We tend to associate small town economic development with the decline of the rural United States--empty houses, shuttered shops and rusting factories. A common diagnosis of sluggish small town recovery is their lack of lifestyle amenities that attract new residents and businesses. Yet many small towns have shown progress and potential in recent years. This collection of recent articles by experts presents stories of small-town America's struggle and describes innovations and practices behind successful revivals.

This work is an in-depth, on-the-ground examination of how prisons impact rural communities, including a revealing study of two rural communities that have chosen prisons as an economic development strategy. A recent study by the Urban Institute estimates that one-third of all counties in the United States house a prison, and that our prison and jail population is now over 2.1 million. Another report indicates that more than 97 percent of all U.S. prisoners are eventually released, and communities are absorbing nearly 650,000 formerly incarcerated individuals each year. These figures are particularly alarming considering the fact that rural communities are using prisons as economic development vehicles without fully understanding the effects of these jails on the area. This book is the result of author Eric J. Williams' ground-level research about the effects of prisons upon two rural American communities that lobbied to host maximum security prisons. Through hundreds of interviews conducted while living in Florence, Colorado, and Beeville, Texas, Williams offers the perspective of local residents on all sides of the issue, as well as a social history told mainly from the standpoint of those who lobbied for the prisons.

Smitten in a Small Town blurb The first book in each of MJ Fredrick’s three small town series—travel from the Texas coast to a Minnesota lake town in this boxed set! Bluestone Homecoming (Welcome to Bluestone Book 1) War correspondent Leo Ericson returns to his hometown of Bluestone Lake, Minnesota, when his parents notify him his young son is having trouble fitting in at school. Leo doesn’t know how to be a single parent since the death of his wife, and he certainly has no desire to return to Bluestone. But he needs a place for his son, a place where he’ll be with family, while Leo does his job. He’ll stay long enough to get Max settled, then go back to work. School counselor Trinity Madison watches Leo struggle with his son, trying to overcome the mental barricade she’s erected against the man who sent his son away when he’s perfectly capable of caring for the child. The situation brings about her own unsettled feelings about giving her child up for adoption when she was young. But as she observes Leo’s difficulties, his sacrifices, she softens toward the man. While he’s in town, he ends up working with some old friends and Trinity on a committee to revitalize Bluestone. The former resort town is struggling and looking for ways to bring tourists back. Leo finds himself charmed, then smitten with the feisty counselor, but will he still love her when he learns her secret? Waltz Back to Texas (Lost in a Boom Town Book 1) After growing up in a dying town, with only two restaurants, no movie theater, and no future, waitress Cassidy Simon wants out. For once, luck is on her side when the oil boom comes to South Texas. She’s determined to use it for her advantage, starting up an RV park for the oilfield workers to add to her escape fund. She’s never been out of Texas, and she’s itching for adventure. Grady McKenna couldn’t get away from his family’s ranch fast enough when he was a teenager, but a tour in the Air Force in the Middle East is enough to convince him there’s no place like home. He’s seen the world, had his adventure. Now he’s ready to contribute to his family’s legacy in Evansville. Naturally, the woman who draws his attention is the one intent on slipping through his fingers. How can he convince her life with him will be all the adventure she needs? The Love I Want to Be In (The Off-Season Book 1) Single mother Brioney Mayburn has learned about responsibility the hard way, working as a maid in the motel in the small beach town of Avalon Island, Texas and looking after her younger brother. Local jack-of-all-trades Blue Maddox was her sister's high school boyfriend, but stayed behind when she went off to college. He's now drawn to Brioney, admiring her drive, her determination to give her daughter the best life she can. But will Brioney look past his beach-bum facade to see who he really is?

Welcome to Charm Cove, Maine – where the Good are Wicked, and the Wicked are Good… or maybe not. Nothing is ever as it seems, at least not in Charm Cove, Maine. Moira Wicked—yes, that’s actually her name—moves away in the hopes she can escape her fate, or destiny, or something along those lines. She yearns to lead a normal life. A few years away teaches her one glaring lesson. It’s incredibly difficult to be normal when your first name means destiny, your last name isWicked, and you actually docome from a family legendary for its witchy ways. Trying to keep her powers under wraps in the real world is a tad tricky. A love spell gone sideways sets in motion her return to Charm Cove for a spell. As bad luck would have it, or fate if you’d rather, she’s home for one single day when a body turns up floating in the town fountain. The oh-so-charming Charm Cove is turned upside down. Meanwhile, tourists are crowding its picturesque streets, and magic is being bottled up and sold as health remedies. Moira finds herself in the thick of the murder investigation, all the while trying to hold her nosy family and destiny at bay. Destiny comes in the form of Liam Good. A Wicked is fated to fall in love with a Good once every century. No pressure or anything. Take a visit to Charm Cove, where Wicked meets Good and where you just might find there’s almost always more than meets the eye.

A former forensic photographer and author of Murder in the Midlands chronicles horrific killings that struck at the heart of the Palmetto State. Ax assault, kidnapping, brutal murder: how could these things happen in a small town? Although regional crimes hardly ever make it to the national circuit, they will always remain with the families and communities of the victims and a part of the area’s history. After working with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as special agent/forensic photographer for twenty-four years, Rita Shuler has a passion for remembering the victims. In Small-town Slayings, Shuler takes us back in time, showing differences and similarities of crime solving in the past and present and some surprising twists of court proceedings, verdicts, and sentences. From an unsolved case that has haunted her for thirty years to a cold case that was solved after fifteen years by advanced DNA technology, Shuler blends her own memories with extensive research, resulting in a fast-paced, factual, and fascinating look at crime in South Carolina. Includes photos!

"Barbara Freethy has done it again with a great new series, that has the reader packing their bags to move to the town of Whisper Lake!" Robin – Goodreads Justin Blackwood can't remember a time when he believed in the magic of anything, least of all love. A cynical businessman, who grew up in a broken home, he guards his heart with every breath he takes. His job has taken him all over the world and roots are the last thing he wants...until he meets a beautiful innkeeper in Whisper Lake. Warm-hearted, free-spirited Lizzie Cole wants it all—the dream job of running her own inn and a man who wants to settle down. Despite a previous romantic setback, she still believes in happily ever after and her perfect soulmate. She just has to find him. While the dark-haired man with the shockingly blue eyes makes her heart beat faster, Justin Blackwood is the last man who should leave her breathless. He's her complete opposite and they don't want the same things. But when a lunar eclipse throws Whisper Lake into darkness, Lizzie and Justin find themselves struggling to fight the moonlight and a love that could change their lives—if they're willing to take the risk. Don't miss this emotional, feel-good, small town contemporary romance from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy NOTE: The Whisper Lake Series is a heartwarming and humorous small-town romance series. Each book can be read as a standalone. There are no cliffhangers! Popular storylines in the series include grumpy sunshine, runaway bride, second chance at love, enemies to lovers, family secrets, blind date, and opposites attract. The Whisper Lake Series Always With Me #1 My Wildest Dream #2 Can't Fight The Moonlight #3 Just A Kiss Away #4 If We Never Met #5 Tangled Up In You #6 Next Time I Fall #7 What the readers are saying… "I have just finished CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT and WOW such an emotional book. The characters of Justin and Lizzie were so well written, with so much depth. There were scenes in this book that gave me a lump in my throat. Absolutely loved this book...and can’t wait for the next one!" Booklovers Anonymous "Barbara has created a town and community that leaves you wanting to return over and over again. It must be the Whisper of the lake. Or the amazing stories that surround it. Or maybe the great group of friends that make up the magical town. All I know is that I can never get enough." Mommymoose – Goodreads on Can't Fight The Moonlight "I love how Barbara Freethy doesn't force the romance in her stories...it occurs naturally and organically....oh yeah...there's also a lunar eclipse and a romantic reunion 10 years in the making....and a ghost in the attic!!! This book is truly a joy to read." Trude – Goodreads on Can't Fight The Moonlight "CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT is a great book! I want to live in Whisper Lake! Lizzie owns an inn and has a run in with a sexy handsome workaholic man-Justin. She finds out that he is staying at her inn. They know that there are secrets, but will they be able to share them and move past them?" Brandi – Goodreads "A beautiful story about two people learning to really live life. There are so many different emotions Barbara brings out in her readers. CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT is a truly feel good book." Linda - Goodreads

A swoon-worthy romance from USA Today Bestselling Author J.H. Croix! Opposites attract in a big way when an ex-military pilots rescues a sassy Southern chef in small town Alaska. Daphne is everything I don’t need, and she makes me crazy in all the wrong ways. This princess does not belong in the wilderness. Or, so I think. But then, thought is hard to come by around Daphne. Between flying tourists all over Alaska’s skies, hotshot firefighting on the side, and raising my sixteen-year old sister, I don’t have time for anything, much less for a woman. But time’s been laughing at me ever since Daphne showed up. I can’t get her out of my mind, and my control has fled the building. Oh, and I’m her boss. One night, just one night, I let things go too far. Now, all bets are off. Keywords: Daphne & Flynn’s story is perfect for readers who love small town romance, military heroes, sassy heroines, opposites attract, workplace/boss romance, slow burn, emotional romance with a dash of angst, plenty of steam and swoon, and a grumpy hero with a protective streak as big as Alaska. *A full-length, standalone romance.