{"title":"Tamara Merrill","description":"I am Tamara Merrill. I have three happy places; reading, writing and painting. When I was a child I thought I'd grow up to live in a loft in Manhattan and spend my time doing all three. I haven't done that but I do live in a lovely place, Coronado, CA. And I do read, write and paint. During the 60's and 70's, I published multiple short stories in the popular women's magazines of that era. But then the need for cash intervened and I got a \"real job\" and stopped writing fiction. FAMILY LIES, my first full length novel was published in 2014 and is book one of the Augustus Family saga. This book FAMILY MATTERS is book two of the trilogy and, book three, FAMILY MYTHS is well on it's way. I'm having fun!","products":[{"product_id":"shadows-in-our-bones-paperback","title":"Shadows In Our Bones - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo time periods. Two coasts. Lives intertwined and impacted forever . . .\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGreed, societal forces, religion, eugenics, and racial prejudice came together in a shameful and shocking way on a small, wooded island off the coast of Maine in the early 1900s. The atrocious events that occurred on Malaga Island continue to echo through the years. Their impact is felt in many ways and by many lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1903, Cora Lane, vacationing with her missionary parents on nearby Horse Island, is introduced to a community on Malaga Island that the press has labeled \"degenerate half-breeds.\" The people of Malaga Island, while poor and mostly uneducated, are no poorer or less educated than other families living along the coast eking out a living by fishing and clamming. They are, however, of mixed race: Scotch-Irish, African-American, American Indian, and Portuguese, a circumstance that promotes scorn, ridicule, and intolerance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCora is drawn to the children of Malaga and begins to teach them simple reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. She is surprised to find that despite the color of their skin, the children are funny, quick, and able to learn. Even as Cora accepts her responsibilities as a woman of her social standing, she advocates for the rights of all to be educated, respected, and allowed to vote.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than a century later, Georgia O'Brien, a college professor, is still questioning the beliefs and customs of today that result in racial prejudice. As her mother fights for her life against cancer, Georgia and her family are challenged by secrets that upset their views concerning who they are and what they believe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe past is never truly forgotten. \u003cem\u003eShadows In Our Bones\u003c\/em\u003e is based on real events and actual persons. The story traces the tragic events that took place in society and on Malaga Island in the early 1900s. Events that had, and continue to have, impact and consequences for the descendants of Malaga Island, Maine, and for us all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51374032978143,"sku":"9781733855556","price":16.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/fBX9nC1Bx19781733855556.webp?v=1789168381"},{"product_id":"family-matters-augustus-family-trilogy-book-2-paperback","title":"Family Matters: Augustus Family Trilogy Book 2 - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eSecrets are fascinating. Secrets are fun. Secrets can destroy. And a secret told is a secret no more. World War II has ended and life is returning to normal for the mighty Augustus family. Or is it? The history, built by the Augustus family, on lies and secrets seem to be holding them protected against the rapidly expanding world but can secrets remain secret when the younger generation questions everything the older generation believes? Does family really matter or in this brave new world is doing your own thing more important?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67575197008095,"sku":"9780990518358","price":20.23,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/wGWtlIozN09780990518358.webp?v=1790373101"},{"product_id":"shadows-in-our-bones-hardcover","title":"Shadows In Our Bones - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo time periods. Two coasts. Lives intertwined and impacted forever . . .\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGreed, societal forces, religion, eugenics, and racial prejudice came together in a shameful and shocking way on a small, wooded island off the coast of Maine in the early 1900s. The atrocious events that occurred on Malaga Island continue to echo through the years. Their impact is felt in many ways and by many lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1903, Cora Lane, vacationing with her missionary parents on nearby Horse Island, is introduced to a community on Malaga Island that the press has labeled \"degenerate half-breeds.\" The people of Malaga Island, while poor and mostly uneducated, are no poorer or less educated than other families living along the coast eking out a living by fishing and clamming. They are, however, of mixed race: Scotch-Irish, African-American, American Indian, and Portuguese, a circumstance that promotes scorn, ridicule, and intolerance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCora is drawn to the children of Malaga and begins to teach them simple reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. She is surprised to find that despite the color of their skin, the children are funny, quick, and able to learn. Even as Cora accepts her responsibilities as a woman of her social standing, she advocates for the rights of all to be educated, respected, and allowed to vote.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than a century later, Georgia O'Brien, a college professor, is still questioning the beliefs and customs of today that result in racial prejudice. As her mother fights for her life against cancer, Georgia and her family are challenged by secrets that upset their views concerning who they are and what they believe.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67577344229599,"sku":"9781733855501","price":30.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/rOso1LPx3t9781733855501.webp?v=1790391324"},{"product_id":"twisted-lives-paperback","title":"Twisted Lives - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTWISTED LIVES by Tamara Merrill is both a chilling psychological thriller and a profound exploration of motherhood and resilience. This gripping tale will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page is turned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmid a howling snowstorm, single mother Sarah Blake awakens to find her six-year-old son, Jeremy, missing. Desperately, she runs out of their cabin home and follows Jeremy's dog into the woods. When Sarah awakens days later in the hospital, she tumbles into a world of confusion and fear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToo much time has passed. Nothing is as she remembers. Her ex-husband, Rodney, swears they never divorced and that the strange child living with him is Jeremy. Something evil is threatening.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFearful for Jeremy's life and her own, and bombarded with deceptions and lies from those she thought she could trust, Sarah questions her sanity and the sanity of those around her. No one believes what Sarah knows to be true-Jeremy is missing!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWatched by their housekeeper, a mysterious man in the woods, and Rodney himself, Sarah finds herself a captive. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDetermined to find Jeremy, Sarah navigates a treacherous web of lies, heartbreak, and betrayal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67589121802463,"sku":"9798989597611","price":18.34,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/M8ooweh72q9798989597611.webp?v=1790452363"},{"product_id":"family-myths-augustus-family-trilogy-book-3-paperback","title":"Family Myths: Augustus Family Trilogy Book 3 - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the Augustus family saga, author, Tamara Merrill, has woven a very tangled web, and Sharon Chatsworth loves to talk about it in her gossip column. The drama that unfolds in the first volume of the Augustus family trilogy revolves around the cash cow matrimony of John Augustus and his beautiful débuante yet problematic wife, Sylvia Alexander. Not only do they have money, they have merged every which way in order to grow their treasure; however, all the money in the world can't ensure the happiness of Sylvia and John. This page turner of a book sets the reader up for the second volume.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The books focus on the emotional trials and tribulations of marriage and family life. A dynasty, love children, gossip, alcoholism, adultery, war, life and death are all artfully addressed in this book. The description of characters, their mannerisms and emotions are so well-described that it allows the reader to visualize them every step of the way. They are fabulous reads that leave these characters on your mind and yearning to read how they will fare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn FAMILY MYTHS, the dramatic final chapter of the Augustus Family Trilogy. Once again an Augustus is protecting themselves and the family name with lies. In 1960, rich, pampered, Elizabeth Augustus leaves college and disappears into the developing, San Francisco, California, hippy scene. Her father, who is tormented by guilt over his unwillingness to have told Elizabeth that she was in fact his child, hires a detective. The search goes on for years as Elizabeth hides in plain sight, living a life completely unlike the one the she imagined when she ran away. Eighteen year old Elizabeth creates a fake identity. As she matures her new identity matures with her and she becomes whoever she believes she needs to be in order to be accepted. 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