oppressive loss and hopelessness of a life without him, Janie sets off on the adventure she has dreamed about since she was a little girl. Exploring the Big Apple, New York City, she secretly hopes that this landmark event will free her from her grief and unlock a future as wonderful as the life she had lost with Robert’s passing.
After a series of embarrassing encounters with a man in a dark grey suit during the flight, Janie wonders if this trip might be more than she bargained for. At 42, she is much too young to spend the rest of her days as a lonely widow, but is resolved to the fact that, like lightning, a love like that of her first marriage rarely strikes twice.
The Diver (A Silo Story)
Science Fiction > High Tech
Author: WJ Davies
What would you do if the world you lived in was a lie? Where every birth required a death, and those in charge stopped at nothing to achieve complete control?
When Ace’s actions send the lives of thousands into turmoil, the people of the silo will have to make some very difficult decisions. To make matters worse, the encroaching flood is causing sensitive electronic equipment to go haywire which has unforeseen consequences for the young women of the silo.
Follow the stories of Tommy and Keira as they battle against the flood and the oppression of their world, Tony, an IT tech thrown headfirst into the silo’s inner politics and secret knowledge, and Head of IT Charles Beety as he tries to rein in the problems which are assaulting him from all angles.
Welcome to the Silo. This is the follow-up story to The Runner, taking place in Hugh Howey’s world of WOOL.
New Favorites from Lion Brand: 15 Free Knitting Patterns for Scarves, Afghans and More
Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts
Author: Editors of AllFreeKnitting
Lion Brand teamed up with us at AllFreeKnitting to create a special eBook that caters to every aspect of your life, from your closet to your living room. No matter if you’re knitting for yourself, your family, your home, or for a friend, AllFreeKnitting’s latest eBook has ideas to keep you inspired all season long. Inside New Favorites from Lion Brand: 15 Free Knitting Patterns for Scarves, Afghans and More free eBook, you’ll discover only the best patterns that Lion Brand has to offer.
Lion Brand’s New Fall Collection: 15 Free Crochet Scarf Patterns, Afghan Patterns, and More
Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts
Author: Editors of AllFreeCrochet
There’s no better way to welcome fall than with a beautiful collection of free crochet patterns. Celebrate the new season with Lion Brand’s New Fall Collection: 15 Free Crochet Scarf Patterns, Afghan Patterns, and More. Each one of these beautiful crochet designs have been hand-picked by the Lion Brand; these must-make patterns for fall range in skill level from beginner to advanced and include a variety of patterns such as crochet scarves, crochet baby booties, crochet shawl patterns, and more.
BRAINSTORM (Daniel McMaster)
Thrillers > Suspense
Author: Gordon Kessler
What if a small American town is secretly replicated, populated with kidnapped scientists and psychically talented civilians, and then used as a proving ground while training psychic assassins? Political and military leaders of the Free World are the targets of these psychic warriors, and Project Brainstorm’s goal is world domination.
Gold Rush seems to be just another sleepy little Colorado community full of friendly, caring citizens, quaint cottages, and a sort of quiet peace, held gently by the picturesque mountains that surround it. However, something isn’t right in Gold Rush, and early on a Monday morning Robert Weller awakens with a cautioning and insuppressible voice inside his head. He soon finds a secret behind every door, a motive with every glance, and a lie beneath every spoken word. After meeting a strange but beautiful woman named Sunny who insists they were once lovers, people begin dropping dead around him without apparent cause. The world he thought he knew twists upside down as paramilitary teams hunt him, and his own wife and the people he considers friends turn against him.
Weller is thrown into the middle of a military mission to rescue thousands of the town’s citizens from a plot to destroy the free world. In time, Weller discovers he was once the CIA’s top remote viewer, and it’s not just the bad guys who will lose if he survives another day.
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells
Historical Fiction > Psychological Thrillers
Author: Andrew Sean Greer
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
From the critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller The Confessions of Max Tivolicomes The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, a rapturously romantic story of a woman who finds herself transported to the “other lives” she might have lived.
After the death of her beloved twin brother and the abandonment of her long-time lover, Greta Wells undergoes electroshock therapy. Over the course of the treatment, Greta finds herself repeatedly sent to 1918, 1941, and back to the present. Whisked from the gas-lit streets and horse-drawn carriages of the West Village to a martini-fueled lunch at the Oak Room, in these other worlds, Greta finds her brother alive and well—though fearfully masking his true personality. And her former lover is now her devoted husband…but will he be unfaithful to her in this life as well? Greta Wells is fascinated by her alter egos: in 1941, she is a devoted mother; in 1918, she is a bohemian adulteress.
State of Wonder
Contemporary Fiction
Author: Ann Patchett
Regularly $9.99, Today $2.99
Pharmaceutical researcher Dr. Marina Singh sets off into the Amazon jungle to find the remains and effects of a colleague who recently died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. But first she must locate Dr. Anneck Swenson, a renowned gynecologist who has spent years looking at the reproductive habits of a local tribe where women can conceive well into their middle ages and beyond. Eccentric and notoriously tough, Swenson is paid to find the key to this longstanding childbearing ability by the same company for which Dr. Singh works.
Yet that isn’t their only connection: both have an overlapping professional past that Dr. Singh has long tried to forget. In finding her former mentor, Dr. Singh must face her own disappointments and regrets, along with the jungle’s unforgiving humidity and insects, making State of Wonder a multi-layered atmospheric novel that is hard to put down. Indeed, Patchett solidifies her well-deserved place as one of today’s master storytellers. Emotional, vivid, and a work of literature that will surely resonate with readers in the weeks and months to come, State of Wonder truly is a thing of beauty and mystery, much like the Amazon jungle itself. –Jessica Schein
The Second Chance Café (A Hope Springs Novel)
Romance > Contemporary
Author: Alison Kent
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
Growing up, Kaylie Flynn was shuffled from foster home to foster home before being welcomed into Winton and May Wise’s family. It was May who taught Kaylie the comfort of home, and the healing power of baking the perfect brownie. Years later, May leaves Kaylie the money she needs to open her own café in the charming Victorian house they once shared. Now back in Hope Springs, Kaylie’s determined to finally make all her dreams a reality—and unearth answers to lingering questions about her past.
Soon, however, Kaylie’s carefully laid plans take an unexpected turn. The house needs far more work than she realized, and Tennessee Keller, the carpenter Kaylie hires, is proving to be a very handsome and very unneeded distraction from her quest to uncover the truth about her parents. When a crisis threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build, Kaylie must decide where her heart lies: with the ghosts of her past or the love and promise of her future.
Lord of Wicked Intentions
Historical Romance
Author: Lorraine Heath
Regularly $7.99, Today $1.99
From New York Times bestselling historical romance author Lorraine Heath comes Lord of Wicked Intentions, the third and final chapter in the compelling Lost Lords of Pembrook trilogy.
The young, innocent victim of his uncle’s madness, Lord Rafe Easton has learned not to depend on others, much less fall in love. So when he spies the fiery Miss Evelyn Chambers, an earl’s illegitimate daughter, his intentions are anything but noble. Miserable as Rafe’s mistress, Evelyn believes that Rafe will never declare his love for her—or will he?
A Storm Too Soon: A True Story of Disaster, Survival and an Incredible Rescue
Social Sciences > Disaster Relief
Author: Michael J. Tougias
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
Seventy-foot waves batter a torn life raft 250 miles out to sea in one of the world’s most dangerous places, the Gulf Stream. Hanging on to the raft are three men, a Canadian, a Brit, and their captain, JP de Lutz, a dual citizen of America and France. Their capsized forty-seven-foot sailboat has filled with water and disappeared below the tempestuous sea. The giant waves repeatedly toss the men out of their tiny vessel, and JP, with nine broken ribs, is hypothermic and on the verge of death. The captain, however, is a remarkably tough character, having survived a brutal boyhood, and now he must rely on the same inner strength to outlast the storm.
Trying to reach these survivors before it’s too late are four brave Coast Guardsmen battling hurricane- force winds in their Jayhawk helicopter. They know the waves will be extreme, but when they arrive they are astounded to find that the monstrous seas have waves reaching eighty feet. Lowering the wind-whipped helicopter to drop a rescue swimmer into such chaos will be extremely dangerous. The pilots wonder if they have a realistic chance of saving the sailors clinging to the broken life raft, and if they will be able to even retrieve their own rescue swimmer from the towering seas. Once they commit to the rescue, they find themselves in almost as much trouble as the survivors, facing one life-and-death moment after the next.
Also caught in the storm are three other boats, each one in a Mayday situation. Of the ten people on these boats, only six will ever see land again.
Brain Quest Kindergarten: 300 Questions and Answers to Get a Smart Start
Children’s eBooks > Education & Reference
Author: Chris Welles Feder, Susan Bishay
Regularly $11.95, Today $1.99
Brain Quest is beloved by kids, trusted by parents, used and recommended by teachers. It’s the curriculum-based, fast-paced, question-and-answer game that challenges kids on the stuff they need to know, when they need to know it. It’s the brand that says “It’s fun to be smart!” And it delivers.
For the fourth edition every deck is thoroughly revised and includes 20 percent new material. The content aligns with national and state standards and is overseen by the Brain Quest Advisory Board, a panel of award-winning educators, each a recent state teacher-of-the-year award winner or a recipient of the prestigious Milken Educator Award. The covers and cards have a refreshed design, giving Brain Quest a cooler, updated look.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2