Showing results by narrator "Joe Hempel" in All Categories

This year brings 22 more in-your-face stories that break boundaries and trash taboos, transgressive tales you can't "unread" (as Chuck Palahniuk says). Some of the stories you'll find here are loaded with very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and depravities, while others may contain only one shocking moment of brutality. In others, the hardcore aspect may be less graphic and subtler than you might expect. Some of these quieter tales offer the listener some time to recover from the more disturbing ones preceding.

Jenna Lockhardt has always been the perfect daughter. Being a princess means making sacrifices. Her responsibilities are clear. Keep the Royal lineage pure. Her future is set. She must take a compatible black panther as a mate. But a moment of rebellion has her transferring across the country to attend Archibald Reynolds College. Chase Westin always knew he'd find his one true mate.... someday. He never expected that someday to be now. When he returns to college, it's the last thing on his mind but the arrival of an exotic beauty stuns him. She captivates him. She drives him insane.

Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later, a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost. A year later, Autumn Manning can’t remember the day of the bombing, and she is tormented by grief - by guilt. Twelve months of the question constantly echoing. Why? Why? Why? Searching for answers, she haunts the lives of the victims, unable to rest.

Having dealt with the source of the plague, Danny continues on his journey to Elfhome. If the secret to destroying the summoning spell connecting Earth to Valindor is anywhere, he should find it there. It seems he hasn’t been traveling any time when he stumbles across a group of humans attacking a beastfolk youth. Danny saves the boy and the two of them set together for the demon haunted forest.

Pierce's team encounters an unlikely threat. The challenges ahead of them will test their physical and mental limits. James and his group find out that the cathedral they considered sanctuary is not so safe after all. Daniel makes a discovery that has him questioning everything he's known his entire life. As the days go by, Krista loses hope that her husband will ever come back. Heather and her sister are still alive, but the infected are making it difficult to find a way out. With every minute they spend in the city, their likelihood of survival dwindles.

From the outside looking in, Jennifer Pan seemed like a model daughter living a perfect life. The ideal child, the one her immigrant parents saw, was studying to become a pharmacist at the University of Toronto. But there was a dark, deceptive side to the angelic young woman. In reality, Jennifer spent her days in the arms of her high-school sweetheart, Daniel. In an attempt to lead the life she dreamed of, she would do almost anything. For many years she led this double life. But when her father discovered her web of lies, his ultimatum was severe. And so, too, was her revenge.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur battling perfectionism, a student wrestling with self-doubt, or simply tired of letting your critical inner voice dictate your life, this book delivers the mindset tools you need to thrive. Stop allowing negative emotions, self-judgment, and fear to hold you hostage. Transform them into clarity of purpose, confidence, and unstoppable momentum. Take control of your thoughts. Reclaim your confidence. Live with fearless authenticity.

When the Air National Guard receives an emergency call for help from a remote Arctic research station in Greenland, Senior Master Sergeant Dan Cameron is chosen to lead the rescue mission. In an attempt to combat climate change, the scientists have genetically engineered an aquatic biofilm capable of generating oxygen and lowering the temperature of the underlying seawater, producing environmental conditions that awaken an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.

The cult may be gone, but an even greater threat looms. The red sea from Elysian Garden is spreading relentlessly, threatening to consume the town—and ultimately, the world. As the crimson plague inches closer, the townsfolk must unite for a final, desperate attempt to halt its advance. They will either find a way out, or die trying.

The woods and forests can be a true dichotomy of experiences. For many they offer a peaceful connection to nature, but for some they have been a source of terror. In the shadows of towering trees and hidden in the brush, these unlucky few have encountered creatures or monsters that most think only inhabit our nightmares. Steve Stockton, a veteran outdoorsman and paranormal researcher, has put together a vast collection of over eighty terrifying, odd and strange encounters. These chilling tales may leave you questioning whether you ever want to journey into the woods again.

Wish you could learn and memorize more in less time? Stay focused, quit being frustrated, and absorb info like a human sponge? If you're looking to (1) accelerate your learning abilities, (2) improve your memory instantly, (3) pick up new skills efficiently, and (4) fly through material and ace tests - the answers are right in front of you. Step-by-step methods and habits to train your brain. Learn Like Einstein is your scientifically proven field guide on using your brain to its fullest potential like Albert Einstein.

Austin is a tenacious flirt, a clown, and often, a complete screw up. But he's happy with his life. He loves spice and variety, so settling down with just one woman is not an option.

Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America and winner of countless awards—including the Hugo, Nebula, Edgar Allan Poe, and Bram Stoker—Harlan Ellison proved once more that he was both unpredictable and irrepressible in this second collection of innovative science fiction. Again, Dangerous Visions—the middle installment in a planned three anthology series—includes award-winning stories from incomparable writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Piers Anthony, Dean Koontz, and James Tiptree, among many others.

Thomas Collier is future alpha of the Collier pack. While from the outside he looks like he has the world at his fingertips, in truth, life hasn't been so easy for him. He's never really given much thought into a true mate and is ready to settle for a compatible one, until he catches the scent of the one woman with whom he is destined to be. Now, he must convince her that he's not the man she thinks he is.

Moving back home to my parents' cattle ranch in Texas was the last thing I thought I'd be doing. But, here I stand...in front of my high school girlfriend. A beautiful, confident woman has replaced the young girl I once knew and loved. Hell. I'm still in love with her. Yep. Paxton Monroe was my first love and the one girl in town who now hated my guts. So much so, Paxton swore her revenge on me if it took her until the day she died.

After a near-death experience caused by the park's star haunted attraction, Ben has come to Ghostland seeking to reconnect with his former best friend Lilian, whose post-traumatic stress won't let her live life to the fullest. She's come at the insistence of her therapist, Dr. Allison Wexler, who tags along out of professional curiosity, eager to study the new tech's psychological effect on the user. But when a computer virus sets the ghosts free and the park goes into lockdown, the trio find themselves trapped in an endless nightmare.

Shelby Collier and Benjamin Shay were best friends growing up. They dreamed of being lifelong mates. Even through the awkward middle school years and into high school it was always Shelby and Ben. The night before he left for boot camp, Ben broke the news that he had joined the military. There was no warning or discussions, he simply turned his back and walked away from Collier with no plans on ever returning. That was nine years ago. Shelby held on to Ben all these years, writing to him every day to try to fill the void he left behind in her heart.

Callyn Silvers is the quiet girl in class, with her nose always in a book. No matter what school she's in, she likes to fly under the radar, and is hoping that senior year, at yet another new school, will be the same. Enter Zeke Montgomery, Graydon James, Maximus Anderson, and Lucian Harris. They enter Callyn's life like a Category 5 hurricane. All the boys recognize who she is the moment they see and scent her. She is their mate. All of their mates.

Bryan and Ellie Stockton hope they left behind their demons when they move to their idyllic new home in southern West Virginia. Above all, they want a fresh start for their young son, Derrick, who witnessed the tumultuous first years of their marriage—years that were rife with substance abuse, rage, and resentment. Their bright hope for the future is darkened when a child disappears from their neighborhood. The couple becomes suspicious of a reclusive resident with a degenerative brain disorder.

Marissa: I didn't want this life. But sometimes you're forced to make the best of the crappy hand you've been dealt. I wanted to teach my daughter that. No matter what happens you face your problems head-on. Never cower. Never give up. Then someone took her and I had to put my faith in a system that had failed me, and my hope in a man I didn't know.