Showing results by narrator "Stephen R. Thorne" in All Categories

Evalle cheated death after Storm and her friends pulled her from a brutal imprisonment in another realm only to now end up unable to shift into her gryphon. Against his better judgment, Storm agrees to hold off on bonding while they travel to Arizona to help his uncle figure out what is behind an unnatural death on the reservation. The more powers Evalle loses, the more she realizes linking to Storm could be lethal. As the investigation takes an unexpected turn, Evalle jumps at a chance to regain her gryphon and powers in an all-or-none gamble, but makes a deadly mistake.

At the age of 53, Tony walks away from a life of journalism and into an unknown future dogged by self-doubt and financial worry. June is 48 years old then, a writer and a teacher, and over the following nine years she watches as her husband gradually changes - in interests, goals, and behavior - until Tony has a sudden fall, ending their life as they have known it.

In The Politics Industry, Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis - and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework - to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change - a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws.

Atlanta hovers on the edge of chaos and pandemonium as rumors fly about supernatural beings living among humans. Deadly preternatural predators have been held in check for many years by the most formidable pantheons. One angry being has had enough and accesses majik of an ancient grimoire to release abominations capable of taking down the most powerful of humanity’s supernatural protectors.

Random Acts of Automation dives deep into the hidden consequences of our rapid automation, examining the forces that will reshape the current workforce. This book focuses on real people—fast-food workers, warehouse staff, customer service agents, even lawyers and tech professionals—all facing the impact of automation. In its chapters, you will find practical solutions to your workplace concerns about AI. This isn't just about understanding your current job; it's about seeing where automation will take you and how you can thrive.

This inspiring anthology collects enduring and entertaining stories that have enthralled young and old, by the cherished authors whose tales have captivated children for generations. Perfect for the family car trip or at-home listening, these recordings sparkle with the wit and wonder of time-tested storytelling.

Belador Maistir, Vladimir Quinn, has yet to locate his daughter and now his worst fears have come to fruition. A vicious enemy hot on her trail plans to turn his child into an apocalyptic weapon. Quinn doesn't even know what the young girl looks like or where her deceased mother hid her. He knows of only one woman - a remote viewer - who might be able to help, but Reese Ó Rinn has vanished into thin air, literally. A powerful entity is determined to push the Belador dragon king, Daegan, and the entire preternatural world into the open.

Around 250,000 people have had their genomes sequenced, and scientists expect that number to rise to one billion by 2025. Professor Steven J. Heine argues that the first thing we will do on receiving our DNA test results is to misinterpret them completely. Despite breathless (often lightly researched) media coverage about newly discovered "cancer" or "divorce" or "IQ" genes, the prospect of a DNA test forecasting how your life is going to turn out is vanishingly small.

In TÅμr Medb’s library, Casidhe discovers she doesn’t know Daegan at all. While Daegan battles to survive a satyr attack, a preternatural being offers him a chance to live, but at a price only a dying man would take. Reese is blindsided by the one person she thought she could depend upon at her worst moment. Atlanta is overrun by demons being created by an unknown supernatural with a hidden agenda, and Daegan’s time to save three Beladors facing execution by a VIPER Tribunal runs out.

Casidhe followed her conscience. It cost her everything, and Herrick will punish her for deceiving him. After a disastrous mission to the Caucasus Mountains, Daegan is out of mercy for any enemy but discovers important information about his past from an unlikely source. He’s running out of days to locate the second grimoire volume on his own and enters a hostile Tribunal where Loki threatens all the Belador lives if Sen is not found in one day. Reese is given a chance to save everyone, including Quinn, from a demon invasion if she’s willing to do the unthinkable.

While investigating a report of unusual supernatural activity, Belador Alterant Evalle Kincaid suspects a threat stalking her. She unwittingly races into a trap and faces the impossible - she must fight her dragon king to the death, and win, or condemn everyone she loves to die. As a Skinwalker and unmatched preternatural tracker, Storm regrets his patience in waiting to permanently bond with his mate Evalle when she vanishes and even he can't follow her trail.

Trapped waist-deep in a flooded tunnel, Casidhe faces a new threat when Cathbad finds her, forcing her to gamble with her unpredictable sword. After Skarde attacked the gryphon village, a furious Daegan is no longer willing to show mercy to ice dragon shifters. Quinn, Reese, and the Beladors go after the demon-maker flooding Atlanta with predators, which backfires when Reese is faced with an unimaginable choice. Adrianna tries to work with Sen to escape their imprisonment, but he snubs her offer a moment before he shouldn’t have.

Casidhe discovers she doesn’t know Daegan at all. While Daegan battles to survive a satyr attack, a preternatural being offers him a chance to live, but at a price only a dying man would take. Reese is blindsided by the one person she thought she could depend upon at her worst moment. Atlanta is overrun by demons being created by an unknown supernatural with a hidden agenda, and Daegan’s time to save three Beladors facing execution by a VIPER Tribunal runs out.

Daegan is running out of time to find the destructive dragon impersonating him and the woman who claims to be the Treoir family squire, but Casidhe has no intention of being caught. She’s racing to find her best friend, believed captured by a deadly being. With Atlanta reeling from supernaturals being revealed, the Beladors are battling to protect humans while losing their own to Imortiks possessing any warm body, human or nonhuman. Hunting answers in Ireland lands Tristan somewhere he quickly realizes epitomizes a fate worse than death.

While the Imortik venom continues to drain Daegan, his dragon confronts the dragon pretending to be his who wants Daegan dead. Casidhe finds a lead on a grimoire volume without Daegan around to stop her from a decision that turns out nothing like she expects. Tristan pays a heavy price for trying to escape spelled manacles. Atlanta is invaded by an influx of demons being driven by an unknown player while VIPER headquarters is attacked, resulting in a dangerous backlash from Tribunal deities.

You have likely heard stories from friends, family members, and colleagues who quit a job because of a toxic person. You may not have realized that these individuals not only take their tolls on our emotional psyches, but also the financial outcomes of their organizations. Through this book's many case examples, as well as evidence-based practices and templates, each chapter singles out one main issue and how to resolve it with respect and clarity. Dr. Kusy presents concrete practices that will restore civility and respect into your organization.

There is no CEO task more significant than leading change in an organization whose old business model needs updating. Large-scale change involves rethinking how to engage customers, partners, and suppliers with new technology and hard decisions about how to reorganize internal operations—plus the challenges of executing the transformation. Too many things can go wrong, from natural organizational resistance and inertia, to lack of strategic focus, to execution problems. And yet, organizations today must be more dynamic than ever before. 

As a former chief human resources officer, head of Global HR Research and Analytics at a Fortune 100, and thought leader on this subject, Salvatore Falletta has witnessed first-hand the emergence of "creepy analytics" as a hot-button issue. In this one-of-a-kind guide, Falletta delivers a proven step-by-step process for establishing HR analytics capabilities that serve employees and organizations alike.

An engaging account of innovation in healthcare and why the results fall short for patients and society. The evolution of the cell phones we carry in our pockets demonstrates that quality can increase while prices fall. Why doesn't healthcare also get better and cheaper? In Why Not Better and Cheaper?, James B. Rebitzer and Robert S. Rebitzer offer an answer to this question. Bringing together research on incentives, social norms, and market competition, they argue that the healthcare system generates the wrong kinds of innovation.

Daegan is given an unconscionable task to execute before he’ll be told how to find the last grimoire volume. Casidhe jumps at learning the truth of her bloodline, only to discover a deadly surprise. While running solo, Reese angers the Imortik master who sends two possessed Beladors to drag her to him. Human military lock on Evalle and her Belador team racing to stop preternatural threats. With one last hope of surviving, Cathbad goes all-in and encounters a battle he never planned for. The Imortik master escalates his plans sooner than anyone expected.