Having a blah Monday? How about sharing a flaky chocolate croissant? A warm Café Creme? Lose yourself for a few hours in a delicious, culinary romp through Seattle and Paris with Lexi Stuart, the main character of the French Twist romance books. At the top of today’s Buffet is Book 1, Let Them Eat Cake, a 2007 Christy Award finalist. It’s a slice-of-life story that appeals especially to twenty-somethings who appreciate some romance with a Christian flair.
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The delightful series was cooked up by Sandra Byrd, author of 40 books for adults, tweens, and teens. She turned to historical fiction for her most recent book, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn , a 2011 “Best Books Pick” by Library Journal.
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Sandra has also worked in the nonfiction world, as a textbook acquisitions editor. And she’s been a mentor for many aspiring authors aiming toward traditional or self-publication. She lives near Seattle, Washington, with her husband and two children.

Sandra’s most recent project is another historical novel, Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I. Slated for release in April, the book poses the question: What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage — or your life?

Let Them Eat Cake: A Novel (French Twist)

Christian Romance
Author: Sandra Byrd
Let Them Eat Cake: A Novel (French Twist)

Lexi Stuart is at a critical crossroads. She’s done with college but still living at home, ready to launch a career but unable to find a job, and solidly stalled between boyfriends.

When a lighthearted conversation in French with the manager of her favorite bakery turns into a job offer, Lexi accepts. But the actual glamour is minimal: the pay is less than generous, her co-workers are skeptical, her bank account remains vertically-challenged, and her parents are perpetually disappointed. Her only comfort comes from the flirtatious baker she has her eye–but even may not be who he seems to be!

So when a handsome young executive dashes into the bakery to pick up his high profile company’s special order for an important meeting–an order Lexi has flubbed–she loses her compulsion to please. Ssomething inside Lexi clicks. Laissez la révolution commencer! Let the revolution begin! Instead of trying to fulfill everyone else’s expectations for her life, Lexi embarks on an adventure in trusting herself and her God with her future–très bon!

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False Pretenses: A Novel (Secrets of Roux River Bayou)

Religious Fiction

Author: Kathy Herman
False Pretenses: A Novel (Secrets of Roux River Bayou)

Zoe Broussard loves the life she and her husband Pierce have built in her beloved Louisiana hometown—especially their popular brasserie Zoe B’s, to which folks drive all the way from Lafayette for lunch or dinner. It seems like heaven.

But it’s about to become hell. A series of anonymous notes is making her life a misery—because Zoe has a secret so terrible it could leave the business in shambles and tear her marriage apart. Can she find the courage to face her past?

Murder at the War A Modern-Day Mystery with a Medieval Setting (Peter Brichter mystery)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Mary Monica Pulver
Murder at the War A Modern-Day Mystery with a Medieval Setting (Peter Brichter mystery)

The Society for Creative Anachronism is having a lovely re-enactment of a Medieval war…until one of the participants is actually murdered. The local police, anxious to find the culprit, turn their attention to Peter and Kori as suspects once they find the two have quarreled with the victim. Peter and Kori (known in the SCA as Lord Stefan and Lady Katherine) must clear their names and solve the crime.

More Than You Know

Contemporary Fiction
Author: Rosalyn Story
More Than You Know

A nine-year-old boy carefully bears a tiny infant through a furious thunderstorm. Sworn to hide the baby’s origins, he delivers the nameless child safely to the doorstep of an unaware family. Decades later, the boy, L.J. Tillman, is a brilliant young jazz saxophonist and happily married to Olivia, a promising singer who works as a beautician. When the secret L.J. has kept so faithfully is finally revealed, it tears apart his relationship with Olivia and starts a downward spiral that ends with him homeless and playing for pocket change on the streets of New York.

Fast Lane

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Dave Zeltserman
Fast Lane

Denver private eye Johnny Lane is so busy he has to contract out his overflow cases. When a young woman approaches him to find her birth parents, he’s willing to take the case for almost nothing. Almost. It would be a breath of fresh air after all the lowlife cases he’s now stuck with . . . and there is something about the woman. The last thing Johnny expects is the path the case leads him down. As the chasm between words and reality grows wider, past and present deeds start unraveling with deadly force.

ABSOLUTION (A Frank Renzi mystery)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Susan A Fleet
ABSOLUTION (A Frank Renzi mystery)

A serial killer stalker preys on young women in New Orleans.

A tip from a prostitute leads Detective Frank Renzi to believe the serial killer may be a priest.

A ruthless stalker, the serial killer uses his position to snare more women. With Renzi hot on his trail, he persuades a teenaged girl to help him escape.

Supply Chain Network Design: Applying Optimization and Analytics to the Global Supply Chain

Business & Investing

Author: Michael Watson, Sara Lewis
Supply Chain Network Design: Applying Optimization and Analytics to the Global Supply Chain (FT Press Operations Management)

Using strategic supply chain network design, companies can achieve dramatic savings from their supply chains. Now, experts at IBM and Northwestern University have brought together both the rigorous principles and the practical applications you need to master. You’ll learn how to use supply chain network design to select the right number, location, territory, and size of warehouses, plants, and production lines; and optimize the flow of all products through your supply chain even if extends around the globe.

Foundlings (The Peleg Chronicles, book one)

Children’s eBooks

Author: Matthew Christian Harding
Foundlings (The Peleg Chronicles, book one)

In a land of giants and dragons, and men running from the knowledge of their Creator, wickedness spreads as a plague, but a remnant of faithful souls shine in the darkness.

Two orphans, Thiery and Suzie. The Lady Mercy without a protector.

Lawful Escort

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Tina Folsom
Lawful Escort

When Daniel has to travel to San Francisco and needs an escort for a social event, the beautiful Sabrina shows up on his doorstep. Little does he know that she’s not an escort. Their encounter quickly turns steamy until lies threaten to destroy their passionate affair.

A Hope Undaunted (Winds of Change Book #1): A Novel

Religious Fiction

Author: Julie Lessman
A Hope Undaunted (Winds of Change Book #1): A Novel

The 1920s are drawing to a close, and feisty Katie O’Connor is the epitome of the new woman–smart and sassy with goals for her future that include the perfect husband and a challenging career in law. Her boyfriend Jack fits all of her criteria for a husband–good-looking, well-connected, wealthy, and head-over-heels in love with her.

But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Cluny McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face to face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

Now You Wanna Come Back

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Anna Black
Now You Wanna Come Back (Delphine Publications Presents)

Letting go is not always easy, and in some cases it can be close to impossible, like it was for Leila. She was stuck on her husband, and never thought she would ever stop loving him. Even through the constant pain and suffering, she still had hopes that he d come back to her. Cold and unwilling to do right, her husband, Devon did what was best for him, and that was treat Leila horribly and lie to her time after time, leaving her no choice but to be rescued by another man.

She let go, and letting go was the wrong answer for Devon. He was determined to get his good thing back – no matter what the cost, he was determined to come back.

Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)

Fantasy

Author: Susan Kaye Quinn
Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf.

Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales: A Story of Addiction (The Memoir Series)

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Marni Mann
Memoirs Aren't Fairytales: A Story of Addiction (The Memoir Series)

Leaving behind a nightmarish college experience, nineteen-year-old Nicole and her best friend Eric escape their home of Bangor, Maine, to start a new life in Boston. Fragile and scared, Nicole desperately seeks a new beginning to help erase her past. But there is something besides freedom waiting for her in the shadows–a drug that will make every day a nightmare.

Heroin. With one taste, the love that once flowed through Nicole’s veins turns into cravings. Tracks mark the passing of time, and heroin’s grip gets tighter. It holds her hand through deaths and prostitution, but her addiction keeps her in the darkness.

The Memory of You (The Return to Redemption Prequel)

War

Author: Laurie Kellogg
The Memory of You (The Return to Redemption Prequel)

The day Lieutenant Matthew Foster departed for his so-called ‘tour’ in Vietnam, he never expected a sudden change in his itinerary would include an extended stay in the horrific Hanoi Hilton. Six years later, he’s finally released with the other POWs during Operation Homecoming. Unfortunately, his memories before his capture were erased by the complimentary torture provided by the hotel’s concierge.

When the Army informs Matt he has a wife and he was mistakenly declared dead, he’s sure Abby must have made a new life for herself. He doubts the bitter man he’s become can salvage the boy she once cared for, so to be fair to her, he decides to simply write a note to wish her well and leave.

Lady of Devices, a steampunk adventure novel (Magnificent Devices)

Fantasy

Author: Shelley Adina
Lady of Devices, a steampunk adventure novel (Magnificent Devices)

London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world.

At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London.

10th Anniversary – Free Preview: The First 30 Chapters (Women’s Murder Club)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Author: James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
10th Anniversary - Free Preview: The First 30 Chapters (Women's Murder Club)

Detective Lindsay Boxer’s long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a teenage girl is badly injured and left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals-but that the victim may be keeping secrets as well.

At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her life-a woman who has been accused of murdering her husband in front of her two young children. Yuki’s career rests on a guilty verdict, so when Lindsay finds evidence that could save the defendant, she is forced to choose.

Watched (The Watched Series)

Teens

Author: Cindy M Hogan
Watched (The Watched Series)

It takes more than a school trip to Washington, D.C. to change Christy’s life. It takes murder. A witness to the brutal slaying of a senator’s aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot guys. She discovers that if she can’t help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives.

Her Dear and Loving Husband (The Loving Husband Trilogy)

Horror

Author: Meredith Allard
Her Dear and Loving Husband (The Loving Husband Trilogy)

James Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties with anyone. One nigh,t his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth’s death, James cannot move on.

Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail.

Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1)

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Nancy Straight
Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1)

Her whole life, it had just been the two of them. Before her mother’s last breath, she gave Camille the information she had craved her entire life: the identity of her father. Daring to contact him, Camille was welcomed by an entire family she never knew existed. But nothing comes without a price, as she discovers when her family claims a legendary heritage tracing back to a Centaur touched by Zeus.

As she learns the secrets of her Centaur bloodline, she is drawn into a forbidden love with Drake.

Save My Soul

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Author: K. S. Haigwood
Save My Soul

Kendra Larkin had everything going in the right direction, but a tragic rappelling accident lands her on Dr. Adam Chamberlain’s operating table.

She agrees to a deal proposed by a guardian angel to help save the soul of the man who is both her doctor and soulmate. If she is successful, she gets to keep her life. However, she later learns that it isn’t just her life that’s in jeopardy, but her soul as well.

Blood Faerie – Urban Fantasy (Caledonia Fae, Book 1)

Fantasy

Author: India Drummond
Blood Faerie - Urban Fantasy (Caledonia Fae, Book 1)

Unjustly sentenced to death, Eilidh ran–away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything.

Beyond Nostalgia

Literary Fiction

Author: Tom Winton
Beyond Nostalgia

Cassidy and Theresa find inspiration, joy and acceptance together in their world of dysfunctional families and economic hardships. But one night Cassidy, in a drunken stupor, makes a terrible choice that costs him his relationship with Theresa. Twenty-five years later, with the encouragement of his devoted wife, Cassidy focuses his sadness and angst into writing a book – a book that will eventually lead him to another crossroad in his life and redemption from his suffering.

Ireland Rose

Religious Fiction

Author: Patricia Strefling
Ireland Rose

Baltimore-born Ireland Rose, daughter of Irish immigrants, must be married by her seventeenth birthday. Rose’s father finds a suitable husband, Captain Camden Lovell, twenty-seven years her senior. Captain Lovell takes his bride to Charleston, provides her with a beautiful home on the Battery and good standing in Charleston Society. Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband’s trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her – and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother.

Here We Come (Aggie’s Inheritance)

Religious Fiction

Author: Chautona Havig
Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance)

In the hubbub of wedding preparations, Christmas celebrations, and a house full of lively children, Aggie is feeling overwhelmed and unappreciated. Add to that two puppies who are growing faster than she can replace chewed shoes and fix dug fences, it seems like things just can’t get any worse. Then, as she should be enjoying the most exciting time of her life, she’s faced with her worst nightmare.

How to Write a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days – That Readers LOVE!

Business & Investing

Author: Steve Scott
How to Write a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days - That Readers LOVE!

Don’t have time to complete a book in 7 days or during a weekend? Want a step-by-step writing plan that’s realistic? Need a strategy for creating content that readers love? The secret is to write the kind of nonfiction eBooks that build long-term fans and buyers. Here you’ll find a day-by-day blueprint that actually works.
You can write an eBook in 21 days. Just follow this blueprint and you’ll learn a proven system for writing fast.

The Rules of Life, Expanded Edition: A Personal Code for Living a Better, Happier, More Successful Life (Richard Templar’s Rules)

Advice & How-to

Author: Richard Templar
The Rules of Life, Expanded Edition: A Personal Code for Living a Better, Happier, More Successful Life (Richard Templar's Rules)

The first edition of The Rules of Life: A Personal Code for Living a Better, Happier, More Successful Life became a global phenomenon, topping bestseller charts around the world. This revised edition includes nine new rules to take you further, faster. Author Richard Templar brings together 106 practical rules that happy, successful people follow, even if they’ve never thought about it. These are realistic, commonsense things you can do differently, starting today… small things that make a powerful difference.

Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods

Business & Investing

Author: Craig S. Fleisher, Babette E. Bensoussan
Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods

Business success begins with deep clarity about your competition and your business environment. But, even as data gathering has improved dramatically, few business professionals know the state-of-the-art techniques for analyzing their data. Now there’s a comprehensive, immensely practical guide to today’s best tools and techniques for answering tough questions and making actionable recommendations.

This guide begins with end-to-end guidance on the analysis process, including defining problems, avoiding analytical pitfalls, choosing tools, and communicating results. Next, the authors offer detailed guides on 24 of today’s most valuable analysis models: techniques that have never been brought together in one book before.They offer in-depth, step-by-step guidance for using every technique–along with realistic assessments of strengths, weaknesses, feasibility, and business value.

Savor, a Paranormal Romance (Warm Delicacy Series, Book 1)

Romance

Author: Megan Duncan
Savor, a Paranormal Romance (Warm Delicacy Series, Book 1)

When Claire Miller turned eighteen all she wanted to do was celebrate her birthday, but after a night on the town with her best friend she awakes to a visitor she never expected. The rulers of her region, a vampire royal family, have chosen her to be turned as their new heir and vampire princess. In a world fueled by the power of blood, Claire quickly discovers the vampire royal family is not what they seem and that she has secrets in her past, she never knew existed.

The Final Arrangement (A Cozy Murder Mystery)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Author: Annie Adams
The Final Arrangement (A Cozy Murder Mystery)

The Vulture is dead. The body of Quincy McKay’s nemesis and biggest competitor in the floral business has just been discovered in a casket at the mortuary, complete with flowers on the lid.

Derrick Gibbons, aka The Vulture, stole all of Quincy’s funeral business, and now she’s on a mission to get it back. But there’s a problem—Quincy is now the main suspect in The Vulture’s murder.

Armed with only her Zombie delivery van, good intentions, and the business card of a handsome cop named Alex, she must find the killer, save the flower shop, and keep from ending up in the next casket. If she can dodge burning bushes, the plague of a polygamist ex, and her mother’s Mormon Mafia Spy Network, her life with Alex and her shop could become the perfect arrangement.

Buy and Hedge: The 5 Iron Rules for Investing Over the Long Term (Minyanville Media)

Business & Investing

Author: Jay Pestrichelli, Wayne Ferbert
Buy and Hedge: The 5 Iron Rules for Investing Over the Long Term (Minyanville Media)

If you’re trying to build wealth, sharp market downturns are your worst enemy. And today, they’re happening far more often: in the last 18 years, the S&P 500 has experienced sixteen violent market declines. Institutions and professional investors have mastered powerful hedging strategies for dramatically reducing the risks of market volatility. Now, you can do it, too–and you can’t afford not to.

Two leading investment experts show how to apply hedging as part of a long-term program for growing and preserving your assets. The authors show how to systematically protect yourself against violent downward moves while giving your portfolio maximum room to run in upward markets. The authors’ techniques are easy to use, can be applied to most investment vehicles, and require surprisingly little “care and feeding” once implemented.

… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks and the Kindle Daily Deal here on page 2

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