Showing results by narrator "Nicholas Tecosky" in All Categories

When marriages, friendships, and families come undone, to what lengths do we go to keep it all together? That question lies at the heart of Brendan Mathews's buoyant and unforgettable debut collection of moving and darkly witty stories. From rock-star flameouts to church burnings to ordinary people trying not to fall out of love, these stories are packed with vivid detail, emotional precision, and deft, redemptive humor.

Following her "marvelous" (Wall Street Journal) first novel, Caitlin Horrocks returns with a much-anticipated collection of short stories. In her signature, genre-defying style, she explodes our notions of what a story can do and where it can take us.

Three years ago, the sun began to die. In a desperate attempt to reignite the failing star, the United States joined the rest of the planet in unloading its nuclear arsenal at the flickering ember. When they finally reach their target, it's 30 degrees in July and getting colder. Lisa and her husband, Guy, sit shivering on a South Carolina hilltop, watching as humanity's best hope at survival shimmers faintly...then disappears below the horizon. In a world with little light, nothing is guaranteed - least of all survival.

On the far eastern borders of the Soviet Union, in the sunset of Stalin’s reign, soldiers are training for a war that could end all wars, for in the atomic age man has sown the seeds of his own destruction. Among them is Pavel Gartsev, a reservist. Orphaned, scarred by the last great war and unlucky in love, he is an instant victim for the apparatchiks and ambitious careerists who thrive within the Red Army’s ranks.

It’s the middle of a long hot summer on the French Mediterranean shore, and the town is teeming with tourists. Sebag and Molino, two tired cops who are being slowly devoured by dull routine and family worries, deal with the day’s misdemeanors and petty complaints at the Perpignan police headquarters. But then a young Dutch woman is found murdered on a beach at Argelès, and another one disappears without a trace in the alleys of the city. Is it a serial killer obsessed with Dutch women? Maybe. The media senses fresh meat and moves in for the feeding frenzy.

Does your nonprofit have a reliable way of knowing the impact its making? Beginning with an eye-opening discussion of what strategy is, Mission Impact: A Breakthrough Strategy for Nonprofits reveals how the process of strategy development should be designed with authoritative coverage of mission impact, vision, five-year strategic stretch goals, strategy implementation, and management.

Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, travelling through remote villages as a preacher and healer. But when a dragon awakens - the size of a mountain and leaving great chasms in its wake - the veil is torn, flooding the land with ancient magic and forgotten races. Now Devin must set aside his words of peace and accept his new role: slayer of monsters and protector of the human race. But not all the creatures that have reawakened mean humanity harm. And as Devin slowly befriends people of these new races, his discomfort in his role grows.

For years, Columbia freshman Serena has dreamed of visiting Paris - the city where her parents had their idyllic, romantic honeymoon. And since her father unexpectedly died two years ago, Serena has cooked up a plan to travel to Paris with her mother and sister as a way to celebrate and remember her dad. Unfortunately, her mom and sister are less committed to the plan - her mom backs out to attend a conference in London, and her sister makes plans in Madrid after a misunderstanding with Serena.

After Henry's girlfriend, Val, leaves him and transfers to another school, his grief begins to manifest itself in bizarre and horrifying ways. Cause and effect, once so reliable, no longer appear to be related in any recognizable manner. Either he's hallucinating, or the strength of his heartbreak over Val has unhinged reality itself.

On a beautiful July day in Atlanta, Bill Johnson was walking to the subway station with two colleagues when a lone gunman jumped out of the shadows and shot all three of them. Bill was the lucky one. The bullet that struck him entered one temple and exited the other, destroying his optic nerve. The other two men were killed.

Beat Spirit exposes the truth that life doesn't have to feel standardized, patented, predictable, interminable or robotic for today's new Beats. Listeners will howl with Ginsberg and take off on the road with Kerouac, as they discover new frontiers of thought and spirit with Beat Spirit. It kick-starts the rebellious, non-conformist and fiercely independent streak that lives within everyone.

It is October 1519 - and the Mexican empire is on the brink. Hernán Cortés leads an army of Spaniards and their native allies to Moctezoma’s capital. Moctezoma believes the only way to save his empire is to heed the God of War and sacrifice Flower, a beautiful woman warrior, in exchange for protection from the invaders. But a different faction - the resistance - wants to overthrow Moctezoma and go to war against the invaders. The resistance has other plans for Flower - if they can only help her escape before Moctezoma offers her as a sacrifice.

Change Up is every fan’s box-seat ticket to a remarkable baseball event: a round-table conversation among the participants themselves about pivotal developments that changed the game, from the 1960s to today. Here, through the eyes and words of star players like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Ichiro Suzuki, baseball legends like Cal Ripken, Earl Weaver, and Jim Bouton, and award-winning writers like David Marainiss, Bob Lipsyte, and Robert Whiting who reported the stories, are vivid and very personal accounts of some of the most important happenings in the history of the sport.

Ella's best friend Lila has always been a good girl who likes pretty clothes and preppy boys. But ever since the first day she met Micha's best friend Ethan, she hasn't been able to stop thinking about him. Girls have always flocked to Ethan - but never princesses like Lila. And until Lila came into his life he never wanted them to. From the outside the two couldn't seem more different, but somehow they have a connection deeper and more intense than anyone could have imagined.

Morgan's world is turned upside down when she is forced into an engagement to Brian DeMacleo. Brian is an infuriating, overbearing, conceited, arrogant bastard who does nothing but treat her like a child. Not only does Brian have to deal with his...condition... but now he has to deal with the lovely Morgan. Or rather, the not so lovely as personality goes. The woman does nothing but argue and try to irritate him. At least they can find some common ground in that neither of them wish to get married. They will get out of the marriage no matter what it takes.

Musicians Johnny “Whoops” Watson and Billy Bates and their band, Conflict, again find themselves navigating treacherous ground when the life of their manager, mentor and friend is threatened by an unknown adversary. Can they aid their friend and survive the danger while still successfully pursuing their dream of a life in music?

Inspector Sebag is a policeman in Southern France with an unparalleled sixth sense, who excels at slipping into the skin of killers and hunting them down. However, when a retired French Algerian cop is discovered in his apartment with the symbol OAS left near his body and few indications as to who killed him or why, Sebag’s skills are put to the test. Days later, when a controversial monument is destroyed and another French Algerian is shot down, Sebag begins to put the pieces together.

Partridge has escaped the safety of his father's empire and left the Dome, where his people - the Pures - have sheltered for so long. He has ventured into the destroyed world inhabited by the Wretches, who live crippled by their injuries. Pressia, a Wretch, is desperate to decode the secrets of the past and, together with Partridge, she must seek out the answers that will save all their futures.

After his brothers and sisters ruin his favorite alphabet book, Teetu the bunny has had enough of his big bunny family! When he sneaks off into the night, what he discovers is more marvelous than he ever dreamed. He sees animals and trees and beauty and moonlight, and puts his adventures into a new book he creates all by himself. But soon Teetu tires of being alone, and just as it gets to be too much . . . a big fluffy surprise comes to save the day!

Morgan Beale is a pop icon - and hates every second of it. He begins adapting the latest best seller, The Chihuahua in the Blue Prada Bag, into a blockbuster movie just before his celebutante wife starts remodeling their Hollywood home, driving Beale to a hotel. Dodging the paparazzi one morning on his way to Starbucks, he spots his writing partner, Luke, who has been dead for over a decade, and who is staring into a mysterious hole in the ground....