Books
Contemporary Novels
Second Chances
Zoey Pappas grew up in a one-stoplight town. Now she’s landed her dream job as the fifth grade teacher at the urban Diamond Projects School, but can she handle it? Her family laid odds that she won’t. Zoey knows her cows, but she’s never dealt with students from drug-infested, crime-ridden communities. Her Greek family wants her to work in the family restaurant and earn her M.R.S. degree. Zoey wants to prove herself, but she has met a muscled Irish cop who has been assigned to work with her as the Drug Awareness officer. He’s too efficient, too cocky, and too… handsome.
Ever since Officer Gavien Corrigan pulled Zoey’s car over on her first day of school for driving on a one way street in a neighborhood known for violence, he’s been captivated by her.
Thoughts of the new teacher crowd in with the family responsibilities that overshadow his life. His bullet proof vest is lighter than the secret blame he carries on his shoulders. He believes that God is in control of lives, but sometimes wonders if God has forgotten him.
As the two are thrust together in the concrete jungle where everyone needs second chances, will Zoey and Gavin find their own second chances…together?
Zoey learns of unconditional love as she becomes friends with Carole Milner and her husband who is wheelchair bound with multiple sclerosis. As she watches the couple cope with MS, Zoey desires to fall in love like them. Multiple sclerosis does not define their relationship, love does.
A deaf student is mainstreamed into Zoey’s class, so she enters the world of the deaf and hard of hearing. It moves Zoey to deeper compassion for the parents and foster parents in her classroom.
Anyone who has been a teacher, or loves children will enjoy this romance that brings the country girl into the urban scene. A fresh look at chaplains working in jail ministry, drug rehab and foster care are included in this novel set in the inner city. The influence of Greek immigrant ideas are also explored. Will Zoey make it in the big city?
Available Now! Paperback: $6.98 e-book: $2.99
Cultivating Wildflowers: An Urban Teacher Romance (Teachers of Diamond Project School Book 3)
Summer isn’t looking good for Alana Alcott, an urban teacher of gifted students. She’s been court ordered to teach summer school with Outward Bound instructor Mike Reynolds. Their students? Five unruly foster kids whose stories of abandonment mirror Alana’s own childhood more than she wants to admit.
Available Now! Paperback: $10.53 e-book: $2.99
Miss Bee and the Do Bees
Roni stared up into the deep brown eyes of the medic.
Since when did the mere sight of a mature male make her lose her focus?
Special education teacher Veronica Bagedonas is passionate about her work with behavior-disordered children. Teaching is her life, but nothing could prepare her for the shock of her class list this year, which includes two students infamous for reducing seasoned teachers in the Chicago Public School system to incoherent babbling. It doesn’t help, either, that Sunny, her new “Barbie doll” teacher’s assistant, is an everyday reminder of all Roni lacks. By the age of thirty-two, her hope of marriage has vanished. So why then does she find herself unsettled whenever Joe, the medic, is around school?
Joe Milanovich, the school liaison for the fire department, is intrigued by the jaunty, gutsy “Miss Bee.” But the pain of his if onlys never seems to leave his heart, driving away any potential relationship. It’s been three years since the tragedy, but the event is still imprinted on his mind like it was yesterday. If only his tour of duty had been one month shorter, maybe his mother and brother would still be alive….
As Joe and Roni navigate the tough urban school, dangerous neighborhood, and their own scars, might their longing for acceptance and home be met…in each other?
Available Now! Paperback: $7.75 e-book: $3.49
Grandpa’s Remembering Book
This is a family-friendly story of a family who brings Grandpa into the living quarters. Alzheimer’s Disease has clouded his memory. Together, the family works with a scrap book and scripted prompts to help Grandpa remember the people, places and events of his life. The illustrations are tender and bring the emotions of the family to the reader. Sensitive. Helpful to those who face memory loss.
Available Now! Paperback: $15.99