Simple Riches
The Inside Story
ISBN 0-8217-7281-3
Sometimes the only thing worth trusting...is in your Heart...
I grew up in a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania, much like the one in Simple Riches. There were four of us kids, my two older brothers, me, and my younger sister- all of us born within 5 ½ years. There were no McDonalds, no malls, no fancy movie theaters; people sat out on their front porches, called you by your first name and told you stories about ‘when you were knee high.’ Life was uncluttered…simple. I used to walk over a mile to school every day, (yes, I really did!) The only bike I ever owned- a blue one with a white sparkly seat got all scratched up when I crashed it and broke my arm in third grade.) Time was filled with little things; weeding flower beds and getting snail guts under my nails, holding the flashlight while my brothers caught night crawlers, helping my mother bake bread or hang sheets on the line so they could ‘catch the fresh air’, gorging milk chocolate baby dolls with my sister on Easter Sunday before Mass, planting a maple tree, my maple tree, with my father in our back yard, getting ready to go out on Saturday night and fighting over one shower and one hairdryer between the four of us…
I moved away from that town a long time ago but the memories remain, as does the house and my mother- (my father passed away years ago.) When my children were younger, I took them to the house, and showed them the room I shared with my sister, the dresser drawer that held long ago memories; prom pictures, a dried up pink rose corsage, concert ticket stubs. My daughters spent their days listening to stories, learning from their grandmother, meeting the people of the town…sharing memories…creating their own memories…ones they would pass on to their children. My mother, brothers and sister are hours away from me, but the bond remains strong, just a phone call away, and always, just a heartbeat away…
When I decided to write about a small town and its people with their traditions and values, I thought about what comprised real wealth; a balanced stock portfolio, a seven-figure income, a five-car garage, a gold card? Or could real wealth be that, which reached out to us, touched our hearts, our souls, filled us yet left us longing for more? Was it a crisp fall morning, an honest smile, a tradition handed down, a string of memories planted with a single maple tree…
Imagine, two people, with totally different thoughts on what comprises real wealth…
Here is a glimpse of the back cover flat for Simple Riches…
Developing luxury resorts may be an odd career for a woman who never takes a vacation, but growing up with her uncle’s no-nonsense work ethic has made Alexandra Chamberlain good at her job. Convincing residents of the logging community of Restalline, Pennsylvania, to embrace the idea of a resort will be a challenge, however. For them, Restalline means picnics, baseball games, and families connected by both blood and history- the kind of small- town life Alex has never known.
Nick Androvich left Restalline once- and paid for it dearly. Grief and guilt have brought him back to town and the farmhouse he and his wife dreamed of renovating before she died. As Restalline’s only doctor and the son of one of the community’s oldest families, Nick is bound to his hometown in ways someone like Alex can never understand - and he doesn’t want anything about the place where he grew up -- and where he’s raising his young son alone -- to change.
Neither Nick nor Alex imagined that a business deal might get personal, or that rational negotiations would pale in the face of good old- fashioned emotion. Suddenly, Alex is questioning everything she always believed she wanted, and Nick is wondering if his wounded heart might be on the mend. Because they’re both discovering that the only things that really matter- like love, laughter, and long, slow kisses under the stars - are life’s simplest riches. And sharing them is the only thing worth fighting for…
Reviews:
"An emotional story of healing and homecoming, spiced with secrets, passion and revenge."
-- Susan Wiggs, Bestselling Author, on Simple Riches
"This beautiful story will have you longing to revisit your home place."
-- Suzie Housley, MyShelf.com on Simple Riches.
"If you love to get lost in character driven romances that touch your heart, Simple Riches is a book not to be missed!"
-- Tracy Farnsworth, TheRomanceReadersConnection.com.
