The Heart Of Texas

Named a “Top Pick” by RT Book Reviews Named a “Fall Must-Read” by RedbookMag.com * PopSugar * Parade Magazine * Brit + Co * SoulCycle Hailed as a “Best Fiction Book by Women of Color” at Bustle.com Pitched as “a poor man’s Halle Berry,” forty-one-year-old soap star Jo Randolph, has successfully avoided waiting tables since she left Midland, Texas at eighteen. But then, in the span of twenty-four hours, Jo manages to lose her job, burn her bridges in Hollywood, and accidentally burn down her lover/director’s beach house—after which she is shipped home to Texas by her agent to stay out of sight while she sorts out her situation. The more Jo reluctantly reconnects with her Texas “roots” and the family and friends she left behind, the more she regains touch with herself as an artist and with what is meaningful in life beyond the limelight. The summer of 2007 is cathartic for Jo, whose career and lifestyle have allowed her to live like a child for forty years, but who now must transition to making grown-up decisions and taking on adult responsibilities. In the Heart of Texas is a wry, humorous commentary on the complexities of race, class, relationships, politics, popular culture, and celebrity in our current society.

My name is Texas and this is my story. The daughter of a Southern Baptist pastor, I ran away from home when I was 17. For 28 years I traveled a path that took me to places from which few return. Unhealthy relationships and unbridled lusts corrupted my view of freedom and left me cornered in addiction--financed by crafty manipulation and drug dealing. My tainted knowledge of love and polluted desire for escape kept me on a treacherous treadmill that continually fed the heartache of those I loved. But, through it all, the One who loved me unconditionally remained. This is my unvarnished account of the years I spent running and what brought that season to its redeeming end.

Riley Hayes, the playboy of the Hayes family, is a young man who seems to have it all: money, a career he loves, and his pick of beautiful women. His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons; but a stipulation is attached to Riley's portion. Concerned about Riley's lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley 'marry and stay married for one year to someone he loves'. Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father's stipulation. Blackmailing Jack Campbell into marrying him ""for love"" suits Riley's purpose. There is no mention in his father's documents that the marriage had to be with a woman and Jack Campbell is the son of Riley Senior's arch-rival. Win-win. Riley marries Jack and abruptly his entire world is turned inside out. Riley hadn't counted on the fact that Jack Campbell, quiet and unassuming rancher, is a force of nature in his own right. This is a story of murder, deceit, the struggle for power, lust and love, the sprawling life of a rancher and the whirlwind existence of a playboy. But under and through it all, as Riley learns over the months, this is a tale about family and everything that that word means.

Texas is a diverse state. But the one thing that binds Texans more than their state pride, even more than religion, is football. For the many towns and cities of Texas, high school football is more than a sport or an extracurricular activity—it’s the glue of their community. Author Gray Levy, a high school football coach for more than two decades, became disillusioned with the state of the education system nationwide and traveled to Texas, a place where high school football still matters, to see just what schools and communities were doing right. What he found will both confirm and debunk common presumptions about high school football in Texas, a complex phenomenon that varies by region, school size, and the ethnic diversity of the Lone Star State.

Welcome to Texas—home of cowboys, cattle, and NASA—where "Friendship" is the motto folks live by. Remember the Alamo, where a brave Army fought against Santa Anna; visit Big Bend National Park and try to spot a Bear; and go to the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame to discover the women who Conquered the Old West. Celebrate Texas in this alphabetical tour from Laura Krauss Melmed and Frané Lessac, the bestselling duo who brought us Capital! Washington D.C. from A to Z and New York, New York! The Big Apple from A to Z. With a treasure trove of facts and bright, bold art, this rootin'-tootin', rip-roarin' tribute to the Lone Star State will have readers shouting "Yee-haw!"

Wade McMillen might be a minister, but he's also a man. An unmarried and very attractive one. Is it as a man that he responds to the lovely young woman who shows up in Promise, pregnant and alone? Or as a man of God? Maybe it's both. Amy Thornton hopes to make a new life for herself and her baby, and to do that, she needs Reverend McMillen's help, his compassion. What she wants is the love of a man named Wade… Look for more heartwarming titles from New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber, available now from Harlequin MIRA!

Opposites attract... Graham McBride is a cardiothoracic surgeon and the eldest of the McBride siblings. Dedicated, hardworking, traditional, and oh, yeah, hot. But Graham married young and divorced, and is now convinced no woman will tolerate his dedication to his career. When he meets Bella Benson at a party he’s immediately attracted to her, probably because she’s totally different from any woman he’s ever dated. ...but can they stay together? Bella owns one of the local hair salons. She’s young, hardworking, successful and unconventional. And to Graham there’s no denying that, from the tips of her rainbow-colored hair to the soles of her fancy turquoise cowboy boots, Bella Benson is smokin'. Bella is no more interested in getting serious than Graham. After all, other than a sizzling physical attraction, they don’t have a lot in common. But oh, that sizzle! Irresistible right? So they jump into the fire, both confident they can keep their emotions in check. Love and passion rarely stick with a plan, and while Graham has expertise in repairing hearts, he is disastrously clueless figuring out his own. Can he prove to Bella that he’s worth the risk?

Welcome to Promise, a small town in the heart of Texas where the neighbors are friendly and you just might find love. Nell’s Cowboy Nell Bishop, widowed mother of two children, is turning Twin Canyons into a dude ranch. One of her first guests is Travis Grant: a celebrity of sorts, a wannabe cowboy and an Easterner known for his books about the West. Her kids adore him—and she has to admit she’s drawn to him, too. But it’s too soon to be thinking of love and marriage again. Isn’t it? Lone Star Baby When Amy Thornton shows up in town pregnant and alone, she’s looking for some guidance and compassion, so she turns to Reverend Wade McMillan. He might be a minister, but he’s also a man. An unmarried and very attractive one. But is it as a man that he responds to Amy? Or as a man of God? Maybe it’s both. Amy needs the town’s help to get back on her feet. What she wants is the love of a man named Wade…

"Linda Broday's heroes step right out of her books and into your heart." —JODI THOMAS, New York Times bestselling author He married her to keep his ranch, but she just might save his heart in this emotional historical western romance from queen of the genre, USA Today bestseller Linda Broday. One bullet is all it takes to shatter Houston Legend's world. He swore he'd never love again, but with the future of the Lone Star Ranch on the line, he finds himself at the altar promising to love and cherish a woman he's never met—a woman whose vulnerable beauty touches his heart. All Lara Boone wants is a name for her baby. She never expected to fall in love with her own husband—or any man—after the heartache she's endured. Yet when her troubled past catches up with them, Houston will move heaven and earth to protect his bride...and discover depths to a marriage of convenience neither realized could be theirs. Three Brothers. One Oath. No Compromises. Men of Legend: To Love a Texas Ranger The Heart of a Texas Cowboy To Marry a Texas Outlaw

New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant takes you deep inside the Texas rodeo scene in the second book in her Heart of Texas series, Cowboy, Cross My Heart, where danger and desire ride side by side. . . Naomi Pierce isn’t the type to let a cowboy sweep her off feet. It’s not her first rodeo, after all. But when she returns to her Texas hometown, she can’t help but be swept up again in the rough-and-tumble world of hard-riding, bronco-busting good-ol’-boys she loved as a girl. She might be here to photograph her Rodeo Queen best friend. But it’s one fine-looking cowboy who really captures her eye... Brice Harper is all man, all muscle, and all heart. From the moment he rides into the stadium, he can’t help but notice the beautiful stranger with a camera watching him from the stands. It doesn’t take a zoom lens to see the sparks of instant attraction. But things really heat up when he meets Naomi up-close—and he discovers that someone is stalking her friend. Brice wouldn’t be any kind of cowboy if he didn’t offer to help the ladies out. But can the rough rider keep this spirited shutterbug out of danger—without risking his heart?