Diabetes in Fiction

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

There’s only been one time that Rose couldn’t stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life. Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be…dangerous. When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple. Fern’s mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

Kidnap negotiator Thea Paris has spent her entire life with survivor’s guilt, following an unspeakable childhood tragedy. At eight years old, she watched, frozen in fear, as her twelve-year-old brother, Nikos, was abducted from their home in Kanzi, Africa. Although he was recovered nine months later, he was never the same after that; worse, Thea discovers that she was supposed to have been the target. This defining experience drives Thea to become one of the top operatives in the field of kidnap-and-ransom consultancy. Nicknamed “Liberata” because she once secured the release of a captive from the Sicilian mob without her client paying a cent, she travels the globe trying to bring hostages home–mostly through negotiation, but occasionally through more forceful means. She is very good at her job. Twenty years after her brother’s abduction, Thea’s worst nightmare is revisited when her father, oil magnate Christos Paris, is taken on his sixtieth birthday. He disappears from his yacht while it is moored at Santorini, the ship’s whole crew slaughtered mercilessly. Thea immediately calls in her team at Quantum Security International, premier K&R specialists. Following protocol, they break down Christos’ life, looking for leads, but the list of enemies and business competitors is endless. Not surprisingly, Christos Paris has imprinted his designer shoe on innumerable backs during his journey to the top of the oil business. And he was abducted only a few days before the biggest deal of his career. From there, the case only gets stranger. Unlike most abductions, there are no ransom demands, no political appeals, no prisoner release requests. Instead, the kidnapper sends foreboding quotes in Latin by text from burner phones. What does the kidnapper want? And most importantly for Thea, will she be able to prevent a second kidnapping from destroying her family for good?

Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends? Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.

Walter Toland has the heart and soul of a hero – but his physical body is confined to a wheelchair. He lost both his legs and his job in the line of duty as a policeman. Baal Curran is a high school senior, full of the promise and heartbreak of her first love, and her first loss. The needle scarring from her diabetes drove away the only boy ever to care for her. Now she has retreated inside herself, determined never to be hurt again. Both of them have discovered Killobyte, an exciting new fantasy adventure game that promises to be the most realistic experience they can imagine. Once again Walter can have the strong legs of a hero, charging through a castle to rescue a captive princess, battling a ferocious dragon, matching wits with a sorcerer. With her face hidden behind a fictional character, Baal can forget her shyness and her fear that others will shrink away from her because of her lifetime of illness. She can laugh and have adventures, and dare to care about someone else again. But Killobyte is more real than even its creators can have dreamed. Within its programming lurks a flaw that has allowed one demented player a kind of power its creators never intended – a power that can trap and “kill” Walter and Baal time after time in the game scenarios. Of course, as long as this game of cat and mouse is kept within the world of computer-generated adventures, it’s only a frustration. Walter and Baal seem never to win. But as the games continue, they begin to wonder whether the power of this mystery player can extend outside the framework of the game…. The mystery player is out for power – and the power he has in mind is far more than just racking up points against fictional opponents. He’s coming after Walter and Baal in the real world, and his threat is death.

Can a heroic vampire protect his clan from danger — and save himself from burning desire? As Prime of his vampire Family, Mathias Bridger is sworn to protect his own kind at any cost — but years of acting as a fierce guardian of his people have left him yearning for more out of life. His chance comes in the form of Phillipa Elliot, the beautiful police officer whose allure hasn’t dimmed in the two years since they had a brief, torrid affair. And though she’s involved with someone else now, Phillipa can’t deny the feeling that Matt is her destiny. When the Family comes under attack from fanatical vampire hunters, Matt uncovers treachery that shatters his world. So how can he possibly invite Phillipa into it? Fighting to protect his kin, he tries to push Phillipa away to the safety of her mortal life — but he aches for her, and his will is no match for the flames of their all-consuming passion. . . .

When a soldier with a troubled past and a struggling songwriter agree to a marriage of convenience for the military benefits, neither expects much after saying “I do.” Then tragedy strikes, and the line between what’s real and what’s pretend begins to blur in this smart and surprising romance perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jojo Moyes. Cassie Salazar and Luke Morrow couldn’t be more different. Sharp-witted Cassie works nights at a bar in Austin, Texas to make ends meet while pursuing her dream of becoming a singer/songwriter. Luke is an Army trainee, about to ship out for duty, who finds comfort in the unswerving discipline of service. But a chance encounter at Cassie’s bar changes the course of both their lives Cassie is drowning in medical bills after being diagnosed with diabetes. When she runs into her old friend Frankie, now enlisted in the Army, she proposes a deal: she’ll marry him in exchange for better medical insurance and they can split the increased paycheck that comes with having a “family.” When Frankie declines, his attractive but frustratingly intense friend Luke volunteers to marry Cassie instead. What she doesn’t know is that he has desperate reasons of his own to get married. In this unforgettable love story, Cassie and Luke must set aside their differences to make it look like a real marriage…unless, somewhere along the way, it becomes one…

It took a sudden heart attack and a long-coming diagnosis of type 2 diabetes for Dr. Cody Walker to admit he had to turn his life around and practice what he had preached all these years as a physician. With a second chance at life, he moves from Atlanta to the small town of Magnolia Hill to take over old Doc Porter’s practice. But saving his patients—and himself—from the grim outlook of preventable chronic diseases is easier said than done when Jenna’s cupcake bakery across the street from his practice is testing his—and his patients’—willpower to resist her sweet temptations. Jenna Wilson’s dream of owning a successful cupcake bakery had finally come true. However, that dream shatters when the grumpy new doctor in town accuses her of poisoning his diabetic patients with her sugary treats and threatens to shut down her shop. But when a natural disaster strikes close to home, they are forced to challenge their beliefs. Is there any hope Cody and Jenna can work out their differences and maybe even find love in this grumpy/sunshine enemies to lovers sweet romance?

Getting married at eighteen wasn’t the smartest idea but … I’d been in love. Bryce, with his perfect words, his money, and all-American good looks. He had pulled me in, and when he spit me out, I’d barely been left alive. Now at twenty two and divorced, I just wanted to build a life for myself on my own terms. Free of fear. First job. First crappy apartment. First taste of freedom. Enter Ethan King. The guy from high school I never had a chance with. As the leader of the local motorcycle gang, he’s not exactly an outstanding citizen, but he’s the one bright spot in my life. He’s exactly what I need right now. Until Bryce, who never could accept losing, decides he’s not ready to let me go. And if there is one thing I know about that monster, it’s that he has no problem destroying everything in my world. Only this time I have Ethan King. And no one messes with a King.

When a USO boat goes down in flames, test pilot Jimmy Gage pulls a scantily clad Chloe Nelson out of the shark-filled Mediterranean . Although she is grateful, and he’s as hot as the fire that took the boat down, the last thing Chloe needs is a jet-jock to be her bodyguard—until she inadvertently finds herself closer to Gage than she ever expected, and side by side in a dangerous mission… Gage is desperate to find a fellow airman, missing and reportedly held captive. A pub in Istanbul , controlled by a notorious and sadistic female adversary, may hold the key. Now, moving in toward untold dangers, Gage can’t afford to let his growing attraction to Chloe distract him for a second—or it may cost the lives of his crew, the prisoner they must rescue, and the woman he’s unable to resist.

Living after the apocalypse really isn’t that hard for most of the survivors. The virus killed all but 1 in 10,000. The few remaining people are left in a world of virtually unlimited resources. Grocery stores overflowing with food and drink. Thousands of empty houses to pick from. But one survivor, a nineteen-year-old girl, requires more than simple food, water and shelter. As a type 1 diabetic her body desperately needs insulin to stay alive. With civilization gone, no one manufactures it anymore. She hoards all the insulin she can find, but every day marches toward the end of her stash of vials. She has a choice. Accept her fate and death, or tackle the almost insurmountable task of extracting and refining the insulin herself. Brilliant scientists struggled to make the first insulin. What hope does a high school dropout have?

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?