Experience the sultry Southern atmosphere of Atlanta and the magic of the Carolina Lowcountry in this funny and poignant tale of one audacious woman’s quest to find the love she deserves, from New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank.Leslie Anne Greene Carter is The Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley’s wildly successful Atlanta social set. His cronies have all traded in the mothers of their children they promised to love and cherish—’til death did them part—for tanned and toned young Barbie brides.If losing the social life and close friends she adored wasn’t painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les’s world and push her to the edge. She’s had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he’s doing her a favor by keeping her around. She’s not going to waste another minute on people she doesn’t care to know. Now, she’s going to take some time for herself—in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. In her brother’s stately historic home, she’s going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers sharing steamy kisses with her first love on Sullivans Island. Along Charleston’s live oak- and palmetto-lined cobblestone streets, under the Lowcountry’s dazzling blue sky, Les will indulge herself with icy cocktails, warm laughter, divine temptation and bittersweet memories. Daring to listen to her inner voice, she will realize what she wants . . . and find the life of which she’s always dreamed.Told in the alternating voices of Les and Wes, The Last Original Wife is classic Dorothea Benton Frank: an intoxicating tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, and love, that is as salty as a Lowcountry breeze and as invigorating as a dip in Carolina waters on a sizzling summer day.Amazon.com ReviewAuthor One-on-One: Dorothea Benton Frank and Adriana TrigianiBestselling author Adriana Trigiani's most recent books include the novels The Shoemaker's Wife and Brava, Valentine She lives with her husband and daughter in Greenwich Village.Adriana Trigiani: Dorothea Benton Frank is a great storyteller, a ray of sunshine, and a fabulous party guest. If she were a cocktail, she'd be fizzy, and there would be a paper umbrella and a row of those cute plastic monkeys hanging around the rim. She's hilarious and so full of pep, you might want to bottle her. For now, we have a little interview about her latest book to share with her readers. Dorothea Benton Frank: Thank you, Adriana. Yes, in fact, I am a great party guest. But darlin’? Lock up the medicine cabinet. AT:Your books and your writing are so inspired by the South Carolina Lowcountry. What is it about the place that makes it such a muse to you? And please, tell us what is so low about "lowcountry". DBF: The Lowcountry of South Carolina has been home to my family for over three hundred years. My ancestors, who were mostly respectable school teachers and merchants, fought in every single war of America’s history. It’s a blood soaked land steeped in all the important things that make us American but uniquely southern – stories of sacrifice, courage, determination, fortitude. It just seems more alive to me than any place I’ve ever been. Honestly? I feel that it’s a great privilege to be a Lowcountry Daughter.What’s so low? Well, the Lowcountry is at sea level and it begins in north Florida with the banks of the Ogeechee River and travels north to Georgetown, South Carolina. It’s where rice was grown, using the fresh water tides with a series of gates and trunks to irrigate the rice fields. AT: What gave you the idea for The Last Original Wife? That manhole episode that starts the novel is outrageous!DBF: This is terrible but nearly that same thing actually happened to a great friend of mine in Rome – not all of it but she had a similar accident. And what about all the nuts who nearly get killed, texting while they’re crossing the street? Outrageous incidents are easily found. One personal weakness of mine is that I watch all the You Tube videos people send. My crazy brain invented the rest.AT: In your novels there is always a close family relationship that you explore. For example, in The Last Original Wife the narrator Leslie is very close to her brother. What is it about family relationships that intrigue you?DBF: So many things. I am the youngest of five almost by a decade. So I watched my siblings interact from the sidelines for many years. And I lost my father at a very young age, which has had an enormous impact on me all my life, informing many decisions, good and bad. I learned early on that life could change in a mere moment. And I learned about the price of staggering loss. Now I cherish my brothers and my sister and wish we all lived nearer to each other. It’s interesting that no matter how old I get, when we are all in the same room together, birth order takes over. Your friends can ditch you if you don’t act right. It’s more complicated to sever ties with blood relatives. At the end of the day, family is the most important thing we have.AT:Your novels are set in today’s world and in The Last Original Wife it’s a virtual tour of Charleston, a must see destination. How did you know Charleston would become a mecca?DBF:I didn’t. But it stands to figure that it would because who doesn’t want to visit the center of the universe?About the AuthorBestselling author DOROTHEA BENTON FRANK was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She and her husband divide their time between South Carolina and New Jersey. Please visit her website at www.dotfrank.com and join her on Facebook. Views: 31
Love was something Ramsey Thomas could do without... that is, until the beautiful Maxine Dawson walked into his life. The first time he saw Maxine, she was carrying roses. The next time, she was carrying a baby. Ramsey was intrigued by this woman and all of her antics. But Ramsey is harboring hurts from past relationships that just might destroy all hopes of marriage and a baby carriage. Maxine has fallen in love with Ramsey, but she is carrying secrets that have left her wounded and afraid to move forward with her life in the manner that God designed for her. For their love to work, Ramsey and Maxine must allow God to work on their hearts and release them from their fears. But for Ramsey, the key lies in his praise. Views: 31
A rebel and an outlaw lead an unsuspecting group of adventurers on a secret mission across the vastness of spaceIvan Delgato, a former leader of a rebel group called the Runners, is released from jail on the condition that he carry out a secret mission for the World Council. His mission is simple: stay under cover, but do absolutely anything necessary to reach the planet Omega IX and offer the renegade Runners clemency if they surrender. Which may be complicated since Ivan's brutally violent brother has taken lead of the Runners in Ivan's absence. In search of the Runners, Ivan catches a ride out to the wildest reaches of the galaxy via a mysterious transportation system, the star road. His fellow passengers on Star Road Vehicle-66 are an eclectic group, all with their own reasons for traversing the star road. As the travelers contend with increasingly dangerous encounters, it isn't long before suspicions build against Ivan. Culminating as the Runners must choose one brother over the other, those who survive must confront a mystery that will change the star road, and maybe humanity, forever. New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry calls it "a grand adventure of heroes and villains written with smarts, grit and a great sense of fun. Highly recommended!" Views: 31
Sequel to Raider's Tide. The continuation of Beatrice and Robert's story, historical drama set in 16th Century border country. In Raider's Tide, Beatrice, a sixteen-year-old English girl, saves Robert a Scot from death. She has risked her own life, by helping the enemy but in turn is rescued by John, the local pastor. After nearly drowning, and with Robert gone, Beatrice finds it difficult to settle back into everyday life. She starts to learn healing with the Cockleshell Man but is too distraught to concentrate well. A quarrel with her father results in her leaving home to stay at the Parsonage out father's way. There, her relationship with John deepens and they become betrothed. Meanwhile several captured Scots are imprisoned in the infamous dungeons of Lancaster Castle. Robert is among them -- he did not make it across the brder. The prisoners are almost certain to be hanged after their trials at the Lent Assizes. Beatrice makes repeated attempts... Views: 31
Menina Walker was a child of fortune. Rescued after a hurricane in South America, doomed to a life of poverty with a swallow medal as her only legacy, the orphaned toddler was adopted by an American family and taken to a new life.As a beautiful, intelligent woman of nineteen, she is in love, engaged, and excited about the future—until another traumatic event shatters her dreams. Menina flees to Spain to bury her misery in research for her college thesis about a sixteenth-century artist who signed his works with the image of a swallow—the same image as the one on Menina’s medal.But a mugging strands Menina in a musty, isolated Spanish convent. Exploring her surroundings, she discovers the epic sagas of five orphan girls who were hidden from the Spanish Inquisition and received help escaping to the New World. Is Menina’s medal a link to them, or to her own past? Did coincidence lead her to the convent, or fate?Both love story and historical thriller, The Sisterhood is an emotionally charged ride across continents and centuries.About the AuthorAfter ten years as a barrister, Helen Bryan left law to write full time. In 2003, she received the Award of Merit from the Colonial Dames of America for her biography Martha Washington: First Lady of Liberty. Her first work of historical fiction, War Brides, was a bestseller on Amazon. She is also the author of the law handbook Planning Applications and Appeals. Raised in Tennessee and Virginia, she currently resides in London with her family. Views: 31
Power in the Hands of One pits Troy Brink, a thirty-two-year-old business analyst, against two opposing factions: a right-wing extremist group and the scientific elite. Both groups are bent on acquiring the technology behind sentient super-weapons developed by Redd Research, a private research and development firm. Ray Wright, Troy's unstable friend and employee of this firm, drags him into a world of corporate espionage, doomsday prophecies, and paradigm shifts that culminates with Troy at the helm of a mechanical monster. A novel from the author of the bestselling works The Camaro Murders and Lady in Flames. Views: 31
