Showing results by narrator "Scott R. Smith" in All Categories

Rowan Headley tops the list of people I never wanted to see again. She shattered my best friend's heart, turning him into a shell of his former self. I hate her for what she did. But guess who my company's new hire is? Yep, the last person I expected - Rowan Headley. It's awkward, it's tense, but we have to put up with each other. Except the longer I'm around her, the less I feel like avoiding her.

There is simply no value put on words. Words, however, are the reason that one person lives a life of abundance while another person lives a life of lack. In this book, I want to share with you the correct way to harness the power of your words, so instead of holding you back, they propel you towards the life that you desire - the life that you were destined to live.

Meghan, my little love. She is my son’s young girlfriend and my ex-best friend’s daughter. She came to my home with Ethan for a visit. Nineteen, untouched, angelic, and wanting. The moment I saw her, I wanted her. I needed to make a thrusting appearance deep inside her untouched walls.

I planned a daddy-daughter getaway in our family cabin. The last thing I expected was to run into Juniper—my brother's best friend. The smart thing would have been to go our separate ways, but Mother Nature had other plans. Thanks to some crazy weather we are stuck together for the foreseeable future. I’ve known Juniper for years, and I’ve never seen her more than my brother's best friend…until now.

Jessica has magical abilities. Ephram is a former preacher turned vampire. Nikolai is a Russian with the ability to shapeshift into a monstrous creature. After being betrayed by their secret government agency, all three hit the road to stay one step ahead of their pursuers and figure out exactly what happened. As they travel around the globe, they delve deeper into a world of mystery and secrets thousands of years old.

Barely a year before, Le Fontainebleau opened to little fanfare in downtown Columbus. A lifetime passion project of an immigrant from the French countryside, it was meant to fill a glaring hole in the local dining scene. Simple peasant dishes offered in a modest setting. Clean cooking that soon developed an avid following, helping to elevate it to one of the must-eat locations in the city. And the site where, at just after noon on a dreary spring Wednesday, a hooded gunman entered, raised the automatic weapon hidden under his jacket, and opened fire.

We all tend to hold onto things that have happened in the past. It can feel like we are pulling a cart behind us with all are troubles and worries; it slows us down, and we can become tired, depressed, even jealous, as life seems so easy for others. All we need to do is let go of the cart, and we will feel lighter and free, but often we have held onto it so long that it has become part of us. Many of the people we know are also carrying carts, so it can seem normal.

Rowan has missed out on the last three big family holidays, and she’s determined not to miss another. Holiday travel is always a mess, and even worse when she needs to get from Mars to Minnesota. Every flight is booked through the New Year, and things aren’t looking good. Until someone whispers the name Dashiel Blitz and gives her a bit of holiday hope.

Detective Roese looked up, a strand of lank hair hanging across her face. Blood staining her bare hands and forearms, she kept her weight pitched forward, pressing down on the sucking chest wound, fighting desperately to prevent another tally on the list of recently deceased. “You can’t go out there. Best case, you never find him in the middle of all this. Worst, it’s a trap". Outcomes Reed had already considered and dismissed, his faith placed in the inky black K-9 partner by his side. “Even a ghost leaves a scent".

For paramedic Adam Carson, his world is lights and sirens and saving lives. Pressures at work keep him firmly in the closet, and life is too busy to contend with the complications that come with dating and relationships. When a familiar face from his past turns up where he least expects it, Adam starts to question whether or not there is room in his life for those complications. The last person forensic pathologist Sam McKenna expects to see at pub night is Adam, the guy who made his life hell in high school.

The cost of sexual indiscretion is highly disproportionate to whatever momentary gain or pleasure you may derive from it. Moral and spiritual drains caused by sexual indiscretion are often gradual, and the decline is often unnoticed, until it is too late to stop the drift. God commands sexual purity, and enlightened self-interest demands it. The longer you are sexually indiscrete, the more entwined in it you become, and the more difficult it becomes for you to get out.

If you are constantly longing for love from someone else such as your parents, partner, or friends, you might want to revisit your childhood. As children, we didn’t receive the love we desire from our parents. So we are still seeking someone to fulfill this void in us. The truth is we have the capacity to love ourselves. The purpose of this book is to help you learn how to love yourself and be your own parent. What your parents failed to do for you in the past, you can do it for yourself now.

“Six quarts is way more than necessary for something like that,” Reed said. “It’s not just overkill...” Letting his voice trail off, he blinked several times, bringing himself back into the moment with the realization that it was a statement. Of what, he had not a clue.

Pray offers a simple approach to prayer. A method of praying that will help you through these challenging times. Preparing you for any problem or difficulty that may arise. Experience a deeper connection to God. Strengthen your faith. And replace any negative feelings with peace and love. Learn what most people never learn about prayer.

The Lucifer's Haven elders took in newcomer Connie Hudson the day she arrived. But the mentor assigned her, Jason, senses something off about the demur 20-something blond from Boston. As if her bizarre behavior and strange questions aren't enough, none of The Haven's younger members can find any trace of the mysterious newcomer's former life. When one of them is found face down in a river, and Jason thinks he has Connie figured out, the coven is approached by Lucifer to take on a perilous task.

The welfare state rests on the assumption that people have rights to food, shelter, health care, retirement income, and other goods provided by the government. David Kelley examines the historical origins of that assumption, and the rationale used to support it today.

In this Pocket Guide to Postmodernism, author Andrew Colgan, PhD, explores the fundamental premises and ideas of postmodernism by summarizing and interpreting Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault by Stephen Hicks, PhD. In his discussion of the philosophical foundations of this intellectual movement, Colgan presents a concise guide into the views of one of the most influential schools of the 20th century and its real-life consequences.

Do you feel lonely even when you are with people? When we are alone and isolated, many of us think we will feel better once we surround ourselves with friends, family, or a romantic partner. We are constantly looking for someone else to complete us, accompany us, and give us love and attention. But instead of feeling less lonely, we often end up feeling empty and disappointed.

Contemporary views of business ethics often show businessmen and women in a bad light. Egoism, profits, and competition are branded as immoral, while social consciousness is praised. Atlas Society Senior Scholar Stephen Hicks, PhD, disagrees with this point of view. Most contemporary business ethics does business a disservice. Worse than that, its proposed cures are plagued with unintended consequences that are often much worse than the problems it is attempting to solve. Hicks defends the egoism that drives successful business people and the morality of free-market capitalism.

In Ayn Rand and Altruism, George H. Smith calls attention to benevolence in Rand’s thinking. Indeed, Smith defends Rand’s rejection of altruism by contrasting it to benevolence. In this series of essays, originally published on Libertarianism.org and republished by The Atlas Society with permission of the author, Smith begins by establishing that Rand’s definition of altruism - “the placing of others above self, of their interests above one’s own” - is identical to the definition of altruism originated by Auguste Comte.