Maria Rachel Hooley

Once, there was a young woman who fell so deeply in love with someone she could not have that she lost all hope, and in that despairing, she threw herself into the sea, wishing it would claim her. The sea is not to be toyed with or wished upon, but that is another story. What this young woman did not know, what she did not remember is that she already belonged to the sea. She was a mermaid princess who had long ago been transformed into a human. Yet the sea remembered her as her mother took her into the depths to unbreak a heart not meant to love a mortal. But love is not fickle. It is everlasting, and even an older promise to a merman who watched her from grow up from afar and loved her beyond measure could not change fate's decree.I should know. I was that long lost mer princess, and this is the story of my return to the mermaid realm.

Who we live for is just as significant as who we die for.As a national bestselling author, Rose Conrad has entertained millions of readers, at least before Alzheimer's set in. Now Rose is dying, and her granddaughter, Clara, has come to care for her. Desperate to know more about the grandmother she's losing, Clara looks at the novels Rose has written to find one striking commonality--all of them include a character named Peter, starting when he is a young man, a rebel fighter in WWII, and ending with his last breath as an old man.Clara senses a story here, one that goes beyond fiction, and even though it seems the only person who knows the truth is dying, she has to find out the truth about Peter before Rose is gone forever because the key to Rose is Peter.

After the confrontation with the triune, both Elizabeth and Lev are forever altered. Elizabeth no longer possesses the ability to kill angels. Lev is now human. Yet no action is without consequence. The void left in Elizabeth from that power has marked her and attracted much attention from sleepwalkers, rogue spirits left behind from sojourns gone wrong. They see Elizabeth as a conduit to return to the world of the living, no matter that such an act might destroy her.Lev, on the other hand, has become completely mortal and is overrun by all the emotions he's not experienced before. While his love for Elizabeth is very powerful, it is just one emotion among many, and when Elizabeth is taken by the sleepwalkers, he is at the mercy of other volatile feelings like anger and vengeance, putting lives at stake.Griffin, Celia, and Even must not only track down Elizabeth, they must also stop Lev from becoming a human time bomb.

Autism can be a formidable challenge to any family. It has a way of draining energy, causing chaos, and putting everyone involved in a tail spin. Anybody who has heard the word autism knows it's a difficult disorder even if he or she doesn't have any personal involvement with this condition. That's the hard part. But what about the flip side? Yes, there is one. The things your child does that other children don't, the gifts your child alone has, and the love you could never imagine having without your autistic child. Whether you are a parent of a child on the spectrum, a teacher with autistic students, or maybe even someone who just wants different information about autism, It's Not About Destination invites you to take a time out from the difficult part of autism and celebrate the gift of life that's been presented. You know you want to. And this book is just waiting for you to see autism from a different point of view.

Cassie Williams is your typical seventeen-year-old. She loves her friends, the beach, and loves being in love. But Cassie is different in one way--she's dying, and she's afraid. Still, she's never alone. Her guardian angel, Legend, has been watching over her. He knows her fears, and in an effort to make her last months on earth count, he takes on a human form. While Cassie loves being in love, she's never really been in love, and neither has Legend. Both of them are about to discover perfect moments of an imperfect world fitting both the grace of an angel and the hopefulness of a human in spite of a future all but bereft of possibility.

What happens when you witness the unthinkable?Sixteen-year-old Cee Cee Montgomery has had a crush on David Johnson, and she's been waiting for him to notice her, and he does-at a party that Cee Cee wasn't supposed to be at. She even promised her best friend, Stacy Eddings, that she wouldn't be there. But she is. She's there when David is stabbed and no one calls for help. She's one of the silent witnesses who bears the guilt of his death, and it's tearing her apart. Stacy is a silent witness of a different sort. He's been in love with Cee Cee since he met her, but she never saw past David, and while he doesn't know she went to that party, he does realize that something is wrong, that sometimes, no matter how painful, the truth has to come out.

This edition contains both October Breezes and Summer Sunsets.October BreezesSkye Williams knows everything there is to know about mistrust: Dad skipped out when she was five, leaving Mom with an angry daughter and an upside-down mortgage. Then there were the boyfriends-at least a dozen-hot on his heels and hot for her mom, none of whom stuck around long enough to figure out Skye hated them-hated the underage toys they brought as bribes and the way they looked at her, speeding past with the same distaste they would have for a yellow traffic light. And now this Warren Jacobs has shown up to sweep Mom off her feet-and all he's brought with him is a crummy, dog-eared book. She doesn't even read How can Mom even like this guy, much less trust him? He's just another loser with a capital L.But Warren's not the only concern rocking Skye's world. Devin Abbott, a guy she's known since kindergarten, has changed. Almost at once, he's become this tall, broad-shouldered guy with dark hair and easy eyes she might date-if he hadn't always been her best friend. Skye swears there's nothing between them, but everyone else thinks differently. Devin doesn't act the way he used to, especially when Kellin Morgan, senior quarterback, asks Skye out. Flattered, she accepts, and, Devin sulls up-and he isn't the only one. Kellin's best friend, Tyler Rutherford, gets bent out of shape, too, as he's always wanted Skye for himself. When Kellin and Skye attend one of Tyler's famous parties, neither senses the impending disaster. Afterwards Skye is left with consequences that will change not only her life but also that of everyone who loves her.Summer SunsetsIn October Breezes, Devin Abbott almost lost the one person who mattered most-Skye Williams. Following a rape and an abortion she'd never counted on, she'd believed suicide the only answer, yet Devin saved her, leaving them both struggling to make sense of a future that included Skye and Devin separating for college. Sometimes, however, the past refuses to leave. After college, the two return home to face fears time has only deepened. For Devin, that fear comes in the form of living without Skye, the one woman he's always loved. Skye yet feels the tremors of her abortion-tremors which have convinced her she's unlovable. Time and again, she rejects him, leaving them both hurt, but inasmuch as Skye cannot see beyond her choice and Devin cannot shake his fear, neither anticipates how the past will shape them and how much power love yet has.

One moment Carrie Williams is eight-and-a-half months pregnant and driving to meet her husband Robbie. The next a silver streak rushes into her car's path. Carrie tries to turn the wheel, resulting in a horrific accident. It is in Carrie's dying moments that she sees the alien, whose vehicle almost collided with hers. The alien senses the small life form in Carrie's body and merges her form with that dying human body to save a life, unaware how that single choice will change everything for lives in both races.

Skye Williams knows everything there is to know about mistrust. Dad skipped out when she was five. And now Warren Jacobs tries to sweep her Mom off her feet. But Warren's not the only concern rocking Skye's world. Devin Abbott, a guy she's known since kindergarten, has changed. He's become a tall, broad-shouldered guy she might date-if he wasn't her best friend. Skye swears there's nothing between them, but everyone else thinks differently. Devin doesn't act the way he used to, especially when Kellin Morgan, senior quarterback, asks Skye out. Flattered, she accepts, and, Devin sulls up-and he isn't the only one. Kellin's best friend, Tyler Rutherford, gets bent out of shape, too, as he's always wanted Skye for himself. When Kellin and Skye attend one of Tyler's famous parties, neither senses the impending disaster that will change not only her life but also that of everyone who loves her.

The poetry in The Deep End of Hope explores the idea of keeping faith when everything seems lost because even in the moments when grief is overwhelming, there is a transient beauty that changes the individual. It's universal and personal at the same time, and out of it springs a richer life touched by what matters most.Many of these poems have been published in various literary magazines across the nation.

Twenty-two-year-old Jordan Carroway has a plan--marry his best friend, Alyssa and start a family. A month before the wedding, he meets Nicole O'Roarke during a physical education class. Nicole--the woman who tips his canoe, steps on a cactus, and makes him laugh. They fall madly in love, though neither confess it as they both feel the weight of responsibility. Jordan ultimately keeps his promise and marries Alyssa. Nicole also returns to her life, not realizing that love left its mark, and it's not through with either of them.

Chris Banks, a newly appointed sheriff, is up for a rude awakening as Wallace and Willie Gumble, two backwoods twins with more money than sense, strive to break every stupid law on the books, including whaling...in Oklahoma. All Chris wants to do is propose to Debbie Morgan and settle into small-town bliss. But with a town mayor who dresses up like a skunk, a stuffed buffalo named Pedro making appearances, and a bi-polar midget chasing a circus-trained elephant named Trunks, it's going to take a miracle to get the words, "Will you marry me?" out.There's also Richard Stone, a close friend who is dying from cancer. Chris is his only option to care for his sixteen-year-old daughter, Shelly. Chris can't seem to handle the wildlife and isn't so sure he's going to fare much better with a teenager, but when life hands you livestock, you just have to join the herd. For Chris, that just might mean a life not only with Debbie but also Shelly.

Misha Malloy is lucky--she has a dream of a guy who loves her, literally. Her boyfriend, Ramsey, is a dreamwalker from the world of Alterna. In Dreamwalker, he came to protect her from his younger brother, Elijah, who covets all that his older brother has, including Misha and the throne of Alterna that Ramsey will one day ascend to. Yes, he will one day be king...if Elijah doesn't kill him first.Misha knows Elijah has taken Ramsey deep into Alterna. She knows because Elijah taunts her with nightmares of Ramsey's death at his hands, drawing Misha into a world she thinks is only a dream, a place she thinks she's never really been, but there's much Misha doesn't know.

A collection of short stories that focus on the faultlines in the heart, and the unexpected stop-overs people make during journeys they never meant to take in the first place. From a teenager coming into adulthood without her mother to a young woman learning years after her father's death how much he really loved her, it's about the moments we learn that love is everything and life isn't permanent, no matter how desperately we want it to be so.

The last person OSBI agent Ridge Matthews ever expected to walk into his life was Brecca Nunley, the only woman he couldn't shake. Now, not only is she back, she's his next case. It takes a lot to rile him up, but missing kids usually do it, especially when the kid in question is the five-year-old son he never knew he had to begin with. Now Ridge has to find his son and protect the woman he loves from a ruthless killer he put behind bars years ago. Oh yeah, he's also supposed to keep his heart and hands away from Brecca, but some things are destined to fail before they start.

Lev Walker has fulfilled his purpose in Elizabeth Moon's life, but it has come at a considerable price. The bullet meant for Elizabeth has shattered Lev's mortality and the forced separation from Elizabeth has scarred his spirit, so much so that Evan Walker has purged Elizabeth's memory in order for Lev to start over. Yet love is eternal. What began with a saving Elizabeth's life continues in healing Lev's spirit as he is forced to remember what he has lost at the risk of everything.Book 2 of the Sojourner Series

In October Breezes, Devin Abbott almost lost the one person who mattered most-Skye Williams. Following a rape and an abortion she'd never counted on, she'd believed suicide the only answer, yet Devin saved her, leaving them both struggling to make sense of a future that included Skye and Devin separating for college. Sometimes, however, the past refuses to leave.After college, the two return home to face fears time has only deepened. For Devin, that fear comes in the form of living without Skye, the one woman he's always loved. Skye yet feels the tremors of her abortion-tremors which have convinced her she's unlovable. Time and again, she rejects him, leaving them both hurt, but inasmuch as Skye cannot see beyond her choice and Devin cannot shake his fear, neither anticipates how the past will shape them and how much power love yet has.