Showing results by narrator "Kristin James" in All Categories

Normally Darla, the ghost that haunts the Redemption Inn, behaves herself. Relatively speaking. Nancy, the owner of the Redemption Inn, swears that Darla is harmless. At least, mostly harmless. Maybe she plays a few pranks on some unsuspecting guests, but it's all in good fun. Until one of the hotel guests is found dead at the bottom of the stairs, and Darla is the one who's blamed.

Jessica Avril, the Ice Queen of Eoxion, is one of many Star Force monarchs given new realms when their former ones fell early in the V'kit'no'sat War. Now, the multiple star systems under her guidance lie far from the fighting, while harboring a secret project regarding humanity's future on the orders of Director Davis himself...the creator and head monarch of the Star Force empire who recruited her long ago. But her quiet little realm is soon to see the ravages of the V'kit'no'sat War.

Terminal cancer patient Quiti walks into an abandoned building, planning on taking her life. Instead, she encounters a telepathic ball of hair that insists it is an alien seeking to facilitate diplomatic communication on Earth. Quiti assumes it is all a hallucination conjured up by her brain tumor. Because of this assumption, when she saves the alien's life and it insists on doing Quiti a favor in return, she only asks for her hair back. She soon discovers, however, that the creature's gift extends much further than her new locks that can change color with a thought.

Redemption wouldn’t be redemption without something weird going on in one of its lakes. In this case, residents are torn between it being a Loch Ness Monster (named “Locky”) or some other water-based supernatural creature.

The Critical Thinker's Dictionary explores the insights of ancient and modern philosophers along with the latest findings in such fields as neuroscience and behavioral economics to lay out the many obstacles and snares that await anyone committed to a rational life. The Critical Thinker's Dictionary isn't a collection of dry definitions, but a colorful, three-dimensional portrait of the major obstacles to critical thinking and what we can do to overcome them.

Naomi has started to think that she isn't meant to find love, but she might receive more than she ever hoped for this Christmas. Twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love, has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches - a time of family, faith, and hope for many others - Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings.

At the intersection of the normal and the weird, lies the Grey: a place where whatever you believe in hard enough comes to dangerous life, and death, magic, and the unexpected lie in wait. The journey begins with a ghost's pleas for justice that lead paranormal PI Harper Blaine to an unsuspected crime. Ranging from harrowing to humorous, these ten tales from the imagination of bestselling author Kat Richardson travel into the realms of mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and more.

Charlie Kingsley is not a doctor. She is very clear about this to all her customers who purchase her teas and tinctures. But somehow that doesn't stop her customers from treating her like a doctor. Including calling her in the middle of the night to help with an emergency. What's the emergency? Her customer's daughter, Cyndi, was attacked by a...gargoyle?

Alcyone is gone. The Independent stronghold on Scorpii is destroyed. Sigrid and her sisters have fled the Federation to make a new home on the remote world of Medea. But with a price on her head the size of a planet, and pursued across the galaxy by the Council for Trade and Finance, Sigrid knows she and her sisters are not safe. As long as there are those who would seek to control them, hunt them, they will never be safe.

Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she's an Elder, but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control, but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and doesn't even know his name.

Two thousand years into the future, runaway pollution has made the earth uninhabitable except in giant biodomes. The society is an anarchy, with disputes mediated through the Machiavellian Committee for the Revolution. Mars, Venus, and the moon support flourishing colonies of various political stripes. On the fringes of the solar system, in the gas planets, a strange, new, violent kind of human has evolved.

The world is in turmoil. Celtic kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren's former queen, a powerful druid, has cast a curse that foretells Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. When Roman envoys unexpectedly arrive with a cohort of legionaries and demand King Amren's fealty, his rule begins to implode.

Sigrid and Suko are two girls from the impoverished and crime-infested streets of 24th century Earth. Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations.

Elle thought her summer would be ordinary—until she wakes up on a spaceship with newfound magic and incredible physical abilities. Suddenly, the fate of the universe rests in her hands. A mysterious Darkness is spreading, consuming planets, including Elle's home. With her new powers, Elle joins a daring team on an interstellar quest to find ancient relics that could stop the Darkness.

Vola might be new to this whole adventuring thing, but she’s pretty sure this isn’t how you’re supposed to save the day. No one at her academy wanted an orc as a paladin, so they’ve sent her to the back end of a swamp, hoping she’ll never find a quest good enough to earn her shield. Well, screw that. Vola’s got divine help, and even a laughingstock of a goddess can do some righteous smiting.

Dance teacher Wil Tango, adopted by a cat who needs to make use of his opposable thumbs, knows all too well the primary rule of their arrangement: never reveal the cat is a genius. Their clever scheme to win all the jackpots on Gizem Station works until a bigwig gets suspicious, and he finds himself stuffed in a stasis box and shipped to Garbage Planet. At least he’s got the cat for company.

Beth and Tom Hardcastle are the envy of their neighbourhood—they have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, the perfect family. When the police knock on their door one evening, Beth panics. Tom should be back from work by now—what if he’s crashed his car? She fears the worst. But the worst is beyond imagining. As the interrogation begins, Beth will find herself questioning everything she believed about her husband.

When Ivy rescued a baby from the Wild Hunt, she had no idea that he would change the world. Since time passes differently in her world, the baby she once saved is a grown boy who can help her save her home. Now, Ivy brings him to the Land of Faery to enlist his help. Jack Merry has no idea that the creatures in his stories are real. He just wants a friend, a family, someone who listens. His stories are the only way he can convince the villagers to stop and spend time at his side.

When "Love Doctors" Ian and Kate Culpepper are brutally murdered in their Carmel mansion on Valentine's Day, Ava knows it's karma. Because Ian's leaving her for perfect Kate four years ago had cut her bone deep. And then they had the nerve to show up here, on her turf. With their perfect house and their perfect daughter and their matching perfect smiles. It's no wonder Ava can't stop watching. It's no wonder she can't let go. But Ian is far from perfect, and Ava owes a debt too. For the unforgivable thing they'd done together. The dark deed that severed their marriage in two.

This short story prequel sets up the world of the Rift Jumpers, the pioneers of interstellar space. Follow the story of Commander Jane Henningsly in her research ship, Dauntless, as she develops the first Faster Than Light (FTL) drive. Her and her crew set the groundwork for mankind's expansion into the void, making us an interstellar species. The future of the Rift Contingent will never be the same with the development of the first Rift Jumper-class vessel in space.