Showing results by narrator "Krystal Hammond" in All Categories

Meet Randi Burnett—she’s brilliant, she’s beautiful, and she works for the bride. Missing groom? Intoxicated in-laws? Crying ring-bearer? You name it, she wrangles it. Too bad her personal life isn’t thriving like her side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. Recently dumped, Randi throws herself into her biggest challenge yet when she’s hired as a maid of honor and pretend best friend for an ice queen bride. There’s just one problem—the best man is infuriating, overprotective, and anti-marriage.

In this unforgettable memoir, the daughter of the "Happy Face" serial killer shares her poignant message of hope and the power of finding your voice. Melissa has told her story on several national talk shows and as the host of the LMN television series Monster in My Family. She continues to share in this updated edition of Shattered Silence, which features two new chapters. Uplifting and emotional, this book will inspire you to trust your intuition and speak out for truth as you face your own challenges and conquer your own obstacles.

Take one part of the world's oldest spiritual system (shamanism), mix in one part of one of the world's most popular spiritual cultures (the Celts), and bring it up to date by blending in modern forms of shamanism. The result D. J. Conway's By Oak, Ash, & Thorn. This book is filled with information that can start you on a lifetime of study, practice, and spirituality. First, you'll learn about ancient and modern forms of shamanism. You'll discover the secrets of the three shamanic worlds, and how you can travel through these realms.

Winter Holliday is devoted to her friends, her career, the quaint town of Anneville, and Christmas—though not necessarily in that order. Romance is not on her agenda, no matter how much her friends, coworkers, and neighbors try to convince her otherwise. As the cochair and vice president of the Anneville Special Events Committee, she can't imagine abandoning her duties for a fling with her high school crush, Avery Sumner.

Six immortal siblings. Five sworn to peace. One demands a throne. Radiance, the mysterious power of life and creation, is theirs to command. Death cannot claim them. For hundreds of years, the ever-living ruled with ease. Yet when the world is nearly broken beneath their reign, the humbled six swear a vow: They will sit upon no thrones, wear no crowns, and no longer teach humanity the gifts of radiance. But after centuries of peace, Eder rejects their vow, anoints himself Voice of Father, and spreads a cruel new faith across the land.

Mattie Belman's life has gone from dismal to desperate. After the loss of her acting career, her marriage, and her usual optimism, she's back home teaching high school theater. Maybe it'll be a fresh start. St. Rita's arrogant soccer coach Jillian Reed sees Mattie's musical as an outrageous distraction for her champion players. When Jillian declares war, Mattie is far too stubborn to back down. But as Mattie discovers there might be more to Jillian than spectacle, fire, and ego, she gets dangerously close to her iron-willed colleague.

Olivia knows everyone at the guild is on high alert, but no one will tell her why. She’s certain the death of her boyfriend is behind it, but the truth is far worse. Darkness has come to the mortal kingdom. When the guild protecting them is attacked by vampires, Olivia is swept away from the safety of her home when her mom and best friend are taken. Before she can get away, she’s captured by a vampire, Sebastian, who insists he’s protecting her. But when she’s taken to the City of Nightmares, the most dangerous place in the vampire kingdom, she realizes she’s a prisoner.

To my people, the sky-reigning Empyreans, Intention Day is sacred.... To me, it’s the day my carefully crafted lie crumbles and my truth gives way to my ruin. The intense power surging through my veins is revealed, immediately coveted by those eager to exploit me for what they deem a greater good. If they have their way, the future I long for will be ripped away. But I am a warrior born to fly. To fight. Not to be caged and controlled.

Horror movies hold a complicated space in the queer community: historically misogynist, and often homo- and transphobic, the genre has also been inadvertently feminist and open to subversive readings. It Came from the Closet features twenty-five original essays by writers speaking to this relationship, through connections both empowering and oppressive. From Carmen Maria Machado on Jennifer’s Body, Jude Ellison S. Doyle on In My Skin, Addie Tsai on Dead Ringers, and many more, these conversations convey the rich reciprocity between queerness and horror.

Ruga Karrsdaughter, dutiful orc princess with a heart of gold, has spent the years since her sister was elected queen serving the orc country of Torden. Her duties now include marrying an elf princess for a much-needed alliance against an outside threat. Elketh Ceridwen, rakish elf princess with a penchant for chaos, has never lifted a finger in her life. Now that an engagement is sprung upon her by the stern elvish king, she has to fulfill a fifty-day betrothal period in Torden surrounded by strangers . . . unless she can wreak enough havoc to get sent back home.

Outlaw Elle Barstow spends her days robbing stagecoaches with her gang, bedding women and, most importantly, keeping her heart safely locked away. Into her chaotic world slides entrancing Isabella "Izzy" Collins. Banished by her family, the feisty suffragette from Boston is on her way to marry a man more than twice her age. Elle stumbles upon Izzy's stagecoach being robbed, rescues her, and is urged by Izzy to teach her how to survive on the land. Except Elle's far more interested in stringing her along and collecting a reward for her safe return. There's one hitch with that plan.

Reeling from her brother's death, Gianna Del Vecchio finds comfort in an online forum from a woman who suffered a similar loss. Theirs is a club no one wants to join—survivors of a loved one's suicide. Photos posted to the forum of the woman's cute therapy dog bring cheer when nothing else can, and Gianna is compelled to reach out to say thanks. After two years, Keenan McEvoy is still fighting her way back from despair after losing her partner, Annabel. She's surprised when she connects with Gianna, whose kindness and compassion ignite a spark she wasn't sure she'd ever feel again.

When my sister is murdered, and the case mysteriously dropped, I know where to begin my own investigation-Shadow Hills Academy, an elite school for supernaturals. Technically, I have zero magic, but just enough skills with potions to be accepted. Now I have the means to get close to the most likely culprits—powerful people like the demon prince Jarron.

Hazel Davis is drifting: newly unemployed, living in a city she hates, and significantly less successful than her infamous younger sister, Evie. Evie grew up online, having gone viral at age five in a daddy-daughter dance video. Now she’s a megapopular lifestyle influencer. But to Hazel, @evelyn is just Evie, her beloved little sister—and a kid who has been exploited for her entire childhood. So when Evie disappears—in the middle of a live stream, during a brand-sponsored trip to Los Angeles—Hazel knows something is terribly wrong.

Grieving but feisty widow Vivian Laurent is at a late-in-life crossroads. The man she loved is gone. Their only daughter is estranged and missing. And the assisted-living facility where her husband died is going into quarantine. Living in lockdown with only heartache and memories is something Vivian can’t bear. Then comes a saving grace.

In her second collection from Trepidatio Publishing, award-winning author Gemma Files takes her listeners on journeys out beyond safe borders—from the trackless depths of the sea, to the empty desert frontiers of the Weird West, even to the edges of cracks between worlds. Here, in these narrow spaces between the known and the unknown, behind the paper-thin curtains of reality, lurk monsters both human and ancient: selkies and avenging revenants, voodoo priestesses and pirate sorcerers, ghosts and vampires, and the most famous murderer of all time.

What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About has become a rare gem in the literary world. Both a viral sensation online and chosen by Oprah Daily as one of the best nonfiction books of the past two decades, it is an essential collection that dives into the personal and poignant topics we often struggle to discuss with those who are meant to know and love us best. This captivating follow-up, edited by Michele Filgate, tackles the intricate and challenging relationships we have with our dads, breaking the silence around these vital connections.

High school senior Mindy Murphy has been questioning her small town life forever and, more recently, her sexuality. Maybe it has something to do with her new friend, Lucia West. When they were kids they used to be besties, until Lucia grew a head taller and a cup size bigger. Now she's captain of the cheer team, winner of the Boyfriend Olympics, and voted least likely to remember Mindy at their high school reunion. In short, she's possibly the worst person alive for Mindy to crush on. Especially after Lucia's bitten by a vampire.

Being a manager is no easy task. You must set and meet team goals that match business objectives while also ensuring growth and development opportunities for your people. You have to be the voice of authority and a key decision-maker while simultaneously giving your employees autonomy and flexibility. How do you navigate these tensions?

Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies…breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it.