Showing results by narrator "Emily Durante" in All Categories

The Collected Stories of Diane Williams brings together over 300 new and previously published short fictions - distilled works of "unsettling brilliance" (Vanity Fair) that have rewritten the rules of the American short story.

So I’m a seer. A Cognizant under the Mandate. Life should be easy now, right? Wrong. With all the “accidents” that keep befalling me, I’ll be lucky to survive the week. That is, if my crazy boss doesn’t work me to death first....

The 19th daughter of a local village leader in rural Afghanistan, Fawzia Koofi was left to die in the sun after birth by her mother. But she survived, and perseverance in the face of extreme hardship has defined her life ever since. Despite the abuse of her family, the exploitative Russian and Taliban regimes, the murders of her father, brother, and husband, and numerous attempts on her life, she rose to become the first Afghani woman Parliament speaker.

Life as a seer is not all it’s cracked up to be. Especially when you’re unemployed and your former boss blacklists you everywhere. Or when a legendary Russian witch calls in a favor owed, demanding the unthinkable. When danger threatens everyone around me, there’s only one man I can turn to - and he may not be what he seems.

In the early 19th century, the United States turned its idealistic gaze southward, imagining a legacy of revolution and republicanism it hoped would dominate the American hemisphere. From pulsing port cities to Midwestern farms and Southern plantations, an adolescent nation hailed Latin America's independence movements as glorious tropical reprises of 1776.

Claire Nixon is a college student with a past full of secrets and heartbreak. She was saved once by her first love, rock star Chris Knight. But when she encouraged Chris to leave town to pursue his dreams, both Claire and Chris didn't realize it would be the biggest mistake of their lives. After a devastating year apart and thousands of miles of distance between them, Claire met sexy surfer Adam Parker. With his awful jokes and profound patience, he helped Claire pick up the shattered pieces of her broken heart for the second time. But now Chris has returned...

The Bronx, 1958. The Policewoman's Bureau doesn’t officially exist, and yet it handles those cases only a woman's touch could solve. Marie Cirile, a young officer with the 44th Precinct, has joined the few women stepping away from the select matronly duties available to female officers to take up serious cases. With courage and a stiff upper lip when undercover, Marie is dispatched in often grim and scary circumstances, using her air of innocence and others' prejudice against her to take down degenerates and sex offenders.

One of the great science and health revelations of our time is the danger posed by meat-eating. Every day, it seems, we are warned about the harm producing and consuming meat can do to the environment and our bodies. Many of us have tried to limit how much meat we consume, and many of us have tried to give it up altogether. But it is not easy to resist the smoky, cured, barbecued, and fried delights that tempt us.

With my seer powers finally under my control, I'm ready to plunge into the unknown to find my father. He may have abandoned me, but I’ll go to the ends of the Otherlands to save him from his torment. Only problem? With unexpected allies and even more surprising enemies, this rescue mission might be more than I bargained for.

Find my long-lost birth parents? Check. Kiss the man I've been crushing on for years? Check. Finally kick back and enjoy my happy ending? Yeah, no such luck. With literal demons out to kill me and my loved ones in trouble, I'm starting to wonder if I'll make it out of this one alive....

Devra Davis presents a range of recent and long-suppressed research in this timely bombshell. Cell phone radiation is a national emergency. Stunningly, the most popular gadget of our age has now been shown to damage DNA, break down the brain's defenses, and reduce sperm count while increasing memory loss, the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and even cancer. The growing brains of children make them especially vulnerable. And half of the world's four billion cell phone users are under 20.

The last person True Maybank expected to run into while picking up her wedding gown was country music superstar Harrison Gamble. Years ago, when they were small-town teens in Biscuit Creek, South Carolina, they shared a forbidden night of passion. Now that she's about to settle down, True's love affair with the handsome crooner is a thing of the past. Or is it? Today he's rich, famous, and on every woman's hot list. But back in the day, Harrison wasn't good enough for debutante True.

Road trips with kids aren't easy, but new parents of twins Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi became experts at creating lasting family memories without breaking the bank. From hiking with infants to navigating RV camping in state parks and camping in national parks - these outdoor lovers have tried it all, and See You at the Campground is packed with personal anecdotes, packing lists, site recommendations, and recipes that will help you create a one-of-a-kind vacation on a family-friendly budget.

The setting is New York's Little Italy in the 1950's - a community closely knit by gossip and tradition. This is the story of an extraordinary family, the Santangelos. There is Joseph, the butcher, who cheats in his shop and at pinochle, only to find the deck is stacked against him; his mother, Mrs. Santangelo, who sees the evil eye everywhere and who calls on her saints; and Catherine, his wife, whose determination to raise a modern daughter leads her to confront ancient questions.

Suzanne Jefferson is broke, which is why she's given up charity work for wedding planning. Fortunately, she has a high-profile client - and best of all, he's paid in advance. There are just two teensy problems: the bride is a bona fide bridezilla, and Suzanne's stock racer ex-husband is the best man. At least she thought he was her ex-husband....

Slater knew tragedy from a young age, but with the support of his foster family, he turned his life around. Now, back from a stint in the Navy, he's packed up his motorcycle and returned to Red Hook to help to run the family restaurant - a job that comes with a tantalizing upside. Her name is Rocki. Flirty, sweet, and outgoing, Rocki brings in crowds as the lead singer of the house band. And although she's unable to resist the charms of this intense bad boy, she refuses to open her heart to him.

In A Letter to Three Witches, Elizabeth Bass introduced the sleepy college town of Zenobia, New York, where magic is very real. Now, a bride-to-be on a quest for the right wedding dress realizes it's time to embrace her inner witch, in this witty, lighthearted romantic comedy with an enchanted twist.

When a college graduate with a history of hapless jobs reads Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island, she is dumbstruck by the timid design of her life. When had she ever dreamed a scheme? When had she ever, like Jim Hawkins, broke from her friends, raced for the beach, stolen a boat, killed a man, and eliminated an obstacle that stood in the way of her getting a hunk of gold? Convinced that Stevenson's book is cosmically intended for her, she redesigns her life according to its Core Values: boldness, resolution, independence and horn-blowing.

Caroline Ellis, the final heir of the Light Fae, must learn to survive without the protection of her one true love. She must come to embrace her own strength to evade those in the Dark court who seek her destruction - for the power is within Caroline to use Light to change Fate itself. Caroline and Devilyn's chemistry is undeniable. Their destiny together inevitable if only they have the will to overcome The Darkness and The Fates.

You've done it before. Saw something wrong with him--whether it was suspect grooming habits or ridiculously childish behavior--but let it slide. It's not that big of a deal. Except it totally was. You wanted to fall in love, but ended up going insane. You swore you'd never do it again. But did. Don't beat yourself up. In the search for love, we've all either blatantly ignored or completely missed red flags. Instead, smarten up. It's time to figure out what you missed and learn how to avoid similar flagtastic fiascos in the future. If you raise your red flag awareness now, you'll be able to green-light a real relationship down the road.