Showing results by narrator "Abby Craden" in All Categories

Ashley Bowman thought she had a lot at stake when she chained herself to a palm tree in front of her late grandmother's vacation resort. But that was before she met real-estate developer Roman Díaz. With one hot kiss from his perfect lips, everything changes between them. Suddenly, saving her happy memories seems less appealing then making some new memories…the kind you don't want to share with your grandmother.

Ashley Bowman is having a bad week. Reeling from the death of her beloved grandmother, she returns to the Florida Keys only to learn that a heartless Miami developer has gotten hold of the crappy vacation rentals she calls home. Ashley has one day to clear out before Roman Díaz destroys the only place in the world that matters to her. Chaining herself to a palm tree in the bulldozers’ path seems like a good way to stop him...until she realizes she should’ve brought food and water. And pants. Also, it would help if the evil developer weren’t so ridiculously hot....

Brady Marshall has made a career of playing it safe. When he decides to do something rash and becomes a Navy SEAL, he thinks he's finally escaped the rigid structure of the high society life his parents forced down his throat. All he does is trade in one set of rules for another. He follows military protocol to a T, but it still results in the death of an entire team of Navy SEALS and puts his best friends directly in harm's way.

Acclaimed author Lauren Slater ruminates on what it means to be family. Lauren Slater's rocky childhood left her cold to the idea of ever creating a family of her own, but a husband, two dogs, two children, and three houses later, she came around to the challenges, trials, and unexpected rewards of playing house. In these autobiographical pieces, Slater presents snapshots of domestic life, populating them with the gritty details and jarring realities of sharing home, life, and body in the curious institution called "family."

Nineteen-year-old Whit Conrad leaves her conservative Pennsylvania home for sunny California, looking for independence, a fresh start, and a place to stash her grief. She promptly finds a job at a tattoo parlor, a craptastic first apartment, and one friend - Ryan - who is a little less friend, a little more benefits. Deo Beckett is a soulful surfer with a passion for tattoos and beautiful women. On the eve of his twenty-second birthday, he finds himself living with his grandfather, recently unemployed, and seriously adrift.

Dylan Carroll, an ambitious college student filmmaker still reeling from the death of her brother, may have just stumbled upon the opportunity of a lifetime. Musician Kai White is in the middle of a public relations nightmare, and he may be keeping a secret that could turn things around. His manager/publicist wants to create a Web series aimed at cleaning up his image. There's also a promising offer at stake if Dylan can abide by the rule of staying strictly professional, and if she can figure out what Kai is hiding. But Kai and Dylan already have an undeniable connection, and when they are together, they discover that rules are pretty easy to break.

One day a young girl, Trot, encounters a strange young boy with a big umbrella. She learns his name is Button Bright and he uses this umbrella to go on long journeys. Trot's friend, Cap'n Bill, joins the two children and they venture to a fantastical island, which they call Sky Island, as it is halfway in the sky.

Set in a small town in Massachusetts, Next to Love follows three childhood friends, Babe, Millie, and Grace, whose lives are unmoored when their men are called to duty. And yet the changes that are thrust upon them move them in directions they never dreamed possible—while their husbands and boyfriends are enduring their own transformations.

Cohen Rodriguez, Deo's hilarious, über responsible best friend in Lengths, got dumped by his longtime girl because he's "not impulsive enough," and he's burned up. But maybe, just maybe, she's more right than he wants to admit. So he starts to date. A lot. But no one really feels like the one. And the more girls he dates, the more Cohen's convinced she isn't really out there. Luckily he has Maren - the girl with the sexy voice who always cracks the best jokes. They've been talking daily for a year…on the phone. What started as all work soon blooms into friendship.

There's no place like home, they say."Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic." For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan.

In Every Little Thing in the World, Nina de Gramont turns a familiar predicament teen pregnancy into an unforgettable journey.

Max Dutton, a starting NFL linebacker for the Los Angeles Condors, is certain he's going to die young, since his father and grandfather both passed away at an early age. Believing his life will be cut short, Max lives every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max also shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family, only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? Nutrition expert Kari Murphy used to think Max Dutton was to die for. She's older and wiser now.

Melanie Hoffert longs for her rural North Dakota home with its grain trucks and empty main streets. But like many, she followed the out-migration pattern to a more urban life. When she returns home during harvest to confront the silences that have kept her at arm’s length from her childhood community, she finds it’s not easy. When asked if she's found a “fella,” rather than explain that she dates women, she stops breathing and changes the subject.

Drawing from the intriguing (and sometimes unbelievable) true stories of the lives of everyday Americans, historian Julie M. Fenster traces the history of the weakening of our national ethics through the practice of cheating. From marital infidelity to financial fraud; rigged sports competitions to corruption in politics and the American education system; nuclear weaponry to beauty pageants; hospitals, TV game shows, and charities; nothing and no one is exempt.

For cowboy and firefighter Jake Ramsay, Christmas at Thunder Mountain Ranch is all about family, food, and celebration. Okay, and maybe a chance to run into his high-school sweetheart, singer Amethyst Ferguson. Six months ago, they had a scorching-hot, wild reunion - and this cowboy can't wait for another chance to play with fire.

In Real Women, Real Leadership, 24 women leaders describe their personal journeys to the top, providing deep insight and a fascinating perspective on "making it" as a woman in the male-dominated business environment. They discuss their experiences and offer guidance on topics such as balancing family and career, building alliances, mentoring and being mentored, and overcoming obstacles in the business world, which is still dominated by men in the senior levels of management.

Fugitive Search has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

After her double-crossing, thieving husband disappears, Geneva Carrington Beck and her puppy—the only thing the no-account left behind—recruit Montana outfitter Calhoun St. Pierre to track him down. But their mountain mission takes a dangerous turn when criminals searching for the missing man make his bride a target…and a widow. Now, a reluctant hero has to partner with and protect the renegade wife.

Renegade Wife/Mile High Mystery has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

The only thing J.T. McCall cares about is cattle. He’s always been the responsible brother and has been running the family-owned Sundown Ranch for years. He’s as authentic a cowboy as they come—and Regina Holland knows it. He’s just what she’s looking for, and she’s determined to have him—for business purposes only, of course. So when she finagles a job with his cattle drive deep in the Montana mountains, she doesn’t count on falling for J.T...or becoming the target of a killer.