Showing results by narrator "Joe Hempel" in All Categories

A collection of short stories, flash fiction, and micro works. Slush includes previously published stories "Skull of Snakes", "Jackie Boy", and "Sweet 16" alongside a fresh batch of terrifying stories to help you sleep at night.

An ancient medallion is unearthed in Pueblo, Colorado, revealing a secret that will rewrite the history of North America - the Vikings somehow made it to the continent's interior, centuries before Columbus made landfall, and there they built a city of gold. But today the Coelho medallion has been stolen, and a linguist and researcher has been abducted in connection with the crime. Could the abductors be after the fabled city of gold? Or do they have a more sinister plot in mind?

After exposing a low-level congressman for accepting bribes, Alex attends a conference and runs into an old friend - and flame - Media Studies Professor Camila Gray. But just as they begin to reconnect, Alex's business partner disappears, leaving Alex only one clue: the name of a hacker who was recently murdered. A source hints at a vaster conspiracy, one that may reach all the way up to the fast-approaching presidential election.

In the spring of 1981, Parker City is rocked by a series of brutal murders. Unthinkable crimes the likes of which are unheard of in the close-knit community. Under great pressure from the powers-that-be, it is made clear to newly minted Parker City Police Detectives Ben Winters and Tommy Mason that their first case could very well be their last if they can't catch the killer. Decades later, after distinguished careers in law enforcement, Ben and Tommy find themselves on the eve of retirement. But in their final days on the job, their very first case comes back to haunt them.

They call him Keeper, but lately Jack Marconi has specialized in losing things. Last year, he lost his wife in a mysterious traffic accident, and ever since, he's felt like he's losing his mind. As the warden of the maximum security Green Haven Prison, home to 2,500 of New York's most hardened criminals, Marconi can't afford to drop focus, even for an instant. But he's been slipping up on the job, and he's tormented by flashbacks to the Attica uprising. All of which makes him ripe for the role of patsy when a convicted cop killer named Eduardo Vasquez stages a daring breakout on his watch.

Hannah Stuart has spent her life loving a man who barely knows she exists. Finally fed up with her situation, she decides it's time to start over somewhere new, but a catastrophe brings her plans to a screeching halt and forces her to endure encounter after encounter with her brother's best friend. AKA: the man of her dreams.

In the aftermath of the release of Dr. Hallie Hayes’ weapon aboard the Nidus, Justin Barclay and his fellow survivors are forced to flee for their lives, but they soon realize they can’t run forever. The weapon is multiplying like a sentient plague...and it will consume everything and everyone in its path. As Justin and Hallie form new alliances with old rivals, facing down monstrous foes and treacherous enemies, they work to destroy the weapon and escape the infected ship. But the plague has other intentions—and it will not be stopped.

John Rast went to the Ren Faire looking for a fight. Well, a simulated fight, with blunt swords and safety equipment. But when his final opponent turns into a living, fire-breathing dragon, John finds himself in the fight of his life. It's John or nothing stopping a disaster in its tracks - and the only real weapon at hand is his mom's Volvo. So John decides to let it roll....

Do you want to save hours a day and do more in less time? Feel productive instead of stressed, defeated, and overwhelmed? If (1) you wonder where your time goes, (2) you can't motivate or organize yourself, and (3) you struggle to buckle down and concentrate when it really matters - newsflash! Your to-do list is not cutting it anymore. You need to develop superhuman focus and all that comes with it. Superhuman Focus teaches the most important of skills - the ability to get stuff done.

Garrote House has seen its share of blood. Since Christopher's ancestor Oliver Hedgewood built the house in the 1800s, many spirits have taken up residence in "the Moving House", including horror author Rex Garrote, who'd burned to death in his private library. Christopher Hedgewood and Sara Jane Amblin, inventor of the Recurrence Field, return to Garrote House one final time before it's relocated to Ghostland.

Alex Vane was once a top investigative journalist. Now he peddles celebrity gossip and clickbait listicles, watching from a distance as his wife moves on with her life - without him. But Alex's past catches up to him when he learns that an old source, James Stacy, has been killed in a random mass shooting. James left Alex one last scoop: a 50-year-old hard drive that may contain a secret worth killing for...and the name of the one person who can help him access the data.

Death stalks the living. Seven writers have fled to Mirror House, a picturesque mansion by the sea. Each member of the group is running from a terrible premonition of their own death on July 24. What they don’t know is they were, in fact, prophesizing the end of the world, for on that very day, billions will die from a relentless heatwave triggered by global warming.

Deep down you know you were meant for more in this world but you can't shake this feeling. What's stopping you from making it happen? What's holding you back from unlocking your maximum potential? I know exactly what is holding you back. Everything you want in life can still happen. Financial freedom, personal success, creating a legacy; it's not out of reach. In fact it's all within your grasp. But first you need to do one very important thing. You need to get out of your own way.

Best-selling author and personal development trainer, Scott Allan, will teach you a system of lessons that can change your life, and provide you with a winning system for crushing existential self-doubt through building a bulletproof mind.

When Carter Monk, one of the Circle of Sorcery’s agents, goes missing in Australia, Dasiuke Kugo and his partner Helena are dispatched to find out what happened. But just getting to Carter’s last known location is a challenge since Australia is now a sealed country, no foreigners allowed. When they finally arrive, they’ll have to deal with monsters, demon magic, and an obsessed cult if they want to rescue their friend and get to the bottom of the mystery he’d been investigating. Succeed or fail, nothing will be the same after they mission.

When Ryan's dying father gives him a sealed shoebox with instructions to open once he's passed, Ryan can only speculate on what's inside. The last thing he expects is for his father to take his own life, or for the shoebox to contain ten thousand dollars cash. But the money isn't for Ryan; it's for someone named Jamie Norton. When Ryan learns Jamie is an old friend of the family with a shady past, he looks to his mother for answers.

Pets are loyal, loving, supportive companions. They can be trained to help us, care for us, support us. Some humans do not deserve their pets. One animal doctor has decided to give them what they deserve.

A movie stuntman dies performing a stunt on location, but the police call it an accident. His girlfriend Angela is a low-level wizard, and when she finds a witch's spent hex bag at the crime scene, she knows it's murder. Jonathan Shade and Kelly Chan take the case and go undercover to do stunts for the movie while they track down the murderer, but as always, not everything is what it seems.

For over 100 years, the Temple of Ran has been sacrificing young wizards in order to steal their power. When Lorit discovers that he holds the rare ability to use magic, he becomes their next target. At first, he runs, working to master his abilities on the move so that one day he might be able to resist them. But that was before the Temple targets his beloved sister, Chihon. In order to save her life, he infuses her with his own power. Now, they're both targets.

A simple case for a new beginning. That's all Jonathan needs. Some easy, little supernatural problem to gain Kelly Chan's trust, and keep her from walking out of his life forever. The case goes from simple to deadly when Jonathan's actions wake an evil entity with murder on its agenda. The only way to stop it is to call in reinforcements from the Manhattan branch of Dragon Gate Industries (DGI). But calling DGI means dealing with the head of the division - Jonathan's older sister.