Showing results by narrator "Emily Durante" in All Categories

Amanda Beth Luker has spent her whole life desperately looking for someone who can show her the way out of her trailer park Florida town. And then, finally, help arrives - in the form of Tom Davis, a successful lawyer with political aspirations who grew up just a few towns over from Amanda. But it's his wife, Lindsay, who really captures Amanda's imagination. Strong, smart, and determined, she gives Amanda something she's never had: a role model.

This year, a modern-day Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas with the help of a suddenly sexy old friend. A down-on-his-luck baseball star finds a beautiful new beginning with a hometown girl. And a prim-and-proper teacher is determined to bring out the holiday spirit in a grumpy tree farmer. Settle in for the season with this collection of very merry short fiction.

Everything is connected. We weave in and out of one another's lives, like circles within circles, and everything is for a purpose. Helen has always been the "crazy" one among the girls of Wyldcliffe, scarred by her bleak past and her troubled relationship with her mother, the former headmistress and leader of the Wyldcliffe coven, Mrs. Hartle. But Miss Scratton promised Helen that a love "beyond the confines of this world" is waiting for her. Could this be Lynton, the mysterious music student who visits Wyldcliffe?

At Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, Sarah is the faithful friend to Evie and Helen, her sisters in the Mystic Way. But this term, Sarah finds that their friendship is tested. Evie is turning her back on the Mystic Way after laying her beloved Sebastian’s soul to rest; Helen is distracted by her tormented relationship with her mother. Sarah struggles to keep the sisterhood together as the threat of attack looms from the dark coven and the Unconquered lords.

When Evie Johnson started at Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, her life changed in ways she couldn't possibly have envisioned: the discovery of her link with Lady Agnes, her special bond with Helen and Sarah, and their sisterhood in the astonishing secrets of the Mystic Way. Above all, Evie's love for Sebastian has turned her world upside down.

Crimson Cove already feels like home, but sometimes it's not always sweet. When I meet a misunderstood murder suspect, I know something is wrong. How did one bad-tempered badger destroy an ancient vampire? With my wonderful witch, Zandra Crypt, by my side, I poke my adorable booping snooter into this mystery to make sure the angels don't make a mess of the investigation. No innocent furball goes down for a crime they didn't commit when I'm around.

When Caleb Smith saved Francesca Hamilton from a nasty situation with her father, she was beyond grateful. Sure, it landed her in Caleb's bed wearing his engagement ring, but neither of them took that seriously. It was a means to an end, and he was so sexy and exciting, she was enjoying the ride. It wasn't Caleb's fault her feelings were changing, leaving her wishing things between them were real rather than pretend.

Award-winning photographer Mason Montgomery is back in Pine Valley, Kentucky. Hopefully, for good, if his business proposal is accepted. On paper, he's the perfect buyer for Forget-Me-Not Photography. Too bad the seller, Ol' Man Rowe, doesn't see it that way. He's looking for a family man to take over, and Mason's bachelor status doesn't fit the bill.

Shortly before the holidays, inventor and former assassin Missi Bombay gets orders to perform one last job. It's the granddaddy of all hits-to be carried out on Christmas Eve, no less. Missi knows she has only one chance at success, so she enlists the help of her cousins Gin, Dakota, and Coney. Together the Bombay cousins come out of retirement to stamp out the world's most evil cabal.

The Taylor sisters spent every summer at their family’s lake house, but as they grew up, they also grew apart. Now, in honor of their late mother’s wishes, they reunite on Evening Island, each hoping to find the best part of themselves they’d left behind.

Gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging have been going on in Steubenville for well over a century. In its heyday, the city's Water Street red-light district drew men from hundreds of miles away, as well as underage runaways. The White slave trade was rampant, and along with all the vice crimes, murders became a weekly occurrence. This revealing history chronicles the rise of Steubenville's prodigious underworld from the 1890s to the modern day.

The Morgan sisters spent many blissful summers at their family’s lake house growing up, but as they grew older, their lives took very different paths. Hope adores her twin girls, but she doesn’t love being a stay-at-home mom. When her workaholic husband doesn’t support her career aspirations, she packs up the kids and goes to Sunset Cottage, thinking that some time apart will help her decide what she really wants. But when the life she dreamed of becomes a possibility, she is more torn than ever.

Whether valorized as the heartland or derided as flyover country, the Midwest became instantly notorious when COVID-19 infections skyrocketed among workers in meatpacking plants - and Americans feared for their meat supply. But the Midwest is not simply the place where animals are fed corn and then butchered. Native Midwesterner Kristy Nabhan-Warren spent years interviewing Iowans who work in the meatpacking industry, both native-born residents and recent migrants from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Road trips with kids aren't easy, but new parents of twins Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi became experts at creating lasting family memories without breaking the bank. From hiking with infants to navigating RV camping in state parks and camping in national parks - these outdoor lovers have tried it all, and See You at the Campground is packed with personal anecdotes, packing lists, site recommendations, and recipes that will help you create a one-of-a-kind vacation on a family-friendly budget.

The deep freeze has thawed in Ashland, Oregon, and Torte is gearing up for a busy spring. When a surprise opportunity to launch a pop-up ice cream shop comes her way, Jules jumps at the chance to showcase Torte's signature iced drinks and cold custards. But selling the desserts of her dreams comes at a price...and, before she knows it, Jules's life swirls into a nightmare.

Spring has sprung in Ashland, Oregon, and everything at Torte seems to be coming up buttercream roses. But just when Juliet Capshaw seems to have found her sweet spot - with her staff set to handle the influx of tourists for this year's Shakespeare festival while she moves back into her childhood home - things take a dramatic turn. Jules discovers a long-forgotten dossier in her deceased father's belongings that details one of the most controversial cases in Ashland's history: a hit-and-run accident from the 1980s.

Jules Capshaw has too much on her plate - and she's feeling the pinch: The whole town of Ashland, Oregon, is in on the surprise Elizabethan-themed wedding she's planning for her mom and soon-to-be stepdad. But is her secret scheme half-baked? She's hiding racks overflowing with sweet treats while Torte is topsy-turvy with a major remodel and the return of Jules' estranged husband, Carlos. And until now, Jules had no clue about the bitter family feud that has her friend Lance frazzled and suspicious.

It's the role of a lifetime for Jules. The Shakespeare Festival has returned to Ashland, Oregon, for the season and Torte has been cast as the supplier of Elizabethan-era treats for the main event. But on the eve of opening night, a brawl between Jules's friend Lance, the artistic director, and a strapping young thespian named Anthony almost brings down the house...and the next morning, Anthony is dead.

The American Adrenaline Narrative considers the nature of perilous outdoor adventure tales, their gendered biases, and how they simultaneously promote and hinder ecological sustainability. To explore these themes, Kristin J. Jacobson defines and compares adrenaline narratives by a range of American authors published after the first Earth Day in 1970, a time frame selected as a watershed moment for the contemporary American environmental movement.

Linda Olson and her husband, Dave Hodgens, were young doctors whose story had all the makings of a fairy tale. But then, while they were vacationing in Germany, a train hit their van, shattering their lives - and Linda's body. Inspiring and deeply moving, Gone asks listeners to find not only courage, but also laughter in the unexpected challenges we all face. The day of the accident, no one envied Linda and Dave. Today, many do.