Books published by Open Road Media

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!

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?

When her royal parents are killed during a coup, Princess Aidris Am Firn of the Chameln flees for her life. Constantly on the run from unseen enemies of the crown, she poses as a commoner and joins a cadre of women warriors so she can fight those who assassinated her parents and continue to hunt her. While cultivating allies, Aidris learns that two pretenders have ascended to the dual thrones of Chameln. Having discovered their true queen is still alive, counselors from Chameln rally to her side and convince the queen that the time has come for her to reclaim her birthright. But before she can do this, she must discover who her enemy really is, lest the unknown assassins strike her down too.

Ready for whenever you need a quick pick-me-up, prayer, or moment of peaceful introspection, these timeless meditations tap into the everyday joys and frustrations of teaching, imparting encouragement and hope.

Vera Caspary, the celebrated author of Laura, tells her own story in this captivating autobiography. With a career that spanned from the 1920s through 1970s, one that produced over twenty novels, in addition to her many credits for film and theater, Caspary centered her life around a passion for writing. From her early experiences at an advertisement agencywhere she developed a correspondence school and invented its ';famed' instructorto the struggles of being gray-listed in the McCarthy Era, Caspary constantly found a way to turn her creative needs into viable work. Caspary recalls the rest of a full life, too, including her flirtation with communism, travels across Europe, and a marriage. Caspary's skillful writing makes her incredible depictions of people, and the times in which they lived, jump off the page.

A powerful and absorbing story of three women whose lives shapedand were inevitably shaped bythe success and failure of a city; a story that strangely parallels the intriguing history of this island of lost dreams.

When the young child of Monica and Forrest Maguire is diagnosed as being autistic, it plunges the mother into an agony of uncertainty and guilt, and threatens the fragile marriage of this middle-class couple.

A dynastic tale of two families-the Gerrards and Leiders-as seen through the eyes of four women whose lives are bound by blood and friendship, and interwoven with the destiny of Houston, Texas, for over 70 years.

In this sprawling novel of suspense and terror, a ruthless professional killer, a disillusioned career spy, and a beautiful Sorbonne professor cross paths with Moscow intelligence. They are all in a race to find the fabled Romanov jewels, smuggled out of Russia a century ago and secreted inside the Statue of Liberty before it was shipped from France to New York. The scene shifts compellingly from the present-day United Nations building to the Czarist Russia of Alexander II, the elegant boulevards of Paris and the sun-drenched Cote d'Azur, and ends in a spectacle of violence at America's shining symbol of freedom standing in New York Harbor. The international hunt is interwoven with the efforts of Paris-based CIA agent Martin Toberts, his new-found love Solange Cordier who holds a secret more than a hundred years old, and his bloody-minded nemesis Pell Bruckner, a rogue agent intent on only one thingsatisfying his lust for personal wealthat the expense of anyone or anything that stands in his way. It is, finally, a story of staggering wealth secreted in a place no one can believe, causing individuals and nations to kill for it and, in some cases, die for it.

In 1996, Dr. Richard Paulson assisted a 63-year-old woman to conceive using in vitro fertilization with a donor egg, and she became the oldest woman in the world to give birth. This incredible example of how assisted reproductive technologies, or ART, can change the course of nature raises tough biological, emotional, and ethical issues.  Rewinding Your Biological Clock is a unique exploration of each of these issues, especially the “how-to” of peri- and post-menopausal pregnancy. Written by a leading fertility specialist and a health educator, this original and daring book rethinks society’s most fundamental beliefs about motherhood, aging, and life itself.

Sex does more than make you feel good. It improves your health, helps you communicate more effectively, and raises your self-esteem.   Sex can heal in the following ways: Relieving symptoms of arthritis, insomnia, chronic pain, muscular tension, and mood swings; Recharging your sexual batteries with flirting and fantasy; Helping you enjoy a satisfying sex life, even if you’re chronically ill or disabled; Adding spontaneity to your relationships; Communicating your desires without hurt feelings.   Intimacy is bigger than what happens in the bedroom. This book will help you unlock your sexual potential.

Can you remember one day in your life—or perhaps just one hour—when you were content and unworried? For most of us, that’s hard to do, and many rely on powerful mood-altering drugs to just get through the day.   If you’ve been searching for natural alternatives, Nature’s Prozac is your definitive guide to achieving peak mental and emotional health with nature’s medicines.

The New York Times called What to Do When Love Turns Violent, "possibly the best single resource." Dr. Robert McAfee, past president of the American Medical Association said, "This may be the most important book of your life." The author appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which produced and aired a special short film about safety planning based on the book. What to Do When Love Turns Violent empowers you to find help and take back your life. Here is everything you need to know to make the right choices. The first part spells out an action plan to get out of danger and find immediate help: making a protective order work; calling the police; finding safe shelter; seeking medical attention; getting financial assistance. Part 2 details how to stay safe and regain control over your life: preparing for safety at home and on the job; protecting your children; rebuilding your life. Includes an extensive list of national and community organizations where you can find help.

';Suspense filled psychological thriller.' Literary Guild ';Will scare the hell out of all but the most lionhearted.' Publishers Weekly ';A terrifying novel about paranoia.' Chicago Sun-Times ';Will grab you right by the psyche.' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ';Continually engrossing.' Los Angeles Times ';Supremely suspenseful.' Doubleday Book Club ';Will have those little hairs standing at brittle attention.' Post-Gazette (Boston) ';Powerful and disturbing.' Mystery Guild ';Explosive shocker.' The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne) ';For thriller fans and serious literature readers.' Green Valley News (Arizona) ';The work of a real pro.' Houston Chronicle ';Keeps the reader guessing-entranced.' The Post-Standard (Syracuse) ';Wrenching study of people under pressure.' Quote magazine

Kevin's senior year of high school isn't going as he'd planned. So much has changed, and choices he once thought would be easy to make have become increasingly difficult. His best friend has moved away, his girlfriend has dumped him for the school football hero, and life after graduation looms ahead like a chasm without a bridge. Kevin's got a hot scholarship offer in his hands, but even though it's hard for him to talk about his Mormon faith with others, he can't shake the feeling in his heart that he should serve a two-year mission. When the time comes for Kevin to make the most important decision of his life, one that no one else can or should make for him, he must take a leap of faith and learn to trust his own feelings. Will his decision be the right one, even when tragedy strikes? Find out where Kevin's choices take him in The Final Farewell, the final volume in the Kevin Kirk Chronicles.

All Kevin wants is to be like any other high school student and learn how to drive and hang out with his friends. But when your parents run a funeral home, it's tough to have a normal life. And when you're a Mormon living in the South, well, that just about triples your weirdness quotient. Especially when an elderly woman from church drafts you into the Granite Girls, a group that records the names on all the tombstones in Armadillo, Arkansas. Try explaining that to the local sheriff who catches you in a graveyard at 6:30 in the morning. One not-so-weird thing about Kevin's family is the love they have for Marcya young African-American woman who's like the sister Kevin never had. Just as the family prepares to help Marcy renovate the house across the road with money left to her by her late father, a stranger shows up at the Paramount Funeral Home. It's Ruby, Marcy's mother, whom she hasn't seen in twelve years. Soon after Ruby's arrival, things begin to disappearand Ruby makes sure Kevin takes the blame. As her threats become more personal, Kevin must find a way to expose Ruby and to convince others of the truth, not only for Marcy's sake, but to save his own reputation.

Winner of the 2005 Young Adult Fiction Award from the Association for Mormon Letters. As Kevin helps his parents with the family mortuary, his dream of working for National Geographic seems a million years awayuntil he and his friends are picked for a special science class at Armadillo Middle School. The class is taught by Dr. Alfred Leopold Wallace, the pompous proprietor of the local Arkansas Marsupial Museum and Discount Souvenir Outlet. Kevin's friends aren't keen about the doctor or his possums, but Kevin's sure that Dr. Wallace can help him become the youngest biologist in history. All he has to do is get Dr. Wallace to notice his scientific genius! The harder Kevin tries, however, the worse his projects flopincluding the midterm tarantula project that escapes and terrorizes the funeral home. The class trip to Seven Devils Swamp is Kevin's last chanceif he doesn't let his pride get in the way of his final project.

Winner of the 2004 Middle Grade Fiction Award from the Association for Mormon Letters. It's bad enough that Kevin's mother is about to graduate from mortuary college, but when his parents tell him they're moving to a small town in the Arkansas delta to run the Paramount Funeral Home, Kevin is certain it's his life that's over. After all, normal people don't live in houses with dead bodies downstairs! Once in Armadillo, Arkansas, Kevin tries to adapt to the family business. When he's targeted by the biggest bully in the seventh grade, Kevin begins to ';hear' advice from an unlikely sourceCletus McCulley, an old Mormon fisherman and one of his mother's dead customers. Cletus's messages from beyond the grave lead Kevin to uncover not only the bully's secrets, but the truth about a family tragedy that shattered his parents' faith and led them away from God. It's up to Kevin to find the courage to face the bully, and to find a way to help his family heal.

Real Stories is a writing and reading text that works. The method Toni Ortner discusses is classroom-tested and designed to meet the needs of multi-cultural high school students. It contains three sections: ';The Process of Writing' covers the basic building blocks of writing. ';Time Savers for Grammar and Punctuation' includes types of sentences, how to find and eliminate runs-ons, comma splices and fragments, comma use, nouns, capitalization, direct quotes, verb tenses, and irregular verbs, practice exercises, an answer key, and tests. ';The Reader' contains students' personal stories for analysis and discussion. Real Stories helps students use words to empower and enrich their lives.

This inspirational guide for aspiring and experienced writers was originally published in 1997. Written in a friendly, hopeful, and gently humorous tone, it focuses on the creative process and emotional ups and downs of the creative life, providing insights into how to persist in the face of rejection, frustration, feelings of inadequacy, lack of support from loved ones, and more. It also offers practical how-to advice, from organizing your time so you actually sit down and write to reading as a writer. This ebook's rerelease of The Writer's Survival Guide includes a new introduction that discusses the origins of the book and how, in spite of the many changes in publishing and technology, it remains relevant today.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

Characters in No Marble Angels struggle to close distances between each other, distances of race, sex, age.