Showing results by narrator "Joyce" in All Categories

Growing up in Alabama, Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents - her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father - and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child’s transition to caregiver.

Everyone knows that vampires are hard to kill. But when Dory Basarab is called to a crime scene in a smelly basement in Queens, she discovers that that may no longer be the case. Somebody has developed a new weapon, a vamp killer, and left her plenty of clues to follow. One of them leads her to the other side of the world, and to a city like no other, where the paranormal is normal and where death stalks the streets. Can she defeat a clever killer before he kills again, and on an unprecedented scale?   

The tale of a rural habitation in the late 19th Century and the effect of industrialisation on the local community.Seventeen year old Phillis lives on Hope Farm with her parents Minister Ebenezer Holman and his simple wife. Her second cousin Paul Manning, at first reluctantly, comes to visit. He is the son of a rising inventor from Birmingham and is employed as a clerk to Edward Holdsworth, the managing engineer of a railway company laying a line close to the farm.

Vanessa Paris is besotted with Benji, the devil-may-care son of John and Elizabeth Herries. Despite returning her all-consuming passion, Benji will not commit himself to marriage because he fears he can never remain constant and will eventually betray her. Benji's actions finally prompt Vanessa to leave Cumbria and seek a life in London. She stays at Hill Street with the ever persistent Ellis, who worships her.

"To Paragot I owe everything. He is at once my benefactor, my venerated master, my beloved friend, my creator." Thus begins the story of one of the greatest characters of English Literature - Paragot the lovable Bohemian and celebrated Bon Vivant. A young urchin from the London slums is adopted by the hero and given an adventurous education traveling through Europe, tambourine player in a group of ragamuffin musicians.

"Cautionary Tales", humorous poems with an implausible moral, are the most widely known of Hilaire Belloc's writings. Supposedly for children, they, like Lewis Carroll's works, are more to adult and satirical tastes. Here, Joyce Grenfell reads a selection.

In the rural parishes of Louisiana's French Triangle, young women are disappearing one by one, only to turn up on the banks of the bayou, strangled and cast aside where they are sure to be found. But there is one trophy the killer prizes above all others, one woman who must be silenced forever.... Attorney Laurel Chandler did not come back to Bayou Breaux to seek justice. That once-burning obsession had destroyed her credibility, her career, her marriage - and nearly her sanity. But when a ruthless predator strikes too close to home, she's lured into a perverse game from which there may be no escape.

Queen Victoria... and Prince Albert were married in 1840. Dickens uses this event as an ingenious ploy to salute and promote domestic felicity, advising young ladies upon several examples of the different types of male available as partners. There follows a section describing various married couples from whom the young ladies could possibly learn a lesson. The author then entertains with a tale of Nicholas Tulrumble, newly appointed Mayor of Mudfog, with ideas above his station.

Venera Fanning was last seen falling into nothingness at the end of Sun of Suns. Now, in Queen of Candesce, Venera finds herself plunging through the air among the artificial worlds of Virga, far from home and her husband, who may or may not be alive. Landing in the ancient nation of Spyre...

In 'Washington Square' James treats on a subject about which he was passionate - the relationship between parents and their children. Dr Sloper, a wealthy man, is in a difficult position. His son has died aged three years old. His wife also dies within two weeks of giving birth to their surviving daughter Catherine. She is a plain awkward child, yet capable of giving immense affection. She becomes fascinated by would-be man of the world Morris Townsend, falling in love with him very swiftly. Is Morris a fortune hunter?

The bestselling author of How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You, Lowndes reveals specific and proven techniques for attracting friends and lovers and keeping them for life. She uncovers the secrets of attracting friends for fun and romance as well as networking to strengthen business contacts and relationships. Her advice is effective, yet easy for anyone - shy or bold - to implement.

“[Lagnado writes] in crystalline yet melodious prose.” —New York Times Lucette Lagnado’s acclaimed, award-winning The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit (“[a] crushing, brilliant book” —New York Times Book Review) told the powerfully moving story of her Jewish family’s exile from...

5 Women. 5 Love Stories. 1 Legendary Ranch. Wrangled by Love-A contract marriage brings Kat Knox to the ranch—but it's the quiet, steady love of Shaw Dutton that makes her stay. What starts as a business deal becomes a bond forged in trust, late-night talks, and barn doors that never stay closed. Tamed by Midnight-Jessa Dalton doesn't believe in second chances—until James Walker arrives. Protective, patient, and persistent, he shows her that love doesn't always come loud. Sometimes it comes in the stillness of midnight. Saddles and Secrets-Riley Dutton is all fire and attitude.

The New York Times bestselling author of Labor Day and After Her returns with a poignant story about the true meaning—and the true price—of friendship. Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet...

Anna Pigeon, a Ranger with the National Park Service, is newly married but on administrative leave from her job as she recovers from the traumas of the past couple of months. While the physical wounds have healed, the emotional ones are still healing. With her new husband back at work, Anna decides to go and stay with an old friend from the Park Service, Geneva, who works as a singer at the New Orleans Jazz NHP. She isn't in town long before she crosses paths with a tenant of Geneva's, a creepy guy named Jordan.

There are three things I hate: rich people, boys, and Kai Rush. Kai happens to be all three. He and his dad have all the money in the world from the game app they created, and what do they do with it? They buy private helicopters and flaunt their brand new Teslas. Never mind that people like my mom and I work multiple jobs just to keep our crappy apartment and pay for back medical bills because my dad ran scared and left us alone. So when my mom tells me we have a new cleaning job at the Rush’s before school, I’m peeved. When he starts texting me, I’m floored.

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir - the feared and hated cross between a vampire and a human - or so she has always believed. She spent most of her life on the fringes of her two worlds, yearning to belong to one or the other, but despised and distrusted by both. Recently, a war in the supernatural community allowed her to get a foothold into her vampire father's world, one of danger, intrigue, glitz, and glamour, where she found not only a home, but a lover, too. For the first time in centuries, life seemed to be going her way. 

In the middle of the year, in the middle of her life, Bethanne Hamlin takes a road trip with her daughter Annie, and her former mother-in-law, Ruth. They’re driving to Florida for Ruth’s 50th high school reunion. A long-time widow, Ruth would like to reconnect with Royce, the love of her teenage life. She’s heard he’s alone, too…and, well, she’s curious. Maybe even hopeful. Bethanne herself needs time to reflect, to ponder a decision she has to make. Her ex-husband, Grant – her children’s father – wants to reconcile now that his second marriage has failed.

‘The Grip of Childhood Sexual Abuse’ tells the story of our healing journey to overcome the impacts of our abuse. Tragically victims unknowingly accrue many syndromes and disorders as a direct result of enduring sexual abuse over a long period of time. We believe we can help victims by sharing what we've learned. Through recognizing our own strengths, we can encourage others to shed the self-limiting beliefs trauma survivors often unconsciously own.

First Thrills will include never-before-published stories by New York Times best-selling authors including Lee Child, Stephen Coonts, Jeffery Deaver, Heather Graham, Joan Johnston, John Lescroart, Alex Kava and Deb Carlin, Michael Palmer (with Daniel James Palmer), Karin Slaughter, and Wendi Corsi Staub.