Midnight Melodies

Erica Boyd is just trying to keep her life in one piece. But a family feud and a far-too-attractive newcomer threaten to blow it to pieces. Try as she might, Erica can’t quite escape the maelstrom of her mother’s ambition to control every aspect of a project to honor Howard and Bridget Taylor, beloved pillars of the Whitehall, Texas, community from years gone by. Whitehall’s competition for queen of the social scene is fierce—different factions have different ideas about how to honor the Taylors. Erica’s closeted relationship with Alice Goodman is hanging by a thread, and for reasons she won’t explain, Erica’s grandmother is actively resisting the whole Taylor history project, creating a generational feud with Erica caught in the middle. Everybody knows that Howard Taylor and bride Bridget emigrated from England back in 1912. When the frazzled local historian can’t confirm it, she’s replaced with a professional: out and audacious Rae, who jumps into the already powder keg situation. Erica’s mesmerized attraction to the dynamic Rae—and the rumor of a sealed diary—lights the fuse on this story of small town society, survival and secrets. Megan Carter (Passionate Kisses) brings her readers a lighthearted story of then and now with another cast of her unforgettable characters. Winner, Golden Crown Award for Historical Romance.

Rae Neal is truly blessed with amazing creativity and unique communication skills. Her life experiences began in a small, oil town in Oklahoma, continued through college, to Europe, to Russia, to the volcanic mountain villages of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and to her work on an Atlantic Ocean island off the coast of Africa. The pleasant surprises of life are often unexpected. This poetry collection meets that description. It is a privilege for me to recommend Midnight Melodies: From the Seas and Rivers of Life. Bracy Ball, Las Vegas, Nevada, President, Word Truth Ministries, http: //www.wordtruth.net. Rae Neal's thought provoking writings reminded me of the Scripture in Ecclesiastes 3;"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: " As I read her inspired, poetic reflections, I was reminded of many of my own life experiences and how God had been in the midst of each one whether I had recognized it or not. I encourage you to read Midnight Melodies: From the Seas and Rivers of Life and you will hear the still, quiet voice of our Father God sharing His love for His child, you! Dr. John Benefiel; Founder and Senior Pastor, Church on the Rock, Oklahoma City; Author, Binding The Strongman Over America Author Bio: Rae Neal saw God's future for her life when she was 10 years old. Through many twists and turns, that future materialized. Her poetical writings began when she was awakened in the night by the Spirit of God with words welling up in her spirit. She couldn't go back to sleep until she wrote them down. Rae is Pastor of a small church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she now resides with her husband, Terry, after having lived and ministered in various countries. It is her desire that you be blessed and transported through the seas and rivers of your life, in part, through her book's inspirations.

This book advances the study of Chinese folk songs through theoretical innovation in literature-based folk songs and methodological innovation in multidisciplinary cross-interaction. It describes the historical development of folk songs, makes an in-depth study of the intersection and integration of folk songs with other literature and art, as well as the relationship with merchants, folk customs and regional culture, and analyses the literature of folk songs in previous dynasties. It is not only significant for the preservation of cultural heritage, but also to the promotion of folk song research and related fields. This book is applicable to scholars and researchers who have in-depth research on Chinese folk songs.

Adopting new theoretical perspectives and using updated research, this book by a leading Chinese scholar seeks to provide a coherent, panoramic description of the development of premodern Chinese literature and its major characteristics.

This “powerfully absorbing” biography of 17th century Welsh poet George Herbert brings essential personal and social context to his immortal poetry (Financial Times). Though he never published any of his English poems during his lifetime, George Herbert has been celebrated for centuries as one of the greatest religious poets in the language. In this richly perceptive biography, author and theologian John Drury integrates Herbert’s poems fully into his life, enriching our understanding of both the poet’s mind and his work. As Drury writes in his preface, Herbert lived “a quiet life with a crisis in the middle of it.” Beginning with his early academic success, Drury chronicles the life of a man who abandons the path to a career at court and chooses to devote himself to the restoration of a church in Huntingdonshire and lives out his life as a country parson. Because Herbert’s work was only published posthumously, it has always been difficult to know when or in what context he wrote his poems. But Drury skillfully places readings of the poems into his narrative, allowing us to appreciate not only Herbert’s frame of mind while writing, but also the society that produced it. He reveals the occasions of sorrow, happiness, regret, and hope that Herbert captured in his poetry and that led T. S. Eliot to write, “What we can confidently believe is that every poem . . . is true to the poet’s experience.” “It is hard to imagine a better book for anyone, general reader or seventeenth-century aficionado or teacher or student, newly embarking on Herbert.”—The Guardian, UK

The first book in the series of a collection of 50 poems, exploring different themes, styles, forms, and languages. The content ranges from the ponderings of growth, expressions of emotions such as grief, personal life events, fictional character introductions, to pop-cultural references. (Note that all poems in a language other than English include their translations.)