Alice at Heart
by Deborah Smith

Shy, charming, peculiar, and web-toed, Alice Riley has suffered for years at the hands of her dead mother's self- righteous family, while she hides a bevy of secret abilities. When Alice rescues a drowning child, her amazing talents are exposed. Alice can remain underwater for extraordinary periods of time, and she can locate submerged objects through some type of natural sonar ability. Her new fame/notoriety puts Alice in the national news, amidst allegations that she has somehow faked or manipulated the rescue for her own glory. Alice is trapped and desperate until three amazing older women arrive in her hometown. They are the regal and flamboyant Bonavendier sisters-- dignified Lilith, acerbic Mara, and whimsical Pearl--of Sainte's Point Island, their ancestral home off the coast of Georgia. They've read Alice's story in the news and are convinced that she is their long-lost (and much younger) half sister, conceived in a reckless seduction their elderly father confessed to before he died. Like Alice, the Bonavendier sisters have webbed toes and certain amazing abilities, though none of them have Alice's marked talent for finding things underwater. Alice is no oddity to them. They explain that--like them-- she is descended from a mermaid.

Other Books by Deborah Smith

A Gentle Rain

The Crossroads Cafe

Diary of a Radical Mermaid
WaterLilies Series: book 2

Charming Grace

Reunion At Mossy Creek

Sweet Hush

Stone Flower Garden

Mossy Creek

Deborah Smith's Bio

Deborah Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of A Place to Call Home, Sweet Hush, and other acclaimed romantic novels portraying life and love in the modern Appalachian South. A native Georgian, Deborah is a former newspaper editor who turned to novel-writing with great success.

With more than 30 romance and women's fiction novels to her credit, Deborah's books have sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Among her honors is a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times Magazine and a nomination for the prestigious Townsend Literary Award. In 2003 Disney optioned Sweet Hush for film.

Deborah is a founding partner of BelleBooks, a small southern press known for feel-good southern fiction including the Mossy Creek Hometown Series and the Sweet Tea story collections.

Deborah lives on a secluded dirt road high in the mountains of north Georgia with Hank, her husband of 27 years, plus a herd of deer, a flock of turkeys, numerous well-fed raccoons, possums and the occasional bear, also eight cats, a dog and two enormous koi fish named Daisy and Albert.