Books published by Open Road Media

In this biographical novel, Gladys Malvern shares the incredible story of Anna Pavlova, one of the most revered and celebrated ballerinas of all time. Malvern presents Pavlova's life in enchanting prose, allowing the reader to experience Pavlova's inspirational first exposure to a performance of Sleeping Beauty, the origination of her defining dance The Dying Swan, her illustrious rise to fame as a prima ballerina, and her extensive world tours. You don't have to be a fan of the ballet to enjoy this captivating tale, available for the first time in ebook.

The winner of the 1943 Julia Ellsworth Ford Foundation Award, Valiant Minstrel tells the life story of beloved Scottish entertainer Harry Lauder, presented as a biographical novel. Gladys Malvern's intimate account of Lauder's humble beginnings in mills and coalmines and incredible thirty-year career, which saw him knighted, makes it clear why he was the highest paid theatrical performer of his time. Malvern uses her gift for enthralling prose to recreate Lauder's experiences in this page-turner, available for the first time in ebook.

Curtain Going Up! is the engaging novelization of Katharine Cornell's life up to the book's writing in 1943. The First Lady of the Theatre, as Cornell was known, entertained countless audiences on Broadway and on tour. With her husband, Guthrie McClintic, she produced and starred in many renowned performances, such as Candida and The Barretts of Wimpole Street, and gave endlessly to both audiences and the acting community. The fascinating story of one of the most influential figures in 20th century theatre is available for the first time in ebook.

Gladys Malvern uses her celebrated talent for prose to share the stories of Henry VIII's wives with immense personality and captivating drama. Henry VIII was married to six women during his reign as the King of England. Gladys Malvern characterizes them as The Saint (Catherine of Aragon); The Egotist (Anne Boleyn); The Diplomat (Jane Seymour); The Housewife (Anne of Cleves); The Coquette (Catherine Howard); and The Mother (Catherine Parr). Malvern masterfully tells each of their personal histories and how they intertwined through rivalry, vying for power, political maneuvering, and the hardships of losing favor with the man that seceded the Church of England from Rome for a divorce.

On May 4, 1970, two platoons of Ohio National Guardsmen fired on a crowd of students at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine. Neither the federal government nor the state of Ohio took any responsibility for the guardsmen’s actions. Through the account of the subsequent civil trial, we follow the events of that tragic day, as experienced by the victims and their families, and share their frustration as they try to discover the truth.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick, and an ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Readers Nancy and Katie are best friends with one big thing in common-they both cut themselves: "Not by accident, we do it purposely-and regularly-because physical pain is comforting, and because now it has become a habit." Crosses was the first novel for young adults to deal with an increasingly widespread disorder, and "graphically describes the cry for help of many adolescents and how far they have to fall before they are even noticed" (Voice of Young Adults).

Louise Nevelson, one of the most important American sculptors of the twentieth century, was a beautiful woman who lived so audacious a life that by the time of her death she was a legend both inside and outside the art world. Born Leah Berliawsky in Czarist Russia in 1899, she grew up in Maine, ostracized as a Jew and a foreigner. At twenty she escaped to Manhattan as Mrs. Charles Nevelson, eventually leaving her husband for a life devoted to art. She lived and loved with lusty abandon, often in poverty and obscurity, until she finally achieved fame and fortune at sixty. "This biography of a monstre sacre is a tale of hard-tacks heroism and heedless swipes at those who dared to love her," said Interview magazine. Nevelson found inspiration in cubism, primitive art, and her own unconscious, creating a rich iconography of images. With black, white, or gold paint and perfect placement, she transformed old pieces of wood picked up on the street into powerful sculptures. In later years she appeared in mink eyelashes and flamboyant costumes, all the while going to her studio every day before dawn to add to the astonishing body of work now in collections of museums around the world. Laurie Lisle interviewed Nevelson before the artist's death in 1988, as well as her lovers, family members, artist friends, and many others. This biography provides fascinating insights and information discovered in archives and public records, letters and diaries, and the artist's own prose and poetry. Now in a revised e-book edition, Louise Nevelson: A Passionate Life is the only biography of this important American sculptor. It is "impressive in its thoroughness, which nonetheless results in 'good reading' by virtue of its interweaving of personal and professional information, its eclectic introduction of psychological analysis, and a phraseology that appreciates both the pain and the joy surrounding Nevelson's eccentric behavior," according to Woman's Art Journal.

Why are those devastated by war or other military experiences called mentally ill? The standard treatment of therapy and drugs can actually be harmful, and huge numbers of suffering veterans from earlier eras demonstrate its inadequacy.   Most of us are both war-illiterate and military-illiterate. Caplan proposes that we welcome veterans back into our communities and listen to their experiences, one-on-one. Beginning a long overdue national discussion about the realities of war and the military will help us bridge the dangerous chasms between veterans and nonveterans.

When Eric’s Body was published in l993, it became an overnight sensation and has sold steadily through the present day. Hailed as “powerful . . . unforgettable . . . phenomenal,” it launched the writing powerhouse of Southern author Jery Tillotson, a former prize-winning journalist. The 25 stories deal with everything from heartbreak (“Barbed Wire”) and humor (“The Bastard of the County”) to the haunting (“The Last of the Seven Beauties”) and present a dazzling gallery of complex men you won’t forget. Jocks, convicts, bad boys, and evangelists—they’re all here. Read Eric’s Body and discover why tens of thousands of readers around the world have hailed it as one of gay literature’s most enduring classics!

When The Rope Above, the Bed Below first appeared in 1994, Jason Fury’s memoirs of a wild, sexually free Manhattan of 1980 before the AIDS epidemic became an overnight bestseller—first in America, and then around the world. Although beset with censorship problems, critics and fans quickly hailed the novel for its “feverish writing,” its breathless plot of a mad killer stalking New York’s male strippers, and its hypnotic remembrance of a sex-filled world now vanished. Fury’s memoir is recognized today as a parable of the “Plague Years” that soon swept the world.

Lily Cassidy’s childhood happiness is shattered when her father is murdered by political opponents. Powerless to act against her father’s killer, she consents to a loveless marriage with Emmett Moss in exchange for his promise of vengeance. What follows this bitter deal leaves Lily standing on her own as the matriarch of a legend. When Emmett’s niece arrives at his ranch, the lady-like Claire presents a cool contrast to tomboy Lily. Known for her common sense more than her beauty, Lily forges a friendship with the delicate Claire that outlasts everything in their lives except the land itself. Set in New Mexico Territory in the 1870s, Texas Lily is the story of Lily’s courage and fortitude to save her family, Claire’s love of an outlaw that sends her into and out of madness, and the profoundly intertwined fates of their offspring.

Winner of the California Young Reader Medal in the high school category and an ALA Best Book of the Year. Following the death of his parents in a car accident, fifteen-year-old Matt McKendrick runs away from his hometown with his small, deaf sister, Katie, to prevent her from being placed in an institution. Reaching Los Angeles exhausted and hungry, they take refuge in an abandoned theater. When Matt returns to the theater after an unsuccessful day hunting for work, he finds Katie gone and the police waiting to accuse him of murder. Alone in a city of strangers, Matt sets out on a desperate quest-fighting suspicion, hatred, and his own unbearable remorse and self-doubt-to prove to himself and to the Homicide detective who despises him that he is who he says he is. The Truth Trap is the first book in the series.

Everyone loved Lucy, the scheming, madcap redhead who ruled television for more than twenty years. In life, however, Lucille Ball presented a far more complex and contradictory personality than was ever embodied by the television Lucy. In Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball Kathleen Brady presents the actress as a fully rounded human being, often at odds with the image she presented as an entertainment icon. Brady has gone far beyond the typical celebrity biography to present a funny, unflinching and ultimately moving portrait of Lucille Ball as a performing artist, daughter, mother, friend, colleague, and television mogul. Many think they know the story of Lucille Ball's life, but Brady provides new details and a fresh perspective on this complex woman through a wealth of anecdotes and firsthand accounts. Lucille Ball is revealed not only as a television archetype and influential icon of postwar American culture, but as a driven yet fragile human being who spent her life struggling to create of life of normalcy, but ultimately failed-even as she succeeded in bringing laughter of millions of fans. In researching Lucille, Brady interviewed more than 150 people from her hometown to Hollywood. She spoke with her grade school classmates, and those like Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rodgers who met her when she arrived in Hollywood in the 1930s. She gained insights from those who knew her before her fame and from those she loved throughout her life. Film, radio and television history come to life with the appearances on these pages of such greats as The Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, Louis B. Mayer, and of course Desi Arnaz, who march and pratfall through the pages of this outstanding biography.

The Big Tour is an authentic, behind-the-ropes tale of a young golfer’s arduous quest to become, and succeed, as a professional golfer.

Reentering the normal world of track and school and strangers, and dreading the unanswerable accusation, “Aren’t you the one who killed a little girl and got away with it?”, sixteen-year-old Matt McKendrick finds hostility and friendship in unexpected places.  Aren’t You the One Who . . . ? is the second book in the series.

1948 is a leap year and a good one for Harry S. Truman. The second-hand book dealers on Manhattan’s Fourth Avenue are in full swing. Howard inherits his father’s shabby bookshop, but Howard isn’t a true bookman, and he knows how little money there is in the business—until a seemingly priceless manuscript falls into his lap. But there’s something odd about it. Howard decides to check out his treasure with an acerbic fellow in Baltimore, a man Howard’s late father believed could solve all literary problems: H. L. Mencken. The results are deadly.

Gingersnaps: A Novel weaves together the lives of six African-American women in an emotional, humorous, and realistic tale that focuses on their romantic relationships. These six baby boomersAletha, Desiree, Veronica, Debra, Janeen, and Louisecross each other's paths, adding more interesting twists and turns into the story. This novel not only has romance but an element of mystery mixed into the story. This is a must for those who enjoy reading about characters who remain strong regardless of the situation or challenges.

From the over-scheduled, the inexperienced, and the fully prepared to the devoted camper/boater/tail-gater—anyone can have dinner on the table in no time with the flip of a lid. Following the success of Laura Karr’s The Can Opener Gourmet®, she offers 200 more quick, delicious and nutritious worry-free recipes in her second cookbook, Pop It, Stir It, Fix It, Serve It.  With the new digital version of the book, all those delicious, timesaving meals and treats are right at your fingertips. It’s the perfect cookbook for busy people who like to maximize their time with minimum effort. Reminding us that canned foods are preservative-free, retain peak nutritional value from time of harvest, and are already washed, cooked, chopped and ready for use, Karr has developed recipes from starters to desserts based on these facts to shorten prep time for some of your favorites—all from the convenience of your cabinet. 

Men lived and grew old and died in a few weeks in Vietnam. A lot of them didn’t live that long. This is the story of one young soldier’s coming of age in hell. What he saw, how he felt, the way he reacted when friends were blasted to bits right in front of him. This is a story of a few men, but it will stand for all of them. War brought out the best and worst in men, the killers and the guys who just wanted to get home. They were there and they fought a merciless enemy, killing to stay alive. This is a brutal, shocking, nightmarish book—one that you will never forget.

A lyrical voice from the South weaves a searing psychological drama around a small town shocked by its first murder, hurtling a calm and complacent community into a harrowing realm of alienation and distrust. Essex, South Carolina, is a town where doors are never lockeduntil an elderly widow is murdered in her bed. Stoney McFarland and his wife Anna have returned to his hometown in hopes of rebuilding their connection. But Stoney's obsession with the murder investigation, his efforts to restore the town, threaten deeply buried secrets other townspeople are desperate to suppress. From eerie voodoo rituals in the mist-shrouded swamps, to the Old South matriarch who fears a dead woman, to the Civil Rights activist searching for the mother who abandoned her, the town is soon fractured by the twin perils of public danger and private exposure. The story reaches a devastating climax when it becomes clear what some people will do to protect the place they love. A lushly atmospheric novel that confronts complex ideas about bigotry, love, and modern society.

Homer Fink could speak Latin and Greek or chart the orbit of the planet Jupiter, but when it came to tying his shoelaces or knotting his tie Homer was helpless. The Adventures of Homer Fink is a story of youth's first awareness of power and philosophy and love. It is peopled with characters as real as your next-door neighbors and yet uniquely extraordinary. Above all, this is a tale full of humor and affection and the wonder of growing up.

Passions is a humorous look at the high-flying world of Parisian haute couture designers, foreign correspondents, political intrigue, and the demands of the big egos involved.

The life of scholarly contemplation enjoyed by the Fellows of Sheepshanks College, Cambridge, is shattered when the Pryevian Librarian collapses and dies at High Table owing to a slug of arsenic in his port, and the recently discovered holograph copy of Shakespeare’s earliest poem, “Cupid and Psyche,” is found to be missing from the college library. John Saltmarsh, a Sheepshank’s Fellow and closet writer of detective novels, sets out to solve these conundrums. The waters are further muddied by a rapist who stalks the streets of Cambridge in an academic gown.

A Gift of the Emperor is the poignant fictional account of real-life atrocities inflicted upon more than 200,000 Asian women by the Japanese military during World War II. This haunting story is narrated by Soon-ah, a Korean schoolgirl whose life is shattered when Emperor Hirohito’s soldiers abduct her from her village and ship her and her schoolmates to a “house of relaxation” in the South Pacific. Here, on an island with surreal beauty, Soon-ah is forced into prostitution as a “comfort woman” to the Japanese military. This scorching account of one woman’s endurance of sexual degradation and the unspeakable horror of war provides compelling testimony to the strength of the human spirit, the power of love over hate, and the ultimate triumph of hope over despair.

Who hasn't felt the sting of rejection? It doesn't take much for your feelings to get hurta look or a tone of voice or certain words can set you ruminating for hours on what that person meant. An unreturned phone call or a disappointing setback can really throw you off your center. It's all too easy to take disappointment and rejection personally. You can learn to handle these feelings and create positive options for yourself. Don't Take It Personally! explores all forms of rejection, where it comes from, and how to overcome the fear of it. Most of all, you'll learn some terrific tools for stepping back from those overwhelming feelings. You'll be able to allow space to make choices about how you respond. Understand the effect that anxiety, frustration, hurt, and anger have on your interactions with others. De-personalize your responses and establish safe personal boundaries that protect you from getting hurt. Practice making choices about the thoughts you think and the ways you respond to stressful situations. Understand and overcome fear of rejection in personal and work relationships. Elayne Savage explores with remarkable sensitivity the myriad of rejection experiences we experience with friends, co-workers, lovers, and family. Because her original ideas have inspired readers around the world, Don't Take It Personally! has been published in six languages.

Is resentment eating away at your relationship? Are you tired of hurt feelings and misunderstandings? Would you like to rebuild connection and intimacy? Breathing Room provides practical tips to improve all relationships: Balance your needs Improve communication, teamwork, and trust Bounce back from disappointments, hurt, and differences Breathing Room gives you the tools to take your relationship skills to a new level!

';Flor Fernandez Barrios ushers readers into startling proximity to a Cuba seen through the eyes of a woman whose childhood was both shaped and shattered by the beautiful island. The indelible quality of Barrios's observations, specific and true, make Blessed by Thunder an important chronicle of the Cuban experience.' The Bloomsbury Review ';Fernandez's book is a visually rich portrait of a tumultuous era. Fernandez knows how to craft a compelling narrative best of all are [her] enchanting cast of characters.' The Miami Herald ';Flor Fernandez Barrios reminds us what we can never forget, that ties to one's homeland endure. When she calls on her grandmother for strength in America, the invisible bonds of all our ancestors appear. This book holds healing words as we begin to restore our relations with Cuba.' Terry Tempest Williams ';A stunning portrait of what binds life together despite our terrible tests. It is gorgeous in the telling. I could not put it down.' Joy Harjo

Birthmothers presents intimate and stirring accounts of more than seventy women who surrendered babies for adoption. It follows their lives long-term, from discovery of their pregnancies through the present, and identifies the Birthmother Syndromea pattern of behavior and emotions resulting from surrender. With heartwarming candor, Birthmothers reveals the stories of the invisible side of the adoption triangle, and touches everyone involved in adoption, as well as anyone interested in motherhood, family, and women in our society.

The Great European War and the threat of revolution in Mexico cast suspicion and distrust over the tranquil plazas of the sleepy Texas town of San Antonio, and two women find their lives and destinies entangled in romance, intrigue, and espionage.

Andres Kudirka, a once brilliant scientist now headed toward drug-induced insanity, worked on the original A-bomb at Los Alamos and witnessed a test blast in the Pacific where innocent islanders were killed. As chief engineer for Neutron Two, the nation's first commercial fast-breeder reactor nuclear power plant near Denver, Kudirka harbors a deep resentment toward his employers and the United States, and now plans to destroy Neutron Two, unleashing a holocaust that would kill millions of people. Kudirka is troubled by a deep guilt he cannot handle. He has never been able to escape the memory of the ';routine test' in the Pacific that annihilated an island. He cannot forget the young girl who came crying out of the devastation of her home, the lone survivor and now his wife, Mariko. Pursuing him is federal investigator Yale Pollack, who is determined to expose Kudirka's past. And Kudirka is desperate enough to stop Pollack using the only means at his disposalthe unimaginable power of a nuclear reactor gone wild close to a major American city housing millions of unsuspecting and unprepared citizens. Can Pollack, or anyone else, stop him in time?