Showing results by author "Josie A." in All Categories

Based entirely on audience suggestions, this hysterically funny historical drama tells the thrilling extended story of an aristocratic family at war with itself. From ancient Rome to 1920s Hollywood, we follow the Mastersons’ turbulent history across the centuries as their fortunes wax and wane and their fates hang on objects as diverse and unlikely as a tumble dryer, a rabbit’s foot and a pair of Siamese twins.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist. After all, life isn't a scene from the movies, is it? But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man whom she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic...and then her bus drives away. Laurie thinks she'll never see the boy from the bus again. But at their Christmas party a year later, her best friend, Sarah, introduces her to the new love of her life. Who is, of course, the boy from the bus.

Alice runs the Good Household Management Agency, providing discreet domestic staff to extravagant townhouses and sprawling country piles. So when Camille Messant calls in urgent need of a new housekeeper, Miss Beeton sends out new hire Enya. She’s rather forward but she does come with impeccable references and is fluent en français. But in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Alice is rudely awakened with the news that Enya has been found dead.

Eleanor, the charming manager of a cozy tea shop, enjoys the transportive ritual of making a cup of Masala Chai tea, reminisces about the tea's origins, and delights in the beauty of her quaint English village during the holidays. Bedtime stories are narrated by the world's most celebrated voices and written with no beginning, middle, or end so you don't stay up to hear what happens next. They're interesting enough to give your mind something to focus on, but delivered in a way that encourages sleep.

Cleo writes about love stories every day. She just isn't living one of her own. When the editor of her dating column asks her to marry herself on a remote Irish island - a sensational piece to mark Cleo's 30th birthday - Cleo agrees. She's alone but not lonely, right? She can handle a solo adventure. Cleo arrives at her luxury cabin to find a tall, dark, stubborn American who insists it's actually his. Mack refuses to leave, and Cleo won't budge either. With a storm fast approaching, they reluctantly hunker down together. It's just one night, after all.

Maddy Wolfe’s life has just capsized. After her twenty-year marriage suddenly implodes, she heads to Brighton to search for her estranged son, Jamie. But he’s nowhere to be found and for the first time, she’s totally alone. That is, until she meets the Salty Sea-Gals, a group of feisty sea-swimmers. Seventy-two-year old Helga is determined not to slow down, while thirty-something Tor is still figuring out who she is. Bereaved Dominica is trying to find a reason to carry on, and busy mum Claire is learning to put herself first for a change.

Two Lives. Two Loves. One Impossible Choice. Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They've been together for almost a decade, and Lydia thinks their love is indestructible. But she's wrong. Because on her 27th birthday, Freddie dies in a car accident. So now it's just Lydia, and all she wants to do is hide indoors and sob 'til her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to live her life well.

Some mistakes haunt you forever. Harlan Young knows that from personal experience. Walking away from Grace Townsend, even with the best intentions and no other choice, still haunts him to this day.

As the new girl from the south side of town going to a prestigious academy for my senior year, I never expected welcoming open arms. But the bloody nose on my first day was a surprise. And the threat. And the...well, let me just say behind the botoxed smiles and shiny sports cars were the worst sort of people. And there was one that brought them to their knees. One who ruled Green Hills Academy like the monarchs he descended from. Knight King hated me. Hated what I represented. Hated that I wasn't wealthy and that I dared to enter his world.

When Keira first receives her breast cancer diagnosis, she never expects to end up joining a running group with three women she’s only just met. Totally blind-sided, all she can think about is how she doesn’t want to tell her family or step back from work. Nor does she want to be part of a group of fellow cancer patients. Cancer is not her club. And yet it’s running - hot, sweaty, lycra-clad running in the company of brilliant, funny women all going through treatment - that unexpectedly gives Keira the hope she so urgently needs.

Sometimes the worst wounds can’t be seen. Lucas Everett knows that firsthand. It's why he and his former Navy SEAL brothers created the Resting Warrior Ranch. Usually, soldiers show up at their door. But this time, it's Evelyn Taylor—a soldier in a very different kind of war.

A Still Life is a story of illness and pain that rarely sees the light: illness and pain with no end or resolution; illness and pain that we must meet with courage, joy, ingenuity and hope. Against a world which values ‘feel good’ progress and productivity above all else, Josie sets out a quietly radical alternative: to value and treasure life for life itself, with all its defeats and victories, with all its great and small miracles.

Isla's vibrant childhood was filled with bands, noise and travel, thanks to her mum Vivien being an '80s music icon. Vivien might not have been much of a cook, but her treasured homemade vanilla ice cream established a Friday-night tradition that outlasted jobs, boyfriends and rental houses. Even, sadly, Vivien herself. Now Isla is escaping her various heartbreaks to the one place that has always felt like home: New York. She finds a job, a flat, a friend.

Lisette lives in East Berlin but brings her new-born baby to a hospital in West Berlin. Under doctor's orders, she goes home to rest, leaving the baby in the care of the hospital. But overnight the border between East and West closes, slicing the city - and the world - in two. With a city in chaos and armed guards ordered to shoot anyone who tries to cross, her situation is desperate.

From a comic mastermind comes this brilliant collection of stories. Three teenagers believe they are witches. A woman defaces a local billboard. A bored landlord tries to influence his son's best friend. A cul-de-sac WhatsApp group discusses eggs at length. A heavily pregnant woman finds a way to time travel and a girl discovers joy on a stolen bicycle. Each tale paints a life in miniature and offers an escape chute from the catastrophes of modern life.

I’ve never seen anyone at a public pool with a memorable enough body, good or bad, that I think about it ever again. If this line sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard it in the background of thousands of videos on social media—a humbling reminder from poet and radio personality Josie Balka that what’s important in our lives now isn’t necessarily what’s important to us in the long run. I Hope You Remember, Josie’s first book of poetry, includes this poem and over eighty others, some previously published and others never shared before.

Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in Formula 1. She's a math prodigy with dazzling skill, cutting wit, and no patience for matters of the heart. Of course, her job would be a lot easier if she didn't keep butting heads with their team's cocky and infuriatingly hot new driver. Cosmin Ardelean is intense and committed, but as famous for his off-track romantic exploits as his on-track wizardry. When the pair strikes up a secret-and thrillingly forbidden-"arrangement" to improve their communication and bond of trust, the heat of their attraction turns to something more . . .

The Gratitude Jar is a book that has come to light when the world deeply needs to hear its message. The story itself is a heartwarming, inspirational tale of spiritual transformation and self-discovery, but it is also a guidebook with the power to instantly release the negative belief systems no longer serving you….and to direct your steps with new energy onto the path of joy and personal freedom.

This book really is for the absolute beginner. We'll cover all the basics in a motivating, easy-to-digest way, and allow nature to do the heavy lifting. We'll discover your green thumb that's been there all along. We'll take good care of our fellow human and our planet. And we'll have a lot of fun doing it! Friend, you really can live the dream, and make it your reality. It all starts with one step.

Start your morning with deep breaths and empowering questions, all in one minute! Listen daily to get grounded and focused for your day. ted and produced by Josie Ong Media. If you love Your Morning Minute, check out Josie Ong Media's flagship podcast, Affirmation Pod at AffirmationPod.com or our YouTube channel at YouTube.com/@TheJosieOng. Thanks for doing Your Morning Minute, see you tomorrow! AffirmationPod.com