Author Alley 2024
Claude Rains was "the greatest character actor of his age - possibly of all ages," according to film historian Richard Schickel. Classic credits include The Invisible Man, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Now, Voyager, Casablanca, Notorious and Lawrence of Arabia. A stage star in his native England, Rains didn't make his screen debut until age 43. Throughout his career, he hid behind a movie persona that was suave and sophisticated, but off camera he was insecure and had trouble expressing feelings. Good-natured, still he had few friends and was married six times. A proud naturalized American, Victorian values led him to repudiate Tinsel Town - he was happiest puttering around the 18th-century Pennsylvania farm that was his heart and soul.
As a teenager, Toby Cohen was thrilled to meet her screen idol backstage after his Broadway triumph. Based on her decades of research and exclusive interviews - with Rains' fifth wife, his sixth wife's children and nephews, his farm neighbors, the doctor who treated him in his final illness - Ms. Cohen has produced not just a biography, but an in-depth, compassionate analysis of a complicated man whose true self was "invisible" to all.
With never-before-published candid photographs.
A nephew to one of the earliest settlers, Titus Brainard sold 102.25 acres of his farm to the association under conditions that the cemetery never be sold to the city and that all persons be accepted for burial regardless of background. And so began the development of the landscape and roadways, much of which has changed in the nearly 150 years of service. Riverside Cemetery has become the permanent home to generations of families, each with their own stories, accomplishments, hardships, and journeys that we strive to capture in this book.
Jamie Lynne Owens is a fifth-generation staff member of Riverside Cemetery and has committed herself to the historic preservation of the cemetery. William G. Krejci is a local historian and author whose special interest in Riverside Cemetery lies within his interest of early cemeteries of the Western Reserve, with Riverside's garden-like setting being one of the greatest examples. Images found in this book are from the archives of Riverside Cemetery, Cleveland Public Library, Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Library of Congress as well as original work of photographer Deb Zimmerman.
The Taste of Rain
College student and part-time health aide, Amira Connors, wants nothing more than to graduate and successfully launch a non-profit with her latest crush, Attorney Darius Browne. But when a nursing home patient (Claire Stewart) shares shocking details surrounding her husband's death, Amira pieces together the fractured memories and helps law enforcement identify the actual killer. But is he? Or have Claire's ramblings entangled Amira into becoming the next target?
The Spice Code
Meet Raphael Parera, a restaurant owner and chef whose life takes a dark and treacherous turn when he falls for the captivating charms of Isabella. Little does he know, his newfound love is hiding a sinister secret - she's a cold-blooded murderer. Entrapped and kidnapped by Isabella, Raphael's only lifeline is a bag of groceries containing a message that holds the key to his location. Bonus: Recipes included.
A Match Made in Murder
Love is a grand affair orchestrated by matchmaker extraordinaire, Fiona Murphy. But this Valentine's Day, her twelve perfect weddings become a chilling mystery. As the Boat House restaurant transforms from a haven of romance to a crime scene, 'A Match Made in Murder' unveils a tale where love and betrayal intermingle, and uncovering the truth becomes the ultimate act of love. Bonus: Recipes included.
Head back to snowy Michigan just in time for the annual cherry pit spitting contest. It's all fun and games until the local drama professor chokes on more than just his pride.
Shiloh Bellamy can hardly believe it--for the first time in her family farm's seventy-year history, she has managed to score a highly-coveted booth at the Cherry Farm Market in Traverse City, Michigan. It's a huge win in her master plan to bring the rundown farm back to life... and the fact that her coup has sent her next-door neighbor and organic farming competitor into fits of jealousy doesn't hurt, either. But the festive atmosphere at the farm market takes a dark turn when a man entered in the famous cherry pit-spitting competition chokes and dies right in front of Shiloh, who is standing near the sidelines as a spectator.
When the death turns out to be more suspicious than a cherry pit down the wrong pipe, Shiloh finds herself under local law enforcement's microscope--she has developed something of a reputation for being unwittingly involved in local murders. And when they discover her cousin Stacey had been secretly dating the man in question--and that he was married to someone else--Shiloh begins to worry that everything she has worked so hard to accomplish with her family's farm is about to be taken away. It will take all her investigative skills, a tenuous friendship (or is it something more?) with the local sheriff, and some help from Shiloh's trusty pug, Huckleberry, to prove the cops are barking up the wrong cherry tree and put the real killer behind bars for good.
In this national bestseller, journalist Sarah Stankorb outlines how access to the internet--its networks, freedom of expression, and resources for deeply researching and reporting on powerful church figures--allowed women to begin dismantling the false authority of evangelical communities that had long demanded their submission.
A generation of American Christian girls was taught submitting to men is God's will. They were taught not to question the men in their families or their pastors. They were told to remain sexually pure and trained to feel shame if a man was tempted. Some of these girls were abused and assaulted. Some made to shrink down so small they became a shadow of themselves. To question their leaders was to question God. All the while, their male leaders built fiefdoms from megachurches and sprawling ministries. They influenced politics and policy. To protect their church's influence, these men covered up and hid abuse. American Christian patriarchy, as it rose in political power and cultural sway over the past four decades, hurt many faithful believers. Millions of Americans abandoned churches they once loved. Yet among those who stayed (and a few who still loved the church they fled), a brave group of women spoke up. They built online megaphones, using the democratizing power of technology to create long-overdue change. In Disobedient Women, journalist Sarah Stankorb gives long-overdue recognition for these everyday women as leaders and as voices for a different sort of faith. Their work has driven journalists to help bring abuse stories to national attention. Stankorb weaves together the efforts of these courageous voices in order to present a full, layered portrait of the treatment of women and the fight for change within the modern American church. Disobedient Women is not just a look at the women who have used the internet to bring down the religious power structures that were meant to keep them quiet, but also a picture of the large-scale changes that are happening within evangelical culture regarding women's roles, ultimately underscoring the ways technology has created a place for women to challenge traditional institutions from within.
Two rival drag kings competing for a crown might just win each other's hearts.
When eighteen-year-old Briar Vincent's mental health takes a turn for the worst, her parents send her to spend the summer in New York City with her older brother, Beau, also known as the drag queen Bow Regard.