Books published by publisher Stark House Press

Second in the Kindle Top-25 bestselling FATED LOVES collection by USA-Today bestselling author Edie Claire.4.5-star Romantic Times Top Pick and winner of the Romance Reviews Today Perfect Ten Award!When nothing is as it seems, all you can do is trust your heart... On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Meara O’Rourke can’t help but feel alone. With her last remaining relative newly buried and her potentially disastrous engagement freshly broken, she makes a resolution to begin her life anew -- only to have an unexpected phone call turn her whole world upside down. Her biological mother Sheila, whom she met only once six years before, lies in critical condition in a nearby hospital. And though the woman once refused to see her daughter ever again -- her last wish is just the opposite.A few whispered words, and Sheila is gone. But the questions she has put into her daughter’s head, and the historic stone inn she has unknowingly bequeathed, sweep Meara up into the whirlwind of another life -- and a legacy of deception. When Meara begins to have memories of a place she's never been, she realizes that while finding out the truth about her birth and adoption could answer all her questions, it could also tear her apart.“A marvelous story that skillfully interweaves romance with the mystery... Claire makes each element of this terrific tale count.” June 2004 Top Pick -- Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine“An absorbing family mystery… there's no denying that this story is suspenseful.” -- Publisher’s Weekly“One of the best books I have read this year... An element of suspense runs through the pages, and the endearing tale builds to a crescendo of excitement and thrill while warming the heart. Meant To Be is a powerful story of love, healing, discovery and truth... I closed the covers wishing I could stay inside the green world of Meara and Fletcher's mountain. Ms. Claire has woven a tale that touched my soul and will live as a cherished keeper to read again and again. I am pleased to award Meant To Be our finest honor, RRT's Perfect 10.” Perfect 10 Award -- Romance Reviews Today“Intriguing and thought provoking... Don't be surprised if you need a tissue or two along the way. Edie Claire has written another keeper.” Rating: 9/10 -- Contemporary Romance Writers“Edie Claire has a flair for creating a strong and suspenseful narrative that still contains satisfying elements of love and romance... The suspense which continues unabated through the length of the novel holds readers utterly captivated while the compelling story and growing romance tug at their heartstrings... Richly imagined and very insightful, Meant To Be is destined for the keeper shelf.” -- Road to Romance“This very involving novel combines the best of suspense and romance... The revelations continue almost until the final pages, and will keep the reader thoroughly engrossed.” -- Romance Reader's Connection“A wonderful book! The story displays a depth of emotion and character that is truly refreshing... A joy to read." -- Fallen Angel Reviews“The feel of a thoroughly modern subject with a slightly Gothic mood.” -- New and Previously Owned Books“A story that will tear at your heart... Excellent offering from a premier author.” -- Writers Unlimited“Meant to be written, read and remembered in your heart decades after you've turned the last page. Edie Claire is an exceptional author and keeper of the heart.” -- Writers Room Magazine“A paragon of superbly written, compelling women's literature.” -- My ShelfOriginally published in 2004 by Warner Books (Warner Forever).

Tenth in the USA-Today and Kindle Top-Ten bestselling Leigh Koslow mystery series!Frances Koslow was ecstatic to have her humble abode chosen as stop #3 on the Holiday House Tour. Then everyone drank the cider.When Leigh’s parents’ house becomes a last-minute substitution on the regional garden club’s famous Holiday House Tour, Frances Koslow is thrilled. But the tour is tomorrow, there’s work to be done, and Frances’s dwindling and aging “Floribunda” chapter is in dire need of reinforcements. Worried about her mother’s blood pressure, particularly as sisterly tensions rise over Leigh’s Aunt Lydie’s upcoming Christmas Eve wedding, Leigh steps in to make sure the tour runs smoothly.But perhaps Leigh isn’t the ideal choice for the task. Not when a fortune cookie has just portended the return of her infamous “bad karma.” Not when everyone knows the real reason the Floribundas have declined is because every remaining member is a whackadoodle. And not when someone’s idea of Christmas spirit is to add a little something extra to the sweet cider punch.One dead Floribunda later, Leigh struggles to keep her family calm in the midst of swirling suspicions, flying accusations, and dubious warnings of biological warfare. But when someone threatens to silence her own all-too-curious daughter, mother-rage kicks in. Nobody is ruining Leigh's family’s Merry Christmas. Not even her family.Praise for the Leigh Koslow Mystery Series:NEVER BURIED"A funny, fast-paced, clever, and unusual mystery that will have readers clamoring for more. Edie Claire writes with style and dash. Sheer delight."--Carolyn HartNEVER SORRY"Edie Claire is a bright new addition to the mystery world. Along with appealing characters and a blessedly lucid writing style, she delivers a solid plot that keeps the pages turning."--Margaret MaronNEVER TEASE A SIAMESE"The fifth installment in this excellent series, and perhaps Ms. Claire's best yet. The characters and relationships are superior, written with heartfelt compassion and wry wit."--Romantic Times

VIRGIN CAYGus Robinson has lost his boat—sunk beneath the waves thirty fathoms down—and nearly lost his life as well. But he manages to swim to land at Spanish Cay, and that’s how he meets Clare. She offers him her bed, her body, and later offers him the one thing he needs most of all—$20,000 which he can use to buy a new boat. Robinson is lost without his ketch, stripped of his freedom to set sail whenever the mood strikes him, to live life on his own terms. All he has to do to earn enough for a new boat is to commit murder, to kill the one person who stands between Clare and the inheritance she needs to continue to live her extravagant lifestyle. But it’s not until he meets Gwen that Robinson is forced to make the roughest choice of all. A NIGHT OUTJohnny Flake is trying to outrun his past, which is how he finds himself captaining the Vixen on a run down to Cuba with Cutter and Cruze. Cutter would just as soon kill you as look at you, and Cruze is so far into the bottle he’s beginning to smell like death itself. Flake has a bad feeling about this trip, and isn’t surprised to find that instead of smuggling booze off the island, he finds they’re carrying heroin instead. But he soon discovers new problems when mutiny sends him into the waters and onto the yacht being manned by playboy Allan Chambers and his oversexed wife, Jessica. All Chambers wants to do is feel the salt air in his hair. All Jessica wants to do is feel the next man. With the storm raging, and the two ships both heading for a little island off Key West, it’s going to be a long and turbulent night.

The Life of Albert Sidney Johnston, selected by John H. Jenkins III as one of the basic Texas books, reads like a litany of the important events in the life of the Texas Republic and early statehood through the Civil War. A native Kentuckian and 1826 graduate of West Point, and a veteran of the Black Hawk War, Johnston arrived in Texas in 1836 shortly after the battle of San Jacinto and enlisted as a private in the Texas Army. Soon discovered in the ranks, he was immediately appointed the army's adjutant general. His injury from a duel with Felix Huston later prevented his taking command of the army. In 1838 he was appointed Texas' Secretary of War, and later led the expedition against the Cherokee Indians in East Texas. He commanded the 1st Texas Rifle Volunteers dring the Mexican War and became a regular officer in the US Army—one of the few Texas military men permitted to do so.<br>At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Johnston was offered a position second in rank only to the aging Winfield Scott, but he refused the Federal government's offer and instead became commander of the Confederacy's Department No. 2, the Western Department. Keenly aware of the military weakness of the South, he issued a call for men at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and formed and drilled his army. On April 6, 1862, Johnston was killed at the battle of Shiloh.<br>The author, Johnston's son, presents "a whole picture of the character of a difficult, generally taciturn man, and defends his actions in a balanced, scholarly manner." The son, having access to all of his father's private correspondence and papers, including his complete Confederate archives, was able to provide anecdotes only a son could know, and was able to persuade many of his father's associates to submit memoirs about him.<br>Never before reprinted since its last publication in 1878, this new volume is of inestimable value and interest to historians and to other readers of Civil War history and early Texas history.<br>This edition contains a new introduction by Charles P. Roland, author of Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics, and Jefferson Davis's Greatest General: Albert Sidney Johnston (McWhiney Foundation Press, 2000).

A mysterious tablet. An ancient prophecy. A quest to find Tyrelia.Freya is half blind, poor, and lives in land-locked Medar: an unlikely heroine. So when she finds a mysterious tablet telling her about a beautiful land beyond the Wall free from the evil Master, she doesn't think anybody will believe her.The same day, her family learns they have been selected to live in the Golden City, ruled over by the Master. But instead of entering the City with her family, Freya finds herself condemned to death by the Guards. At the last minute, Freya is rescued by an invisible Watcher.What follows is an incredible journey, pursued by Guards, that takes Freya to the very edge of the only world she has ever known. Will she unlock the clues hidden in the tablet? The key to the long lost path to Tyrelia - and freedom - is in her hands.

Ray Perry was a farm boy from rural West Texas when America entered World War II. He always had a fascination with planes, so he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps with the intention of becoming a pilot. The Army Air Corps needed tail gunners, however, so Ray served his country at the back end of a B-17, completing thirty-five combat missions before the war’s end. This is the story of his World War II adventure, wrought with tragedy and excitement and every emotion in between. This is also the story of how a young man from a small West Texas town handled the upheaval that comes with war. Based off numerous primary source materials, Ray’s story unfolds through his letters, photos, and mementos. The book’s foreword is written by his son, and former Texas governor, Rick Perry. “I never was rattled . . . . I could never remember really being scared. I know I was. Had to be. But I had control of it.” “The pilot sent the radio operator back there to see if they got me . . . and he climbed, crawled, right there beside the side of that tail wheel, and he never did get back all the way where I was at, but he . . . saw me sitting up and he saw me move a little. So, he went back and told the pilot, ‘I guess he’s alright. I think he’s still alive.’” —Ray Perry, from the book

The history of Texas has had an important effect on the history of the United States, and Texas heroes such as Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and Robert E. Lee are also national heroes. Most of the major personalities and events of Texas from Cabeza de Vaca to Robert E. Lee are presented in this children's book consisting of thirteen stories that will appeal to readers of all ages. Originally published in 1901, it is appropriate for grades 4–7. Included in the book are stories about Cabeza de Vaca, Robert Cavelier de la Salle, Ellis P. Bean, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, the Alamo, Goliad, San Jacinto, the Mexican War, Castle Peroté, Dick Dowling, and Robert E. Lee.

Finished writing your novel? Get ready for EDITING, where your major work begins. This short guide covers everything you need to know to edit your book like a pro, and take your story and your writing from good to powerful.Professional editing for a novel is not cheap. But by editing as well as possible yourself, you can drastically reduce, or even eliminate, professional editing costs.POWER EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS helps you look at every aspect of your writing--from your initial story idea, through the telling of your story, to how you craft your sentences.Now you can feel confident in your writing, and impress your reader with your storytelling and the professional presentation of the words on each page.This short, concise, no-nonsense guide makes the editing process easy. It introduces you to a fantastically easy editing system, shows you how to use powerful word arrangements called "rhetorical devices", and how to use the NUMBER ONE SECRET to power up your writing today!POWER EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS is arranged in two sections: Part One addresses the elements of your story, and how you have used them. Part Two addresses your sentence structure, grammar and word usage, with tips and tricks professional writers and editors use every day to write and market best-sellers.The author has purposefully kept this book as simple and concise as possible--under three hours to read--with practical information you can APPLY RIGHT NOW to your manuscript.Carolyn V. Hamilton is a former marketing, advertising and copywriting executive with several published books, including fiction, non-fiction and memoir.Visit her website at carolynvhamilton.com

VIRGIN CAY Gus Robinson has lost his boat—sunk beneath the waves thirty fathoms down—and nearly lost his life as well. But he manages to swim to land at Spanish Cay, and that’s how he meets Clare. She offers him her bed, her body, and later offers him the one thing he needs most of all—$20,000 which he can use to buy a new boat. Robinson is lost without his ketch, stripped of his freedom to set sail whenever the mood strikes him, to live life on his own terms. All he has to do to earn enough for a new boat is to commit murder, to kill the one person who stands between Clare and the inheritance she needs to continue to live her extravagant lifestyle. But it’s not until he meets Gwen that Robinson is forced to make the roughest choice of all. A NIGHT OUT Johnny Flake is trying to outrun his past, which is how he finds himself captaining the Vixen on a run down to Cuba with Cutter and Cruze. Cutter would just as soon kill you as look at you, and Cruze is so far into the bottle he’s beginning to smell like death itself. Flake has a bad feeling about this trip, and isn’t surprised to find that instead of smuggling booze off the island, he finds they’re carrying heroin instead. But he soon discovers new problems when mutiny sends him into the waters and onto the yacht being manned by playboy Allan Chambers and his oversexed wife, Jessica. All Chambers wants to do is feel the salt air in his hair. All Jessica wants to do is feel the next man. With the storm raging, and the two ships both heading for a little island off Key West, it’s going to be a long and turbulent night.

Blood on the Bayou: Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and the Trans-Mississippi takes a well-known story, the struggle for control of the Mississippi River in the American Civil War, and recasts it as a contest for control of African-American populations. The Emancipation Proclamation may have freed the slaves, but the task of actually moving these liberated people into the Union lines and directing their labor to the benefit of the Union fell to the Federal army and navy. Control of the Mississippi has often been cast in economic terms. This book, by examining the campaigns from west of the river, shows how the campaign to reduce these Rebel forts also involved the creation of a black army of occupation and a remaking of the social and political landscape of Louisiana and the nation. This book is new scholarship and, most importantly, fresh research that challenges many commonly held notions of the Vicksburg and Port Hudson campaigns. In the past, the movement of large armies and the grand assaults garnered the most attention. As Blood on the Bayou reveals, small unit actions and big government policies in the Trans-Mississippi did as much to shape the outcome of the war as did the great armies and famous captains of legend and lore. No student of the Civil War should ignore this book. Scholars of Vicksburg and Port Hudson will find their studies incomplete without a thorough examination of this work. As with the other books in the Louisiana Quadrille series, the military campaigns remain front and center. I trace the movements of obscure regiments and battles fought on unfamiliar trans-Mississippi landscapes in June and July, 1863, and tell a little-known aspect of the sieges of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. I examine the evolution of Federal and Confederate strategy and sketch the leaders tasked with carrying these plans forward. There is enough combat to satisfy even the most ardent student of campaigns and commanders. The sources, however, revealed an almost obsessive concern over slavery by both sides. Actually, these soldiers, civilians, and politicians did not fret over the institution of slavery as much as control over the slaves themselves. Both Federal and Confederate authorities seemed preoccupied with who physically controlled the enslaved population. This led me to review Republican views on this subject, and especially those held by Abraham Lincoln. The tug-of-war over people—whom some considered persons held in bondage and others considered human property—also caused me to reexamine the peculiar institution as a salient feature of Confederate national identity. A greater appreciation for the causes of the war emerged. While states’ rights certainly provided a framework and context for the argument, slavery caused the war, not vice versa. Physical control of the slave population impacted how the Federal Government conducted the war. When war broke out, slaves emerged first as “contraband,” then morphed into “self-emancipated” persons, before becoming the raison d’être of the Mississippi Valley campaigns in 1863. The African-Americans became plunder, if you will. I came to the conclusion that the gathering of these persons drove, in part, Union military strategy in the Mississippi Valley. Lincoln wanted slaves removed from southern owners, concentrated in areas convenient to Union logistics centers, and then redistributed to serve as soldiers or farmers on behalf of the United States. The longer the military campaigns in the Mississippi Valley dragged on, the more Federal officials could feed liberated slaves into the system. This strategy held that, once Union troops had removed slaves from bondage and repurposed them to other tasks, it would be nearly impossible for their former masters to re-enslave them. No matter the outcome of the war, the Federal government set out to break slavery—forever. Fearing a rapid collapse of the Confederacy, abolitionists intended to make sure that readmitted states did not reestablish slavery. Remember, slavery was then a state prerogative. Passage of the Thirteenth Amendment still lay months into the future. Concurrently, Lincoln believed Black troops would help achieve victory and then secure the peace. One the shooting ended these African-American regiments might serve as an army of occupation. The largest concentration of slaves lay in the Mississippi Valley and this population needed to be under Federal control. The Rebel forts at Vicksburg and Port Hudson were impediments. Even so, despite the presence of these Confederate citadels, US troops could remove the African-American population of this region into zones of their choosing with increasing impunity. The fall of these positions facilitated commerce and navigation on the Mississippi. Yet, the great gathering of African-Americans began, and continued, notwithstanding the Rebels in the earthworks.

Carolyn V. Hamilton arrives in Las Vegas in 1973 to join a circus. When that job doesn’t work out, she opens the new MGM Grand Hotel/Casino as a cocktail waitress. This turns out to be more involved than a nice Lutheran girl from Seattle would think: parties, stealing, sex, drinking and drugs are the main entertainment for a bored crew of casino employees. Some waitresses date culinary union bosses, who have their own high drama of payoffs, fights for control, fire bombings and an 18-day culinary union strike. Each story told in this memoir—of the Martin Scorsese “Casino” era of Las Vegas—is true, and many are humorous as well as outrageous. “Carolyn V. Hamilton's memoir of her time as a Las Vegas cocktail waitress is told with uncommon candor, humor, and insight. Her stint at the world's largest hotel-casino, in a city on the verge of explosive growth and unending controversy, is a blend of Hollywood casting couch, 2 Broke Girls, and Fear and Loathing. It reads as fast as the characters she profiles.” Jack Sheehan, author of "Skin City: Uncovering the Las Vegas Sex Industry," and five other non-fiction books on modern Las Vegas history.

José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871) played a central role in Texas history. A close associate of and facilitator for Stephen F. Austin, he was a signatory of Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico, an important figure in the drafting of the Texas Constitution, and a State Senator. At the end of his life, the name of José Antonio Navarro was a household word in San Antonio and was well-known and respected across Texas. However, in later years Navarro never received the recognition due him as one of the most influential of the founding fathers of Texas. Navarro's narratives, written between 1853 and 1857, constitute the first Tejano publication of Texas history.<br>