Showing results by narrator "Stephanie Dillard" in All Categories

Return to Lilac for a sweet Christmas romance that will warm your heart. Reporter Marla Norquist was planning to spend Christmas alone in the city until a mysterious tip about a secret celebrity wedding sends her to Lilac. She expects to encounter tight-lipped residents who want to protect the happy couples’ privacy - not angels, a ghost, and a handsome guy involved in a ransomware scandal! When identity theft turns digital currency investor Jacob Reed’s life upside down, he hopes to lay low during the holidays while authorities sort things out.

Cole Higginbotham ditched his elf hat for good when he quit his family’s lucrative year-round Christmas business. He’s finally found peace as an orchard caretaker - until one night when a mysterious speck of light appears, flitting among the apple trees. Herb farmer Noelle Arber must harvest enough fresh mistletoe to decorate Main Street or she’ll forfeit her much-needed contract fee. After she convinces Cole that she’s not a mistletoe poacher, he surprises her with an offer. Give him a copy of her detailed orchard map and he’ll help her decorate Main Street.

Carly Day is on a mission: Make amends to her grown children and everyone else she’s hurt over the years. When she returns to Lilac to help care for her first grandchild, she quickly realizes that just because she’s sorry doesn’t mean folks are ready to forgive. Even Pete Warfield, her son-in-law’s uncle, keeps her at arms’ length, as if he’s afraid she’ll run off again. How can she prove she’s turned her life around?

Hackle County health inspector April Islip believes handsome tavern owner Clay Nolan might be Mr. Right - until he refuses to make his customers wear masks. Local residents are riled up about COVID-19, threatening April, when all she’s trying to do is save lives. When one of Clay’s irate customers runs April’s car off the road on the Fourth of July, she’s mysteriously transported back in time to 1970 and given the chance to right a past wrong. Can she thwart a dangerous plot involving Clay’s grandfather that doomed Hackle County’s future and her relationship with Clay?

Dr. Brady Thomasson has his hands full. Christmas is two days away, and he’s the physician in charge at Lilac’s senior living community. A mysterious illness, blizzard conditions, and a skeleton staff would be enough to keep even the most seasoned medical professional on his toes. Will the unexpected arrival of his former girlfriend distract him from his duties?

Ezri would give up her magic to solve her mother’s murder. When a series of brutal murders lands in her lap, newly-minted Detective Ezri Trenton sets out to prove to herself and her mundane partner she can handle the investigation. The deeper she digs; the more evidence mounts that dark magic is behind the killings. Ezri knows traditional police work won’t be enough to stop the spree, but she can’t risk revealing the magical world. As the clock ticks ever closer to the Vernal Equinox and the prophecy that’s plagued her since childhood, Ezri must greet her destiny head on.

Suspended detective Christie Watson has decided not to get involved in any more murder cases. She's got to keep her nose clean in case her old boss checks in on her. There's plenty of fun to be had in Sleepy Creek—delicious double cheeseburgers, hilarious antics from the terrible twins, and...mysterious strangers hanging around?

Reverend Margot Quade never expected to be dropped in the midst of a murder. She just wanted to get reacquainted with her hometown of Port Marie, Vermont, and, maybe, find her place in the world again after serving her tour of duty. But when a friendly dinner with a member of her unit turns deadly, she's pulled into a mystery she can't help but solve.

Cherish gets a surprise visitor who changes her life forever. That's not the only change for the Baker/Bruner family when tragedy strikes. Can Wilma allow the entire extended family to come together to overcome the challenges they face?

Even though it sometimes feels like she lives in a fishbowl, hair salon manager Sunny DeStefano loves small-town life. When self-made businessman Buck Day returns to Lilac for a family wedding, Sunny realizes her feelings for him are as strong as ever. Will gossip and judgmental people keep them apart? Buck once believed that moving away from Lilac would help him escape his family's troubled past and get over his crush on Sunny. Now that he's back, he realizes he wants a family of his own. Will Sunny risk getting involved with a loner whose family is as broken as his?

Alexa Drey arrived in the virtual land of Barakdor a complete novice, but now she’s getting the hang of it, now she’s starting to have fun. As her and her powerful companions travel from Castle Zybond to Brokenford, a strange draw pulls them west, and the adventures begin. In this, the third book in the Barakdor series of books, Alexa must learn to stand on her own feet, face down her enemies, and try to work out who her real friends are as she battles through the land. If she doesn’t, she will certainly fail in her quests.

Will Reo Greene ever learn to say no? She's just finished organizing Lilac's first 5k race and is swamped with Online college exams. Now, the mayor wants her to collaborate with Jack Warfield to evaluate Main Street decoration proposals for the town's upcoming 250th anniversary. The last thing she wants is to work with the man who rejected her five years before, but the mayor is determined to make an example of the two former high school enemies. If Reo and Jack can collaborate for the good of the town, maybe everyone else will try to get along.

Cherish is finally on her way to her farm, but what will she find when she arrives? Back at the apple orchard, Wilma is worried that Joy, her good daughter, continues to stay away from her family. Could there be something wrong with Joy or her husband? Wilma is determined to get to the bottom of their strange behavior.

Easy-to-use AI tools, contactless commerce, crypto for business, the mature metaverse—new technologies like these are reshaping organizations at the hybrid office, on factory floors, and in the C-suite. What should you and your company be doing now to take advantage of the new opportunities these technologies are creating—and avoid falling victim to disruption? The Year in Tech 2023: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review will help you understand what the latest and most important tech innovations mean for your organization.

An unexpected quarrel between Favor and Simon puts their marriage in danger. Ada and Wilma are still having a good time at the farm, but Wilma says something inappropriate to the bishop's wife, creating an uproar.

Now that Wilma has finished Cherish’s quilt, she and Ada decide to make her a surprise visit. While they are gone, the timing is perfect for Krystal and Hope to test Matthew’s love. If he loves Krystal, as he says, he won’t succumb to the new woman’s charms.

Corby Mackentile is a 15-year-old girl who attends a private school. She has been bullied because of her weight since she was 12, especially by the most popular girls. Her parents - her mother is a TV anchor and her father is a Buddhist who owns a butcher shop - are too busy with their own problems to pay attention to their only daughter. Corby has a crush on one of the most popular boys in school. He makes fun of her once, but then unexpectedly apologizes.

After her dangerous adventures earlier in the year, everything is finally going well for Dr. Eva Paz. Her breakthroughs in dolphin communication are changing the world. Her discoveries could save the reef she loves. And now her mother has found love again.

December 1943. When Zachary Flynn suggested that he and Amity Belmont enlist together, he never dreamed the recruiters would reject him because of his flat feet. Now, Amity’s off fighting the war, and he could kick himself for letting his bruised ego get in the way of telling her his true feelings. If he had, maybe Lilac’s well-meaning matchmakers wouldn’t be trying to hustle him under the mistletoe with someone other than Amity.

This Spring, the Baker Apple Orchard is alive with romance. The sweet smell of apple blossoms fills the air, mingling with the possibilities simmering beneath the surface. Krystal feels on top of the world, excited by a new romance, while Wilma hopes an opportunity may bring her true love. As always, at the orchard, anything could happen.