Showing results by narrator "Leslie" in All Categories

At age seventeen, Toni Bentley was chosen by Balanchine, then in his final years, to join the New York City Ballet. From both backstage and onstage, she carries us through the serendipitous history and physical intricacies and demands of Serenade: its dazzling opening, with seventeen women in a double-diamond pattern; its radical, even jazzy, use of the highly refined language that is ballet; its place in the choreographer’s own dramatic story of his immigration to the United States from Soviet Russia.

Kee Smith isn't sure who he is anymore. He knows who he used to be - the ignored gay son who chose a blue-collar job just because no one expected it, the submissive bottom who enjoyed large, masculine jocks who put him in his place, the sleek, fashionable twink who partied all night. But after his ex-boyfriend hit Kee and called him names, Kee retired from the social scene. Back after a year's hiatus, Kee still doesn't know where he fits.

Witchcraft is a practice where everyone can self-soothe and find their alignment again through performance, play, following impulses, and inviting joy into their lives. Beyond spell jars and candle magic, there’s a whole world of uncommon ways to inject some childlike wonder and play therapy into your daily practice. Now you can pursue joy, healing, and fun, with this guide to finding happiness through magic, filled with straight-talk self-care advice backed up by magical spells, rituals, recipes, meditations, and more!

Leslie Gray Streeter is not cut out for widowhood. She's not ready for hushed rooms and pitying looks. She is not ready to stand graveside, dabbing her eyes in a classy black hat. If she had her way she'd wear her favorite curve-hugging leopard print dress to Scott's funeral; he loved her in that dress! Looking at widowhood through the prism of race, mixed marriage, and aging, Black Widow redefines the stages of grief, from coffin shopping to day-drinking, to being a grown-ass woman crying for your mommy, to breaking up and making up with God....

Two unknown producers struggle to fulfill their dreams to change lives through the power of film. With millions of investors’ dollars on the line, everything starts to fall apart and they realize they may be in over their heads. Is it possible to beat the odds and make a movie unlike anything ever done before? Or, will they lose everything in the process?

There’s a reason why Lee Kennedy is still in college - and it has nothing to do with his academic performance. He’s switched his major repeatedly and stalled on his Master’s thesis, but there’s only so much longer he can hold out. And once he graduates, it’s time to trigger the Algorithm. Everyone in Lee’s family has allowed the Algorithm to match them with a spouse. As has everyone on his block. His neighborhood. In fact, everyone he’s ever known. Pairing with his own Algorithm match seems inevitable.

This collection includes the charming London-based novellas of the With a Kick series - A Twist and Two Balls and Slap and Tickle. Also included are two short stories featuring the characters in these titles.   

When Jimmy McSwain is hired to find missing heir Harris Rothschild, he finds that identities can be altered and lives can be changed - or taken with the simple pull of the trigger. Jimmy McSwain is a New York City private detective, operating out of Hell's Kitchen, the rough and tumble neighborhood he grew up in. At age 14, he watched as his NYPD father was gunned down. Now, at age 28, and gay, Jimmy has never given up pursuit of whoever killed him.

When Theo Samuels heads off to film on location in the village of Stoneydale, he's expecting drama to take place on camera, not off. But when he meets gorgeous local lad Eddie Henderson, he struggles to ignore his attraction. A relationship between the two of them would be utterly impractical, yet they're drawn together nonetheless. Can they overcome the seemingly endless hurdles between them? Or is their fling destined to remain as just that?

Julian Massey has always been sickly. When the young man's parents send him to the seaside town of Urchin Cove to recuperate, he finds himself stranded in a tiny cabin with only the quirky local inhabitants for company. Then a storm blows through, and he finds an unexpected discovery washed up on the beach: an unconscious man. After stealing a treasure, Kit Archer is taken prisoner by a ruthless pirate, Captain Booth. When a storm hits the pirate ship, Kit is able to escape, but not without serious injuries.

Their love is forbidden by rules, religion, and risk. Yet, still they can't resist. Captain Hugh Wilkes is on his last tour of duty in Afghanistan. The British Army is withdrawing, and Wilkes expects his posting to be event-free. That is, until he meets his Afghan interpreter, Rustam Balkhi, who awakens desires in Wilkes that he'd almost forgotten about, and that won't be ignored. They may be back on British soil, but the battle isn't over. When Captain Hugh Wilkes fell for Rustam Balkhi he knew things would never be easy.

A famous naturalist and his photographer wife explore China in 1916, a medieval country torn apart by revolution, the Japanese military, and the onset of World War I. Their goal was to shoot, trap, collect and photograph native animals for display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Traveling by mule train, they find themselves in conflict with the brutal treatment of Chinese women, the Government, the elements, and a closed civilization, controlled by the past.

It's Fall on Nantucket—and change is in the air! There's a new arrival to the island. Kay Johnson, a widow, was a friend of Lisa's mother and is like an aunt to Lisa. Kay is excited to relax and enjoy Nantucket—she’s already signed up for a Needlepoint class. She’s not at all looking for romance, but she is happy to make a new friend in neighbor Walter Sturgess, a widower.

My Lives and Loves Volume 2 covers Frank Harris's friendship and encounters with the Prince of Wales, Oscar Wilde, Guy De Maupassant, Lord Randolph Churchill, William Parnell and others. He sets the Evening News on its feet and comes to know the minds of Shakespeare and Goethe and the bodies of Elaine and Laura. He comes to realize the virtue of chastity and that it must be practiced - at least from time to time.

The Elements of Ritual now features updates throughout on gender and polarity as well as all-new sections on the history of elemental associations and raising the cone of power. This edition also includes alternate orders for the traditional steps of ritual. You will learn how to write your own rituals, discover new ideas on magical tools, and use meditations to deepen your understanding of Wicca's most enduring rite.

Essence Seekers is an allegorical spiritual journey that takes us through practical, emotional, and psychological steps from a beginning curiosity and longing to enlightenment. It inspires with hope, while it aids with deep introspection and authenticity. Rooted in Eastern wisdom adapted from ancient texts, the universal and non-sectarian themes speak to any and all seekers of the essence of life. 

Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon number-one best seller. Ever wonder why some people are magnetic, confident in their abilities, in charge of their own destinies, and utterly at ease in their own skin? In a word: Swagger. And no, this is not the old swagger - that show-off, in-your-face, arrogant kind. This brand-new swagger is unshakable, undeniable, and utterly unstoppable. And you can have it, too. 

Ginger Mallowan embodies everything the 1980s stand for, from big hair to power suits to "Material Girl"...until her son disappears during a beach walk one night. That's the moment girls don't want to have fun anymore, and the moment she starts hunting for answers. Now Ginger's hair is a bit flatter, her power suits packed into the attic, and her dance steps to Madonna lack the energy of better days. She hasn't found—or forgotten—her missing son, and she's only survived the grief thanks to her neighbor and keeper of secrets, Tara Christie.

Dethroning Your Inner Critic is the owner’s manual for your mind that you have been waiting for. In our culture, we are not taught how to think. Knowing the difference between you and the voice of your inner critic is not only essential to your happiness but also changes the trajectory of your life. 

When Frank Johnson arrived in Vietnam in 1969, he was 19, a young soldier untested in combat like thousands of others - but with two important differences: Johnson volunteered for the elite L Company Rangers of the 101st Airborne Division, a long range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) unit, and he kept a secret diary, a practice forbidden by the military to protect the security of LRRP operations. Now, more than three decades later, those hastily written pages offer a rare look at the daily operations of one of the most courageous units that waged war in Vietnam.