Showing results by narrator "Penelope McDonald" in All Categories

Enjoy 15 scintillating tales in this eclectic collection where characters seek honor, truth, retribution, and in one case, a place to sell 300-year-old Lavian brandy.

When police are called to a local supermarket late one evening, they find an angry shopkeeper and a silent young woman. It's the third time 24-year-old Zoe has been caught stealing in the past few days. Eyes filled with panic, Zoe has been hiding bread, milk, Calpol and nappies under her coat. As police officers break down the door of Zoe's flat they find seven-year-old Coco and two-year-old Lola, home alone, huddled on the floor in a freezing cold bedroom, crying out for their mummy.

The follow-up novel to the hugely successful debut, The Street. In this dank corner of town, you have to keep your friends close and your enemies closer – even if those enemies are your family. Jimmy Wild saunters around the streets of Campbell Road, and among the people he used to terrorise. Even though the years have passed, he’s still a tyrant. The sight of his lanky frame is enough to terrify the inhabitants of this close-knit community, who reside in this villainous corner of London.

When fellow student John Foremile turns up at his flat on a rain-sodden winter’s night, former Merchant Navy Captain Rex Slingsby thinks he’s in for just another boozy night down the pub. John, however, has come laden with a package of ancient-looking manuscripts, and Rex is soon engrossed in reading an outlandish tale of a powerful, benevolent race of Dragons and of the human wizards hell-bent on destroying them. Incredulous at first, the two friends quickly find themselves embroiled in an epic quest to rescue a fertile dragon’s egg.

It’s going to be a right old knee’s up.… The residents of the tough streets around Islington are heartbroken at the death of George the VI but having a young Queen on the throne isn’t the only change that they can expect. The toughest street in London, Campbell Road, is due for demolition. One of the last residents remaining, Matilda Kiever, born and bred on the street, remembers many things about the past, not least what really happened to Christopher Wild’s mum, Pamela. Christopher thought she was dead, but it turns out she is very much alive....

In Love and War, we meet more of the protagonists embroiled in the complex plots and counter-plots that form the fabric of the tale. Colonicus, the mad medieval wizard, is released from his five-hundred year confinement and goes on the rampage. Korti Jizel, the super-intelligent alien assassin takes Robert, one of Colonicus's manufactured super-humans, on a madcap journey through time to witness the greatest battle that humanity never heard about; the Dragon War.

10-E. 19-E. How long would humanity have to wait? A long time. Not until 93-E was the world declared ready. But in the background a journalist lurks, biding his time over the decades, waiting for the perfect moment. And now it's here. Melodie Trudeaux's Sci-Fi audio short, "The 93-E Contradiction", opens on Prime Tech Alfredo's 93rd birthday, the day that his greatest invention will finally come of age.

This short, poignant, and intelligent novelette extrapolates society's current need for global consumerism and seemingly relentless expansion. The author, Sue Knight, has delved deep into the underlying wants and needs of a society determined to have the best of the best at a fraction of the cost, regardless of the long term impact. This tale is set in the midst of that impact, and it is a chilling indictment of the dangers of runaway capitalism.

An extraordinary cast of characters play out their dramas amongst the chaos of the emerging modern world... Jamaica 1909. Millionaire Silas Whittam is struggling to bring his dream of a luxury hotel to life. He's relieved when his sister, Eve, arrives - basking in the success of her Yorkshire pies and puddings business. But as Eve befriends the staff, secrets hidden by Silas begin to emerge.

The protagonist Hailey is captivated by divisions that balance, particularly in snow. Her brother has a very, interesting to say the least, correspondence to her dilemma. A long-time friend Zíâd also helps her, he does not realize it but his distraction does help Hailey—reminding her that life is not only about knowing; and then her sex life and science unite which ultimately sums up her answer to Who Shovels the Sidewalks?