Showing results by narrator "Julienne Irons" in All Categories

The supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real . . . tales of the dark. Such stories have always fascinated us, and modern authors carry on the disquieting traditions of the past while inventing imaginative new ways to unsettle us. Chosen from a wide variety of venues, these stories are as eclectic and varied as shadows. This volume of The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror offers tales from some of today's finest writers of the fantastique. Sure to delight as well as disturb!

Blocked creative ideas. Everybody has one, an inner critic that tells you that others have more talent, you’re just faking it, and that you’ll never have those great creative ideas that seem just out of reach. This inner critic is a subconscious deterrent that stands between the seeds of great creative ideas and the fruits of achievement. It afflicts us with a mental block as deadlines approach, makes us so afraid of being judged that we hold ourselves back and don’t share our expertise, and forces us to question our ability to learn ideas and technologies quickly.

Our narrator is a gifted photographer, an uncertain wife, an infertile mother, a biracial woman in an America that's coming undone. As she grapples with a lifetime of ambivalence about motherhood, yet another act of police brutality makes headlines, and this time the victim is Noah, a boy in her photography class. Unmoored by the grief of a recent, devastating miscarriage and Noah's fight for his life, she worries she can no longer chase the hope of having a child, no longer wants to bring a Black body into the world.

For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush, Charlize's cousin, goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances. Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. 

Imogen's on the verge of getting everything she ever wanted. The man of her dreams, a talented, smart kid who loves her, some amazing friends, she's finally safe from the ancient creature who keeps ripping her to pieces every time she tries to access her deeper powers—and she's only one step away from finding the reincarnation of her dad. Mortality is in her grasp.

Monsters of the Upside Down, beware! Travis Langley (author of the acclaimed Batman and Psychology) returns with a group of expert contributors to explore these and other questions to shine a light on true human nature through the Netflix series and cultural phenomenon Stranger Things.

With more than a decade of success bringing companies and organizations together to the benefit of both, Tynesia Boyea-Robinson is an expert in helping business leaders and managers leverage social impact for increased business profits. In The Social Impact Advantage, she offers tools, resources, and insights to help you successfully navigate the modern business climate in an authentic way.

Imogen is on the brink of getting everything she ever wanted: love, safety, answers. Her father. Mortality. And just like that, a stranger comes to town and rips everything apart. Turns out, the darkest thing Imogen's ever had to face isn't a blood witch, or a vampire, or even a demon. It's a mundane, petty human woman.

DEI is an eight-billion-dollar industry that is not yet accessing its full potential through real solutions and results. However, through a powerful formula of policies and practices that motivate employees to be more socially and self-aware, The Inclusive Organization is a revolutionary yet practical resource for individuals at any stage of their career. Jenkins discusses human behavior, workplace psychology, and shares her DEI-tested framework for success.

Immortality sucks. Just ask Imogen Gray: Over two-hundred thousand years old and teetering on the edge of total insanity. Strong as a shifter, faster than a vampire, Imogen's walked the earth forever, always alone, never growing, never changing. Never learning, either. Her smart mouth and quick temper get her into trouble far too often. When that happens, she gets hurt—and it can take a long time to heal from severed limbs and disembowelment. She's so tired of it all.

High school is supposed to be about studying, socializing, and marching-band practice. Not fighting vampires. Then one night flipped my world inside out-now, my life sucks. But it isn't all bad. I'm at a slayer academy, learning things like the real origin of vamps and how to make serious weapons out of thin air. Every last one of them will pay for what they did. I'm doing great. Until I come face-to-face with the actual vampire prince.

Seven years ago, Austin Dash's dangerously jealous wife, Naomi, nearly stabbed him to death, an act that landed her in prison. Freed from her influence, Austin filed for divorce and took their young son to Atlanta for a fresh start. He established his own business and met the loving, gentle-hearted Brooke. Swept up in a charmed romance, they marry and prepare to welcome a new baby into their lives. But memories of Naomi haunt Austin's nightmares . . . And now, she's back.

Imogen's got some answers about her origins, and a promise from Rafael that he'll help to cure her immortality. But there's a few brand-new problems standing in her way . . . A vicious pack of disenfranchised Alphas are on their way to Backman's shifter school, coming to try and reclaim what they think is rightfully theirs. A stunning vampire princess with a ring on her finger arrives at the country club to stir up the worst kind of trouble for Rafael. And Leroy's got a girlfriend. She's the worst.

An incisive, intersectional essay anthology that celebrates and examines romance and romantic media through the lens of Black readers, writers, and cultural commentators, edited by Book Riot columnist and librarian Jessica Pryde. Romantic love has been one of the most essential elements of...

War between the island states of Kattaka and Mazemoor has left no one unscathed. Meka's nomadic people, the Ba'Suon, were driven from their homeland by the Kattakans. Those who remained were forced to live under the Kattakan yoke, to serve their greed for gold alongside the dragons with whom the Ba'Suon share an empathic connection. A decade later and under a fragile truce, Meka returns home from her exile for an ancient, necessary rite: gathering a king dragon of the Crown Mountains to maintain balance in the wild country.

Raised to be the ultimate scam artist, April has been many women to many people. She seduces, extracts fortunes, then vanishes without a trace. And now she's finally living her dream of having two perfect—separate—lives. That means two mad-successful identities, and two unsuspecting husbands. But a mysterious package has just arrived—and its contents threaten to expose April's every scandalous secret . . .

Reproductive Justice is a first-of-its-kind primer that provides a comprehensive yet succinct description of the field. Written by two legendary scholar-activists, Reproductive Justice introduces students to an intersectional analysis of race, class, and gender politics. Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger put the lives and lived experience of women of color at the center of the book and use a human rights analysis to show how the discussion around reproductive justice differs significantly from the pro-choice/anti-abortion debates that have long dominated the headlines.

“A sensitive and vivid study of early female stand-ups… [Levy is a] painstaking, knowledgeable guide.” —New York Times Book Review A hilarious and moving account of the trailblazing women of stand-up comedy who broke down walls so they could stand before the mic—perfect for fans...

I grew up on stories of the old gods—tales meant to warn, not prepare me for the day they'd return. But here they are, walking the earth again, and it turns out it's my dad's fault. Worse? Their idea of fun is total annihilation. As an Inupiaq Raven Clan shapeshifter and a bush pilot, I prefer to stay off the radar. But when the gods set their sights on a powerful magical artifact—one capable of ending everything—I can't just stand by and watch.

The relationships that Joyce worked hard to build begin to crumble as new revelations unfold. As Joyce tries to navigate her professional and personal life, Eden is faced with something even worse than before. Something that is stronger than a reaper and may be impossible to stop. Someone who is the beginning and may very well be the end. An entity who everyone should fear—God.