Susan Wittig Albert

Something about the murder of an accountant just doesn't add up in this China Bayles mystery from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert. China's herb shop in Pecan Springs wasn't a big business, but it kept her busy. So she brought her taxes to Rosemary Robbins, an accountant who reminded China a bit of her former self--preoccupied, distracted, maybe a bit overstressed. Still, Rosemary always seemed pleasant, and China wished she could get to know her better. Now, though, the chance is gone. Driving out to Rosemary's house on an errand, China discovers her accountant has been murdered. With one abusive ex-husband and plenty of former clients in the picture, there's no shortage of suspects. And with a vengeful ex-convict on the loose, there's plenty for China to worry about. And as the evidence unfolds, she's more determined than ever to make the killer pay...

Olivia Andrews is locally famous for her blog and podcast, "Forget Me Not: A Crime Victim's Storyboard," which is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. Now, she has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs-someone who isn't the man everybody thinks he is. But she is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she's out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident-or something else? Her sister wants to know.And Olivia's friend China Bayles also wants to know, urgently. Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? And when there's another murder . . . well, it has to be a part of the same story, doesn't it? And so does the scrapbook a cousin has compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims and make sure she won't be forgotten. It might hold the answer-except that the one person whose face China wants to see has been scissored out of every photo.Forget Me Never asks the compelling questions Who remembers? What do we choose to remember? Why do we forget? Like other novels in the China Bayles eries, Susan Wittig Albert's book is an engaging mix of mystery, murder, and herb lore, past sins and present secrets, and characters who are as real as your friends and neighbors.

Olivia Andrews is locally famous for her blog and podcast, "Forget Me Not: A Crime Victim's Storyboard," which is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. Now, she has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs-someone who isn't the man everybody thinks he is. But she is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she's out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident-or something else? Her sister wants to know. And Olivia's friend China Bayles also wants to know, urgently. Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? And when there's another murder . . . well, it has to be a part of the same story, doesn't it? And so does the scrapbook a cousin has compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims and make sure she won't be forgotten. It might hold the answer-except that the one person whose face China wants to see has been scissored out of every photo. Forget Me Never asks the compelling questions Who remembers? What do we choose to remember? Why do we forget? Like other novels in the China Bayles series, Susan Wittig Albert's book is an engaging mix of mystery, murder, and herb lore, past sins and present secrets, and characters who are as real as your friends and neighbors.

Olivia Andrews is locally famous for her blog and podcast, "Forget Me A Crime Victim's Storyboard," which is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. Now, she has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs--someone who isn't the man everybody thinks he is. But she is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she's out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident--or something else? Her sister wants to know. And Olivia's friend China Bayles also wants to know, urgently. Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? And when there's another murder ... well, it has to be a part of the same story, doesn't it? And so does the scrapbook a cousin has compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims and make sure she won't be forgotten. It might hold the answer--except that the one person whose face China wants to see has been scissored out of every photo. Forget Me Never asks the compelling questions Who remembers? What do we choose to remember? Why do we forget? Like other novels in the China Bayles series, Susan Wittig Albert's book is an engaging mix of mystery, murder, and herb lore, past sins and present secrets, and characters who are as real as your friends and neighbors.

In 1940, art-world icon Georgia O'Keeffe bought a house in a mountain-rimmed New Mexico desert, planning to live there for six months every year. To manage her remote household while she paints, O'Keeffe invited Maria Chabot-a young and na ve would-be writer-to join her.Their tempestuous relationship endured throughout the chaotic years of WW2; the death of Georgia's domineering, philandering husband (famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz); and Maria's design and building of a remarkable adobe house and studio for the artist in the native village of Abiquiu-a generous gift from an exceptional friend.An evocative story that explores the dimensions of friendship and the debts we incur to those who make our lives easier, Someone Always Nearby is based on research into a massive collection of over 700 letters, documents, media reports, and historical accounts. Readers will be fascinated by this intimate, revealing portrait of the artist's daily life during her first decade at her New Mexico ranch-a mysterious, enigmatic O'Keeffe that only one woman, Maria Chabot, ever fully knew.Bonus Reader's Guide. The story behind the story: research, sources and hyperlinked resources, curated extras, author commentary, questions and discussion topics. Available as a free, printable pdf download at www. https: //susanalbert.com/someone-always-nearby/

It’s Labor Day weekend, 1935, and members of the Darling Dahlias—the garden club in little Darling, Alabama—are trying to keep their cool at the end of a sizzling summer. This isn’t easy, though, since there’s a firebug on the loose in Darling. He—or she!—strikes without apparent rhyme or reason, and things have gotten to the point where nobody feels safe. What’s more, a dangerous hurricane is poised to hurl itself in Darling’s direction, while a hurricane of a different sort is making a whirlwind campaign stop: the much-loved-much-hated senator from Louisiana, Huey P. Long, whom President Roosevelt calls the “most dangerous man in America.” Add Ophelia Snow’s secret heartthrob, Liz Lacy’s Yankee lover, and the Magnolia Ladies’ garden of red hot pokers, fire-red salvia, and hot pink cosmos, and you have a volatile mix that might just burst into flames at any moment. Author Susan Wittig Albert has brought us another delightful assortment of richly human characters who face the challenges of the Great Depression with courage and grace. Her books remind us that friends offer the best of themselves to each other, community is what holds us together, and even when life seems too hot to handle, there’s always hope.

It's Labor Day weekend, 1935, and members of the Darling Dahlias-the garden club in little Darling, Alabama-are trying to keep their cool at the end of a sizzling summer. This isn't easy, though, since there's a firebug on the loose in Darling. He-or she -strikes without apparent rhyme or reason, and things have gotten to the point where nobody feels safe. What's more, a dangerous hurricane is poised to hurl itself in Darling's direction, while a hurricane of a different sort is making a whirlwind campaign stop: the much-loved-much-hated senator from Louisiana, Huey P. Long, whom President Roosevelt calls the "most dangerous man in America." Add Ophelia Snow's secret heartthrob, Liz Lacy's Yankee lover, and the Magnolia Ladies' garden of red hot pokers, fire-red salvia, and hot pink cosmos, and you have a volatile mix that might just burst into flames at any moment. Author Susan Wittig Albert has brought us another delightful assortment of richly human characters who face the challenges of the Great Depression with courage and grace. Her books remind us that friends offer the best of themselves to each other, community is what holds us together, and even when life seems too hot to handle, there's always hope.

It's Labor Day weekend, 1935, and members of the Darling Dahlias--the garden club in little Darling, Alabama--are trying to keep their cool at the end of a sizzling summer. This isn't easy, though, since there's a firebug on the loose in Darling. He--or she --strikes without apparent rhyme or reason, and things have gotten to the point where nobody feels safe. What's more, a dangerous hurricane is poised to hurl itself in Darling's direction, while a hurricane of a different sort is making a whirlwind campaign stop: the much-loved-much-hated senator from Louisiana, Huey P. Long, whom President Roosevelt calls the "most dangerous man in America." Add Ophelia Snow's secret heartthrob, Liz Lacy's Yankee lover, and the Magnolia Ladies' garden of red hot pokers, fire-red salvia, and hot pink cosmos, and you have a volatile mix that might just burst into flames at any moment.Author Susan Wittig Albert has brought us another delightful assortment of richly human characters who face the challenges of the Great Depression with courage and grace. Her books remind us that friends offer the best of themselves to each other, community is what holds us together, and even when life seems too hot to handle, there's always hope.

From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times bestselling author of A Plain Vanilla Murder, comes a tightly crafted novel that juxtaposes the disappearance of a rare, remarkably illustrated 18th-century herbal with the true and all-too-human story of its gifted creator, Elizabeth Blackwell.Herbalist China Bayles' latest adventure takes her to the mountains of North Carolina, where her friend Dorothea Harper serves as the director and curator of the Hemlock House Library, a priceless collection of rare gardening books housed in a haunted mountainside mansion that once belonged to Sunny Carswell, a reclusive heiress. But the most valuable book-A Curious Herbal, created by Elizabeth Blackwell in the 1730s-is missing and Dorothea is under suspicion.China's search for the thief takes on a new urgency when she discovers Miss Carswell's bookseller, the victim of an attempted murder. Is his shooting connected with the theft? And there are other urgent questions: What is the Hemlock Guild? Who owns Socrates.com? Did Sunny Carswell really kill herself, or does her ghost have a different story to tell? And what is the real truth behind the many tantalizing mysteries of A Curious Herbal?Hemlock is a compelling mix of mystery and herb lore, past secrets and present sins, and characters who are as real as your friends and neighbors-in an absorbing novel that only Susan Wittig Albert could create.

The Pecan Springs Enterprise Trilogy: Deadlines, Fault Lines, FirelinesIf you're a fan of China Bayles, Ruby Wilcox, and Pecan Springs, Texas, you'll love Susan Wittig Albert's three new novellas, together in a single edition Prime crime on deadline.DEADLINESWhen Pecan Springs Enterprise crime reporter Jessica Nelson gets an anonymous tip about a year-old death that might be murder, she's already facing too many deadlines, so the story is low on her to-investigate list. Plus, she's distracted by the possibility of a hot lead in the cold-case arson deaths of her parents and twin sister, deaths for which she suffers survivor's guilt and a phobic fear of fire.And time is running out for the Enterprise. The newspaper is facing a deadline that threatens to destroy it-and the jobs of everybody on the staff. But after Jessica and her friend China Bayles discover the secret identity hidden in hand-crafted notepaper, she knows she has to get the story.FAULT LINESIt's beginning to seem inevitable: Pecan Springs' only newspaper is folding and crime reporter Jessica Nelson and the rest of the Enterprise staff are losing their jobs. Whose fault is it? Can anything be done to stop it? At the same time, Jessica herself is struggling with a secret born from the arson deaths of her family: a debilitating fear of fire that threatens her ability to do her work. But those aren't the only frightening issues on Jessica's plate. Her friend Ruby Wilcox, developing her psychic skills with the help of the secretive director of the paranormal psychology lab at the university, is compelled to dig up a long-buried secret from her past-and begs Jessica and China Bayles to help. What will they find? Whose fatal fault will they uncover? Can the killer finally be held to account for a long-forgotten murder?FIRELINESThe Enterprise has a new lease on life, but nobody knows how long that will last. Will there be a newspaper tomorrow? There's plenty of work on Jessica Nelson's crime desk, but when she learns of a hot lead in the cold-case arson deaths of her parents and twin sister, she knows she has to investigate it. The story pulls her into the death of a cop, requires her to face her own phobic fear of fire, and introduces her to a man-much too old for her-who is passionately committed to using fire to protect the wilderness.Will this bring her any closer to a killer who has eluded the police for over twenty years-and who threatens to start another deadly, catastrophic wildfire?What readers say about Susan Wittig Albert's novella trilogies: --"A quick and thoroughly engaging read, with just enough of Pecan Springs and its familiar faces to feel like you're there in town, but exploring a different neighborhood."--"Loved this novella It had all the page-turning elements of Susan's mysteries in a short, satisfying read for a rainy Saturday morning."--" I really like this author. Her stories are easy to read and fun. She is so descriptive that I feel like I'm in the towns she writes about and know exactly what the characters look like." --"Well written as always, this short but sweet mystery adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat.The only problem remains the hunger for more Keep them coming "

Verbal Communication Through Telling Stories“…learn how to bring your own stories to life on the page, on the stage, around a campfire, or a dinner table.” —Mary Jo McConahay, award-winning journalistWinner 2020 Indie Book Award for Non-Fiction Writing/PublishingCIBA I&I (Instructional & Insightful) Non-Fiction Awards Finalist#1 New Release in Writing Researching & Publishing GuidesThe art of telling stories has been around as long as humans. And in today’s noisy, techy, automated world, storytelling is not only prevalent-it’s vital. Whether you're interested in enlivening verbal communication, building your business brand, making presentations, sharing family wisdom, or performing on stage, Story Power shows you how to make use of a good story.Tell your story. Telling stories is the most effective verbal communication-if you know how to use it. Story Power provides techniques for creating and framing personal stories alongside effective tips for telling them in any setting. Plus, this book models stories with unique storytelling examples, exercises, and prompts, as well as storytelling techniques for delivery in a spontaneous, authentic style.Learn from the verbal communication experts. Story Power is an engaging, lively guide to the art of telling stories from author and librarian Kate Farrell, a seasoned storyteller and founder of the Word Weaving Storytelling Project. In Story Power, more than twenty skillful contributors with a range of diverse voices share their secrets to creating, crafting, and telling tales.In this book discover:How to share your own coming-of-age stories and family folkloreThe importance of a personal branding story and storytelling marketingSeven Steps to Storytelling, along with helpful tools, organizers, and media optionsBooklovers who have read Storyworthy, The Storyteller's Secret, Long Story Short, or the classic How to Win Friends & Influence People, will find Story Power to be a great read.

It's Christmas, 1934, and the citizens of Darling, Alabama, are unwrapping a big package of Christmas puzzles. Mildred and Earlynne, members of the Dahlias Garden Club, are planning to open a bakery on the square-if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter. Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her, while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a mystery that the town thought was solved and follow a string of clues that lead to a deadly situation at the nearby prison farm.Once again, Susan Wittig Albert takes us to a place where real people have courage, respect for their neighbors, and the dream of doing their best, even when they're not sure what that is. She reminds us that Christmas is a celebration of friendship, community, and what's right with the world. There's nothing puzzling about that.

From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times best-selling author of Queen Anne's Lace, comes an intriguing new addition to her widely-acclaimed China Bayles Mysteries. China and Ruby Wilcox are presenting their annual "Not Just Plain Vanilla Workshop," always a huge hit with customers at Thyme & Seasons Herb Shop. But someone involved with the workshop is driven by a deadly motive, and China soon finds herself teaming up with the very pregnant Pecan Springs police chief Sheila Dawson to solve a vanilla-flavored murder. Sheila, happy to get out from behind the chief's desk, is investigating the death of a botany professor, a prominent researcher specializing in vanilla orchids. China is trying to help a longtime friend: the dead professor's ex-wife and a prime suspect in his murder. However, there's no shortage of other suspects: a betrayed lover, a disgruntled graduate student, jealous colleagues, and a gang of orchid smugglers. But the lethal roots of this mystery reach back into the dark tropical jungles of Mexico, where the vanilla vine was first cultivated. At stake: a lucrative plant patent, an orchid that is extinct in the wild, and the life of an innocent little girl. A Plain Vanilla Murder is a flavorful blend of mystery and herb lore, present sins and past secrets, and characters who are as real as your next-door neighbors--stirred together in an absorbing novel that only Susan Wittig Albert could create.

A present-day ghost leads China Bayles to a secret from Pecan Springs's past in this haunting mystery from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert While helping Ruby Wilcox clean up the loft above their shops, China comes upon a box of antique handcrafted lace and old photographs. Following the discovery, she hears a woman humming an old Scottish ballad and smells the delicate scent of lavender.... Soon, strange happenings start to occur in Thyme and Seasons. When a customer sees a mysterious woman picking flowers nearby and then suddenly disappearing, China must finally admit what Ruby has always known--their building is haunted. But by whom? As China investigates, the tragic story of a woman in one of the old photographs unfolds. China delves into the century-old mystery and realizes that solving it could have unimaginable repercussions in the here and now.

It’s Christmas, 1934, and the citizens of Darling, Alabama, are unwrapping a big package of Christmas puzzles. Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square—if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake’s talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter; Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her, while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved and follow a string of clues that lead to a deadly situation at the nearby prison farm. Once again, NYT best-selling author Susan Wittig Albert takes us to a place where real people have courage, respect their neighbours, and dream of doing their best, even when they’re not sure what that is. She reminds us that Christmas is a celebration of friendship, community, and what’s right with the world. There’s nothing puzzling about that.

It is 1934. FDR is in the White House, the New Deal is in full swing, and Prohibition has finally been repealed. Bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to Darling, Alabama, where the ladies of the local garden club aren't afraid to dig a little dirt if that's what it takes to cultivate a mystery . . .When the Lucky Four Clovers run into a string of bad luck, it looks like the music may have ended for Darling's favorite barbershop quartet-just when the Dixie Regional Barbershop Competition is about to take place. To complicate things, there's a serious foul-up in Darling's telephone system-and Myra May and Violet don't have a penny for repairs. The town's party lines may have to go out of business, which would be bad news for the gossips.And it doesn't help that newspaper editor/publisher Charlie Dickens is facing a crisis of confidence in his new wife, Fannie. Or that Liz Lacy (the Dahlias' president) has to decide whether she's ready for a do-over in her ill-fated romance with Grady Alexander. And what's that secret her old friend Fremon is keeping? What does he know about what happened to the unlucky Clover on that dark night on the Jericho Road?While liquor is legal again, moonshine isn't, and as Sheriff Buddy Norris discovers when he goes into Briar Swamp to confront Cypress County's most notorious bootlegger, it helps to have a little luck. But whatever the challenge, the Dahlias know that pie fixes everything. And you will, too, when you hear what they're baking for Darling's pie supper.Once again, author Susan Wittig Albert has brought us a charming story of richly human characters who face the Great Depression with courage and grace. She reminds us that friends offer the best of themselves to each other, community is what holds us together, and luck is what you make of it.Traditional Southern pie recipes (and a little cookery history) included

Now in paperback, the exciting new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author, in which China Bayles fears for her husband's life as an escaped convict targets him... A killer McQuaid put away years ago has busted out of Huntsville Prison and appears to be headed for Pecan Springs. China wants to stay by her husband's side and keep him from harm, but McQuaid insists that she get out of town and go to the Last Chance Olive Ranch, where she's agreed to teach a workshop on herbs. The owner, Maddie Haskell, has her own troubles. She inherited the ranch and olive oil business from the late matriarch, Eliza Butler, but Eliza's nephew is contesting the will. While China throws herself into helping Maddie, McQuaid's plan to stop the convict backfires. And now McQuaid's life is not the only one at stake--and this time may really be his last chance...