Showing results by narrator "BJ" in All Categories

Chris and his friends had been hearing voices begging for help, but aren’t dreams supposed to stay dreams? When they finally answer the call, they’re pulled into a fantastic world with themes similar to modern role-playing games. The world of Brindolla.

Shadowvale isn’t typical small-town America. The sun never shines, the gates decide who enters, magic abounds, and every resident bears some kind of curse. No one knows this as well as raven shifter Deacon Evermore, who, like everyone in his family, has a curse. While his position as Shadowvale’s peacekeeper lets him use that curse for good, he’d rather live anywhere else. He stays for his family but doubts he can last much longer.

When 49-year-old Belladonna Barrone’s mobbed-up husband does her the favor of dying in a car accident, she thinks she’s finally free of the crime family she unwittingly married into. Then the boss tells her that she has to complete her husband’s last job before that freedom is truly hers. No big deal, she figures. Until things go south in ways she never imagined. Suddenly she’s thrust into a whole new world that makes the mob look like kindergarten. Vampires and werewolves are real? How is that freaking possible?

A distant London relative to the Ellinghams, vampiress crossbreed Veronica Hadleigh hates black, loves pink, and drives a sexy car. She’s come to Nocturne Falls for a fresh start and maybe even to find Mr. Right - whom she reluctantly discovers could be human fire inspector Lance Grims. But humans and vampires are a tricky combination. When he realizes Veronica’s true nature, will he stick around or run for the Georgia hills where he was raised?

Bianca Forrester may be a mind-reading alien from Alpha-Prime, but she’s an Arkansas girl at heart who leaps at the chance to work as a psychic in Nocturne Falls. The Halloween-themed Georgia town is the perfect cover for werewolves, gargoyles and, lately, aliens looking to stay under the human radar. Not only will it be an adventure, it’s the perfect place to dodge her mother’s matrimony mania. Half-human, half-dragon shifter Warrick Hart has never forgotten the fear and loathing he faced as a child, until they landed in the haven that is Nocturne Falls.

The ceremony that will turn Souma from provisional king to true monarch is rapidly approaching, and because Souma is to wed his fiancees on the same day, the capital is overflowing with excitement. Not overflowing enough for Souma, though, who uses his own marriage as an excuse to push his retainers to confess to their beloveds and tie the knot, too. Admirable as the king's motives are, can the kingdom really handle all this romance, all at once?

When the Principality of Amidonia sends a desperate call for help defending itself against civil war and enemy invasion, Souma agrees to aid their former enemy. But the Principality's plea comes with strings, or perhaps rewards, attached—including a marriage proposal from their princess!

“Les Standiford takes us under the big top and behind the curtain in this richly researched and thoroughly engaging narrative that captures all of the entrepreneurial intrigue and spirit of the American circus.” —Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Devil in the Grove Millions...

From the perspective of Western modernity, humanity inhabits a disenchanted cosmos. Yet the vast majority of cultures throughout human history treat spirits as very real persons, members of a cosmic society who interact with humans and control their fate. In most cultures, even today, people are but a small part of an enchanted universe misconstrued by the transcendent categories of "religion" and the "supernatural." The New Science of the Enchanted Universe shows how anthropologists and other social scientists must rethink these cultures of immanence and study them by their own lights.

Reality is cruel. The rising level of technological development has led to a rising level of unemployment. They're laying off everybody, from teachers to technical servicemen. What's the point of holding onto a person if they can be replaced by an advanced mechanism? But what are the people to do? How are they to live? Where are they to get money from? There is only one answer - Barliona. The official government project is gathering steam, luring more and more people into its net.

Pittsburgh was once synonymous with steel. But today, most of its mills are gone. Like so many places across the United States, a city that was a center of blue-collar manufacturing is now dominated by the service economy - particularly health care, which employs more Americans than any other industry. Gabriel Winant takes us inside the Rust Belt to show how America's cities have weathered new economic realities. In Pittsburgh's neighborhoods, he finds that a new working class has emerged in the wake of deindustrialization.

Having returned from the Star Dragon Mountain Range, Souma heads to the next destination on his diplomatic tour, the Republic of Turgis. While he is there to investigate the possibility of forming cordial relations with a neighbor they currently have no interaction with, Souma finds his attention drawn to the high level of the local blacksmiths, and a plan occurs to him. Sensing that state level negotiations will be necessary to make his plan a reality, he succeeds in arranging a meeting with the republic's head of state.

The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better. Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all. Sydney Marlowe is making big changes to her life. She’s retired from her modelling career and sold her cosmetics company, all to live her dream of being a trad wife in a small town. She just needs to find a husband, something she’s confident won’t be a problem. Especially if she can learn to cook.

Dr. Sophie Mead has a problem. She's falling for one of Nocturne Falls' resident gargoyles: the tall, muscled, and sexy Elias Saunders. But when Elias comes to her after being attacked, she has to put aside her attraction for him. What looks like a small mark on his left forearm is more than just a mark. His skin is turning to stone - and it's spreading.

Family and babies abound during this fun-filled weekend of love, laughter, and happily ever afters! Join Josh and Riley on their big day and fall in love all over again with each of the Bradens at Weston, and their children, in this sweet and sexy wedding story.

Anastasia Esposito Romano’s family moves in the highest echelons of Alpha-Prime society, yet she is content with her position at one of the planet’s most exclusive galleries. When her iron-fisted uncle orders Ana to chase after her wayward younger sister, she has no choice but to follow the trail to Earth—where she also hopes to find the mysterious artist whose paintings are the talk of the planet.

After months of long-distance communication, actress Parker Collins and artist Grayson Lacroux finally plan to reconnect in the seaside town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts. But Parker never shows, and weeks pass without a word, leaving Grayson to believe he's misinterpreted their budding relationship.

Custom-aquarium specialist, Undrea Seeley, is supernaturally good at creating made-to-order fish tanks for her customers. Probably because she loves what she does. And because she’s a mermaid. She also loves living in a town where she can be herself. Well, the version of herself everyone thinks she is. But then, who isn’t harboring a secret, right?

In Just Faith, progressive Christian activist and writer Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons explains how a strong religious left has accompanied every major progressive advance in our society, and he resurrects the long but forgotten history of progressive Christianity in the United States that can and must link arms with progressive Muslims and Jews to make the moral case for pluralism, human dignity, and the common good. Graves-Fitzsimmons provides a blueprint for this type of resurrection based on his advocacy work at the intersection of religion and American politics.

John, a vampire who has lived for nearly six thousand years, continues his journey of self-cultivation and survival. His past, however, comes to haunt him in the form of Lilly, his wife. Although she claims to want to help John assist humans in the fight against the invasion, a sinister cold-dark force means he can't be sure of her. Struggling to survive, John must continue to cultivate his skills as effectively as possible.