Showing results by narrator "Scott R. Smith" in All Categories

Rowan Headley tops the list of people I never wanted to see again. She shattered my best friend's heart, turning him into a shell of his former self. I hate her for what she did. But guess who my company's new hire is? Yep, the last person I expected - Rowan Headley. It's awkward, it's tense, but we have to put up with each other. Except the longer I'm around her, the less I feel like avoiding her.

My best friend roped me into baking for her stepson’s wedding. I had just moved into town and I couldn’t exactly turn that kind of money down. But getting drunk enough to sleep with that tall, dark blond wedding guest? That was all on me. I should have known he’d leave without a word or even a proper introduction. But that wasn’t the last I saw of him. Kiefer just turned out to be my brand-new neighbor.

Homecoming is a steamy BDSM romance. Lucas Hudson has six weeks remaining before leaving his small town for college, but first, he must adjust to the return of his new stepbrother, Dane Bolton, from the Marine Corps. Although initially reluctant about the return of the local hero and former football jock, who had been three years ahead of him in high school, Lucas develops an instant crush on his new roommate.

Ash is a walking red flag. He is domineering and always in a bad mood. Tragically widowed, yet still in love with his long-dead wife, a single dad to three mini versions of himself, and much too old for me. But I’ve wanted him since I was 16. Seeing him again more than a decade later, all those old feelings just rush back in. Every time when I look up into his deep green eyes, dark scruffy beard, and kissable dimples, all I want is to fall into his arms and never leave. Too much wine and one bed-rocking night later, everything changed.

I planned a daddy-daughter getaway in our family cabin. The last thing I expected was to run into Juniper—my brother's best friend. The smart thing would have been to go our separate ways, but Mother Nature had other plans. Thanks to some crazy weather we are stuck together for the foreseeable future. I’ve known Juniper for years, and I’ve never seen her more than my brother's best friend…until now.

If you would like to get into a positive, faithful mind-set in this time of global fear, this is the most important book you will hear. The methods shared within have worked great for me and allowed my life to unfold without stress or worry. But I’m not suggesting that everyone who listens to this book is going to become calm or anxiety-free, as I don’t know how committed to creating a better life the people who listen to this are.

In Ayn Rand and Altruism, George H. Smith calls attention to benevolence in Rand’s thinking. Indeed, Smith defends Rand’s rejection of altruism by contrasting it to benevolence. In this series of essays, originally published on Libertarianism.org and republished by The Atlas Society with permission of the author, Smith begins by establishing that Rand’s definition of altruism - “the placing of others above self, of their interests above one’s own” - is identical to the definition of altruism originated by Auguste Comte.

Contemporary views of business ethics often show businessmen and women in a bad light. Egoism, profits, and competition are branded as immoral, while social consciousness is praised. Atlas Society Senior Scholar Stephen Hicks, PhD, disagrees with this point of view. Most contemporary business ethics does business a disservice. Worse than that, its proposed cures are plagued with unintended consequences that are often much worse than the problems it is attempting to solve. Hicks defends the egoism that drives successful business people and the morality of free-market capitalism.

Alone on the couch one night, Reed and his partner are both summoned to the hospital to find two of their colleagues have been viciously attacked, left for dead on the side of the road with very little evidence to go on. With emotions high and the entire department vowing revenge, Captain Grimes assigns the case to Reed and Billie, offering them any resources available in finding the culprit. What at first seemed just an isolated incident soon begins to spiral as more bodies are found.

In the peace following the Great Mage Hunt, the king’s long-time mistress is revealed as a sorceress. Locked away for the safety of the kingdom, bounties are placed upon the heads of the seven children she birthed. Before they can be found by the kingdom’s mage hunters, the seven turn to in-fighting and murder, stealing each other’s magics to grow stronger. After the battle on the stone plains, only three of the mage-born bastards remain alive.

This essay discusses the essentials of Rand's ethics and its crucial relevance to America's intellectual, moral, and political crisis. There are overtones applicable to America. It serves as an excellent commentary on the historical and cultural significance of her ethics and the view of man as a moral ideal.

Navigating from “Hello” to “I Do” aims to help potential couples make informed choices about their future together through a qualitative and informative dating process. These conversations are presented in five stages. Each stage has clear objectives designed to help couples assess the possibilities and risks of a marital union without emotional complications and pressure from other people.

"I can show you how to enter the Narrows to find what you seek." Oliver and his friends have returned to their hometown of Shumard, Texas for the funeral of their close friend Noah. They each grapple with the loss in their own ways, trying to understand the strange circumstances of their friend's unexpected death. While visiting the site where the body was found, Oliver stumbles across a chilling discovery that he knows must be related to what happened to Noah.

Evelyn Winters enjoyed spending the summers at her grandmother's cabin. There was always something interesting to do, whether tending the garden or exploring the surrounding swampy forest of the Smoky Mountains. She never cared to learn the witching ways of her grandmother - until the devil showed up. When Eldon Jenkins is found dead, torn limb from limb by a wild beast, and the devil comes creeping around the cabin, grandma keeps it at bay. But when grandma goes missing, Evelyn must rely on her wits, training, and dormant abilities.

Barely a year before, Le Fontainebleau opened to little fanfare in downtown Columbus. A lifetime passion project of an immigrant from the French countryside, it was meant to fill a glaring hole in the local dining scene. Simple peasant dishes offered in a modest setting. Clean cooking that soon developed an avid following, helping to elevate it to one of the must-eat locations in the city. And the site where, at just after noon on a dreary spring Wednesday, a hooded gunman entered, raised the automatic weapon hidden under his jacket, and opened fire.

Do you feel lonely even when you are with people? When we are alone and isolated, many of us think we will feel better once we surround ourselves with friends, family, or a romantic partner. We are constantly looking for someone else to complete us, accompany us, and give us love and attention. But instead of feeling less lonely, we often end up feeling empty and disappointed.

In this Pocket Guide to Postmodernism, author Andrew Colgan, PhD, explores the fundamental premises and ideas of postmodernism by summarizing and interpreting Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault by Stephen Hicks, PhD. In his discussion of the philosophical foundations of this intellectual movement, Colgan presents a concise guide into the views of one of the most influential schools of the 20th century and its real-life consequences.

For the past two months, Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner Billie were in limbo. Victims of their own success, they were plucked from their posts on the graveyard shift at the Eighth Precinct and thrust into a newly created role working with the governor’s office when a young woman is shot down outside her front door. Immediately written off by some in the small town as nothing more than a tragic hunting accident; closer examination proves it to not just be a murder, but an execution.

In the peace following the Great Mage Hunt, the king's long-time mistress is revealed as a sorceress. Locked away for the safety of the kingdom, bounties are placed upon the heads of the seven children she birthed. Mage hunters have scoured the kingdom for four years, searching for the seven scattered mage-born bastards.

Can’t stop your critical thoughts? With mindfulness, you have critical thoughts… without the suffering. From an early age, many of us have this critical voice in our head that we call the inner critic. We have tried many different exercises and techniques to get rid of it, but nothing works. These intrusive thoughts keep popping up whenever they want. And they make us feel frustrated! Instead of overcoming our self-criticism, we end up making the inner critic our enemy and blame ourselves for having such self-loathing thoughts.