Showing results by narrator "Dan Calley" in All Categories

Gambling captures as nothing else the drama of the "long eighteenth century" between the age of religious wars and the age of revolutions. The society that was confronted with games of chance pursued as commercial ventures also came to grips with unprecedented social mobility, floated by new wealth from new sources created fortunes from trade in sugar, cotton, ivory, silk, tea, or enslaved human beings. The Gambling Century focuses like no previous work on those who enabled, facilitated, and profited from gambling, as well as on efforts to regulate or outlaw it.

Uncovering a human trafficking ring, Brody unknowingly brought danger to the doorstep of the only woman he ever truly loved, and their family, who he desperately wants to protect. After being rescued from captivity and working hard to remember the family he was forced to leave behind, drugged to forget, Brody holds the power and proof to bring down all the powerful people behind the heinous crimes against humanity. Now he lies on a cot, in an eight-by-ten jail cell, thinking about his next move while being consumed with worry about their safety.

After tearing his Achilles tendon, recuperating by the sea sounds like a fantastic idea, and Dylan happily accepts his best mate's offer to stay with him and his uncle for a few weeks. But he hadn't counted on the uncle being smoking hot, or the fierce attraction that blossoms between them. Swapping the busy streets of London for the easy pace of Cornish life is exactly what Gareth needs to move on with his own life. His new home requires a little TLC, but he'd expected that. What he hadn't expected was the ghostly resident already living there.

Eliza flees her parent's political machinations only to stumble into another world and the arms of a man named Finn, who declares her the next Alice. Finn, nicknamed the White Rabbit for the form he can shift into, was sent to find the new Alice and bring her to court, for only she can declare whether Red or White reigns. Not to mention he'll lose his head if he fails. For Eliza to get home and Finn to survive, they'll have to navigate two treacherous courts and their growing feelings for one another, while trying to unravel the curse that forces the Carroll women to journey to Wonderland.

I hurt thinking of what may have happened to you. I hurt knowing that wherever you are, you're unable to get back to us. I hurt knowing that I've failed in finding you. I hurt knowing I'm either crazy believing that you're out there somewhere, and I hurt thinking you aren't. Our little Lexington is six months old and cutting her first tooth. She's healthy and happy, and every day, she looks more and more like you. 

Anna fled when the castle guards came to arrest her mother and sister on Cinderella's orders. But leaving them in bondage at the Fairy Godmother's workhouse? Out of the question. Disguised as a young man and taking the name of Ansel, she'll do whatever it takes to free her family and set the record straight. Will, a former royal huntsman, was nearly killed for dissenting Cinderella's rise as queen in the wake of the sudden death of the king and his son. He hatches a plan to take Cinderella down, and encounters Ansel, who wants revenge just as much as he does.

Tinker Bell, banished from her homeland for doing the unthinkable, selling the hottest drug in Neverland—pixie dust—wants absolution. Determined to find a way home, Tink doesn't hesitate to follow the one lead she has, even if that means seducing a filthy pirate to steal precious gems out from under his . . . hook. Captain Hook believes he's found a real treasure in Tink. That is, until he recovers from her pixie dust laced kiss with a curse that turns the seas against him. 

On a wild, windblown bluff high above the Pacific sits one of America's premier golfing destinations, Bandon Dunes. Golf enthusiast Mike Keiser had the dream of building this British-style "links" course on a stretch of Oregon's rugged coast, and Dream Golf is the first all-inclusive account of how he turned his passion into a reality.

Lady Madeline Blair is on a mission. Her eccentric late aunt left her a small fortune with one condition: to claim it, Madeline must marry by New Year's Eve . . . which is now only three weeks away! When she receives an invitation to spend Christmas at Alcott Hall, she sees this as the perfect chance to snag herself an unsuspecting beau. She will be generous with her inheritance, providing him with a comfortable living. All he has to do is agree never to claim his rights as her husband.

Newly separated and on the verge of divorce, I'm not looking for love, just a happy life for my daughter and myself in Blue Valley. While visiting my college roommate, Lila, in New York City during my daughter's court appointed visit with her father, I literally run into the most attractive man I've ever seen. As if his piercing blue eyes and incredible build aren't enough to give me pause, he also has a British accent. Later that day I find myself in his presence again. He's Lila's newest client and one of the biggest rock stars in the world.

Antônia is back in London after the passing of her father. Living overseas most her life, without the burden of family affairs, she is accustomed to a life that allows her to do as she pleases without answer to anyone. The missive changes everything, however. She will do as she must, but if her husband thinks he will rule her, he will be sadly mistaken. Hiding behind the guise of a beastly baron, Louis Lockheart, the unseelie king, has little patience for the unsavory human world. He tolerates it for only one purpose: to find the one he was betrothed to long ago. 

As the new manager of paranormal club, Midnight, Nick Parker has his hands full. What he doesn't have time for is an inconvenient attraction for the mysterious fae with violet eyes and the kind of magic that Nick yearns for. A fae guard with an affinity for seeking out the truth, Dathal has one purpose—to catch those responsible for smuggling a deadly plant out of the fae realm, and then return home. Falling for a witch isn't on the cards, but something about Nick calls to him in a way he's powerless to ignore.

In 1760, Guillaume le Gentil, real-life astronomer to King Louis XV, sets out for the oceans of India to document the transit of Venus. The weather is turbulent, the seas are rough and his quest may be more complicated than initially thought. 250 years later, estate agent Xavier Lemercier chances upon Guillaume's telescope in a property he's sold. As he looks out across the rooftops of Paris, he discovers an intriguing woman with a zebra in her apartment. Then the woman walks through the doors of his office, and his life changes forever.

No one ever expected the rakish, irresponsible Walter Langston to take up the collar, least of all himself. After an accident renders him unfit for military service, however, he has few other options. When he’s given the post of vicar at a parish church in a sleepy, coastal village, he’s convinced he’ll molder in obscurity. Artemisia Finch left a lucrative career as a celebrated courtesan to care for her ailing father. Returning home hasn’t been easy, though, as her past isn’t even a poorly kept secret in the village.

How would you like to begin an apprenticeship in the mystical craft of artificery? You'll learn things that most people can only dream of. You'll make swords with self-sharpening blades, bows that fire by themselves, and clocks that can read the future. Even better, you'll get to live in the sunlit village of Sunhampton, a sleepy little crafter's village of cobbled streets, cozy taverns, and pleasant bakeries. If this sounds like just the life for you, then grab a beer and a sweet roll, and follow Lewis as he begins his new life as an apprentice.

After training under the famed Escoffier, Henri is now Head Chef at the Royal Tea Room—the jewel in the crown of the newly opened Hartridge & Casas department store. With his sights set on one day opening his own restaurant, Henri has no time for distractions, especially not love. But his moorings are shaken loose when Nico, a charming and gorgeous new waiter, appears. However, the interfering adventurer Lord Ockley is determined to have Nico all to himself. When he can't, he threatens to expose Nico and Henri's relationship.

After having thwarted some of the forces responsible for ruining their lives, reformed thieves Asti and Verci Rynax and the rest of the Holver Alley Crew had mostly settled back into sedate lives as upright citizens of Maradaine. But when they are suddenly arrested in mysterious circumstances, they find themselves in Quarrygate Prison, which tests the limits of their cunning and skill. While Verci struggles to keep their friends alive and safe in the prison, Asti gets pulled into a mysterious scheme in the underbelly of the prison.

An uneasy calm has filled the neighborhood of North Seleth, as the survivors of the Holver Alley fire return to normal, honest lives. But Asti and Verci Rynax and the rest of the Holver Alley Crew know the peace won't last. Josie Holt, once an ally to the Rynaxes, is now working her own agenda with the mage circle that has moved into the neighborhood.

The neighborhood of North Seleth has suffered—and not just the Holver Alley Fire. Poverty and marginalization are forcing people out of the neighborhood, and violence on the streets is getting worse. Only the Rynax brothers—Asti and Verci—and their Holver Alley Crew are fighting for the common people. They've taken care of the people who actually burned down Holver Alley, but they're still looking for the moneyed interests behind the fire.

The Rynax brothers had gone legit after Asti Rynax's service in Druth Intelligence had shattered his nerves, and marriage and fatherhood convinced Verci Rynax to leave his life of thievery. They settled back in their old neighborhood in West Maradaine and bought themselves a shop, eager for a simple, honest life. Then the Holver Alley Fire incinerated their plans. With no home, no shop, and no honest income—and saddled with a looming debt—they fall back on their old skills and old friends.