Books

Running From Herself 

Leah Branch has the thirty-sixth most popular single in the country. And she’s disappeared.

She wasn’t chasing the dream when a record deal found her, but it was her chance to escape heartbreak; make a new start; make up for every mistake she’d made in her life. Except in Nashville, the label proceeds to change her name, remake her image, and force her to record songs she hates. They wanted her; they just wanted a different her. With every compromise, Leah feels herself slipping away.

Then one night she breaks. Stranded in a winter storm with two sketchy musicians and a hopeless manager, once the roads clear, she dumps her companions and flees.

She knows she has to go back. Her last thread of self-respect demands it. She knows her career, barely begun, is over. But she also knows she has a voice, and it’s time to start using it.

Filled with unlikely friendships, unbreakable bonds, heartbreak, and yes, love, Running From Herself is the story of a woman’s journey to find herself.

Fans of Daisy Jones & The Six will be captivated by this poignant exploration of redemption, resilience, and the raw truths of the music industry.

Inn Dreams

Karen Grace has just realized her life’s dream — buying an old motel to renovate. By herself. How hard can it be? But money slips through her fingers fast, and she’s forced to find a job, where she meets the love of her life. That’s when the real trouble begins. Someone doesn’t want her in town and they’re going to make sure she leaves.

"This was another page turner from April Tompkins. I didn't want it to end."

Lies and Love

 Drea hoped to only see her tiny tourist town in her rear view mirror, but now she’s back to take over the family store. Grandpa insisted and no one says no to Grandpa. When a newcomer arrives in town, Drea is immediately smitten. She knows her old high school friend has a crush on her, but she only has eyes for the mysterious stranger. Just one problem – he’s a bit too mysterious.

"Beautiful prose: it invites the readers to continuously explore."

 

 

The Diner Girl

Carrie Peters has one big problem and a bunch of little ones. Her big problem’s name is Aunt Celia, who’s stealing Carrie’s money. The bitter crone, who’s taken Carrie in after her parents die, feeds Carrie scraps and confines her to one corner of the apartment while making Carrie turn over all her waitressing tips. Then there’s Wes, Carrie’s forever love, who leaves for school and abruptly ghosts her. Thank goodness she has the Calico Diner and its customers for refuge and care. What Carrie doesn’t yet know is that the Calico Diner will one day be her salvation.

"Lovely novella with a wonderful message to share." 

Bad Blood

Can a person be born bad? Vanessa’s brother was. His life’s mission was to con and steal, and he didn’t care how he accomplished it or who got hurt. He set fire to his late mother’s house for the insurance money, and the fact that Vanessa was surely inside was simply a minor detail. Except she wasn’t, and he was the one who perished instead.

At least she's sure he did. Even the fire marshal is sure. Propriety dictates that she mourn him, but she can't. She's relieved to finally move on with her life, resume the career that he’d shattered. She finds work with an attorney who only represents the worst of the worst; then one day, sitting behind her boss in the courtroom, she notices that the defendant beside him looks too familiar.

It isn’t possible. Is it?

 

 

Shadow Song

 In a backwoods town, finding your boss’s dead body in the woods is enough to get you charged with murder. Worse, Ashley Montrose is saddled with the most incompetent attorney in the county. She only has herself and a man she loathes to find a way out of this mess.

"April Tompkins delivers a compelling narrative filled with twists and turns, emotional depth, and characters that stay with you long after the last page."

New Kaitlyn

Fed up with her dead-end job and dead-end life, Kaitlyn makes a rash decision: pack up and move to a small town she's never heard of and lead a group of neophytes in her company's new venture. She questions her choice at every turn, from the oddly-friendly landlord to the three bikers she meets on an evening stroll, to the universe's most detestable boss.

Then, to make everything even worse, she falls in love with a man she can never have. 

"Sweet, quirky tale of gritting your teeth while navigating the vagaries of a modern career lifestyle."

 

 

The Apple

The Bonnay family is gathering for their parents’ fortieth anniversary, but all is not balloons and streamers. Aubrey’s dad has gotten himself arrested – again, her rich brother’s wife is acting cold and standoffish, and no one knows if little sister Cassandra can pull her hand out of her latest victim’s pocket long enough to show up.

The night was supposed to be perfect. Aubrey’s long-time boyfriend has something “very important” to talk to her about, just when she’d given up hope that he’d ever pop the question. She’s touched that he’d chosen her parents’ anniversary for the big ask; not that Mister and Mrs. Bonnay’s union is anything to emulate.

Through all the family turmoil, the party goes as well as expected. Dad gets bailed out and returns home as jovial if he’d just strolled to the mailbox. Everyone loves good old Jerry, until someone doesn’t. The police arrest Aubrey’s mother for murdering him, a preposterous proposition, and it’s left to Aubrey to convince the cops of her mother’s innocence, all the while disguising her own life of crime.

Aubrey doesn’t know who killed Dad – the list of suspects is a mile long, including her own family. But she’ll take any step, including the most drastic one, to protect her mother.

 

 

Once In a Blue Moon

Jemma’s grandmother has died and it’s up to Jemma to travel back to the farmhouse to sort her belongings. The one person who should be there, Jemma’s mother, doesn’t even seem to care. Mom has always been that way; distant, detached. Mom hadn’t seen Grandma in years.

Jemma sets upon the task of packing up Grandma’s memorabilia, and curious, she places an old record on the boxy stereo in the basement. That’s the moment when Jemma is no longer Jemma. She’s a young woman surviving in the midst of World War II, with a no-good husband and a lonely country existence.

Just when the woman who’s now called Maggie finally fights her way out of the tangles, a different woman steps into the picture. Her name is Beth, a child of the seventies, harboring a suspicion that batters every step of her life, and bars her from trusting anyone.

Whatever magic caused Jemma to assume these new identities, she’s about to learn some truths about love and lies.

 

                                         

Whispers in the Dark

 

Sam wasn’t always Sam, and she wasn’t always hidden away in a tiny town, spinning records in the middle of the night. She's been so careful, so anonymous. The police never found her.

But now Sam is being stalked. Nine years ago a crazed lunatic tried to murder her, until she killed him first. Then she ran. She was sure she’d killed him. She saw his body, bloody and bashed, right there on the floor. 

It’s impossible that her would-be killer is still alive and hell-bent on revenge. Isn’t it?

Find My Way Home

Tonight man will step on the moon for the first time and fourteen-year-old Sabrina couldn’t care less. All she wants is a way out, an escape from her crazy family. She meets a boy on a blind date and impulsively takes to the road with him. Guilty, she tries to call home but no one answers – ever again. Has her family simply forgotten her?