Showing results by narrator "Alex Picard" in All Categories

Leo Zimmerman has had a crush on his curvy friend Kylie Jenkins since forever, so when he discovers the girl with a flair for candy making has a newfound plan to rebel against her overbearing parents, he's determined to be the one to help her carry it out. Who better than himself to show her the ropes of letting loose? Sure, taking her to her first high school party, helping her sneak out of the house, or watching a sunset together isn't exactly a hardship, but much harder is masking his feelings the more time they spend together.

As a board-certified family physician, Dr. Laurie Blanscet soon realized that traditional medical care was not about preventing problems. It was about waiting for problems to happen. She experienced this firsthand in 2006 when she almost died after a "routine" surgery at the age of 38. As she fought her way back from the brink of death, weak and bedridden, she dedicated herself to researching a better way to live—promoting optimal health from within. In Live Long, Live Well, Dr. Blanscet shares what she discovered, revealing the seven components of ultimate wellness.

Leta Parker's fit-and-fifty reinvention in the Cotswolds continues rolling along fabulously. Happy among her new friends and talking dog and cat, the sharp-minded expat is delighted to learn the prestigious Tour of Britain will pedal through the quaint village next year. But everyone's excitement quickly crashes when the news is accompanied by a dead body.

A small-town campus is rocked by scandal. Suddenly, four women find themselves in the crosshairs of an investigation that threatens to upend their lives.

Is your team willing to propose game-changing ideas and offer diverse opinions? Will they take personal risks for the sake of your company and its reputation? Most leaders can't answer yes to these questions, especially during critical times of change.

Solana Sina is a scarab, salvaging wrecked and abandoned space habitats among the Billion Worlds of the Tenth Millennium. She and an oddball crew—a raven, a cyborg, and a dinosaur—board the derelict colony Safdaghar hoping to score some loot before the colony gets catapulted into the outer reaches of the Solar System. But Solana and the scarabs come face-to-face with a gang of vicious pirates looking for slaves and treasure, and a mysterious stranger intent on preserving an explosive secret. Solana must overcome her own horrifying past to survive and escape before it's too late.

How do you mark a quarter century? While parties are great—and we'll have those—I wanted to distill the time in a tangible way. To hold it in my hands, and share with you, dear listeners, in celebration and appreciation. But how? A collection! I dove into my published short fiction. Some I included because they were challenging to write. Several show my growth as a writer. I love them all. There's science fiction, fantasy, and, yes, horror. Plus an all-new story from Night's Edge.

She thought she'd turned the page on murder. But after an author takes a lethal leap, is she back at Chapter One? Leta Parker would rather not solve another crime. Hoping to turn her gift for sleuthing into a successful fiction career, the retired American expat attends a writers retreat in...

Luckily for humanity, scientist Marie Curie applied her brilliant mind and indomitable spirit to expanding the frontiers of science, but what if she had instead drifted toward the darkness? At the cusp of between child- and adulthood, at the crossroads between science and superstition, a teen Marie Curie faces the factual and the fantastic in this fabulous collection of stories that inspire, delight, and ask the question: What if she had used her talents for diabolical purposes?

Leta Parker is both saddened and happy. Though the second anniversary of her husband's sudden death makes her wistful, her revitalized life in the Cotswolds and a long-distance boyfriend have brought her joy. But when her beau visits for a literature festival, she finds herself immersed in a book collector's suspicious demise . . . Though she's thrilled to once again team up with the Little Old Ladies' Detective Agency and her precocious pets to crack the case, Leta fears her new love will worry about the danger.

Across forty years, three continents, and a past incident in 1560 France, Serafina Olegario tests the boundaries of love, power, and corruption as she fights to escape her life of poverty and abuse. Serafina’s quest begins in Brazil when she’s possessed by the warrior goddess Yansã, who emboldens her to fight yet threatens to consume her spirit. Fueled by power and enticed by Exú, an immortal trickster and intermediary to the gods, Serafina turns to the seductive magic of Quimbanda. It’s dangerous to dance in the fire. But when you come from nothing, you have nothing to lose.

The Cotswolds. Leta Parker is happy the holidays are here again. Looking forward to a little relaxation after a harrowing murder case, the fifty-something widow can't wait to unwrap gifts with her beau. But the Yuletide cheer turns sour when her delightful doggo Dickens dashes out the door with a canine companion and doesn't return.

Torquay, Southwest England. Leta Parker can't wait to reconnect with her boyfriend. After a year of long-distance, she couldn't be happier to join him at a literary crime festival. But on the event's second night, she gets embroiled in a real-life murder mystery when a dead body is found . . .

Leta Parker's retirement in the Cotswolds' rolling hills has been a balm for her soul. And heading off with her friends and talking four-legged companions to a cat yoga retreat on the cliffs of Cornwall's Arthurian coastline seems like the perfect mix of relaxation and exploration. But when a fellow yogi's corpse pose nearly becomes permanent, Leta believes it's no stretch to suspect foul play.

Welcome to the Changing Land, the last, and some would say, the least of six linked, magical, worlds. Archers Beach, Maine, is one of those places in the Changing Land where the weird crosses into the mundane. Where the sea isn't the only magic working, and the Guardian just the first of many spirits of small places who partake of and protect the Land. Here for the first time, are all of the Archers Beach short stories, collected into one volume.

Meet Andi. Devoted wife. Adoring mom. Killer? My daughter's missing. And the police think I killed her. Monday, 8 a.m. I go to wake up eight-year-old Bella to get her ready for school. She's not there. My husband Charlie and I put her to bed as usual the night before. We kissed her goodnight. Just like we always do. Things like this don't happen to people like us. Not in a quiet little town like Spencer, Michigan. Detective Anne Briar is leading the case. I know she suspects I'm not telling her everything. I see it in the way her eyes narrow ever so slightly. And she's right.

A violent assault on a door-to-door salesman leaves the man's life hanging in the balance as Barbara, Craig, and Deputy Elwood search for answers. Was it the victim's estranged wife? A business competitor? A dissatisfied customer?

A sudden death interrupts what should have been an enjoyable day for Barbara Hollis. Once again, with Craig and Deputy Elwood at her side, Barbara must delve into the unhappy scandals and secrets certain inhabitants of Cobbsville will do anything to hide.

BEFORE THE KILLING: After 19-year-old Cassie returns home from her first year away at college, her boyfriend, Julian, is implicated in a brutal killing. Seven years later, a freak occurrence gives Cassie a unique time-traveling ability, allowing her to re-live that earlier time with the benefit of foreknowledge. But in witnessing the truth, she inadvertently reveals herself to the killer, who begins to pursue her in past and present both. “Once I started I couldn’t put it down!” -Bookshelf Adventures

I Never Said I Love You is the story of an unlikely love affair between two young people, spanning two decades. Listeners will take a journey across the globe as the couple, years later, unexpectedly reconnect, revisit the past, and ultimately find their own way forward.