Showing results by narrator "Linda Stephens" in All Categories

As a little girl, Rebecca Berlin loved listening to her grandmother, Gemma, tell the fairy tale of Briar Rose. Now, as Gemma lies on her deathbed, a grown-up Rebecca asks her to tell the story one last time. Instead Gemma makes a startling confession that forever changes the fairy tale for Rebecca. Pulling her granddaughter close, Gemma whispers, "I am Briar Rose." Her family thinks she is delirious. But Rebecca senses Gemma is telling the truth.

Best-selling author Nevada Barr delights contemporary mystery fans with novels like Deep South and Blood Lure. In Bittersweet, she departs the mystery genre for a touching story of hardship, perseverance, and love in the old West.

In the Deep South, where love and hatred run deep and close, dissension often summers just beneath the surface. When a family gathers for a funeral as its old homestead above the waters of Mobile Bay, it must carry out the last wish of the aunt and sister whom it has come to mourn. It is a wish that will unearth a terrible secret, one that will either tear her siblings and their offspring apart or allow them to accept buried memories, wounds, and love.

Set in the wilds of 1876 South Dakota, A Claim of Her Own by two-time Christy Award finalist Stephanie Grace Whitson follows the fortunes of 20-year-old Mattie O'Keefe as she embarks upon an arduous journey to find her brother Dillon. When she reaches the gold-rush boomtown of Deadwood, no one seems to know where Dillon is. The resourceful Mattie begins to pan for gold anyhow, hoping her brother will soon arrive. But a relentless stalker draws closer to his prey.

On a midnight train, four hours away from her wedding, Beth McMurray discovers the devastating truth about the powerful senator she's about to marry. Convinced nothing could make this stormy night worse, the train wrecks, and she tumbles straight into the arms of an outlaw. Andrew McLaughlin doesn't believe in loving except between the pages of his writings. He loved deeply once and thinks he'll never survive another loss. To save a friend, he climbs aboard a train heading toward Dallas.

A master violinist trained in Vienna, Rebekah Carrington manages to wheedle her way into an audition with the maestro at the newly formed Nashville Philharmonic. But women are "far too fragile and frail" for the rigors of an orchestra, and Rebekah's hopes are swiftly dashed. Because the conductor - determined to leave his mark on the world of classical music - bows to public opinion.

Two thousand years ago, Mary Magdalene hid a set of scrolls in the French Pyrenees: the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, her version of the life of Jesus and the events of the New Testament. Protected by supernatural forces, these sacred scrolls could be uncovered only by a special seeker, one who fulfills the ancient prophecy of L'Attendu, the Expected One.

Jana McGuire is devastated when she returns from an African mission trip only to find her pastor husband has taken all their money and left with his secretary. Left with no worldly possessions, Jana is forced to seek help from her distant mother and her bubbly, welcoming great-aunt Taffy. Jana soon realizes that her mother's cold demeanor hides a tragic past - and that the two must mend their relationships with God and each other.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Jodi Thomas won the coveted Romance Pioneer Award and a 2011 Reviewers’ Choice Award for Texas Blue. Lewton Paterson is a gambling man hoping to put his rough-and-tumble past behind him and marry into a quiet, respectable family. Arriving in Whispering Mountain, Lewt sets his sights on one of the McMurray sisters. But it doesn’t take long for Lewt to realize that gambling on love is his riskiest proposition yet.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, The Devil's Dream is an animated, lyrical novel that is meant to be savored as spoken word. Consummate storyteller Lee Smith's creation will delight anyone who enjoys the sound of language and a good story.

Young and recently widowed, Jasmine Houston confronts the vital issues of freedom and slavery, love and hate, life and death, when she decides to harbor former slaves at her horse farm. Best-selling inspirational authors Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller pen a gripping historical romance set in 1849.

Set in 1889, this compelling sequel to Dawn’s Prelude explores the effects of sin and forgiveness on life and love.As she steams closer to Alaska’s Sitka Island, 18-year-old Phoebe Robbins wonders what this wild, untamed land might offer her. Before she can set foot on its shore, however, she tumbles into deep water and finds herself in the rescuing arms of Dalton Lindquist.

Listeners flock to USA Today and New York Times best-selling author Jodi Thomas’ Texas romances. Here a rugged cowboy finds his hard heart softened by a desperate woman on the run. Happy to keep his head down and tend to his ranch, Teagen McMurray is certainly not looking for love. But then Jessie Barton—wife of Teagen’s bookseller friend Eli—and her three young daughters arrive on the scene seeking shelter.

Lee Smith is one of today's most critically acclaimed authors writing about contemporary life in the South. In Family Linen, with a remarkable economy of description and dialogue, Smith sketches eccentric, yet familiar characters moving through a family drama that resonates with both tension and humor.

Sixteen-year-old Mary Swan Middleton is devastated when her artistic mother is killed in a plane crash. The family maid, seeing Mary's loneliness and desperation, suggests she volunteer to help the poor. Soon, Mary realizes there is more to life, love, and faith, than she ever knew.

In Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller's compelling tale of duplicity, romance, and redemption, Sophie Broadmoor risks losing wealth and reputation when she's swept off her feet by a dashing stranger. On an 1897 Atlantic crossing, Sophie meets a widower whose promises make her heart sing. But when she finds herself in a compromising situation, she's glad a true gentleman comes to her rescue.

When Beth Gunner begins teaching English at her high-school alma mater, she must confront a haunting secret from her past. Beth's return to Delaware's Seaton Preparatory Academy fills her with both nostalgia and trepidation. Since her graduation two decades ago, very little has changed - including her irrational fear of failure.

An award-winning author of more than 80 CBA best-selling novels, Tracie Peterson is highly acclaimed for authentic historical romances that enthrall and inspire. In Twilight’s Serenade, Britta Lindquist finds herself caring for the motherless children of the man she has tried to forget. But just as love’s second chance begins to blossom, an English conductor asks Britta to become the first-chair violinist in his orchestra—and accept his hand in marriage.

Sister John has devoted her life to serving God. For almost 30 years she has lived in a Carmelite monastery near Los Angeles. There, she experiences religious visions of such intensity that she is revered by the other nuns. But these visions also bring on excruciating headaches. When she is offered an operation that may stop the pain, she realizes that it may also stop the visions.

In a poignant tale that prompts both tears and laughter, Linda Stephens' magnificent narration highlights the simple eloquence of Pattillo's central theme: Sharing the burdens of others puts our own in perspective - and makes them all easier to bear.