Melissa Lenhardt – författare

"An emotional landslide of a novel that kept me gripped from first page to last." Clare Lydon, best-selling author of Before You Say I Do’A compelling story of second chances and being true to yourself.’—Harper Bliss, bestselling author of Seasons of LoveYou always come back to your first love…Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she left home, and her broken heart, far behind her. But now tragedy calls her back, where she must finally come face to face with ex-boyfriend Charlie, and best friend Sophie. Only now will she be able to confront her past—and reconcile her future.Sophie seems to have everything. Married to Charlie, with a wonderful daughter and a successful career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. A secret that ripped through their town and destroyed her friendship with Nora. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.But first love doesn’t fade easily. Memories come to light, passion ignites and old feelings resurface. As the forces that once tore them apart begin to re-emerge, both Nora and Sophie must accept that true love is something worth fighting for.Readers love The Secret of You and Me‘A beautifully and sensitively written love story’‘This story hit chords with me and I thank Melissa for that. Coming out as a teenager, being forced out or coming out as an adult – as Nora said, everyone has a different story but we aren''t alone. I think that is such an important message…. [I] urge you to pick this book up and devour it like I did.’‘I love how flawed and relatable all of the characters are, Melissa Lenhardt has written a beautiful LGBT story which I enjoyed immensely’‘A sweet story, full of emotions. I loved the characters, rooted for them, and the plot kept me hooked. I strongly recommend it.’‘I have to admit that this was not the usual love story scenario that I read, but it had me enthralled to the very end… I hope that this book hits across the generations, making them think just that little bit more. I certainly will be telling people to read it, and many are in book groups of some kind.’

The road to happiness is full of surprisesThe last place Darcy Evans wanted to find herself was on a road trip with her estranged mother, Marja. She’s busy launching her business, organising – but having second thoughts about – her wedding, and now dealing with a declaration of love from her best friend Chloe. She doesn’t have the patience to play happy families with a mother who cut contact and doesn’t seem interested in explaining herself?Marja had a very good reason for not telling Darcy why she left. She was keeping her safe. Now it is time to make amends. But when Marja’s past catches up with her, both women find themselves on the run. Their only protection comes from FBI agent Elena Gonzalez, a woman with whom Marja shares a complicated past.Now Marja and Darcy must decide what they will risk for their lives, and possibly even for love…

The Parker-LaCour Gang. The first and only all-female band of outlaws in the American West. Ignored during their time. Written out of history. Margaret Parker and Hattie LaCour never intended to turn outlaw. After being run off their ranch by a greedy cattleman, their family is left destitute. As women alone they have few choices: marriage, lying on their backs for money, or holding a gun. For Margaret and Hattie the choice is easy. With their small makeshift family, the gang pulls off a series of heists across the West.Though the newspapers refuse to give the female gang credit, their exploits don't go unnoticed. Pinkertons are on their trail, a rival male gang is determined to destroy them, and secrets among the group threaten to tear them apart. Now, Margaret and Hattie must find a way to protect their family, finish one last job, and avoid the hangman's noose.

Laura's worst fears have been realized: Kindle has been taken into custody and she is once again on the run. The noose awaits her in New York, but Laura is realizing that there are some things worse than death. Finally running out of places to hide, it may be time for Dr. Catherine Bennett to face her past.

When Dr. Catherine Bennett is wrongfully accused of murder, she knows her fate likely lies with a noose unless she can disappear. Fleeing with a bounty on her head, she escapes with her maid to the uncharted territories of Colorado to build a new life with a new name. Although the story of the murderess in New York is common gossip, Catherine's false identity serves her well as she fills in as a temporary army doctor. But in a land unknown, so large and yet so small, a female doctor can only hide for so long.

An emotional landslide of a novel that kept me gripped from first page to last.’ Clare Lydon, best-selling author of Before You Say I Do’A compelling story of second chances and being true to yourself.’Harper Bliss, bestselling author of Seasons of Love You always come back to your first love… Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she left home, and her broken heart, far behind her. But now tragedy calls her back, where she must finally come face to face with ex-boyfriend Charlie, and best friend Sophie. Only now will she be able to confront her past—and reconcile her future.Sophie seems to have everything. Married to Charlie, with a wonderful daughter and a successful career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. A secret that ripped through their town and destroyed her friendship with Nora. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.But first love doesn’t fade easily. Memories come to light, passion ignites and old feelings resurface. As the forces that once tore them apart begin to re-emerge, both Nora and Sophie must accept that true love is something worth fighting for. Readers love The Secret of You and Me ‘A beautifully and sensitively written love story’‘This story hit chords with me and I thank Melissa for that. Coming out as a teenager, being forced out or coming out as an adult – as Nora said, everyone has a different story but we aren't alone. I think that is such an important message…. [I] urge you to pick this book up and devour it like I did.’‘I love how flawed and relatable all of the characters are, Melissa Lenhardt has written a beautiful LGBT story which I enjoyed immensely’‘A sweet story, full of emotions. I loved the characters, rooted for them, and the plot kept me hooked. I strongly recommend it.’‘I have to admit that this was not the usual love story scenario that I read, but it had me enthralled to the very end… I hope that this book hits across the generations, making them think just that little bit more. I certainly will be telling people to read it, and many are in book groups of some kind.’

The road to happiness is full of surprises The last place Darcy Evans wanted to find herself was on a road trip with her estranged mother, Marja. She’s busy launching her business, organising – but having second thoughts about – her wedding, and now dealing with a declaration of love from her best friend Chloe. She doesn’t have the patience to play happy families with a mother who cut contact and doesn’t seem interested in explaining herself?Marja had a very good reason for not telling Darcy why she left. She was keeping her safe. Now it is time to make amends. But when Marja’s past catches up with her, both women find themselves on the run. Their only protection comes from FBI agent Elena Gonzalez, a woman with whom Marja shares a complicated past.Now Marja and Darcy must decide what they will risk for their lives, and possibly even for love…

"A compelling story of second chances and being true to yourself." —Harper Bliss, author of Seasons of Love,on The Secret of You and MeA mother, a daughter and a road trip that’s about to take a hard left turn in this heartfelt and witty story about the sacrifices we make for love.Darcy Evans is getting married. In a week. To a man who is her childhood dream come true. But a late-night confession from her best friend changes everything and before she even has time to unpack it, she must endure a road trip to the ceremony with her estranged mother, Marja. It was always the two of them against the world…until Marja ghosted Darcy three years ago. No car in the world has enough room for all of their baggage.The drive from Austin to Chicago is nostalgic, claustrophobic, incredibly messy and exactly what both women need. As they each find themselves at a crossroads in their lives, long-held secrets are revealed—ones that reshape Darcy’s memories of the past and forever alter the future she’d recently been so certain of. She hadn’t known what a reunion with her mother might bring, but sometimes following your heart means taking a path you never planned…and finding a love you never imagined.    

Big secrets run deep.Former FBI agent Jack McBride took the job as Chief of Police for Stillwater, Texas, to start a new life with his teenage son, Ethan, away from the suspicions that surrounded his wife’s disappearance a year earlier.With a low crime rate and a five-man police force, he expected it to be a nice, easy gig; hot checks, traffic violations, some drugs, occasional domestic disturbances, and petty theft. Instead, within a week he is investigating a staged murder-suicide, uncovering a decades’ old skeleton buried in the woods, and managing the first crime wave in thirty years.For help navigating his unfamiliar, small-town surroundings, Jack turns to Ellie Martin, one of the most respected women in town—her scandal-filled past notwithstanding. Despite Jack''s murky marriage status and the disapproval of Ethan and the town, they are immediately drawn to each other.As Jack and Ellie struggle with their budding relationship, they unearth shattering secrets long buried and discover the two cases Jack is working, though fifty years apart, share a surprising connection that will rattle the town to its core.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

When the dust settles in this Texas town, who will be left standing?It’s been six weeks since Jack McBride’s life went to hell: the resolution of his first case as chief sparked a county-wide drug war, his brother Eddie rode into town with a pocket full of cocaine and trouble on his mind, his estranged wife returned from her one-year sabbatical determined to win him back, and Ellie Martin ended their brief affair.To the Stillwater natives, the increase in local crime can be traced directly back to the day outsider McBride took the job, and they’re gunning to get rid of him. One particular group is led by Joe Doyle, a successful local businessman who’s running for city council against Ellie and her plan to revitalize downtown. Now Jack has discovered proof Doyle is the biggest crime lord in the county, and, with murders piling up and the drug war intensifying, Jack suspects the crimes aren’t business but personal—and he’s the target.The bitter election and Jack’s investigation spark old rivalries and new jealousies, making Ellie and those who love Stillwater most wonder if it’s even worth saving.

When the dust settles in this Texas town, who will be left standing?It’s been six weeks since Jack McBride’s life went to hell: the resolution of his first case as chief sparked a countywide drug war, his brother Eddie rode into town with a pocket full of cocaine and trouble on his mind, his estranged wife returned from her one-year sabbatical determined to win him back, and Ellie Martin ended their brief affair.To the Stillwater natives, the increase in local crime can be traced directly back to the day the outsider McBride took the job, and they’re gunning to get rid of him. One particular group is led by Joe Doyle, a successful local businessman who’s running for city council against Ellie and her plan to revitalize downtown. Now Jack has discovered proof Doyle is the biggest crime lord in the county, and, with murders piling up and the drug war intensifying, Jack suspects the crimes aren’t business, but personal—and he’s the target.The bitter election and Jack’s investigation spark old rivalries and new jealousies, making Ellie and those who love Stillwater most wonder if it’s even worth saving.