Showing results by narrator "Torian Brackett" in All Categories

The vibrant stories in I’ll Give You a Reason explore race, identity, connection, and belonging in the Ironbound, an immigrant neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. A young widow goes on her first date since her husband’s death and finds herself hunting a bear in the woods with a near stranger. An unhappy wife compares her mother’s love spells and rituals to her own efforts to repair her strained marriage. A self-conscious college student discovers a porn star who shares her name and becomes obsessed with her doppelgänger’s freedom and comfort with her own body.

When adventurer Maxwell Barnes and his team uncover clues about a lost gold mine in Mexico's Sonoran desert, they think they've struck fortune's motherlode. But after a treacherous tumble down a rocky hillside, they discover something far more valuable buried beneath: something with unimaginable power.

Did you know that Lucille Ball could pick up radio signals through her teeth? Or that her career was almost destroyed because she was a registered Communist? Bet you didn’t know that, as a studio executive, she green-lit both Star Trek and Mission: Impossible! Siblings Paige and Turner have collected some of the most unusual and surprising facts about the beloved actress, from her impoverished childhood and her first forays into the film industry to her marriage with Desi Arnaz and her rise to become both the most prominent actress in television and one of its most successful executives.

John Lennon’s mom called him “Stinker” because he farted so much! Paul McCartney’s car was wrecked by chickens! George Harrison once had his friend’s parent sign his bad report card! Ringo Starr’s grandma thought he was possessed by witches! Wait! What? Siblings Paige and Turner have collected the most unusual and surprising facts about these rock stars, from their childhoods and early days as musicians to the formation of the Beatles and their skyrocketing journey to become the greatest band in the world.

After high-school baseball phenom JaMark Reliford suffers a career-ending injury in his final game, he makes the deal of a lifetime. A deal that gives him everything he wants, but could cost him everything he loves. Inspired by blues folklore and classic baseball fiction, Michael Lortz writes a new tale of fastballs and phantoms, strikeouts, and second chances. 

According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was “a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides.” According to Hank Aaron, Robinson was a leader of the Black Power movement before there was a Black Power movement. According to his wife, Rachel Robinson, he was always Jack, not Jackie—the diminutive form of his name bestowed on him in college by white sports writers. And throughout his whole life, Jack Robinson was a fighter for justice, an advocate for equality, and an inspiration beyond just baseball.

The militant Warriors of the Cross, have come to Shadows Fall to capture and wrest control of the legendary Forever Door from Old Father Time and a town they see as being filled by sinners, witches, and demons. James Hart makes a startling discovery about his grandfather. And Mayor Rhea Frazier and the revenant Leonard Ash renew their relationship, after his return from the dead.

With junior year starting in the fall, Harrison feels like he’s on the precipice of, well, everything. Standardized testing, college, and the terrifying unknowns and looming pressures of adulthood after that—it’s like the future wants to eat him alive. Which is why Harrison is grateful that he and his best friend, Linus, will face these things together. But at the end of a shift at their summer job, Linus invites Harrison to their special spot overlooking the city to deliver devastating news: He’s moving out of state at the end of the week.

Considered by the author to be his finest work yet, this is a novel of realistic detail, heartfelt emotion, and dazzling imagination that builds a world listeners won't want to leave and spins a tale they won't want to end. In a town of amazing magicks, where the real and the imagined live side by side and the Faerie of legend know the automatons of the future, Time sees all - but even he cannot escape the prophecy of James Hart's return, which can only mean the death of Shadows Fall.

The entire city is demanding answers after Sophie's vicious public attack and disappearance, especially after she returns from the dead. To calm the masses, a council meeting is arranged, which may be the key platform they need to reform the current restrictions on supernatural beings. The hopeful event takes a turn when members of the council begin to die, and a rogue Wolven seems to be behind the murders.

Five years ago, a supernatural virus changed the world as we know it. What was once the stuff of fantasy and bad horror movies suddenly is reality - werewolves and vampires exist. It isn’t the end of the world, but for Korban Diego and Sophie Bane, it often feels as if it is. Lost in the deep forest of the Adirondack Mountains, Korban and Sophie’s journey continues. While their wolves feel right at home in the woods, their human halves remain conflicted.

Five years ago, a supernatural virus changed the world as we know it. What was once the stuff of fantasy and bad horror movies suddenly is reality - werewolves and vampires exist. It isn’t the end of the world, though for Korban Diego, it often feels as if it is. A survivor of a vicious attack during the initial outbreak, Korban faces quarantine and curfews, as well as new rules, regulations, and prejudices that make it difficult for a werewolf to get his life back to normal.

It’s not Christmas without Santa! But what does Santa truly look like? Does he match the figurines on the mantel or the faces on our favorite holiday sweaters? Does he look like you or like me? Find out in this joyous and cozy celebration of family, representation, and holiday spirit! Destined to be a new classic, and perfect for children looking to see some of themselves in Santa Claus.

What a happy day! Zachary’s baby sister will have her naming ceremony. In the temple! With his moms, the congregation, and all their friends! He’s so excited he can barely contain it. On the walk from their home, they meet neighbor after neighbor who want to know the baby’s name. But—not yet!—his mothers tell him. The tradition is to have a great reveal at the ceremony. So they invite each neighbor to come along. A colorful, diverse parade blooms along the route, until…At last it’s time, and Zachary gets to reveal his sister’s name…What is it? A truly joyful moment for everyone.

Lost Souls is a series of short stories revolving around a group of friends and a house with a murderous past. Volume Two includes two of their stories.

When life hands you lemons, you can either make lemonade or lob them like hand grenades at your problems. Nothing is going as Idina Moorfield planned. It’s what happens when magical powers you don’t know you have manifest when you least expect it. Idina needs to make new plans, even if those plans are loosely based on her CO telling her to figure things out. Time to make lemonade. There’s all sorts of tasks Idina and her unit could be doing. Getting them to help out is another issue. Can she figure out how to get them to help her without asking them to help?

Idina Moorfield is a new kind of magical with a dark and twisty lineage. Any other combat engineer in the 82nd Airborne Division would be proud of how far Idina's come, but the visions and voices in her mind are only getting worse. When it affects her work, Idina gets transferred to a new unit—a unit of misfits with their own problems. But sometimes, what seems like the worst move ever, can turn out to be the beginning of something great. Who says outcasts can’t be heroes?

After thwarting a space station disaster and planetary destruction, the Ambit crew thought turning Isaiah Drestyn over to the Union would be the end of their troubles. Turns out, it’s only the start. Drestyn is a walking encyclopedia of dirty secrets, and everyone wants a piece of him—the Trust, the Union, even the Guild. Someone wants him bad enough to kill, and with the life of one of their own on the line, the Ambit crew must jail-break the very man they helped capture and expose some of the secrets he’s been keeping before it’s too late.

Did you know that a turtle named Jonathan is the oldest living animal on Earth? (He’s almost two hundred!) How about that the largest sea turtles can dive more than three thousand feet below the water’s surface? Or that turtles’ shells have a spine in them, which makes turtles vertebrates—just like humans? Perfect for all animal lovers—and turtle fans in particular—this book is filled with all the facts you need to know to become a turtle expert!

Just as the stars light the entire world—You shine. Join a queer family as they celebrate Black Pride in Washington, D.C. From painting posters to walking in a Pride Parade with neighbors to watching fireworks, this special day is packed with fun.