Chronicles the endeavors of the Licht family--a clan of cheats, murderers, and con men--from the late eighteenth century through the 1930s, and details the moral consequences of their crimes and transgressions.

There is poison stinging the air and the only safe refuge for humans is underground. The most satisfying food in the world that sustains humans are wings from Angels, which they hunt down and use for nefarious purposes after eating their wings. Two sibling Angels get caught and held captive underground. The male sibling Virtue must convince his human captor to let both him and his sister go.Have you ever wondered how exciting a tortoise’s life is? What exciting things might a tortoise get up to, if it disappears behind a bag of potatoes in the garden shed? George lived with his parents in a small cottage, miles away from anywhere. Since he was too young to go to school, he spent his days playing in the garden with Timothy, his pet tortoise. George never realised what incredible adventures his pet might have, slowly lumbering around the garden. Read “Timothy’s Big Adventure” and find out how this little tortoise crawled behind a bag of potatoes, fell into a void that led into another universe and then encountered the most amazing adventure. Sometimes, the most extraordinary stories can occur in the most unlikely places!

When his missing bride suddenly reappears with a child she claims is his daughter—almost two years after her presumed death, Lord Halcombe is forced to decide both her fate and his. Honed by a desperate fight for survival, Frances is no longer the naïve girl he’d married. Can he put the past aside and accept the strong-willed, passionate woman she is now?

Amazon.com ReviewA Letter from Author Karen Abbott My grandmother used to tell me stories about growing up during the Great Depression, and she once related a tale about a cousin who saw Gypsy Rose Lee perform in 1935. “She took a full fifteen minutes to peel off a single glove,” the cousin said, “and she was so damned good at it I would’ve gladly given her fifteen more.” This story got me thinking: who was Gypsy Rose Lee? And how did an awkward girl named Louise Hovick become her? I spent three years researching the answer, research that included connecting with Gypsy’s late sister, the actress June Havoc; I was the last person to interview her. When I arrived at June’s Connecticut farm I found her lying in bed, her hair done up in pert white pigtails. She was ninety-four years old, give or take, and the legs that once danced on stages across the country were now motionless, two nearly imperceptible bumps tucked beneath crisp white sheets. Her eyes were a bold shade of blue and painfully sensitive to light. She told me the musical Gypsy distorted her childhood so thoroughly it was as if “I didn’t own me anymore.” She realized her sister was “screwing me out in public,” and that, in the end, there was no stopping either Gypsy or Gypsy; the play was both her sister’s monument and her best chance for monumental revisionism. It took another visit for June to share more personal memories: money was Gypsy’s “god,” and she would do anything to anybody, including June, to make more of it. Gypsy did in fact do things, not only to June but also to herself—“terrible” and “awful” and “shocking” things, things beneath her sister’s formidable intellect and keen wit, things that made June believe, to that day, that love (even love fraught with competition and jealousy) never existed between them at all. I asked and listened, for as much time as June gave me. I asked until her patience wore thin and her eyes watered with the effort to stay open. “I hope I didn’t upset you today,” I whispered. “That’s not my intention.” “I know,” June said. Those startling eyes found their focus, settling on mine. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more open about some things... I’m still ashamed for her. I wish they hadn’t happened.” “Would Gypsy wish the same?” I asked. “She had no shame.” A pause, and I said, feebly, “You were a good sister to her.” A hand tunneled out from the sheet. She coiled long, blade-thin fingers around my wrist. “I was no sister,” June said. “I was a knot in her life. I was nothing.” She retracted her hand, gave her eyes permission to close. I kissed her cheek and crept out the bedroom door. I was grateful she let me inside—even on the periphery, even briefly¬—and I suspected she was saving her own questions for the day she reunited with the sister she did profess to love, the one she still called Louise. ReviewPraise for American Rose:"Abbott creates a brainy striptease similar to the one her subject may have performed: uncovering doozies in one chapter about Lee's outrageous life, followed in the next by the less salacious (but always captivating) details about how New York City's Minsky brothers, who played a crucial role in Lee's stardom, built their burlesque empire." —Newsday"At its core, American Rose is a haunting portrait of a woman 'giving what she has to, keeping all she can,' offering her audiences a sassy, confident self while making sure they would never know the damaged soul who created her." —The Los Angeles Times"American Rose is the rare biography that captures the imagination and doesn't let go. It would scare the bejeesus out of Gypsy Rose Lee, and it's guaranteed to enthrall readers." —*Book Page"[Abbott's] portrait of the famed stripper is both darker and more inspiring than the famed stripper's version of her life as filtered by Broadway or Hollywood." —Atlanta Journal-Constitution Praise for Karen Abbott’s *Sin in the Second City“A delicious history . . . a lush love letter to the underworld . . . [Abbott] describes the Levee’s characters in such detail that it’s easy to mistake this meticulously researched history for literary fiction.”—The New York Times Book Review“[Abbott’s] research enables the kind of vivid description à la fellow journalist Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City that makes what could be a dry historic account an intriguing read.”—The Seattle Times“[A] satisfyingly lurid tale . . . Change the hemlines, add 100 years, and the book could be filed under current affairs.”—USA Today“Assiduously researched . ...

Lucien and Dahlia… A relationship that was never meant to be. Is that why it seems so destined to fail? Maybe. But Lucien doesn’t believe that’s the case. Still, with all the odds stacked against this unlikely couple, Lucien sees only one way out---sacrifice himself in order to save Dahlia. Will Lucien succeed in destroying himself? Can Dahlia stop him? Or, will their love prove strong enough to save them both? All the answers are revealed in Sacrifice: Laid Bare, the final installment in the Laid Bare series. Volume 4 of the Laid Bare novellas Steamy Romance/Paranormal Romance

A sexy novella where things are not always as they appear. Enter the Laid Bare world only if you dare. There’s something about Lucien Chambers. Something beyond his amazing success, his good looks, and his uncanny ability to turn everything he touches to gold. In the eyes of the world, Lucien is a sexy and savvy business man. But when a naïve photographer, Dahlia Vaughn, is hired to take pictures of the hot entrepreneur, she discovers Mr. Chambers may be much more than what he seems. Volume 1 of the Laid Bare novellas Erotic Romance/Paranormal Romance genre

Being Lily Parnell’s best friend came effortlessly for Jack. Growing up together, Jack loved Lily and was fiercely protective of her and for almost all of his life all he wanted was to make her happy. When she was happy he was happy, except Lily lived a world away from him now and Jack missed her dreadfully. As far as Jack was concerned there had never been a time in their lives where they hadn’t shared everything and he valued their special bond. In recent years Lily’s ambitions took her overseas and even with an ocean between them, Jack still managed to support his best friend. One day things changed everything between them and their relationship began to shift. Lily had carved her own life and after observing a scene involving her, it made Jack take a close look at his own. Life post-Lily left Jack feeling confused and he decided to take a difficult decision, never realising the potential fallout from doing something he strongly felt was the right thing at the time. With his life laid bare and as a simple, uncomplicated guy he thought he had finally figured things out. Women loved Jack but they had all come and gone in his life apart from Lily. She was always there until one day she wasn’t. A revelation by Lily left Jack feeling betrayed and abandoned by the one person who he thought he could rely on no matter what. During his journey from that moment on Jack faced more separation and loss than he could have ever imagined. How would his experiences shape him as a man and would he ever find it in his heart to forgive?