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Thirty-four-year-old Raquel Whiteman has it all: beauty, a high-powered career, a very rich fiancée, a loving brother and a stepfather she adores. Life is good. Until her mother commits suicide. Clearing the paraphernalia of her mother’s life she finds old photographs and journals which plunge her into a search for the truth about her real father and early childhood, forsaking everything including her engagement to travel a path she is powerless to resist. Like a giant wave the past travels fast and comes crashing down on her, flooding her mind with incomprehensible fragmented memories and continuous questions – What? Why? Why?
Enjoy an Excerpt
Ken’s journal, December 2017
In hindsight, I would have acted differently. Hindsight is a great thing. It’s a shame we don’t have it when we most need it. We would then be able to weigh our decisions and ensure the future wouldn’t be negatively impacted. As it stands, regret sets in and regret is a useless feeling, as it always arrives too late. I wonder why we even have it within the range of our human emotions. With her strict Catholic upbringing my darling Matilde would have said that God decided humans needed to feel regret to enable them to eventually redeem themselves of their sins. She would have added that we are not to question God’s reasons, as we don’t understand them. Sadly, I don’t believe in God. I believe in Matilde and my love for her. I believe in my children and the people I care about, which is probably the whole list of my beliefs though actually that is not strictly true. I believe in science and the scientific approach. It is logical and based on fact and evidence.
All these thoughts however are irrelevant. They are just ramblings of an old man with too much time on his hands.
I continue to worry about my children even though they are now middle-aged and can fend for themselves very well. But I suppose that once a dad, always a dad.
It is a warm day for December though grey and wet. I’m sitting in the conservatory, looking at nothing in particular. I’ve tried to read but cannot concentrate. I can hear the noise from the television. It is tuned into some sports channel. Not that I care about it; it’s all white noise to me but it’s a company of sorts. A fake company of course but I got used to leaving it on all day after Matilde died and, somehow, I feel the need to hear it in the background. I dozed earlier, listening to its distant, monotonous sound. I dreamed that Matilde appeared at the door and called me in for a cup of tea. Then I woke up and of course there was no-one. Just the endless white noise of the TV. I decided to write down some of my thoughts after Matilde was gone from me forever. It’s not for anyone to read but writing my thoughts makes me feel less alone in this house. In hindsight, as mentioned earlier, I’d have done things differently.
About the Author
M G da Mota is Margarida Mota-Bull’s pen name for fiction. She is a Portuguese-British novelist with a love for classical music, ballet and opera. Under her real name she also writes reviews of live concerts, CDs, DVDs and books for two classical music magazines on the web: MusicWeb International and Seen and Heard International. She is a member of the UK Society of Authors, speaks four languages and lives in Sussex with her husband. Her website, called flowingprose.com, contains photos and information.
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While researching her next book, historian and author Hayley Hunter rents a lighthouse in Southeastern North Carolina. The modern lighthouse and vacation home replaced an original wood structure that only functioned during the Revolutionary War. The old lighthouse may be long gone, but the lightkeeper’s ghost remains.
My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with my first fiction book cover. The graphic designer had also entered my name in lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell ever since.
Emily Hanlon is a lifelong storyteller whose journey from the courtroom to fiction has given her writing both precision and heart. Raised in Texas and educated in Boston, she spent years as a personal injury litigator and later as an arbitrator, sifting through contradictory stories to uncover what’s real—a skill that translates seamlessly to her mysteries. A late-life convert to Catholicism inspired by her husband and sons, she now serves as a eucharistic minister and volunteer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Her novels reflect her belief that truth and compassion can coexist—and that justice begins with understanding. All profits from her books support charitable causes. Learn more on her 
Roxy’s spending her summer with burros and jam, but there’s a murderer in the mountains.
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Her Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, the Carly Crown Jewel of Books from the Mid-America Romance Authors, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers. 
The journey begins in Stolen Obsession, when Annalisse’s best friend is murdered and a cursed piece of jewelry may hold the answers. Her search leads her to Alec Zavos, the enigmatic son of a powerful family, and together they race from Manhattan galleries to the Aegean Sea to unravel a deadly conspiracy. In Spent Identity, Annalisse’s return to her hometown in Upstate New York uncovers a body in her family’s barn and the mysterious disappearance of her beloved aunt, plunging her into secrets that strike closer to home than she ever imagined.
Marlene M. Bell is more than an author—she’s a multifaceted creative whose passions for storytelling, art, photography, and sheep ranching all find their way into her work. Her Annalisse series has been recognized internationally, with honors including Best Mystery awards, the IPPY for Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, the Global Award for Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters. Marlene also writes for children, most notably in Mia and Nattie: One Great Team!, a tender picture book inspired by true events on her East Texas sheep ranch that celebrates belonging and unconditional love. Whether she’s behind the camera, at the easel, or at her desk, Marlene is committed to creating work that entertains, inspires, and connects with readers of all ages.
Cybil Lewis, a private inspector in futuristic D.C., now The District, begrudgingly works with the Territory Alliance agents to track down an escaped violator, Nico Mars. Almost immediately, Cybil is tossed into the District’s gritty underbelly of political ambition, drugs, and betrayal. This case will take her and Jane deep into the reaches of The District’s notorious Sector 12, where life is cheap and currency is king. When her investigation leads back to those responsible for protecting citizens, Cybil discovers she’s in danger. She’s reminded once again that everything can be fabricated.
Laurel Osterkamp writes sharp, emotionally resonant novels about women navigating impossible situations. Her books, including Favorite Daughters, The Side Project, and Beautiful Little Furies, have reached #1 on Amazon and earned industry awards. A former high school teacher with an MFA in writing, Laurel now works full-time as a novelist, with stories that balance psychological tension and heart. Her fiction often explores how ambition, trauma, and love intersect in complex and unexpected ways. When she’s not writing or teaching ESL, she’s rewatching 90s TV shows or listening to audiobooks while running around Minneapolis.
Thirty-five-year-old novelist, Shyla Wishon, fears that her life is spinning out of control since her recent marriage to Carl Cores. First, her overbearing new mother-in-law moves to Florida in order to be close to her son, followed by a steady stream of visiting relatives who become a constant intrusion on what was once her time to write. To make matters worse, Carl’s two grown daughters refuse to have anything to do with her, and even though Carl has a good job, bills are starting to pile up.
Originally from Kane, Illinois, author/agent/publisher Barbara Casey attended the University of North Carolina, N.C. State University, and N.C. Wesleyan College where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history. In 1978 she left her position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own manuscript evaluation and editorial service. In 1995 she established the Barbara Casey Agency and since that time has represented authors from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. In 2014, she became a partner with Strategic Media Books, an independent nonfiction publisher of true crime, where she oversees acquisitions, day-to-day operations, and book production.
