Showing results by narrator "Andrew Eiden" in All Categories

In the isolated ranching community of Lost Trails, Montana, Lacy Stillman, a rich elderly rancher, has died of a heart attack in her own bed. What could be more normal than that? As Zak Waller, dispatcher with the local sheriff’s office, joins the town in mourning the loss of the community matriarch, some disquieting information makes Zak wonder if Lacy’s death was not what it seemed.

"There is an epidemic sweeping the world", the Nigerian Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said. "It is the epidemic of fake news. Mixed with hate speech, it is a disaster waiting to happen." Some argue that the disaster has already happened. But is the solution as simple as ridding social media of disinformation and hate speech? Who should decide whether content should be removed from platforms, or which users should be kicked off? Should governments set the rules and force the American behemoths - Facebook, YouTube and Twitter - to follow?

“If you’re reading this, you’ve likely thought that the world would be a better place without you.” A single line of text, glowing in the darkness of the internet. Written by Ashley Lutin, who has often thought the same—and worse—in the years since his wife died and his young son disappeared. But the peace of the grave is not for him—it’s for those he can help. Ashley has constructed a peculiar ritual for those whose desire to die is at war with their yearning to live a better life.

Before Jack Kerouac expressed the spirit of a generation in his 1957 classic On the Road, he spent years figuring out how he wanted to live and, above all, learning how to write. Atop an Underwood brings together more than sixty previously unpublished works that Kerouac wrote before he was twenty-two, ranging from stories and poems to plays and parts of novels, including an excerpt from his 1943 merchant marine novel, The Sea Is My Brother. These writings reveal what Kerouac was thinking, doing, and dreaming during his formative years and reflect his primary literary influences.

Why is it that we see very young people becoming millionaires these days? Or older athletes in the Olympics winning medals when people thought they didn't have a chance? And how about former senator Barack Obama running for president and being the first African American in US history to win the presidency when many thought it was impossible? It is because these individuals have learned how to use the law of attraction - they have learned how to believe something is possible, even while others don't.

Nothing ever happens in Little, California. Which is just the way 17-year-old Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star-turned public relations mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Utterly annoyed, Carter feels like the only girl not buying what Hollywood's selling. Then Carter gets an offer she can't refuse: Play the part of Adam's girlfriend while he's in Little, to improve his public image, and take home a hefty paycheck, which her family desperately needs.

McKenzie and her boyfriend, Brady, are having the best summer ever when Mack’s aunt arrives to bring her back east for school. Before Mack leaves for her exclusive prep school, she and Brady decide to surf one last wave for the summer. But after a surfing mishap, the duo finds themselves transported into a classic 1960s' beach movie musical! They soon discover that there is an intense rivalry between the local surfers and bikers.

For centuries, the Keepers and the Wardens have been guarding the mysterious Mothergates, a source of incredible power. But now, the Mothergates are dying, and Horace and his fellow Keepers know the weakened gates may unleash a dangerous force that will consume the world - and destroy everyone in it. While their enemies are willing to take this careless risk, Horace and his friends are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the preservation of the world. With their strongholds destroyed and many of their friends captured, the Keepers’ chance of succeeding hangs by a thread.

Tall, meaty, muscle-bound, and hairier than most throw rugs, Dylan doesn't look like your average 15-year-old, so naturally, high school has not been kind to him. To make matters worse, on the day his school bans hats (his preferred camouflage), Dylan goes up on his roof only to fall and wake up in the hospital with a broken leg - and a mandate to attend group therapy for self-harmers. Dylan vows to say nothing and zones out at therapy - until he meets Jamie. She's funny, smart, and so stunning, even his womanizing best friend, JP, would be jealous.

Jaxon could never have imagined the adventure that would start with an old witch called Ma and three baby dragons shipped to Brooklyn. Ever since he returned the dragons to the magical realm of Palmara, Jax has searched for a way for humans and magical creatures to live in harmony. But despite his efforts, an ancient monster has been released. The Scourge has defeated the powerful Guardian of Palmara and set its sights on the human realm.

In booming postwar Brooklyn, the Nowak Piano Company is an American success story. There is just one problem: the Nowak’s only son, David. A handsome kid and shy like his mother, David struggles with neuroses. If not for his only friend, Marianne, David’s life would be intolerable. When David inherits the piano company at just 18 and Marianne breaks things off, David sells the company and travels around the world. In Taiwan, his life changes when he meets the daughter of a local madame - beautiful, sharp-tongued Daisy.

When a young mother is murdered in the isolated ranching town of Lost Trail, Montana, the father of her child is the first suspect. In this case, there are two: the biological father who hasn’t seen his daughter in more than a year and the adoptive father whose life hangs in the balance as he struggles with cancer.

A writer dryly catalogs the myriad reasons she cannot write; an artist bicycles through a protest encampment in lower Manhattan and ruminates on an elusive lover; an old woman on her deathbed calls out for a man other than her husband; a hapless fifteen-year-old boy finds himself in sexual peril; two young people in the 1990s fall helplessly in love, then bicker just as helplessly, tortured by jealousy and mistrust.

For better or for worse, Google and social media - “Big Tech”, collectively - have become the new public square. Unfortunately, this public square has a watchful referee standing behind them, ready and waiting to blow the whistle if they veer too far from the preferred narrative. Americans have given these companies enormous power to select the information they read, share and discuss with their neighbors and friends.

In this second collection in the Music and Murder Mystery series, nine award-winning, bestselling authors have written their own interpretations of the Thriller song list. With original work from some of the best mystery authors out there, the anthology includes stories from Heather Graham, Jeffery Deaver, William Kent Krueger, Dahlia Rose, and David R. Slayton, among others. With poignant, frightening, and intriguing stories from some of the best writers in the genre, this eerie collection is sure to keep you up at night—and maybe even haunt your dreams.

Jack Kerouac tells the story of Jack Duluoz, a French-Canadian boy growing up in Kerouac’s own birthplace, the dingy factory town of Lowell, Massachusetts. There, Doctor Sax, with his flowing cape, slouched hat, and insinuating leer, is chief among the many ghosts and demons that populate Jack’s fantasy world. Deftly mingling memory and dream, Kerouac captures the accents and textures of his boyhood in Lowell in this novel of a cryptic, apocalyptic hipster phantom.

Meet Zack and Cody Martin, identical twins and the newest residents of Boston’s swanky Tipton Hotel. Living in a suite with their mom, Carey, the boys treat the Tipton like their own personal playground. But it’s hard to stay out of trouble when they’re constantly pestering candy-counter girl Maddie and her friend London, the hotel’s wealthy heiress. This collection includes all seven books in the Suite Life of Zack & Cody series.

On Riverton Road is a vivid depiction of a modern-day bull riding champion. Over a three-day period, beginning at a bull riding event in Blackfoot, Idaho, just a scenic drive from Yellowstone National Park, and ending at a rodeo in Prescott, Arizona, Dean Stamper makes a comeback to ride the greatest bucking bull of all time in an epic showdown.

Golden Age Hollywood - a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue. Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary temptress. So when the film's mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.

Twelve-year-old Lowen Grover is still reeling from the shooting death of his best friend, Abe, when he stumbles across an article about a small town giving away homes for just one dollar. It seems like the perfect escape from Flintlock and all of the awful memories associated with the city - and to his surprise, his mum, dad, and older brother are all onboard. Only his sister, Anneth, is reluctant to leave her friends and the familiarity (and amenities!) of Flintlock, but with the rest of the family anxious to do what’s best for grief-stricken Lowen, her protests fall on deaf ears. But is the Dollar Program too good to be true?