Showing results by narrator "Ron Butler" in All Categories

Jarat Ellington was just an exile from Elite society, trying to lead a simple life, when a genius friend dropped an explosive mystery in his lap. The old pal, Thom Tseng, created a priceless chemical substance called the Juice that turns mildly charming people into almost god-like presences, known as Charismites. But the Juice is stolen, and Thom killed.

Hello again, naked-monkey-thing. It’s me, Sam—human being, chief security officer of the Peterson family, and defender of all that is good and righteous. Let me catch you up: Meow, my beloved sidekick, can talk now (100 percent because of the language lessons I gave him), and a mad bomber is after him. Also, Justin made a new friend, Dean, who he hangs out with all the time. I’m trying to be supportive, but there is something I don’t trust about the guy.

In StreetWhys, underground detective Dickie Cornish faces a vindictive murder rap from his past if he doesn’t agree to help prove that the fentanyl ravaging the streets of DC is bankrolled by shadowy donors of a certain former president. Broke and desperate, Cornish soon finds himself on a collision course with shady public defenders and corrupt police officers, forcing him to use his street connections to flip their plan. Or die.

Caught in their last moment of decadent obliviousness, the characters in At Danceteria are so blinded by the strobe lights they can't see what's waiting in the shadows. While fictional, each of the collection's seven stories, set at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, takes as their inspiration a real event.

A global epidemic of anxiety, depression, and suicide is here. New and stronger drugs can’t cure it. The root cause is spiritual starvation—and those who are starving don’t even know it.

February, 1841. It's Carnival season in New Orleans. Free man of color Benjamin January—a surgeon turned piano player, with a talent for attracting trouble—is playing at an opulent masked ball when, little to his surprise, a quarrel breaks out between two guests, and his services are requested at a duel. Young planter Bastien Damoreau has accused a recent arrival to town of passing himself off as white—an insult not to be borne.

When scientists Elaine and Gary Peterson adopt Sam to keep their son, Justin, company in the midst of a top-secret research project, they never imagine the precocious pup will cause more harm than good. But from chewing up Elaine’s hair dryer (the “brain-melting heat cannon”) to his inability to be house-trained (who could resist the “pooping rug”?), the Petersons aren’t sure how much more they can take. And that's before Sam starts harassing Justin’s crush (and potential new friend), Phoebe, who Sam is sure is an evil wizard out to harm Justin.

In this steamy opposites-attract story, a playboy CEO is determined never to settle down and a hopeless romantic knows it just takes the right person to reform a rake.

James Brooks, the Chief of Staff to the President, is hoping for some downtime to rekindle his connection with his wife, Ashley, amidst the challenges of raising their young children. However, his plans quickly go awry when he takes over parenting duties for their mischievous two-year-old daughter, Avery. What starts as a simple task soon spirals into a series of humorous and heartwarming moments that define the chaos of family life during the holiday season.

Once upon a time, there was a teeny-weeny unicorn that wished to be big. But he never saw a shooting star, and a ladybug never landed on his arm. So when he comes across a dandelion poof, he decides to give his wish one last try. With a little help from a gust of lucky wind and a clever princess, the Teeny-Weeny Unicorn sets off on a quest to find something littler than he is.

James Brooks, the Chief of Staff to the President, is hoping for some downtime to rekindle his connection with his wife, Ashley, amidst the challenges of raising their young children. However, his plans quickly go awry when he takes over parenting duties for their mischievous two-year-old daughter, Avery. What starts as a simple task soon spirals into a series of humorous and heartwarming moments that define the chaos of family life during the holiday season.

New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson delivers a steamy opposites-attract story about a playboy CEO determined never to settle down and a hopeless romantic who knows it just takes the right person to reform a rake.

Damned If I Do is a set of brilliantly postmodern short stories from Percival Everett, author of The Trees, Dr No and Erasure, now an Oscar-nominated film. An artist, a cop, a cowboy, several fly fishermen and even a reluctant romance novelist inhabit these revealing and often hilarious stories...

Dr. Blob has the best life a dog could ask for. He eats and he sleeps and he plays. He loves his family and they love him back. Life is pretty perfect. Then the Very Bad Thing happens. Suddenly life doesn't seem so perfect and Dr. Blob is more afraid than he ever remembers being. How can he help his family get past the tragedy when what's hurting them can't be bitten or growled at? To make matters worse, there's a new pet in the house and a growing threat outside of it in the form of an animal-hating neighbor with a sinister plan.

In 2008 Chicago, in the Southside community of Washington Park, Montgomery “Monty” Carver had hopes for the best summer ever! Unfortunately, things aren’t going as planned. Monty is struggling to prove to his parents that he’s old enough to be without adult supervision—especially after a very embarrassing incident with a metal detector. Man! So when Monty finds a golden key in Old Lady Jenkins’s sunflowers, he decides he’s going to unravel the key’s mystery all by himself, thank you very much. No parents allowed.

Tiny T. Rex has a HUGE problem. His friend Pointy needs cheering up and only a hug will do. But with his short stature and teeny T. Rex arms, is a hug impossible? Not if Tiny has anything to say about it! Join this plucky little dinosaur in his very first adventure, Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug—a warm and funny story that proves the best hugs come from the biggest hearts.

In less than a decade, the prodigious painter Jean-Michel Basquiat went from a teenage graffiti artist to an international art star at the peak of the heady, excessive 1980s art boom. A legend in his own lifetime, Basquiat was a fixture of the downtown scene, full of rock music, couture fashion, outrageous art, and heady drugs. Along the way, Basquiat was involved with several of the time's most infamous personalities, from Keith Haring and Andy Warhol to his brief romantic fling with Madonna.

Dr. Peter Patterson understands that using antibiotics “just in case” is ingrained in our culture. Everyone, from health care professionals to patients and their advocates, shares the blame—but we cannot afford to let the practice continue. Becoming Good Stewards of Antibiotics is a call to action to restore and preserve antibiotic effectiveness.

All throughout history, Black men have made important contributions to scientific discovery. This collection of biographies for kids explores 15 of these intelligent men and the extraordinary scientific accomplishments they achieved—even when they faced huge challenges. You’ll learn how they stood up against racism and inequality and never stopped following their passions for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Sam Windsor’s parents and younger siblings, Grayson and Addie, are his whole world, so when his parents announce they’re separating, Sam is devastated. He’d do anything to make his parents change their minds and keep the family together. When a stranger offers a flute made of bone that supposedly grants the player’s wish, Sam doesn’t really believe it will work but figures he has nothing to lose. Surprisingly, the wish on the skeleton flute comes true. The next day, his parents are happily in love, with no plans for his dad to leave.