Showing results by narrator "A A Maynard" in All Categories

In 2011, when she was in her late 50s, beloved author and journalist Joyce Maynard met the first true partner she had ever known. Jim wore a rakish hat over a good head of hair; he asked real questions and gave real answers; he loved to see Joyce shine, both in and out of the spotlight; and he didn't mind the mess she made in the kitchen. He was not the husband Joyce imagined, but he quickly became the partner she had always dreamed of. Then, just after their one-year wedding anniversary, her new husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

I’m not exactly bubbly and friendly. This is probably why my lonely job as a private investigator is perfect for my skill set. Usually, I’m very good at what I do. I get the job done and move on. But my latest assignment has thrown me for a loop. The satanic-looking Hyrrokin biologist I’ve been tracking has gotten under my skin. Sir Bane Ashmoor has become much more than a job. Through my telescopic lens, I can literally see my future unborn children in his deadly eyes.

I really don’t know why I’m here. The excessive drinking, the half-naked bodies, the horrible decisions being made. So, when my friends throw me on stage for a wet T-shirt contest, I nearly die. Hundreds of people are watching as the MC approaches with the water jugs to show off my jugs. That’s when I see him. Jackson. Charging through the crowd. Then, I feel his hands on me, grabbing me, throwing me over his shoulder, stealing me away. He’s the rich owner of the hotel and he’s not having any of this. He still wants me to get wet, but it will be for an audience of one.

Here is an arm's length sequel to Riders of the Purple Sage. It answers the question most often asked: What finally happened to Lassiter and Jane Withersteen?

I can't stand her. But that doesn't mean I won't sleep with her. Chloe is smart, determined, and could out-hack me any day. I'll never tell her that though. Because she's also cocky and a sellout. And hot. One night locked up with her is all I need to decide...I want to hack my way into her heart.

Joyce Maynard was 18 years old when her 1972 New York Times Magazine cover story catapulted her to national prominence. Published one year later, Looking Back is her remarkable follow-up—part memoir, part cultural history, and part social critique. She wrote about diving under her desk for air-raid practice during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and catching the first glimpse (on the cover of Life magazine) of a human fetus in utero.

Which horse is fastest, Wildfire or Sage King? No one in the Colorado River Valley knew, until a raging range fire trapped both horses and riders into a race against death.

Sarah Mapps Douglas was an African American lecturer, writer, and fervent abolitionist. Douglas’ address, now commonly referred to as "Sarah Mapps Douglas Urges Support for the Anti-Slavery Cause", made in 1832, is essential Civil War-era rhetoric for the abolishment of slavery. As an address, it is also extremely historically important as one of the only public speeches on the subject made by a black woman.

Fishadella, the fishcake, is special. She lives in Fishville with her father, lazy brother Jared, and all the other fishcake families. Whether it’s discovering a new friend or finding a mother, everyday is an exciting adventure for Fishadella, the amazing, fearless fishcake. 

Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet by taking portraits of schoolchildren and working for a caterer. Recovering from her addiction, she spends lonely evenings checking out profiles on an online dating site. Weekend visits with her son are awkward. He's drifting away from her fast.

Originally published in 1856, The Kidnapped and the Ransomed is the personal memoir of Peter Still, who was born a slave. He was yoked to servitude for more than four decades in Alabama and Kentucky. Still was finally freed with the help of two Jewish brothers.

Jade enjoys sharing the joy and freedom she finds in Parkour through her gym, Leap. When the Dark Sons Old Ladies hire her for a private class, a hidden fantasy of hers comes true. She gets to meet her celebrity crushes, Hannibal and Ink, and wins time and tattoos from them in a bet. Ex-Rangers Hannibal and Ink do everything together from joining the Dark Sons MC to opening Dark Ink Tattoo Studio. They couldn't help but be drawn to the vibrant woman who wasn't afraid to take them on in a challenge.

In Shattered to Shining, nine women and one male domestic violence survivor describe how they were shattered, as their home became a place where physical and sexual violence, emotional and psychological control dominated their lives. Through persistence and courage, they have risen above their situation and come out the other side shining with positivity, strength, commitment, and empathy for others.

A man and a woman who used to be lovers meet by chance after not having seen each other for about six years. At first, their reminiscences about their romance proceed with fondness. Then, due to his lack of sensitivity, the woman gets up and leaves.

On a cold January day in 2017, nearly two months before due date, Nile hippopotamus Bibi gave her keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden a big surprise: a tiny newborn hippo, no bigger than a football. The first premature hippo born and raised in captivity, baby Fiona was an underdog from the start: She couldn't nurse, she couldn't stay hydrated, and she wasn't thriving. But the staff at the zoo knew they could save her.

The time: the 1840s. The place: California during the gold rush. As the white settlers begin penetrating the remote mountain canyons, they discover an ancient race, the Tenanken, who date back at least 60,000 years. Some members retain the genetic memories of their distant past, while others project mystical visions of comfort and joy. All flee the coming of the white man, and appear to be doomed to extinction. Only the genius Pegre finds a possible solution: integrate and intermarry with their distant white "cousins", the Hinchai, and form a new entity.

In this sequel to Shanji, Yesui is Mei-Lai-Gong, the empress of light, born with the ability to move both light and mass in and out of the place of creation called the gong-shi-jie. Her brother Mengjai, seemingly normal at birth, conceals a power Yesui has not imagined. Working to save a dying planet, they learn that love can be found in strange places; that in an infinite universe, no matter how many powers you have, there is always someone more powerful; and that death is not an ending but a change....

On their way to Colorado, Ruff and Dixie Ballou drive their horses through New Mexico. Their intention to quietly drive the horses on through goes well until they find themselves inadvertently involved in a shootout with four outlaws who robbed the banks of a small town in New Mexico. An edgy sheriff and angry townspeople get the Ballou’s involved in a situation they would be more happy to do without. Even more so when they are arrested by the sheriff as robbery suspects.

The Union nearly killed him in the Civil War. Then the bluecoats and carpetbaggers stole his Texas plantation and turned what was left of his family against him. His Texas home-town became an armed camp, full of corrupt, greedy Yankees anxious to wipe out any veteran that showed up in tattered Confederate gray. Any other man would have just drifted on, but not Confederate Captain Clete Slater.

Where do you go when you've gone too far? That's the question Neil Van Ness faces as his carefully constructed life unravels before his eyes. The first blow comes with the discovery of his wife's affair, betraying and devastating both a friendship and a marriage. The second comes from a news report on TV when Neil learns he's the target of a nationwide manhunt by the FBI for the murder of his parents 15 years ago - a crime he didn't commit.