Showing results by narrator "Luci Christian" in All Categories

West of New Orleans among a few small Gulf islands lies the Isle aux Chiens, a tiny, impoverished strip of land burdened by intolerable heat and roaming packs of wild dogs. Here a handful of Creole families eke out a meager existence by fishing the Gulf waters. Such is the fate of Al Landry and his seventeen-year-old daughter, Annie. All Annie has ever known is the wild sea, but she longs for other people and places, including the glamor of life in the Big Easy.

Only a year ago Isabel Moore was married, the object of adoration of her 10-year-old daughter, and thought she knew everything about her wild, extravagant, beloved best friend, Josie. But in that one short year: her husband moved out and rented his own apartment; her daughter grew into a moody insomniac; and Josie - impulsive, funny, secretive Josie - was killed behind the wheel in a single-car accident.

The first time Mary Jo Simpson and Jack Riley met, hot-tempered sparks flew. The next time they saw one another, though, took place amidst the blaze of a burning building. When he carried her to safety and kissed her, a different kind flame ignited.

Adele Bishop stares in disbelief as the tall, imposing figure of Reno Gold steps off the train. Her mail-order husband is no stranger, but the man who gave her a delicious taste of his wild streak years ago - when she was too young to know how to handle him. Now he’s here, foiling her plan to turn the tables on the men of Whistle Stop, who order their brides as if they were commodities. Adele has no thought of following through on marriage, and every intention of sending the devilishly irritating Reno on his drifting way.

A luminous YA love story that evokes Judy Blume's Forever for a new generation. Sarah—Bean to her friends and family—is an aspiring astronomer and champion mathlete. She lives behind her beloved telescope, with her head in the stars and her feet planted firmly on the ground. For as long as...

Rose Strickland is having a blue Christmas. Her friend is arrested for attempted murder, her sexy bad guy crush is marked by a hit man, and her boss is locked in an epic smackdown with a rival diner. Determined to save those she loves, Rose embarks on an investigation more tangled than a box of last year's tree lights. With her eclectic gang at the ready, Rose stumbles across dead bodies, ex-cons, chop shops, jealous girlfriends, jilted lovers, and a gaggle of strippers in a battle for freedom she might not survive.

Under normal circumstances, a Time Fetch sends out its foragers to collect only those moments that will never be missed or regretted. It then rests, waiting to be called back by the Keeper, who distributes the gathered time where it is needed in our world and others. When eighth grader Edward innocently mistakes a sleeping Fetch for an ordinary rock, he wakes its foragers too early, and they begin to multiply and gobble up too much time. Soon the bell rings to end class just as it's begun. Buses race down streets, too far behind schedule to stop for passengers. Buildings and sidewalks begin to disappear as the whole fabric of the universe starts to unravel.

Seven years have passed since Kat left Athelia. Through the intervention of the goblin king's baby daughter, the book is re-opened and Kat is transported back to Story World. Upon learning she is given a second chance, Edward is determined not to let her go this time. His chance of succeeding, however, seems like nil. Kat doesn't remember anything of their past, she loathes life at court, and she's anxious to return to the modern world. Not to mention that there's a price to pay for tampering with the book again....

The author spends two days with her father in “Guantánamo North”—the federal government’s Communication Management Unit, in Marion, Illinois, where Ghassan Elashi is a sixty-five year sentence received as part of the most extensive terror-funding case in U.S. history. McSweeney's is a literary journal based in San Francisco.

Undercover agent Harper Montgomery came home to bury his brother Mike, but he couldn't leave until he found out why Annie, the love of his life, had not waited for him 10 years ago. Why had she married his brother instead?

Kat has survived. She returns to Athelia as herself, Katherine Wilson. Edward, elated at learning she is alive, vows to bring her back to the palace. The obstacles, however, seem impossible to overcome. Marriage between a royal and a commoner is not recognized, not to mention that he is already legally bound to Katriona Bradshaw, who will do anything to keep her position as princess. And there's even more to worry about.

Flo lives an eccentric life - she travels with a popular circus in which the main acts star orphaned children with secret shape-shifting abilities. Once Flo turns 16, she must perform, but she's not ready. While practicing jumping a flaming hurdle in a clearing beside the circus, she spots a dark figure in the trees and fears he saw her shift. The news sends the circus into a panic.

In this romantic and evocative fantasy, Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad - which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form - as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered - enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love.

Not quite knocked up... Like everyone in New York media, editor Liz Buckley runs on cupcakes, caffeine and cocktails. But at thirty-one, she’s plateaued at Paddy Cakes, a glossy baby magazine that flogs thousand-dollar strollers to entitled, hypercompetitive spawn-havers. Liz has spent years...

The first time I ever saw Smoky, she was on fire. My three children and I had arrived at the dump outside our Arizona desert town to throw out the weekly trash. As we approached the pit, which was smoldering, we heard the most mournful cries of a cat entombed in the smoking rubble.

Trace Youngblood needs a place to hide. He's been betrayed, chased, soaked to the bone, and shot. But when he finds refuge in the back of Lillian Robert's van, he'll soon find his heart at risk, too.

The raging winds of a nor'easter had propelled the 11-year-old girl over a seaside embankment and trapped her in a chest-deep snowdrift. No one knew she was caught in the storm; no one could hear her desperate cries.

Taking a friend's advice, Litty Matthew decided to try the opposite of shopping to boost her mood and escape the sense of constriction that had settled over her life. "And I don't mean just giving to Goodwill, honey," her friend had said. "You should try holding a giveaway."

In a world shrouded by soot and smoke, young Makarria has literally been forbidden to dream.… Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam-powered machines. When Guderian’s minions discover a Dreamwielder on a seaside farmstead, a chain of events forces Guderian’s new threat - the young Makarria - to flee from her home and embark upon an epic journey.

Shadows dancing around the table mirrored the excitement in the faces of the children. It was a party - and not just any party. It was New Year's Eve. And for once they were allowed to stay up.