Showing results by narrator "Melissa Frank"

Women have made great strides toward equal rights over the past 100 years, especially in the West. But when considering the ongoing fight over reproductive rights and equal pay - and the prevalence of sexual violence and domestic abuse - it is clear that a significant gap still exists. With scripture often cited as justification for the marginalization of women, it is time to acknowledge that one of the final barriers to full equality for women is religion.

The middle child of the clanchief, Otec is the overlooked son in an overflowing house. He dreams of escape and adventure, so when a mysterious stranger offers both, he doesn't need persuading. But when his faraway village comes under attack, Otec will do anything to save the people he loves. Cut off from his nation, he must trust a foreign woman with a dubious past as they race to save his clan. But nothing is what it seems, and Otec may have to trust his enemy.

Renegade dragon hunter Dorn hates dragons with a passion few can believe, let alone match. He has devoted his entire life - a life spent in the twisted body of a half-golem - to killing every dragon he can find. You might feel the same way if one of them had killed your entire family in front of your eyes, bitten you in half, and left you for dead. Killing one dragon at a time is hard enough, but when the irresistible impluse to slip into feral madness begins to overcome not one but every dragon all across Faern, civilization's only hope may lie in the last alliance Dorn and his fellow dragon hunters would ever accept.

From Larry Swedroe, the author of the best-selling series of "The Only Guide" investment books, with Kevin Grogan and Tiya Lim, comes a step-by-step handbook that shows you how to develop a winning personal investment strategy and reveals what it takes to make that strategy part of your overall financial plan. The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan focuses on the "art" of investing and gives you the information you need to create a strategy that is tailor-made for your particular situation.

In the second novel of her award winning Stonewiser Series, Machado continues the extraordinary saga of Sariah, the reluctant heroine forced into a desperate search for the only truth that can change her rotting world's fate.

Neven stares at the portal as his mind races, the sight truly impressive. He is reminded of the fact that, just a few months ago, his biggest fears were not becoming a Feshra and living a life of normalcy. Now he stands staring at a Cihphistic portal that will take him to another world, where a being of immense power intends to kill him and all life in the Twin Galaxies. The young Secnic almost laughs at the irony of it all.

Is your company run by a team with no name? At the top of every organization chart lies a myth - that a Senior Management Team makes a company's critical decisions. The reality is that critical decisions are typically made by the boss and a small group of confidants - a "team with no name" - outside of formal processes. Meanwhile, other members of the management team wonder why they weren't in the room or even consulted ahead of time. Dysfunction results from this gap between myth and reality.

Until she got pregnant, Lauren Caylor and her husband worked side by side in the high-pressure offices of one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious law firms. They moved out of LA for the sake of their daughter, but their marriage couldn’t stand the slow pace of suburban life, and their love withered away. Now married to a wonderfully understanding man named Richard, Lauren’s life is a suburban ideal - and it is about to be destroyed. It starts one afternoon when she notices a car following her home from work. Next, a pair of recluses moves into the house across the street, sending Richard into a strange panic.

Accepting her new case assignment may have been the worst decision she had ever made. FBI Agent Kari Wheeler's new case has her gathering the evidence to prove that a corrupt city official is accepting bribes and breaking the same adult entertainment laws he's supposed to be enforcing. But when Kari enters the seductive world of high-end clubs and sleazy strip joints she finds herself facing temptations too difficult to resist. Could the investigation end up destroying her career...and her marriage? 

War of the Spider Queen author Richard Lee Byers. The Rite is the second title in a trilogy exploring the ancient secrets of dragon society in the Forgotten Realms world. Author Richard Lee Byers will write the entire trilogy, and the cover art for the trilogy and the associated anthology will be rendered by award-winning fantasy artist Matt Stawicki.

For centuries, a war has been fought - one that has nearly wiped out the witches. Without their magical songs, the seasons are breaking apart and the boundaries of nature have splintered. Two women are all that stand between the world and utter destruction. One must pave the way, the other must take up the fight, and both must choose between saving the world and the men they love.

Rising from the shame of an abusive childhood, Victoria Woodhull, the daughter of a con-man and a religious zealot, vows to follow her destiny, one the spirits say will lead her out of poverty to "become ruler of her people". But the road to glory is far from easy. A nightmarish marriage teaches Victoria that women are stronger and deserve far more credit than society gives. Eschewing the conventions of her day, she strikes out on her own to improve herself and the lot of American women.

Lusielle's bleak, but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn't commit. She's on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames. Brennus, Lord of Laonia, is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways.

The climactic conclusion of The Year of Rogue Dragons! Madness takes hold, Sammaster draws closer to victory, and forgotten secrets are revealed at last. Dorn and the rogue dragons will have to find the source of a millennia-old curse, then find some way to destroy it, before the Rage overcomes the world.

The Witch Hunters have come for Brusenna, for she is the last. All the others have been captured by the Dark Witch. And without their magical songs to control nature, the world is dying. Though young and untrained, Brusenna must succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the Dark Witch. Fight her. Defeat her. If Brusenna fails, there will be nothing left to save - for the Witches, for mankind, or for the young Guardian who has committed his life to protecting hers.

Poised, calculating, and ruthlessly charming, Prince Rolfe of Ruthenia takes beautiful Angeline Fortin captive, mistaking her for her cousin and compromising her beyond redemption. Escape from the prince is impossible, and Rolfe begins to torment her senses at every turn. At last, captured and captivated, Angeline can't resist Rolfe's masterful seduction, and the prince discovers the only woman he's ever encountered who can meet him passion for passion. But Rolfe is on a mission to find his brother's killer, and in a critical moment of mortal danger, it's Angeline herself who holds his life - and heart - in her delicate hands.

Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family's reputation isn't easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs. When sorcerers call the shots, what's a girl without powers to do? Get ready for a ripper of a murder mystery full of romance and intrigue, where magic potions bubble, passions spark and vampires are definitely not your friend.

Brusenna thought it was finished. She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Haven Witches from imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong. But she was wrong. A new threat merges with the old as the Witches' dark history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her everything.

Today's most acclaimed film directors reveal intimate behind-the-scenes details of their most influential work and their unique approaches to their art. In the companion to the Silver Plaque-winning Starz/Encore documentary series, this book offers interviews with 13 top filmmakers. Contains each director's filmography, complete listings of major awards, and cast credits for all films discussed.

In 1888, Nellie Bly, a feisty, investigative reporter for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper, pitched a story idea of traveling around the world in 75 days to beat the record achieved by Phileas Fogg, the character in Verne's book. While the editor thought it a great idea, he naturally thought the trip should be made by a man. The idea was shelved for over a year.