{"title":"Aimie K. Runyan","description":"Aimie K. Runyan, member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Women's Fiction Writers Association, has been an avid student of French and Francophone Studies for more than fifteen years. While working on her Master's thesis on the brave women who helped found French Canada, she was fortunate enough to win a generous grant from the Quebec government to study onsite for three months which enabled the detailed research necessary for her work. Aimie lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.","products":[{"product_id":"missed-connections-paperback","title":"Missed Connections - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if you had the chance to revisit every choice that mattered?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSabrina Sorensen is 37, single, and just lost a fabulous job as manager of a posh Parisian restaurant. She heads home to California for her younger sister's engagement party, and it's an open door for her mother and siblings to chide Sabrina for her inability to commit to any of her previous jobs and relationships. What they don't know is that Sabrina, for fifteen long years, has been building her résumé in hopes of becoming an inspector for the famed MICHELIN guides--a path that has required keeping her ambitions hidden, even from her family. And, with the job loss, all she's worked for is in jeopardy. After her mother's final clumsy attempt to fix her up with the charming \"boy next door,\" Sabrina leaves the party and retreats to the Burbank Airport.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe problem? She has nowhere to go. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe arrives at the airport, resolved to put the family conflict behind her and focus on her work, but now her mother's critical voice fills her with doubts. Has she been wasting her life? Faced with the enormity of her next decision, Sabrina breaks down at the ticket counter. The ticket agent pulls her aside and offers her the life-altering opportunity to revisit some of her key life choices, both personal and professional. Sabrina suddenly is given the rare chance to answer the burning question: has she been foolish to sacrifice so much for her dream of becoming a Michelin inspector? And will a spark with an aspiring Danish chef change her priorities altogether?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101921710303,"sku":"9781400353255","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/XY7zwUzlD59781400353255.webp?v=1781075892"},{"product_id":"the-wandering-season-paperback","title":"The Wandering Season - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnraveling the tangled roots of her family takes her places she never expected.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVeronica Stratton, a specialty food broker with a business on the cusp of brilliant success that would change the trajectory of her life, visits her parents in idyllic Estes Park for Christmas. She's fresh from a breakup with her longtime boyfriend, so she's eager to reconnect with her beloved family in the mountains and forget about her troubles for a few days. But with the holiday comes a DNA test from her younger sister that confirms her secret suspicions: she's adopted. Having the truth out in the open leaves her feeling unmoored in ways she didn't anticipate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith so much of her life in upheaval, Veronica is looking for an escape. Inspired by her best friend, she plans to go to Europe to see four of the places listed on her DNA ancestry report. She treks to County Mayo in Ireland; the Dordogne region of France; the countryside of Lombardy in Italy, and Copenhagen, Denmark. She hopes to learn about where her family lived while also making connections for her rapidly expanding business, but she finds that each stop brings her visions of her ancestors that raise more questions than they answer. And among those pressing questions is how charming Irish castle keeper Niall Callahan will fit into her visions for the future.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50103189078239,"sku":"9781400237289","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/vYk9VXL02W9781400237289.webp?v=1781090457"},{"product_id":"the-liberty-scarf-a-story-of-three-women-one-war-and-a-scarf-that-binds-them-together-paperback","title":"The Liberty Scarf: A Story of Three Women, One War, and a Scarf That Binds Them Together - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom acclaimed authors Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan comes an evocative, three-part novel about a thread of connection during World War I--a single scarf that links three extraordinary women, each battling societal expectations, enduring the devastations of war, and striving for personal growth amidst the chaos. \u003cem\u003eThe Liberty Scarf\u003c\/em\u003e is a testament to the resilience of women and the enduring power of hope and unity in the harshest of times.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn the midst of a seemingly endless war, a scarf connects three women in the cold winter of 1917 . . .\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLondon: \u003c\/strong\u003e As an ambitious scarf maker, Iris Braxton spends her days surrounded by color and luxury not often seen during the dark days of war that were promised to be over by Christmas. That promise has come and gone for three years with still no end in sight, and her days continue in a monotony of rations and threads while she spins a dream of becoming Liberty's first female pattern designer. She hasn't the time or interest in rakish soldiers, but the temporarily-on-leave Captain Rex Conrad is persistent--and before long his charm wins her over. But war is cruel, and, all too soon, Conrad leaves once more for the Front, but not before vowing to meet again in Strasbourg, France, the most magical of Christmas cities. Iris begins stitching small messages into each of the scarves she makes in hopes that one will find a way into Rex's hands to let him know she's thinking of him. And when she receives word that he's wounded in Strasbourg, she rushes to his side. Along the way, she passes a woman wearing one of her scarves . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaine: \u003c\/strong\u003e Genevi?ve Tremblay, a French-Canadian immigrant, is a telephone operator living in Lewiston, Maine. Her beau is a member of a prominent family who has helped to Americanize her in a community often unfriendly to Canadians. As part of this effort, she enlists in the US Army Signal Corps to serve as a bi-lingual operator. Along the way, she meets a French officer who makes her question whether losing her identity is too heavy a price for acceptance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBelgium: \u003c\/strong\u003e Clara Janssens, a Flemish Nurse, and Roman Allaire, an Alsatian violinist, connect in a Brussels palace-turned-hospital far beyond their routine provincial and countryside lives--and the expectations in those towns. Their love of music creates a spark between them, but the destruction of battle and the transient nature of their relationship threatens the bond they have built. Still, the appearance of a kind stranger and the unexpected gift of a treasured scarf bind them long beyond their stolen moments and offer them a future brighter than they could have even hoped.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Liberty Scarf\u003c\/em\u003e is more than a piece of fabric--it's a symbol of hope, resilience, and unity in the face of war, binding these three women together in an indelible bond. Experience their stories of love, sacrifice, and survival in this captivating novel from Aimie K. 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I was captivated from the very first line.\" -- Kristy Woodson Harvey, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e Bestselling Author of \u003cem\u003eThe Summer of Songbirds\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerhaps the secrets of her mother's past in this tiny French town hold the key to her own future. . . \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFood critic Tempèsta Luddington has always felt like the odd person out in her family, ever since she lost her beloved mother at the tender age of thirteen. When her workaholic father passes fifteen years later, Tempèsta is not surprised that the majority of the considerable family money will pass to her dutiful younger brother, Wal. 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Runyan.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePerfect for fans of Katherine Center, Rebecca Serle, and Sarah Jio\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKate Quinn described Runyan's previous work as \"a moving tale of female solidarity and courage.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStand-alone novel of approximately 100,000 words\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes discussion questions for book clubs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50103954604255,"sku":"9781400237258","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/JaV-DnJs_D9781400237258.webp?v=1781099817"},{"product_id":"promised-to-the-crown-paperback","title":"Promised to the Crown - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An engaging, engrossing debut.\"--Greer Macallister, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eauthor of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Magician's Lie \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBound for a new continent, and a new beginning. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn her illuminating debut novel, Aimie K. Runyan masterfully blends fact and fiction to explore the founding of New France through the experiences of three young women who, in 1667, answer Louis XIV's call and journey to the Canadian colony. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThey are known as the \u003ci\u003efilles du roi\u003c\/i\u003e, or \"King's Daughters\"--young women who leave prosperous France for an uncertain future across the Atlantic. Their duty is to marry and bring forth a new generation of loyal citizens. Each prospective bride has her reason for leaving--poverty, family rejection, a broken engagement. Despite their different backgrounds, Rose, Nicole, and Elisabeth all believe that marriage to a stranger is their best, perhaps only, chance of happiness. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOnce in Quebec, Elisabeth quickly accepts baker Gilbert Beaumont, who wants a business partner as well as a wife. Nicole, a farmer's daughter from Rouen, marries a charming officer who promises comfort and security. 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