Showing results by author "Josie" in All Categories

I’ve never seen anyone at a public pool with a memorable enough body, good or bad, that I think about it ever again. If this line sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard it in the background of thousands of videos on social media—a humbling reminder from poet and radio personality Josie Balka that what’s important in our lives now isn’t necessarily what’s important to us in the long run. I Hope You Remember, Josie’s first book of poetry, includes this poem and over eighty others, some previously published and others never shared before.

I just found my ex in my cabin, And now we’re trapped together by the storm. Rae’s the last person I expected to see, but the only one I can’t forget. Her fiery temper and fierce independence haven’t changed. And neither has the way she makes my heart race. Stuck in my cabin with a storm raging outside, our old chemistry ignites like wildfire. Here in the dark, we can’t keep our hands off each other. And I mark again what was always mine. But she has secrets, she’s here hiding from something – or someone. Her past is closing in and I won’t lose her again. I’ll protect her,...

Eleanor, the charming manager of a cozy tea shop, enjoys the transportive ritual of making a cup of Masala Chai tea, reminisces about the tea's origins, and delights in the beauty of her quaint English village during the holidays. Bedtime stories are narrated by the world's most celebrated voices and written with no beginning, middle, or end so you don't stay up to hear what happens next. They're interesting enough to give your mind something to focus on, but delivered in a way that encourages sleep.

Laurie is sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic...and then her bus drives away. Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend, Sarah, giddily introduces her new boyfriend: the man from the bus.

Shea's my best friend's sister . . . and the only girl I've ever wanted. She's always had a boyfriend, though, so I've been able to keep my distance. Now she's single. As her friend, she asks me to help her navigate our campus dating scene. Of course, I agree. I promised her brother I'd keep her safe—and keep my hands to myself. The only problem? The more time I spend with her, the harder it is to deny how I feel. Except I'm holding my life together by a thread.

When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?

Hard-boiled detective series author Hugh Hudson has been at the top of his game for over a decade. But when his luminous wife dies suddenly, he finds himself channeling his grief into writing a beautiful romance novel, an ode to his late love never intended for publication. Until, that is, his long-time editor sneaks a peek at the manuscript and knows it's the unicorn story she's been waiting for. He’s eighteen months late delivering his next detective novel, so she throws him a lifeline—if he lets her publish the love story, she can get him an extension.

In The Customer Connection: Life Lessons from Behind the Chair, you’ll embark on a transformative journey into the world of a seasoned “hairapist,” where the salon chair becomes a unique vantage point for understanding human nature.

Gavin Wilkes is rugby’s biggest star and my older brother’s best friend. He’s tall, dark, handsome… and a notorious player—not just in the sportsball way. For years he’s teased me—flirted with me as a joke—and I’m tired of it. So the night of my parents’ annual Christmas party, I call his bluff, never expecting him to take me up on it.

Billionaire Fynn Hadaway is the total package. He’s tall, dark, and handsome, with a voice that could melt the panties off a nun. He’s also been having a few… issues of his own. Issues I think I can solve. As long as he agrees to my stipulations. The main one being, he becomes my new husband.

Until now, college has been fun and games—all girls and hockey, all the time. It's senior year, though, and I'm still undrafted and unsigned. If I plan to play professional hockey, I need to prove to my critics that I can be a leader and take my hockey game seriously. But that doesn't mean I need to get serious in my private life. As the team captain, I'm expected to compete in a campus dance competition, and I get partnered with Ivy Deveraux. She's beautiful, no-nonsense, hyper-focused on her dance career . . . everything I'm not.

Sometimes the worst wounds can’t be seen. Lucas Everett knows that firsthand. It's why he and his former Navy SEAL brothers created the Resting Warrior Ranch. Usually, soldiers show up at their door. But this time, it's Evelyn Taylor—a soldier in a very different kind of war.

After centuries of conflict, a peace treaty has finally been drawn between the warring Saxons and Norse—largely due to the wisdom and bravery of the legendary Viking leader Wolf Hakonson and the noble warrior Lord Hawk. Hawk and Wolf each married women from warring clans to unite the Saxons and Norse. But for all its blessings, the promise of peace will remain fragile—unless it can be sealed forever by a third and final marriage between these two proud clans.

Cord Spellman might be everyone's Prince Charming, but I'm only his fake Cinderella. That's why Cord's offer is perfect. The hot hockey star has playoffs coming up. He doesn't have time for girls, especially his cheating ex who's determined to get back together with him. He needs to focus on his game, so he asks me to divert the attention—as his fake girlfriend.

Lisette lives in East Berlin but brings her new-born baby to a hospital in West Berlin. Under doctor's orders, she goes home to rest, leaving the baby in the care of the hospital. But overnight the border between East and West closes, slicing the city - and the world - in two. With a city in chaos and armed guards ordered to shoot anyone who tries to cross, her situation is desperate.

There’s something 100 percent off about Maggie and her fiancé Sam’s new dream home in the historic section of St. Stanley. The lights flicker, the doors blow shut, and their cat, Marshall Dillon, hisses at empty space. And there’s something in the basement that’s definitely not a bargain...After Maggie discovers a skeleton in the root cellar, she’s convinced her house is haunted by a murdered man’s ghost. With the help of her Good Buy Girls, Maggie works to tag a killer.

Born into a large, close-knit family in Nicaragua, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez grew up surrounded by strong, kind, funny, sensitive, resilient, judgmental, messy, beautiful women. Whether blood relatives or chosen family, these tías and primas fundamentally shaped her view of the world—and so did the labels that were used to talk about them. The tía loca who is shunned for defying gender roles. The pretty prima put on a pedestal for her European features. The matriarch who is the core of her community but hides all her pain.

When Keira first receives her breast cancer diagnosis, she never expects to end up joining a running group with three women she’s only just met. Totally blindsided, all she can think about is how she doesn’t want to tell her family or step back from work. Nor does she want to be part of a group of fellow cancer patients. Cancer is not her club. And yet it’s running - hot, sweaty, Lycra-clad running in the company of brilliant, funny women all going through treatment - that unexpectedly gives Keira the hope she so urgently needs.

As an environmental journalist and conservationist, Marjory Stoneman Douglas spent her life fighting to preserve the Florida Everglades. Now celebrated as a subtropical paradise with a diverse ecosystem, the Everglades was once considered a worthless swamp. Marjory recognized the wetlands as a treasured river, home to an array of species unlike anywhere else in the world—and she was determined to help protect it.

Between spending Valentine’s Day with her sweetheart Sam and shopping upcoming Presidents’ Day sales with the Good Buy Girls, everything is coming up roses and bargains for Maggie Gerber. But then the mother of Maggie’s nemesis comes to town, hoping to set her spoiled daughter up with Sam. When Maggie heads to her romantic rival’s house to put a stop to the scheming, she discovers Summer standing over a dead body - holding a weapon. As much as Maggie would love to see Summer get her just desserts, she can’t shake the feeling that the meddling menace is, in fact, innocent.