Showing results by narrator "Vanessa Daniels" in All Categories

When Jesse Camden, owner of the Gilded Lily Tea Room and Coffee House, agrees to meet her childhood friend, Winnie Rogers, for a morning of girl talk and reminiscing, or "fishing" as Winnie likes to call it, Jesse anticipates a morning of shared confidences over a picnic brunch in the countryside. But spring in Oklahoma can be unpredictable, and when a tornado drops out of a wall cloud practically on top of them, Jesse and Winnie find themselves stranded with a demolished pickup and a dead body before they've even opened the picnic basket.

Now more than ever, people are seeking a reprieve from the constant pressure to achieve, produce, and consume. While many turn to mindfulness and meditation, organizational change expert Marilyn Paul, PhD, offers a complementary solution that is as radical as it is ancient.

Florist Laney George has a successful business, amazing friends, and big, big dreams—oh, and a broken heart. But she's working through that last one. Then the man she hoped to never see again shows up—and Laney's carefully ordered plans are experiencing technical difficulties. Celebrated Author Adam Fitzpatrick planned to be in St. Clair for no more than a day. Sign the books, and get out. Same story, different day. What he didn't count on was Laney George, who happens to be the star of his somewhat fictional tale. Now that he's seen her again, he wants answers.

Lily Trulock, owner of Trulock's Grocery & Marine Supply, leads a pretty quiet life until a stranger comes to town. The new guy's not what he appears, but then, some of St. Elmo's residents aren't either. Before she can say, "down the hatch", Lily's at the center of a vicious murder and a no-holds-barred bootlegging war-and a nasty storm's on the way. This is a vibrant, atmospheric, powerful novel-as filled with energy, mystery, and motion as a hurricane.

Waiting is a vital part of our stories, and what we do with our times of waiting matter. Life isn't about navigating around seasons of waiting. It is learning to embrace them. In Now Waiting, Sarah will explain how you can remain confident in the goodness of God when your season of waiting leaves you feeling discouraged, frustrated, and left out of God's plan; embrace seasons of waiting as a time to thrive, not just to endure; and find hope in the promises of God for today and tomorrow, even when things aren't going the way you planned.

Born and raised in Montana, Tammy has left the cowgirl lifestyle behind, but she's no stranger to hardships. And she won't let some lying soon-to-be ex-husband break her. But when he dies in an accident along with her brother, the avalanche taking those lives sweeps Tammy away. She sets course for Montana, chasing that peaceful life again . . . Only to find the Double A Ranch in chaos along with Greg Watson there. The last man Tammy ever wished to see.

Caring family and friends, tranquil streets-ex-prosecutor Willow Lamont wishes these could make her feel truly at home. She's back to help her grandfather manage Chocolate Haven, a long held dream come true. But she's struggling to make their unique fudge - and to cope with a secret trauma that haunts her. Yet when she finds an abandoned baby who breaks her heart wide open, she wonders how long she can hide her emotions - especially from warm, handsome, and way too nosey Deputy Sheriff Jax Gordon.

This is the story of an audacious journey. It's the story of what happens when people garden, worship, and eat together and invite anyone and everyone to join them. In This Is God's Table, writer and pastor Anna Woofenden describes the way that the wealthy and the poor, the aged and the young, the housed and unhoused become a community in this once-empty lot.

Tensions are high on the eve of the grand opening of Prive, an exclusive gourmet dining club that interior designer Meg Barrett played a large part in decorating. With just the well-heeled owners, the kitchen staff, and Meg gathered for the pre-opening feast, it seems that everyone in the small group is airing their grievances, with their most venomous attacks directed at the notorious sous chef.

A killer heat wave settles over Seagull Lane...Summer's sizzling in Vista Beach, the home of computer programmer and tole-painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson. The abnormally high temperatures are hard on everyone in the quiet Los Angeles county beach community, especially the city's homeless population. Residents are doing everything they can to stay cool, including leaving windows open to catch the faintest breeze. Not the best idea when a string of burglaries is plaguing nearby towns. Still, Rory doesn't expect to find her neighbor's body just a few doors down.

It's the dead of winter in the Thousand Islands, and there's nothing that reminds Suzy and Josie about that fact more than sub-zero temperatures, bone-chilling winds, and finding a dead body under the ice wearing only shorts and a tee shirt. In addition, a rare Dandie Dinmont has been found wandering around the area and Suzy and Josie, while trying to figure out what might have happened to the man under the ice, are also doing everything they can to reunite the dog with its owner.

Christmas is fast approaching, and around the Inn, Suzy and Josie are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the holiday season with their friends and family. But when a box of puppies is dropped off on their doorstep on a frigid night, the chain of events that unfolds leads them straight to a murder and an illegal puppy mill that's operating in the area.

Computer programmer and tole painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson doesn't envision finding either when she steps outside to investigate the frenzied yipping coming from her own backyard. After all, she lives in Vista Beach, a quiet California beach community where violent crime is rare and murder even rarer. Suspicion falls on Rory when the body buried in her flowerbed turns out to be someone she knows - her tole painting teacher, Hester Bouquet.

The rapid rise of the #MeToo movement has created a seismic shift in how we work with sexual misconduct that occurs in relationships between men and women, but the scope and impact of behaviors within that category is full of gray areas. #MeToo-Informed Therapy guides therapists in finding effective ways to help men who offend, empowering women to find their voices, exploring ways for men to be allies in the #MeToo movement, and helping couples whose relationships can be enhanced by understanding #MeToo issues.

Maria Parker was never the same after her husband's death. But before she loses her life in a cloud of grief, she encounters a man she never thought she would see again. West Lockran, the city slicker, rubs Maria the wrong, irresistible way. Being near West feels to Maria like playing with fire . . . Until a very different kind of flame threatens her home. When the ongoing attacks reach Big Valley, the past resurfaces with sharp teeth and a thirst for blood. And this time, Brett, Zac, and West are in the eye of the storm.

Ideal for moms everywhere, but especially new and millennial moms, Mom's Got Money is an indispensable guide to taking financial control of your life.

Suzy and Josie, owners of the Thousand Islands Doggy Inn, are attending an end-of-summer party and are about to receive a sizeable charitable gift from one of their good friends, a local businessman with a love of dogs and a reputation with the ladies. A newly built yacht about to embark on a trip to Florida via the Inland Waterway is one of the party highlights, but when the engineer is killed, and Jackson, the Clay Bay Chief of Police, ends up in critical condition, the yacht becomes the focal point of the ensuing murder investigation.

Priced out of their Manhattan neighborhood, Jessica and Aaron move with their young daughters to the one place Jessica swore she'd never go: the suburbs. But to Jessica's surprise, life in the commuter belt makes a great first impression. She quickly falls in with a clique of helpful mom friends, and she's thrilled when she's invited to a moms-only weekend at the beach. The trip turns into a series of eye-opening lessons, and Jessica must decide if she's strong enough to be honest with herself about the sort of life she really wants.

It's June in quiet Vista Beach, the place computer programmer and tole-painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson calls home. Decorative painters are flocking to the newly built Akaw hotel to attend the Ocean Painting Society's inaugural convention. Rory plans on shopping the trade show floor, working in her mother's booth, and connecting with other decorative painting fans. She doesn't expect to witness her childhood friend collapse in class and die. When the police find no evidence of foul play, Rory embarks on her own investigation.

After losing everything in a devastating fire years ago, Ryan Beckett is left with the only legacy he treasures: his beloved niece and his land. But when his neighbors nearly get murdered, Ryan knows the enemy of the five ranches is coming for them in full force. And yet an unexpected arrival rocks his world first.