How far would you go to find the perfect husband? All the way back to the 1950s? In a world full of happily-ever-after love, Meri Newberg feels like the last young woman on the planet to be single, at least in her Christian friend group. So when she's handed a strange present at the latest wedding—a 1950s magazine article of "ways to get a husband"—she decides there's nothing to lose by trying out its advice. After all, she can't get any more single, can she? Her brother's roommate sees the whole thing as a great opportunity. Not to fall in love—Kai Kamaka has no interest in the effort a serious relationship takes. No, this is a career jump start. He talks Meri into letting him film every silly husband-catching attempt for a new online show. If it goes viral, his career as a cameraman will be made. When Meri Me debuts, it's an instant hit. People love watching her lasso men on street corners, drop handkerchiefs for unsuspecting potential beaus, and otherwise embarrass herself in pursuit of true love. But the longer this game goes on, the less sure Kai is that he wants Meri to snag anyone but him. The only problem is that he may not be the kind of husband material she's looking for . . . With droll comic timing, unbeatable chemistry, and a zany but relatable cast of characters, Angela Ruth Strong has created a heartfelt look at the reality of modern Christian dating that readers will both resonate with and fall for.

Auditions are an integral part of every performer's life. From getting into drama school through to a successful career in an overcrowded industry, Auditions: The Complete Guide offers crucial advice, resources and tried and tested techniques to maximise success before, during and after each audition. Written by an established casting director and former actor, with over 35 years of experience on a wide range of productions, this book offers a wealth of personal and professional insights, covering: • drama and theatre schools • showcases • amateur and professional auditions • contemporary, classical, physical and musical theatre • television and commercial castings, movie screen tests and self taping • voice-overs and radio drama • networking • recalls and workshops • handling job offers, and rejection From training to triumph, nerves to networking and camera to casting couch, Auditions: The Complete Guide is an entertaining, accessible and indispensable read for every performer. Richard Evans CDG has cast a wide variety of productions in all media since 1989 and, prior to this, worked as an actor for 10 years. He has devised and presented audition and career development workshops at many top drama and theatre schools worldwide, and at the Actors Centre, London and has written Auditions: A Practical Guide (Routledge, 2009) and 'A Casting Director’s Perspective' for The Actors’ Yearbook, 2005. He is a member of The Casting Directors’ Guild of Great Britain and Ireland. www.auditionsthecompleteguide.com

How far would you go to find the perfect husband? All the way back to the 1950s? In a world full of happily-ever-after love, Meri Newberg feels like the last young woman on the planet to be single, at least in her Christian friend group. So when she's handed a strange present at the latest wedding--a 1950s magazine article of "ways to get a husband"--she decides there's nothing to lose by trying out its advice. After all, she can't get any more single, can she? Her brother's roommate sees the whole thing as a great opportunity. Not to fall in love--Kai Kamaka has no interest in the effort a serious relationship takes. No, this is a career jump start. He talks Meri into letting him film every silly husband-catching attempt for a new online show. If it goes viral, his career as a cameraman will be made. When Meri Me debuts, it's an instant hit. People love watching her lasso men on street corners, drop handkerchiefs for unsuspecting potential beaus, and otherwise embarrass herself in pursuit of true love. But the longer this game goes on, the less sure Kai is that he wants Meri to snag anyone but him. The only problem is that he may not be the kind of husband material she's looking for . . . With droll comic timing, unbeatable chemistry, and a zany but relatable cast of characters, Angela Ruth Strong has created a heartfelt look at the reality of modern Christian dating that readers will both resonate with and fall for.

Read Michelle Cove's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. The ultimate antidote to negative dating guides, this practical, positive book helps single women figure out and achieve their personal goals for their romantic futures. Singleness is no longer a quick blip on the radar of our lives; for more and more of us, singleness is a bona fide life stage, with its own joys and challenges. Positive and uplifting, Seeking Happily Ever After is the first true road map to that life stage for women- a guide to navigating the ups and downs and developing a plan for understanding and achieving your own romantic goals. Seeking Happily Ever After offers individualized advice for twelve different "types" of single women-from women who've spent their whole life dreaming of a perfect wedding to those who have always assumed they would marry young but are now unsure-and many more. Filled with exercises and "action items" to help the reader clarify her thinking, Seeking Happily Ever After covers topics both large and small in a single woman's life, including: -How to cut through the noise of media, family, and friends and understand what kind of relationship and partner you truly want. -How to not put off starting your "real life" until you couple up. -How to keep from beating yourself up about not having reached your romantic goals. "Happily ever after" means something different to everyone, and this book gives any woman the tools to understand and achieve her own vision of the good life.

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An inspiring and riveting memoir from the most important woman in the history of television journalism. “A delightful tale of the golden age of television.... Juicy behind-the scenes details of the celebrities she’s interviewed, mixed in with stories of her own trials and tribulations.” —The Washington Post After more than fifty years of interviewing heads of state, world leaders, movie stars, criminals, murderers, inspirational figures, and celebrities of all kinds, Barbara Walters turns her gift for examination onto her own extraordinary life. Walters was the product of a turbulent childhood that featured a glamorous father who made and lost several fortunes as well as the companionship of a mentally challenged sister. Feelings of responsibility for her family played a large part in the choices she made as she grew up: the friendships she developed, the relationships she had, the marriages she tried to make work. Ultimately, thanks to her drive and a decent amount of luck, Walters made it to the top of a male-dominated industry. She was the first woman cohost of the Today show, the first female network news coanchor, the host and producer of countless top-rated Specials, the star of 20/20, and the creator and cohost of The View. She has not only interviewed the world’s most fascinating figures, she has become a part of their world. These are just a few of the names that play a key role in her life, career, and book: Yasir Arafat, Warren Beatty, Menachem Begin, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Roy Cohn, the Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, Katharine Hepburn, King Hussein, Angelina Jolie, Henry Kissinger, Monica Lewinsky, Richard Nixon, Rosie O’Donnell, Christopher Reeve, Anwar Sadat, John Wayne . . . the list goes on. Barbara Walters has spent a lifetime auditioning: for her bosses at the TV networks, for millions of viewers, for the most famous people in the world, and even for her own daughter, with whom she has had a difficult but ultimately quite wonderful and moving relationship. This book, in some ways, is her final audition, as she fully opens up both her private and public lives. In doing so, she has given us a story that is heartbreaking and honest, surprising and fun, sometimes startling, and always fascinating.

Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town. Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas’, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn’t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved? Abigail’s Proposal by Cynthia Hickey When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband—and she has a big idea how to find both—but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine. The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam starts to question God’s plans versus his own. A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze Schoolmarm Roberta “Birdy” Green won’t marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil—Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms. Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins—family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love. Come What May by Patty Smith Hall Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father’s store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own. Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday” when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home? Louder than Words by Gina Welborn After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find—one who will fit perfectly in her picket-fenced Kansas home.

Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript. As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony--two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she's also desperate to find the closure she's convinced will come with Cecelia's missing final manuscript. After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell--the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters--offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown. Honoring Cecelia's last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love? "The Words We Lost is thought-provoking and tender, capturing the transformative beauty of surviving."--T.I. LOWE, bestselling author of Under the Magnolias "A poignant, masterful exploration of the enduring power of friendship and love."--IRENE HANNON, author of the bestselling Hope Harbor series

Whitney Garrett is preparing to enter culinary school in the spring, but first she has to sell enough homemade pies at the local Christmas markets to pay her tuition. When her oven breaks, Whitney asks Marie Sloan, proprietor of the Red Door Inn, if she can use the inn's kitchen to keep up with her orders. Marie agrees, with a catch: Whitney has to watch the three Sloan children and cook breakfasts for the Red Door in return. The inn is busy with holiday guests--including Aretha Franklin Sloan's perpetually single nephew Daniel and Ruby, a businesswoman in town to purchase Aretha's antiques store. Intent on making a Christmas match for the two, Aretha enlists Whitney's help in her schemes. But the deeper Whitney gets, the more she realizes that Ruby is definitely not the right woman for Daniel--and the more she thinks that she just might be his perfect match. Cuddle up for some warm holiday cheer as New York Times bestselling author Liz Johnson explores the unforeseen consequences of meddling with mistletoe when love is on the line.

One wrong post has sent influencer Lyla Taylor’s social media empire crashing to her feet. To save it, she’ll have to escape to rural Montana. Six weeks in a high-end spa won’t hurt…except, she’s not booked into a spa, but at a rustic Amish B&B. Suddenly, her roommates are raccoons, and her daily activities include hanging laundry. Thanks, but no thanks. Lyla is ready to hit delete and head back to civilization. Amishman Reuben Milner has a secret…one that could destroy his world. For now, however, he’s kept his life as a novelist under wraps, focusing on providing for his family after the tragic passing of his father. Renting the dawdi house seems the right move—until the wrong woman moves in. However, she comes with ideas to help improve their B&B, and that, along with her feisty personality, is something Reuben can’t ignore. Even if the elders want him to focus on joining the church and finding a wife. When going home isn’t an option, Lyla decides to help the Milners spruce up their rental. It does help distract her from her problems online. The more Lyla works on the rental with Reuben, the more she wonders if returning to her former life is worth it. However, is it the simple life that Lyla’s heart longs for—or a particular guarded Amishman with secrets of his own? And when those secrets are discovered, what will it cost them both? Book two in the delightful and sweet Big Sky Amish Collection. Big Sky Amish Beyond the Gray Mountains On the Golden Cliffs Under the Blue Skies (coming soon) Big Sky Series Beside Still Waters Along Wooded Paths Beyond Hope's Valley

Has Your Life Just Been Turned Upside Down? You shouldn’t have to go through a devastating crisis alone. You need a friend to come alongside you to help you heal and find hope again. Sheri Rose Shepherd, author of the bestselling His Princess series (more than a million copies sold), knows exactly what it’s like to have your life torn apart and your dreams shattered. Beyond the White Picket Fence is a lesson-filled love letter to anyone trapped in a pit of pain. Whether you are going through divorce, betrayal, abandonment, or disease, there is a way to come through it to find an even better, stronger you. God will not waste pain, and His promises will prove true when you’re on the other side of this season. This book will help you gain an eternal perspective and provide you with everyday survival skills to work with until you are thriving again.