Showing results by narrator "Julie McKay" in All Categories

Are you in an abusive or unhappy relationship? Do you try too hard to please your friends at the expense of your own needs and wants? Are you subservient to others and do you find yourself unable to become independent? Do you suffer from negative self-talk? These are all signs that your self-care regimen is deficient in some way. The Smart Girl's Guide to Self-Care tackles the common problems of effective self-care with practical suggestions for practices that will create a sustainable, lifelong self-care routine.

Hallie Elliot has a perfect life. She is an up-and-coming interior designer in one of San Francisco's most sought-after firms and has just recently become engaged to Peter, a brilliant, young journalist. But when she stumbles upon Peter and her boss in what seems to be a compromising position, her trust in her perfect life is shaken. So Hallie escapes to Lake Como, Italy, to spend time with her half sister, Portia Tesoro, an Italian blueblood dealing with the scandal of a public estrangement from her cheating husband.

The moon peers out from behind the dark clouds, but deep within the swamp, even the tiniest sliver is like a beacon in the pitch black. The path is barely discernable, but she knows the way. She steps up to the edge of the water and stares at the silver locket in her hand, a picture of two girls inside. One is her. The other…is waiting. She begins to sing, and the winds pick up her tune. The water stirs, and from the center of the angry current, the young woman emerges. Her haunting voice carries over the water.

With a credible threat to the US and a plane stuck on the tarmac, Grant Walton is 30 seconds from full-blown panic mode. He's the only one in the airport who knows the truth. When the power goes out, he can't waste another second. It's the beginning of the end and every man for himself. Leah Walton is wrapping up a 12-hour shift as a nurse in the heart of the city. When the power goes out, the hospital operates on crisis mode. She can't stop to breathe, let alone check her messages. When she finally listens to her husband's frantic calls, she's faced with an impossible choice: leave or die trying.

Search and Rescue Dog Trainer, Eve, relies on instincts and intuition to let her know when someone is telling the truth, and when her new friend, April, shows up uninvited to a bonfire, claiming that there’s a serial killer in Granite, Eve is skeptical. Someone surely would have noticed if there was a serial killer doing dastardly deeds in their small town. But when April backs up her claim with evidence, Eve thinks that she may actually be correct.

Loving dogs and helping people are two of the pillars in Search and Rescue Dog Trainer and amateur sleuth, Eve Foster’s life, so when a friend, Lucas, comes to her last fall training session with an adorable puppy, her heart melts. Lucas wants to train the pup for search and rescue work and Eve promises to help with his training.

For the Sake of the Game is the latest volume in the award-winning series from New York Times best-selling editors Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, with stories of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and friends in a variety of eras and forms. King and Klinger have a simple formula: Ask some of the world's greatest writers-regardless of genre - to be inspired by the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. The results are surprising and joyous. 

There are plenty of parenting books out there, but as a working parent there's never been a trusted guide that coaches you how to do well at work and be the loving and engaged mother or father you want to be. Enter Workparent. Whether you're planning a family, pushing for promotion during your kids' teenage years, or at any phase in between, Workparent provides all the advice and assurance you'll need to balance your family and career in your own authentic way.

Annice, Pat, and Barby are best friends from Iowa, freshly arrived in booming 1950s Chicago to explore different paths toward independence, self - expression, and sexual freedom. From the hip-hang of a bohemian lifestyle to the sophisticated lure of romance with a handsome, wealthy, married boss to the happier security of a lesbian relationship, these three experience firsthand the dangers and limitations of women’s economic -reliance on men.

After retrieving fresh lobster nets from a local laundromat, Cass Halloran rushes to attend a last-minute gathering with her knitting circle. But Cass can't stop worrying about the lonely boy she saw hanging around the dryers and the school uniform he left behind in a hurry. When she and her friends return the lost clothing the next day, they find the child and his younger sister alone, seemingly abandoned by their mother.

Amber Olivier awakens in a cold sweat, the bitter taste of blood in her mouth and her head throbbing. Not even a hint of light reaches her. She reaches left, right, and above, but within inches, her hands meet a solid structure covered with satin. She bangs on the top of the enclosure, but the cushioned fabric only creates a dull thud. Beyond panicked, she screams until her throat burns and she doesn’t have another breath of air in her.

Nicolas’s pulse shoots up, and he sucks in a breath. “Are you saying you willingly took the life of another person?” “Yes. God is the reason I killed her. Will you absolve me, Father?” As Nicolas fumbles for his phone to send an urgent text for help, he hears the chair in the other booth squeak, and a shadow passes in front of the screen. His pulse pounds in his temples and he starts to sway, dizziness washing over him. Help isn’t going to make it in time.

Madison Avery looks down from her penthouse as a light flicks on in the building across the street, and a man and woman enter the vacant apartment. As the woman steps onto a large blue rug, the man raises his hand to the back of her neck. The woman collapses, and Madison sucks in a breath. The man checks for a pulse then reaches into his pocket. He must be calling for help. But then Madison sees the glint of the knife. She grabs her cell phone and dials 911. If the police don’t catch him now, she can’t help them later.

Long-time resident Angus McPherron has a very special birthday coming up—his 100th! Known as the “old man of the sea” by Sea Harbor residents, he’s lived in town all his long life and has shared plenty of colorful tales of the area. Back in town to fill a much-needed nursing position at the free clinic, Charlie Chambers, Izzy Perry’s brother, is staying in one of the handful of cottages Angus owns. The yarn shop owner is thrilled he’s in town—though she’d like to know more about his mysterious roommate, Annie Smith.

It’s the dead of winter, and it isn’t just the weather that can be chilling. When a visiting cross-country skier goes missing right before a snowstorm hits, dog trainer and amateur sleuth, Eve, and her beloved German Shepherd, Willow, are called out to find him.

The week before Christmas marks a year since dog trainer and amateur sleuth, Eve, and her boyfriend Aidan, shared their first kiss. They’ve made plans to celebrate, but an unexpected visit from Eve’s adopted mother throws their plans into chaos.

After risking everything, Grant and Leah Walton are finally reunited. But it's no happy ending. As the reality of the situation dawns on their neighbors, the Waltons find themselves the subject of more than idle curiosity. Not everyone can be trusted. People they counted as friends now look at them with suspicion and fear. Faced with neighbors determined to take all they have, Grant and Leah prepare to leave. But strangers have other plans.

Nine years ago, police found Shaye Archer wandering in the French Quarter, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name. But her last case uncovered more than she ever anticipated. She’s starting to remember.

With a four-legged companion and no food in the pantry, Grant Walton faces an uphill battle. His wife is still missing; downtown is a smoldering crater; and radiation is killing more people every day. Torn between searching for his wife and gearing up for what's sure to come, Grant is forced to put more than his morals to the test. Leah Walton escaped a nuclear bomb that flattened her hospital and vaporized her friends. Now she's racing to find her husband miles away. She'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive and hope none of them kill her in the process. 

Street kids are disappearing, but how do you report it to the police when they don’t believe you exist to begin with? Jinx LeDoux bolts upright, gasping for air, her heart pounding. Something has happened. Something she can’t quite remember. Worse, she’s surrounded by darkness. She puts her hands on the ground, trying to grasp something familiar. The splintered wood of her abandoned apartment isn’t there. It’s something hard, cold, and round. She grabs the bars with both hands, but they don’t budge. She’s in a cage.