Showing results by narrator "Tom Lennon" in All Categories

In this life, you have to play the cards you’re dealt. Sometimes the cards aren’t worth a dime. Even holding the winning hand is not a guarantee you will take the pot. One thing is certain, somewhere along the way you are going to cashing in your chips. It is a good bet the aces and eights you’re holding means that time is near.

Here are stories and emails written from the fictional writer Robin Masters. Or is he fiction? Could he exist in another dimension? With nods and winks to stories and travel articles written for magazines, the author has included “Easter eggs” and more.

Children at Lakeview Elementary School were at work on their lessons when fifth-grader Emma Neibert noticed wisps of smoke, a discovery that led to a panicked stampede inside the school—the chaos of nine teachers trying to control and then save pupils in overcrowded classrooms. Outside, desperate parents and would-be rescuers fought to save as many children as possible, while Collinwood’s inadequate volunteer fire department—joined by members of the Cleveland fire department—fought a losing battle with the rapidly spreading blaze.

Why did Winthrop Rockefeller, scion of one of the most powerful families in American history, leave New York for an Arkansas mountaintop in the 1950s? In this richly detailed biography of the former Arkansas governor, John A. Kirk delves into the historical record to fully unravel that mystery for the first time. Kirk pursues clues threaded throughout Rockefeller’s life and casts a powerful new light on his relationship with his adopted state, where his legacy continues to be felt more than half a century after his governorship.

American Urbanist shares the life and wisdom of a man whose advocacy reshaped many of the places we know and love today—from New York's bustling Bryant Park to preserved forests and farmlands around the country.  

We need effective leaders today more than ever before. In fact, the root cause behind failed businesses and failed governments is usually either a lack of leadership or the presence of destructive or ineffective leadership. In this collection of dissertations on topics relevant to effective leadership, you'll be challenged to think. Balance is getting something just right. However, since the world is always changing, the sweet spot is always changing, too. What was in balance yesterday may not be today.

When a nightclub stripper is brutally murdered, her boyfriend is quickly arrested and charged with the crime. Carson is hired by the accused man’s 12-year-old daughter to prove him innocent. Things quickly get out of hand. Bodies pile up, and it appears that a serial killer might be at work, and perhaps his client’s father could actually be guilty. The Memphis underworld of the 1960s is somehow involved and complicating the investigation.

Leo and Gracie are back again, but their hearts have been broken by previous relationships and that's keeping them apart. Even though their podcast, It's All About Love, is successful, they can’t seem to take their own advice, while others around them find love and happiness. Can they forget the past and let love take its course, or will they never allow themselves to be happy again? Is the timing right this time, or will they miss the boat?

To all those individuals who have dogs in their lives, and fully know how brilliant these family members can be. To all who completely know just how loving and loyal their dog, or dogs, are. To those many others who never had a dog to love and cherish, I'm hoping that this anthology gives them a little push to seek the adoption of these loving animals.

Bullets and Bandages: Bond of Brothers is a story inspired by the words of a US Army Field Medic, 21st Infantry, and his stories about his tour in Vietnam 1968-69. Through those stories, the author was given the unique insight into the men who struggled to survive in a war many of us didn't understand. The author also brings to us some of his own experiences, in this challenging time in our history.

Carson has been hired by an insurance company to resolve a $1.5-million-dollar life insurance claim, but things get quickly complicated. Bodies appear, and it seems that these deaths might be connected to the missing hunter - but how? Facts reveal that the missing man’s job as an independent truck driver is linked to his disappearance, and perhaps to the mysterious murders. Carson’s investigation unearths some very unusual characters, along with a wife who appears to be interested in everything but finding her missing husband.

Edward Jennings travels from the Eastern battlefields of the Civil War to turbulent New Mexico Territory's Tularosa Basin in his quest for a fresh start! This land of sun-blasted desert is empty for a reason. Harsh nature, wild Indians, and desperate refugees are only a few of the obstacles in his way!

Edward Jennings grew up during the turbulent years after the Texas Revolution. While still a teenager, he found himself responsible for two enormous tracts of land and the well-being of two families. And then came secession. Ed, like many in central Texas, voted against the ordinance only to be overruled by east Texas cotton-growers. The resistance led to a declaration of martial law, followed by an order that every able-bodied male must join the Confederate Army. Will he obey the law? Or will he risk everything rather than betray his principles? What will Ed do?

The best men I've known have been cowmen. There's a code they live by - it's their way of life. It starts with an abiding reverence for the good Lord. They're taught to honor and respect their parents and to share both blanket and bread. Their words are their bond, a handshake their contract. They're good stewards of his creation, the land. They believe the words in his book.

Centuries ago, a clean, endless power source was discovered coursing through space. We found a way to harness it and life became easy - no more struggling. Without warning, a technologically advanced alien race came along and just took it away. We took electricity for granted. Just another bill, sitting on the counter waiting to be paid. Until it's gone. Billions perished. Frozen to death in their homes. Starved when manufacturers and farmers couldn't produce enough food. We'd built a helpless civilization dependent on universal power.

Jude Johnstone and his photographer buddy Grover once traveled together for magazine articles. Times have changed. Jude is now a tabloid reporter in Miami, and Grover runs a dying camera store. Then Jude gets a tip leading to the location of a disappeared Powerball winner of $900M, and finds him in hiding in a South Beach penthouse.

Nell Ryder is a sardonic and urbane school teacher transplanted to small-town Michigan in Joyce Carol Oates’ play. But when she gets into a dispute with an aggrieved parent, Nell finds herself accused of impropriety with one of her adolescent charges.

Geno DiBacco led the notorious Gabardine Gang, a small-time mob that ruled the city. Geno's son, Kevin, takes you on a visceral journey through his childhood and adolescence, revealing the gang's illegal activities, his father's dramatic descent, and the harsh realities of organized crime, offering a unique perspective on a world often glamorized in Hollywood.

The year is 3284, six standard years since the Swarm broke through from their own reality and invaded the Sovereign Stars. Their purpose? To eradicate all human life from the galaxy. To them, the very concept of independent thought is an anathema. Now, with the conflict raging on, neither side holds a decisive advantage. The Swarm’s presence is entrenched, their outposts firmly secured across the sovereign systems.

A tactical nuclear weapon has gone missing somewhere in the Middle East, and is thought to have been smuggled into the United States by a small group of Iranian terrorists intent on chaos and destruction. The target? Unknown, but the FBI’s local director is convinced that it’s the Sequoya nuclear plant, and that the clock is ticking.