Showing results by narrator "Katrina Michaels" in All Categories

Iris was born twenty-eight years ago during the unrest, when every birth required a life to be sacrificed. Since then, fertile women’s rights have been curtailed in further attempts to reduce the population. Deemed as a dangerous nuisance, restrictions are in place on where fertile women can work and socialise, as well as what internet access they are allowed. Iris has been a good citizen and has followed every rule imposed upon her. But when new and even more sinister methods to reduce the population are enforced, Iris can’t accept it any more.

Mae finds herself pregnant in a world where the global population has hit twenty billion, and governments decree that no child may be born without a life being sacrificed in return. With growing unrest and violence towards pregnant women, Mae must navigate a hostile world to secure a future for her unborn child — no matter the cost. When the stakes are so high, how far would you go to protect your family?

A decade ago, unrest over population control methods resulted in the tragic death of Ava’s parents. Left orphaned, Ava is driven by a singular mission: to secure the youth-restoring drug, Pres-X, for her elderly aunt. Since the unrest, fertile women’s rights have been severely curtailed. Such oppressive restrictions force Ava to explore morally grey methods to obtain the funds required to secure the drug.

Five years on from a devastating virus, Halley Clarke and Nate Reynolds find themselves back in Siren Bay where they fell in love. The peace is soon shattered when Halley begins to experience strange visions. The London community isn't fairing much better either—Claire is missing, and not even psychic-conduit Eve can find her. Fortunately, Halley's new abilities prove useful in locating the runaway teen. She also discovers that a ghost from her past is reaching out with a dire warning; the broken man is coming.

Chosen as the yearly sacrifice, Athalie’s world crumbles into a devastating reality, but she knows her death will bring prosperity to her country and family. The emperor, however, has found a weapon created by the gods. During the full moon, he plans to activate it and eradicate their adversary, unaware it will actually destroy the planet. Athalie, reborn and disguised, must hunt for talismans to neutralize the weapon’s power. Her journey will take her across the continent to countries unknown, while being haunted by a magic she can’t fully control.

Rome, 268 AD. In an age of tyranny and turmoil, an eternal love story ignites a revolution. Valentine, a once-fearsome warrior reborn from the brink of death, sheds his violent past for a new destiny inspired by his blind lover, Agatha. Amidst the ruthless rule of a merciless emperor, Valentine undertakes a clandestine mission: to unite lovers in secret ceremonies, defying imperial decrees that threaten to obliterate the Christian faith.

A mysterious plague has all but wiped out humanity. Survivor Halley Clarke reluctantly leaves her Aunt Rebecca behind in the little cottage that has been their safe-haven for the past five years to look for other people. Ignoring her aunt's warnings about what dangers this new world might hold, Halley follows the coast, searching through ghost towns and empty villages. At last, by sheer luck, she happens upon Nate Reynolds—a young man whose life has been devastated by loneliness and despair.

Life is good for Charlie the inter-terrestrial. Teaching self-defense at the USG's new Earth academy is the best job he ever had. His wife Tuklexa is about to give birth and fatherhood beckons. His only headache is being a little overprotective of his sister Nuxi, now that she has a boyfriend, the loyal, hard-working ex-soldier Pliven.

Kelsey Peterson has one goal. To talk to Olivia Pritchard, the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. There’s only one problem with the plan! Kelsey is useless with women. So useless, in fact, that she tends to cause accidental bodily harm to herself when in the vicinity of an attractive female.

Visit a world where a wild-land firefighter must use his mysterious powers to save his crew from a roaring inferno. Follow an eco-tourist's frantic efforts to escape an African quarantine zone ravaged by a deadly virus. Meet a gumshoe journalist as she tracks down a figure that'sable to predict the future with terrifying accuracy. And tune into Texas station KRAP (don't touch that dial, there's KRAP on it!) as a pair of down-home country deejays try their damnedest to stop a murder...while they're still on the air.

Adira has broken the most important decree which costs her to flee to seek refuge in the Enchanted Forest. Will she be found and sentenced to death? Or will she escape death's eternal kiss and find refuge for herself and the life of her unborn child? One thing is certain, a war is coming, and both realms will have to pick a side.

Our lives changed the day that I miscarried, the doctor pronouncing me unable to bear the children that we so desperately desired. An ideal was born from that depression and anger. It was my task in life to serve the penance to those women who brought shame upon their fertility through prostitution. These women did not deserve their wombs, their gift, and their ability to bear children without miscarriage. Jack was born to serve this purpose.

When Aunt Gardiner treats Lizzy and Jane to a seaside holiday at Ramsgate, Lizzy becomes fast friends with the neighbor, Miss Georgiana Darcy. She clashes immediately with Fitzwilliam Darcy when he comes to visit, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to prevent Georgiana from eloping with Wickham when she learns of the secret romance. Forced to marry, he leaves her without a backward glance as soon as they walk out of the church. Thrown together again in Meryton, will they compromise, or will they allow pride and prejudices to keep them apart?

Follow Charlie as he struggles to bring his father back from his dark path, or at least minimize the damage to loved ones, while he steps up as the new patriarch of his intergalactic family...and captain of a starship.

Ismena is the queen of Alain and considered by all to be the fairest maiden in the land. She happily looks forward to the day when she will marry the love of her life and unite two of the three kingdoms that make up Illesya. That all changes when King Stephan, her fiancé, falls in love with an ice nymph considered more fair than she. Scorned by the man she once loved, Ismena is driven by her need for vengeance. This is the tale of how an ordinary girl became the wicked queen.

Elisabeth is cursed. Her kingdom is locked in an eternal winter. And her stepmother Ismena has stolen her throne. When Ismena comes to kill her, Elisabeth is forced to flee to the only place her stepmother cannot reach her. Deep in the heart of a dangerous forest, teeming with unbridled magic and fearsome beasts, Elisabeth is faced with a choice. She knows what she must do to end this winter. Kill her stepmother and reclaim the kingdom that should have been hers. In this battle for love, power, beauty, and the right to rule, who will come out the victor?

Not very long after the formation of the earth and the seeding of the planet with the Being known as man, thousands of animals were formed by the Great “I Am”, with a direction to roam specific parts of this majestic land. In those days, each animal could converse with man. They would often discuss the best ways to support the land and work together to make each habitat better than when they were first formed.

What does a girl do when the fantastical creatures she creates for a charm bracelet come to life? Emily questions her sanity when a troll lifts his mace and a wizard defends with his staff and hightails it out of her studio. When her dad phones the next morning to say he’s coming over, she is beyond relieved.

Megan Harrison will do anything to help the people she loves, but sometimes love isn’t enough. Even her budding magic can’t stop the man of her dreams from falling off the wagon, nor can she make him fall in love with her! Crushed by a painful divorce Jack Munroe only sees Megan as a friend. Heartbroken, Megan moves to Cornwall for a new job, a witches’ coven and a new man. She can’t begin to imagine the dangers lying in wait in her new idyllic world. As her life descends into hellish madness, she longs for just one heavenly moment in Jack’s arms.

Seven strange stand-alone tales involving unusual people caught in disturbing circumstances are presented in this collection.