Showing results by narrator "Paul Woodson" in All Categories

In this classic Hawthorne short story set in the late 18th century, the ambitious young scientist Aylmer cannot bear the fact that his otherwise flawlessly beautiful wife Georgiana bears a tiny birthmark on her cheek, an imperfection that he believes his scientific methods can cure. Devoted wholeheartedly to her husband, Georgiana allows Aylmer to work his scientific wonders upon her, so that the blemish no may no longer torment him. But tampering with nature can prove a fearful business....

At his father's bidding, Cade MacKenzie begs a favor from Laird Macrae: Lady MacKenzie desperately needs the renowned Macrae midwife. Laird Macrae has no intention of sending his clan's best; instead he passes off Elsie, a young woman with little experience, as the midwife they seek. But fate - in the form of a mysterious older woman and an extraordinary pocket watch - steps in.

Leo Craft is the best at what he does; he assassinates superheroes, but only the ones who deserve it. Life is good, simple, until an ultra-secretive government agency hires Leo to execute two impossible tasks: eliminate the world's foremost superhero, Patriotman, and hunt down a fellow assassin whose target is the president of the United States.

Daniel Provost is the son of a farmer. Living up to his father's high standards for the farm is very hard work, but his life is basically comfortable, and a loving woman is waiting to become his wife. When a well-traveled stranger bearing a story of Jim Bowie's legendary silver mine appears at the farm, Daniel might just throw away everything for the chance at adventure he thought had passed him by.

Six children, ages nine through "almost" 18, arrive in the City of Lights, Paris. Arthur and Gricinda, two of the children's parents, already having spent a romantic week alone in Paris, receive their arrival like floodgates at the ready. Their hotel rooms aren't ready, and they must settle in and enjoy the lights and sights of Paris, from three tiny furnished apartments, side by side. Not ideal. But the two adult guardians have trips and experiences planned, and gird themselves for the unknown.

Her parents want a betrothal, but Mairead MacKenzie can't get married without revealing her secret, and no man will wed her once he knows. Plain in comparison to her siblings and extremely reserved, Mairead has been called "MacKenzie's Mouse" since she was a child. No one knows the reason for her timidity and she would just as soon keep it that way. When her parents arrange a betrothal to Laird Tadhg Matheson, she is horrified.

Kevin Grierson has a shadow with a mind of its own. It likes thrills, it likes power, it likes the rush of drugs and danger. From the suburbs of Boston to the streets of New York, from the false glamour of advertising to the dark glamour of hustling and drug-dealing. Grierson's shadow keeps him walking the edge of destruction and madness. Then a simple robbery goes horribly wrong. With the help of a flawed saint named Leo Dunn, Grierson struggles to banish his shadow, and succeeds. Temporarily....

These stories will either enhance the fiction the characters participate in (in this case, Slumming in Paris, Part Two, The Children) or, if one already knows the related novel, will give extra meaning and nuance to the short story. My wife Sheila and I spent 5 1/2 weeks in Paris late 2012, which has formed the setting basis for the Slumming in Paris novels, and these short stories. My ongoing series Paris in 5 1/2 Weeks presents many of my photos taken then, which I hope you will also enjoy.

On the heels of the birth of their newborn son, Nathaniel, Schooner and Mia must decide if their love and loyalty to one another is strong enough to learn to grow together as a couple, or if the life they always dreamed of sharing was better left as a teenage fantasy. This is the third and final book in the Needing Moore Series and is not meant to be read as a stand alone.

Receiving a marriage proposal is supposed to make a women happy, but when Erica "Laney" Lane receives a beautiful marriage proposal from her perfect boyfriend on the eve of her annual camping trip with her best friend, Jackson Wild, the first thing she does is jump into bed with Jackson. Jackson's all too happy to screw the annoyance out of Laney. After all, they've always screwed the hell out of each other when they were bored or angry, lonely, or too damn drunk to see straight.

Obsessive, reclusive, artistically inclined watchmaker Owen Worland spends his entire life trying to capture natural beauty in his scientific inventions. But he is frequently discouraged and set back by the interference of the townspeople, his former master, and the lovely Annie Hovenden. Will Owen ever fulfill his life's goal and create the ultimate perfection?

Grace Breive is strong and independent because she has to be. She has a wee daughter to care for and, having lost her parents and husband, has no one else on whom she can rely. Driven from the only home she has ever known, she travels to Castle Sutherland to find a grandmother she never knew she had.

Cherise, 16, on an extended between-the-holidays stay in Paris, gets to go out to her favorite small store on her own. Sorta. Though without big brother Antone, she does have to corral her four younger cousins, Zilker 9, Buzz 10, Tabitha 11, and Simone 12. Innocence and love in the City of Light, even going to the tiny Carrefour. These characters are part of a larger cast in the Slumming in Paris novella series, six short stories set in Austin and Galveston Texas, five shorts in Paris, and one short story (a mystery) in Vermont.

They said she was armed. They said she was dangerous. They were right. Petty Moshen spent 18 years of her life as a prisoner in her own home, training with military precision for everything, ready for anything. She can disarm, dismember, and kill - and now, for the first time ever, she is free.

Fighting uncles and aunts, demons and angels, Ellie and Douglas forge a love that will last a lifetime in the shadow of his forefather's castle. From Dunvegan Castle to the Devil's Staircase, this Scottish romance will capture your heart. Love is bittersweet, complicated, and heartbreaking. Only a McLeod can love a vampire like Ellie.

Thomas Watson left London two years ago and crossed the Atlantic to become a newspaper reporter in Philadelphia, 1920s Philadelphia, a city that rivals Al Capone's Chicago for its crime and corruption. Why would he go so far from family and friends? Admittedly, he was trying to get away - away from the shadow of his famous father, Dr. John Watson, and his father's even more famous friend, Sherlock Holmes.

Jimmy Torrance, Jr., was a champion athlete in college, if not the brightest scholar. Upon graduation in 1919, he emerges starry-eyed into the grand metropolis of Chicago, cocksure that he will immediately be hired as the manager of a large business. But the real world differs measurably from Jimmy's grandiose expectations.

Four years ago at a film festival, Cici Fine met Cooper Wild, a man who turned her world upside down in the span of one deliciously perfect week. He was everything she'd ever dreamed of: sinfully sexy, intelligent, and incredibly loving. When the festival ended, they returned to their own hometowns with promises of forever. But Cooper disappeared, and Cici was left to raise the daughter he never knew about alone.

When Maggie Mitchell is transported to the 13th-century highlands, will Laird Logan Carr help mend her broken heart or put it in more danger than before? Generous, kind, and loving, Maggie nearly always puts the needs of others first. So when a mysterious elderly woman gives her an extraordinary pocket watch, telling her it is a conduit to the past, Maggie agrees to give the watch a try, if only to disprove the woman's delusion. But it works.

Jon Sinclair is a precocious 12-year-old boy, living with grandparents who have a very unique hobby: time travel. Having already made several trips in the time capsule known as the Carousel, Jon and his grandmother plan a trip back to July 4, 1776, to watch the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But things go horribly awry when the computer system of their space -time ship malfunctions, and they are thrust onto the shores of Port Royal, Jamaica, in 1692.