Kirjahaku

It was a comedown for Emily Lamont to arrive at the small mountain gallery in Gatlinburg after running the prestigious Newman Gallery for so many years. Still, it wasn't as though she had many other options. The Newmans never made a clear will leaving her the gallery, although they meant to. With the Newmans' only nephew inheriting their property, and the gallery, Emily felt moving to Gatlinburg to manage the Creekside Gallery her only option. Now she simply needed to make the best of it, including banging heads with the man who felt his mother should have inherited the gallery instead of her.Garrison Log Homes owner, Cooper Garrison, felt bitter when the Creekside Gallery changed hands without his mother getting an option to buy it. She'd managed the gallery since he was a boy, and now some woman, not even a relative of the Newmans, had inherited it. Grudgingly, Cooper agrees to fix up the apartment above the gallery for the new owner, but when she arrives, she is not at all what Cooper expects. Despite being attracted to her, problems from the past keep Cooper running from a deeper relationship. When an unexpected event sends Emily back to Philadelphia, Cooper is forced, at last, to examine his heart.

In this gentle, inspirational romance, Lin Stepp reveals the healing touch and deep peace the beauty of the Smoky Mountains can bring to a hurt and troubled heart.

Set against the alluring backdrop of coastal South Carolina, CLAIRE AT EDISTO takes the reader on a sweet and gentle journey showing that love and new beginnings can often bloom from the deepest sorrows.

"A charming portrait of the Smokies, their people, and a wonderful way of life." --Deborah Smith, "New York Times " bestselling author Set in Tennessee's postcard-perfect Smoky Mountains, Lin Stepp's "Makin' Miracles "is an inspiring tale that reveals why love and forgiveness are most important just when they seem most impossible. . . Zola Devon has always been a little different. Half Tahitian, with long black hair and dark eyes, she's especially distinctive in the mountain town of Gatlinburg. She even stocks her gift shop, Nature's Corner, with items that reflect her island heritage and tantalize tourists. But it's her spot-on intuition that truly sets Zola apart. When she gets a hunch about a person, she's almost always right. And when the surly photographer who owns the gallery next door starts meddling in her business, she can only hope that, for once, her instincts are wrong. The one thing Spencer Jackson loves more than his camera is the majestic scenery of the Smoky Mountains. Reeling from his painful past, he's settled in a cabin in the woods to train his lens on the breathtaking landscape. A woman as uniquely beguiling as Zola could only throw his simple, uncomplicated days into chaos--and force him to lay bare his darkest secrets. But as their lives become unavoidably intertwined, they both may discover the beauty of the truth, and the joy of the unexpected. Praise for Lin Stepp and her Smoky Mountain Novels "I've finally come across someone that believes in all the things that I do. . .love, family, faith, intrigue, mystery, loyalty, romance, and a great love for our beloved Smoky Mountains." Dolly Parton "A wonderful, new Southern voice." --Joan Medlicott, author of the bestselling The Ladies of Covington series"

"A charming portrait of the Smokies, their people, and a wonderful way of life." --Deborah Smith, "New York Times "bestselling author In a heartwarming novel set amid the lush splendor of the Great Smoky Mountains, Lin Stepp reunites two kindred spirits in a charming story of first love and surprising second chances. . . See ya later--and love you forever, Rhea Dean. Those are the words Rhea's childhood sweetheart, Carter Layman, used to say whenever they parted. Not that she places much stock in words anymore. After all, Carter drove off to college in California, promising to make a fortune to help save their families' vacation resort. Instead he stayed there and married someone else. It fell to Rhea to keep Laurel Springs going and she's done just that, working long hours on the camp grounds, buoyed by the beauty of her Smokies home. Now a widower with a young son, Carter has achieved huge success as a games developer. But he always planned to return to the spring-fed lake and the soaring mountains, to the covered bridge where he and Rhea made wishes and traded kisses. He's coming home to turn Laurel Springs into the place they planned to build together. And as he reveals the truth about his past, Rhea must decide whether to trust in the man--and the dreams--she's never forgotten.

With Grandpa suffering a heart attack, Juliette Hollander saw little choice but to head back to their Tennessee mountain farm in Happy Valley to help out. She didn't expect, or want, to leave behind her life and work in North Carolina to return to her grandparents' home so soon. Nor did she imagine meeting, and working with, the mysterious man she met briefly last summer and never thought to see again. Walker Logan spent the last two years traveling the United States, seeing the beauty of the country and running from his past. But an old rock house he sees while hiking near Abrams Creek Campground unexpectedly calls to his soul. With danger close behind, he never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots. Yet now, with a new vision, he decides to take the risk.

It was a long trip back to Edisto Island, South Carolina, and the beach house that shaped so much of Mary Helen Avery's early life. Now her mind flashed between anger and hurt over the difficult situation she'd left behind at the job she loved. Was she doing the right thing to leave? Should she have stayed to fight? She hoped at the quiet, beloved island she knew so well, she'd find the answers she needed and peace from all this turmoil. J.T.'s heart took a familiar lurch when he saw the car with New Jersey plates parked at the Avery's beach house. Even after ten years, the memory of Mary Helen Avery still tormented him. Finding her on the porch weeping lit old fires he thought long dead. Was he a fool to hope for something more between them with all their problems of the past? Probably so, but if she stayed long enough, he'd find one more chance to try.

A young woman with six foster children under twelve hopes for patience, peace, and a bigger house - but love? Not hardly. However, sometimes fate deals an unexpected hand.When Alice Graham came back to look at the sale property at the base of the Smoky Mountains in Greenbrier, it was absolutely not because of that recurring dream of the cowboy. She'd seen him high on the ridge top back in the winter and felt a peculiar drawing and attraction flash between them - but she certainly never expected to see him again. When she did, a month after buying the rural property, that odd attraction surprisingly still sizzled in the air.It seemed unlikely though that anything would come of any romantic feelings, because Alice had bought the property as a home for herself and the six Stuart siblings she'd agreed to foster. Six kids were enough to scare any man off right away - especially a confirmed bachelor like Harrison Ramsey with unsolved mysteries and unpleasant rumors floating around in his past. However, fate soon pushed Harrison into mixing with Alice's and the children's lives despite his best intentions. His nearby riding stable proved a natural draw for the kids, and he soon found his life more and more entwined with Alice, as well, and having no idea how to handle it.PRAISE FOR LIN STEPP'S SMOKY MOUNTAIN NOVELS"Stepp has a grasp of character and a love for the mountains of Tennessee." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Book Reviews "Lin Stepp has an amazing way of making the reader feel like they are sitting in a rocking chair, taking in the Great Smoky Mountains, whether they can physically see them or not. Descriptive writing, characters that embrace you and an amazing storyline make Stepp's novels highly anticipated and thoroughly enjoyable". - Jennifer Alexander - WKJB-FM Radio - Popular Midday Host B97 and creator of the Book of the Month Club reaching over 100,000+ listeners "I love the Smoky Mountains so it is such a treat for me to read your stories especially since you are so wonderfully talented in weaving them... Can't wait to read the next one " - Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, SOUTHERN WRITERS MAGAZINE "Lin Stepp is a gifted storyteller who skillfully captures the mystical and enduring history and beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and the faith, loyalty, and resilience of the people who call them home. ...Stepp's writing is smooth and easy, bringing the reader into the hearts of her characters. I'll be returning for more of Lin Stepp's engaging and heartwarming stories." - PJ, ROMANCE DISH Reviews

Follow Delia through surprising twists of sorrow, suspense, and sweetness-amid the charm of Gatlinburg and the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains in this warm, contemporary romance. Delia Eleanor Walker's life is perfectly planned-the wedding date set, the invitations mailed, and her family gathered at the North Carolina beach house ready to celebrate-when Delia receives Prentice's unexpected fed-ex announcing he's married someone else What on earth will she do? She's centered every aspect of her future around her upcoming marriage and knows her family will somehow blame the breakup on her. They always do. They'll call it one more immature botch by the baby of the family. In her lap, among the mail just received, Delia seizes on an answer-an invitation from Maureen Cross for a last visit to her Aunt Dee's old cottage behind Gatlinburg. It's cowardly to run, but Delia does, hoping to find in the mountains time to heal and space to chart a new direction for her life. Instead of peace and quiet, in Gatlinburg though, Delia finds a troubled cousin she's never met hiding out in her aunt's house and an old childhood heartthrob, Tanner Cross, back in town, reminding her of yet another time she made a fool of herself romantically. To top it off, a criminal is soon on the loose, along with an increasingly complicated array of new problems that Delia never, in a million years, expected to encounter.Editorial Reviews: "Delia's Place, fourth in the Smoky Mountain series ... is a lovely story of romance that reminds us broken hearts can be healed. A charming story of friendship and love." - Lynne Hinton, bestselling author of Friendship Cake and Pie Town"A delightful stirring story of Delia Eleanor Walker and her perfectly planned life. Ah but plans never work out like you think. The book is set in my beloved Smokey Mountains and I fell in love with the description and writing rhythm. Beautiful book. So enjoyed."- Ann Hite, award winning author of Ghost on Black Mountain "Reading a Lin Stepp novel is like sitting on the front porch with a tall glass of sweet tea as the cool mountain breeze caresses your face and the scent of wood-smoke lingers in the air ... the sense of place is so strong in these novels that you can't help but be transported directly into them."- Andrea Chapman, READING LARK REVIEWS "In this gentle, inspirational romance, Lin Stepp reveals the healing touch and deep peace the beauty of the Smoky Mountains can bring to a hurt and troubled heart." - Kat's Corner BOOK REVIEW"I love all your books but think DELIA'S PLACE is the best of the series. I loved the characters and the suspense. It should make for a great discussion at Book Club."- S.B, St Mark's Book Club

Surely a girl can be forgiven a moment of fantasy dancing with a tall dark stranger? And surely nothing can come of it? Wrong. Life's chance, indulgent moments always find a way of coming back to complicate everything.Life is sometimes hard as a widowed, single mother with three young children, a business to run, bills to meet, and debts to pay. Despite it all, Rosalyn McCreary tries to count her blessings. She cherishes her shop, Second Hand Rose, her family and friends. A practical woman by necessity, she seldom indulges in impulse and fancy-except for that crazy spring day she danced with a total stranger she'd never met. Whatever was she thinking? And to later learn her mystery stranger, Kendrick Lanier, plans to move to Wears Valley. Great. Just one more problem she doesn't need. Kendrick soon pursues her, despite Rosalyn's efforts to crowd him out, finding ways into her life, and into the lives of her children, and creating complications Rosalyn simply doesn't want to deal with. Especially since the more she learns of the man's life and secrets, the more she realizes how ill-suited they are. With Rosalyn and Kendrick's troubled pasts, and Rosalyn's temper, you'll find it a toss-up to decide if these two stubborn, determined individuals should, or shouldn't, ever get together. EDITORIAL REVIEWS: PRAISE FOR LIN STEPP'S SMOKY MOUNTAIN BOOKS"Lin Stepp has once again spun a compelling story with homegrown flavor. Her words flow across the page like a soft spring breeze in the Smokies, leaving behind traces of wildflowers and wood smoke. If you're looking for a heartwarming tale sprinkled with romance, you can't go wrong with a Lin Stepp book. Her stories always bring to mind those long summer nights sitting on the front porch and listening to my grandmother tell stories about the family and neighbors. For me, reading her books is like going home."- Andrea Chapman, Co-Owner of READING LARK REVIEWS"A Smoky Mountain must read " - Edie Hand, bestselling author, T.V. personality, and motivational speaker "Lin Stepp takes her readers to the beloved Smoky Mountains without leaving their chairs. Vivid, crisp, and beautiful. Her characters remained with me long after I finished the book."... Loved, loved Second Hand Rose."- Ann Hite, Award Winning Author of Ghost On Black Mountain"One impulsive move can so often come back to haunt us ... a riveting read of romance with plenty of humor."- MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW"A sentimental love story with a focus on healing, faith, and family." - All About Women Magazine Review

Forced to suddenly downsize her life, and not by choice, pushes Mary Pat Latham to give up all that is familiar, to reexamine her life in every area, and to eventually open her heart to new beauty and purpose, instead of only looking back in regret.At midlife, Mary Pat Latham has an almost perfect life-a successful husband, a beautiful home, four fine grown children, and a wealth of meaningful activities and social clubs to fill her days-so it's a total shock when her husband walks in one day and says he wants a divorce. As if hearing a stranger talking in her own kitchen, Mary Pat listens to Russell's reasons for wanting to abandon their long marriage and to his plans, already in place, to sell their home and move on. What will she do? Where will she go? She hasn't worked since the children were born, her life wrapped up in home and family. Stunned, Mary Pat heads to the small mountain home she and Russell bought from her parents years ago, too shocked and humiliated to face her friends or anyone she knows right now.Owen McCarter knew he'd need to stop by the old Jennings place, on some pretense or other, after Wheeler told him he'd seen a woman up there acting sick. After all, the house was next door to his at the end of Highland Drive. When he knocked on the front door later, it took him a minute to recognize Mary Pat, weeping and so different from the girl he'd known in childhood and fallen in love with. Owen reached out in friendship, of course, seeing Mary Pat so upset, but he felt surprised at the old memories that touched him, too. Hearing her problems and learning why she'd come to the mountains, Owen knew it unlikely she'd stay for long after the more lavish life she'd known. But he couldn't help wishing she would.Another Lin Stepp novel set in the Smoky Mountains ... with a special "Downsizing Diet" available free to readers as a book supplement. PRAISE FOR LIN STEPP'S SMOKY MOUNTAIN BOOKS: "DOWNSIZING is absolutely charming... Mary Pat is a heroine of the heart; making her way in a world where the size of a person's heart is often less important than the size of her waist. A story of renewal, second chances, new beginnings, family, friendship, and food. ...A treat at the end-our heroine's very own sensible plan for trimming your dress size-while expanding your new horizons."- Deborah Smith, NYT bestselling author of A PLACE TO CALL HOME"Lin Stepp delivers a classic Southern romance with heart and she peppers the world of her story with details instantly recognizable to those familiar with the mountains ... Her rich, warm picture of the Smokies welcomes any who have ever called the Appalachians home."- All About Women Magazine REVIEW"A lovely love story about having a second chance at love."- Night Owl Reviews"Stepp establishes a lovely sense of place in the novel, capturing the sights and sounds of Tennessee's breathtaking Great Smoky Mountains. - Booklist"Well, I've finally come across someone that believes in all the things that I do ... love, family, faith, intrigue, mystery, loyalty, romance, and a great love four our beloved Smoky Mountains. Dr. Lin Stepp I salute you."- Dolly Parton, award-winning country music singer, songwriter, entrepreneur

In EDISTO SONG a young woman, at the pinnacle of success, is forced to reexamine her dreams as she finds her life as a concert pianist not what she envisioned and those her life is entwined with far from what she believed of them.Sarah Katherine Avery, becoming internationally known as a young concert pianist of great promise, finds herself at a difficult moment in her career-home in New York, getting ready for a concert with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra but feverish and ill. After pushing on for weeks through illness, her neighbor and friend encourages her to talk to her agent about taking a break for healing after this concert. Worn and disillusioned, Sarah heads over to the concert hall to talk to Jonah but the shock of what she encounters at that meeting spirals her life in a new direction.Andrew Cavanaugh has traveled to New York from Beaufort to be a support to his boss's daughter, Sarah Katherine Avery-Suki to him-for her concert performance. A friend of Suki's since childhood years at Edisto, and always a supporter of her gift and her music, Andrew is shocked when Suki collapses on stage. He learns as he sits with her at the hospital that her life holds unhappiness none of them knew of but her answers for how to resolve her current problems threaten to send his well-ordered life right out the window.EDITORIAL REVIEWS: "It's easy to love a place like Edisto Beach and when you can't be there to feel the waves tickling your feet, you can visit through story. Reading Lin Stepp's Edisto series lets you feel the sun on your shoulders, the sand between your toes, and hear the shore birds welcoming the day as you cheer on a cast of characters who will win your heart as they find healing and new joy at Edisto." - Ann H. Gabhart, bestselling author of An Appalachian Summer "A heartwarming, tender story about young love." - RT Book Reviews "In a story as cozy and familiar as home ... a sentimental love story with a focus on healing, faith, and family."- All About Women Magazine REVIEW "Your books take me out of the fast-paced world I live in." -- Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine "I adore Lin Stepp's writings. If you have not 'discovered' her, you are missing out.... A delightful, heartwarming book." - Julia Wilson, Christian Bookaholic Review, UK