Showing results by author "River" in All Categories

The early history of Earth covers such vast stretches of time that years, centuries, and even millennia become virtually meaningless. Instead, paleontologists and scientists who study geochronology divide time into periods and eras. What humans commonly refer to as the “Ice Age” is actually a series of fluctuating climate events that have occurred throughout the planet’s history. These ongoing historical phenomena are difficult to conceptualize because of both the time frame involved and the natural process by which they cyclically unfold.

Nearly 20 years before Jamestown was settled, the English established one of the earliest colonies in North America. Like other early settlements, Roanoke struggled to survive in its infancy. The colony's leader, John White, sailed back to England in 1587 to bring more supplies and help. What White found when he came back to Roanoke led to one of the most enduring mysteries in American history. Despite the fact he left over 100 people in Roanoke in 1587, White returned to literally nothing, with all traces of the settlement gone and no evidence of fighting.

Kara Davis had the perfect life. A doting husband, a beautiful home, and everything she could have ever wanted. But in an instant her source of happiness was tragically taken from her. Since then, nothing has ever been the same, and the paralyzing sadness within her followed her everywhere she went.... Unbeknownst to Kara, her life was once again about to face another change. All thanks to the arrival of the couple next door.

Five years ago, on Christmas night, a billionaire magnate, EB Ward lost his wife and children in a terrible house fire. Since then he has become known as the town’s Scrooge. And when his brother is killed in a tragic accident, EB is racked with guilt and pushed into further grief.

I am Cassandra Liddell: FBI special agent and bad-ass pixie. After barely surviving my last assignment, I'm on the hunt for answers about my past, when bombs start exploding all over London. Fae terrorists have attacked and thrown the city into chaos. To make matters worse, my best friend, Scarlett, has been abducted, and her captor is playing a twisted game of Simon Says, sending me riddles paired with impossible tasks. Roan, a seductive fae warrior, is willing to help me...but of course, he has a price.

When Maude Chambliss first arrives at Retreat, the seasonal home of her husband's aristocratic family, she is a 19-year-old bride fresh from South Carolina's Low Country. Among the patrician men and women who reside in the summer colony on the coast of Maine, her gypsy-like beauty and impulsive behavior immediately brand her an outsider. She, as well as everyone else, is certain she will never fit in. And of course, she doesn't, at first.

Joan Rivers was known all over the world - from the Palace Theater to Buckingham Palace, from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the footlights of Broadway, from the days of talkies to hosting talk shows. But there was only one person who knew Joan intimately, one person who the authorities would call when she got a little out of hand. Her daughter and best friend, Melissa.

Of all the colorful characters that inhabited the West during the 19th century, the man who has earned an enduring legacy as the region's quirkiest is John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851-1887), a dentist turned professional gambler who was widely recognized as one of the fastest draws in the West. In fact, the only thing that might have been faster than the deadly gunman's draw was his violent temper, which was easily set off when Holliday was drunk. By the early 1880s, Holliday had been arrested nearly 20 times.

Otherwise known as the “Roma” or by their popular misnomer “the gypsies”, the members of this highly undervalued and grossly misrepresented community have long been considered outcasts. More often than not, the Romani are branded by even those who fancy themselves liberals as “pikeys”, “gyppos”, and “gips”. There's also a regrettably common term “gypped” meaning “to cheat, or swindle” which perpetuates the damaging stereotype that the Roma are dishonest nuisances and societal pests.

It was in the nature of Belgium’s withdrawal from Africa that power was essentially handed over to the first in line to receive it. Very little of the careful preparation that characterized the British withdrawal from Africa was evident in Congo. As it turned out, the first in line to take power was a tall, stern-featured ideologue by the name of Patrice Lumumba. This audiobook looks at one of the most important African leaders of the 20th century.

As technological advances and the creation of flying aircraft became realities, the sighting of UFOs increased, as did the interest in potential contact with aliens. It would hardly be groundbreaking for scientists in the 20th century to have a lunchtime discussion in which the search for extraterrestrial life arises, and the question of where it might reside is innocuous enough. However, a furor was created somewhat innocently when physicist Enrico Fermi voiced his “casual lunchtime remark” in the presence of colleagues in 1950.

The most improbable approach toward American civil rights for Black citizens blended the beliefs of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, and it was spearheaded by global activist Marcus Aurelius Garvey. The Jamaican began his career as an activist with a devotion to Washington’s path, but he subsequently leaned to the alternative and beyond. Beyond the worldview of both colleagues, Marcus Garvey’s bigger-than-life scheme was to establish a Black-owned and managed shipping line to transport much of America’s Black population back to Africa.

A lifeless body, brought onto shore by the shifting tides. A tranquil setting disguising the darkness behind a puzzling death. While the nature of the world seems undisturbed. And billions continue living. There is one that carries with her the memory of the dead. She has no choice but to replay the very beginning.

On October 12, 1492, one of the most important “first contacts” of the modern era was made when three ships of Spanish origin approached the island archipelago now known as the Bahamas, cautiously dropping anchor as the captain of the fleet gazed across to what he assumed was the coast of India. According to the popular version of the story, amazed at the sight of ships and men of such unfamiliar appearance, the native people of the island plunged into the clear waters of the western Atlantic, expertly swimming or aboard dugout canoes, and came out to greet the strangers.

FBI agent Ava James has endured many heart-wrenching periods in her life. After the recent trauma of escaping a twisted serial killer, Ava is just thankful to be alive and is trying to recover. In hopes of taking her mind off her own troubles, she immerses herself further in her work. Everything in Fairhaven is seemingly normal, until a young librarian is found dead. The mystery deepens when her husband and young children are nowhere to be found.

Every Halloween, teen girls from the rural Vermont town are going missing. Each year more than the last. Did the teens simply run away from home? Or is something far more sinister at play? With no bodies to be found, it seems as though the teens simply just vanished. At her friend's urging and with only 11 days until Hollow’s Eve, Ava goes to Pine Bend, Vermont to investigate the disappearances.

Worship of the Feathered Serpent can be traced back 2,000 years, and the Serpent’s cults appear all across Mesoamerica. The Olmec, the Aztec, and both the Yucatec and K’iche Mayans all had different names for this deity, including Kukulkan, Q’uq’umatz, and Tohil...Quetzalcoatl was and remains one of the most interesting and enlightening stories ever to have come out of any civilization, and his stories offer a better understanding of the Mesoamerican world.

This Christmas novella tells the unforgettable story of little Timmy, a foster child with a very special and mysterious shoe box. Designed for gift-giving, this heartwarming book features new illustrations, updated content - including Francine Rivers' favorite holiday recipes and Christmas traditions - and the complete Christmas story from the New Living Translation.

A week at a cabin on willow lake. A relaxing and picturesque getaway to escape from all the stressors of work. But like most things in life, not everything will go according to plan. After a nice dinner at the Willow Lake Resort, Ava decided that a nice evening stroll by the lake to the waterfalls would be exactly what she needs. As she relishes the feeling of peace and tranquility, she sees someone at the bottom of the steep little trail. Making her way down, she realizes that the woman looks to be passed out, and her face slightly familiar.

At 12, Emily Parmenter is left mostly to herself after her mother disappears and her beloved older brother dies. Emily has built a life around the faded plantation where her remote father and hunting-obsessed brothers raise hunting spaniels. It is a meager, masculine world, but to Emily it has magic. And then comes Lulu Foxworth, troubled daughter of a truly grand plantation, who has run away from her hectic Charleston debutante season.