Small Town Development

What makes a small town great? Is it the historic downtown? The local diner everyone recommends? The Friday night ballgames? The annual festival? The bookstore, the barber shop, the farmer's market, or the familiar faces who still wave from their front porches? The answer is yes, and so much more. In 75 Things That Make Small Towns Great, author Dr. David Powers explores the places, traditions, businesses, people, and ideas that transform ordinary communities into places people are proud to call home. Drawing from real-world examples across America and his own experiences living in Liberty,...

Set in early 1950s rural South Carolina, One Good Mama Bone chronicles Sarah Creamer's quest to find her "mama bone", after she is left to care for a boy who is not her own but instead is the product of an affair between her husband and her best friend and neighbor, a woman she calls "sister". When her husband drinks himself to death, Sarah, a dirt-poor homemaker with no family to rely on and the note on the farm long past due, must find a way for her and young Emerson Bridge to survive.

This book reveals a battle-tested blueprint from 25 home service HEAVYWEIGHTS, including Tommy Mello, Marcus Sheridan, Roger Wakefield, Mike Prencavage, and Stephanie Allen, who've all mastered local dominance. With the H.E.R.O. Framework, turn your logo into an emblem of community, purpose, and belonging. Stop letting competitors eat your lunch. Start becoming the obvious choice everyone recommends.

Small-town drama makes Hollywood look like a walk in the park. For those going through a divorce in a small town and are ready to feel confident, capable, and competent, now is the time to take action with Small Town Divorce. Denise Anderson walked through those same trenches after experiencing her own dramatic small-town divorce. She has coached and mentored dozens of others who have experienced similar drama, taking them from surviving to thriving.

Nothing spells disaster like a meddling mother-in-law. Unfortunately for Kim Finley, hers has come to visit... indefinitely. Not that Kim couldn't use the help: she recently returned to work, leaving the care of her 10-year-old twins to her new houseguest. What she didn't count on was Miranda's unwanted decorating tips and unending criticism. Kim's husband, Derek, soon finds himself volleying between the woman he loves and the mother he can't escape.

Inheriting her aunt's historic beachfront hotel should have been Vanessa Lewis's chance at a fresh start. But returning to Isabel Island means facing two ghosts from her past—her aunt's legacy, and Wesley Anders, her childhood best friend who broke her heart fifteen years ago. Now a decorated Marine Captain, Wesley is temporarily stationed at the local base, and he's just as infuriatingly handsome as he was the summer everything she thought she knew about their friendship changed. Between his offer to help renovate the hotel and their undeniable chemistry, Vanessa finds herself falling ...

In the small, close-knit town of Kick-a-me-su, Arkansas, a leisurely stroll along the Dogwood Trail takes a dark turn when a local walking club stumbles upon a gruesome discovery—a body lying lifeless in the woods. What was supposed to be a quiet walk among friends becomes a twisting mystery that shakes the town to its core. As suspicion mounts and secrets from the past start to surface, the members of the walking club must band together and turn into amateur sleuths. With no shortage of suspects and a killer on the loose, their investigation becomes a test of their resolve, ...

Enjoy the drama and excitement of a novel experience in compact short stories, contemporary lives moving through dark trials to light and hope. A collection of short stories involving families, friends, and distant relations. It is the hazards of daily life that test the soul. Nobility, bravery, decency, kindness, and mercy are the shafts of light that pierce the darkness of the human experience.

Small Town, Big Ambitions is a compelling guide to finding success in any endeavor, providing golden nuggets of advice to help you realize your dreams. Follow Justin's path of personal transformation as he navigates the challenges and triumphs we all encounter.

Amy Jo Burns grew up in Mercury, Pennsylvania, an industrial town humbled by the steel collapse of the 1980s. Instead of the construction booms and twelve-hour shifts her parents’ generation had known, the Mercury Amy Jo knew was marred by empty houses, old strip mines, and vacant lots. The year Burns turned ten, this sleepy town suddenly woke up. Howard Lotte, its beloved piano teacher, was accused of sexually assaulting his female students.

Marli Rivers’ signature carefree demeanor melts away when her sweet shop is hit with a series of fires, threats, and vandalism. Local firefighter, Jake Kline, steps in to help following the attacks, believing Marli is being targeted by an arsonist. Their professional relationship feels strained, at first, and she is less than thrilled that Jake is the one who’s investigating the fires. Marli perceives him as arrogant, but that perception quickly fades as he proves to be a trusted ally in the face of danger.

He’s a fish out of water, she’s fighting the current, but together will they Sink or Swim? Arriving back in the small Lake District town of Inglemere, Aria thinks she’s reclaiming her childhood home after her dad’s untimely death. Resentful of her self-involved stepmother, and dodging...

When a young mother's crisis sparked a movement that has the ptential to serves 2,600+ people annually at just $8.50 per person—proving rural communities can solve complex problems with remarkable efficiency and authentic compassion. In the hills of rural West Virginia, Clarissa Tallman faced every parent's nightmare: her infant son needed specialized formula that wasn't available locally, and the stress of trying to meet this basic need threatened to overwhelm her family. What happened next challenges everything we think we know about effective social services and rural capacity. Instead...

Ranked Top 10 "Best Lit Mags of 2023" by Chill Subs Delight in intriguing, thought-provoking conversations about ethics, philosophy, and social issues! After Dinner Conversation is a monthly literary magazine publishing short fiction. Each issue features both established writers and up-and-coming authors who contribute fascinating philosophical insights on controversial topics like marriage equality, assisted suicide, the meaning of death, animal rights, and defining your "purpose." It's time to go deep in search of truth! If you love reading imaginative short stories on hot topics that ...

A second chance small-town romance from USA Today bestselling author, Debbie Mason. Hidden in Graystone Manor is a book containing all the dark secrets of Harmony Harbor, and Ava DiRossi is determined to find it. No one—especially not her ex-husband, Griffin Gallagher—can ever discover what...

In The Poster Boy, Chad Scott tells the story of a Midwestern kid from Missouri who worked up the nerve to move to Chicago and chase his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. He didn’t have a pile of cash or a bunch of connections - just a great idea and the willpower to see it through to the bitter end. This book is half-memoir and half-guide. Chapters alternate between Chad’s story and practical business lessons designed to take you all the way from a bare concept to a lucrative business.

A minute-by-minute analysis of Richard Linklater’s 1993 film, Dazed and Confused. Blending film criticism with creative nonfiction, each book in the Timecodes series focuses on one film, exploring it minute by minute beginning with minute one, and ending with the final minute before the...

Inspired by a true story. In 1825, in a remote Irish valley lying between the mountains and Flesk River of Killarney, three women are brought together by strange and troubling events. Nora Leahy, a widow, has lost her daughter and her husband in the same year and is now burdened with the care of her grandson, Michael. The boy cannot walk or speak, and Nora has kept him hidden from neighbours, who might see in his deformity evidence of supernatural interference.

"Just WOW!! This was a very intense and emotional story and Mr. Geczi hits all of the notes just right." "Fans of shows such as Criminal Minds will appreciate this read and I would read more from this author in the future." Page-Turning Psychological Thriller With Twist After Twist One week. Three towns. Three people. Each one left near death. Serial killer? Maybe, but they're still alive. For now. Drew McLogan, ex-TV producer with problems of his own, is pulled into one of the grisly murder cases. His presence – and questions – shake up a small New Jersey town where one of the attacks ...

A marriage ends. A life begins. In between is Charlie’s story of our journey home, breath by breath. His canvas is a life cracked open, to reveal the cost of freedom and the power of love. Set in backwoods British Columbia, Charlie Utopia is a cautionary tale with a redeeming outcome. Chasing Utopia—from community, to relationship, to success itself—Charlie loses all, then finds himself torn between two new loves. Does he need to heal first in order to love, or does he need love in order to heal?