Books published by publisher Nimble Books

The FIRST book in the Kate Benedict paranormal mystery series.SHE KNOWS WHO'S GOING TO DIE! BUT NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HER...Life spins out of control for London architect Kate Benedict when she sees a dancing aura above certain people’s heads that seems to signal death. Suddenly she’s psychic. But that can't be! Psychic’s not acceptable in her circle, where the supernatural is strictly for the superstitious. And yet…people are dying. People close to her. Kate's tentative attempts to talk about her new-found metaphysical gift are met with eye rolls, so much so that she can’t even tell the nice Scotland Yard detective who's investigating the death of a close friend, Rebecca Williams. And now Rebecca’s neighbor has an aura.So what's Kate to do but try to save him by turning detective herself? A break-in and attack on her boyfriend confirm that the murderer’s catching on that Kate knows too much. But he (or maybe she) has no idea that what Kate knows is a little on the paranormal side.Fans of traditional British mysteries (and female sleuths) will love watching competent, reasonable Kate try to harness supernatural abilities she not only doesn't understand, she doesn't even believe in! And those who love international mysteries will particularly enjoy the vivid scenes in Italy, where the story begins and, in some ways, ends. WHO ELSE WILL LIKE IT: Anyone looking for a new, fresh female sleuth, as well as fans of paranormal suspense, traditional (yet not too cozy) stories, contemporary British women detectives like the ones found on the BBC’s ROSEMARY AND THYME and MURDER IN SUBURBIA, and mysteries with a metaphysical twist, like Kay Hooper’s Bishop Files series, Iris Johansen’s THE PERFECT WITNESS, and Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books."Carrie Bedford is a real find, and The Aura is engaging paranormal suspense ... Bedford is a fine writer, an accomplished novelist, and a terrific storyteller whose characters ring true and pull us deep into the mystery." -Shelley Singer, author of the Jake Samson-Rosie Vicente mystery series and Torch Song, first in the Blackjack near-future thriller series."...a terrific book with a likable protagonist, skilled plotting and a supernatural spin. This gripping mystery had me hooked from the first chapter." -Janet Dawson, author of the Jeri Howard series

Winner of the 1991 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel and the FIRST mystery in the highly acclaimed Skip Langdon series, New Orleans Mourning falls deliciously between the psychological suspense of Laura Lippman and the delicate drama of Tennessee Williams."Smith is a gifted writer." –Washington Post Book WorldMURDER, MARDI GRAS--AND MORE SECRETS THAN BEADS...It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and civic leader and socialite Chauncey St. Amant has been crowned Rex, King of Carnival. But his day of glory comes to an abrupt and bloody end when a parade-goer dressed as Dolly Parton guns him down. Is the killer his aimless, promiscuous daughter Marcelle? Homosexual, mistreated son Henry? Helpless, alcoholic wife Bitty? Or some unknown player? Turns out the king had enemies...Enter resourceful heroine Skip Langdon, a rookie police officer and former debutante turned cynic of the Uptown crowd. Scouring the streets for clues, interviewing revelers and street people with names like Jo Jo, Hinky, and Cookie, and using her white glove contacts, the post-deb rebel cop encounters a tangled web of brooding clues and ancient secrets that could mean danger for her—and doom for the St. Amants.Langdon, with her weight worries, insecurities, and yet overall toughness has long been a favorite of those who like their female sleuths bold, smart, and refreshingly human.“Smith finds secrets and potential in nearly all corners of New Orleans.” –NPR"Julie Smith writes like jazz should sound—cool, complex, and penetrating right to the heart.” -Val McDermid, best-selling author of the Tony Hill series"Though her plot careens with as many twists and turns as a car chase through the French Quarter, it is Smith's rotating focus on the complex viewpoints of her fully formed characters that gives her sixth novel its psychological and emotional depth ... [A] rich, tightly structured narrative." -Publishers Weekly"Murder at the Mardi Gras and the flavor of New Orleans ... Old secrets are highlighted in this wonderful story that is as filled with topical information as it is with a great story about murder and history. Smith writes with authority about her city." -Ocala Star BannerFans of Ace Atkins, Tana French, Sue Grafton, and Marcia Muller will love Skip Langdon’s pluck and charm.

IF A GYM BAG OF CASH FELL INTO YOUR HANDS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO KEEP IT? The FIRST offbeat mystery in the TUBBY DUBONNET series by Anthony- and Edgar-nominated author Tony DunbarA simple man with a refined palate, maverick New Orleans lawyer Tubby Dubonnet has a penchant for fishing, Old Fashioneds, off-track betting, and fighting evil while passing a good time. His clients are all renegades from the asylum (aka Orleans Parish), including a transvestite entertainer, a buxom deadbeat blonde, a doctor who refers his own patients to a malpractice lawyer, and a Mardi Gras reveler who drives a float shaped like a giant crawfish pot. He also has his hands full with an ex-wife and three teenage daughters, who are experts in the art of wrapping Tubby around their little fingers. And somehow, between work and family, Tubby finds time to sample the highs and lows of idiosyncratic Crescent City cuisine, from trout meuniere amandine and French roast coffee with chicory to shrimp po-boys and homemade pecan pralines. Tubby's new client is Darryl Alvarez, the manager of a local nightclub who's been caught unloading marijuana from a shrimp boat. At their first meeting, Darryl entrusts Tubby with an ordinary-looking blue gym bag. But after Darryl's unfortunate demise, Tubby realizes he must tighten his grasp on the gym bag -- and its million-dollar contents. Tubby can’t just give up the cash. But if he gets caught, he’ll be in jail. And if the wrong people catch him, he’ll wish he was.Excerpt:The pain that said he was drinking too much started creeping up behind Tubby’s ears. Raisin Partlow, his drinking buddy, had given up trying to make conversation and was puffing on a cigarette in the exaggerated way that irregular smokers do. The dusty, barely lit tavern was thinning out, leaving just a few whiskered pool players chalking up a last game and a pair of busty girls sharing confidences with the even heftier dame behind the bar. “Never screw a client and never lie to the judge,” Tubby said abruptly. It took Raisin a second to break through to the surface. “What’s that?” he asked. “That’s all of the so-called legal ethics that make sense to me. The rest of it is just so many little rules you can twist around to suit whatever you want to do.” “Well, you know, Tubby, I lied to a judge just last week.” Raisin expelled a wobbly smoke ring and smiled in satisfaction. “Old ‘Fuzzy’ Bear appointed me to represent the fool who shot a fourteen-year-old girl, after he raped her and her mother. He asks me, ‘Mr. Partlow, can you put aside your personal feelings and represent this man to the best of your goddamn abilities?’” The bartender broke off her conversation to look in their direction. Tubby raised his fingers an inch off the scarred oak surface, so cool to the touch, and shook his head, no. The familiar pain of too much whiskey and too much Coca-Cola had already spread over to the top of his skull. “What did you tell him?” “I told him, ‘Yes, Your Honor. The man deserves his day in court.’ I should have told him, ‘Fuck no, Judge. I hate this guy. Take him away where I don’t have to look at him. I’ll be embarrassed to admit to my godchildren that I was even in the same room with the guy.’ But I knew that was the wrong answer to the question.” “You should have told him the truth,” Tubby said. “Like what?” “You should have said, ‘Heck no, Judge. But I’ll do a better job than anybody else you’re likely to get.” Raisin shrugged and waved at the bartender. Tubby slid off his stool and grabbed the bar for support. “I’m out of here,” he said. Raisin looked concerned about being left alone. “Let me buy you one more,” he said. Tags: Legal Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Legal Suspense, Lawyer Mysteries, Crime Fiction, Mystery Series, Heist Thrillers, Organized Crime, Courtroom Thrillers, Courtroom Drama, Lawyer Novels, Legal Ficti

"It's Stephanie Plum with Tabasco, dawlin'." -The Clarion Ledger, Jackson, MSLouisiana Lament is the THIRD book in the Talba Wallis mystery series by Edgar-winning author Julie Smith.NOBODY KNEW WHO SHE REALLY WAS ... BUT HER PARTIES WERE TO DIE FOR! "From biker bar to college campus, the chase is on ... readers will remain hooked until the killer's comeuppance in the clever conclusion." -Publisher's Weekly"Vibrant. " -Booklist on Louisiana LamentThey’d be Queen Latifah and Danny DeVito if this were a movie. In Louisiana Lament, they’re P.I.s Talba Wallis and Eddie Valentino. Talba's young, African-American, computer-brilliant, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and a noted poet by night; Eddie's pushing seventy, white, hopelessly tech-challenged, and pretty much burned out. Somehow, they make it work—with Talba’s tech-and-street smarts, and Eddie's old-school hard-earned savvy, they even complement each other.One stormy day Talba gets an emergency call from Janessa, the sister she barely knows, and arrives to find a body floating in a swimming pool—the mortal husk of Allyson Brown, known in New Orleans literary circles as the Girl Gatsby. Like Gatsby, Allyson was one of those mysterious rich people who move to town, give amazing parties, and seem made of moonbeams.Investigating, Talba finds the reality behind the Gatsby glamour. Allyson was a con artist who neglected her children, ignored her bills, and lied like a rug. But she wasn’t the only bad actor on the local literary scene. Fellow poet Rashad leads Talba a merry chase, leaving a trail of clues in the form of poetry, while novelists engage in fisticuffs, unseemly preening, and unforgivable arrogance.Before it’s all over, Talba finds out just how seamy, petty, and downright murderous her fellow literati can be.

SHE NEEDS A KID TO CATCH A KILLER…BUT HOW TO CATCH THE KID? "Julie Smith writes like jazz should sound—cool, complex, and penetrating right to the heart.” -Val McDermid, best-selling author of the Tony Hill seriesThe TENTH installment of the Skip Langdon series is a New Orleans feast for the senses, a canine love story, an action-packed police procedural made-to-order for readers who like their female sleuths bold, smart, and refreshingly human. A serial killer is using Airbnb units to stage his murders, but a teenage runaway has escaped his grasp and now she's in the wind, believing she's killed him. Meanwhile the real killer stalks the city – and her.Cody, the pink-haired sixteen-year-old, should be in school or at the mall texting her friends, not hanging out at the intersection of serial murder and human trafficking. When the options are: (1) Return to a life of slavery (2) Go to jail for murder (3) Be killed by a serial killer, Option 4 makes perfect sense – RUN! As mean as the streets of The City That Care Forgot can be, this child attracts angels (often unlikely ones) – and entire packs of dogs – who come to her aid. She also finds a friend in NOPD’s newest Sergeant – big (six-foot!), beautiful, tough, and tender-hearted Skip Langdon. Skip knows her best hope of finding the killer is to find Cody – plus she feels for the girl, in whom she recognizes a younger version of her plucky, resourceful, whip-smart self. The city’s hard-boiled; the detective has a heart the size of the Superdome. Longtime Skip Langdon fans who’ve thirsted for #10 will be delighted to hear the music of New Orleans in Smith’s prose. Fans of female-sleuth authors like Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, and Linda Barnes, will love Skip Langdon’s pluck and charm. And those who particularly favor female cop stories, especially those by Nevada Barr, Lisa Gardner, Tana French, J.D. Robb, Karin Slaughter, Tess Gerritsen, and Anne Hillerman will find a new fave here. “If you haven't discovered Smith yet, now is the time to do so… Move over, Sara Paretsky.” --KPFA-FM (Berkeley, CA)“If it’s gritty realism you’re craving, gently simmered with spicy suspense and marvelously memorable characters, Smith is the perfect New Orleans tour guide… --The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)“BRILLIANT.” --San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

This is the FOURTH book in Edgar-winner Julie Smith’s Rebecca Schwartz series."A delightfully modern sleuth." --Minneapolis Tribune"If you haven't discovered Smith yet, now is the time to do so . . . Move over, Sara Paretsky." —KPFA-FM (Berkeley, CA)WHAT'S THE ETIQUETTE WHEN YOUR HOSTESS IS ARRESTED FOR MURDER? San Francisco lawyer Rebecca Schwartz has occasion to wonder when she and her weekend hostess, Marty Whitehead, find a body floating in the 30-foot kelp tower at the Monterey Aquarium, and Marty's promptly dragged off to the slammer. Rebecca quickly grasps the Emily Post solution—sign on as Marty's lawyer, try to keep her client's two young kids out of the deep end, and somehow avoid drowning in the sea of lies gushing from Marty's mouth--and everyone else’s. There’s a lot of intrigue among the aquarium's oceangoing primates, as well as rumors of a pearl beyond price.For Rebecca, the sea and all its animals have always held a huge attraction, but now her attention turns to a particularly fine specimen of homo sapiens--hot marine biologist Julio Soto. As her investigation picks up speed, she finds she better act fast to keep Julio from sleeping with the fishes he collects. Because if she doesn’t, he could be next in line for the shark tank—along with Rebecca herself.Author's note: I wrote this after I'd written the first book in the Skip Langdon Police Procedural Series, which is a much darker proposition than the Rebecca Schwartz books. Usually. But some readers have remarked that this one is a good deal darker than the three previous titles in the series. It does have some scary scenes, but I think Rebecca kept her sense of humor. Try it--money back if you don't like it! I promise. Just write me at juleorleans@cox.net. --Thanking you in advance for your kind indulgence--Julie Smith"Nobody gets inside her characters like Julie Smith." -Linda Barnes, author of the Carlotta Carlyle series"Smith is a gifted writer." -The Washington Post Book World

Confirmed grump Eddie Valentino placed the ad. Hotshot 20-something Talba Wallis knew exactly how to answer it. And thus was born the dynamic duo of New Orleans private detectives, one cynical, 65-year-old Luddite white dude with street smarts, and one young, bright-eyed, 21st century African-American female poet, performance artist, mistress of disguise, and computer jock extraordinaire. Think Queen Latifah and Danny DeVito. In Louisiana Hotshot, their job is to hunt down a sociopath and pedophile who's molested the 14-year-old daughter of their client, hangs out on the ragged edges of the rap and recording industries, and has more powerful allies than a Cabinet member. But both detectives have unfinished business from the past - in Eddie's case, something he deeply regrets; in Talba's, a personal mystery, one so frightening no one will help her investigate. But she knows she won't sleep till she solves it - and the truth will change her forever.

The SECOND book in the Edgar Award-winning Skip Langdon mystery series "A multilayered masterpiece " -Andrew Vachss“Gritty, witty, & mesmerizing! Langdon is a splendid female heroine.” –People MagazineWHAT’S THE PERFECT KILLING FIELD FOR A MURDERER?A place where he (or maybe she) can learn your secrets from your own mouth and then make friends over coffee. A supposedly "safe" place where anonymity is the norm. The horror who calls himself The Axeman has figured it out and claimed his territory—he's cherry-picking his murder victims in the 12-Step programs of New Orleans.And he's had the gall to name himself after a historical serial killer. He just needs to go down, and fast, because this is New Aw'lins, dawlin'—half the town is either alcoholic or co-dependent!Who better to take him out than tall, funny, social-misfit Skip Langdon, now a homicide detective on the Axeman team, a gig that takes her into the 12-Step groups to meet the suspects (giving the author a chance for gentle satire). As Skip threads her fascinated way from one self-help group to another, she finds she has more in common with the twelve-steppers than just the murder—her mother, for one thing, whom she encounters at Overeaters Anonymous! And she knows what they do not: that among their anonymous numbers is a murderous, and dangerously attractive psychopath…"Smashing . . . New Orleans Mourning was a tough act to follow. The Axeman’s Jazz is a wonderful, completely satisfying encore." -The Denver Post"Julie Smith not only firmly establishes her claim to the New Orleans crime scene, but she explores an intriguing new franchise for the serial killer." –Sue Grafton"Marvelous!" –Chicago TribuneAn action-packed crime thriller for fans of Showtime's DEXTER (and all serial killer stories), hard-boiled detective writers like Ace Atkins, Laura Lippman, Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, Nevada Barr, J.A. Jance, and Marcia Muller, lovers of female sleuths and the deeper, more psychological police procedurals, like those of Tana French; and, of course, anyone who's ever been to New Orleans, or wanted to!Excerpt:"Langdon! In here!" Joe sounded furious."What is it? Did somebody leak the scarlet A's?""Worse. I swear to God it's worse."With a pair of tweezers, he handed Skip a letter, typed on plain white paper. "Look at this."It said:Dear Broadcaster:You probably remember me. The first time, I wrote to the print media, but there was no television then. I also used an axe. That, of course, would be messy in this day and age and I have two perfectly good hands to strangle with. So forget the axe, but I'm still who I am. My signature is awritten in blood. I kill whom I need to kill, both women and men.As I mentioned before, they never caught me and they never will. I am not a human being, but an extraterrestrial. (Or perhaps that is the best way you can understand it.) I am what you Orleanians used to call the Axeman—make no mistake, I'm back.It's me.I'm baaaaaack.Here's the deal: It's the same as before. Jazz is the lifeblood of this great city of ours—it was then and it is now. It's the only constant, the only universal. My spaceship lands Tuesday, and I'll be out for blood. (Did you know we extraterrestrials are vampires?) But I have an endless supply of infinite mercy and I will show it to anyone in whose home a jazz band is playing between the hours of 7 p.m. and daylight. Take heed—you will be spared!But no matter if you aren't, my infinite mercy extends to my victims. I am quick and I am painless. Ask Linda Lee and Tom.THE AXEMAN.

MURDER IN THE BIG SLEAZY: Destination crime fiction with a heaping dose of ÉtoufféeA simple man with a refined palate, maverick New Orleans lawyer Tubby Dubonnet has a penchant for fishing, Old Fashioneds, off-track betting, and fighting evil while passing a good time. Passing a good time, of course, includes running from the mob, solving gritty crime lab murder mysteries, thwarting hurricane season bank heists, and a good deal of rubbing elbows with corrupt politicians—all this while answering to a family of beloved women that he just can’t seem to slip anything past… And with each action-packed adventure, you can trust—because this is a Tubby Dubonnet mystery—that these disparate events are intricately intertwined.A veritable best-of, this murder mystery anthology includes nine of Tubby Dubonnet’s Anthony and Edgar-nominated hard-boiled legal thrillers. (Editor’s Note: Why not all ten? Sorry to say the rights to TUBBY MEETS KATRINA are licensed to another publisher. But these stories need not be read in order.)CROOKED MANMeet lawyer Tubby Dubonnet. His clients are all renegades from the asylum (aka Orleans Parish), including Darryl Alvarez, the manager of a local nightclub who's been caught unloading marijuana from a shrimp boat. At their first meeting, Darryl entrusts Tubby with an ordinary-looking blue gym... of money. What could possibly go wrong?CITY OF BEADSTubby Dubonnet is bored. Sure, researching licensing law for the new casino will keep trout meunière on the table, but what could be more tedious? (Unless, of course, the client’s dealings are steeped in conspiracy).TRICK QUESTIONMedical lab janitor Cletus Busters is caught red-handed in a restricted area with the frozen head of Dr. Whitney Valentine. Busters won't say much, except that he's innocent. Calling Tubby Dubonnet!SHELTER FROM THE STORMTo out-of-town kingpin Willie LaRue, Mardi Gras seems the perfect time for a New Orleans heist. Parties, parades, chaos, alcohol – who could be concerned about a little thing like a bank job? Indeed, all might have gone well except for an out-of-season frog-flogger that threatens to flood the French Quarter. CRIME CZARTubby can't forget the last words that escaped an old friend's lips, and he can't get out of the way of a political campaign that's turning rough. Obsessed with the idea that a shadowy crime boss may be pulling the strings that have cost good people their lives, Tubby is entering into a test of courage with the most violent men in New Orleans.LUCKY MANIt's a city of sin. And murder is only one of them. So what if Judge Hughes shared a few special moments with Sultana Patel—why is this a matter of public interest? Until the D.A. hatches a plot to ensnare them—and their lawyer Tubby. And what a web they’re ensnared in!NIGHT WATCHMANWhen in the 1970s a young war protester is killed in broad daylight on Canal Street, it appears that his murder will be forgotten. But a youthful Tubby chanced to see it happen, and the tragic event's haunted him throughout his life. Decades later, Tubby decides to conduct his own investigation. And stirs up a hornets’ nest.FAT MAN BLUESEx-con Angelo Spooner is trying to start a legit business, but he just can’t catch a break. Just as his healing Holy Water, “Angelo’s Elixir” is about to go upscale, the sticky strands of the Big Sleazy’s tangled web of crime and corruption come running. What’s a law-abiding parolee to do? Hire Tubby Dubonnet, of course!FLAG BOYThe set-up alone's enough to make you believe in the butterfly effect. Two acrobats burglarize a house; a sultan moves into a French Quarter mansion; a Mardi Gras Indian, in the wrong place at the wrong time, is wrongfully arrested; and our hero Tubby Dubonnet comes upon a double murder while paying a social call on the bayou.

ADVENTURE TRAVEL IN AN ARMCHAIR … AT AN UNBEATABLE PRICE!Armchair travelers who happen to love cozy puzzlers won't be able to resist this deal. Four of Michaela Thompson's delightful international mystery novels—set in France, Italy, and India—each featuring bright and funny leading ladies, are on sale as a box set.Take the grand tour! Cuddle up and enjoy these exotic and thrilling adventures one after the other.MAGIC MIRRORSACRE BLEU! THEY KILLED A MAN FOR A MIRROR!Florida transplant Georgia Lee Maxwell doesn't take to Paris at first, despite the fact that she's at least leaving a no-good man and a hated job as a society editor. Now she's a Paris correspondent, thank you very much—a dream come true for any journalist.There's just a slight down side—she arrives in freezing rain, gets caught in a traffic jam caused by a bomb scare, and hates her apartment; but the real Bonjour is finding herself face down on a museum floor during a robbery. Three terrifying masked gunmen shoot the unfortunate security guard and make off with only a mirror. Does it have some prophetic ability? Does someone know something the gendarmes don't? Here's what Georgia Lee knows: If she finds out first, she's a journalistic hero. If she doesn't, she's dead.A TEMPORARY GHOSTA GHOST-WRITING GIG IN PROVENCE--SHE'S LIVING THE DREAM! UNTIL THE KILLING STARTS...In journalist Georgia Lee Maxwell's second adventure, she leaves her new home in Paris for Provence, where she's been offered a lucrative ghost-writing job. But her co-author, suspected murderess Vivien Howard, the widow of a wealthy New York financier, seems strangely uninterested in writing her memoir Vivian was widely believed to have murdered her husband but was never charged with the crime, and now she promises to tell all.Amid the beauties of Provence, settled in, a charming renovated farmhouse, Georgia Lee finds a household full of ill-feeling, not to mention suspicious characters. Frustrated by Vivien's lack of cooperation and unnerved by threatening letters, Georgia Lee soon realizes that she has become a player in a more dangerous game than she could have imagined. And then there's another murder.VENETIAN MASKAT CARNIVAL IN THE FLOATING CITY—AN ARTLESS YOUNG AMERICAN, A MYSTERIOUS MASKED COUNT, AND MURDERThe surreal splendor of Venice glitters and mesmerizes as six so-called friends who, it turns out, barely know each other meet at Carnival to play a malignant game that quickly turns murderous. Sally, the “Tallahassee lassie” spurned by the rest as a virtual hayseed, is swept up by a mysterious count, attending masked balls, operas, and Carnival revels even as she mourns her marriage and dodges a deadly pursuer. “Things should happen at Carnival,” says her unlikely protector, who resembles Harlequin in more than his costume. “If they go on just the same, there’s no reason for Carnival at all.” There’s absolutely no chance of that in this psychological tour de force of surging identities wrestling to emerge in people forced by violence to confront their inner Harlequins and Medusas.FAULT TREEHELLO, IT’S YOUR PAST CALLING…“Placing blame” thinks Marina Robinson, “is my life’s work. And why?” There’s a lot in her past to account for—nightmares and terrors, crimes and betrayals that happened half a world away, ten years go. Now she’s an engineer with a great job. She’s a failure analyst, an investigator who figures out what causes accidents, and she’s working on her most fascinating case—the fatal crash of a roller coaster--when suddenly the phone rings. And her world tilts…The elusive, unidentified caller can be only one perso

By age 8 most children brave getting a shot, taking medicine, an x-ray or two, and quite likely a brief hospitalization or emergency room visit. Among them are those who courageously face repeated hospitalizations, surgeries, feeding tubes, dialysis, EEGs, respiration and heart monitors, and a life-time of therapy. Lexie has a medical condition that requires her to spend a lot of time in therapy, at hospitals, and in doctors' offices. She knows first-hand just how difficult, painful, and scary, these experiences can be. "Be brave and know that you are not alone" is Lexie's message, as she encourages young children who face these challenges in Brave Just Like Me.Brave Just Like Me was inspired by a three year old girl named Lexie, who was born with a life threatening medical condition. One day, shortly after Lexie returned home from her second kidney transplant surgery, her mother held her in her arms while she slept. It was a day like many others, but as her mother gazed in deepest admiration on her brave little girl, the words to this book were born - not in a slow or uncertain trickle but in strong, overpowering waves. So compelling was this experience, that Lexie's mother laid her sleeping child in bed to capture these words in writing. Inspired by love and a deep desire to acknowledge, comfort, and encourage children who face the same hardships her daughter experiences, Kimberly wrote her first children's book.It was only a matter of days before this first time author found an illustrator, who not only offered but insisted on painting the illustrations for the book and donating the artwork. Stacy spent years painting for the book, as her schedule allowed, and through many personal challenges. Through Stacy, Kimberly found Leslie, a graphic design artist who helped finish the illustrations and set words to art, again donating her work to the cause, despite her own personal hardships. The book moved from Stacy, to Leslie, to Aaron, who volunteered to scan the artwork into print ready files. The book then found its way to a publisher, who not only believed enough in the book to publish it, but valued an affordable price point over profit to ensure the book reached those who needed it most. So, really, Brave Just Like Me has two stories to tell - one about a brave little girl and one about the kindness and goodness of people.Each person who has touched this book wants only one thing from this endeavor - to comfort and encourage young children who are working courageously to overcome the pain and disabilities that often accompany serious and life threatening medical conditions. "It is our sincerest hope that Brave Just Like Me finds its way into the hands of these precious children. We would encourage anyone who purchases this book for a loved one to also consider donating a copy to a local children's hospital, pediatrician, therapist, or Ronald McDonald House." This special keepsake edition of Brave Just Like Me includes an opening page where young readers can record their names. The author has included a list of questions at the end of the story that will help parents and educators explore anxieties and fears surrounding the medical experiences children endure, to help them identify strategies for coping, and to carve out opportunities for celebrating their courage and strength. This book contains several keepsake pages where the child can collect pictures, signatures, and well wishes from doctors, nurses, family, and friends who have helped them through their medical journey. It is the author and the publisher’s sincerest hope that these keepsake pages will inspire children with serious medical conditions to someday share their story.