Showing results by narrator "Todd Haberkorn" in All Categories

Welcome to the wide world of paranormal pastimes, where striking out might strike you dead. Editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner are your announcers for this all-new story collection of the most peculiar plays ever made.… Sports fans live and die by their teams’ successes and failures - though not literally. But these 14 authors have written spirited - in more ways than one - new tales of killer competitions that would make even the most die-hard players ask to be benched.

Leo barely defeated the invading orc armies and protected his nascent elf empire… Now, a new threat appears: the Red Plague. This infection spreads through wounds from the infected creatures and drives those infected to serve a mysterious entity, the Blood Court. The plague is coming from Stonehaven, an ancestral seat of the dwarves who were once allied with Leo's elf empire. Desperate to solve this problem, Leo must seek out magical allies to break the barrier keeping people out of Stonehaven, then enter the dwarven city—all the while trying to find a cure for the Red Plague itself.

Finn Gramaraye was framed for the crime of dark necromancy at the age of 15 and exiled to the Other Realm for 25 years. But now that he's free, someone--probably the same someone--is trying to get him sent back. Finn has only a few days to discover who is so desperate to keep him out of the mortal world and find evidence to prove it to the Arcane Enforcers. They are going to be very hard to convince since he's already been convicted of trying to kill someone with dark magic.

Leo, Hugh, Lily, Neha, and Andul are returning to Steelport to save Audrey, who has been captured by House Orsini, the first enemies of Leo's kingdom. Mavis Orsini is prepared to finish them off once and for all with the aid of Kruegar and his orc legions. Meanwhile, Ygg'drasil has opened its first portal to Ice Pines, a dimension of cold and storms. A great opportunity, but new enemies wait to take everything Leo has built from him, and he needs more allies and treasures if he wants to defend his realm.

It doesn't take long for DeeDee, Lloyd, and Kevin to figure out that living with the angel of death isn't easy. Lost souls. Angry exes. Ancient curses. Will the grim reaper ever get his afterlife together? The outlook is not so good. The reaper isn't the only angel who's out of sorts. Lloyd's devilish boss Faust hasn't been the same since a tentacle monster spit him out of an alternate dimension, and his ex-girlfriend tried to start the zombie apocalypse. And Angel eight ball? He's having a hell of a time juggling a terrible new boss and saving Lloyd from eternal damnation.

Being a hero after the apocalypse is serious business. Jason Lee is one of the select few on Earth who possess the abilities, weapons, and menagerie of monsters to face the plague of spawning dungeons sweeping the planet. With each of his campaigns live-streamed over the internet, he's garnered fame and—with the help of his new manager, Mr. Wang—fortune. Of course, becoming a celebrity also has its downsides: the griefers, the trolls. But things don't get complicated until one of them interrupts a battle in real time.

Finn's re-adaptation to the human world is not going so well. He's got a great girlfriend, and is figuring out how things like the internet work, but he is still carrying the disembodied personality of Alynon, Prince of the Silver Demesne, the fae who had occupied his body during his imprisonment. And he's not getting along at all with his older brother. And oh, by the way, his dead grandfather is still trying to possess him in order to bring about Armageddon.

Jason Lee came to New York City to see the sights. But his plans quickly change when the Apocalypse Protocol is initiated. Rifts open across the Earth, unleashing hordes of monsters upon humanity. But gateways to dungeons also appear and, with them, opportunity. Finally, there's a system announcement: some individuals will be bestowed with powers and abilities to combat the monsters and protect their fellow humans.

Lloyd Wallace has been through a lot these past few months. He's stopped the zombie apocalypse, fought off demonic possession by the deadly sin of sloth, and helped the grim reaper get his job back. All he wants is to retreat to his oasis—Okay, so it's not an oasis. It's his childhood bedroom, in his parents' house, but still—to rest and recharge. Easy, right? Nope. First, he finds a mysterious hamster with a terrible attitude and sharp teeth in his closet. Then his manager—a salty, foul-mouthed hard-partying cockroach—moves in with him.

After yet another long day battling monsters in post-apocalyptic New York, Jason just wants a good night's sleep. But his rest is cut short when he's hurled through a mysterious portal into a deadly dungeon. As his online fans watch in real time, he must fight his way out while figuring out who landed him there in the first place.

Life's been hard for Zeke. Being a punching bag for his alcoholic father has turned him into stone. Not even the dodgy trailer park he lives in can scare him. Fighting is his release and sex, drugs, and his guitar bring him peace, but deep down Zeke isn't quite as hard as he makes himself out to be. When he meets Patience, she finds all his broken pieces and puts him back together. She's a ray of light in his shadowed life and the last thing he wants to do is bring her into his dark world.

Sixth grader Spencer Lemon is rapidly losing his eyesight. So he has no idea why he was chosen to guard Pandora’s Book. When Ed, the old guy at a nursing home, hands over the book, there’s no time to explain the rules to Spencer. Spencer only knows that the book contains famous dead people - who can be brought back to life. Then Ed disappears, and a strange man shows up on Spencer’s doorstep - and he seems to know a lot about Pandora’s Book. Is he a bad guy? Or can he help Spencer unravel the secrets of the book?

When Chase sees the little girl in umbrella socks savaging the Rottweiler, he‘s not too concerned. As someone who‘s been smoking meth every day for as long as he can remember, he‘s no stranger to such horrifying, drug-fueled hallucinations. But as he and his fellow junkies discover, the little girl is no illusion. The end of the world really has arrived.

Cí, a young scholar-turned-gravedigger in medieval China, has survived enough horrors and pain to last several lifetimes. He finally has the chance to return to his studies - only to receive orders from the Imperial Court to find the sadistic perpetrator of a series of brutal murders. With lives in jeopardy, Cí finds his gruesome investigation complicated by his old loyalties - and by his growing desire for the enigmatic beauty haunting his thoughts. Is he skilled enough to track down the murderer? Or will the killer claim him first?

Sometimes happy endings are just the beginning of an even harder road. Although her aunt and sister believe she should get help to deal with her past demons, Patience believes the only thing she needs is Zeke. When he comes back into her world, her life couldn't be more perfect. Except old demons pick the worst time to surface, and once again their happiness is threatened. Help was never a necessity, but Patience finds out that love isn't always all you need. Zeke's dealt with a lot in his life, but nothing could prepare him for watching the person he loves fall apart.

Every kid dreams of having superpowers. If you are Wendy Dumas, though, you have the power to turn anyone you want into a superhero, and the wrong people know. Wendy now has Gabriel back for good, and her brother and adopted sister are by her side. With the team all back together, she’s not worried. She has lived with a death touch long enough to know that being on the run from a few ill-intentioned ne'er-do-wells is rookie stuff. Kaylen's expert take down of a whole team back in Monterey proved to everyone that Wendy won't go down without a fight.

It's 1944 and the world is at war. Hideki lives peacefully with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. Until the day WWII reaches their door. Hideki is drafted into the "Blood and Iron Imperial Corps" to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed two grenades and a set of instructions: go off into the jungle, and don't come back until you've killed an American soldier. Meanwhile, young American soldier Ray Majors has just landed on the beach in Okinawa. He doesn't know what to expect, or if he'll make it out alive, but he knows he must keep moving forward.

When marine engineer and very part-time spook Tom Dugan becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down. Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear himself by helping the CIA snare their real prey, Dugan's best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex's company, despite doubts about his friend's guilt. Once undercover, Dugan's steadfast refusal to accept Alex's guilt puts him at odds not only with his CIA superiors, but also with a beautiful British agent with whom he's romantically involved.

Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.

Count Eduardo Cortes’ fortune - and future at his beloved ranch - are in question. Tragedy, money woes, and family pressure are now driving him toward a marriage of convenience. That is, until he encounters Bernadette Barron, wandering frightened and disheveled after a society ball.…Beneath the grime, it’s clear Bernadette is beautiful and rich. But is she just another heartbreak waiting to happen or has Eduardo finally found the one woman who can save his ranch and heal his heart? The Spanish count can provide Bernadette with the title she needs - but can he return her feelings?