New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay McComas tops today’s Buffet with Talk of the Town. This contemporary romance, originally published in 1995, was part of Bantam Dell’s Loveswept line and won the “Series Romance of the Year” award from RT Times. Irresistible characters, emotional heartache, wacky humor, and social consciousness are all combined in this superb novel.
Mary Kay was raised in Spokane, Washington. After college, she worked for 10 years as an intensive care nurse in a hospital. On a dare from her husband, she wrote her first manuscript. It was the first time she’d written anything longer than a letter or school term paper. But as luck would have it, she was fortunate enough to find an encouraging agent and helpful, supportive editors. Her latest book, Something About Sophie, was published last year.
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Talk of the Town
Author: Mary Kay McComas
It’s not garbage to Rosemary Wickum, it’s art. And it’s not a dump to Gary Albright, it’s a refuse and recycling center.
Rosemary Wickum always finds wonderful treasures at the dump — pieces perfect for her metal sculptures. But one thing she’s never gone looking for is a man! Rosemary Wickum treasures her finds at the recycling center – pieces perfect for her metal sculptures. Focused on her art, and her work as a waitress to support her father and teenaged son, Rosemary becomes the talk of the town when Gary Albright, the handsome owner of the recycling center, begins pursuing her in earnest.
With the whole town rooting them on, Rosemary and Gary find a shared love in creating things of beauty from waste, a common ground on which to build a relationship based in trust, honesty, and love.
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Annie’s Child
Author: Elda Minger
When Colorado rancher Ben Tanner discovers that his brother Brad has left town after getting Annie Brand pregnant, he decides to help her. Annie is from the wrong side of the tracks, a woman who has worked determinedly to improve her life. She refuses his help at first, until Ben convinces her it’s the right thing to do for the child. He offers her a marriage of convenience until her baby is born and at least one year old.
Both Ben and Annie have been hurt before, and are independent people. Neither count on falling in love. But then Brad comes back into town, and he’s looking for Annie . . .
A Song for the Asking (A Kane Novel)
Author: Steve Gannon
Detective Daniel Kane is the self-proclaimed king of his castle, his California beachfront home, and the ironfisted ruler of his subjects — his wife, Catheryn, and his four children: Tommy, Travis, Allison, and Nate. Hardened by years of law enforcement, he is determined to prepare his children to face a harsh and violent world. With a relentless will for perfection and scorn for anything less, Kane teaches them his rules for success and provides a model for the essentials of survival: strength, bravery, ambition, stoicism, and vengeance. He shows them everything — everything but what is in his heart.
Over the course of a single shattering summer, each of Kane’s children will be forced to pay the price his standards demand, but the brunt of Kane’s fierce and exacting love will fall on Travis. Lacking the physical prowess of his older brother Tommy, Travis confounds his father with artistic “softness” and musical gifts. Yet in a devastating moment that will change all the Kanes forever, it is Travis alone who will find the courage to defy his father and, ultimately, to redeem him.
Fashionably Dead (Hot Damned Series)
Author: Robyn Peterman
Vampyres don’t exist. They absolutely do not exist.
At least I didn’t think they did ‘til I tried to quit smoking and ended up Undead. Who in the hell did I screw over in a former life that my getting healthy equates with dead?
Now I’m a Vampyre. Yes, we exist whether we want to or not. However, I have to admit, the perks aren’t bad. My girls no longer jiggle, my ass is higher than a kite and the latest Prada keeps finding its way to my wardrobe. On the downside, I’m stuck with an obscenely profane Guardian Angel who looks like Oprah and a Fairy Fighting Coach who’s teaching me to annihilate like the Terminator.
To complicate matters, my libido has increased to Vampyric proportions and my attraction to a hotter than Satan’s underpants killer rogue Vampyre is not only dangerous . . . it’s possibly deadly. For real dead.
Winter’s Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge
Author: Karen Luellen
When Dr. Margo Pullman goes to work for “The Institute” she hopes to change lives with her research in neurobiological studies. Instead, she is appalled to learn her research is being used to test and torture children, most of whom have died in the process. Margo goes rogue. That night, she steals away the three surviving children, changes her identity and hides them away from the world on a secluded ranch in Texas.
For twelve years she raised the two boys and one girl as her own. The tests they were subjected to has altered the children’s DNA, turning them into “metahumans” complete with fast reflexes, super strength, the ability to heal and unmatched intelligence. When Margo goes missing, the children–now teens–embark on a journey to reclaim their mother from the evil CEO of “The Institute” who wants them back to continue his plans for the perfect race. Begin the thrilling adventure into the world of Metahumans with Winter’s Awakening, the first book in Winter’s Saga.
The Sekhmet Bed
Author: L. M. Ironside
Is Ahmose’s divine gift a blessing or a curse?
The second daughter of the Pharaoh, Ahmose has always dreamed of a quiet life as a priestess, serving Egypt’s gods, ministering to the people of the Two Lands. But when the Pharaoh dies without an heir, she is given instead as Great Royal Wife to the new king – a soldier of common birth. For Ahmose is god-chosen, gifted with the ability to read dreams, and it is her connection to the gods which ensures the new Pharaoh his right to rule.
Ahmose’s elder sister Mutnofret has been raised to expect the privileged station of Great Royal Wife; her rage at being displaced cannot be soothed. As Ahmose fights the currents of Egypt’s politics and Mutnofret’s vengeful anger, her youth and inexperience carry her beyond her depth and into the realm of sacrilege.
To right her wrongs and save Egypt from the gods’ wrath, Ahmose must face her most visceral fear: bearing an heir. But the gods of Egypt are exacting, and even her sacrifice may not be enough to restore the Two Lands to safety.
Wisdom from the Batcave
Author: Cary A. Friedman
WISDOM FROM THE BATCAVE analyzes the life philosophy that emerges from Batman comic books. In 18 lighthearted chapters (such as “How to Triumph over Adversity,” “The Value of Inspiring Others,” “A Better Definition of Victory”), the Batman’s example is used to teach profound truths. Focusing on relationships with self, others, and the larger community, WISDOM FROM THE BATCAVE uses the experience of the Batman and his allies to illustrate how to live a super, heroic life.
Here is your invitation to enter the Batcave and learn from the personal example of the Batman himself.
First and Only
Author: Peter Flannery
Do you believe in psychics?
What if there really was someone who could see into the future, read people’s thoughts and move things with their mind? What kind of person would they be and how would they reveal themselves to the world?
Psimon is just such a man, a real and genuine psychic. But Psimon has a problem. In five days time he is going to die a slow and horrible death at the hands of a serial killer known only as Lucifer. His only hope is to enlist the services of former SAS soldier, Steve Brennus, a man whose family life and business have just collapsed in ruins.
Psimon knows he is going to die. He has seen it. But could a former SAS soldier have the strength and faith to overcome the visions of the world’s first psychic?
TODAY’S BARGAINS……………What’s this?
Rogue Forces
Action & Adventure > War & Military
Author: Dale Brown
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
The clash of civilizations will be won…by the highest bidder.
The newly inaugurated president, Joseph Gardner, pledged to start pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq on his first day of office. Meanwhile, the former president, Kevin Martindale, and retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan have left government behind for the lucrative world of military contracting. Their firm, Scion Aviation International, has been hired to take over aerial patrols in northern Iraq.
Yet Iraq quickly re-emerges as a hot zone: Kurdish nationalist attacks have led the Republic of Turkey to invade northern Iraq, the new American president needs to regain control of the situation, but he’s reluctant to send U.S. forces back into harm’s way, leaving Scion the only credible force in the region capable of blunting the Turks’ advances.
But when Patrick McLanahan makes the decision to take the fight to the Turks, can the president rein him in? And just where does McLanahan’s loyalty ultimately lie?
Mrs. Poe
Historical Romance
Author: Lynn Cullen
Regularly $9.99, Today $2.99
A writer and his demons. A woman and her desires. A wife and her revenge . . .
1845: New York City is a sprawling warren of gaslit streets and crowded avenues, bustling with new immigrants and old money, optimism and opportunity, poverty and crime. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is all the rage—the success of which a struggling poet like Frances Osgood can only dream. As a mother trying to support two young children after her husband’s cruel betrayal, Frances jumps at the chance to meet the illustrious Mr. Poe at a small literary gathering, if only to help her fledgling career. Although not a great fan of Poe’s writing, she is nonetheless overwhelmed by his magnetic presence— and the surprising revelation that he admires her work.
What follows is a flirtation, then a seduction, then an illicit affair . . . and with each clandestine encounter, Frances finds herself falling slowly and inexorably under the spell of her mysterious, complicated lover. But when Edgar’s frail wife Virginia insists on befriending Frances as well, the relationship becomes as dark and twisted as one of Poe’s tales. And like those gothic heroines whose fates are forever sealed, Frances begins to fear that deceiving Mrs. Poe may be as impossible as cheating death itself. . . .
Extinction Point (Extinction Point series)
Science Fiction > Dystopian
Author: Paul Antony Jones
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
First comes the red rain: a strange, scarlet downpour from a cloudless sky that spreads across cities, nations, and the entire globe. In a matter of panicked hours, every living thing on earth succumbs to swift, bloody death. Yet Emily Baxter, a young newspaper reporter, is mysteriously spared—and now she’s all alone.
But watching the happy life she built for herself in New York City slip away in the wake of a monstrous, inexplicable plague is just the beginning of Emily’s waking nightmare. The world isn’t ending; it’s onlychanging. And the race that once ruled the earth has now become raw material for use by a new form of life never before seen…on this planet.
With only wits, weapons, and a bicycle, Emily must undertake a grueling journey across a country that’s turning increasingly alien. For though she fears she’s been left to inherit the earth, the truth is far more terrifying than a lifetime of solitude.
Resurrection
Science Fiction > Adventure
Author: Arwen Elys Dayton
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
The Kinley built a ship capable of traveling faster than light. It carried a group of scientists to a small, distant planet—a primitive place called Earth. It’s mission was peaceful observation. But when the ship was destroyed, the Kinley crew found themselves stranded in ancient Egypt, participants in the pageant of life in the time of the Pharaohs. They buried remnants of their technology deep beneath the desert and sent a last desperate message home…
Five thousand years later, the Kinley homeworld hovers on the brink of extinction. An enemy that nearly obliterated their race has risen again—now with the ability to destroy them for good. A lone Kinley soldier named Pruit is sent on a desperate mission: to follow the ancient beacon back to Earth and recover the secrets to faster than light travel. It is their last hope. Technology that once allowed them to cross vast reaches of space might allow them to outrun their enemies and find a safe world to call their own. But Pruit’s mission will be harder than she can imagine.
The Privateer
Historical Romance > Regency
Author: Dawn Mactavish
Regularly $6.99, Today $1.99
Lark at first hoped it was a simple nightmare: If she closed her eyes, she would be back in the mahogany bed of her spacious boudoir at Eddington Hall, and all would be well. Her father, the earl of Roxburgh, would not be dead by his own hand, and she would not be in Marshalsea debtor’s prison.
Such was not to be. Ere the Marshalsea could do its worst, the earl of Grayshire intervened. Lark shivered, considering the mysterious stone-faced noble. He’d paid her bond while the rest of London turned an eye as blind as the one beneath his eye patch. But while his touch was electric and his gaze piercing, for what purpose had he bought her freedom? A plan including Cornwall, return to the world of the haute ton, and embroilment in a struggle against both England’s own Admiralty and the French. But even more perilous, the ex-sea captain might plunder her heart. No, this was not a dream. As Lark would soon learn, her dreams had never ended so well.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2