Showing results by narrator "Brenda McGinnis" in All Categories

Secrets are common in every family. Tina's actions could destroy everything or bring her the peace she longs for. After the fallout of the first Artsakh war in the 90s, Tina and her mother left Armenia to live in the United States. Now, at 23, Tina’s life in California is isolated, haunted by questions she’s too afraid to ask. Suspecting that her mother has been lying to her about her father’s absence, a sudden inspiration prompts Tina to return to Armenia to find out why, but some truths come at a price.

From Japanese legends to mafia mermen, from carnival freaks to flying aces, from bayou legends to kraken-like behemoths, these tales explore the darker side of merfolk: desire, envy, love unfulfilled, grace ungranted, and loneliness turned to rage....

Gifted adventurers across time and space often travel with an animal familiar—usually a cat, but possibly other fuzzy, scaly, or prickly creatures. These magical companions lead their humans into mischief, help them out of sticky situations, or offer opinionated commentary along the way. We're familiar with familiars ... or are we?

Food. We use it to celebrate, to provide both comfort and energy, and to show our love. There’s something about mixing a pinch of this and a dash of that to create something new. And when you pair it with the perfect drink...'chef’s kiss'. Stories can do the same thing. They can be a celebration, bring us comfort and energy, and help us express our love. And when the perfect character is paired with the perfect plot...well, then you have something worth devouring. So take a place at the table, and let’s see what’s on the menu.

Almost 3,000 years after an extinction level event on Earth, mankind seeks to regain its former glory, in a new world where magic and technology collide. There are few people in the history who have contributed more to the technological rise of Sparo toward parity with the Great Wizards of the Before, than the founder of House Bexington and his twins, Bryony and Bowyn. In this new age of heroes, they have reawakened many of the wonders from before the Great Impact.

Almost three thousand years after an extinction level event on Earth, mankind seeks to regain its former glory in a new world where magic and technology collide.

There isn’t always a rainbow after the rain. Sometimes, life is not what you expect. Raising children is a life-changing experience for you and a life-forming experience for your children. How our brains process is not always the way our kids process. This is a story of raising a family of brain spectrum adults and children. My experience has been a rocky but blessed journey of love, faith, and hope. Success is possible in every family.

Sometimes you go to the movies. And sometimes, the movies—and their monsters—come to you. At any moment, without notice, monsters once relegated to the screen become a reality. Aliens and demons, dragons and ghosts, werewolves, vampires, zombies, and seemingly ordinary people who are just plain evil.

This historical narrative reveals the life of Linda, a young woman struggling to come to grips with her rudderless existence, of her stumbling back to her hometown after a failed marriage, and having to face the judgments of a stoic Japanese mother. Chieko’s life is in stark contrast, having survived the most horrific last days of World War II, and having come of age in occupied Japan where she made a living working in a hostess club serving drinks and dancing with servicemen. Linda wants to write her mother’s story, and Chieko always says no.

Amara’s life didn’t start out easy. As a child, she hid from the slavers. Then, she hid from her own government, until a chance meeting on the side of the road changed the course of her life for the better. Now an adult with a secure and prosperous life, a chance meeting with a traveling bard and ensuing street fight leaves Amara with a difficult decision.

Almost 3000 years after an extinction level event on Earth, mankind seeks to regain its former glory in a new world where magic and technology collide.

Exiled after going AWOL to save her world, Lem Benzaran lives in a changed galaxy in the aftermath of a purge that wiped entire planets clean of people like herself. A vague prophecy plagues her isolation: she’s destined to cause the universe’s heat death.

On a normal day of interplanetary sabotage, young Jei Bereens has things under control. He's plagued by night terrors and an archenemy as slippery as the grime on his gun, but freedom fighters all around the galaxy look to him for help. He's got the favor of an energy being and a best friend who'd die for him. On a normal day, Jei is legend. Today is not a normal day. Today, Jei broke an enemy soldier's mask and found his best friend inside. Tomorrow, that best friend will sell Jei out in the name of saving the universe. And the next day, Jei will disobey orders to take her down.

Laura and her family, the most skilled blacksmiths in Flatlash, have had a better life than some of the other commoners in the Keep, seeing few winters where food and heat were scarce. But she dreams of more, thinking to reach beyond her station. Daring to change her stars and write her own destiny, she petitions the Crown to grant her, a mere serf, lands in which to start a mine that would raise her to the rank of nobility, and start a revolution in mining in all the lands of Sparo, taking her place in this new age of heroes.

Katya is in love with Azovka, the Mistress of Copper Mountain. Katya's fiancée Danilo dares carve Azovka an impossible flower of stone. They witness the ruthlessness of the Romanovs and clutches of corrupt bailiffs in the Ural Mountains, where Azovka's Copper Men have ruled since they were first mined out of Mount Azov. But when Azovka begins to turns to stone, Katya fears the worst - and that Danilo will follow Azovka to a Hell of malachite shadow. With Baba Yaga's guidance, and the magick in her veins, Katya must save them all!

Lem’s a mace-wielding teen space-ninja in a universe of sentient insectoids, purple jungles, and insane electromagnetic fields. She solves most problems by hitting harder, and never plays by her enemy's rules - until Jared Diebol captures her. Diebol is the rising leader of an army uniting the galaxy by force. He believes that the violent energy being Njande has “contaminated” Lem and her friends from another dimension to conquer the matter-based universe. Diebol’s army usually kills contaminated people - but he vows to cure Lem.

Baya is not sure whether she wants the life her mother has planned for her. She has been prepared her entire life for three trials. That’s all…only three ancient tests in three days. A lifetime worth of work over in a matter of days. Easy right? Then, she will officially be a woman and in line to become the ruler of the world, or she’ll be dead. But, what if she doesn’t want either of those options? If she can survive the trials, that’s when the real challenges will begin.

What happens when two cultures collide? What happens when two species collide? How about two galaxies? Well, largely it’s one big freaking mess. But a whole lot of fun. Go with Baya on her quest to restore what was stolen. Along the way, she learns about strange people from an advanced planet called Earth. As she gets to know these new friends, she also faces fierce new enemies who will stop at nothing to end her quest.

Nothing is what it seems, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. The friends she can’t save. The family she can’t help. The lover she can’t live without. And don’t forget about the world. It all rests on Baya’s shoulders. She must piece together the truth about their history. Her path leads her to face her greatest regrets and her worst fears. She must restore what was stolen. Then Baya’s worst horrors will be realized.

Sparo Rising is a spin-off series from the Techromancy Scrolls. Each book features a stand-alone story of a different side character from the Techromancy Scrolls that readers wished to hear more about. This second book centers around Genevieve Mason of York, and her rise to Knighthood.