Showing results by narrator "Nick Podehl" in All Categories

Corn is king in the Heartland, and Cael McAvoy has had enough of it. It's the only crop the Empyrean government allows the people of the Heartland to grow - and the genetically modified strain is so aggressive that it takes everything the Heartlanders have just to control it.

On Detective Matt Jones's first night working Homicide in LA, he's called to investigate a particularly violent murder case: a man has been gunned down in a parking lot off Hollywood Boulevard, his bullet-riddled body immediately pegged as the work of a serial robber who has been haunting the Strip for months.

Ben Chase is a war hero, but a reluctant one. He struggles with bitter memories and feels alienated from the culture to which he has returned. When he claims that a psychopath is stalking him, he has by then made such an outsider of himself that no one believes him. He must resurrect the repressed warrior within to save himself and a woman he comes to love. Heroes need monsters to slay, and they can always find them - within if not without.

With more than 10 stories from exciting new voices and a few veterans of the universe, the second anthology highlights the lives and struggles of humanity's best and worst years after system advent.

Rigel has always known he is not quite human, but the only clue to his origin is the otherworldly bracelet he has worn since childhood. His search for his parentage leads him to the Starlands, where reality and fantasy have changed places. There he learns that he is a human-starborn cross, and his bracelet is the legendary magical amulet Saiph, which makes its wearer an unbeatable swordsman.

Coop is cooking up another sure-misfire scheme (big surprise), and this time the comedy plays out from Sean’s point of view. What’s the new master plan? Making a cheapo horror movie guaranteed to make Coop, Sean, and Matt filthy rich! It’s a terrible idea, and Sean knows it. But he actually is desperate for cash - and for a way to wipe that big fat L off his girlfriend-less forehead. But when he agrees to write a script about the attack of zombie-vampire humanzees, he has no idea just how powerful a chick magnet this movie will be. Suddenly Sean is juggling not one but three interested ladies.

A fantasy anthology featuring the deadly, the worldly, and the sneaky. Blackguards consists mainly of stories in established series, and the authors range from wildly successful indie authors to New York Times best sellers. If you enjoy roguish tales of scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells, this one's for you.

In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day. But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.

Marshall Seaver and Cooper Foley have been friends through life - and death. Now the ethereal pathway between realms, known as the Morpheus Road, is in danger of being destroyed by the vengeful spirit who has become their nemesis: the ancient warrior called Damon. The worlds of the living and the dead are about to collide, forcing Marshall to make a brave and shocking decision as the two friends navigate a perilous trail that leads to a frightening realization: Damon isn’t their only enemy.

Bill is a dedicated young lawyer working at his family’s prestigious New York firm, who leaves everything he trained for to follow his dream and become a minister in rural Wyoming. Jenny, his wife, is a stylist whose heart and soul are invested in fashion. She leaves the milieu and life she loves to join him. The certainty they share is that their destinies are linked forever. Fast forward 38 years. Robert is a hardworking independent book publisher in Manhattan, who has given up all personal life to build his struggling business. He is looking for one big hit novel to publish. Lillibet is a young Amish woman....

Fletcher Connolly hasn't got a lot to lose. Since he and half the galaxy signed on to the rat race of the technological relics trade, Fletch has come to terms with the idea that he will join the ranks of unlucky explorers that perish light years from home without a dime to his name. But bankruptcy is a great motivator. With friends and family counting on him to strike it rich, Fletch embarks on an unwilling quest for alien treasure.

From a smelly watering hole deep in the heart of the Serengeti to the ferocious clamor of the Colosseum, join Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends as they gear up to be...GLADIATORS! Only if they win the love of the Roman crowds will they win back their freedom. But do Julius and his pals have what it takes to succeed in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive?

Not for John Lee. His search for answers for the System Quest has taken him deep into the Forbidden Zone, into the very arms of his enemies. He's betrayed family and friends and been betrayed in turn. The most powerful human in the System has come to the final leg of his journey. And still, he has no idea if what he will find will fill the burning need within him. For the Redeemer of the Dead will not stop, until the cries of the lost and the sacrificed are answered.

IDEO, the widely admired, award-winning design and development firm that brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid's I-Zone instant camera, the Palm V, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services, reveals its secrets for fostering a culture and process of continuous innovation.

Ruth and her little brother, Aubrey, are just teenagers when their older brother ships off to Iraq. When Joseph returns, uninjured, only three and a half months later, Ruth is happy he is safe but also deeply worried. How can it be that her courageous big brother has been dishonorably discharged for refusing to go out on duty? Aubrey can't believe that his hero doesn't have very good reasons.

Sam King is enjoying being a Bibliomancer, especially as his powers grow and new doors begin to open for him. Between slapping down people hunting him and the Wolfmen that he works with, he’s even starting to get fringe benefits that even his handler is surprised by.

Corbin is an adventurer; he just hasn’t realized it. He was born in the wrong age - an era where the world has already grown tame. With the advent of fully immersive virtual reality, however, that’s all going to change. A revolutionary new game - Chronicle - makes much bolder claims than the competition. It offers a perfect simulation in a new world with quests, magic, monsters, and gods - but Chronicle’s biggest draw is something irresistible: While players are logged in, they have extra time to live.

On a cold winter's night, just shy of his 17th birthday, William Wilde became an orphan. It was a simple car accident that claimed the lives of his family. Eight months later, at the start of his senior year of high school, a beautiful, mysterious girl enters William's life. Captivating and confident, she holds secrets about William's heritage, secrets of which he himself is unaware: rare magic flows in William's veins.

An act of terrorism unleashed an unspeakable biological weapon…and hell on earth. But as the masses felled by a hideous virus rose from the dead to prey on the living, a small band of survivors defied death and its ghastly spawn - determined to outrun the world’s end, and somehow begin again.

Christian teens care very much about their connection and relationship with God, but they are also experiencing all the ups and downs of teenage life, with the attendant joys and sorrows of growing up. This book, filled with stories written by Christian teens for Christian teens, helps teens who care about their faith navigate their teenage years.