Showing results by narrator "Laurie Winkel" in All Categories

Esil is content with his quiet life beta testing new game worlds, so he doesn’t give the invitation a second thought. Having every detail of his life scrutinized while pursuing gold and glory are ambitions of the past, and mentoring is at the bottom of his to-do list. That all changes when Dean, a teenager from the same orphanage where Esil grew up, begs for help. This is a life-changing opportunity for a kid from the boxes.

Liam "Mr. Popular" Carter will always be the closest thing to the "walking plague" in my eyes. His cockiness seeps through his every move, and no matter how many state championships he wins with the basketball team, he will forever be a "loss" to me. Because he's my older brother's best friend, I'm forced to tolerate him, and he's forced to tolerate me. In fact, unless my brother is around, we happily ignore each other every chance we get. It wasn't always this way, though....

Draysky was born to die on the ridge. Like his father before him, his fate was to harvest elemental treasures until the dust claimed his lungs. As the lowest of society, a Knotted, the thin cord around his neck signifies to all his low rank. He would never progress as a mage, nor learn of the forbidden runes of the kingdom magicians.

In the aftermath of the Developer’s Tournament, Esil has a new life filled with opportunity. He’s the first person to test out their most innovative technology, full-immersion gameplay, in a brand new, unexplored gameworld. Magic and mayhem collide in ways he never thought possible, and soon he finds himself caught in a quest that may alter the course of the game for years to come. As Esil experiences the grandeur of full-immersion and the line blurs between reality and the gameworld, the NPCs he meets feel more like friends than data.

For us, it was a literal knock, with two men standing in crisply pressed uniforms. They had news. News that gutted us to the core - the death of our loved ones, a brother and two husbands - in combat zones. The thing about those moments is that it's almost inconceivable that they can happen to you. That is, until they do.

Things are about to get sticky...I might as well permanently add the label "Ex" to my name. I'm an Ex-Mr. Universe. Ex-Mr. Olympus. An Ex-Hollywood Stuntman. But no one from my small hometown cares anything about that. They only care that I'm the ex-boyfriend to the beloved Mayor's daughter, Elaina Dyker. And now, t10 years later, I'm back, helping my siblings run my mother's bakery while she takes on chemotherapy treatments. What should have been a routine cupcake delivery turns into utter chaos when the bachelorette party thinks I'm a stripper.

Jessa Mae Love is done with relationships. No matter how tempting he might be, she cannot - will not - fall for a man like Lance Cortez. The outrageously handsome cowboy is practically a living legend in Colorado, as famous for riding bulls as he is for breaking hearts. What would a big-time rodeo star like him see in a small-town veterinarian who wears glasses, rescues animals, and cries when watching rom-coms? Turns out, plenty.

Chance Abbot is cocky. Sexy. Gorgeous. A player in every sense of the word. He broke my heart once, and I swore he'd never get a second chance. But when he smiles at me, flashing those irresistible dimples or looks at me like I'm the best thing he's ever seen, I forget I shouldn't fall for his charms again.

On a frozen wasteland of a planet, a girl is on the run with a wolf who is born to be a killer but bound to be her guide. As they fight to escape ice goblins, giant bears, and a ruthless leader intent on trapping them both, one question drives them relentlessly forward: Where do you turn when there is nowhere to hide?

Hey, all you cool cats and vampires, I'm witch and bounty hunter Sylvie Orion. Or at least, I was. Who and what I am seems to be up for debate these days. I mean, other than the fact I'm now the world's most wanted witch. (The reward is buy-your-own-island money. I even want to turn myself in) Currently, I'm missing my soul and all the magic that comes with it. For extra athame-in-the-eye fun, I'm being held prisoner by Shifter Nation. Whoa Goddess, do they have plans for me. Plans no sane witch would ever agree to be a part of.

This reverse harem comedy romance has it all! Five guys accidentally turn Tiffany Sheppard, celibate for three years, into an addict for dirty love. Witness the power of five as what starts as friends with benefits leads to the best time of her life! Nina Rains is a romance writer from Florida. She is the author of eleven books, including "Alien Alpha’s Bride,""Five Guys: A Reverse Harem Romantic Comedy," and "Knocked Up by the Office Alpha.

Deputy Jesse Maddox's reputation in Beach Pointe is...less than stellar. He thought following in the footsteps of his late father, a former cop, would make up for it. Not quite. Every time he closes his eyes, his past is there to haunt him. Mysti Parker is an award-wining romance writer from Louisville, Kentucky. She writes romance in every flavour. Her work includes the "Beach Pointe" series and the "Sever the Crown" series.

I take in strays. It’s what I do. As the founder of the Maple Grove Animal Rescue, I am constantly on the lookout for anything or anyone who needs a little help. Well, just about anyone. Because if Steve Tripp were lying in the fetal position on the sidewalk, I’d...I’d...oh, who am I kidding? I’d help him, too.

Sometimes the world is a very dark place. You know the magic is still out there, but it feels distant or displaced. Voices in the Darkness is an attempt to create a link, to bring some of those voices together in a single work of art. Six award-winning authors lent their talent to this work. The stories are unique and dark, filled with wonder and emotion.

A crossroads for the people of Europe and the Mediterranean, Marseille is a city that does not discriminate. It embodies the down-and-dirty, tough-guy side of France, but what it lacks in sophistication, it makes up for in spirit. Still, in its shadows lurks a not-so-distant darkness....

In a place and a time that's forgotten music and rhyme.... The small town of Bloom, Missouri, has a big problem. People are...rhyming. The town physician, Dr. Dumas, along with the mayor and even the military, are desperately trying to curb this Harmonic Plague with all the latest and greatest products they can find before it gets out of hand, but they fear their measures will only work for so long. At the heart of it all is Henry O'Dare, the first person in Bloom to succumb to the Harmonic Plague.

Seventeen-year old Ellen never wanted a holiday. What is there to do in a mining town in the northernmost corner of Sweden, with no one but her brother Simon for company; a boy with Asperger’s who cares for nothing but collecting plants and solving crime mysteries? Nothing, that is, until the siblings stumble onto a horrifying crime scene that brings them knee-deep into a generations-long conflict between the townspeople and the native Sami.

The man of dreams is too good for my sister. But I played by the rules. I stepped aside. I honored their sham of a marriage and watched a good man rot while my sister destroyed him from within. But then...my sister went missing. So I saved her husband's life. I loved him like he was my own. And I protected him from the truth. I had to do it. You would've done the same.

Financial expert Catey Hill shows moms how to spend less and save big in this savvy guide where each step is designed to take 30 minutes at most. Financial expert Catey Hill has created smart, simple strategies to help you maximize your money in minimal time (yes, even your 401k). Drawing on extensive research and exclusive studies on the actual cost of raising a child at each age, she'll show you how to save in each area of your life, including practical tips on buying clothes, lowering your grocery bill, building up a college fund, saving insurance, and more.

Deputy Jesse Maddox's reputation in Beach Pointe is...less than stellar. He thought following in the footsteps of his late father, a former cop, would make up for it. Not quite. Every time he closes his eyes, his past is there to haunt him. After falling asleep on the job (again), the sheriff gives him an ultimatum. Get counseling for whatever's keeping him awake at night or get out. Jesse would rather have a root canal, but he goes anyway, expecting a big waste of time. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love.