What if you couldn’t let yourself fall in love, for fear that you might accidentally destroy that person’s life? And what if, when you finally opened your heart, you learned that the one you loved was running away from the exact call of God that you were running toward?

[PLEASE NOTE: The language that offended some of the reviewers of previous editions of this novel has been removed.]

Sheila Carson is a Kindergarten teacher in Dallas, Texas, estranged from her family while struggling with feeling more and more dissatisfied with her job. For the same reason she’s avoided her family like the plague these past few years, the last thing she wants to do is get into a relationship with a man. So she does what she can to avoid the new fifth-grade teacher, a handsome, fun-loving man named Hank Johnson who seems determined to make inroads with her.

Hank finally succeeds on the day that Sheila’s favorite student, Diana, goes missing and he agrees to help Sheila look for her after school. Finding Diana means finding out that she’s being taken care of by her aunt Rosa, whose career is less than family-friendly, to say the least. And that discovery leads to Sheila getting involved with Diana on a personal level that ultimately endangers her teaching career.

In the meantime, she and Hank deepen their connection, even as Sheila feels more and more certain that God is calling her to the foreign mission field. But, like Sheila, Hank is hiding his own past wounds, wounds that have created a fear that seems insurmountable.

Wounds that happened on the mission field. Wounds that have led Hank to the conviction that God doesn’t care for him as he once believed.

His fear and hidden anger toward God tear him away from the woman he thought God had brought to him to be his partner in life. He is hanging to his faith by a thread, even while Sheila’s faith strengthens to the point that she can forgive the vengeful actions that Diana’s father has taken against her…leading to a miraculous work of God in the little girl’s family.
This victory cannot erase the pain of Hank’s abandoning their relationship, which she has to carry it with her as she prepares for her first trip overseas. If only he would find the envelope…

This forgotten envelope is the key to pushing Hank to overcome his fears…and ultimately, admitting his true feelings for Sheila. The message the envelope contains is the key to Sheila being able to forgive herself for the tragedy that has embittered her siblings toward her. It may even be the key for reconciliation with her family.

But time is short, and the envelope must be found, and be delivered at just the right time…

Four friends. Twenty-two bridesmaids’ dresses.
One random act of kindness that will change their lives forever.

Tess has given up looking for Mr. Right, but that doesn’t mean she’s given up on love. When she reads a newspaper article about a young couple who’ve had everything stolen from their home, including four bridesmaids dresses, she knows she has to help.

But by helping the bride, Tess risks exposing a past she doesn’t want anyone to know about. She does everything she can to minimize the danger she’s in, but she does the one thing guaranteed to destroy everything – she falls in love with the wrong man.

Logan Allen has spent most of his career reporting on the news from around the world. When a letter arrives from Afghanistan, the trauma he’s been living with is about to explode back into his life. He betrayed a small Afghan village and Tess thinks he’s betrayed her.

From their first random act of kindness comes an experience Logan and Tess will never forget. And maybe, if they work together, they can create a future that’s better than anything they’ve left behind.

ALL OF ME is the first book in The Bridesmaids Club series and can easily be read as a standalone. Each of Leeanna’s series are linked so you can find out what happens to your favorite characters in other books. Happy reading!

Egypt, 1233 BC

This is Young Neti-Kerty‘s dream: To follow in her father’s footsteps and become the first female mummifier in all of Egypt. Shabaka, the secretive Prefect, the Pharaoh’s special envoy charged with combating crime in the capital of the Pharaoh’s empire, also often makes use of Neti Kerty’s special talents. With her powers of deduction and knowledge of the dead, she has already helped solve many crimes.

But then the unimaginable happens. Her parents are cruelly murdered, and Neti-Kerty’s small, idyllic world shatters. Together with Prefect Shabaka, she embarks on the search for her parents‘ murderer. Surviving many shared adventures, they stumble upon a monstrous conspiracy …

The Mummifier’s Daughter carries us back to a land steeped in gods, god-kings, ritual and magic. It paints for the reader a detailed picture of Pharaonic Egypt in all its shadowed glory. Faithfully recreating one of the most remarkable eras in Egypt’s history, bestselling author Nathaniel Burns weaves a shudderingly ominous tale of ancient Egypt’s mysteries with a cast of characters the modern reader will recognize even though millenia have passed.

So light up the incense, sit close to the light and draw back the curtains on the shadowed past with this gripping tale of love and intrigue among the living and the dead in one of history’s most intriguing civilizations …

ADIEU, HARRY HUSBAND! BONJOUR, NOUVEAU MONDE!

A dead husband with a secret life is always a winner (fictionally speaking, of course), but what about a secret past for a special treat? In fact, a past so secret even Harry the husband didn’t know about it. That’s the delicious underpinning of this sprawling, exuberant, generous-spirited cozy mystery with a yummy side of international adventure.

It might be sadder except that once Harry dies, his widow, Merle Bennett realizes almost immediately it was no wonder she didn’t know anything about him. They’d pretty much been leading separate lives—several of them, as it turns out. Still, the will’s quite a shock. And so is an intriguing surprise—Harry left her a family home in a tiny French village. Or maybe a family home. Because who was Harry’s family? Finding out is half the fun.

Merle sets out to claim her inheritance, adolescent son in tow, and thus begins a sojourn reminiscent of A Year in Provence, or perhaps Under The Tuscan Sun all mixed up with something by Carolyn Hart, maybe, or M.C. Beaton. Because Malcouziac, Merle’s tiny Dordogne town, is the quintessential village—just perfect for a murder. And a rollicking good time.

Once Merle gets there, she finds…well, France! An unexpected romance! Mystery galore! Murder! And not just murder, but the unnerving experience of being a suspect. Once her passport is confiscated, what can she do but stay and restore her ancient battered house? While enjoying the tender attention of the unusually well-educated, handsome and…yes, quite mysterious roofer she’s hired.

Author McClendon doesn’t take a whole lot very seriously, being clearly more interested in Merle’s journey than in emulating Agatha Christie. And that works out beautifully for the reader. Particularly recommended for those who love France or have plans to visit there. Mystery lovers, chick lit fans, and cozy fanatics will all find it très chouette— more prosaically, simply awesome. Not to mention formidable!

A rich tapestry of wit, grit, and humor…

Twenty-four-year old Phoebe Hawley is on a quest to find her family a home. On the road with two siblings, twelve-year-old Maydean and five-year-old Willie-Boy, Phoebe is out of money, out of gas, and out of patience. The only things she owns in abundance are backbone and pride–neither of which she can trade for food or gas.

A collision with Gage Morgan puts Phoebe’s mission in even worse jeopardy–until Phoebe discovers Gage owns the perfect place for her clan. However, she soon discovers that Gage is the unlikeliest man in the universe to offer a helping hand.

Phoebe wields all the country smarts she owns to worm her way into Gage’s heart, but nothing works. With time running against her family, she plies one last inducement–her scarce feminine wiles.