Showing results by narrator "Xe Sands" in All Categories

Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. After losing her parents at the age of five, the big-hearted fabric designer is determined to embrace her feelings and find happiness no matter what. So when she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.

Still in college, Rebecca is the “responsible one.” She keeps her friends from getting too crazy—though Human Curling is kind of out there. She’s a safety valve for Joel, her foster father, and helps out at Halfmoon House, which he runs with his wife, Amanda—Rebecca’s foster mother, who makes sure her children able to protect themselves. To take care of themselves.

In the 1960s and 1970s, complaints about a "Jewish literary mafia" were everywhere. Although a conspiracy of Jews colluding to control publishing in the United States never actually existed, such accusations reflected a genuine transformation from an industry notorious for excluding Jews to one in which they arguably had become the most influential figures. Josh Lambert examines the dynamics between Jewish editors and Jewish writers; how Jewish women exposed the misogyny they faced; and how children of literary parents have struggled with and benefited from their inheritances.

Despite the angry scars she carries from her childhood training, Zoe Lorel has reached a good place in her life. She has her dream job as an elite operative in an international spy agency and found her true love. Her world is mostly perfect—until she is sent to abduct a nine-year-old. The girl is the only one who knows the riddle that holds the code to unleash the most lethal weapon on earth—the first ever "invisibility" nanoweapon, a cloaking spider bot. From Malta to the Italian Alps to England, Zoe races to save not only the child she has grown to care about, but also herself.

One woman fights to hold on to her friends, her family, and all that she holds dear as a brewing conflict divides her small-town Georgia community in this powerful novel from the author of The Sweet Taste of Muscadines. “This book is a treasure. Pamela Terry writes with a poet’s ear and a...

Vanished tells the stories of women and girls in upstate New York who are often overlooked or unseen. The characters range from an aging art professor whose students are uninterested in learning what she has to teach, to a young girl who becomes the victim of a cruel prank in a swimming pool, to a television producer who regrets allowing her coworkers into her mother’s bird-filled house to film a show about animal hoarding because it will reveal too much about her family and past. Humorous and empathetic, the collection exposes the adversity in each character’s life.

Lexi Stewart’s lineage extends to the founders of the MacInnes legacy in faraway America. A year has passed since she was widowed much too young, but she’s floundering, so she accepts an invitation to escape her beloved Scotland for a needed respite. Surely a visit with her Texas relatives and a stay at Castle MacInnes will put her back to rights. There’s just one problem: Logan Jameson. The handsome personal trainer is getting everyone in Magnolia Bloom on a fitness kick, and he's determined to make her believe she’s not too old or too heavy to find love again.

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name "Reynolds" has become synonymous with "murder" and "mystery." And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.

Welcome to Magnolia Bloom, where hearts heal and magic happens...in a castle...in East Texas. Magnolia Bloom Beginnings is a compilation of three origin novellas about some of the amazing women who created the magic of Magnolia Bloom. This collection includes Welcome to Magnolia Bloom, Love at Last in Magnolia Bloom, and Sunrise in Magnolia Bloom.

Kiki MacInnes has burned more than a few bridges in her time. Now, as a recovering alcoholic, she’s dedicated to helping others avoid addiction. She can only hope her temporary role as the new châtelaine for Castle MacInnes will help her stay on the straight and narrow, too. But even if she’s somehow able to redeem herself for the mistakes of the past, could all the people she’s hurt ever forgive her? Could the handsome small-town pastor, who has her longing for a Christmas miracle?

Lexi Stewart is a descendant of Alyssa MacInnes, one of the powerhouse women who created the MacInnes legacy. Lexi is lost. A young widow…well, young in her own eyes…Lexi's coming to terms with the fact that true passion was never in her cards - and certainly isn’t in her future. She’s equally sure she has nothing in common with Alyssa, her impressive ancestor, or Dara Doyle, the Irish spitfire who captured the oldest MacInnes son’s heart a century ago. Still, it’s a lovely story, one she’d love to live herself - but it’s a tale meant only for dreams.

The MacInnes sisters, different in every way…except for how much they need each other Alyssa’s country music career was a dream come true. But lately, something’s off. The words, the notes, the passion…they’ve abandoned her. Now, it’ll take some serious soul searching - and maybe a little help from her family - to rediscover her muse and figure out what to do next. Bailey won’t be denied what she wants. Not ever again. And, she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure her daughter reaches her full potential, too.

After years of braving the Arctic’s frigid temperatures or endless hours tracking the Spirit Bear to capture the perfect shot for National Geographic, Meg Jeffries decides to move back to the city — San Francisco. Westin Drake is famous for fast cars and box office sales. When the public mistakes a simple kiss on the cheek for a budding romance, Meg and West are caught in a media frenzy. Somewhere amid the backseat getaways and plastered smiles, Meg discovers the man behind the glossy photographs, and West wonders how he’ll ever let her go once the cameras stop rolling.

Anna Jeffries has spent the last 32 years blending in, content in her worn-out reading chair - her happy corner of the world - spinning romantic scenarios she’s certain reality can’t deliver. After three years of teaching Shakespeare at UC Berkeley, Anna is working toward full tenure. Her life in the classroom means everything and she can’t imagine wanting more...until she does.

Jules Bartlett stopped believing in fairy tales the day Prince Charming got caught banging her friend on their expensive countertops. Now, having returned to her seaside hometown—sans prince—the only men in Jules’ life are her crew of 12 smartass fisherman who pose no romantic threat and endlessly dote on her daughter. Perfection.

A woman returns to her small southern hometown in the wake of her mother’s sudden death—only to find the past upended by stunning family secrets—in this intimate debut novel, written with deep compassion and sharp wit. “A deeply moving work of Southern fiction that will appeal to fans...

Sissie Klein barely remembers the night that tore her from the carefree life she knew. Not long after the shocked teen is pushed into marriage, she's rushed to the hospital, where a catastrophic delivery seals her destiny. Sissie may not have been ready for motherhood, but she loves her daughter fiercely, and she's determined to give her the opportunities she forfeited. Some fates, however, can't be avoided. When Meg is a young woman, tragedy steals her father, leaving behind a legacy of deceit—and a toddler.

Hollis and Matt met on Tomales Bay the summer they both turned 12, and during the summers that followed, they grew up and fell in love. One night, after an unexpected test, they fell apart. Now, 12 years later, Hollis, who seeks refuge at her uncle’s seaside cottages to ride out a storm of her own making and Matt, weighed down by obligation to his parents, both return to Tomales Bay. Forced to share another summer in the small town that brought them together, will Hollis and Matt be able to move beyond the echo of their past and into a future filled with ever after?

This debut full-length collection from prose-poet Evan D. Williams comprises two dozen pieces selected from literary journals - including Borderlands and The Mud Season Review - and a further two dozen pieces that appear here for the first time. The audiobook version is narrated by multiple Voice Arts Award winner Xe Sands.

Alyssa MacInnes is perfectly happy with her life - just as it is. A proud suffragette, she knows she doesn’t need love to feel whole. Besides, being responsible for the financial operations of several businesses in the booming new city of Magnolia Bloom keeps her way too busy for romance. Then he sails into her small town, and makes her question everything....