C L Howland

Cerulean skies. White sand. Festive luaus.Hawaii is heaven on earth.Until a sleepy Sunday morning in December...Elizabeth Wellman, a reserved academic, survives the attack on Pearl Harbor only to flee her Vermont home under a barrage of sensational press. She soon learns long sleeves can't hide all her scars. She takes refuge as a teacher in a New Jersey suburb. Invited to a student's picnic, Elizabeth is shocked to learn Port Johnson isn't a park, but a prisoner of war camp where local families gather each week. It's with this unconventional group that she finds security, a sense of belonging--and love. Dante Montenari, a wounded veteran, is drawn to Elizabeth despite his best efforts to keep her away from the back-alley violence of his world. He has lost women to bloodshed and may again as the couple become pawns in a territorial dispute between the Italian and Irish mobs. War has already exacted a heavy price from these injured souls. Will they at last find peace, or perish?

A heart-wrenching story of love and loss set in the mountains of rural Vermont.Flashing blue lights and a pink sandal in the middle of a rural Vermont road mark the end of a dream for Mina Mason. The tragic accident halts her elopement to Sam Miller and takes her family-all except her peculiar mother. Left as the sole caregiver to her aging parent amid piles of hoarded possessions with no respite in sight, Mina breaks her engagement to Sam. He deserves the normal life he'll never find with her. Half a world away, Sam's life as a military sniper turns out to be anything but normal. The ruthless chaos of war leaves him drowning in a haze of booze and blood. Nights are a blur. Days, he does his job, mission after mission. Until the day he squeezes the trigger and not only destroys his target, but any hope for inner peace as well. Haunted and adrift, Sam returns just as the world Mina's dedicated herself to crumbles. He offers strength; she offers healing, but Mina and Sam must learn to trust each other with their secrets or lose their second chance at a life together. Praise for C.L. Howland "Howland's debut novel is a coming of age story that keeps readers hungering for the next page, the next chapter, indeed, the next book." - Marisa Miller "Clear depictions of Vermont rural life: tough upbringing in beautiful natural surroundings. Highly recommended " - Charlotte R. Williams