Showing results by author "Josie" in All Categories

It’s 2003, Tony Blair is still prime minister, and a shy loner from east London, Amber Campbell, joins the prison service searching for purpose. Behind the walls of the women’s prison, Amber is determined to prove that she has what it takes to become a tornado officer. She makes a pact with two close friends to support each other no matter what. However, the three Black women struggle when they experience discrimination and disappointment at every turn.

Gavin Wilkes is rugby’s biggest star and my older brother’s best friend. He’s tall, dark, handsome… and a notorious player—not just in the sportsball way. For years he’s teased me—flirted with me as a joke—and I’m tired of it. So the night of my parents’ annual Christmas party, I call his bluff, never expecting him to take me up on it.

Meet Jack: Dadness. Women have a sixth sense for it. But, lately, as I've looked around, all I've seen is temptation. From random women in the pub to my foxy new boss...they've left me doubting whether I've really been put out to pasture at all.... Meet Amy: Motherhood, I've discovered, is the great leveller. Having kids automatically makes me the same as all the other mums in 'The Coven' up the park. And being 'the same' makes me want to do something terribly rash - like rediscover the impulsive person I used to be.

Daniel Clark is the leader. The one who ensures everyone makes it out alive. He took that responsibility seriously when he and his team served in the Navy SEALs together, and he takes it seriously now at the Resting Warrior Ranch.

Screenwriter Angelina Conte has been butting heads via email with the studio’s unbelievably nitpicky scientific advisor, volcanologist Dr. Caleb Sloane. Between his scheduled lectures aboard a Hawaiian cruise, she intends to prove that she’s no Tinseltown hack. Caleb had planned on using this Christmastime cruise to adjust his workaholic attitude. A tough assignment when he’s tangled with the movie studio’s surprisingly stubborn scriptwriter. Startlingly, their chemistry is off the charts.

Attorney Desiree Contando can think of only one word to describe her very first home: disaster. The vintage Queen Anne is beautiful - or will be, in about 1,000 years. Certainly not in time to host the family Christmas gathering. “Disaster” also describes the bad breakup that left her picket-fence vision in tatters. Even the carpenter she’s hired is a reminder of lost dreams - the high school crush who never spared her a passing glance. But she’s a grown-up now, perfectly capable of keeping things professional.

He thought he could destroy me. Threatened me. Murdered the people around me. Then trapped me with no way out. What he didn't realize was I had the devil on my side. He played the long game. Longer than anyone thought. He thought he was smart with an entire town on his side. He tried to destroy my life and everything I loved. But I grew up in a different part of town. And where I was from, we protected our own. It may not be pretty, but watching him break into nothing may be the happiest moment of my life. I just hope the devil doesn't trick me again.

Months trapped in the clutches of a madman made Jenna Franklin a shell of the woman she once was. All she can do now is use her computer genius from inside the safety of closed doors. Even two years later, going outside = blood-freezing panic.

Never rent an apartment over the internet. I learned that lesson the hard way. Turns out the sweet two bedroom I was thrilled to make mine is actually smack dab in the middle of a retirement community. Now instead of enjoying Florida’s night life, I’m helping Mrs. Hill find her missing hearing aids and showing Mr. Frazier how to use his television remote for the millionth time. But it’s fine. They look out for me and I look out for them. Which is how I end up wedged in a broom closet with Mr. Frazier’s sexy as sin nephew.

Raised in a cult where opinions and freedom in women were not tolerated, Mara Greene narrowly escaped a life as a child bride—one where she would’ve been shared and owned by all the men in the compound. Her testimony helped put the cult leader in prison, but she’s never truly gotten past the horrors inflicted on her. Her conditioning to keep silent persists even now—despite having found a safe haven at the Resting Warrior Ranch.

Losing his wife and daughter to influenza shook James Colchester's faith in God. As another epidemic threatens, he's torn between what's best for his fragile son: fleeing to his Welsh homeland, or staying put. In a moment of weakness, the black-haired, green-eyed Gypsy's delicate touch on his palm quells his fears, and her beauty ignites a warmth he hasn't felt in years. Desperate to return to her people, Valentina Rupa goes against every lesson her mother taught her to soothe the Englishman into a false sense of security.

For the last few months, I've been content just watching her from afar, but one rainy night changes everything. Saving her from being roadkill wasn't something I thought about for more than a passing heartbeat. The girl I love wasn't going to die on my watch.

When Charity ran away with the Romany Gypsies, she left everything behind: her name, a way of life constrained by English rules, the punishments her cruel father meted out in the name of God, and the young man who made it all bearable. Certain things she can’t hide, even in wild, remote Wale: a secret longing for the ease of English life, the wisps of faith that still linger, and her reaction to a handsome face she thought she’d never see again.

Novelist Josie Brown interviews authors on their creative process

Cord Spellman might be everyone's Prince Charming, but I'm only his fake Cinderella. That's why Cord's offer is perfect. The hot hockey star has playoffs coming up. He doesn't have time for girls, especially his cheating ex who's determined to get back together with him. He needs to focus on his game, so he asks me to divert the attention—as his fake girlfriend.

Psychiatrist Rayne Westerfield has found purpose in helping patients, especially those with PTSD, heal at the Resting Warrior Ranch. For her, there’s no greater calling than equipping people to fight the worst of their demons. But she’s never allowed anyone to help her fight her own. She’s kept her distance. Kept herself buttoned up tight. Even the people in the small Montana town she’s known for years—the ones she calls friends—don’t know who she really is, and the fears she hides. And that’s okay. But it’s not okay to Cole Phillips.

A medical scandal is currently unfolding across Western liberal societies. As Parents with Inconvenient Truths About Trans reveals, the primary victims are vulnerable, socially awkward kids with normally developing bodies who fall for the internet-fueled promise that they can solve their emotional, psychological, or physical discomfort by adopting an opposite-sex identity.

Discover when, where and why you eat, then change your eating habits with personalized hypnotic suggestions.

Judging a chocolate-making competition for the women’s shelter’s annual fundraiser should be an easy, even pleasurable, assignment for Maise, new food critic for the Bloomingfield Daily Dispatch. Too bad just the smell of chocolate makes her stomach roil. By the time she reaches the last table, she hopes her face isn’t as green as her holiday sweater. But the tall, square-jawed man behind piles of fudge makes her want to linger, even savor the moment along with his chocolate-coffee-flavored confection.

Curious magpies Alice Rivers Cripps and Josie Lloyd uncover the personal stories behind everyday and extraordinary pieces of jewellery. Alice is the founder and Creative Director of Posh Totty Designs and Josie is an author and lover of stories, so between them they share their tales of their sparkly bits and their special guests tell all about what's in their jewellery boxes. This is a weekly natter with interesting guests about all things bling with a touch of comedy and heart. This season we have everything from meaningful momentoes, cheap and cheerful charms to high-end designer bling. ...