A Flower in the Desert

In Marina Nesmith's skilled hands, even the most tarnished picture frame or objet d'art can be made perfect once again. Her life, too, seems flawless, at least on the surface. But more and more, Marina is conscious of what she lacks--someone to share her joys and sorrows with, confidence in the decisions she's made, and the courage to tell her teenage daughter, Zoe, the truth about her father.

Then Marina is invited to return to Florence, where she lived years before while learning her trade as a gilder. In those heady days, she wandered the city's picturesque streets, marveling at the masterpieces in the Duomo and the Pitti Palace. In the church of Santa Croce, she met Thomas, an American photographer who, along with his wife Sarah, introduced Marina to a thrilling, bohemian world of art and beauty. Through them, she also learned about love, lies, and the way one mistake can multiply into many. Now, as her past and present collide, Marina will finally have to move beyond the intricate veneer she's crafted around herself, and find the life that she--and Zoe--have been looking for.

Following college, Kathryn Kay spent five years living in Florence, Italy, where she studied restoration and gilding. Kathryn is the founder of the Nantucket Writers Studio, which offers writing workshops for women. She has three adult children, and lives on Nantucket Island with her husband, Robert.

Advance praise for Kathryn Kay and The Gilder

"After reading Kathryn Kay's lovely debut, I had the best kind of cry. What a beautiful, emotional novel. I loved the way she writes about love, necessary secrets, and the dark unknowability of another person, no matter how close. She writes so well about the vulnerability of strong women, the complexity of long friendship, the ways mothers and daughters protect each other, and sweet, tender forgiveness." --Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author

"Kathryn Kay's The Gilder, beautifully set in the romantic city of Florence, reminds us that love, like great art, is always complex. Kay leads her talented artist and loving mother Marina through a courageous quest as labyrinthine as an ancient Italian street. With persistence and passion, Marina discovers that relationships can be repaired, making what is truly golden shine forth." --Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author

"The Gilder engages the reader from the very first line. Amid sensuous details of life and art in Florence, Kathryn Kay tells a compelling story of seduction and betrayal which ultimately transforms into a story of love and redemption." Holly Chamberlin, author of Summer Friends

It May Not Be a Coincidence That This Book Has Crossed Your Path...

In Peace with God Dr. Billy Graham asks God to help this book “find its way into the hands and hearts of a lost, confused, and searching world . . . men, women, and young people everywhere [who] thirst for peace with God.”

In spite of a life drenched with responsibilities and rewards, are you thirsting? Searching for some nameless thing that is more important than anything in life? You are not alone. All mankind is seeking the answer to the confusion, the moral sickness, the spiritual emptiness that oppresses the world. All humanity is crying out for guidance, for comfort . . .for peace.

Dr. Graham shares God’s gentle, reassuring promise of spiritual calm—of authentic personal peace—amidst a personal life wracked with too much stress, too many burdens, too great a heartache.

“I know men who would write a check for a million dollars if they could find peace,” writes Dr. Graham. “Millions are searching for it. But we Christians have found it! It is ours now and forever. We have found the secret of life! . . .When your spouse dies or your children get sick or you lose your job, you can have a peace that you don’t understand. You may have tears at a graveside, but you can have an abiding peace, a quietness.

“God’s peace can be in your heart—right now . . .Whatever the circumstances, whatever the call, whatever the duty, whatever the price, whatever the sacrifice—His strength will be your strength in your hour of need. “It’s all yours, and it’s free. You don’t have to work for it . . . . Do not put it off.”