Showing results by narrator "Renée Chambliss" in All Categories

A paradigm shift is roiling the environmental world. For decades people have unquestioningly accepted the idea that our goal is to preserve nature in its pristine, pre-human state. But many scientists have come to see this as an outdated dream that thwarts bold new plans to save the environment and prevents us from having a fuller relationship with nature. Humans have changed the landscapes they inhabit since prehistory, and climate change means even the remotest places now bear the fingerprints of humanity.

Poppy Fields has a movie-star mother, 84 million Instagram followers, paparazzi following her every move, and a problem. Her Mexican vacation just went sideways (abducted-by-a-drug-lord sideways). Suddenly her life resembles one of her mother's movies, except the bullets are real, people are dying, and there's no guarantee of a happy ending. Surrounded by trained killers and unsure who she can trust, only one thing is certain - if Poppy doesn't escape, this vacation will be her last.

My name is Avery Warner, owner and sole employee of Too Busy to Shop, a personal shopping empire (a girl can dream) for those who simply don't have time to look for the perfect gifts for their loved ones. I cater to clientele from celebrities to busy moms to business executives. No shopping gig is too large or too small. I excel at finding gifts to delight even your eccentric Uncle Ralph or fussy Aunt Gertrude.

I'm basically a golden retriever puppy. I love everyone and want everyone to love me. But Cameron is the singular exception to my "love everyone" rule, and the hatred goes both ways. First of all, he's one of THOSE guys. The kind that looks like he belongs on the cover of Yacht Club Weekly. Second of all, he's way too good at his job. The man is a walking Wikipedia. His walking tours of historic downtown Charleston stay booked weeks in advance. Did I mention I run tours along the same route?

When I meet Tyler Marino at a wedding, romance is the last thing on my mind. Yes, he's gorgeous. Yes, we have instant chemistry. But this summer is all about convincing my skeptical parents I'm ready to run our family farm. I can't afford to give Tyler's smoldering smile a passing glance. Fine. I glance. And possibly . . . kiss. But then I go home all the way to a different state. Crisis averted. Until Tyler shows up in North Carolina looking for a job. Of course, I give him one. We've already established I'm terrible at resisting his charm.

Yes. Yes, I do have a crush on Isaac, my YouTube-famous boss. Do I ever talk to him? Absolutely not. Crippling social anxiety can do that. But I'm nothing if not tenacious. Since straight up talking to him is way too hard, I've devised a plan. Online, I have social skills I'd never dream of having in person. I'm possibly even cool. When Isaac responds to my anonymous DM, I message him right back but keep my identity a secret. If he can get to know me this way first, maybe he’ll overlook how awkward I am in person.

Teenager Miranda Candle finds a mysterious necklace and is suddenly transported to The Nex, the bizarre city at the center of all possible universes, where she falls in with a pair of would-be revolutionaries - the skinshifter Howlaa and the bodiless Wisp - fighting the oppressive regime of the city-state's Regent and his army of steam colossi, cynical cyborgs, and the depraved royal orphans.

Thea Galehouse has always known how to take care of herself. With a flighty club-owner mom and a standoffish, recovering-alcoholic dad, Thea has made her own way in her hometown of New York, attending the prestigious and competitive Stuyvesant High School. But one chat with Will, a handsome and witty senior, and she's a goner - completely hooked on him and unable to concentrate on anything else. Always worried that she loves Will more than he loves her, Thea is pleasantly surprised when their romance weathers his move to college and Will goes out of his way to involve her in his life. But then, Thea misses a period.

He's a casual T-shirt and flip-flops chef. She's a serious buttoned-down corporate leader. How's their relationship ever going to work?

Three years ago, I left South Carolina and the woman I love without looking back. Okay, that's a lie. I've spent a fair amount of time imagining myself lounging under that Spanish moss with her. Back then, we didn't have a care in the world. It was simple. Easy. Right. In fact, I'd been about to propose. Then I found out I had a kid I didn't know about, and just like that, everything changed.

In this new anthology offered by Blunder Woman Productions, you’ll take a trip down twisty roads into forests, back alleys, and even across the border between life and death. Together these tales are funny, creepy, weird, contemplative, traditional, and speculative. The characters in these stories might take a wrong turn, but it’s the right move for any fan of thrillers and mysteries.

"I'm darkness, Maddie. Stay away from men like me. You'll only get hurt." At one time my life was simple. Easy. But that was before the war. Now I was no longer an average college student. I was a survivor. A woman living in a ravaged world. My future was not bright and my life was far from perfect. The war had taken so much from me . . . but it wasn't finished yet. It wanted more. It wanted my heart. My soul. The one person I couldn't live without.

Helper12 works as a Baby Helper in Pre Ward, the place where babies spend their first six months of life before they're tracked for vocations and sent to training. One day, the Sloanes, Society members who enjoy all the privileges - a private dwelling, access to good food and good schools - come to "adopt" one of the Pre Ward babies. The Director makes a deal and the Sloanes walk out with a brand new child. They also walk out owning Helper12 - the Director sells her to them, and there's nothing she can do but go.

This is the story of Quinn - born Prudence Quinn O'Malley - a confused young Manhattan attorney who loses her father on that tragic September morning that changed everything. Now, at an existential crossroads in her life, Quinn must confront impossible questions about commitment and career, love and loss. Her idealistic beau desperately wants a wedding, and whisks her away to Paris just to propose. But then Quinn has a dream featuring judges and handcuffs and Nietzsche and Britney...and far too many grooms.

When self-proclaimed geek girl Bethany Reynolds becomes the newest member of the varsity cheerleading squad, she realizes that there's one thing worse than blending into the lockers: getting noticed. Who knew cheerleading was so hard? Well, at least there's a manual, The Prairie Stone High Varsity Cheerleading Guide. Too bad it doesn't cover any of the really tough questions. Like, how do you maintain some semblance of dignity while wearing an insanely short skirt?

We were best friends, inseparable since childhood despite our differences. I knew the real man hiding behind the tattoos and bad attitude. He knew all my secrets and dreams. But he didn't know there was one thing I wanted and couldn't have - him. But sometimes Fate has a way of intervening. Soon our world collapsed. War erupted. Darkness prevailed. Alone and on the run, our only goal was to survive and to ignore the feelings we had for each other. But love is powerful - and so is the darkness.

Business at the bakery may have slowed down, but Val Harris isn't about to eat humble pie - not until a reality cooking show decides to whip the struggling Pie Town into shape. If Val can tolerate criticism from an abrasive pastry chef during filming, the free publicity might turn the unusual opportunity into the sweetest deal she didn't know she needed. Except no one in San Nicholas has an appetite for dessert once murder steals the spotlight.

As the owner of Pie Town, Val's been tapped to judge the pie-making contest at the annual pumpkin festival in the coastal California town of San Nicholas. Things could get sticky though - her boyfriend, cop Gordon Carmichael, is entering the competition with his "special" family pumpkin pie recipe. But Val's got bigger problems than a conflict of interest when she and her flaky piecrust-maker Charlene discover another contestant crushed under an enormous pumpkin.

A poetry slam at a bakery? Why not! Even though Pie Town proprietor Val Harris would rather be spending time with her newfound half-brother, she knows her employee, Abril, is beyond excited to be hosting the event. Especially since it stars the apple pie of Abril's eye, poet and professor Michael Starke. But the evening ends on a sour note when Professor Starke is found murdered mere moments after being accused of plagiarism. Just like that, Pie Town is at the center of another criminal inquiry. At Abril's request, Val and Charlene decide to investigate Starke's death.

Lennox Oliver is loving her new life in California. For the first time, she feels normal. She has friends, and a maybe boyfriend, and best of all no one knows the truth about her past and what happened to her mom. But everything changes the night after a party when a drive on the supposedly haunted Hicks Road turns deadly and Lennox hits something . . . or someone.