Showing results by narrator "Marni Penning" in All Categories

Wild Monsters Dance About is a collection of 21 short stories that will take into author M.J. Sewall’s unruly mind. These finely tuned tales jump through genres, concepts and characters, predicaments, adventures, and conundrums. Whether about everyday-science going terribly wrong in "Unintended Science" to animal evolution suddenly speeding up in "It Finally happened" or the prickly family politics of road trips in "Sibling Warfare", these stories will thrill, delight, and discombobulate your imagination.

I thought things would get easier after my oath to the mafia don of Venice was fulfilled, but they've only gotten worse. My ex-boyfriend is in a coma. The greatest threat the magi have ever faced has neutralized 71 percent of our species and is hell-bent on 100 percent. No one knows where he'll strike next, except maybe the enemy-turned-ally whom I have no choice but to trust. My new love interest has asked for an impossible favour and there's still no sign of Janet, the woman who was kidnapped on our watch.

She is known by many names; Deadly Nightshade, The Devil’s Daughter, Belladonna. Taken in as a girl by the legendary outlaws known as the Wolf Pack, Annabelle Stark becomes a woman to be reckoned with and a legend in her own right. When her husband Joshua is gunned down in cold blood by former friends, Belle and the Wolf Pack hit the trail in search of their own brand of justice.

Thanks to the mindspeech lessons she’s receiving from the black dragon, Lily is temporarily benched from Unit Twelve - until her brain acclimates and the risk of total burnout passes. At least she has her new husband, lupi Rule Turner, to keep her occupied. But when her mentor calls in a favor and sends Lily to a murder scene, she’s suddenly back on active status - despite the hallucinations she can’t keep at bay. With one touch, Lily knows the man was killed by magic, but her senses don’t warn her how far the conspiracy goes....

Hunted by an ungrateful Persian royal family, the rogue agents Samuel and Mehrnaz are on the run to escape the empire they formerly served. Their destination (if they live to see it): the distant fabled land of India. There, on the far side of the Indus, the agents find ancient perils have returned in the weapons-blasted desert left behind by the earth-shattering Mahabharata War. Nightmarish creatures that have grown giant and twisted hunt down their human prey, while other animals have metamorphosized into something stranger still.

In his trademark suit of black armor and skull-like helm, armed with a demon-forged axe, Corvis Rebaine twice brought death and destruction to Imphallion - willingly slaughtering countless innocents in pursuit of a more just society. But that was the old Rebaine. Before he killed the mad warlord Audriss and banished the demon Khanda. Before he lost his wife and children, who could not forgive or forget his violent crimes.

After narrowly escaping the devolved prison community of Ispville, the companions make their way on foot for the arduous 200-mile trek to the ruins of Chicago and the redoubt that holds the nearest known gateway, as winter sets in. This is only the first stage in their journey to the intended refuge of Ryan’s home ville of Front Royal, and hopefully a safe haven for the birth of Krysty’s child. To make matters worse, they’re the reluctant guardians of fellow former prisoners, a mother and three young daughters, none of whom possess the companions’ survival skills.

When a wealthy cattle baroness, Pamela Danvers, hires gunslinger Joe Buckhorn to track down her son, it sounds like easy money. But when he learns that the boy has run off with a girl — whose father is the leader of the cattle-rustling Riley gang — Buckhorn’s only hope is to infiltrate the gang.

Amanda Saddler has lived a long and happy life. She's not ready to die or anything melodramatic, but she's long since given up on finding her fairytale ending. But when her adoptive granddaughter Emery picks up a box that was delivered to her doorstep, some new stories from the past come to light. Amanda Saddler may have spent her life pining for her neighbor, Jed Brooks, but that's not the only man she ever knew.

Rosie Reynolds had come to lakeside Corgi Cove as a lost, lonely girl abandoned by her own mother, but there she discovered a true place to call home. She loves her Corgis, Bonnie and Clyde; loves the lakeside life; and loves her aunt and uncle most of all. But when she discovers their struggling inn is about to be bought out by some big city chain, she hatches a plan: to win a contest naming theirs the best Christmas-themed inn in the USA. It's a long shot, but she knows if the whole town pulls together that they can do it.

In the back room at an elite gallery party, 40-something soccer mom Johanna Porter stands face to face with her younger self. The girl in the portrait, La Rosa Blanca, is fierce and fearless, and Johanna sees the great painter she almost was before her lover, the powerful artist Nestor Pinedo, torched her career. When she cuts the million-dollar masterpiece out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, it’s not a theft. It’s a rescue.

Sixth grade is supposed to be perfect. Shannon’s got a sure spot in the in-crowd called The Group, and her best friend is their leader, Jen, the most popular girl in school. But the rules are always changing, and Shannon has to scramble to keep up. She never knows which TV shows are cool, what songs to listen to, and who she’s allowed to talk to. Who makes these rules, anyway? And does Shannon have to follow them?

Rudi Mackenzie has been abducted by the forces of the Portland Protective Association, whose forces have pushed the Bearkillers and Mackenzie’s to the edge of defeat. Will aid arrive in time or will Mike Havel and his family be defeated by Norman Arminger and his mad grab for power? What of the secret plan now afoot between the Mackenzie’s and the forces at Mount Angel? Will the Abbot Dmwoski and his forces be able to break the siege of their monastery in time to come to the aid of Lady Juniper and her Witch Army?

Amanda Brooks has made a new home for herself in Birch Creek, and she's finally learning to love the right way. But our past always catches up to us, and when her family surprises her with a visit, it slams into her plans like a bowling ball, knocking pins in every direction. Donna Ellingson has a new job and a fresh resolve to embrace happiness with both hands. But every big change has its difficulties, and she’s not sure whether she made the right choice. It’s hard to move ahead when you keep looking back.

Meet Lara Dominguez—a troubled Creighton cops reporter obsessed with the city's debonair vigilante—The Black Ghost. With the help of a mysterious cyber-informant named LONE, Lara's inched closer to uncovering the Ghost's identity. But as she searched for the breakthrough story she desperately needs, Lara will have to navigate the corruption of her city, the uncertainties of virtue, and her own personal demons. Will she have the strength to be part of the solution—or will she become the problem?

Nylan, the only man among the matriarchal band of “angels” marooned on the high plateau of Candar. Forced to seek a life elsewhere, Nylan descends into a world of warring kingdoms and strange magics in search of a peaceful life with his wife and infant son. His talents, however, make him a valuable weapon—and so the war between chaos and order begins anew.

Doctor Victoria Ward has been killing men for over 30 years. Her victims all have one thing in common: They’re abusive. Righteousness is a close companion - it helps her sleep at night - and she holds the virtue closely as she defends the innocent, upholding the law when it won’t rise to protect those who need it most. When she meets a young girl named Kelly and follows her down a twisted path of deception, Doc Ward finds herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past.

In the tenth year of the Change, the survivors in western Oregon live in a world without technology. Michael Havel’s Bearkillers hold the lands west of Salem in peace and order. To the east, the Clan Mackenzie flourishes under the leadership of Juniper Mackenzie, bard and High Priestess. Together, they have held Norman Arminger - the warlord of Portland - at bay. With his dark fantasies of a neofeudal empire, Arminger rules much of the Pacific Northwest, spreading fear with his knights, castles, and holy inquisition.

While looking for ghosts among Mardi Gras revelers in New Orleans, Annja Creed is asked to help recover sacred objects stolen from a church. Instead, her efforts lead her into a vast conspiracy and blackmail scheme that stretches thousands of years into the past. Joined by Garin Braden, who has his own score to settle, Annja follows the path of seven ancient coins into the lair of Spider, one of history’s deadliest assassins. Will Annja and Garin find Spider’s legendary treasure, or fall into her web, never to see the light of day again?

Annaliese—Annie—Gilberti is a divorced South Philadelphia mother of two with a nine-to-five job when a shocking discovery turns another average day upside down: her late grandmother was the exiled ruler of a small European country, and Annie is next in line to wear the crown and restore the monarchy. The would-be grand duchess of the Grand Duchy of Saint Gilbert has vacation time coming, enough to take a quick trip to check it out.