Bøger af Ella Rea Murphy

Can Marriage Work the Second Time Around? When we last left Maria, the phenomenal decade of the 60s was just beginning. The economy was booming and Maria was caught up in the culture, balancing an exciting career as an assistant editor for a popular women's magazine but living in a loveless marriage to George. As we learned in book 5, Maria's life was shattered when her husband George died in a plane crash. She was suddenly widowed at thirty-two with two children: Christopher, twelve and Amanda, nine. * * * Still a young woman, Maria wonders, will she find love again? Against this turmoil of emotions, Bill shows up and one thing leads to another. . . . This gives Maria hope, but will Bill really come back to her; do they have a future together? And the surprises keep coming as another old flame, Ed, returns and the complications multiply. With two beautiful children to consider in all her decisions, Maria is full of questions. . . and hope.

It's December 1964, an exciting time for Maria. Bill, her old college sweetheart, is coming to see her! How long has it been since they spent time together? Will their trip to visit her parents for the holidays rekindle their love, or is it too late?Out of the blue, Maria's ex-husband, Ed, disrupts her vacation with his own devastating news. He involves Maria in an outlandish scheme that she can't ignore. Does it destroy any chance for Maria and Bill's love for each other?Adding to Maria's unsettled life are her two teenage girls, who have discovered boys and are engaging in secret escapades.Can Maria and Bill's love for each other survive the stress of his developing new business and an old nemesis of Maria's who becomes involved in their world?Only time will tell.

Do You Remember Your First Love? It's the late 1940s, WWII is a memory, prosperity continues, and the baby boom is underway. Meet Maria-nineteen, innocent, naive, and ready to taste her new found freedom. She has just begun her freshman year at the predominately male Iowa State University. Suddenly, her life swirls around classes, new friends, and fraternity parties-so many men. When Maria meets Bill, he becomes her first serious love-a butterflies-in-the stomach type of love. The excitement is indescribable, and her heart and body awaken to all the passion that love brings. But, of course, complications arise-Bill has a girlfriend, and Maria bumps into an old crush who is now very interested in her after having ignored her back in their hometown. Suddenly, Maria, haunted by her troubling past, finds herself juggling her strong feelings for both men while wrestling with her own demons of self-doubt and the need to please everyone. Return to a more innocent time as Maria-coming into her own-makes new friends, finds new love, and awakens to all that life has to offer.

Join our heroine, Maria, as she faces an emotional rollercoaster ride trying to balance her own needs and desires with the three different men in her life. Overwhelmed with the sudden departure of her mysterious, new fiancé, George, how will she cope with her loss and demanding college classes? Added to her dilemma, out of the blue, Ed, an old crush, draws her into a noncommittal brief interlude with him. What does he expect from her? To further complicate her life, Bill, her former sweetheart from college surprises her at the fraternity party with his appearance. How will Maria unravel her heart strings she feels for each of the men in her life and where will they lead her?

When is a promise an illusion, and when is it real? In Promises, the fourth book in the Maria series, we find there is a lot going on with Maria. Her life is changing-again. It's the summer of 1949, and she has left college and academia behind for a summer job. She has reconnected with Bill; they are engaged and very much in love. Maria wants to get married, but Bill is called to serve and begins his flight training as US tensions with Korea increase. Before he leaves, is he ready to commit to Maria? And what about George-the man who swept Maria off her feet in a whirlwind romance, then disappeared? There is so much more to his story, which sounds like a spy thriller-a possible mole in the State Department, undercover agents, and more. Plus don't forget Ed-now fully established as a veterinarian with his own clinic. He can finally focus on Maria. Kicking himself for letting Maria get away before, he reminds her that, now, he is the only game in town. Through all this turmoil, Maria is Maria-just a girl who loves life and wants to be loved in return. She doesn't know what will come next, but she expects it will be an adventure!

Do You Ever Really Know the Person You Are Marrying? It's the late 1940s, an exciting time in America. Maria is exploring a new free-dom as women are discovering that they are no longer bound by the rules that made men superior. Thoughts of a career outside the home are exciting. But this exploration is accompanied by her anxiety for George and Bill: two men whom she loves but who are missing from her life, whereabouts unknown. George has been kidnapped and is in great danger. Unless he fi nds a way to escape an unbalanced drug lord and his henchmen, he may not survive. Only the thought of getting back to Maria keeps him going. And what of Bill? Having enlisted for training as a navy pilot, he is half a world away, and Maria hasn't heard from him in a long time. Maria is frustrated, angry, and feeling abandoned. On top of that, her current job as a waitress is demand-ing and not very glamorous. Then there is Ed. Now a well-estab-lished veterinarian, he is right there and ardently pursuing Maria. In her lonely and vulnerable state, Maria is beginning to allow him into her life. Can handsome, charming Ed convince her to forget about Bill and George? Maria is discovering that the grown-up world is a bit more compli-cated than she thought. Marriage is in her future, but which of these intriguing men will win her hand?

In A Matter of Choice it is now Christmas vacation; Maria has just left Bill, her first love, on a snow-covered train platform in Iowa and is traveling to Miami hoping to reconnect with her estranged mother who recently remarried. It is a bittersweet parting as Maria will miss Bill but is looking forward to improving her relationship with her mother. Soon after arriving in Miami, Maria meets George-a mysterious man who works for her stepfather in the State Department. He is worldly, passionate, handsome, and so exciting. Suddenly her thoughts of Bill are as far away as he is. All too soon Maria's Christmas break comes to an end and she must leave the warm, gentle breezes and beautiful beaches of Florida to return to the frozen Midwest. Maria must make her choice. Who will she choose?