Showing results by narrator "Michael Smith" in All Categories

Seventh-grader Viv never looks forward to picture day. It’s just another day where she wears a boring braid and no one notices her. (Her two best friends, Milo and Al, don’t count, of course.) But enough is enough. This year, she’s taking matters into her own hands. Literally. Viv grabs a pair of scissors, her phone for live-streaming, and, well, bye-bye braid. Suddenly Viv is an over-night influencer at Brinkley Middle School. Everyone wants her help planning their next big moment—from haircuts, to dance proposals, activist rallies and mathlete championships.

The video showed a nearly naked man bloodied and beaten. Even as archaeologist and TV presenter Annja Creed watched, the clock on his suicide vest ticked down, and precious seconds were lost. But this was no stranger. Garin was her friend. Their fates had been bound by the secrets of Joan of Arc's sword. And Annja had less than 24 hours to save his life....

He was one of Russia's most infamous rulers, and he alone held the key to a legendary Byzantine collection of books, given to him in the dowry of Princess Sophia of Constantinople. Ivan Vasilyevich - otherwise known as Ivan the Terrible - owned a library filled with rare and priceless tomes that men would kill for. Would die for. But the czar carried the knowledge of its whereabouts to his grave. And it falls to archaeologist Annja Creed, almost 500 years later, to discover the secrets of the Library of Gold.

Steeped in legend, the Pearl of Palawan has a history marked by destruction, vengeance, and love. But more important, the mythical black pearl is rumored to grant a power long coveted by mankind - immortality. It is a power men would risk dying to achieve. Sun, sand, and scuba diving in the Philippines certainly sounded like and ideal vacation. But after a way-too-close-for-comfort encounter with a tiger shark, Annja Creed finds herself drawn into a group of German divers. They are treasure hunters searching for the fabled pearl.

Sheriff Jess Carey and his oddball band of sidekicks have pulled off the impossible, taming Hell’s Half Acre, the most lawless town in Texas, infamous for murder, mayhem, prostitution, and every random act of bloodshed imaginable. Now the no-good politicians in Austin have decided it’s cheaper to dump hordes of criminals on Jess Carey’s town than hanging ‘em. In one dreadful week, it seems as if the gates of Hell have burst open.

Led by a charismatic fool, a group of pioneers are crossing Apache territory, blind to the danger around them. The Loner would ignore the passing pilgrims if it weren’t for a beautiful woman. Then, when he turns his back, the Apaches strike. The night is lit with an unholy fire. Mutilated bodies are left behind. And four women are taken prisoner across the Rio Grande....

Conrad Browning had money, a manservant and a mission: to find his missing children and meet them for the first time. He's come as far as Denver, dodged a bullet from a beautiful assassin, and landed in a big buy-in poker tournament against a ruthless heavy-betting cattle baron with a plan of his own - to take this city slicker into the wilderness, and hunt him like an animal. But Rance McKinney doesn't know who he is facing. The son of legendary gunman Frank Morgan, Conrad goes by the moniker of the Loner.

The son of legendary gunman Frank Morgan, Conrad Browning goes by the name Kid Morgan - the Loner - and forged a growing reputation of his own. But in the midst of a fight for his life, the Kid discovered that he too was a father: of twins he'd never met. Now, the Kid heads back east to pierce a mystery guarded by murderous criminals for hire. Why is his ex-fiancée hiding his children from him? And why is this secret worth killing to keep?

In a saloon north of El Paso, the legendary Doc Holliday is forced to kill a rancher's son in self defense. His father, Colonel Robert McHenry, is desperate for revenge. And now Doc is a hunted man on the run. Heading west, he turns to Jacob O'Brien, hoping to find refuge at the family ranch. Jacob knows it's a lose-lose situation — one that's bound to end in violence and blood. Colonel McHenry is the famous "Lion of Lynchburg," whose relentless courage in the Civil War earned the respect of fighting men everywhere.

They ride after sundown. Black robed figures with skulls for faces, terrorizing the town of Recoil like the horsemen of the Apocalypse. If the sheriff hopes to defeat this hellish band of outlaws, he'll need back-up. Enter Colonel Shamus O'Brien. The seasoned ranch hand and patriarch has fought off more than his share of horse thieves and marauders. But he's never seen anything like these ornery devils.

New Mexico Territory is no stranger to bad men. But south of the border, on the wild Mexican coastline, is another kind of wicked: a murderous Arab with a ship full of stolen women - to be sold as sex slaves in the four corners of the world. Among them is a missing local school teacher Shawn O'Brien has been searching for - a woman with a past she's kept carefully hidden.

In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies Jubilee, where Coop's Home Cookin' has been a beloved staple for decades. Walter Coop Cooper serves up hearty meals and a side of grumpy charm to locals and tourists alike. But Coop's world is turned upside down when Tate Morgan, a city transplant with roots in Jubilee, opens a trendy vegan restaurant across the street. Caught in the middle is Whitney Cooper, Coop's dutiful daughter. She dreams of opening her own wellness studio but feels obligated to her father's diner.

Based on the bestselling book, The Action Bible, this one-year children’s devotional is packed with spiritual lessons and adventures to help kids stay engaged with God’s Word every day. With a week’s worth of activities for each Bible story, The Action Bible Devotional covers important biblical themes such as friendship, temptation, sibling rivalry, self-esteem, and materialism.

The war continues, and the undead ravage the land. Jirom, Horace, and Emanon begin to hope they might free the empire. But can they manage to do so before the dark king conquers the world? Horace has come a long way from his days of slavery. Now he, Jirom, and their companions think they just might glimpse victory ahead, and the triumphant end to what began as a mere slave rebellion. But first Horace must recover from the loss of his beloved Alyra. And Jirom finds himself asking if even victory will be worth the cost.

Some call him a Russian Mark Twain. And with his special blend of comedy, social commentary, and fantasy, Nikolai Gogol paved the way for his countrymen Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. This sampling of Gogol's works includes the increasingly fantastic entries of The Diary of a Madman followed by the wonderfully surrealistic The Nose in which the title character embarks on some unlikely activities when separated from its owner's face. Rounding out the collection are the woefully comic tale of a clerk's acquisition of The Overcoat and Ivan Fyodorovich and his Aunt, in which the title character retires to his country estate, managed by a wily Aunt.

They came from outer space, these hideous, intelligent monsters, and they wanted our colonies, our goods, even our flesh. They looked like a cross between a spider and a crab, except bigger-much bigger-and meaner-much meaner-and they never stopped coming! World after world has been devastated, and man has been forced into a continuous defensive retreat.

Cade Williams is no ordinary man. His ability to cross over to the other side makes him uniquely qualified to command the Church’s special operations division. As a modern-day Knight, Cade can use the curse that has scarred his soul as a weapon against the forces of darkness. But a new kind of unholy war is brewing — and soon Cade may be the last man standing...between the living and the dead.

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

Savannah Greene enters The Baking Games with a clear goal: win the $200,000 prize and secure her sister’s future. But her plan quickly crumbles when she discovers the competition includes her ex-boyfriend, Connor, who still harbors a grudge, and Rhett Jennings, her biggest rival from culinary school. Thrown together in a luxurious mansion under the constant gaze of cameras, Savannah finds herself part of an unexpected plot twist—a fake relationship with Rhett to boost their popularity with viewers. As they navigate this pretend romance, the lines between reality and performance blur.

Young Lerris yearns to find a place in the world better suited to his skills and temperament. In Recluce this means taking one of two options: permanent exile from Recluce or the dangergeld, a complex, rule-laden wanderjahr in the lands beyond. Many do not survive. Lerris chooses dangergeld. Lerris will need magic in the lands beyond, where the power of the Chaos Wizards reigns unchecked, and he must learn to use his powers in an orderly way before his wanderjahr, or fall prey to Chaos.