Although I write in many genres, fantasy was my first love in reading. I fell in love with the possibilities of a boundless world. And as the years went on, I realized that fantasy could be more than just dragons and sorcery. Fantasy was this big umbrella that housed all the impossible dreams. So, I gravitated toward the genre. I also have an affinity for fun things. I don’t like to be sad, so I prefer movies, music, games, and books that revolve around fun and humor.
If there is something I love outside of writing it is Disney. I won’t try and convince anyone these are great works of literature, but they do an amazing job of making the Disney magic come to life.
Ever since I went to Disney World for the first time I imagined what it would be like to work there. To see the park at night with no one in it. To be alone in all that magic. So, when I read Disney After Dark I felt like a little kid having his ideas put to paper.
Five young teens tapped as models for theme park “guides” (using a new hologram technology developed by the Disney Imagineers) find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Featuring a new cover design and additional content!
Raised alongside three feral younger brothers in the rash-inducing, subtropical climate of Cairo, Georgia, I am a lifelong resident of the South. A circumstance, no doubt, leaving an indelible mark on my voice as a writer. At this point in my writing career, I write what I know. As a reader, I enjoy exploring the rich stories woven by Southern authors, capturing other places, people, and experiences beyond my own frame of reference. Ultimately, as a Southerner, I endeavor to reconcile the South’s troubled past of racial and social oppression with the romanticized notion others have of this place I call home.
This 2011 novel is set in the Ten Thousand Islands off the southwest coast of Florida. I am drawn to the novel’s peculiar backdrop: a shabby alligator-wrestling theme park in the swamp.
Along with the fantastical setting, the reader is quickly lured into this place by the vivid, precocious voice of the thirteen-year-old narrator, Ava Bigtree, who is on a quest to rescue her sister, whom Ava believes to have been stolen away into the Underworld by Bird Man, a mysterious gentleman claiming to possess magical gifts.
New York Times Bestseller | Pulitzer Prize Finalist
"Ms. Russell is one in a million. . . . A suspensfuly, deeply haunted book."--The New York Times
Thirteen-year-old Ava Bigtree has lived her entire life at Swamplandia!, her family’s island home and gator-wrestling theme park in the Florida Everglades. But when illness fells Ava’s mother, the park’s indomitable headliner, the family is plunged into chaos; her father withdraws, her sister falls in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, defects to a rival park called The World of Darkness.
I am the author of twenty romance books, but I started as a reader. I have read thousands of romance novels in my life, which I humbly submit makes me something of an authority. In fact, I started writing romance novels because I wanted to offer readers the elements that I loved about my favorite books: sympathetic, fully-realized characters, sharp dialogue, deep emotion, and good writing. I have focused on modern-day royals because I am writing a series featuring a royal family. I have been reading extensively to see what other authors are doing in that subgenre…and because it’s fun to don an imaginary tiara!
I’m usually all about the hero, but in this sweet book, it was the heroine whom I fell for. Lacey Pope plays Princess Sweet Pea at a fairytale theme park, and she takes her role seriously. She has a list of royal rules that include: “Always make friends with birds and butterflies, and always, always be kind.” When she shares them with two visitors to the park, she doesn’t realize that she’s talking to a real—and grumpy—prince and his daughter.
Lacey lives by her royal rules in real life, too—like Amy Adams in the movie Enchanted—and the prince falls in love with her bright spirit.
This delicious book is like the featherlight meringue of the macarons that Lacey nibbles on when she travels to Henry’s home country, Bella-Moritz.
Once Upon a Royal Summer is a USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
From the USA Today bestselling author of the book-to-TV stories Unleashing Mr. Darcy and Northern Lights of Christmas, among countless others, comes an enchanting royal romance perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay, Sariah Wilson, and Emma St. Clair.
Playing a princess character at a popular Florida theme park, Lacey Pope’s diamond tiara might not be real, but the smiles of the children she meets every day certainly are. She’s happy doing this job, but she struggles to shake the fact that her ex-boyfriend was never impressed with her career choice.…
As someone who has experienced a lot of loss in my life, I’ve done a good amount of research and exploration into the soulful nature in all of us (the living and the dead) through reading nonfiction (Laura Lynn Jackson, Brian Weiss, Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts, John Edward and Suzane Northrop among them) and fiction that deals with strong soulful connections. Through my own work as an author, I seek to provide the message love, in any form, transcends life and death. We only have to be open to the possibility to know it and experience it. Nothing is a coincidence and we are all connected. I hope these selections open you to the possibility.
Mitch Albom creates a heavenly world for the main character, Eddie, who has just ascended from earth after saving someone at the carnival where he worked; thus, meeting his own tragic demise.
What strikes me most in this story are the seemingly irrelevant connections we make in life and how those connections could have a deep and lasting impact. Every single thing we do or say or the people we touch is purposeful here, and drives us, our souls, to seek grace in all that we do.
A STUNNING 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE MASTER STORYTELLER'S INSPIRATIONAL CLASSIC
To his mind, Eddie has lived an uninspiring life. Now an old man, his job is to fix rides at a seaside amusement park.
On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie's time on earth comes to an end. When a cart falls from the fairground, he rushes to save a little girl's life and tragically dies in the attempt. When Eddie awakens, he learns that the afterlife is not a destination, but a place where your existence is explained to you by five people - some of whom you knew, others…
I listen to a lot of audiobooks, mainly crime, and this was the year I discovered Harlan Coben. I only knew him previously as the source material for high-quality Netflix thrillers, so I knew he’d be good at plot.
Still, I wasn’t prepared for the quality of his prose and the amazing heart with which he creates an endless series of compelling characters. I’ve loved every one I’ve listened to this year, but his latest, I Will Find You, about a father wrongly jailed for the murder of his child, is utterly spell-binding.
The chill prison realism and haunting desolation on the part of the central character gradually turn to hope and determination, with a thrilling and totally believable dénouement. Superb.
From the # 1 author and creator of the hit Netflix drama Stay Close, a page-turning thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. The new Harlan Coben blockbuster has arrived. ______________
David and Cheryl Burroughs are living the dream - married, a beautiful house in the suburbs, a three year old son named Matthew - when tragedy strikes one night in the worst possible way.
David awakes to find himself covered in blood, but not his own - his son's. And while he knows he did not murder his son, the overwhelming evidence against him puts…
Currently, the world seems concerned that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy the world or at least put many of us out of jobs. Only a few years ago, a significant part of the population believed that COVID-19 was made in a Chinese laboratory and intentionally or accidentally leashed on the world, killing millions. This isn’t just a theme in tech thrillers; it’s a theme in life. Whether it’s nuclear weapons, genetic engineering, AI, or some other type of technology, there’s always a fear that it’ll do more damage than good and, at its worst, bring an end to the world.
Due to all the films based on the book, everyone is probably very familiar with the story: a billionaire uses technology to bring dinosaurs back to life, creates a theme park, and dinosaurs run amuck.
Here’s the thing: I read the book when it came out in 1990. At the time, I was working in a genetics laboratory. I was still 14 years away from writing full-time. I was even familiar with the research Crichton based the novel on. It was a 1982 research story about scientists who were able to collect DNA and other data from a fossil fly preserved in amber. So I, like everyone, was fascinated by the potential (and sort of kicking myself for not thinking of it first), even if, at that time, there were a few holes in Crichton’s technology.
But if you return to my original list of elements—exotic location, cutting-edge science, adventure,…
'Crichton's most compulsive novel' Sunday Telegraph 'Crichton's dinosaurs are genuinely frightening' Chicago Sun-Times 'Breathtaking adventure. . . a book that is as hard to put down as it is to forget' Time Out
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The international bestseller that inspired the Jurassic Park film franchise.
On a remote jungle island, genetic engineers have created a dinosaur game park.
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now one of mankind's most thrilling fantasies has come true and the first dinosaurs that the Earth has seen in the time of man emerge.
I am the oldest of six children – all girls! I used to make up imaginary worlds for my little sisters. We’d steal clothes from Mum and Dad for dressing up; we’d pull all the cushions off the sofa to make a show; we even used to put ribbons on the poor dog. Nowadays I write books with magic and fairy tales and adventure. I write for the child inside me; the child that loved an exciting, fantastical story. I have written over 50 books for children from picture book to middle grade, and I still love inventing imaginary worlds.
Magic comes in many forms and the version in this book is fast, funny, and modern. Scarlett has trouble controlling her emotions – something children will really connect with – but whenever she tries to push her feelings down, they find a very clear way of bursting out. Maz Evans knows how her readers think and speak: the dialogue and setting feel so alive and authentic; and she knows what makes them laugh.
Scarlett Fife has BIG feelings. And she's about to get into BIG trouble. From the bestselling Maz Evans comes a heartfelt and hilarious new series, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl's Matilda.
'A laugh-out-loud story full of warmth, Big Feelings and explosive results.' Dominique Valente, author of Starfell
'So funny, you'll explode with laughter' Sam Copeland, author of Charlie Changes into a Chicken
Scarlett Fife has BIG FEELINGS. And when she has BIG FEELINGS, they explode out of her like an over-squeezed stress ball.
Scarlett's in big trouble after a BIG FEELINGS episode leads to a runaway hamster getting into…
What
I love about Hide is that it takes an
innocent children's game and elevates it into a wildly fun and scary thriller
about a group of adults invited to play a seven-day game of Hide
and Seek in an abandoned amusement park.
I love how masterfully the story
unfolds, revealing enticing breadcrumbs along the way about what this strange
game of Hide and Seek is truly about. But, even more than Hide's very inventive narrative, I love
how the story serves as a clever metaphor for some ultra-relevant social
issues.
A high-stakes hide-and-seek competition turns deadly in this dark supernatural thriller from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, perfect for fans of Stephen King and SQUID GAME.
The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get caught.
The prize: enough money to change everything.
Even though everyone is desperate to win - to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts - Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at that.
It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't.…
Hola, I’m Yawatta Hosby, and I have an open mind about monsters, ghosts, and urban legends. I believe they’re real, especially the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Earth is too big to only have humans. I have a passion for the topic being terrorized by things that go bump in the night. My book, Urban Legends, plays into that theme. October, the spooky season, is my favorite. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year, I watch a horror movie every day for 31 days straight. I also love reading horror books and researching urban legends. I’d like to think I’m an expert in horror, but it could all be in my head haha.
I loved how I got fooled into thinking someone was the main character, but he got an untimely end at the beginning of the book. It was refreshing to see the author not afraid to have a surprising twist. This werewolf story held my interest from chapter one to the end. The author never sugarcoated the werewolf’s victims, describing every tear from limb to limb. He wasn’t afraid to make the story as scary as possible. No room for interpretation–the original werewolves were clever hunters and definitely villains. The bonfire scene was very creepy, in a good way.
"...this is what werewolf horror is supposed to feel like: gruesome, bloody, dark, angry, messy, and downright terrifying." - Howling Libraries
Aside from a quaint amusement park, the small town of Lakeview offers little excitement for Duane, Savannah, and their friends. They're about to endure their ten-year high school reunion when their lives are shattered by the arrival of an ancient, vengeful evil.
The werewolf.
The first attack leaves seven dead and four wounded. And though the beast remains on the loose and eager to spill more blood, the sleepy resort town is about to face an even greater terror.…
I've been reading romance since I was a teenager; historical, modern, fantasy, you name it, I devoured it. Give me all the books with epic love stories, will they or won’t they, and happily ever afters. Although I didn’t tell anyone besides my mom about my writing for years, I can’t remember a time when I wasn't crafting my own love stories. In my books, I like to keep my readers guessing and challenge assumptions about people and what love can accomplish. The best romance stories include heartbreak and misunderstandings along the way, but that makes the endings that much sweeter. Happy Reading XO
Who doesn’t love a grumpy sunshine, workplace romance? I know I love it.
Give me the drama, awkward scenes, and that moment when the sunshine character outsmarts the Grump and cracks that hardshell to reveal they are also capable of sunshine. The chemistry between these two just jumps off the page for me. I know you’re going to love the angst.
Rowan I’m in the business of creating fairy tales. Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels. Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland. My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her. Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias. By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late. People like me don’t get happy endings. Not when we’re destined to ruin them.
Zahra After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired. Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a…
