Showing results by narrator "J. S. Arquin" in All Categories

Trouble is dead. Long live trouble. Killing the leader of a violent cult was supposed to make the city a safer place, but instead it created a power imbalance that’s left a deadly war raging in the streets of Bulari. When Willem Jaantzen is approached for help by local casino magnate Phaera D, he has the sinking feeling the only way to end this war is to betray the people he loves the most. And he’s starting to suspect that Phaera wants more from him than just his help. Whatever decision he makes feels like the wrong one.

When Duncan MacGuire sets out to help a slave escape the Great Houses of the South, little does he know they'd send a demon to capture them. Set in the Boston Metaphysical Society alternate history universe, this short story is a prequel to the award winning novel, Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets and the popular graphic novel, Boston Metaphysical Society.

Charles is a low level drug runner with a small crew. While taking a lunch break at a strip mall, they end up in a bizarre fight with their German Shepard morphing into a manbeast and the old lady at the pizza parlor opening a vortex to escape with one of his crewmembers. As he searches for answers he learns the organization he works for is run by aliens. When an extraction team shows up to save him from near death, he finds himself on a different planet; and the leader of an almost extinct race.

How do leading companies win by changing the game? Established businesses like Amazon, Starbucks, and Tesla and emerging players like Peloton, Halo Top, and Seedlip have a secret system for winning. These and other “transcender” companies do not play the traditional brand game that every other company plays; they create their own game and force competitors to play by their rules. Brands Don’t Win reveals the proven, practical three-step transcender system that leading companies use to transcend their rivals and own their markets....

Six-hundred-twenty-seven convictions later, the career criminals Morty and Xiomber have seen the light and joined the good guys. Gareth must go undercover to stop his nemesis from unleashing another crimewave across the Accord of Souls. While the leaders of the Accord of Souls send an agent to Earth to stop its top scientist before he can open the way for the rest of humanity to flood into the galaxy.

An alien impostor sneaks into the most secured facility in Earth Force, confronting Earth’s top scientist Royston with his worst nightmares. Gareth’s near death at the hands of the rogue androids fuels his rage to use the Star Dragon to pursuing justice, because somewhere, his ex-best friend continues to plot his conquest of everything. And in the shadows, a dark, ancient powers awaken.

A Vanir cop stares back when Gareth St. John Dankworth looks in a mirror these days. However, that will not stop him. He will happily embrace any cost to stop the man who was once his best friend in the solar system from conquering the galaxy. Even if it involves living the rest of his life as a Star Dragon. If crime never sleeps, justice will not either.

The gods of the Accord of Souls return to judge humanity itself, and they intend on simply eradicating the species to make the galaxy a safer place. Gareth finally confronts his old enemy again, as well as the very gods of the Accord itself. Nothing will ever be the same for anyone. Trial of the Star Dragon is the fifth and final Star Dragon story - science fiction written with a 1950s pulp flair - and completes the adventures of the Star Dragon and the Accord constabulary in the galaxy where the gods are real, and angry.

In this, the final chapter of the Bulari Saga: Willem Jaantzen has never wanted fame and never wanted notoriety. All he’s ever wanted is to keep the people he loves safe, but now the fate of Bulari - and the rest of humanity - rests on his shoulders. And he has one final play to end this game once and for all.

To save his family.... A boy must be quick. But can he survive the game? Twist’s parent’s died in a prison colony. He has to save his sister from the same fate. But to escape, Twist will need allies, and all of his speed and wits. He and his crew must do the impossible.... And defeat the children of the ruling class within the world of The Game.

In the final installment of the Core series, the Razznians are defeated, yet no one feels like a winner. New Lassa is devastated, Azrom is in shambles, and planet Razzna itself has had its surface razed, forcing the population to flee - which leaves a bad taste on everyone's palate. With so many secrets filled with animosity and shame now brought to light, both Azrom and New Lassa must face their own demons.

Dozens have fallen before a mysterious menace hiding among them. Their only connection is the grisly condition of their bodies — hollowed-out chasms where their eyes used to be. Setting aside the aging case on his wife’s murder, Detective Greg Loren has returned to the city with the task of stopping the bearer of the Medusa coin — an artifact with power over Death himself — from continuing to slaughter the people of Portents.

Soar among the redwoods in this bite-sized adventure with Chloe, the recently divorced fairy inventor. She's the one who'll discover the encroaching zombie horde, but what will she do when she does? Come for the campy creature face-off. Stay for the inventiveness, adventure, romance, and intrigue. Torn between her handsome ex-husband and the brave and beautiful captain of the fairy guard, Chloe must fight to save her unborn young and the rest of the fairies.

Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag hasn't written any fiction since his debut novel rocked the literary world of the 1980s and then left him with a paralyzing case of writer's block. Since then, he's been reduced to ghostwriting celebrity memoirs. But his newest project could have him diving back into the world of fiction in a way he never imagined.

The Core Series continues with the second installment, where we see the battle on earth over and Chardon taking his place as the leader of New Lassa. Halfar returns to Azrom resuming his role as Supreme Ruler. A new conflict rises from the reptilian race, Razznians. Bitter about a broken deal set up long ago by Chardon’s mate, Sestis, they are coming to collect. Discontent among the Lassians and Azrominans rears its ugly head yet again as members in their trusted circle seem to have their own agendas. The two leaders have a lot of work to do as an enemy assault lurks in the horizon.

The beasts Detective Loren and Soriya Greystone battled in Lou Paduano’s debut book Signs of Portents were just a hint of what lurks in the city. Tales from Portents explores the city’s immersive history, including stories of Loren’s descent after his wife’s death - and his opportunity to have her rise from the grave. Soriya battles gremlins, navigates lessons with Mentor, and meets the werewolf Luchik. Follow new characters with expansive histories as they come face to face with the horrors of Portents - both human and otherwise.

When you've lost everything, there's only one way to go...unless you find a new direction. Stranded in the scablands, Twist is lost in the dust again. To find his way out, he’ll have to make new allies, learn new skills, and overcome crippling self doubt. Will Twist find himself in time to save Canyon City?

After three years of searching, Twist finally has the power to track his sister. But when her trail leads him to dark secrets, he learns some things are better left alone. Twist must risk everything for the sister he loves, confronting both Overlords and the Underworld. Will his gamble be enough? Or, will he lose everything?

Betrayal. Ambition. Violence. Magic. Stranded in a winter wilderness, a young girl fights to survive after the massacre of her family. Her motto is simple: Always create opportunity. It's not long before she runs into an old friend, but can she trust him? This majestic fantasy short story defies cliché and stirs the soul.

Some few survivors that had resisted the zombies were rounded up too, and were put in the fridges to freeze them until needed, so that one day, when they all awoke sometime in the future, there would be slaves to work for them. As they slept, the steam powered breeding machine bred workers and stored them for using when the time came. Among the frozen survivors was Blue-Jane, See-through Mary, Captain Crust, and some others that in their frozen sleep dreamed about a story that ate itself to become a paradox monkey that was hard to figure out.