Showing results by narrator "Kendra Murray" in All Categories

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

What started out as a couple of blog posts blossomed into a following of over 1,000,000 people who have all read and been touched by Mowry's stories. The most extraordinary thing he found when writing about his experiences is that the most common comment about his work is OMG that's me. You are telling my story. I don't feel so alone now.

Emily Dickinson was one of the most reclusive of all poets. She spent much of her life in seclusion in her father’s house in Amherst, and only a handful of her 1800 poems were published in her lifetime. Credit for the posthumous publication of her work must be given to her editor and friend Thomas W. Higginson, who reported that, in spite of the voluminous correspondence which passed between himself and Dickinson, he only met her twice in person.

Freckles and A Girl of the Limberlost are two of Gene Stratton Porter's most famous novels. Set primarily in the Limberlost Swamp of Indiana, USA, Freckles follows the story of Freckles, a lame orphan whose innate character rises above his circumstances. A Girl of the Limberlost is the story of Elnora, blamed for her father's death by her mother, who nevertheless meets every challenge that comes her way with admirable resilience.

Gertrude Stein held a unique position at the center of the modernist movement. She was a novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in America, she moved with her family to Paris where she ran a Paris salon frequented by many famous historical figures, such as Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henri Matisse, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, and Sinclair Lewis.

“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad … “So begins this historical tale of romantic adventure. Andre-Louis Moreau is an orphan and cousin of the beloved Aline. He is raised by his godfather, the Lord of Gavrillac, and matures into an educated lawyer—while Aline sets her mind on marrying the rich but dishonorable Marquis de la Tour d’Azyr. But when Moreau’s closest friend is killed by the Marquis in a duel, Moreau vows vengeance. After publicly denouncing the aristocracy and stirring up the crowds, Moreau is forced to go into hiding.

Caroline Marcum thought she'd put the great mistake of her life behind her when she left Wellfleet, but is forced to face it when she returns to her childhood home on the bay to care for her dying mother. Ridley Neal thought he'd put his past--and his prison term--behind him when he returned home to take over his father's oyster and clam farm in the harbor. Casual acquaintances long ago, they connect again during a fierce nor'easter.

Private Investigator Mallory Dimante has no time for a pro-bono cold case. Focused on developing the detective firm she’s building with her partner, Jake Steiner, she needs work that can keep them and their new Seattle houseboat afloat. But she can’t say no when she comes face-to-face with the victim of a devastating acid attack.

First published in 1909, A Girl of the Limberlost is a novel by American writer and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter. This classic of Indiana literature is a sequel to Stratton-Porter's earlier novel Freckles. Wholesome, sensible, and beautiful, the heroine, Elnora, is also compassionate, self-reliant, and intelligent. Neglected by her mother, Elnora reaches through this hardship toward education, friendship, and love. There are no shortcuts and her hard work brings joy to herself and all those she loves.

Queen Marguerite de Navarre was one of the most powerful women of her age. Her masterpiece, The Heptameron, is a collection of some 72 stories told by five gentlemen and five ladies who find themselves stranded in an abbey. Proposed as an edifying way of passing the time while a bridge is being repaired, the tale-telling - as well as the conversations that follow each story - quickly becomes a battle of wits between the sexes, with tales concerning illicit lovers, romantic conquests, lecherous monks, manly honor, and women's virtue.

It was the perfect job for newly engaged Private Investigator Mallory Dimante and she thought so…right up until the moment the black bag was slipped over her head. The instructions for the job had been simple. Attend a will-reading. Observe the heirs. Report back their reactions. It had to be a female investigator, to blend in, the letter had said. And the expenses were all prepaid.

Much Ado About Nothing appears to have been written about 1599, shortly before As You Like It and Twelfth Night. The action combines two narrative threads: the spirited comedy of the courtship of Benedick and Beatrice, and the somber tale of confused love between Hero and Claudio. The first is a creation by Shakespeare and the second appears to have been drawn from an Italian source, either by Bandello or Ariosto. The action takes place in Messina. Eponymous lovers Hero and Claudio seem to be ideally matched and nearly everyone is looking forward to their impending marriage.

As the generating force of its plot, Twelfth Night uses a device which has since become a staple in comedy: gender confusion. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian, are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, a country ruled by the melancholy Duke Orsino. The twins are separated and Viola is led to believe that her brother has perished. She disguises herself as a male under the name of Cesario and makes her way to the ducal court, where Orsino employs her as a messenger, to communicate his love to the reclusive lady, Olivia—who is not willing to return his affection.

A phone rings at 5:07 a.m. in a Seattle houseboat…but to a number that shouldn’t exist. A man, wire-bound to a kitchen chair, is discovered in the ruins of a burned-out house. A woman, sexually abused when she was a young girl, names a presidential candidate as her abuser...and a naïve landscape gardener, relentlessly pursued by hit men, holds the key to it all. What started as a straightforward missing person case for private investigators Mallory Dimante and Jake Steiner now has them racing to work out the connection between these events.

Eve, a chimpanzee orphaned by poachers and used for experiments in a medical lab, can finally lead a new life. When she arrives at the Dayton Zoo, Kate and Marc must overcome professional differences to build a relationship with her. Forced to work together, Kate and Marc find common ground when they discover they both are the sole caregivers for their mothers.

Who knew death could be so eclectic? Relish this mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up of short stories. Murder and mystery have been the staple of literature and films for years. This anthology of short stories will thrill and entertain you. Some will also make you laugh out loud. Others will stop and make you think.

The eleven stories in this Gaskell collection illustrate the author’s mastery in capturing the innate drama that is present even in the most mundane situations.

Can you get by for an hour without talking? A day even? What about a month? Or nine? Rebecca Marley sets herself a nine-month challenge with only one rule: She isn’t allowed to communicate with anyone. She is to become mute. How hard could it be? Yet, what starts as a challenge soon becomes a journey of self-discovery as Rebecca has only herself for company. Will this time be the peaceful respite she so desperately seeks? Or will she confront aspects of herself that a noisy world hides so well?

Duke Vincentino, the ruler of Vienna, fears that under his mild sovereignty, the people may have become lazy and lax. He decides to “go over cover” in the disguise of a monk and appoint his deputy, Angelo, who is a reputed paragon of virtue, as temporary ruler. On assuming power, Angelo inaugurates draconian provisions regarding sexual propriety. One of the first victims of this new regime is young Claudio, who has impregnated his lover Juliet, and is accordingly sentenced to death.

Tressalayne is a member of a murderous witches’ coven. An attack by witch hunters forces the coven to escape through a hastily constructed portal of magic. Ripped from her medieval world, the portal hurls Tressalayne and the coven’s leader, Morganna, into present-day East Texas. Critically injured in the passage, Tressalayne awakes in a hospital with no memory of her previous life. Lucas Beckett finds himself in charge of the mysterious patient’s recuperation, and soon develops more than just a medical interest in her recovery.