Petals From The Sky by Mingmei Yip

From the acclaimed author of Peach Blossom Pavilion comes a lush and lyrical novel of East and West—and of one young woman’s search for her heart’s true calling…
When twenty-year-old Meng Ning declares that she wants to be a Buddhist nun, her mother is aghast. In her eyes, a nun’s life means only deprivation—“no freedom, no love, no meat.” But to Meng Ning, it means the chance to control her own destiny, and to live in an oasis of music, art, and poetry far from her parents’ unhappy union.

With an enigmatic nun known as Yi Kong, “Depending on Emptiness,” as her mentor, Meng Ning spends the next ten years studying abroad, disdaining men, and preparing to enter the nunnery. Then, a fire breaks out at her Buddhist retreat, and Meng Ning is carried to safety by Michael Fuller, a young American doctor. The unprecedented physical contact stirs her curiosity. And as their tentative friendship grows intimate, Meng Ning realizes she must choose between the sensual and the spiritual life.

From the austere beauty of China’s Buddhist temples to the whirlwind of Manhattan’s social elite, and the brilliant bustle of Paris and Hong Kong, here is a novel of joy and heartbreak—and of the surprising paths that lead us where we most need to be.

You can learn more about Mingmei and her work at http://www.mingmeiyip.com/

HARD by Jamieson Wolf

Owen’s best friend makes him hard. He’s been in love with Daniel for years, but could never tell him. If Daniel knew how Owen felt about him, Owen knew that he would lose him. And that his heart would break. Owen dreamed of kissing Daniel, of touching him. But the most they had done was look at porn together. Owen knew that his dreams would never become a reality……until Daniel rents some gay porn by accident and he becomes just as hard as Owen…

Website: www.jamiesonwolf.com
Blog: www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com

The Circle of Friends Book III: James by L. Diane Wolfe

The future appears bright for James Sheppard. Emerging from a troubled childhood, he is blessed with talent and a good work ethic. Excelling in his classes and at the campus newspaper, James’s goal of editor appears within his grasp.

However, years of abuse and loneliness have dampened his spirit. By the time Maria enters his world, James is nearing the breaking point. Her innocent love slowly fills the void in his life, boosting his confidence and giving him hope.

When a crisis abruptly forces him into adulthood, James is saddled with more responsibility than expected. Struggling to cope with the situation, the past returns to haunt him. Will James find peace before the mistakes of his father destroy him completely?

Web site: http://www.thecircleoffriends.net/
Blog: http://circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com/

Tangled Roots by Sue Guiney

Two voices interweave, an aging mother and her adult son, to carry us from Boston to London to Moscow and back again. Through physics, religion, travel and even baseball, they express the often unknown, yet undeniable, influences one life will have on another.

www.sueguineyblog.blogspot.com

9987 by Nik Jones

The shop is everything to him - always neat and tidy, safe and reliable, the rental DVDs carefully categorised, alphabetised and memorised. He thinks he knows his customers, until the bloodstains begin to appear - on grubby banknotes, on porn DVDs, and on the shop's fresh new carpet. Then the girl comes into his life, green eyes and fresh scarlet slashed beneath her thin cotton blouse. He wants to rescue and protect her. He wants to be with her. Forever. Murky and disturbing, "9987" is a jagged, tragic crime story set in a disturbing, uncaring world where only three things are constant: fantasy, loneliness and love.

http://www.watching9987.blogspot.com/

Being Normal by Stephen Shieber

"Being Normal" is an examination of loneliness, rejection and the idiosyncrasies of living in and against contemporary society. Stephen Shieber brings together the glory of everyday nothingness and elevates it to great drama; where loveless marriage, teen angst, childhood misadventure, lonely Christmases and family dysfunction are the norm. Each character in this stunning debut provides a very different slant on the notion of mundane - a book for anyone who has ever found themselves on the outside, dancing to the beat of their own drum.”

www.leavingtheroomwithdignity.blogspot.com

From Zaftig to Aspie by DJ Kirkby

Growing up in Canada in the 1960’s, DJ Kirby experienced a life that many of us would have taken for granted. Living in and around Canada, Kirby lived with her hippie mother and followed her mother wherever her whims took her.

Living with hippies, Kirby was exposed to a world that was all around us but only few seemed able to see it. She lived with people who “recreated the rules”, who lived their own lives and shaped their own existence.

And what an existence it is.

From a young age, Kirby knew she was different. She had a different way of looking at the world that had nothing to do with her hippie lifestyle and upbringing. She knew inside of herself that she was different than everyone else around her.

But there were no words to describe her condition, no words to explain what she felt inside of her.

Those words, those powerful words that would put her entire life into perspective, would not come until she was forty years old when she was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

www.djkirkby.blogspot.com