Showing results by narrator "Lauren Pedersen" in All Categories

Two girls living a continent apart become pen pals. Quiet and shy, Neyah lives in a rural African village and longs for more time in school, but spends most days fetching filthy water for her family to survive. Bold and boisterous, Abby lives comfortably in a modern city and spends much of her time planning her social calendar. Despite their differences, an unlikely friendship forms, and they discover they have one thing very much in common. T

Taya Trapp has faced danger before, but never like this. Former special ops, she's now on a mission to keep her niece safe from the hands of her abductors. Her only option is to hide out in the middle of the Ozark mountains, where she meets Ryan Boyne, a crime novelist with a tender heart. Together, they must unravel the secrets of Misty Hollow to bring down a man called The Boss, a task that will test them both to their limits.

Marley Brooks is used to receiving fan mail, but when letters from one particular fan take a dangerous turn and a coworker is killed, she leaves her job and flees to Misty Hollow. Her desire to hide doesn’t come easy, as even the people in this remote mountain town recognize her. The letters continue, and Marley enlists the help of local farmer Dirk Mason, former military police.

Delaney Cooper receives a text from her identical twin sister, Danica, saying she’s in trouble. Again. Except this time, she doesn’t want help. She wants her sister to stay out of it. The trouble was too great this time. Remembering they’d vacationed often in Misty Hollow as children, and her sister often mentioned how much she wanted to go back, Delaney (Delly) packs up the camper and heads out to find her sister before their mother returns from her cruise. She had no idea exactly how bad the trouble following her sister was.

1943: The world is at war and the outcome is anything but sure. In the heartland, communities like Caroline, Iowa, must bind together to support the cause. As the war drags on, few families escape paying the ultimate price. But the unity of this close-knit community is threatened by a violent death: a murder committed in the basement of the town's beloved Church Street United Brethren. Everyone, including the congregation's handsome new pastor, becomes a suspect.

In Scientific Americans, Susan Branson explores the place of science and technology in American efforts to achieve cultural independence from Europe and America's nation building in the early republic and antebellum eras. This engaging tour of scientific education and practices among ordinary citizens charts the development of nationalism and national identity alongside roads, rails, and machines.

Shiloh Sloan, the girl from the wrong side of the bridge. The girl shunned because of accusations she’d made against the town’s star football player. Now, she’s returned to teach the children of the people who had turned their backs on her in hopes of showing them how wrong they were.

After losing her job of 23 years, Mabel decides to launch what will surely be a glamorous new career as an author. Having recently inherited her late grandmother’s house, she has the freedom to spend time volunteering and writing about her experiences.

When Celine Lowry leaves Viewpoint, Virginia for the west with her husband and four children, the last thing she expects is to lose her whole family and be captured by Indians. Thinking that her life might be over, she’s surprised when she gets a second chance at love with a recently widowed man too.

The seafood industry on the coast of Mississippi has attracted waves of immigrants and other workers, oftentimes folks who were either already acquainted with maritime livelihoods or those who quickly adapted to the resources of the region. For generations, the industry has provided employment and sustenance to Coast peoples.

Mark and Elias Hammond are brothers in bustling Boston. The two brothers have been very close from childhood, and especially since they made a promise to their dying mother years before that they would never be separated.

Mrs. Jane Lewis, a widow, wants to marry again. But because her in-laws had been nasty people, she has promised herself that never will she marry a man with a mother, father, brothers, or sisters. She goes west because there are many single men there who are alone. She travels with the Jones family, a sprawling friendly tribe. She’s attracted to Caleb, the eldest son, but having immediate relatives seems to disqualify him. What about Mr. Tremblay who, like her, is alone? Maybe beneath his hard exterior is a broken heart just like hers?

Englischer Marcy Sutton flees her home in Ohio when problems caused by her husband Scott’s gambling addiction wreak havoc. She takes her two young children to stay at a friend’s lakeside cabin in Indiana, but on the way, the car breaks down, and they are stranded in a blizzard. Marcy and her children seek shelter with Hester and Gideon’s Amish family, whose simple way of life reminds Marcy of the true meaning of the Christmas season.

"Love is patient, love is kind, love is . . ." The words are so familiar they almost lack meaning, a Christianese version of "live, laugh, love." Even non-Christians are familiar with the Love Chapter of 1 Corinthians, read at weddings, painted on decorative signs, and preached regularly from the pulpit. But what happens when these verses are taken seriously? What would it take for someone to live out the Love Chapter as literally as possible?

A thousand eyes were watching me. Nobody in the room was talking, and the only sound was a muffled cough from the darkness in the back of the auditorium. Why wasn’t everyone whispering to their neighbors? Shouldn’t they be playing on their cell phones or even sleeping—like normal teenagers? I quickly thought back to high school when I was sitting where they were today. I couldn’t tell you the name of one person that came to speak, nor could I recall one subject matter that he or she would have even talked about.

"What is it," you ask? I tell my friends who are curious about it that mystery shopping is when companies pay you to act like a “normal” customer and evaluate their business. The idea is that companies want to know what’s really happening in their retail stores, restaurants, and other establishments, so they pay mystery shoppers to go in and evaluate their experiences while acting like a regular customer. The “mystery” is that the companies being evaluated don’t know about it.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a test of our allegiance to the God we serve. Rosemarie Downer will engage you in a thought-provoking discussion of why some lost connection with God or declined spiritually during the COVID-19 restriction on congregate church gatherings. She will engage you in addressing this question: How does your relationship with God before and after the COVID-19 lockdown compare?

Lucy Lavender loves exploring. After Dad dies, Mom pieces jobs together and struggles to provide for Lucy. When Mom is offered a job in Sea Rock Cove, the coastal town where Dad grew up, Lucy hopes this is her chance to pursue her dream of becoming a marine biologist. On Lucy's first day at her new school, she is excited to go to Sea Rock and see Dad’s beloved sea stars. When Lucy learns the sea stars are dying, she becomes determined to save them. But as Lucy gets involved with the people of Sea Rock Cove, she learns there is a lot more beneath the surface of the town.

A threatening letter. Hidden clues. A woman on the run. Alisa Gosling finds a piece of a letter under a desk in an office she cleans. Curiosity has her locating the other pieces. Putting the puzzle together, she discovers a threatening letter best left hidden. As danger increases after she turns the letter over to the police, she flees to Misty Hollow and the Leaning O Ranch. Trouble follows her, as the bad guys believe she has something they want. Local law enforcement can’t be trusted.

Pastor Zeal Cooley lifted the crate and looked in the direction of the wooded area around the side door of the church. He nearly called out, "Anybody there?" But he decided against it. He carried the crate inside, past the pulpit and into the office, and set the wooden box on Tillie's desk, then waited for her to finish her phone call.