Showing results by narrator "Lauren Fortgang" in All Categories

Women is a novella about falling in love with a woman, about loving women, about being a woman. It is a novella about a mother and a daughter. A novella about female friendships that blur the line of romance. A novella about a woman who, after having her first sexual relationship with a woman, goes on a series of (comical) OK Cupid dates with other women. A novella about a woman in her 20s who doesn't know if she's gay or straight or bi. A novella about falling in love and having your heart broken and figuring out what to do next.

Hope is a four-letter word. Yet, I can’t help but hope that the Oracle will be the answer to what I seek. But getting to the Oracle is no small thing as she resides in the center of the Blasted Lands - toxic waste, lava, and monsters. And as the alpha of our pride, it’s up to me to act responsibly and not get my people all killed. Driving us from behind comes the desert goddess whose rage is centered on me, and with her is a new ally, who still holds my heart in his hands. One whose voice calls to me still.

One important lesson I've learned in the assassination business is that to be the best, you have to roll with the punches. Now that I'm queen of Ashland's underworld - by default, not by choice - a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that's the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld's top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position.

"When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation. Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis, Mab Monroe, a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco."

Chance Matthews is drawn into a battle between angels and monsters because of something in her possession - a fossil of a creature that couldn't possibly have ever existed. But it did. And still does.

I thought I had the next steps in my journey plotted out. I thought I knew where I was going and who I was going with - the usual crew of Lila, the smart-mouthed tiny dragon, Ford, the man who would be my mate if I let him, and Balder, the horse who has carried me through more danger than I can count. Crap on a camel, I could not have been more wrong. My world is turned upside down when my crew somehow gains two people who would as soon kill me, as see me succeed.

The trial of the century has come to Tupelo Landing, North Carolina. Mo and Dale, aka the Desperado Detectives, head to court as star witnesses against Dale's daddy - confessed kidnapper Macon Johnson. Dale's nerves are jangled, but Mo, who doesn't mind getting even with Mr. Macon for hurting her loved ones, looks forward to a slam dunk conviction - if everything goes as expected. Of course nothing goes as expected.

Brand-new stories by: Daniel Woodrell, Matthew Eck, Catherine Browder, Nancy Pickard, John Lutz, J. Malcolm Garcia, Kevin Prufer, Linda Rodriguez, Nadia Pflaum, Phong Nguyen, Andres Rodriguez, and others. Kansas City: where East and West collide, where naked ambition meets broken dreams, where blues and the night go together like rye whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Yes, Kansas City is a surprising place of grit, gore, and betrayal, at least in the imaginations of our diverse lineup of contributors.

I’ve battled a lot of bad guys in my time, both as Gin Blanco and as the notorious assassin the Spider. But I’ve never faced off against anyone quite as powerful and deadly as the dastardly leader of the Circle secret society. Just when I finally have a lead on how I can defeat the evil group once and for all, new information comes to light that throws me for a loop. Suddenly, everyone and everything I love is in imminent peril of being destroyed, and I’m racing against the clock to figure out a way to save my friends.

War has been simmering for generations, but the Legend is about to make the violence boil over. Forces gather from across the continent and even across the world as complex conflicts are forced into narrow categories. For the first time, Tani and her allies have a chance to make a difference, but that will pit them against one of the most dangerous warriors in the world. The Zeitai wants war as much as the Hero, and the result may really be the end of everything. Time is running out, sending everyone scattering in different directions before the final battle.

When the Dickenson clan sits down for Thanksgiving dinner in 2016, it is the last holiday where their tight-knit family will ever be the same. Oldest brother Pete and his wife are expecting their first child. Youngest sibling Sophie is too busy running her restaurant. The Little Plum, to bother with any kind of social life. And middle child Charlie’s happy, uncomplicated life as a midwestern science professor is upended when his wife Annette is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Knowing this will be her last Thanksgiving, Annette asks Sophie to look after Charlie after she’s gone.

Trying to help her hard-working father and twin sister to adjust to life in Stoneybrook, Abby Stevenson becomes the newest member of the Baby-sitters Club and shares her first adventure....

My people use the power of the earth to sustain life and defy our enemies. I should be at my father's side as a royal princess. But as a half-breed, bastard child, that isn't going to happen. In a world of lava and fire, I am about to face my hardest trial yet. Not one of strength, or power, but intrigue and manipulation. However, my tolerance level for anyone outside of my family is at an all-time low, and the queen who rules the Pit expects complete obedience.

Ryanna Raines is the host of a popular true-crime podcast. Her specialty is investigative journalism, her style is truth-seeking moxie, and with millions of listeners along for the ride, her star is rising. But when an intriguing message is left on her tip-line, the reporter is pulled into the most challenging case of her career.

Jen did not want to leave the city. She did not want to move to a farm with her mom and her mom's new boyfriend, Walter. She did not want to leave her friends and her dad. Most of all, Jen did not want to get new "sisters", Andy and Reese. As if learning new chores on Peapod Farm wasn't hard enough, having to deal with perfect-at-everything Andy might be the last straw for Jen. Besides cleaning the chicken coop, trying to keep up with the customers at the local farmers' market, and missing her old life, Jen has to deal with her own insecurities about this new family.

The Storm Queen has been defeated. And the first two challenges have been conquered. You’d think that it would be all downhill from here. Well, if it was downhill at warp speed into more trouble, then you’d be absolutely correct. The demon city sits before us, and beyond that lies the castle of Asag, the beast from the east. He has our friends. He has our magic. He has the dragon hatchlings. What have we got? Unexpected allies, a twisted path, and the realization that defeating a demon on his own turf...might not be possible. Does that stop us from trying? Not for a second.

To stand at the side of an elemental as their familiar is a gift given to few familiars. Yet here I stand with my thirteenth - Larkspur, child of the earth. I do not want this charge, for all my previous have ended in deaths I could not prevent. I am not sure my heart can take another loss of one bonded with me. Larkspur’s strength and heart call to me as only one other elemental's had, and I cannot deny the need to protect her and to shield her from all pain.

For too long, women have been told that we are terrible at being friends, that we can't help being cruel or competitive, or that we inevitably abandon each other for romantic partners. But we are rejecting those stereotypes and reclaiming the power of female friendship. In Text Me When You Get Home, journalist Kayleen Schaefer interviews more than 100 women about their BFFs, soul mates, girl gangs, and queens while tracing this cultural shift through the lens of pop culture.

Meditations with Miya Blue is an upbeat, irreverent story of a wellness influencer living her best (sponsored) life. That is, until a very un-Zen series of events threatens to pull the thread of Miya's calm and unravel her carefully woven world.

All in Startup is more than just a novel about eschewing temptation and fighting to save a company. It is a lifeline for entrepreneurs who are thinking about launching a new idea or for those who have already started but can't seem to generate the traction they were expecting. Entrepreneurs who achieve success in the new economy do so using a new "scientific method" of innovation. All in Startup demonstrates why four counterintuitive principles separate successful entrepreneurs from the wanna-preneurs who bounce from idea to idea, unable to generate real revenue.