Trauma – Brave Authors

Can a young man born in America navigate between his family’s fears and the enthusiasm he encounters as he returns to his ancestral homeland?

Raised in a German-American community, Frederick cannot resist the pull of the Fatherland. America is in the depths of the Great Depression, yet Germany is thriving under Adolf Hitler. A sense of opportunity draws him back to Europe, and together with his new friend Fritz, he volunteers for the German Army.

Though Frederick anticipates adventure and camaraderie, he experiences a continent plunging into war. His new friends say he can’t possibly understand their perspective. Can an army chaplain help bridge the gap? Or does the man hold a secret that will only devastate Frederick further?

Three stories collide, centuries apart, in this split-time inspirational read.
Natassa seems to have it all – a devoted husband with a good income, beautiful children, a faithful best friend- but it only takes one night for her world to crumble, catapulting her into a journey of trauma and healing, old pressures and new friendships. Will she learn to stand her ground or will she always live in someone else’s shadow?

Recent university graduate Sasha Zatkov is supposed to be living out her dream in Sofia, Bulgaria. Instead, her adoption agency is in a freefall and she can’t seem to find the ripcord. When a gorgeous Greek man offers her agency an ideal partnership to get around the stricter Bulgarian adoption laws, a problem-free future is within her reach, until her best friend recruits her for an underground mission in Athens, Greece she can’t turn down. Not everyone can be saved, and she doesn’t get to choose the survivors.

All Jakob Schmidt wants is to play music and marry his childhood sweetheart. Yet this is not the world he was born into. His cousin Friedrich arrives in 1923 and instantly becomes the paternal figure Jakob never had… until his estranged father moves back in.

Based on real events beginning in 1797 — Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror has the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along.

In 1587, Elinor White Dare sailed from England heavy with her first child but full of hopes. Her father, a renowned artist and experienced traveler, has convinced her and her bricklayer husband Ananias to make the journey to the New World. Land, they are promised, more goodly and beautiful than they can ever imagine. But nothing goes as planned from landing at the wrong location, to facing starvation, to the endless wait for help to arrive.

Christmas has never given me anything to look forward to, but I’m learning to grit my teeth and get through the season without dragging too many people down with me. My reasons for hating Christmas are more than I’d ever admit to anyway.

Born the daughter of a Powhatan chieftain and a woman of unknown origins, Mato’aka enjoys a carefree life. When strange men from across the eastern waters appear near her home, she regards them at first as a mere curiosity. Soon, though, she finds herself torn between fascination for one of their leaders and the opinions and ways of her people–then becomes a pawn in their delicate and dangerous game of politics. Drawn to a young Englishman, John Rolfe, who has lost a wife and baby daughter, she shares his griefs. . .and perhaps something more.

He was just a youth when he received his baptism of fire in June 1944. Eighty years after the defeat at Normandy, he is asked to share his story, dredging up the horrors of war and challenging his loved ones to discover the truth about the past. Could this be an opportunity to mend the wounds that have never been healed?

Return to the “what if” questions surrounding the Lost Colony and explore the possible fate of Virginia Dare–the first English child born in the New World. What happened to her after her grandfather John White returned to England and the colony he established disappeared into the mists of time? Legends abound, but she was indeed a real girl who, if she survived to adulthood, must have also become part of the legacy that is the people of the Outer Banks.

Jakob Schmidt joined the SS for the pride and prestige of the uniform. Now, all of Berlin lies before him, from career prospects to beautiful women who would like nothing more than to spend an evening in his company. Yet beneath the façade he carries moral injuries he wants no one to see.

Quinn Mulroney, former rodeo star, lost it all. Now, she’s dreaming of becoming a veterinarian while caring for her daughter, but she’s never forgotten the one she called hero.

Tiago Vargas is seeking his passion, hoping to prove himself to his exacting father. When fate brings Quinn back into his life, he sees a second chance at his first love and offers her a job.

But she’s not the same woman he rescued. She carries a secret, and if Tiago discovers it, will he still be her hero, or will her hidden life destroy her last shot at happiness?

College rodeo roper Yoani Alliegro can’t stop looking over her shoulder despite, or maybe because of, her recent success. She longs for family––the one she lost, and the one she hopes to have.

When rejection shatters Yoani’s sense of belonging and sends her running in search of truth, will it lead to the family she’s dreamed of and freedom from her past, or will she discover she’s left all that in Montana?

Immerse yourself in the “what if” questions related to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. What if an English boy and a native girl met in the wilderness? The push-and-pull between two very different worlds begins as one seeks simple friendship and the other struggles to trust. And can it—dare they—allow it to be more?

Gunter Schrader was left behind when his brothers went to war in 1914. Two and a half years later, he makes his way to the front, though it means leaving the young woman he loves and lying to his widowed mother.

The need to fight refuses to let him go, even after the guns fall silent in 1918. Reunited with his brother Jochen and hungry to continue the struggle to secure Germany’s borders, it is only the desire for a deeper connection that threatens Gunter’s plans.

Six years ago, Hannah Leah Abelard needed a fresh start. She changed her name to Abbey Rhodes and enlisted in the United States Army as a part of the “Ever Vigilant,” 18th Military Police Brigade. They taught her how to be a great cop. Abbey moved to Tennessee three years later and joined Metro Nashville’s Police Department.

Now, in her third month with Homicide, Abbey is thrust into a case that may bring the walls she built crashing down around her, exposing a dark past she thought she’d left behind. A young pastor is found dead in the bottom of his baptistery and Abbey is forced to investigate the one place she swore never to return—the church. The case takes Abbey deeper into a tangled web of lies and secrets where the most dangerous ones may be her own.

Nashville Homicide Detective Abbey Rhodes is caught between a high-profile murder and multiple disappearances in a homeless camp. When the Mayor discovers the victim is the stepson of Jonathan Lee Thomas, a wealthy investor in the city’s East Bank Project, he forces Abbey to abandon all other cases. She faithfully follows orders until her a friend goes missing.

Each case triggers Abbey’s PTSD, bringing the past and its secrets crashing down around her. She stretches herself to the limit as her investigation jeopardizes the safety of her closest friends, and she must face the guilt when one of them is shot. In the end she learns every life has value.

In this sequel to “before I knew you”— Maggie’s head is spinning. The best and the worst parts about junior year at Madison have one thing in common: Preston. If only his past hadn’t collided with their present. But it did. Now, his ex is back in the picture, and Maggie has a big decision to make. Time will help her figure things out and make the right choice, won’t it? With his past revealed and the worst behind him, Preston has big plans to salvage what’s left of his junior year. No. What’s left of their junior year. Yep. Life will settle down for him and Maggie. Soon the nightmare will be just a bad memory. His baggage has been unpacked, so things can only get better, right? She needs time. He’s willing to wait. But nothing is ever that simple.

Preston and Maggie thought they’d survived the worst that his past had to throw at them. But a change of heart on Maggie’s part shoots holes in Preston’s plan to never look back.
She’s not backing down. He’s not giving in. What could have been the best summer-before-senior-year is, instead, marked by a string of crises and confrontations. As they navigate the fine lines between caving in and compromising, there’s more questions than answers.
Then, Maggie’s future comes calling, offering up a major senior-year-twist that tries to unravel any progress they might have made.

Peter’s world is a lawless society of darkness and violence. At 21, he has no hope for the future. Life inside the mountain caves of Thélo is hard. Food is scarce, the weak are unprotected, only the strong get ahead, and many die in accidents or suicide.

Just before Peter’s initiation into a violent gang, a stranger, who emanates light from within, approaches Peter. Andrew offers to take him to a better place. He claims there is a world outside the caves, filled with light and plenty of food. They must leave now and they must crawl through dark, cramped spaces to get there. Should he risk trusting a stranger and leaving all he knows? And how can he leave his mother and sister alone to fend for themselves. On the other hand, if he stays, the initiation will surely kill him and he’d be no help to them anyway. Maybe, if he found something better…

Samantha O’Conor Clark lost her belief in story magic long before her husband left. Now it’s all up to her. She must stay in control. In spite of her efforts her daughter is spiraling, and a vicious beast threatens Samantha in her sleep.

In the midst of it all, story calls to Samantha. She even thinks she sees Sorchae, the bright fairy from Granddad’s stories. Real or imagined, Sorchae encourages Samantha to write again.

When bits of her written words bleed into real life, she’s forced to face the magic. But can she trust it when all may be lost for her daughter?

Photographing people gives Olivia Perez the jitters, but she’s determined to prove her friends’ loyalty isn’t unfounded. This secret celebrity wedding is do or die for their business. When her videographer quits, Olivia needs a replacement––fast. The diving instructor is the last person she expects will fit the bill. If only she’d curbed her tongue at their first meeting.

Stirling “Mac” MacAllister isn’t ready to come out of hiding––or is he? When his Labrador’s antics bring him face to face with a dark-haired spitfire and her pet rabbit, sparks fly, and he begins to wonder if he wants more than his solitary, beach bum lifestyle.

Alexi de la Castellanos, the senior salesperson of a marketing firm, is focused, seductive, and drop dead gorgeous. She’s also falling apart. Her father kills himself and visions of him invade her dreams. The torment stirs up a past long forgotten, and then he shows up when she’s awake. Alexi thinks her father’s ghost is haunting her. But he’s not. It’s much worse.

Nolan Krae, a seminary grad who can’t find a ministry position, is stuck as the night watchman at the same marketing firm. Nolan feels trapped and useless, but when Alexi’s nightmares take on a deadly cast, she turns to him for help. Over the next few weeks, Nolan tries to help her, but everything backfires and Alexi spirals out of control. Can Nolan help her escape the demonic attacks?

Rock-bottom has a name for Rebecca Chastain, and it’s Dahlia, South Carolina.

Once a celebrated big-city journalist with a promising future, Rebecca now finds herself shattered—jobless, abandoned by her fiancé, and haunted by her own desperate attempt to escape it all. The small-town newspaper job in her granny’s hometown isn’t just a step down but a humiliating reminder of everything she’s tried to outrun. If not for reconnecting with her childhood friend, Josh, she’d already be gone.

Then there’s Devon—an eleven-year-old boy with eyes too old for his years, caring for his ailing Memaw while hiding stories he’s terrified to share.

Tiff Steadman has spent seven years running from the broken pieces of her past—the alcoholic parents, the convicted-felon brother, the shame of being “one of those no-good Steadmans.” Now, as editor of the Dahlia Weekly, she’s finally built the respectable life she’s always craved. With a proposal from her upstanding boyfriend Bobby, everything seems perfect.

Until her past comes knocking.

James Steadman has found God behind prison bars, but freedom feels more terrifying than his cell ever did. All he wants is a chance to reconnect with the little sister he once protected—the sister who now refuses to even acknowledge his existence. When his parole officer sends him to Dahlia, James discovers Tiff’s walls run deeper than he imagined, and starting over means confronting the wreckage they both left behind.

Allyson Kincaid needs roots. Born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She’s been there, done that, and, although she supports him in his calling, knows his choice means she’ll be laying even more broken dreams, and a newly shattered heart, at the feet of Jesus.

When Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his seventh move in thirteen years, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries in a few months, then take a foreign mission assignment, his dream for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has him feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until he accepts an opportunity to work on foreign soil and Ally stays behind. He knows God put him there for a reason, although his heart still longs for the girl back home.

After barely escaping an attempted abduction, Houston attorney Riley Hudson is forced to accept her wealthy father’s demand for private security. The last thing she wants is a bodyguard—especially one as maddeningly arrogant, bossy … and handsome as Colton Blankenship. Yet as the threat against her escalates, she begins to rely not only on his skills, but his steadfast presence.

Colton isn’t thrilled about giving up his hard-earned holiday vacation to protect a spoiled heiress. But he soon learns Riley is nothing like he expected. Fierce, independent, and unwavering in her faith, she’s everything he thought he’d left behind after tragedy shattered his own beliefs. As the unknown threat circles closer, the tension between them ignites into something deeper … and far more perilous.