Showing results by narrator "BJ Harrison" in All Categories

Showcasing three of O. Henry’s sharpest short stories, Crisis of Conscience highlights the choices available for folks whose options are limited and difficult. In the first, "An Unfinished Story", O. Henry uses a technique of only half telling two stories, delivering a clear and powerful message. The other two tales, "A Retrieved Redemption" and "A Blackjack Bargainer", are more traditional narratives, each examining folks who are trying to get back up on the straight and narrow, and their terrible wrangle with the most evil adversary of all – hope.

In the timeless shadows of the mines, distant screams glide across rock walls worn by running water and groping hands. Here where the sunlight never reaches, the picking of axes and dragging of chains is met by the wails of new slaves and the dying of the old. The guards' words echo off the walls as if from the dark heart of the mountain itself, crushing any hope of freedom: You are nothing here! You have no power and no chance of escape.

Guido has lost it all. At rock bottom and wandering the shore, Guido spies a misshapen creature floating toward him in the water, riding on a huge chest. The creature offers Guido a path of revenge – switching bodies for three days in exchange for the untold riches in the chest. Guido unfortunately fails to see a potential downside. Through skillful handling of the gothic motif of the doppelgänger, Shelley’s tale explores concepts that would eventually culminate into her masterpiece – Frankenstein.

Sometimes managing a sales team feels like trying to manage chaos, and in a way it is—there are so many unpredictable influences at work in sales. In Nuts and Bolts of Sales Management, John Treace, mining decades of executive sales experience gained from successful business turnarounds, provides managers with proven strategies to build a high-performing sales team that will consistently produce desired results.

A man with a dark past meets a girl with a bright future. Princess Kathleen is betrothed to the powerful Prince of Tyath. She is duty bound to save her people from starvation and sees the marriage as her only option. Until she meets the Sīhalt Guardian sent to protect her during her dangerous journey to the altar. He steals her first kiss, but will he be able to keep her safe and steal her heart? Jared spent his childhood training to be a Sīhalt Guardian. Seeking revenge for his sister’s death, he sets off a chain of events that endangers the princess.

When a student arrives in a small town, seeking a quiet place where he can study in peace, he rents an old mansion where a notorious hanging judge once lived. But once he begins receiving regular nightly visits by an enormous rat with malevolent eyes, he soon discovers why the locals fear the judge’s house.

An assassin is sent back in time to prevent the ravings of a religious zealot which, if left unchecked, will lead to absolute catastrophe. A master of the “Silver Age” of science fiction, Philip K. Dick won the Hugo Award in 1963, and the John W. Campbell Memorial award in 1975. Though he lived most of his life in near poverty, he is behind some of the most recognizable science fiction stories to date, penning the stories behind the films Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck, and The Adjustment Bureau.

A Christmas ball sets the plans in motion for the wealthy Julian Mastakovich, for an immensely wealthy business man has just announced that his daughter has a dowry of 300,000 rubles. First published in 1848, and adapted into a motion picture in 2000, Dostoyevsky shines a light on the business end of well-moneyed marriage. It begins when an 11-year-old girl gets an extravagant doll at a Christmas ball.

Mother and Father are called away suddenly, because Grandma is “failin’ fast”. This leaves the oldest Bassett girls, Tillie and Prue, to oversee the cooking of the Thanksgiving feast. Soon all eight children pitch in, though the subtleties of plum pudding and stuffed turkey are completely unknown to them. The result is a whole bunch of old-fashioned fun in the comfortably familiar Louisa May Alcott tradition.

After a meteorite strikes near a farmhouse outside of Arkham, livestock and plants begin to die. While the scientifically minded speak of discovering a new element, locals sense something more sinister is in the air. A pioneer of cosmic horror, Lovecraft had the ability to sharpen the intellect while causing chills to run down your spine.

Who will help the tailor of Gloucester to finish the Mayor’s elegant coat? For the tailor has fallen ill, and the Mayor is to be married in it tomorrow – on Christmas Day in the morning. Potter based the story on a real-world incident involving John Prichard, a Gloucester tailor who had a commission to make a new suit for the new mayor. But it’s Potter’s charming touch of adding impish, mischievous animals to move the story along that make this children’s classic.

Scratchy Wilson will have his day. When word gets around that Sheriff Jack Potter is arriving on the afternoon train with his bride, Scratchy intends to raise all kinds of hell. Published in 1898, Crane’s story was indicative of the growing sentiment for the American West. B.J. Harrison’s authentic and textured narration brings a greater depth to this American classic.

DJ Parker, billionaire developer of a proprietary artificial intelligence program, is on the cusp of cracking the miracle code that can usher in a new age of human progress. Amazingly, the technology is ancient, held by a group of beings that have been around for 50 million years: cetacea - species of aquatic mammals including killer whales. But Parker quickly learns he has dangerous enemies including a Russian conglomerate tied to the Kremlin which is seeking the research for its own nefarious purposes....

Ron Shandler is a self-described rotoholic. In the beginning, he hoarded newspaper box scores and pored over every number at his disposal. Then came the compulsion to create his own numbers. A monthly newsletter expanded into an annual Baseball Forecaster book, which spawned a media company, websites, tournaments, and more. Part memoir, part madcap history, Fantasy Expert is a fascinating and wide-ranging look at the modern growth and development of the game that went from cottage industry to national obsession.

Nicole Westmore was my first love. The poor little rich girl stole my heart with her sweet smile, hot body, and irresistible innocence. The summer I worked for her father was the best time of my life . . . until he drove me away. Even then, I thought Nicole would wait for me. She didn't. And so, I decided to get even, opening rival hotels, slowly driving them out of business. The old man is gone now, but Nicole is still running the company that's about to collapse. All my hard work will soon pay off.

Cornelius Sky is a doorman in a posh Fifth Avenue apartment building that houses New York City’s elite, including a former first lady whose husband was assassinated while in office. It is 1974, and New York City is heading toward a financial crisis. At work, Connie prides himself on his ability to buff a marble floor better than anyone, a talent that so far has kept him from being fired for his drinking.

In the hollow of a terrible storm, four hunters meet a melancholy madman who offers them shelter. But has this man really lost his mind, or is he laboring under the burden of a terrible curse?

Mikhail lives in Russia in 1881. When a skeleton of a rare wild horse is brought to him, the zoologist plans an expedition to Mongolia to find the fabled Przewalski horse, a journey that tests not only his physicality, but his heart. In 1992, Karin, alongside her troubled son Mathias and several Przewalski horses, travels to Mongolia to re-introduce the magnificent horses to their native land. The veterinarian has dedicated her life to saving the breed from extinction, prioritising the wild horses, even over her own son.

A mysterious city. A cryptic leader. A deranged prisoner. Blind followers. A life saved. A plot thwarted. An ally gained. And still, Victor Wells is marked for death. Upon their arrival in the city to the south, Victor and team enter an environment unlike anything they’ve ever experienced—a place free from crime, strife, or division. Ville is a system of coexistence, lead by an enigmatic man known simply as “The Chairman,” whom the citizens of Ville trust and adore.

When he was seven, Davey Boyd asked Santa for just one Christmas present: “Please make me normal.” Because Davey had always believed—always known—Santa could do anything. Until Santa didn’t. Because even Santa couldn’t. Instead, Santa and Davey struck an agreement.