Showing results by narrator "Nicole Quinn" in All Categories

Fourteen year old Desiree can't believe her good fortune. Her fiance, a dashing and ambitious Napoleon Bonaparte, is poised for battlefield success, and no longer will she be just a French merchant's daughter. She could not have known the twisting path her role in history would take, nearly breaking her vibrant heart but sweeping her to a life rich in passion and desire. A love story, but so much more, Desiree explores the landscape of a young heart torn in two.

In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.

Margaret of Anjou, queen of England, cannot give up on her husband - even when he slips into insanity. And as mother to the House of Lancaster's last hope, she cannot give up on her son - even when England turns against them. This gripping tale of a queen forced to stand strong in the face of overwhelming odds is, at its heart, a tender tale of love. Award-winning author Susan Higginbotham will once again ask listeners to question everything they know about right and wrong, compassion and hope, duty to one's country, and the desire of one's own heart.

Smite Turner is renowned for his single-minded devotion to his duty as a magistrate. But behind his relentless focus lies not only a determination to do what is right, but the haunting secrets of his past - secrets that he is determined to hide, even if it means keeping everyone else at arm's length. Until the day an irresistible woman shows up as a witness in his courtroom. Miranda Darling isn't in trouble - yet. But she's close enough that when Turner threatens her with imprisonment if she puts one foot wrong, she knows she should run in the other direction.

This is the story of Gwalchmai, middle son of the beautiful, infinitely evil sorceress Morgawse, and gifted student of her dark magical arts. A story of an uncertain man, doubting his ability to follow his elder brother's warrior prowess and seeking to find his own identity by bonding with his frightening and powerful mother. Disappointed in himself and despised by his father, Gwalchmai sets out on a journey that will lead him to the brink of darkness...

Armed with his magical sword and otherworldly horse, Gwalchmai proves himself the most feared and faithful warrior of Arthur's noble followers. But while defending the kingdom, he commits a grave offense against the woman he loves, leading her to disappear from his life and haunt his memories.

With his trusted servant, Rhys, a commonsense peasant, Gwalchmai tries to find her in the Kingdom of Summer, where Arthur has sent him. But an unexpected and most malevolent force of evil and darkness is loose - that of his mother, the witch-queen Morgawse.

Is there a right way to die? If so, Joanna DeAngelis has it all wrong. She's consumed by betrayal, spending her numbered days obsessing over Ned McGowan, her much younger ex, and watching him thrive in the spotlight with someone new, while she wastes away. She's every woman scorned, fantasizing about revenge; except she's out of time. Joanna falls from her life, from the love of her daughters and devoted dog, into an otherworldly landscape, a bleak infinity she can't escape.

The planet is shrinking. Soon there will be nothing left of Blinkin but a black hole. All the systems are gone. The breeders have been abandoned. Mina's stuck in disbelief, navigating the long shortcut back. Rose has been taken. Is she a nightmare?

Mina's adventure continues in the land of Disbelief, a world the Night Mare created to exile all beliefs other than her own. All deities and goblins, pookhas and spriggins, exist now only in this dimension. It's here that Mina will learn the true herstory of the planet Blinkin, and its history as well, before she attempts a comeback as the Night Mare's polar opposite, the Dream Weaver.

Adel and Kamil, two young good-looking Turkish men try to immigrate to North America. Adel's ruthless grand-uncle arranges him to marry Yonka (his spoiled obnoxious cousin) in exchange for his immigration status in Canada. The problem is Yonka and Adel hate each other. The drama heats up even more when Adel has an affair with Nora, his beautiful English teacher which ruins Yonka's plans. And to add to this, his best friend Kamil has a big secret of his own. How did his life turn into a Turkish soap opera?

The planet Earth has reformed itself into the one-continent world of Blinkin. God and his devil have given way to a new polarity - to the Night Mare and the Dream Weaver. But the Night Mare has co-opted her opposite, and she now rules the night and the day. Into this nightmare world, where human females are kept as cattle, and licensed as domestic pets - inside the stone-system designed to prevent the enemy's return - Mina, a rogue DreamWeaver, is born in the Off-grid of Winkin City.

Vows broken. . .Friendships betrayed. . . The fate of heroes finally revealed. . . As powerful enemies attack the throne from inside the kingdom, Arthur, his queen, and his greatest warrior Gwalchmai will be put to the ultimate test. Never faltering in her loyalty to the king, Gwynhwyfar has stood at Arthur's side through rebellion and war. But one desperate decision could cost her all they've built. With the kingdom crumbling around them, following the Queen's heart could be the greatest threat of all.

In the future, telepathy is no longer a fantasy; it's a job. Gina- just Gina- is a woman with no future, trying to make her living along the Street of Eyes, where people go to hire the desperate and the suicidal for their unique services. She is one of the sellers, the new underclass, who use "third eye" or "Spice" - a powerful drug that gives them the ability to read minds- as their way of making ends meet. The drug has only one downside - it drives the user insane. Gina no longer cares about the risks.

Unwed motherhood in Victorian England spells the end - your chances of marrying, chances even of working, disappear. Unless you can somehow "disappear" the evidence.... That's where "baby farmers" Amelia and Margaret come in. They'll care for your unwanted infant - for a fee. But what are they really doing with the babies? When the police find dozens of tickets for pawned baby clothes and no evidence of the babies themselves, Amelia and Margaret become wanted women, and a newborn's life hangs in the balance.