Showing results by narrator " Michael David  Axtell " in All Categories

This collection of five short stories touches on themes and topics throughout the genre including zombies, superheroes, artificial intelligence, and the changing role of birthdays in the future. "Billy and the Zombies" is a story about a boy who spent most of his life preparing for a zombie apocalypse and now has to deal with one in real life. "Mom's Special Day" talks about an indeterminate future where birthdays have a much different meaning than they do today. "The Trial of WLQC-73" discusses what happens when we create computers that are as human as we are with all of our faults and failings. "The Heist" is a story about a future where Superheroes aren't as clean cut as our comic books show them to be. "Chance Encounters" describes what happens when a simple misunderstanding spirals out of control.

Penny Barclay thought eating Faerie's sacred fruit would keep the rebels from gaining the upper hand, but it all went sideways. Not only have the rebels found footing in Faerie and taken down the Mist, but Penny is under fire by the fae with their deep-rooted prejudices against mages. Even Aiden—or rather High King Aedon of Faerie—is rather put out with her. If she doesn't prove herself quickly, she'll find herself with more enemies in Faerie than just the rebellion.

Vincent has finally got his life figured out. More or less. And, after only fifteen-hundred years, it’s about time. “Mild-mannered” bodyguard by day, butt-kicking sorcerer by night, and immortal Viking warrior whenever the memories refuse to leave him alone. But when ancient Norse horrors start sprouting up in his city, Vincent realizes that his past life—and one of his greatest failures—has come back to finish what it started …

While other kids were enjoying the head-bashing pleasures of tackle football, a freshly bar mitzvahed Steven Blier was inhaling operas and getting his first taste of accompanying professional singers. Beginning with impromptu piano gigs in the 1960s, Blier ascended to a dazzling career as an accompanist, teacher, and producer that has taken him to the highest reaches of artistic achievement. Today, Blier has partnered many of the brightest stars in music and thousands have fallen in love with his work via his acclaimed New York Festival of Song.

Guilt dogs Prince Aiden's every footstep. He can still hear Penelope's screams in his dreams and see the flames devour Barclay Manor until it is nothing but ashes. But with a murderer on the loose in the capital, he can't risk allowing his feelings to cloud his judgment, even if it means keeping Penelope Barclay far away from him. With Penelope now trapped in the capital, Aiden has to do whatever he can to make the city safe—even if that means running away from the mage girl with cinnamon hair and emerald eyes shadowing his every move.

In this second collection in the Music and Murder Mystery series, nine award-winning, bestselling authors have written their own interpretations of the Thriller song list. With original work from some of the best mystery authors out there, the anthology includes stories from Heather Graham, Jeffery Deaver, William Kent Krueger, Dahlia Rose, and David R. Slayton, among others. With poignant, frightening, and intriguing stories from some of the best writers in the genre, this eerie collection is sure to keep you up at night—and maybe even haunt your dreams.

From respected journalist, professor, and founder of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea, a book that demystifies the art and science of interviewing, in the vein of On Writing Well or How to Read Literature Like a Professor. “Dean Nelson is one of the best interviewers around.”—Anne Lamott...

Fed up living under the oppression of monsters, Clara kills a vampire to rid the world of at least one of the beasts. But when her father’s gambling debts rage out of control and put her sister in harm’s way, she offers herself up to pay the debt. Thrust into a world of darkness and chaos, Clara does what she must to survive Alaric, her new master, who is determined to make her pay for what she did.

Forced to grapple with the loss of his emotions and having found a new unlikely ally, he struggles to ascend to power faster than ever before. The Navalon Autarchy and the Elean Empire move with no hesitation in the background. Liam is supported by the Primordial Essence and his people, pushed to the brink and left with no other choice but to fight for survival. Continue to follow Liam's journey to its conclusion. The final part of his adventure has arrived.

Sean O’Brien knows that his close friend, Dave Collins, isn’t a man who asks for favors. After three decades as a CIA officer, Collins learned self-reliance from the best school in the world - the streets. However, after five years out of the agency, he stops looking over his shoulder. And then the assassinations begin. One by one. Five of the CIA’s best former officers. Dave Collins’ old colleagues. Local police can’t protect retired CIA officers from ghosts of their past. Dave’s life is on the line, and they are coming for him.

After 40 years in San Quentin, Luke Palmer leaves with a state-issued suit, $100 dollars to buy a bus ticket, and a map that will lead to a promise and into the heart of a dark forest. College graduate student Molly Monroe is about to release rare butterflies not far from where the FBI used 4,000 bullets in a shootout to kill Ma Barker and one of her gangster sons in 1935. Molly snaps a picture that will frame something she never sees coming.

Star Druid: Publisher's Pack contains books 1 and 2 of the Star Druid series. What is an exiled druid to do when their order is destroyed by a rising tide of darkness? 1. Seize magical power. 2. Get rich. 3. Gather a harem of beautiful women. 4. Revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge.

When Courtney Burke appears at Ponce Marina on a humid summer morning, she leaves Sean O’Brien with a haunting tale. Her story could lead O’Brien down a path that began with a brutal crime 40 years earlier and hidden family secrets spawned from the desecration of the innocent. O’Brien learns that Courtney is linked to a series of carnival murders. Police are convinced she’s a serial killer, and all of her victims are men. But like the illusions found in the carnival’s house of mirrors, nothing is as it appears.

On New Year's Eve in 2012, Matthew Schrier was headed home from Syria, where he'd been photographing the country's civil war. Just 45 minutes from the safety of the Turkish border, he was taken prisoner by the al-Nusra Front. Over the next seven months he would endure torture and near starvation in six brutal terrorist prisons. And, eventually, he would escape. In this gripping, raw, and surprisingly funny memoir, Schrier details the horrifying and frequently surreal experience of being a slight, wisecracking Jewish guy held captive by the world's most violent Islamic extremists.

For more than 50 years, not a day goes by when Caroline doesn't think of her brother, Andy. The last time she saw Andy was when he left home to spend 30 days at Florida's largest reform school. Caroline's family was told that Andy ran away in the middle of the night. Fifty years later, Sean O'Brien receives a letter from a dead man. A year earlier the man had hired Sean O'Brien and chartered his boat for a fishing trip. Now the man is reaching from the grave to hire him again.

When Joe Billie stops a grave robber from unearthing a Seminole Indian burial site, Joe becomes the prime suspect in a bizarre murder. For Sean O'Brien, the first challenge is getting Joe to talk about the circumstances surrounding the killing. As Joe faces first-degree murder charges, O'Brien thinks he knows why his old friend is evasive. But proving it will send O'Brien deep into Seminole history to uncover a greedy killer hell-bent on creating a modern-day Trail of Tears.

An “engrossing debut” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me) novel about a couple whose baby dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their baby’s birth family steps into the picture. How far would you go to save your family? As soon as...

The Tutorial is over. Humanity has been surrounded, forced to confront those who summoned humanity to the Convergence, Liam is forced to fight to survive. The sky shattered as the Zones opened. The Drakkhan Empire proved its readiness, and Liam must now fight with everything he has. In order to protect humanity and save the ones he loves, his limits must be furthered.

In light of the nearing disaster, the world had grown aware of the looming threat, bringing forth chaos as it slowly descends toward the apocalypse. In preparation to face off against the great calamity, Evan has decided to level up and awaken his companions as Dimension Transcenders. They must venture into the unknown territories of a dangerous Fragment Rift—one that would grant them a trial like no other before. Rumor has it that two mighty conquerors had overthrown its ancient world. They had reigned supreme for centuries being undefeated by many, guarding the secrets at its core.

The Tutorial Zones have converged. Humanity was caught unprepared and must now deal with new challenges. Now, Liam must get the situation under control once more before it is too late. Novel enemies emerge while deprivation of resources becomes a real issue due to the number of people. In the meantime, a mysterious organization's plans brew beneath the surface. In order to stand up to them and protect humanity at the same time, Liam will have to push himself to his limits. Left with no other choice, he must become exponentially stronger than before at a much faster rate.