Showing results by author "A.L. Smith" in All Categories

Living with an adulterous husband and a 15-year-old Goth is no easy life for 35-year-old Claire Porter. Trying her hardest to ignore her husband’s affair with his secretary, and doing her best to do her son’s homework to the best of her (and Google’s) ability, her life is a trial to navigate—particularly when her head is buried permanently in the sand to avoid having to confront anything. One morning during breakfast, Claire’s head comes hurtling out of the sand at warp speed after what she refers to as "the jam tart incident". It is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The newsreader took a breath and began: “And here we have the remarkable tale of local man George Pimpton, who sadly died last week at the grand old age of 96. It’s only since his passing that locals have realized they had a reclusive celebrity in their midst." The only problem was, this was all an accidental lie. George Pimpton was no celebrity. His well-intentioned—though often misguided—neighbors simply wanted to jazz up his obituary to make his life sound a little more interesting, a well-meant gesture that quickly got out of hand due to the perils of social media.

Mothers are powerful influences on little girls' lives. Sometimes, this is a dangerous truth. Until we have children of our own, we often don't realize just how much our lives are shaped by the women who raised us. Growing up with a mother who suffered from depression and bipolar disorder shaped me in many ways, and taught me lessons that I carried with me into adulthood. This life experience left me with limiting beliefs that shadowed who I was and prevented me from showing up as my whole self for many years.

An age-old enemy threatens the K’Rang Empire, devastated by the almost total defeat of its fleet at the battle of G’Durin. The enemy civilization advances ruthlessly and relentlessly taking over world after world on a path cutting directly through the heart of the K’Rang Empire. A captured K’Rang ship with its intact navigation system brings the Human and Angaerry civilizations into the desperate conflict. In a classic case of wrong place at the wrong time, the Blakes find themselves in the middle of a K’Rang Army coup as internal forces vie for power. A planetary invasion and ...

Lina Harker has discovered her grandmother’s secret. She used to be a vampire. Now, Lina’s greatest fear is that a remnant of that vampire DNA is lurking in her cells, waiting to reactivate. Yes, Dracula’s lineage had been destroyed, but the ‘what if’s were too much to imagine. Doggedly following the trail of two families that escaped the Van Helsing purge, she discovers that ‘X’ leads to Climax, Canada. She has her stakes, garlic and holy water ready, but when she arrives, nothing is as she expects.

Mucker, Boogster, Cheesy and Bob are The Abominators! They're learning to live with posh boy Cecil and his panty wanty woos. If you put them under pressure, they might even say he's part of the gang. But then the Forces of Evil turn up in the shape of two very mean teachers. They've got plans for Cecil. Plans which involve fear, destruction and possibly the end of the world! Can the Abominators save Cecil from a fate worse than detention?

For every good fortune, there's an equal and opposite misfortune. As a brilliant young computer scientist working on her Master's Degree, Ella Hote doesn't believe in luck. But when bizarre accidents, insane coincidences, and weird encounters with improbably handsome strangers start to happen all around her, even hardheaded Ella has to change her mind.

THREE TALES OF THREE TAILS: a Dog, a Cat, and a Kite! a Dog . . . SUZIE'S SONG Some Dogs Live a Different Kind of Life Suzie is a little terrier-mix who makes the biggest mistake of any dog’s life—she stops being a puppy. Abandoned somewhere in the country, she learns to fend for herself—in a world she has never known before—with the unlikely help of one very wily stranger: a Coyote! a Cat . . . TUXEDO CAT All Dressed Up and No Place to Go TC is a cat out of sync with his siblings—not unlike many kids. Due to his comical black-and-white coloring, his brothers and sisters mock him....

It was the era of the Super Heavyweight. The dynasty of the denizens had come to pro boxing. Mere men no longer laced on the leather. Instead, giants traded blows with behemoths, goliaths swapped punches with titans . . . and even gods had their day in the ring.

Grand Prix Win! Three First Place and Three Second Place Trophies for Speed in Six Consecutive Years of Competitive Awana Racing! Grand Prix Win! is a compilation of all the principles my daughter and I learned through trial and error over those years. Its pages were a Blueprint for Success for us . . . and they can be your ticket to the Winner’s Circle, too! The Awana™ Grand Prix is not only a lot of fun and a real bonding experience, but it is one of the best examples you’ll find of the great biblical truth of being “faithful in the little things.” Little things like alignment, ...

WANTED Cool, Cozy—but CHEAP—Climbing Cubicles for Your Cat. I have been down the same path . . . A kitten joined your family and it needs a place to play . . . to climb . . . and to scratch—other than the furniture. Pet stores have cat furniture, but the nicer ones—with levels and tubes and beds—start at $150. Even scratching posts wrapped in rope sell for $50 and up. Besides, the carpet used to cover everything is of low quality. Or they aren’t even carpeted inside. Or the look doesn’t match anything else in your house. Or they’re too tall. Or you like some features here ...

"Plants!" roared his mother. "Plants! No T-Rex has ever eaten plants before!" "Then, I'll be the first," said Theo. Thinking, he added, ". . . and the last." "But why plants?" his mother asked. "When you eat plants," explained Theo, "they don't cry. And nobody misses them when they're gone." The newest addition to BLSmith’s “Timeless Storytime Tales” collection for kids is, chronologically speaking, the oldest: a Dinosaur! And not just any dinosaur, but the last T-Rex . . . who may hold the secret to saving the rest of his kind from extinction! In an age of mindless, purposeless ...

Spring . . . and a young man’s fancy turns to love. Spring 1861 . . . and a young nation’s troubles turn into war. Two brothers, Manfred and Billy Hocker, have fought a sibling Civil War their whole lives. When Manfred, the oldest, inherits the family farm and is called up in the nation’s first draft, he pays 16-year-old Billy $300 to take his place. He promises, “You could marry your girlfriend Belinda when you return . . . and when you return, we can discuss your fair share of the farm.” He is banking that his brother won’t return! On Billy’s side is his tent mate, old Doc ...

Fifteen-year-old Simone is not your typical California teenage girl - although she’d like to be. She believes her secret abilities make her weird. While it might be cool to move things with your mind, see ghosts, and sometimes read other people’s thoughts, it isn’t when those things get you into trouble because you can’t control them. Starting sophomore year at a new high school where she knows no one, Simone tries to keep to herself. Those efforts go awry when a couple of ghosts befriend her. And, a popular boy in her English class, Dalton, asks to study together. Dalton’s ex-girlfriend isn’t happy about that.

Ellie Anderson has given up on love. Her philosophy is "Why let someone in when all they do is leave?" So instead, she fills her life with work and dodges her sister's matchmaking. Then she meets Charlie—a brown-eyed Border Terrier. Charlie is in need of love and a home, prompting Ellie to open the doors to feeling once again. However, she isn't the only one who is falling for the pup's charms. Emily Carson is her rival for Charlie's affection, thus starting what can only be classed as a working relationship. By allowing herself to love Charlie, can Ellie open her heart to anyone else?

I Am Redeemed is a 21-day Christian devotional for women rising from the ashes of heartbreak and identity loss. For the woman who prayed through pain, silenced her voice, and is now ready to see herself the way her Heavenly Father does — this is more than a devotional. It’s a holy invitation to healing. Through scripture, faith-based affirmations, honest prayers, and Spirit-led reflections, C.V.L. Smith gently leads you back to the arms of the One who never let you go.

What makes you a leader? Why should you lead anyone? This insightful book encourages you to ask yourself thought-provoking questions. This book is a guide in itself, with personal stories to help you become a better leader. It allows you to identify and analyze your values by taking an introspective view of who you are and what values drive you.

Police investigators Pete Culnane and Martin Tierney are as different as parchment and newsprint, and Martin’s insecurities are fed by Pete’s expertise and finesse. A homeless man wearing an eye-popping diamond ring is as inexplicable to both of them as the disappearance of the two boys who reported his body on St. Paul’s Upper Landing. Blinded by the Sight demonstrates how good intentions can go awry, resulting in unintended, life-altering predicaments.

For the first time ever, the zombie apocalypse comes to the Yellowstone Supervolcano! Geysers, steaming pools, and fireholes versus zombies. It's the height of tourist season in Yellowstone National Park. Suddenly, the dead are everywhere. Two park rangers and a Shoshone man fight their way through the park to save their friends trapped in the Old Faithful Inn. Tourists and rangers are just trying to survive, one day, one moment, at a time. But is all of this part of some deeper, far more insidious plan? Is this the end of mankind? And the beginning of the Supervolcano? This is the end of ...

Follows the adventures of Max Axiom as he explains the science behind volcanoes.