Showing results by narrator "Laurie Catherine Winkel" in All Categories

For us, it was a literal knock, with two men standing in crisply pressed uniforms. They had news. News that gutted us to the core - the death of our loved ones, a brother and two husbands - in combat zones. The thing about those moments is that it's almost inconceivable that they can happen to you. That is, until they do.

Most people don't relish visits from their former employers, and I'm usually one of them. But when my part-troll ex-boss shows up with enchanted coffee and a lead on my missing mother, I find myself singing a different tune. Of course, there's always a price, especially with people like Dawn. And unfortunately this new lead is almost as confusing as the growing connection between me and four different magical men. They might be the key to me traveling to different realms, but when I start to sense invisible golden threads binding us together, I can't help but second-guess everything.

Ruth is a no-nonsense 40-something journalist from the Midwest desperate for a child with her new husband, Hal. Their hope rests with Cally, a 19-year-old who wants to go to college - but doesn’t have the cash. The arrangement seems perfect for everyone. But within a day of the baby’s birth, Cally has a change of heart - and engineers a harrowing escape from the hospital with the newborn. When Ruth and Hal discover that Cally and their daughter are gone, a whole series of doubts and secrets is revealed, and the difference between right and wrong is no longer clear.

Since leaving the orphanage, Esil has spent the past year toiling in the data mines of Pangea while watching the wealthy elite traverse its myriad of game worlds. His luck changes forever when he discovers a legendary Developer's Chest. The Premium Worldpass inside grants him unlimited access to all of Pangea. Now, Esil isn't just stuck watching as others explore Pangea. He can finally level up. With his newfound fortune, he enters a tournament to compete against some of the most skilled adventurers Pangea has to offer.

Chance Abbot is cocky. Sexy. Gorgeous. A player in every sense of the word. He broke my heart once, and I swore he'd never get a second chance. But when he smiles at me, flashing those irresistible dimples or looks at me like I'm the best thing he's ever seen, I forget I shouldn't fall for his charms again.

He’s barely set foot in the city when someone recognizes him as Archibold Stormblood, the immortal hero of legend. Worse, a lieutenant of the local crime lord overhears the exchange. Not exactly the best way to start a vacation. Charm, his companion, watches with her usual unreadable calm. She doesn’t raise her voice, but her rebukes cut like a blade. To her, his plan is reckless, foolish, and bound to fail.

Julie Collins is done with men, and their super slimy ways. Lt. Jason Steyner has given up on finding the right woman—at least until he gets out of the military. But when the curvy flight attendant and the hunky Navy SEAL meet late one night, the attraction is immediate. And complicated. Can they find a way to keep each other in their lives? Will they realize what they have before it’s too late?

Katie Flynn isn’t sure she wants to be living in a gothic novel. Tempestuous weather? Check. Haunted mansion with a sketchy housekeeper? Check. One gorgeous man, dark and brooding, chained by an impossible secret? Check. But she’s no vulnerable, brainless heroine, even if she’s having a hard time resisting her unwilling host.

This reverse harem comedy romance has it all! Five guys accidentally turn Tiffany Sheppard, celibate for three years, into an addict for dirty love. Witness the power of five as what starts as friends with benefits leads to the best time of her life! Nina Rains is a romance writer from Florida. She is the author of eleven books, including "Alien Alpha’s Bride,""Five Guys: A Reverse Harem Romantic Comedy," and "Knocked Up by the Office Alpha.

Deputy Jesse Maddox's reputation in Beach Pointe is...less than stellar. He thought following in the footsteps of his late father, a former cop, would make up for it. Not quite. Every time he closes his eyes, his past is there to haunt him. Mysti Parker is an award-wining romance writer from Louisville, Kentucky. She writes romance in every flavour. Her work includes the "Beach Pointe" series and the "Sever the Crown" series.

I take in strays. It’s what I do. As the founder of the Maple Grove Animal Rescue, I am constantly on the lookout for anything or anyone who needs a little help. Well, just about anyone. Because if Steve Tripp were lying in the fetal position on the sidewalk, I’d...I’d...oh, who am I kidding? I’d help him, too.

Seventeen-year old Ellen never wanted a holiday. What is there to do in a mining town in the northernmost corner of Sweden, with no one but her brother Simon for company; a boy with Asperger’s who cares for nothing but collecting plants and solving crime mysteries? Nothing, that is, until the siblings stumble onto a horrifying crime scene that brings them knee-deep into a generations-long conflict between the townspeople and the native Sami.

On a frozen wasteland of a planet, a girl is on the run with a wolf who is born to be a killer but bound to be her guide. As they fight to escape ice goblins, giant bears, and a ruthless leader intent on trapping them both, one question drives them relentlessly forward: Where do you turn when there is nowhere to hide?

Sometimes the world is a very dark place. You know the magic is still out there, but it feels distant or displaced. Voices in the Darkness is an attempt to create a link, to bring some of those voices together in a single work of art. Six award-winning authors lent their talent to this work. The stories are unique and dark, filled with wonder and emotion.

In a place and a time that's forgotten music and rhyme.... The small town of Bloom, Missouri, has a big problem. People are...rhyming. The town physician, Dr. Dumas, along with the mayor and even the military, are desperately trying to curb this Harmonic Plague with all the latest and greatest products they can find before it gets out of hand, but they fear their measures will only work for so long. At the heart of it all is Henry O'Dare, the first person in Bloom to succumb to the Harmonic Plague.

The man of dreams is too good for my sister. But I played by the rules. I stepped aside. I honored their sham of a marriage and watched a good man rot while my sister destroyed him from within. But then...my sister went missing. So I saved her husband's life. I loved him like he was my own. And I protected him from the truth. I had to do it. You would've done the same.

Financial expert Catey Hill shows moms how to spend less and save big in this savvy guide where each step is designed to take 30 minutes at most. Financial expert Catey Hill has created smart, simple strategies to help you maximize your money in minimal time (yes, even your 401k). Drawing on extensive research and exclusive studies on the actual cost of raising a child at each age, she'll show you how to save in each area of your life, including practical tips on buying clothes, lowering your grocery bill, building up a college fund, saving insurance, and more.

Deputy Jesse Maddox's reputation in Beach Pointe is...less than stellar. He thought following in the footsteps of his late father, a former cop, would make up for it. Not quite. Every time he closes his eyes, his past is there to haunt him. After falling asleep on the job (again), the sheriff gives him an ultimatum. Get counseling for whatever's keeping him awake at night or get out. Jesse would rather have a root canal, but he goes anyway, expecting a big waste of time. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love.

Starting in the year 2018, every person born has an identical twin. What was dubbed the mysterious Set Mutation is now, 20 years later, a worldwide phenomenon. Penny and Sam, two 16-year-old twins, have never understood why they are different from one another. While all the other sets of twins grow to be more alike in every way, Penny and Sam struggle to fit in - they aren't naturally the same person. Soon they will find out how deadly their secret really is.

Before Natro, Resna, and Xavor ruled the kingdom of Jacmuir they were ordinary college students navigating their senior year at Jacmuir University. Xavor watched cautiously as Natro won over the Jacmuir University student body with the promise of a legendary Homecoming costume party aimed to win Resna's heart. Xavor reluctantly helps Natro with his party plans with the pretense of finding the perfect time to tell Resna he has feelings for her.