Carolina Heirlooms

Elizabeth Gallagher has been balancing on the ragged edge for a while now. Then a rough case on the boards of her 911 operator's job collides with a family conflict at home, and Elizabeth finds herself finally coming apart at the seams. A four-state road trip-trapped in a car with her mother-is the last thing she needs. Their destination may be beautiful Hatteras Island, but the reason for going is anything but pleasant. After one disastrous hurricane, and with a second one working its way up the coast, it's time to convince Aunt Sandy to abandon her little seaside store on North Carolina's Outer Banks and return to the family fold in Michigan. But when the storm sweeps through, the three women will discover that sisterhood and the sea can change hearts, lives, and futures...often in the most unpredictable of ways.

Tandi Reese and her sister, Gina, have always been bound by complicated ties. Amid the rubble of a difficult childhood lie memories of huddling beneath beds and behind sofas while parental wars raged. Sisterhood was safety...once. But now? Faced with legal papers for a fraud she didn't commit, Tandi suspects that her sister has done something unthinkable. With Tandi's wedding just around the corner, a trip to the North Carolina Tidewater for a reckoning with Gina is not part of the plan. But unraveling lies from truth will require confronting strained sibling bonds and uncovering a dark family secret that will either free Tandi from her past or stain her future forever.

Successful New York editor Jen Gibbs is at the top of her game with her new position at Vida House Publishing-until a mysterious manuscript from an old slush pile appears on her desk. Turning the pages, Jen finds herself drawn into the life of Sarra, a mixed-race Melungeon girl trapped by dangerous men in turn-of-the-century Appalachia. A risky hunch may lead to The Story Keeper's hidden origins and its unknown author, but when the trail turns toward the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a place Jen thought she'd left behind forever, the price of a blockbuster book deal may be higher than she's willing to pay.

I want to be like this stretch of freshly cleared shore. At times, I think I'm ready. Let the waves wash over me. But then I catch myself running from the tide just before it happens... New York editor Jen Gibbs knew that buying Evan Hall's next blockbuster book would change her career. She didn't know it would change her life. But after being sent along on the European book tour at Evan's request, she has made a promise she's not sure she can keep-she's crossed professional lines and accepted Evan's surprising engagement proposal. Now she's scared to death. In Jen's family, marriage represents the death of every dream a woman holds for herself. Can the revelation of her mother's long-held secret open the doors to Jen's future and change her beliefs about life and love?

Wingate's third Carolina book follows the highly reviewed, The Prayer Box and The Story Keeper as well as related three novellas. From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny... Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at The Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney’s estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney’s only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a depression-era love story change everything?

The Sea Glass Sisters A mother-daughter road trip is the last thing Elizabeth Gallagher needs. But with an impending hurricane, they are determined to convince Aunt Sandy to abandon her seaside store and return home. Instead, they discover that sisterhood can change hearts, lives, and futures . . . often in unpredictable ways. The Tidewater Sisters Tandi Reese and her sister, Gina, have complicated ties. Faced with legal papers for a fraud she didn’t commit, Tandi heads to the North Carolina Tidewater for a reckoning. But to unravel lies from truth, she must first confront strained sibling bonds and uncover a dark family secret. The Sandcastle Sister New York editor Jen Gibbs has not only acquired Evan Hall’s blockbuster book deal—she’s also accepted his engagement proposal. Now she’s scared to death. In Jen’s family history, marriage represents the death of every dream a woman holds. Will her mother’s long-held secret change Jen’s belief’s about life and love?