Showing results by narrator "Gareth Richards" in All Categories

There are stories here that explore the mythology of Zeus and the personalities in myth, as well as urban fantasy and fantasy stories that explore our understanding of leadership. The science fiction worlds range from splendidly alien to profoundly human to mixes of each as authors present their visions of what life might be like on Jupiter’s moons.

When I'm honorably discharged from the British Army on medical grounds following a brutal tour in Afghanistan, I use my skills as a combat medic to continue to save lives as a paramedic. I'm confident there's no situation I can't handle . . . until I'm teamed up with chirpy Grace Newton. She's everything I'm not—young, idealistic, and brimming with sunshine. Everything about her rubs me the right way, stirring wants and desires I thought were long dead. She should be off-limits—after all, I'm her mentor and work colleague. But one kiss has me wanting Grace's healing hands all to myself.

To date, more than a million insect species have been described, with probably at least another 5-8 million species waiting in the wings for a name. Insects are a fascinatingly diverse and beautiful spectrum of animals. They range in size from the tiny parasitic wasp, measuring a mere 139µm, to the aptly named Titan beetle, which can reach lengths of up to 17cm. They can be found on all continents of the world, from the Sahara Desert to the frozen wastes of Antarctica. While no insects live beneath the waves, the intrepid sea skaters skim the surface of some of the world's oceans.

Charity Goswick thinks she is escaping an arranged marriage to a brute when she slips onto a ship unnoticed. Little does she realize that this is no honorable vessel of the King's Navy—it is a pirate ship. It's just a matter of time before she is discovered by a handsome rake of a pirate, who locks her in his cabin. And while she should be scared, her captor sparks the most unladylike feelings within her.

Xing Ping turned into an angel after taking a leap of faith. He'd always been one of the most evil, vile, and contemptible people from his Sect. Every year, he pillaged, raided, and took anything he pleased including as many women as he could get his hands on...It turned out that angels weren't good because they wanted to be, and as Xing Ping began his adventure he'd have to learn to live with being an angel and deal with the thousands of woman who were reserved especially for him.

Saturn. The Ringed Planet. Harbinger of ideas and wonder. The planet that gave birth to the modern era of science envisioning the myriad of multi-colored rings circling the planet, one of the reasons for the invention of the telescope, and the second largest in our solar system. These are the stories of Saturn, the great Titan. Tales of time, age, and endings.

In 1880, an organized mob of the Donnellys' enemies murders four family members and burns their house to the ground. Another sibling is shot to death in a house a short distance away. William Donnelly and a teenage boy are the only witnesses to the murders. The surviving family members seek justice through the local courts but quickly learn that their enemies control the jury and the press. Two sensational trials follow that make national and international headlines as the Donnellys continue to pursue justice for their murdered parents, siblings, and cousin.

Amelia Archer will be the ruin of her family. Her extraordinary bad luck is burden enough, but her sweet, trusting nature often lands her in impossible scrapes. After the last straw, Amelia's harried father ships his unfortunate daughter off to the Colonies to live with her aunt. But wherever Amelia goes, bad luck is sure to follow. Pirate David Lamont is taken with the lovely young Englishwoman the moment she's pulled aboard from her sinking vessel. But sailors are already a superstitious lot and Amelia is unwelcome. In a feat of chivalry, David defends and claims her for himself.

With her son's life in the balance, Catherine Fry is forced to locate and steal the priceless Ruby Cross of the Knights Templar. She knows who has it—it's just a matter of coercing Thomas Glanville, the handsome and incredibly stubborn captain of the ship she's captured, into telling her the exact location. Captain Thomas Glanville has the cross and he'll be damned if he's going to hand it over now that he finally has the means to buy a ship of his own. He's at the mercy of a fiery woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. But Catherine has no idea who she's dealing with.

In the filth-ridden streets of East End in London, Young Elsie Griggs knows little more than grueling poverty and constant hunger. When Mama becomes ill, Elsie must get a job to support the family. But working as a personal maid in Whiston Manor proves a constant challenge for Elsie. The only good thing about the manor is Mrs. Whiston's grandson, the kind and charming Andrew - who is out of bounds to Elsie. She has no way of knowing a series of tragedies are barreling toward her that will rip her entire world apart, setting her on a new path. But will this new path include Andrew?

In a land plagued by war, King Dorvin and Queen Shiara are expecting their first child. They are excited until the good fairies tell of a prophecy – that their daughter is the key to winning the war against the Shadow tribes. To protect her, mages of the kingdom create a tower to keep her and her guardian hidden until her 18th birthday.

Heaven's Gate was a video game Alfred didn't intentionally join. In fact, it wasn't technically a video game. Alfred had somehow ended up on a planet millions of miles away from Earth, but with dungeons, hot girls, and strange creatures appearing at every turn...It almost seemed like a normal world until he discovered that in the planet, Heaven's Gate, your dreams could come true if you were brave enough to enter into the hardest dungeons.

The zealot army is coming. The winter raid has earned the goblins an enemy they can’t hope to beat. Eris, the leader of a reclusive goblin village, promises he can deliver them. But as Spicy and Thistle soon discover, this charismatic newcomer is maneuvering goblins and men alike towards a disastrous showdown.

A killer of purebloods stalks Diregloom.... But this time Digger has nothing to do with the crimes. As the bodies start stacking up, he realizes there’s a connection between him and the perpetrator which lies in Digger’s recent past. If the murders continue, the dark crimes will upend the fragile liberties enjoyed by the fel of the city. Siding with the sheriff will make enemies of friends and reveal his identity to Queen Claudia, who has been searching for her reclusive catacomb champion. For Queen Claudia has new games in mind more deadly than any her subjects have ever seen.

After his return from Aeris with the gem of air, Pettic receives a letter from the king. He is to see Torren and rekindle their relationship. Soon after, Torren and Pettic meet a strange man and their lives change drastically, as they're dragged into a mystery surrounding the red dragon Monarlisk and his former mate. But will Pettic's magic be enough to help them finish their quest in time - and in the end, will the rightful king be crowned?

Lovers Who Wound Blame It on the Storm shows how a talented writer can take the framework of an erotic love fixation and turn it into art by infusing it with a bona fide sense of character, motive, and atmosphere.

In his hilarious story "Sound Reflections", James Lawless sends up in his typical humorous fashion the effects of noise on contemporary people, and this follows with the more serious poem "Noise", which explores the devastation uncontrolled cacophony can inflict on sensitive individuals.

A cunning and sadistic serial killer known as Minotaur has already murdered and mutilated twelve women. When novelist David Knight comes home, he is shattered to find that his wife is the latest victim. But why has Minotaur taken David's young son? And what is the significance of the maze drawn in blood at every crime scene?

Dinah Shaw has learned not to ask questions about what her mother, Ethel, does for a living. She spends her days trying to keep her younger brother, Ollie, entertained and safe in the tiny Whitechapel tenement where they live. There’s never enough food, and their ominous landlord threatens them continually with eviction. Ethel is gone for days on end - and Dinah’s life is one of hardship and loneliness. The only bright spot in her world is Benjamin Morris, the boy who lives in the tenement next door.

Thistle will go to any lengths to get payback on the humans who murdered her family and to ensure that such a tragedy will never happen again. Leading the goblins is the warrior Noe. Her solution to the human problem? Kill them all, or at least drive them away from the goblin homeland. As Thistle will discover, the world has changed since the goblins isolated themselves in the hills north of the Inland Sea.