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Homecoming
Passion waits where you never expected it!
Home is a place where love lives - and where sensuous dreams take flight. Join four of today's most acclaimed romantic storytellers - Fern Michaels, Janet Dailey, Sharon Sala, and Deborah Bedford - on breathtaking journeys back to lost lives and unfulfilled desires, for second chances at once-in-a-lifetime passions. Feel the heat, abandon you inhibitions, and follow your heart...
Come home.
Includes:
The Journey by Fern Michaels
Heading Home by Janet Dailey
The Return of Walker Lee by Sharon Sala
Rockabye Inn by Deborah Bedford
Home is a place where love lives - and where sensuous dreams take flight. Join four of today's most acclaimed romantic storytellers - Fern Michaels, Janet Dailey, Sharon Sala, and Deborah Bedford - on breathtaking journeys back to lost lives and unfulfilled desires, for second chances at once-in-a-lifetime passions. Feel the heat, abandon you inhibitions, and follow your heart...
Come home.
Includes:
The Journey by Fern Michaels
Heading Home by Janet Dailey
The Return of Walker Lee by Sharon Sala
Rockabye Inn by Deborah Bedford
373 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 23, 1997
243 people are currently reading
462 people want to read
About the author
Fern Michaels
427 books6,538 followersFern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
did-not-finish
January 10, 2019I didn’t bother with Fern Michaels’ or Janet Dailey’s stories. I haven’t liked anything written by them despite numerous tries, so no point.
I tried Sharon Sala’s story as I’ve enjoyed her before, but this book shows its age (copyright 1997). The “he punishes her with a kiss” is an ick button for me.
Tried Deborah Bedford’s story, got bored and skipped to the end to solve the mystery.
Donating this one, hopefully this book’s next owner enjoys it more.
I tried Sharon Sala’s story as I’ve enjoyed her before, but this book shows its age (copyright 1997). The “he punishes her with a kiss” is an ick button for me.
Tried Deborah Bedford’s story, got bored and skipped to the end to solve the mystery.
Donating this one, hopefully this book’s next owner enjoys it more.
January 17, 2024
There are 4 stories in this book, each by a different author and of varying degrees of "good" reads. My favorites were the first and the last stories which were interesting takes on what "homecoming" means. I would rate each of these as 5 stars. The second story was OK, nothing exceptional and I'd rate it as 4 stars. The third story was not that great, I skipped through parts of it and would rate it between 2 and 3 stars. I generally prefer book length stories in which the author can develop the characters in greater detail however the last story in the book was very well written.
August 9, 2017
Well, I get that this was a bunch of short stories. This, however, felt like a bunch of long stories that got cut off and had to be turned into "and they lived happily ever after" into 5 pages. It felt like half a book. Couple was fighting for 100 pages. Changed their mind andDecided to get married in 8 pages. Fluffy brainless reading, but a bit too much.
August 14, 2018
Two and a half stars.
The Journey by Fern Michaels
Heading Home by Janet Dailey
The Return of Walker Lee by Sharon Sala--three and a half stars.
Rockabye Inn by Debora Bedford
These are from 1997, and most do feel a bit dated. Several stories include dogs and other animals, in case that makes these more appealing :)
The Journey by Fern Michaels
Heading Home by Janet Dailey
The Return of Walker Lee by Sharon Sala--three and a half stars.
Rockabye Inn by Debora Bedford
These are from 1997, and most do feel a bit dated. Several stories include dogs and other animals, in case that makes these more appealing :)
October 9, 2023
Enjoyed this book
I decided to read this book when I saw Janet Daily had written one of the stories. I thought at that time it was one story that the authors had collaborated on. I learned upon reading it that there’s more than one story and it leaves you to wonder what became of the characters of each. However, I truly enjoyed each story and am glad I read it.
I decided to read this book when I saw Janet Daily had written one of the stories. I thought at that time it was one story that the authors had collaborated on. I learned upon reading it that there’s more than one story and it leaves you to wonder what became of the characters of each. However, I truly enjoyed each story and am glad I read it.
September 13, 2025
I didn’t realize this was a book of short stories at first. Or at least I thought they would all add onto each other like a collaboration. These romances were all well composed. They were easy reads with good structure & nice conclusions.
October 15, 2017
This rating is only based on reading 1 of the 4 stories.
The Return of Walker Lee by Sharon Sala - Loved it!
The Return of Walker Lee by Sharon Sala - Loved it!
July 4, 2018
This is a quick collection of short stories. Nice to read on the couch after dinner.
April 18, 2019
Such enjoyable tales from this great group!
June 11, 2020
Light fluff, but two of the stores were a little short and could have been expanded into an entire book.
December 20, 2023
Very good, 4 short stories, my kind of read, 2 new authors to me
April 22, 2025
Great story
This is a wonderful story about the love for someone who you love from a far and dedication to the other
This is a wonderful story about the love for someone who you love from a far and dedication to the other
May 13, 2025
I really like all of Fern Michael’s books. This one was no exception. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it.
May 29, 2025
Short stories too short
It was a good read. The stories were not long enough.
Enjoy the detail of the stories.
Made you visualize the lands i. The story
It was a good read. The stories were not long enough.
Enjoy the detail of the stories.
Made you visualize the lands i. The story
October 23, 2011
In Heading Home by Janet Dailey, the author has given us the story of returning home after a disasterous love affair to find that part of her family land now belongs to a stranger. She always was drawn to this particular piece of land. Leave it to a dog to bring together the woman and the stranger. The story is quite interesting. In The Journey by Fern Michaels, we find a woman working at a sort of survival training camp which is financially in trouble. Help comes in the form of her would be groom who jilted her at the altar. Of course, the woman knows nothing about this as it wasn't her who made the appeal for his help. This story deals with how she came to be working at this camp, what happened it the time that she and her would be groom have been apart and what happens when he shows up at the camp. The Return of Walker Lee by Dinah McCall tells the story of a young man turned away by his one true love returning after many years. Once again we see the growth of the couple as they lived apart but never forgetting the other. Sometimes the truth hurts but finding out what really happened sets the couple on the right path in finding each other. Rockabye Inn by Deborah Bedford in an interesting tale of lost memory and finding the right person to love.
July 16, 2012
The Journey is a pretty good book. I've enjoyed reading it and would read it again. I really enjoyed all the characters and their personalities. Way to go Maggie and Matt. I really like Lulu and her spunk too. This is a great cuddle-up/rainy day/passing the time book. Heading Home was good too. I liked the characters and the dogs. :) Yay Trooper! I liked Kate's sense of rightness and self-honesty. This was a good cuddle-up story too. The Return of Walker Lee was really good. I liked the slaps, lol. This one had some good humor, but some touching and emotional parts. I really enjoyed reading about Walker and Carrie. Babe was a great character addition too. Rockabye Inn was a very good story. It had emotions, growing, self-discovery, and a true long-lasting love that stretched over time and circumstances. The end was truely touching and had me sniffing like a babe, not really but close. This is a cuddle-up romance with true depth, and I will definitely remember it. I would read this again. Overall the book was great and had a varied touch of emotions. It had a little of everything and I enjoyed all the stories. Enjoy!
Read
August 15, 2019Read "The Journey" by Fern Michaels; "The Return of Walker Lee" by Sharon Sala
March 23, 2014
This is an anthology of four short novels … and all entertaining. The first is Fern Michaels' The Journey …my favorite about a wilderness camp and two people who find each other again. Janet Dailey's Heading Home is a western romance with the two main characters crossing horns - but eventually finding a way past each others' defenses. Sharon Sala's story Heading Home is of a rodeo star who comes back home to the girl he once loved … and Deborah Bedford's 's Rockabye Inn was my favorite of all … of a woman who loses her memory and comes back to the inn she owns, trying to find her past and her self … only to fall into a great, suspenseful mystery! Even the side characters in this Bedford novella are rich and memorable. A great anthology to show "you can come home again."
July 24, 2008
Borrowed. Still not crazy about anthologies, but wanted to give Fern Michaels a second chance. The best in this one, in my opinion, was the story by Deborah Bedford, about a woman suffering from amnesia.
Read
August 16, 2008Homecoming: Journey / Heading Home / Return of Walker Lee / Rockabye Inn by Fern Michaels (1997)
September 23, 2008
I enjoyed each short story, they made me feel happy at the end
February 23, 2009
Sometimes I am just in the mood for an anthology, this one was good. Nice and sweet stories to make me smile on a sunday.
December 5, 2009
Another book of short stories by different authors.
February 10, 2013
Did not finish it. To shallow....They were a series of short stories.
September 18, 2012
Fern Michaels- dissapointing
Janet Dailey- ok
Sharon Sala- not bad
Deborah Bedford- enjoyed
Janet Dailey- ok
Sharon Sala- not bad
Deborah Bedford- enjoyed
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews