Showing results by narrator "Graham Halstead" in All Categories

Roland Stang never intended to become the caretaker of 30 abandoned children. He was just looking for a place to get out of the rain. His plan was to lay low and allow the world to reset itself after a worldwide economic collapse. But things do change. An orphan himself from an early age, the former soldier can't simply walk away and leave the children he finds. Leading a handful of teens and a busload of orphaned children, Roland sets out to find a safe haven for them. Along the way, he'll make friends, enemies, and the odd mistake or two. Or more.

Marek Fabritis is used to delivering blows, not receiving them. But when he gets tipped off by an anonymous email about his ex-girlfriend, the news leaves him ice cold - and it's not because Gracen Moore is getting married to a total jerk. It's the fact that Marek has a three-year-old daughter he never knew about. Now he's going back home, not to play knight in shining armor but to make damn sure that no man takes what's his. For the first time, there might be something more important than hockey.

James Kavanagh is as rich and sexy as sin, but his workaholic neighbor, Lila Baxter, has been there, done that - and has the heartbreak to prove it. They've avoided each other since their affair ended, but now she's brought home a baby. He's clearly the last man Lila wants to ask for help. But she knows nothing about babies, and James is a born family man. When one offer of help leads to another, they're soon under the same roof. Almost like a real family. Suddenly the heat they've ignored is ready to ignite!

Off the ice, elite defenseman Hawke Therrien enjoys his fair share of booze and good times. And why shouldn't he? He's worked his way up from the minor leagues and made himself a star. The only thing Hawke misses from that life is the pierced, tattooed free spirit who broke his heart without so much as an explanation. She's almost unrecognizable when she walks back into his life seven years later, except for the look in her eyes that feels like a punch to the gut.

Whether it’s playing through blockbuster-esque adventures, diving deep into hidden bits of story and lore, or building relationships that change the fate of the world itself, video games are bringing stories to life in ways that are immediate, interactive, and immersive. Focusing on some of the best and most memorable experiences in gaming, The Greatest Stories Ever Played examines the relationship between gaming and storytelling in a new way.

The second title in our series - Astronomy - looks skyward and explains a variety of universal phenomena and theories. Are you curious about how planets acquire rings or what creates those gorgeous spiral arms around galaxies? Or maybe you want to know why the Big Bang didn’t collapse into a black hole. Astrophysicists, professors, and scientists tackle questions about stars, planets, asteroids, galaxies, and nebulae, the expanding universe as well as the oddities - black holes, wormholes, and dark matter.

In France, the simple act of eating bread is an exercise in creative problem solving, and attempting to spell requires a degree of masochism. But that's just how the French like it - and in WTF?!, Olivier Magny reveals the France only the French know. From the latest trends in baby names to the religiously observed division of church and state, prepare yourself for an insider's look at French culture that is surprising, insightful, and chock full of bons mots.

America may be more diverse than ever coast to coast, but the places where we live are becoming increasingly crowded with people who live, think, and vote as we do. This social transformation didn't happed by accident. We’ve built a country where we can all choose the neighborhood -- and religion and news show—most compatible with our lifestyle and beliefs. And we are living with the consequences of this way-of-life segregation. Our country has become so polarized, so ideologically inbred, that people don’t know and can’t understand those who live just a few miles away.

A mysterious object has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are mesmerized. They can’t discern its exact shape and color, nor if it’s moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn’t it? Whatever it might be, Hart thinks the thing in the snow is an unwelcome distraction, and probably a huge waste of time. Though, come to think of it, time itself has been a bit wonky lately. Weekends pass in a blur, and he can hardly tell day from night. Gravity seems less-than-reliable. The lights have been flickering weirdly, and he feels an odd thrumming sensation in his beard.

One day, Jyosh will climb the heavens and slay a dragon god. Though nothing could seem less likely for a slave, especially one whose body is too broken to cycle sunshine into destructive magical energy. Until he meets a woman who can secretly teach him the lightblade, an energy sword transmuted from sunlight, capable of changing size, shape, and performing incredible magical feats according to the wielder’s skill level.

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But that all changes when the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. West Young is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from: handsome, sexy, and full of attitude.West is keeping a big secret from Haley. He hasn't told her who he really is, and helping her - fighting for her - is a shot at redemption, especially since his family is falling apart and it's all his fault.

The stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With his contract running out, he's got a year left to prove that he's still at the top of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a pro hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody's taking dirty shots - except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker gives him a fresh start.

A profoundly beautiful memoir about disability, difference, and living as a vulnerable body. Jan Grue had just become a father when he inherited a stack of his childhood medical records. Following a diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy at the age of three, the raft of doctors' notes, clinical descriptions and case histories defined his body as defective and his future as bleak and limited. They conjured a childhood nothing like the one he remembered, that failed to anticipate the life he lived now. "I Live a Life Like Yours" is Grue's beautiful, groundbreaking search for a literary language that could better tell his story.

Ryan never envisioned just how far his football career would take him. But bubbling under the surface of his entire NFL career was a collision course between his secret sexuality and his hidden drug use. As injuries mounted and his daily intake of opioids reached a near-lethal level, he wrote his suicide note to his parents and plotted his death. Yet, someone had been watching. A member of the Chiefs organization stepped in, recognizing the signs of drug addiction. Ryan reluctantly sought psychological help, and it was there that he revealed his lifelong secret for the very first time.

June 1939. Francis Dempsey and his shell-shocked brother Michael are on an ocean liner from Ireland bound for their brother Martin's home in New York City, having stolen a small fortune from the IRA. During the week that follows, the lives of these three brothers collide spectacularly with big-band jazz musicians, a talented but fragile heiress, a Jewish street photographer facing a return to Nazi-occupied Prague, a vengeful mob boss, and the ghosts of their own family's revolutionary past.

During one wild night in college, Jentry Michaels is a tidal wave of ink that brands Aurora Wilde's soul. An unparalleled stain she can't forget despite the many months that have passed - and despite the distraction she'd hoped she would find in her new relationship with Declan, the charmer who captured her heart soon after. Jentry has irrevocably touched her soul, and he is intertwined in her present and future in ways she never fathomed. Now Aurora is faced with keeping that night hidden, though it feels as if the ink has indelibly etched their story across her skin.

Suffering from the complications of syphilis toward the end of his life, Édouard Manet begins to jot down his daily impressions, reflections, and memories in a notebook. He travels for healing respites in the French countryside and finds inspiration in nature-a cloud of dragonflies, peonies blanketed by the morning dew. Back in Paris, the artist holds court in his studio and meets a mysterious muse, Suzon. Entranced by Suzon's cool blue eyes, he decides to paint his final masterpiece, "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere", life-sized - and wagers his health to complete it.

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state bans on gay marriage were unconstitutional, making same-sex unions legal across the United States. But the road to that momentous decision was much longer than many know. In this definitive account, Sasha Issenberg vividly guides us through same-sex marriage’s unexpected path from the unimaginable to the inevitable.

For 30 years, the Fellowship of the Anointed isolated its members, conditioning them to believe that pain is power. That magic is suffering. That the world beyond the fence has fallen prey to monsters. But when their leader is arrested, all her teachings come into question. Those touched by the Fellowship face a choice: How will they adjust to the world they were taught to fear, and how will they relate to the cult's last crusader, Lark?

After a disastrous attempt at a one-night stand, Eliott Rayne is content with never seeing the wildly confident and ridiculously handsome Dane Clarke again. Two years later, she's mostly pushed him from her mind when he barrels into her life once more as the best man at a wedding she's been hired to photograph. Her first instinct is to run, cancel the job, and get as far away from Dane as possible. But Dane has other ideas. When Eliott reveals the embarrassing reason behind their failed night together, Dane is undeterred