Showing results by narrator "Xe Sands" in All Categories

Journalist Kate Aitken leaves New York for a fresh start in California and a new job: as an archivist for the estate of famed photographer Miranda Brand, who died mysteriously some decades earlier. Miranda’s son, Theo, has returned to the family home after his father’s death, and needs Kate to organise his mother’s work and the mess of her personal effects. The further Kate digs into the material, the more a picture begins to emerge of a vibrant artist buckling under the pressures of ambition, motherhood and marriage. 

Before Jennifer Egan, Louise Erdrich, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Jonathan Lethem became revered authors, they were readers. In this ebullient book, America’s favorite librarian Nancy Pearl and noted-playwright Jeff Schwager interview a diverse range of America's most notable and influential writers about the books that shaped them and inspired them to leave their own literary mark. The Writer’s Library is a revelatory exploration of the studies, libraries, and bookstores of today’s favorite authors.

Connor Rye seeks solace on remote Whitaker Island. When his first quiet evening ends with a blow to the head, it’s clear that nothing - and no one - is as it seems. Still haunted by his sister’s murder, he’s buried himself in work while trying to hold his family together. Now, when he has a minute to breathe, he knows better than to get involved with a stranger, but it might be too late to keep his distance.

Whitaker Island is more than a getaway. For Tessa Jenkins, the remote strip of land in Washington state is a sanctuary. Fleeing from a shattering scandal, she has a new name, a chance at a new beginning, and a breathtaking new view: Hansen Rye. It’s hard not to crush on Whitaker’s hottest handyman. At six-foot-three and all kinds of fine, he’s also intensely private - and the attraction between them soon simmers dangerously out of control.

The Turners know in their hearts that they're anything but normal. Jenna is a high schooler dressed in black who is fascinated with breaking into her neighbors' homes, security systems be damned. Everett genuinely believes he loves his wife...he just loves having a continuing stream of mistresses more. JT is a genius kid with Asperger's who moves from one obsession to the next.

Drawing on her work at a shelter, her experiences living with two rescue dogs of her own, and years of research, best-selling author and Boston Globe columnist Amy Sutherland takes us on an unforgettable journey into the special world of rescue and shelter dogs - and the growing number of dedicated people who are deeply invested in saving these precious lives.

Famed Broadway producer Milo Short steps out of his Upper West Side brownstone on one exceptionally hot morning, he's not expecting to see the impossible: a woman from his life 60 years ago, winking at him on a New York sidewalk. The sight causes him to suffer a stroke. And when he comes to, the renowned lyricist discovers he has lost the ability to communicate. Milo believes he must unravel his complicated history with Vivian Adair in order to win back his words

We all have that one older funny family member. You know the one, he tells stories from his experiences and usually has people rolling their eyes. William Stokes is that person! He presents a delightful collection of memories that are truly life lessons even today! Stokes, through his memories and wit, provides opportunities to learn through laughter, sharing of memories and love.

In 1925 Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Mark and Maggie's annual drive east to visit family has gotten off to a rocky start. By the time they're on the road, it's late, a storm is brewing, and they are no longer speaking to one another. Adding to the stress, Maggie - recently mugged at gunpoint - is lately not herself, and Mark is at a loss about what to make of the stranger he calls his wife.

Once a century, for only six days, the bay around a small Washington island glows like a water-bound aurora. Dr. Rachel Bell, a scientist studying the 100-year miracle and the tiny sea creatures that create it, knows a secret about the phenomenon that inspired the region's myths and folklore: the rare green water may contain a power that could save Rachel's own life (and change the world).

As a child, Susan Silverman was surrounded by a loving family; although her parents weren't happily married, they were devoted to their kids. In a vibrant, funny, imminently relatable voice (think Anne Lamott meets Katrina Kenison), Silverman tells of a family's evolution - from her parents' devastating loss of their infant son to raising bright and wildly unique daughters. It's also the creation story of her own family - raising her own bright and wildly unique daughters and taking a journey to adopt two boys from Ethiopia.

Intrigue and betrayal await in the latest installment of Bookburners, the urban fantasy episodic series that's taken the Internet by storm. Open Season is declared on the Black Archives with every demon in the world wanting the Codex Umbra for their own. Security tightens and the team prepares for inevitable assault never suspecting the sleeper cell already in their midst.

An epic smackdown ensues as Sal and Team Three match wits and magic with Mr. Norse in the latest thrilling adventure in everyone's favorite online urban fantasy episodic series. The stage is set for Mr. Norse's grand move in possessing "The Norton Anthology of Evil?", aka the Codex Umbra. The team's plans include infiltrating a yacht party, sneaking into a secret compound, and generally trying to stop an evil billionaire from gaining control of a compendium of demons.

Nothing is what it seems in the shocking penultimate installment of Bookburners, the urban fantasy episodic series from Serial Box. With time running out and the Hand growing stronger inside Sal, the only hope is to banish the demon back to his hellish domain. But to do that, Team Three needs The Book of the Hand, which is back in the Vatican. Now, thanks to a timely offer from Aaron, Sal and the rest of the team stake their freedom on a desperate throw of the dice by venturing into the lion's den....

After Sal, possessed by the Hand, turns on her friends and teammates, Team Three has to decide whether she is a victim or a target. As Father Menchu tries to buy time, Teams One and Two gear up for the kind of action usually filed under "extreme prejudice". And the Hand, with the dark power of the Codex Umbra at his command, begins to assemble an army.

Questions are answered and new mysteries introduced as season one of Bookburners, the urban fantasy episodic series from Serial Box, comes to its thrilling conclusion. With The Book of the Hand in their possession at last, Team Three can finally kick the Hand out of Sal's body. The only problem is, if she wants to save Perry, too, she'll have to bring him back from the Hand's dark dimension. That's a tall order, even with the help of Aaron - whatever he is.

Someone has betrayed Sal, turned her over to the not-so-tender ministrations of Team Two's Balloon and Stretch. Death seems certain...but the Hand has more tricks up its sleeve. As Father Menchu leads the rest of Team Three to her rescue, will they find a corpse...or something even worse? This episode is brought to you by team writer Brian Francis Slattery, who would like to assure listeners that no actual demons were harmed in the writing of this exorcism.

Weather alert: Tornado-eating titans on the loose in Oklahoma. There might not be much upon the open, wind-swept plains of Oklahoma - but magic, like life, finds a way to thrive nevertheless. In this week's episode, the team is literally blown away when they touch down in a tiny country town, utterly destroyed by horrifying monsters the locals call Tornado Eaters. The town is past saving, but the threat remains - it will take all the society can throw at them, and even that might not be enough.

Weather alert: Tornado-eating titans on the loose in Oklahoma. There might not be much upon the open, wind-swept plains of Oklahoma - but magic, like life, finds a way to thrive nevertheless. In this week's episode, the team is literally blown away when they touch down in a tiny country town, utterly destroyed by horrifying monsters the locals call Tornado Eaters. The town is past saving, but the threat remains - it will take all the society can throw at them, and even that might not be enough.