New Releases by Charles Martin

USA TODAY and ECPA bestselling series Combine James Patterson and Colleen Hoover and you''ll start to understand why readers are riveted by the Murphy Shepherd series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin: gripping action, heart-wrenching emotion, and deep questions that deserve to be considered. Bones--Murphy Shepherd''s teacher, mentor, priest, and friend--is gone. Devastated by the loss and unsure how to continue the rescue work they started, Murph has no choice but to jump back in when the worst happens. His longtime friend and current United States vice president, Aaron Ashley, has been a silent partner in the fight against trafficking. But in spite of having the best security available, his three daughters have been taken bound and blindfolded from their home by an extraction team that left no clues and no trace--just an empty house, a bereft mother, and nine dead Secret Service agents. Only Murph and his team have a hope of finding them. Bones may have made the ultimate sacrifice by taking down his own brother and the dark network he led, but there are still others in this network where evil is the currency and power is the prize. Soon Ashley drops out of the presidential race and a new candidate emerges--someone who is ready, too ready, to step into the race and the Oval Office. Bones taught Murph that the needs of the one, the lost one, outweigh those of the ninety-nine. In his first rescue without Bones beside him, Murph''s fight against human trafficking takes him across the globe and through the halls of government to destroy the network and save the lives and souls of those taken. The Murphy Shepherd series is simultaneously a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it shows up regardless of the cost. The Keeper raises the stakes even further, so be ready--you won''t want to put it down until you reach the very last page. The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1 The Water Keeper, Book 2 The Letter Keeper, Book 3 The Record Keeper, Book 4 The Keeper (coming April 2025!)

A rich collection of poems inspired by the Persian lyric tradition. In The Khayyam Suite, acclaimed poet Charles Martin explores both the profound and the personal in verse that celebrates the spectrum of human experience. At the heart of this collection is a study of the Rubaiyat, the renowned poem cycle attributed to the Persian poet Omar Khayyam. Martin pays homage to Khayyam''s classical Persian poetic form—the ghazal—by infusing it with contemporary sensibilities, creating a rich tapestry of contemplation and artistry. By seamlessly blending Eastern and Western poetic traditions, Martin offers a unique and thought-provoking perspective on timeless questions that have captivated philosophers and poets throughout the ages. Each long poem consists of forty quatrains mirroring those of Khayyam''s. Martin''s verses reflect on modern existential dilemmas, environmental crises, and the intricacies of personal relationships. From the haunting feeling of "On the Coming Extinctions" to the stark socioeconomic commentary in "On Capital," each poem invites the reader into a contemplative dialogue with the self. Martin''s poems are both a mirror and a window to the soul, reflecting personal histories and illuminating the universal human condition. This collection, imbued with the lyrical charm and intellectual depth of Martin''s writing, is a profound commentary on love, loss, and the fleeting nature of life.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1877.

How far would you go--really--to save someone you love?

A Publishers Weekly and ECPA Bestseller Across forty days of vivid storytelling, It Is Finished offers you a unique and vital roadmap to trace the power and necessity of the cross throughout the Bible, from the book of Genesis all the way to your present-day reality. Through forty slices of the story of Calvary, master storyteller and vivid Bible teacher Charles Martin, will walk you back to the cross to look up at it from a different angle each day and ask the Father to reveal to you: What exactly did he mean when the dying Jesus said, "It is finished"—what was finished at the cross? When did what Jesus finish at the cross even begin? What does this man''s death 2,000 years ago have to do with me today? What is God offering at the cross that I so easily forget and take for granted? What do I not realize about myself that the Father God has never forgotten? Whether it is your first, tenth, or ten thousandth time looking up at the cross of Christ, you can trust New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, to wrap an arm around your shoulder, come alongside and walk with you as a fellow pilgrim headed in the same direction and answering the same question: "What will I do with this man, Jesus?" Because before we can celebrate the resurrection, we need to backtrack to where Jesus has been, how He got there, and what His presence there accomplished. And while Satan can''t change what happened on that Friday, he has been working ever since to hide what happened there. To obscure the work of the Cross. To avert our eyes. But on this 40-day pilgrimage your eyes will open wide and your heart will race as you discover the answer to the question that can change your life, Lord, why me? Why would you endure the cross and despise the shame, for me?

Experience the Bible come to life before your eyes as New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin uses his storyteller''s imagination to present the life of Jesus in a way that will engage your faith in new ways. This collection of more than twenty short stories, compiled from Martin''s books What If It''s True? and They Turned the World Upside Down, draws you into a deeper understanding and love for the Savior. Son of Man presents key moments from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and explores the lives of His followers in descriptive, novelistic words. This unique collection: Fosters a stronger appreciation, love, and respect for Jesus Covers themes including rejection, service, unconditional love, and forgiveness Uses the lives of the disciples as inspiration to be the light in a dark world Shows how the disciples'' same world-changing faith is still around today Son of Man is perfect for someone who loves Christian fiction. Known for his beloved lyrical style, in this paperback edition Martin illuminates key moments from Scripture with stories such as "Where the Father''s Love Found Him," "Betrayed," and "The Borrowed Tomb." Martin''s writing offers a way to see how Jesus'' life and the lives of His disciples revealed an unwavering confidence in the power and presence of God.

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER A beloved pastor and a New York Times bestselling author examine scripture and share inspiring personal stories to help show the important role that Jesus'' resurrection plays in our everyday lives. The Son of God was crucified, died and buried, and He lay in the tomb for three days--until He walked out shining like the sun. In a culture in which history is erased or rewritten at will, the existence of an empty tomb matters. Why? Because if the tomb is empty--then anything is possible. In his first book, Joby Martin, Lead Pastor of The Church of Eleven22, dives deep into scripture and traces the story of salvation by highlighting the seven mountains throughout scripture where God manifests himself. As he describes each encounter with God, Martin shows us how the interaction on each mountain laid the groundwork for the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, and shows what God revealed about Himself in the process. He illuminates seven familiar passages, unveiling how God''s plan for Christ''s sacrifice is threaded throughout scripture, and shows why Christ''s resurrection--impossible, unbelievable--means that nothing is too hard for our God. Ultimately, he asks readers, Do you live every day of your life as if the tomb is empty--or as though Jesus is still hanging on that cross? Written with New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, If the Tomb is Empty is an insightful and spiritually rich examination of what the miracle of Christ''s resurrection means for all of us.

USA TODAY Bestseller | ECPA Bestseller Combining the heart-wrenching emotion of Nicholas Sparks with the edge-of-your-seat tension of John Grisham, New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin explores the true power of sacrificial love in this second book in the Murphy Shepherd series. Murphy Shepherd has made a career of finding those no one else could--survivors of human trafficking. His life''s mission is helping others find freedom . . . but then the nightmare strikes too close to home. When his new wife, her daughter, and two other teenage girls are stolen, Murphy is left questioning all he has thought to be true. With more dead ends than leads, he has no idea how to find his loved ones. After everything is stripped away, love is what remains. Hope feels lost, but Murphy is willing to expend his last breath trying to bring them home. With Charles Martin''s trademark lyricism and poignant prose, the Murphy Shepherd series is at once a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it shows up regardless of the cost. The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1: The Water Keeper, Book 2: The Letter Keeper, Book 3: The Record Keeper, Book 4: The Keeper (coming April 2025!)

In the aftermath of Jesus'' resurrection, the testimonies of those who had followed him were so bold and powerful that they turned the world upside down. What would happen if we lived with that same kind of faith today? In the first century, believer didn’t just mean someone who heard and agreed with Jesus; it meant someone who acted on that belief. And when the outside world saw the faith of these new believers, they declared “they turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). In this follow-up to What If It''s True? Charles Martin, a New York Times bestselling novelist, blends storytelling and teaching to explore the lives of the disciples in the aftermath of the Resurrection and as they spread the message of the Gospel and “turn the world upside down”, leading up to Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica. In his beloved lyrical style, Martin illuminates key moments from Scripture and shares stories from his own life as a disciple. Learn to become a believer who: Understands how the truth of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection so powerfully reshaped history Uses the lives of the disciples as inspiration to be the light in a dark world Lives every moment with the disciples’ same world-changing faith today Filled with supporting Scripture and beautiful examples of prayers to offer as supplications before the throne of grace, this book will show you what our world could look like if we lived as the disciples did: with an unwavering confidence in the power and presence of God.

The first edition of Pharmaceutical Extrusion Technology, published in 2003, was deemed the seminal book on pharmaceutical extrusion. Now it is expanded and improved, just like the usage of extrusion has expanded, improved and evolved into an accepted manufacturing technology to continuously mix active pharmaceutical ingredients with excipients for a myriad of traditional and novel dosage forms. Pharmaceutical Extrusion Technology, Second Edition reflects how this has spawned numerous research activities, in addition to hardware and process advancements. It offers new authors, expanded chapters and contains all the extrusion related technical information necessary for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Key Features: Reviews how extrusion has become an accepted technology to continuously mix active pharmaceutical ingredients with excipients Focuses on equipment and process technology Explains various extrusion system configurations as a manufacturing methodology for a variety of dosage forms Presents new opportunities available only via extrusion and future trends Includes contributions of experts from the process and equipment fields

USA TODAY Bestseller | ECPA Bestseller A riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin that combines the intrigue of John Grisham with the heart-wrenching emotion of Nicholas Sparks. Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he''s dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes. When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida''s Intracoastal Waterway, Murph''s mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn. Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery. With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past--and the ghosts who tried to bury them. With Charles Martin''s trademark lyricism and poignant prose, The Water Keeper is at once a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it show up regardless of the cost. "Martin excels at writing characters who exist in the margins of life . . . Readers who enjoy flawed yet likable characters created by authors such as John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks will want to start reading Martin''s fiction." --Library Journal, starred review "The Water Keeper is a wonderfully satisfying book with a plot driven by both action and love, and characters who will stay in readers'' heads long after the last page." --Southern Literary Review "Charles Martin fans rejoice, because he''s done it again . . . a multilayered story woven together with grace and redemption, and packed tight with tension and achingly real characters." --Lauren Denton The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1: The Water Keeper, Book 2: The Letter Keeper, Book 3: The Record Keeper, Book 4: The Keeper (coming April 2025!)

See the Bible come to life before your eyes as New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin uses his storyteller imagination to present the Bible as a novel to help you engage with your faith in new ways. Years ago, Charles Martin cracked open his Bible and began wrestling with a few fundamental questions: What if every single word of Scripture is absolutely true and I can trust it? How do I respond? Something in me should change, but what? How? This book is the result of that exploration. In What If It’s True? Martin brings key moments from the life and ministry of Jesus to life through his descriptive, novelistic words. This unique book: Fosters a stronger appreciation, love, and respect for Jesus Covers topics including rejection, sexual sin, generational curses, and forgiveness Draws on Old and New Testament references as well as cultural background information Includes a prayer at the end of each chapter Martin shares key moments from his own journey as a disciple—and bondservant—of Christ and a mentor to others. The result is an exploration of truth that will help you not just think differently but live differently—starting today.

Can two people brought together by desperate circumstances help one another heal, and maybe even begin a new life? New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin’s Send Down the Rain answers the questions of what it means—and what level of sacrifice it takes—to truly love someone. Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family’s beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida’s Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future—until a cherished person from her past returns. Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone in a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown—and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie. When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite—until a forty-five-year-old secret begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love. Send Down the Rain will take you on a journey that spans the sweltering migrant worker routes of south Florida, muddy battlefields of Vietnam, thickets of northwest North Carolina, and the idyllic shores of America’s most beautiful beach (Cape San Blas). At the story’s center lies the question: What does it mean—and what level of sacrifice does it take—to truly love someone? Praise for Send Down the Rain: “Charles Martin understands the power of story and he uses it to alter the souls and lives of both his characters and his readers.”—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author Full-length, stand-alone novel Includes discussion questions for book clubs Also by bestselling author Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Chasing Fireflies, When Crickets Cry, and The Letter Keeper

The latest dazzling collection of poems from Charles Martin, a modern poet working within the possibilities of traditional measures. To be modern is to live not in a single era, but in a churn of new technologies, deep history, myth, literary traditions, and contemporary cultural memes. In Future Perfect, Charles Martin’s darkly comic new collection, the poet explores our time and the times that come before and after, which we inhabit and cultivate in memory and imagination. Through poems that play with form and challenge expectation, Martin examines the continuities that persist from time immemorial to the future perfect. Sensitive to the traces left behind by the lives of his characters, Martin follows their tracks, reflections, echoes, and shadows. In “From Certain Footprints Found at Laetoli,” an ancient impression preserved in volcanic ash conjures up a family scene three million years past. In “The Last Resort of Mr. Kees” and “Mr. Kees Goes to a Party,” Martin adopts the persona of the vanished poet Weldon Kees to reimagine his disappearance. “Letter from Komarovo, 1962” retells the tense real-life meeting between Anna Akhmatova and Robert Frost a year before their nations almost destroyed one another. And in the titular sonnet sequence that ends the book, Martin conjures a childhood in the Bronx under the shadow of the mushroom cloud of nuclear war as the perfected future supplanting the present. Introducing Buck Rogers to Randall Jarrell and combining new translations or reinterpretations of works by Ovid, G. G. Belli, Octavio Paz, and Euripides, Future Perfect further establishes Charles Martin as a master of invention.

How about a space adventure? Build your own spacecraft and battle aliens with their own knowledge you inadvertently acquired while being abducted. You get to meet them on their terms and cause all kinds of mayhem. Of course, they want all that brain stuff back, and they will go to all lengths to get it. They may be technologically more advanced than us, but when you know what they know, it levels the playing field. When you get your buddies to go along with the adventure, it livens the fun, and who knows what could happen? Imagine being able to change a bus into a space vehicle that’s more than up to the task to chase after these beings and give them a whipping they’ll never forget. Rescuing one of our own is the icing on the cake with high fives all around. Enjoy the read, and remember, there’s more to come.

Stranded in a frigid mountain wilderness after a plane crash, a gifted surgeon and a young magazine writer are forced to rely on each other for survival while confronting painful truths about their personal lives.

USA TODAY bestseller | Christy Award Book of the Year Cooper O''Connor thought he could make it big as a musician, but he promptly lost it all. Can he repair his relationship with the father who never stopped calling him home? A Prodigal Son retelling where Redeeming Love meets Walk the Line. At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O''Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish. Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith. When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it''s too late to tell her the truth about his past--and if he is ready to face it himself. With powerful themes of redemption and forgiveness, second chances, and the power of music, Long Way Gone is a story that sticks with readers long after the last page. "Cooper and Daley''s story will make you believe that even broken instruments have songs to offer when they''re in the right hands. Charles Martin never fails to ask and answer the questions that linger deep within all of us. In this beautifully told story of a prodigal coming home, readers will find the broken and mended pieces of their own hearts." --Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

Three powerful novels about identity, belonging, and unconditional love from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin are now available in one e-book collection. When Crickets Cry It begins in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But her pretty yellow dress can’t quite hide the ugly scar on her chest. Her latest customer understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner is about to change the trajectory of both their lives. A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts. Chasing Fireflies They have one summer to find what was lost long ago. “Never settle for less than the truth,” she told him. But when you don''t even know your real name, the truth gets a little complicated. It can nestle so close to home it''s hard to see. It can even flourish inside a lie. And as Chase Walker would discover, learning the truth about who you are can be as elusive—and as magical—as chasing fireflies on a summer night. Wrapped in Rain Famous photographer Tucker Mason captures things other people don’t see. But what Tucker himself can’t see is how to let go of the past. Tucker and his younger brother, Mutt, were raised by their housekeeper, Miss Ella Rain, who loved the motherless boys like her own. Hiring her was the only good thing their father ever did. But when Mutt escapes from a mental hospital, Tucker is forced to return home and face the agony of that tragic past. Though Miss Ella has long since passed, Tucker can still hear her voice—and her prayers. But finding peace and starting anew will take a measure of grace that Tucker scarcely believes in. Martin’s characters overflow with rich truisms that you’ll reread or rewind and relisten. Look for additional inspirational fiction from Charles Martin: The Record Keeper Long Way Gone The Mountain Between Us

New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin''s breathtaking novel of love and redemption. Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age sixteen. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs, traveling to Central America where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter. Will their fated encounter present Charlie with a way to seek the redemption he thought was impossible -- and free his heart to love one woman as he never knew he could?

Twelve years ago Matthew "the Rocket" Rising had it all. Married to his high school sweetheart and one of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of college football, he was the number one NFL draft pick. But on the night of the draft, he plummeted from the pinnacle of esteem. Falsely accused of a heinous crime with irrefutable evidence, it seemed in an instant all was lost -- his reputation, his career, his freedom, and most devastatingly, the love of his life. Having served his sentence and never played a down of professional football, Matthew leaves prison with one goal -- to find his wife, Audrey, whom no one has seen since the trial. He returns to an unwelcoming reception from his Gardi, Georgia, hometown to learn that Audrey has taken shelter from the media with the nuns at a Catholic school. There she has discovered a young man with the talent to achieve the football career Matthew should have had. All he needs is the right coach. Although helping the boy means Matthew violates the conditions of his release and -- if discovered -- reincarceration for life, he''ll take the chance with hope of winning back Audrey''s love.

Helping you to do your best on exams and excel in the biology course, the Study Guide contains many types of questions and a variety of exercises for each chapter in the textbook. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

A priest changes the lives of an actress running from her past and a man hiding from his future in this heartfelt novel about loss and redemption. When someone wants to be lost, a home tucked among the Ten Thousand Islands off the Florida coast is a good place to live. Take a couple decent boats and a deep knowledge of fishing, and Sunday can get by without ever having to talk to another soul. It''s a nice enough existence, until the one person who ties Sunday to the world of the living asks him for help. Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn''s problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all too familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. But there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself: Sunday. He will show her an alternate escape, a way to write a new life, but Katie still must confront her past before she can find peace. Ultimately, Sunday will need to leave his secluded home and sacrifice the serenity he''s found to help her.

As a result of his hard exterior and lonely tendencies, Tyler Steele finds himself a single father alone in the world - until a stranger and her daughter show up and change his life. Third generation Texas Ranger Tyler Steele is the last of a dying breed-- a modern day cowboy hero living in a world that doesn''t quite understand his powerful sense of right and wrong and instinct to defend those who can''t defend themselves. Despite his strong moral compass, Ty has trouble seeing his greatest weakness. His hard outer shell, the one essential to his work, made him incapable of forging the emotional connection his wife Andie so desperately needed. Now retired, rasing their son Brodie on his own, and at risk of losing his ranch, Ty does not know how to rebuild from the rubble of his life. The answer comes in the form of Samantha and her daughter Hope, on the run from a seemingly inescapable situation. They are in danger, desperate, and alone. Though they are strangers, Ty knows he can help-- protecting the innocent is what he does best. As his relationship with Sam and Hope unfolds, Ty realizes he must confront his true weaknesses if he wants to become the man he needs to be.

Down Where My Love Lives is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story—a tale of one man''s journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope. Together in one volume, read Dylan and Maggie’s love story in bestselling author Charles Martin’s debut novel and its sequel. The Dead Don’t Dance: In a sleepy rural town in South Carolina, Dylan and Maggie Styles are a young couple in love, preparing eagerly for the birth of their first son. But events take a tragic turn in the delivery room, and their child is delivered stillborn. When Maggie hemorrhages and slips into a coma, Dylan slips into what can only be described as a walking coma, holding vigil at his beloved wife’s bedside. Usually tough and self-reliant, an outdoorsman and a farmer, Dylan finds that everything he has known is suddenly thrown into doubt. Refusing to give up on Maggie’s recovery, a devastated Dylan takes a job as an English professor in order to pay for Maggie’s medical bills. Dylan connects with his students despite himself and offers hope to others amid his own disappointment and grief. As Dylan waits for some change in Maggie''s condition, he reflects on his life and hers. Through friends and grace-filled moments of insight, Dylan slowly begins to heal, but it will take a second tragedy—and an anxious period of wrestling with God—to truly awaken him from his stupor and open him up to a new life. Maggie: Life began again for Dylan Styles when his beloved wife Maggie awoke from a coma. A coma brought on by the intense two-day labor that resulted in heartbreaking loss. In this poignant love story that is redolent with Southern atmosphere, Dylan and Maggie must come to terms with their past before they can embrace their future. Emotive Southern fiction New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin’s debut novel and sequel in one volume Contains the complete Awakening Series: The Dead Don’t Dance and Maggie

"Martin spins an engaging story about healing and the triumph of love . . . Filled with delightful local color." --Publishers Weekly "Charles Martin writes with the passion and delicacy of a Louisiana sunrise--shades of shepherd''s warning and a promise of thunderbolts before noon." --John Dyson, Reader''s Digest From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mountain Between Us and The Water Keeper comes a story of two half-brothers trying to survive the fallout of their traumatic childhood and their abusive, alcoholic father in this tender and beautiful story about the power of forgiveness. On a sprawling Southern estate, Tucker and his younger brother, Mutt, were raised by their housekeeper, Miss Ella Rain, who loved the motherless boys like her own. Hiring her to take care of Waverly Hall and the boys was the only good thing their abusive and alcoholic father ever did. When his brother escapes from a mental hospital and an old girlfriend appears with her son and a black eye, Tucker is forced to return home and face the agony of his tragic past. Though Miss Ella has been gone for many years, Tucker can still hear her voice--and her prayers. "Life is a battle, but you can''t fight it with your fists. You got to fight it with your heart." But finding peace and starting anew will take a measure of grace that Tucker scarcely believes in. Wrapped in Rain follows Tucker''s journey from brokenness to healing through the everlasting power of love. Grab a copy and a box of tissues and get ready for your heart to be touched.

Winner of the CNY Book Award in Poetry of the YMCA of Greater Syracuse Signs is a noun (as in DO NOT DISTURB); Wonders (as in "with furrowed brows"), a verb. The couplet that leads into Charles Martin''s fifth collection of richly inventive poems suggests that the world is to be read into and wondered over. The signs in this new work from the prize-winning American poet of formal brilliance and darkly comic sensibility are as stark as the one on a cage at the zoo that says ENDANGERED SPECIES, as surprising as those that announce the return of irony, and as enigmatic as a single word carved on a tombstone. Renowned for his translations of Ovid''s Metamorphoses and the poems of Catullus, Martin brings the perspective of history to bear on the stuff of contemporary life.

A dark comedy set in the afterlife where souls are plucked from heaven, put in children''s bodies, and dropped onto a lonely island as part of an experiment for a new universe.

A day to turn from my sins And accept His condition for life. Eternity in the heavenly Where there''ll be no sorrow or strife. He gave me strength and courage To do what I''m called to do... Write praises to Him that He gave me And pass them along to you. So I pray His blessing upon you As you read what''s given to me. Words of truth from the heart That will bless and set you free.