Showing results by narrator "Michael Kirby" in All Categories

Each young boy who grows into manhood has several rites of passage among them are his first encounter with the opposite sex, his first kiss, his first date, his first job, and his first paycheck. But most of all he remembers his first car that he bought with his own money. It is this rite that will be his most cherished memory in time. For as the days pass the women in his life will and go. Some staying longer than others. Some only a brief interlude along the shores of the sands. Others will remain lifelong companions. Only a few will be the true friends they claim to be.

Meet Kris Kringle. Behind the cheerful facade lies a skilled warrior with a mission: to protect the joy and spirit of Christmas from those who seek to destroy it. When a sinister organization known as The Shadow Collective threatens to manipulate the stock market and bring global chaos, Kris must step out of the workshop and into the fray. The Collective's schemes threaten to unravel the very fabric of the holiday season. He must infiltrate the shadows, outsmart his enemies, and stop the Collective before they can execute their final, devastating attack.

Sea Lion chronicles the voyages and exploits of Ashton’s ship, the RTS Sofia. Badly damaged at the bloody Battle of the Eudoxus Crater, the Sofia has been restored and upgraded at the shipyards of Port Plato. The Sofia is sent on a very special mission to the perilous territories of the Moon’s southern pole. The Earth continues to be devastated by a viral pandemic, and the Moon has become a sanctuary for millions of refugees.

Jack Ashton, a commander in the Navy of the Republic of Texas, is given an independent cruise to search out and destroy the enemy in the no-man’s land between the borders of the Republic of Texas, the Islamic State, and the African Federation. Hunter Killer follows the Sofia as she sails east across the Sea of Rain to the domed city of Archimedes, the Republic bastion at the edge of the Islamic Caliphate.

When Cora Holman’s mother dies, she assumes the inevitable: that her mother overdosed on the painkillers she’d been taking for years. So she’s shocked to learn that her mother and a neighbor both died of a brain aneurysm the same night. When Cora and other neighborhood teens become ill with a mysterious flu, and government-type strangers arrive in her small town, they all fear the unthinkable - a terrorist attack. Meanwhile, a world away in Pakistan, a 16-year-old computer genius named Shahzad is working as a virtual spy....

Author Michael Quetting shares the hilarious and moving true story of how he became a father to seven rambunctious goslings - and the surprising things he learned along the way. Starting right at the beginning, with the eggs, his journey takes him from the incubator all the way to the airstrip, where he must attempt to teach the geese to fly as part of an ambitious scientific research initiative for the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, which tracks animal migrations around the world.

The town of Glockmire thrives beneath the shadow of undeath. Beyond its walls, ghouls, wraiths, and countless terrors roam the black forests and mountain passes. Above them all, ancient vampires rule from towering castles, feeding on fear as much as blood. When Cole arrives, the townsfolk see...

For three long years after losing her home in the Crylmar attacks, twenty-two-year-old Annette Beaumont has worked hard to keep her family together. But when her papa's debt to the crown is called into question, and she and her sister are sent to serve at the castle until it's paid, she's drawn into a plot that threatens everything she's worked for. Shunned and hated, Prince Laurent Villeneuve is running out of time to find a bride before he forfeits his right to the throne.

The world believes Kris Kringle—ex-mercenary turned Guardian of Christmas—is on a killing spree. A man of violence with a white beard and red coat, wielding Workshop technology to protect children's joy, now stands accused of slaughtering innocents. A twisted mirror image armed with bleeding-edge tech and ancient claws claims the title of Krampus Christmas's forgotten enforcer is stalking the shadows wearing his colors.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right...

Kris Kringle isn't your average Santa. By day, he spreads Christmas cheer. By night, he's a skilled operative, battling sinister forces that threaten the innocent. When the Syndicate of Shadows threatens philanthropist Madeline Hart and businesswoman Emily Hawthorne, Kris springs into action. Armed with high-tech gear and centuries of experience, he goes after the criminal organization. But the Syndicate's reach extends further than Kris imagined.

Generations of Americans have regarded schools as essential for developing the knowledge and civic values necessary for sustaining democracy. Yet, as Matthew D. Nelsen argues in The Color of Civics, traditional approaches to civic education are not living up to their promise for many students, particularly students of color from disadvantaged communities. Drawing on lessons from students and teachers in Chicago, The Color of Civics reimagines the democratic purpose of civic education.

Forbidden love and fierce rivalry drive Jeff Hollister, a street-smart high school senior and gang leader of the Hurricanes, to the brink of disaster. Thinking he’s got the world in his back pocket, and the police at a safe distance, he and his scrappy gang of teenage delinquents come to discover they don’t always come out on top after all. A deadly vow by a member of the rival Tornadoes gang sets Jeff and his friends on a roller coaster of knife fray and gunplay, foot races and car chases, trust and betrayal, and murder.

A unique award-winning novel that combines side-splitting humor with the quest for enlightenment. Orthodontist Jacob Silverstein is not your typical tooth-straightener. He’s a novelist by night who dreams of becoming a best-selling author.

My name is Isobel Drake. And I have a dangerous secret. I'm a half-human, half-dragon hybrid hiding in plain sight in the humans-only city of Yerba Buena. There are others like me, pretending to be fully human, in a world where dragons are exiled to reservations and face the death penalty if caught in a human settlement. When a half-dragon warrior demands my help to find a stolen dragon's egg, I realize I can't hide anymore. Now, the fate of a helpless dragon hatchling lies in my hands. I have to save her...even if it means confronting dangerous enemies and risking my secret.

It's 1978. The drug trade is booming, and law enforcement can't keep up. Enter the Cleanup Committee. They've all lost children to drugs. They're rich, they're organized, and they have resources. Will they succeed where the law failed?

Despite a childhood of privilege and a college degree, Tony Joppa was stuck in extended adolescence fueled by drugs, alcohol, and apathy. After a drunk-driving accident lands him in jail, Joppa begins his journey to sobriety and self-realization. That journey takes him across the country, around the world, and deeply inward, where his life changes thanks to the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, Buddhism, The United States Navy, and the many teachers he meets along the way.

Waking in the hospital after a car accident, Lovina Yoder doesn’t remember the Amish family who claim her as their own - or the man who says he’s her fiancé. Thoughtful and handsome, Johannes Miller clearly cares for her, and Lovina longs to recall the walks and buggy rides he describes, and the plans they once made. Life in the Amish community seems full of joy, faith, and warmth. And yet, Lovina senses there is something more in her past, just beyond her grasp….

Vampires crave dragon's blood. I'm the only guy who can deliver the goods. My name is Fynn Drake. When vampires attacked my city, they killed hundreds, including my wife and precious daughter. But the vampires spared me. Why me and not the others? Because they deem my dragon expertise useful. I'm their slave. Their henchman. Their broker. Dragon's blood heals vampires from lethal injuries and even allows them to walk in daylight. It makes these monsters almost invincible.

With her preacher father in prison for fraud, Elizabeth Yoder's life in the community of Bountiful has been painfully uprooted. Mindful of wearing out her welcome with her family, she jumps at the chance to stay with elderly Bridget Lantz while the woman's daughter is away. Elizabeth has secret plans to leave for another Amish community where she might get a fresh start, but here with Bridget, she feels comfortable - until Bridget's strapping grandson, Solomon, returns from eight years with the English and inspires feelings that shake Elizabeth's resolution....