Showing results by narrator "Steve Marvel" in All Categories

Reflections of a Vintner recounts the lessons learned, relationships forged, and observations made from an insider's nearly 50-year journey through the burgeoning wine industry in Napa Valley. From the mid-'70s, when there were less than 50 wineries, to the present, with over 800, Tor Kenward shares his recollections as the region became a world-class wine destination.

Jonathan Bland is a Decider, empowered by the emperor himself to deal with the inevitable crises of an empire. In the service of the empire, he has killed more people than anyone in the history of humanity, to save a hundred times as many. He died centuries ago, but they reactivate his recorded personality whenever a new threat appears. When the crisis is over, they expect he will meekly return to oblivion. He has other ideas.

More murders, more ambition, and a whole lot more women. My life changed for the better when I bonded with an ancient, powerful Incubus. My status improved in leaps and bounds, I got to sleep with multiple women at once, and I even turned the tables on the Syndicate's most deadly hitman. As it turns out, being the bad guy can be fun if you don't mind killing a whole bunch of people. Trouble is, that type of overnight success tends to attract attention. And not the good kind. A mid-level Syndicate boss is out to destroy everything I hold dear.

Dogs keep us company, provide unconditional love, and share in the ups and downs of our lives. They see every day as an adventure. You'll love these 101 dog tales of family, friendship, and fun. How do dogs do it? Even non-"dog people" fall under their spell. Our dogs make us better people. If we rescued them, they rescue us back. If we're sad, they comfort us. If we need to have more fun, they show us how. They are our therapists, our role models, and our best friends.

I'm not the bad guy. I'm just tired of being the low-status nobody everyone treats like shit, and I've finally found a way to even the score. But bonding with an ancient, powerful demon is just the first step. After centuries of inactivity, that demon is at a low ebb. Turns out, my demon is an Incubus. Guess how he powers back up? That's right. By seducing women, as many as he can get.

Set in a revolutionary era of physics and science when a series of rapid-fire discoveries was upending our understanding of the universe, Splinters of Infinity by Mark Wolverton tells a little-known story: the tale of two of America's foremost physicists, Robert Millikan (1868-1953) and Arthur Compton (1892-1962), who found themselves locked in an intense, often deeply personal, conflict about cosmic rays.

Sizzling Sex for Life addresses men but is exquisitely sensitive to women's sexual sensibilities. While it focuses on sexual enhancement and the resolution of individual and couple sex problems, it transcends similar books by delving into social/political sexual issues, including school sex education and pornography - and in today's fraught #MeToo environment, prevention of sexual assault and harassment. This compelling, sex-positive guide will benefit men and women, from the teen years to old age.

What explains the massive worldwide success of video games such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Pokemon Go? Game companies and their popularity are poorly understood and often ignored from the standpoint of traditional business strategy. What lessons can we draw from its major successes and failures about the future of entertainment?

The American homeland is slowly being devoured by a relentless enemy, and the number of people fighting back continues to dwindle. But all is not lost. Ted and Emily work tirelessly to stay alive and fight back, and they've joined up with some of the leftovers missed by the initial terrorist attack. After scoring a minor victory for the fledgling rebellion, they're faced with the withering prospect of assaulting the invader's main base of operations.

Ted and Emily flee the enemy, but the noose continues to close, even as he makes contact with his niece. While rescuing her is always a priority, he might have a lead on the nuclear briefcase stolen from him on day one. Hard choices are ahead. Tabby accepts her family is gone, but she has no intention of giving up her home. Does she have what it takes to fight back against an enemy hidden behind technological superiority? Dwight finds himself at the tip of the spear of the enemy invasion. He may be powerless to stop it, but he begins to think he might be able to slow it down.

There I was, surrounded by beautiful college girls and tribeswomen, enjoying the fruits of my labor and the occasional consensual spanking, when a volcano threatened a different kind of eruption. A more dangerous one. Needless to say, it's up to me, the professor with an armful of gingers, to keep everybody safe. Because if we don't get off this island, it'll be an extinction-level event. That's it. Those are all the spoilers you're getting.

Managing your team, building relationships and trust, and facilitating effective meetings in a hybrid or fully remote workforce is challenging. Virtual EI explores how to develop, practice, and demonstrate your emotional intelligence and social skills in a virtual or hybrid setting. You'll learn how to make your team feel heard, draw everyone's voice into the conversation, and make real connections.

Just months before Hawaii's gubernatorial primary election, a body is found on the floor of the open air capitol, a macabre scene specifically manipulated to draw attention to a sitting governor with waning political support. Frantic, he calls on the Honolulu Chief of Police Walter Tseng, demanding that the perpetrator be brought to justice as swiftly and silently as possible, fearful a scandal might destroy whatever chance he still has at gaining re-election.

When I took my place as a mid-level boss for a crime syndicate, I thought my life would be easy. Turns out, I just attracted a much more powerful enemy, one that could literally drag my demon-powered ass all the way down into Hell. Looks like I'm going to need to find out just how far murders and mayhem can take me. Good thing I have my own personal Incubus along for the ride, and that leveling up is an absolute pleasure!

Female wolf-shifter clan leaders are rare, but Kaya Alexie thrives on the challenge and can handle anything the men of her pack throw her way. However, when the male cougar-shifter who broke her heart 10 years ago shows up on her doorstep with a dead wolf-shifter in tow, her whole world goes off-kilter. She's determined to ignore him, but when a virus threatens to decimate her clan, she has no choice but to work with her ex and his brother to survive.

In 1948 American polls rated Bing Crosby "the most admired man alive", and it's no surprise given how popular he was across every major form of entertainment during the decade. With a string of major hits, Crosby was the most popular singer in the country during that era. Of all the show business icons in American history, one of the most beloved was Bob Hope, whose career spanned over six decades across film, television, vaudeville, comedy, and touring and earned him uncountable accolades.

Sales Badassery: Kick Ass. Take Names. Crush the Competition. is a no-nonsense guide to transforming your entire attitude to sales, turning the old way of doing things on its head to shift all the power to you. The common myth of sales strategy tells you to approach a prospect from a position of deference - they hold the superior position, forcing you to supplicate, beg, make undue concessions, and be at their beck and call during and after the sale. This indispensable work shows you that leveling the playing field is not enough, you need to slant it in your direction.

Many believe that despite its destructive character, war ultimately boosts long-term economic growth. For the United States this view is often supported by appeal to the experience of the Second World War, understood as a triumph of both production and productivity. Alexander Field shows that between 1941 and 1945 manufacturing productivity actually declined, depressed by changes in the output mix and resource shocks from enemy action, including curtailed access to natural rubber and, on the Eastern Seaboard, petroleum.

From his hardscrabble NYC upbringing, through the NYPD ranks, to command of America's first ever joint task force on terrorism alongside the FBI, Kevin M. Hallinan lived a lot of history. From beat cop to detective, Hallinan maneuvered through some of America's most volatile decades and saw from the inside the tenuous gray line between law and order.

The mission was straightforward enough. Infiltrate civil-war-torn Slovakia, rescue the hostage, then get out undetected. Except that it's not Matt Bowen's first rodeo. He and his teammates know well just how badly things can go once the metal meets the meat. But even these hardened combat veterans aren't ready for what's about to go down.... A coordinated surprise attack. Massacres in the countryside. The next world war might have just kicked off, in a storm of blood, fire, and betrayal.