Showing results by narrator "Julie McKay" in All Categories

Are you in an abusive or unhappy relationship? Do you try too hard to please your friends at the expense of your own needs and wants? Are you subservient to others and do you find yourself unable to become independent? Do you suffer from negative self-talk? These are all signs that your self-care regimen is deficient in some way. The Smart Girl's Guide to Self-Care tackles the common problems of effective self-care with practical suggestions for practices that will create a sustainable, lifelong self-care routine.

When she discovers her husband cheating, Ella Hawthorne impulsively moves out of their SoHo loft and into a small apartment in an old Greenwich Village building. Her surprisingly attractive new neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement at night. Tenants have reported strange noises after midnight - laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano - even though the space has been empty for decades. Back in the Roaring '20s, the place hid a speakeasy.

Madison Avery looks down from her penthouse as a light flicks on in the building across the street, and a man and woman enter the vacant apartment. As the woman steps onto a large blue rug, the man raises his hand to the back of her neck. The woman collapses, and Madison sucks in a breath. The man checks for a pulse then reaches into his pocket. He must be calling for help. But then Madison sees the glint of the knife. She grabs her cell phone and dials 911. If the police don’t catch him now, she can’t help them later.

Amber Olivier awakens in a cold sweat, the bitter taste of blood in her mouth and her head throbbing. Not even a hint of light reaches her. She reaches left, right, and above, but within inches, her hands meet a solid structure covered with satin. She bangs on the top of the enclosure, but the cushioned fabric only creates a dull thud. Beyond panicked, she screams until her throat burns and she doesn’t have another breath of air in her.

When young fiber artist Willow Adams visits Izzy Chambers' knitting studio, she's immediately embraced by the Seaside knitters, and they see the monthly arts event at Canary Cove as a perfect place to showcase Willow's work. But the idyllic summer in Sea Harbor turns somber when the body of Nick Peabody - owner of a popular gallery - is found in a garden. Soon Nick's secrets begin to surface, and the residents of Sea Harbor realize they didn't know him at all.

Someone is drugging the fairest of them all and hurting them in the dark corners of the forests around Port Mackenzie - shrouding the town in mystery and darkness. But nothing is as it seems. In the dark corners of the small town there is also a light, a cure to what ails the sick. But everything comes at a cost, a price that must be paid. Aimee James discovers that cost the moment she dies. She discovers there are worse things than dying. She finds herself cursed.

Not long after Isabel "Izzy" Chambers opens up a knitting shop in the sleepy fishing town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, a diverse group of women begins congregating each week to form the Seaside Knitters. Izzy raises some eyebrows when she rents the apartment above her shop to Angie Archer, whose reputation for loose behavior and a quick temper has made her unpopular with many locals. But could any of them have wanted her dead? Angie's body is discovered drowned in the harbor, her long red hair tangled like seaweed in a lobster trap.

What if the stories we read were true? What if somewhere along the line monsters created in fiction were really based upon lives torn apart by tragedy? Hanna doesn't know what's happening to her. She doesn't know why her father has just sacrificed his life for hers. She doesn't know who Aimee James is or why she must fear her. She doesn't know what the Roses are or why they're interested in her. She knows there is a dusty stack of journals that drag her into a world she can't comprehend.

When Major Gryffth Hockaday is called to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband's 300-acre farm and infant son. Placidia, a mere teenager herself living far from her family and completely unprepared to run a farm or raise a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two years later, Placidia is bound for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence and murdering it. What really transpired in the two years he was away?

Gin Kelly, the wicked redhead, is back! Listeners will delight in the next installment of the Wicked City series by New York Times best-selling author Beatriz Williams.

Izzy Chambers is head over heels. She’s about to marry the love of her life, but much remains to be done before their big day. So the Seaside Knitters have pitched in to help and are even knitting Izzy a beautiful lace wedding shawl. Meanwhile, Izzy’s aunt, Nell, has hired a gardener to spruce up the backyard where the wedding will be held. The gardener, Claire, is just returning to Cape Anne after a long absence, hoping to put a dark secret to rest and find peace for herself.

Told in letters, journal entries, e-mails, doctors’ reports, and instant messages, the heartbreaking story of an aspiring ballet dancer battling leukemia.

Bastard Out of Carolina, nominated for the 1992 National Book Award for fiction, introduced Dorothy Allison as one of the most passionate and gifted writers of her generation. Now, in Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, she takes a probing look at her family's history to give us a lyrical, complex memoir that explores how the gossip of one generation can become legends for the next.

With help from the Seaside Knitters, Mary Pisano converts her charming inherited home into a B&B, and the first week is booked by her very own family in town to discuss their grandfather's will. Mary is hoping the tranquility of the setting will smooth over ill feelings among them. But when her cousin Pam is found murdered, she realizes she was dead wrong. With the holiday cheer severely disrupted, Mary relies on the Seaside Knitters to set things right.

Although the Stock Market had crashed recently, it was too early for most people to predict that the Great Depression was about to get underway. For 39-year-old spinster schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers, it’s business as usual. And part of her usual business is taking her class for an outing to the aquarium to see the penguins. Instead, she spots the floating corpse of Wall Street broker Gerald Lester and quickly realizes that Inspector Oscar Piper of NYPD Homicide isn’t up to solving this tricky case.

Late summer blooms in beautiful Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, and while a harvest thrives, Izzy Chambers Perry and the other Seaside Knitters will need to cast on their sleuthing skills to save a local farm. Unfortunately, finding a killer can be like looking for a needle in a haystack....

Julie Ellis and Luke Muldenhower have always been school sweethearts. Now both are in high school and deeply in love. Luke, a talented football player, is almost certain to receive an athletic scholarship to a top college. And no matter what her parents say, wherever Luke goes, Julie intends to follow. When Luke can't shake what he thinks is a virus, Julie persuades him to see a doctor. Luke's test results are alarming, but Julie believes their love is stronger than anything. Can love survive, now and forever?

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is - and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy - at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner.

How do we explain our newfound cultural investment in empathy and social justice? For decades, Joseph Campbell had defined our cultural aspirations in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, emphasizing the value of seeking glory and earning immortality. His work became the playbook for Hollywood, with its many male-centric quest narratives. Challenging the models in Campbell's canonical work, Maria Tatar explores how heroines, rarely wielding a sword and deprived of a pen, have flown beneath the radar even as they have been bent on social missions.

"What's Happened to Me?": Sarah finds herself in a strange place, and she can recall only one thing - her name. A young man, Heath de Charon, explains to Sarah that he found her unconscious on the grounds of his family's estate and has been caring for her. "When the Clock Chimes": Drake Iverson lands a summer job on Sandstone Mountain. There are no computers; he has to do all the work by hand in a large leather-bound book. He doesn't mind, as long as he can be near Gina, who is pretty and kind. "The Mysteries of Chance": Dylan Sorenson offers his help to a girl who seems to be in distress.