Showing results by narrator "Khristine Hvam" in All Categories

The undead are more alive today than ever. Immortal? Indeed! Nothing has sunk its teeth into 21st century popular culture as pervasively as the vampire. The fangsters have the freedom to fly across all genres and all mediums - there''s even apps for vamps. Whether roaming into romance, haunting horror, sneaking into science fiction, capering into humor, meandering through mystery - no icon is more versatile than the vampire.

The Bailey School kids need to train for a boat race and Camp Lone Wolf is just the place to do it. Too bad rumor has it that the bankrupt camp may need to shut down soon. The visiting coach, Captain Teach, who bears a strange resemblance to a pirate, turns out to in possession of a map that leads the way to buried treasure. Can the kids find the treasure and save Camp Lone Wolf before Captain Teach makes off with the booty?

Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice - if he doesn't track her down first.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a 17-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her friend, Karou, calls her "rabid fairy", her "voodoo eyes" are said to freeze blood, and even her brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or "Violin Boy", her courage deserts her. But Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It's a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter's night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself!

Slaying vampires is child's play for skinwalker Jane Yellowrock. But handling the complicated politics of New Orleans' supernatural players is another story.... Jane is keeping the peace between visiting groups of witches and vamps in the city, but then trouble comes knocking on her door. When her house is magically attacked, the wild chase to find her assailants unearths a mystery that has literally been buried deep. A missing master vampire, presumed long deceased, is found chained in a pit...undead, raving mad, and in the company of two human bodies.

Ridley Duchannes is nobody's heroine. She's a Dark Caster, a Siren. She can make you do things. Anything. You can't trust her, or yourself when she's around. And she'll be the first to tell you to stay away - especially if you're going to do something as stupid as fall in love with her. Lucky for Ridley, her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley "Link" Lincoln, never listens to anyone.

When Kate, single mother and law firm partner, gets an urgent phone call summoning her to her daughter's exclusive private school, she's shocked. Amelia has been suspended for cheating, something that would be completely out of character for her over-achieving, well-behaved daughter. Kate rushes to Grace Hall, but what she finds when she finally arrives is beyond comprehension. Her daughter is dead.

You heard the story on the news. A girl and a boy went into the woods. The girl carried a picnic basket. The boy wore bright yellow running shoes. The girl found her way out, but the boy never did.... Everyone thinks they know what happened. Some say Tabby pushed him off that cliff - she didn't even like hiking. She was jealous. She had more than her share of demons. Others think he fell accidentally - she loved Mark. She would never hurt him...even if he hurt her.

Eddie, Melody, and Liza are suspicious of the new school secretary when strange things begin happening in and around Bailey Elementary School.

There's a hot new pizza joint in Bailey City and Mrs. Jeepers brings the kids there for a special treat. The castle-shaped building and medieval-style costumes on the waiters are fun, but when a rumble from the kitchen shakes the restaurant's foundations, the kids get suspicious. George, the owner, says his cook is temperamental and the earth-shaking fits he has are nothing unusual, but the kids are pretty sure the owner is St. George the dragon slayer and that his cook is a captive dragon. Can the kids uncover the truth before the disgruntled cook becomes a real problem?

The intersection of motherhood and creative life is explored in these writings on mothering that turn the spotlight from the child to the mother herself. Here, in memoirs, testimonials, diaries, essays, and fiction, mothers describe firsthand the changes brought to their lives by pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering.

In the tradition of Michael Lewis and Tom Wolfe, a fascinating and frightening behind-the-scenes look at the interconnected cultures of hackers, security specialists, and law enforcement. A cybersecurity professional turned journalist, Kate Fazzini illuminates the many lies companies and governments tell us about our security, the lies criminals tell to get ahead, and the lies security leaders tell to make us think they are better at their jobs than they are.

There's a new guidance counselor at Bailey Elementary School and he's giving the kids the creeps. No one understands why his skin is so pale, why he hides from the sun, or why his skin is deathly cold to the touch. But Counselor Drake couldn't really be Count Dracula, could he?

At nineteen, Noah Di Luca was Bella Terra's golden boy, handsome, confident, and untouched by the shadows that tormented his brothers...or so it seems. Driven by ambition, beautiful teenage Penelope Alonso fought her way out of the ghettos. During one hot summer, they came together in the sweetness of first love...until his past reared its ugly head and Noah walked away. Nine years later, Penelope returns, never imagining she'd see Noah or that one glance would wake their fiery passion.

Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls - until the young new coach arrives. Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth remains outside Coach's golden circle.

Wondering at their weird new band teacher, the Bailey School kids are surprised when he comments that the classroom skeleton, Claude, can play music better than they can, and when everyone wonders who is playing the tuba, Eddie vows to find the truth.

It's senior year at St. Joan's Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys' texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can't. First it's the school's queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: Seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan's buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

There are some pretty weird grown-ups living in Bailey City—and a lot of strange happenings. The Bailey School Kids take it upon themselves to investigate.

Emily's the sick one . . . all of the time.

Plagued with some sort of cold or fever or bizarre aches and pains for much of her life, Emily thought the dizziness and stomachaches at the start of her senior year were just another bout of "Emily flu". But when they didn't go away, she knew something was seriously wrong. Eventually diagnosed with the rare and incurable West Nile virus, Emily watched her senior year and the future she had planned for go up in smoke.