Showing results by narrator "Emily Durante" in All Categories

Before there were mammals on land, there were dinosaurs. And before there were fish in the sea, there were cephalopods - the ancestors of modern squid and Earth's first truly substantial animals. Cephalopods became the first creatures to rise from the seafloor, essentially inventing the act of swimming. With dozens of tentacles and formidable shells, they presided over an undersea empire for millions of years. But when fish evolved jaws, the ocean's former top predator became its most delicious snack. Cephalopods had to step up their game.

Electronic monitoring. Locked-down drug treatment centers. House arrest. Mandated psychiatric treatment. Data-driven surveillance. Extended probation. These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost-effective substitutes for jails and prisons. But many of these so-called reforms actually widen the net, weaving in new strands of punishment and control, and bringing new populations, who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment, under physical control by the state.

Allison Beckstrom's magic has taken its toll on her, physically marking her and erasing her memories---including those of the man she supposedly loves. But lost memories aren't the only things preying on Allie's thoughts. Her late father, the prominent businessman---and sorcerer---Daniel Beckstrom, has somehow channeled himself into her very mind.

American Millennials - the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s - have been leaving organized religion in unprecedented numbers. For a long time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was an exception: Nearly three-quarters of people who grew up Mormon stayed that way into adulthood. In The Next Mormons, Jana Riess demonstrates that things are starting to change.

Illustrator Lucy Brighton loves her work. Her animal characters Izzy, Bizzy, and Lizzy have their own comic strip, card line, and children’s cartoon, and their popularity has given Lucy financial stability and freedom. Yet none of that quite erases the lingering ache of a cold, lonely childhood. Then Lucy receives a call to say that her mother and father have been killed in a car crash. While settling their affairs in Florida, Lucy begins to realize how little she really knew about their lives.

At the height of his show career, this beautiful Appaloosa's majestic stature, strength, and willingness to work made him the perfect partner. But when an injury cost Joey his show career, he moved from one owner to the next, ultimately experiencing severe abuse and neglect. A rescue group found Joey nearly dead from starvation - and blind. Then he came to Hope Reins - a ranch dedicated to helping hurting kids who had been abused, emotionally wounded, or unwanted.

As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead. While she's always been on friendly terms with Death himself, lately things have become a lot more personal. But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a string of suicides occurs in Nekros City. The shades have no memory of the days leading up to their brutal endings, so despite the very apparent suicides, this is murder. And searching for the answers might mean Alex won't have a life to remember at all....

Jules Capshaw has too much on her plate - and she's feeling the pinch: The whole town of Ashland, Oregon, is in on the surprise Elizabethan-themed wedding she's planning for her mom and soon-to-be stepdad. But is her secret scheme half-baked? She's hiding racks overflowing with sweet treats while Torte is topsy-turvy with a major remodel and the return of Jules' estranged husband, Carlos. And until now, Jules had no clue about the bitter family feud that has her friend Lance frazzled and suspicious.

The 19th daughter of a local village leader in rural Afghanistan, Fawzia Koofi was left to die in the sun after birth by her mother. But she survived, and perseverance in the face of extreme hardship has defined her life ever since. Despite the abuse of her family, the exploitative Russian and Taliban regimes, the murders of her father, brother, and husband, and numerous attempts on her life, she rose to become the first Afghani woman Parliament speaker.

Grave witch Alex Craft is no stranger to the dead talking. She raises shades, works with ghosts, and is dating Death himself. But the dead walking? That's not supposed to happen. And yet reanimated corpses are committing crimes across Nekros City. Alex's investigation leads her deep into a web of sinister magic. When Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau gets involved, Alex finds herself with an unexpected ally of sorts. But as the dead continue to rise and wreak havoc on the living, can she get to the soul of the matter in time?

Applied polyvagal theory in yoga provides conscious breathing, vagal toning, mindful movement, and meditation practices that aid in rewiring the nervous system. Listeners will discover how to help both clients and themselves cultivate a felt sense of ease during times of safety; enhance their capacity to handle challenges with equanimity; and reclaim their ability to recover from stress swiftly and efficiently. Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga offers practitioners a new and effective way to support clients who are stuck in a trauma response mode.

Kate Hamilton is feeling good about her plans to recreate Asheboro, Maryland, as the Victorian town it once was. Even two recent murders aren't enough to discourage her: After she helped to solve them, she put them behind her. Now comes the time to make real plans, and her first goal is to renovate the Barton Mansion on the outskirts of town. But when the contractor gets started, he discovers a staircase that had been walled in years earlier. And of course, given the way Kate's luck has been going, there's a body on the stairs.

The deep freeze has thawed in Ashland, Oregon, and Torte is gearing up for a busy spring. When a surprise opportunity to launch a pop-up ice cream shop comes her way, Jules jumps at the chance to showcase Torte's signature iced drinks and cold custards. But selling the desserts of her dreams comes at a price...and, before she knows it, Jules's life swirls into a nightmare.

There aren't many girls who can say they've gone into the realm of death and lived to tell the tale. But to restore her lover Zayvion's soul, Allison Beckstrom had to pay a bitter price - and things are about to get worse. It turns out that the leader of the Authority, the council that decides what can - and can't - be done with magic, is being held hostage.

After years of questioning her sanity, Kat Delancey reluctantly returns to the old family manor as its legal owner, hoping desperately to silence the doubts in her mind and leave the home's tragic past behind her once and for all. But it turns out to be harder than she expected, and not just because of the estranged step-family waiting for her - because maybe Kat's mind was never playing tricks on her after all, and maybe the manor harbors a far more malevolent presence than she ever dreamed...

Drafted as chaperones, Maya Kendrick and PTA president Sandra Wallage are accompanying the SoPo High seniors to the nation's capital—much to the embarrassment of Maya's daughter Vanessa and Sandra's son Ryan. Now both moms are about to find out which is harder—shepherding unruly high schoolers or solving a murder. The last sight they expected to see on this trip is a female intern who works for Sandra's soon-to-be-ex-husband, Senator Stephen Wallage, in a fatally compromising position.

When an explosion at the Eternal Bloom threatens to upend the fae who make their home in our world, Alex finds herself in charge of the most far-reaching investigation she's ever tackled. And it's only her first week on the job. With the threats mounting and cut off from half her allies, Alex can't wait on the sidelines and hope the fae's conflicts stay contained within their borders.

Still looking for answers to explain her uncanny ability to see her dead ancestors, Abby shifts her focus to spiritualists, seers, and psychics of all kinds. Meeting them with an open mind - and a healthy dose of skepticism - she wants to know if any of them genuinely share her strange experiences or if they're simply conning gullible people. When she ventures into a series of "readings" given by area psychics, she makes a startling connection that defies even her wildest expectations.

Rescued from sexual slavery by a mysterious Pakistani officer, Caleb carries the weight of a debt that must be paid in blood. The road has been long and fraught with uncertainty, but for Caleb and Livvie, it's all coming to an end. Can he surrender the woman he loves for the sake of vengeance? Or will he make the ultimate sacrifice?

Thank Goodness It's Fiber: That's the name of the spunky group of fiber and needlework artists founded by Ivy McClellan, Kath's beloved grandmother. Though Ivy has recently passed on, the members still meet regularly at her fiber and fabric shop, The Weaver's Cat, which Kath has now inherited. But that's only the first in a series of surprises when Kath returns to the small town of Blue Plum, Tennessee, to settle her grandmother's affairs