sci fi – dystopian & post apocalyptic

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Summary: Todd and Nick Ruger are on the run after narrowly escaping the war in New Colorado, where they were implicated in the assassination of Chancellor Shaffer. Todd is gravely ill and Nick has serious injuries, but that's the least of their problems. They're alone with dwindling supplies and facing the harsh winter bearing down on them far north in Yellowknife Protectorate. Just when it seems they're trapped between the proverbial rock and hard place, they are offered refuge with a doctor in the isolated town of Elk's Ridge. As they heal, they're offered a fresh start in Elk's Ridge. But just as they begin to rebuild their lives, tragedy strikes. Victor Raleigh, the new Vice-Chancellor of New Colorado, knows all about Nick's psychic abilities, and he'll settle for nothing less than total control over Nick. He's aligned himself with a vicious creature, a type of psychic vampire capable of wielding control over individuals such as Nick. When Nick is betrayed and captured, Todd sees no alternative but to head back into the war zone to rescue him. Will Nick be the same man Todd loves after Raleigh's pet psychic vampire is through with him? Can Nick accept the fact Todd can love him after what Raleigh forces him to do, or will his guilt consume and destroy him?

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Summary: A man arrives at his new job. A woman lets one last customer into her shop. Two teens sneak away to a party. These all sound normal. But these simple actions are on worlds that it's unlikely you've seen before. Twenty short stories bring you twenty weird worlds you won't soon forget.

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Summary: Todd Ruger is a sentry, a very good one, some might say the best. He was eleven when he and Nick were bound as master and slave. Todd spent the years Nick lived in the slave village waiting for the day Nick could leave and they’d be together, bit by bit building a life for both of them. He took his role of master seriously. It was his responsibility to provide for Nick, protect him and along the way he learned to love him. Todd loved Nick deeply and completely. They were more than a pair of sentries. Todd and Nick were friends, lovers, mates. Eighteen months ago, Nick left the small village where he’d spent his entire life being raised and trained as a slave. Blessed with a unique skill set, Nick became a sentry. He took his place beside his master, Todd Ruger, defending society against the many paranormal threats that abound. They became more than master and slave, they became mates. Nick had found a home with Todd and together they became a family. Eventually, Nick’s special abilities and skills attract the attention of the second most powerful man in New Colorado Protectorate’s government, Vice Chancellor Clarke. Or, maybe certain people knew of Nick all along and just now had cause to use him. He believes Nick might be the answer to explaining Chancellor Shaffer’s sudden, unusual behavior. Forced to go undercover at the Chancellor’s Estate, Todd and Nick discover an ancient and deadly creature preying on residents of the estate. The same creature that is radically effecting Chancellor Shaffer. A creature only Nick can see in its true form. It hunts using specialized skills and has Todd and Nick in its crosshairs. Even if they defeat the creature and survive, they still face the possibility of being torn from each other when their lives are thrown into chaos by the thing they’re hunting.

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Summary: When one society fell, assaulted by natural disaster, in its place rose another, molded into something entirely different. Protectorates were divided by beliefs and distance. Slavery was accepted and threats both natural and supernatural were commonplace. This became a world where sentries were needed. Trained almost from infanthood, these tough men and women lived in a society within a society. They were warriors and protectors, ferreting out evil and defending the citizens of New Colorado Protectorate from inhuman terrors and, on occasion, human ones. Todd Ruger was born into life as a sentry. Raised by a hard father into a hard life, Todd becomes the consummate sentry, tough, dangerous, and good at what he does. When he wasn't quite into his teen years, he was bonded to a special young slave named Nick. For years their only interaction was through letters. Friendship turned to a sort of courtship between them. Todd lived for the day Nick became of age and Todd's ownership would take effect. That was the day Nick would leave the village with Todd. They'd begin a life together. They'd make a difference. Raised as a slave, Nick never wanted to be special, but nature had other ideas for him. He grew up in a village with other slave children and was taught to be useful to his future master because he a gift ... or curse. The tutors responsible for his upbringing didn't understand what Nick could do, what he was; they were afraid of him. If sentries hadn't bought him, it was likely he'd never have lived to see the age of five. All that changes the day Nick leaves the village with Todd. He's cared for and shown a new, better life with a man who loves him honestly and wholly. But after being together barely a day, Nick is brutally attacked and injured. Though he recovers without incident, Todd's heart fills with revenge. The guardian in him turns into a dangerous, driven assassin, a wolf on the hunt. Todd's obsession with tracking down the men who hurt Nick and making them pay could very well get them both killed. Can they survive and build the life together they've both dreamed of for years? NOTE: This is the third edition of Marked Yours. The first and second editions were released by another publishing house. This story has been revised and re-edited with the end result being a better, stronger story.

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Summary: Be careful what you wish for … After eleven years trapped in the Spadros crime syndicate, 23-year-old private eye Jacqueline Spadros is an independent woman, free to run her investigation business. But her problems are only beginning. Deeply in debt, Jacqui is in danger from both the rogue Spadros men calling themselves “The Ten of Spades” and the ruthless Red Dog Gang — who may be one and the same. Jacqui is determined to find Black Maria, the key to the identity of the Red Dog Gang’s secretive leader. To survive long enough to do that, Jacqui needs a paying case. The one she's offered may put her in the most danger of all …

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Summary: In the last surviving cities of a ruined world, the concept of “woman” has been forgotten to history. Those unfortunate enough to lack a Y chromosome live as second-class citizens in a world dominated by mascs. Ember is Y negative. He is scorned, bullied, abused by every masc he encounters, at work and at the gym. Not even his Y negative roommate cuts him any slack. He wants so desperately to be accepted as a masc that he’d rather buy black market testosterone than food. Something’s gotta give—he needs a change in his life, but has no idea how to find it. Jess is a masc with a passion for studying the recovery of their devastated world. His boyfriend is pressuring him for more commitment, and his father expects him to take over the family business. He can’t wait to get away from civilization for his seasonal research out in the wild. When Jess offers Ember a job, their lives collide in the isolated wasteland, and their initial attraction turns into a relationship that horrifies those around them. Soon their struggle to stay together and to be who they are turns into a fight for their lives.

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Summary: Dark deeds are being done, and Jenn Canaday, a special agent with the FBI, has been assigned to look into them. This takes her to New Mexico, where cattle are being rustled and people are going missing—one of them the niece of the state’s governor. Meg Parkinson is a sheriff’s deputy in the small town of Laurel Hill. She and Jenn had once spent a steamy week together, but then Jenn had sent her away, something Meg hasn’t gotten over, as reluctant as she is to admit it. When Meg notices that the homeless camp on the edge of her town has become deserted, Jenn is brought into her vicinity to aid in the investigation. Will the former lovers be able to work together? Can they rekindle the flame that had once burned so brightly? And will they learn what’s behind all the disappearances without disappearing themselves?

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Summary: Welcome to the last of the great flying Cities! It’s 9172, YE (Year of the Empire), and the future has forgotten its past. Soaring miles over the Earth, Autumn, the sole surviving flying city, is filled to the brim with the manifold forms of humankind: from Human Plus “floor models” to the oppressed and disfranchised underclasses doing their dirty work and every imaginable variation between. Valerius Bakhoum is a washed-up private eye and street hustler scraping by in Autumn. Late on his rent, fetishized and reviled for his imperfect genetics, stuck in the quicksand of his own heritage, Valerius is trying desperately to wrap up his too-short life when a mythical relic of humanity’s fog-shrouded past walks in and hires him to do one last job. What starts out as Valerius just taking a stranger’s money quickly turns into the biggest and most dangerous mystery he’s ever tried to crack – and Valerius is running out of time to solve it. Now Autumn’s abandoned history – and the monsters and heroes that adorn it – are emerging from the shadows to threaten the few remaining things Valerius holds dear. Can the burned-out detective navigate the labyrinth of lies and maze of blind faith around him to save the City of Autumn from its greatest myth and deadliest threat as he navigates his feelings for his newest client, the handsome golem Alejandro?

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Summary: Laurie Parkinson, who’s lived in Laurel Hills all his life, is a gay sheet metal worker who’d rather be a gay hairdresser. Wheat Dupuis, who’s also gay, is the scion of one of Laurel Hill’s wealthiest families. He’d rather grow grapes than become CFO of Dupuis International. Laurie wakes one morning to discover his family gone and his town decimated by a bacteria that has lain dormant for millennia, incased in ice. With the melting of the ice caps, the bacteria is released, and mankind faces a pandemic that could surpass the Black Plague. Wheat and his family are on their way to safety when the unthinkable happens and he’s left behind. Laurie knows of a bunker in the woods outside Laurel Hill, where he intends to take refuge. On the way there, Laurie finds and rescues Wheat. Can two such dissimilar men work together through a pandemic to find their families ... and possibly find love, as well?

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Summary: The enemy hunts him, but not for the reason he thinks. How does a human survive in an alien dominated InterGalactic Community? By becoming an assassin, of course. At least, that’s what Leopold thought when he became an assassin for the elite. Pretending to be an alien known as Voidstriker, Leopold feeds his appetite for vengeance, killing aliens as well as taking their money. It's a win-win to his mind. That is, until a bounty is placed upon his head. With his true identity now revealed to the IG Community, Leopold knows it's only a matter of time before the powerful family members of his victims come for blood. Far worse is the fact that the one who put the bounty on his head, is the one he most fears. A routine job three cycles ago brought him face-to-face with Mastrodai, a prince of the powerful Mrrog Nation. Not only did Leopold—accidentally—destroy part of Mastrodai’s moon, but one glimpse of the mighty alien had him feeling desire for the first time in his life. He ran, and like predator after prey, Mastrodai never stopped hunting him. Leopold is convinced that Mastrodai wants bloody revenge.  But when he finally confronts the mrrog, he is stunned to realize Mastrodai wants something very different. Something surprisingly intimate—the one thing that scares Leopold more than torture. Reader Discretion advised: Off page torture and abuse, and aftermath of rape. While the intimacy between Leopold and Mastrodai is always consensual, there are others who wish to break Leopold into as many pieces as possible.

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Summary: What if the person who hated you most was the only one who could save you? Thousands of gentlemen have gone bankrupt in Bridges and trouble brews between the Diamond and Spadros crime families. Yet the city is united in its desire to exact vengeance for those murdered in the zeppelin disaster. Penniless and alone, private eye Jacqueline Spadros confronts the lowest point of her life. Seen as an accomplice in the financial crisis and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Jacqui faces trial in front of a hostile jury - and could receive the death penalty. Jacqui knows she's been framed by the illusive Red Dog Gang. But will the jury believe her?

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Summary: Lyncoln Ryland always saw himself as an ordinary man with an ordinary job, working maintenance in an ordinary mall. The only thing about him that isn’t ordinary are his feelings for the man who’s renovating the mall, but any kind of relationship with such a sophisticated man is highly unlikely. Adam James is the wealthy man who owns the mall. He’s secretly been yearning for Lyncoln, a man he doesn’t see as ordinary in the least. But Adam’s family has plans for him, and they don’t include a relationship with a blue-collar worker. All this is about to change when the sirens go off, signaling the possible end of the world. When the two men realize this isn’t a drill, they take shelter in the mall that isn’t quite as ordinary as everyone believes. What will the outcome be when two such disparate men must survive the apocalypse together?

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Summary: Miranda has three days until she must surrender control of her own life forever. In 1961 Fellowship America, obedience isn’t just expected—it’s enforced by law. Unable to bear the weight of that future, Miranda makes a desperate choice. She escapes. Sheds her old identity. Searches for the life she wants. But freedom comes at a brutal price. The Fellowship’s merciless enforcers—the “Angels of Death”—hunt her through a world more dangerous than she imagined. Each step toward freedom unravels national lies, suppressed personal traumas, and dark family secrets. When she meets a fierce rebel fighter who might hold the key to her survival, Miranda refuses to back down. She’ll risk everything to prove herself worthy of training—even if it means facing the Angels of Death alone. Now Miranda faces an impossible choice: retreat to the suffocating safety of her old life, or join a resistance that could cost her not just her independence, but her family, her future, and possibly her life. My Soul to Keep is a powerful exploration of resilience, identity, and the courage to chart your own path in a world determined to dictate your destiny. In a world where conformity means survival, what would you sacrifice to keep your soul?

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Summary: A collection of tales filled with monsters, be they human or beast, ranging in setting from dystopia to pitch black noir and even general silliness. From the ludicrous to the frighteningly plausible; from deep space to after the end of the world. There are clumsy werewolves and bloody revenge, monster sleep overs and a dieting fad sure to kill your appetite. Whether looking into the past or the future, you're sure to find that stuff gets really weird.

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Summary: Bad "Things" lurk in dark, abandoned spaces... Love, Death, & The After: Abandoned Spaces picks up the story where Rainey and her Team, along with Kendale's survivors, left off in Darkness. Escaping a late-night Nagual attack, and with her lover held together by "shoelaces and bailing wire," Rainey encounters the secret behind the Nagual hidden within a black site lab--a secret from The Before with a treacherous purpose in The After. Stopping the Nagual plan is hard enough, but her team has betrayed the trust of the town's survivors, while an attack by the Nagual's "Maker" and his militant allies looms. When someone compromises Preston's life, Rainey might be out of time and luck altogether. The black site's lead scientist puts his agenda on hold until he and his militia support team can eliminate Rainey and her team. Tesla has a golden opportunity to test his Nagual creations against an old nemesis and the geopolitical forces standing in the way of his greater destiny. Meanwhile, the emergent Nagual, Adam and Cain, have plans of their own. Book 2 of 3 in this four part series, "Love, Death, & The After: Abandoned Spaces" brings a science-fiction take on cutting edge bioengineering that pits the limits of romance, loyalty, and community against a violent world hell-bent on devouring it all. Book 1: Love, Death, & The After: Darkness Book 2: Love, Death, & The After: Abandoned Spaces Book 3: Love, Death, & The After: Never Again

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Summary: By the end of the 21st century, the world had become a harsh place. After decades of natural and man-made catastrophes, nations fell, populations shifted, and seventy percent of the continents became uninhabitable without protective suits. Technological advancement strode forward faster than ever and it was the only thing that kept human society steady through it all. No one could have predicted the discovery of the Dream Walkers. They were people born with the ability to leave their bodies at will, unseen by the waking world. Having the potential to become ultimate spies meant the remaining government regimes wanted to study and control them. The North American government, under the leadership of General Rennet, demanded that all Dream Walkers join the military program. For any that refused to comply, they were hunted down and either brainwashed or killed. The very first Dream Walker discovered was a five year old girl named Julia. And when the soldiers came for her at the age of twenty, she was already hidden away. A decade later found Julia living a new life under the government's radar. As a secure tech courier in the capital city of Chicago, she does her job and the rest of her time avoids other people as much as she is able. The moment she agrees to help another fugitive Walker is when everything changes. Now the government wants them both and they'll stop at nothing to get what they want.

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Summary: Marto Boxter is an optimistic journalist with a head full of implants. When we meet him, he is planning a ride into the interconnected tribes of the Northeast from his town of Reverside-on-Hudson. He plans to document his ride by posting his thoughts in real-time to his post-human followers. Before he can leave on his tour however, a runaway named Helen arrives with secret information that throws Marto’s placid world into turmoil. Meanwhile, Barnabas Yoniver IV, the leader of a Luddite town to the south launches a plot to disrupt the life of all upgraded humans and bring them back to the traditional economy of markets and governments. Aware of Yoniver's plans, rival Luddite families scheme to prevent Barnabas from grabbing too much power for himself.

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Summary: In the far future domed city of Dickens, no mercy is given. So when Eleanora Bryce finds her husband dead at his own hand, she finds herself trapped between the truth and his mountain of debt. When Eleanora refuses to speak with the constable investigating the case, he suspects her of murder. Eleanora faces prison - or worse - unless she can find a way out of Dickens. But can she bear to return to the city which ruined her husband and murdered her son?   A 6,000 word short companion story to the Red Dog Conspiracy steampunk crime fiction series. If you love sweet Regency romance or the works of Charles Dickens, you'll love Vulnerable.   Vulnerable takes place shortly before the events in The Jacq of Spades: Part 1 of the Red Dog Conspiracy. It can be read at any time before book 4, The King of Hearts.   Timeline: Gutshot: The Catastrophe The Alcatraz Coup Brothers Vulnerable <- you are here The Jacq of Spades The Queen of Diamonds The Ace of Clubs The King of Hearts The Ten of Spades The Five of Diamonds The Two of Hearts The Three of Spades The Knave of Hearts The Four of Clubs The Jack of Diamonds (coming October 2024)  

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Summary: When a change in collective conscious sends the Outsiders, a group of aliens, to the shadows below the city, humans reason that the demonization of their peers is simply more “humane.” There’s no question, nor doubt. Just acceptance. Lydia had embraced that sense of “truth” for as long as she can remember. The daughter of a powerful governor, she has been able to live her life with more comforts than most. Comforts can be suffocating, though, and when the opportunity to teach Outsider children in their private, “humane” community becomes available, she takes it. What she finds beneath the city is far from the truth she had grown to know. There she meets Alessia, an Outsider with the knowledge and will to shake the foundation of all those who walk above ground. The two find a new and unexpected connection despite a complete disconnect from the technological world. Or perhaps in spite of it. Still, it takes a lot more than an immutable connection to change the world. Lydia, Alessia, and a small group of Outsiders must navigate a system of corruption, falsehoods, and twists none of them ever saw coming, all while holding on to the hope to come out alive in the end. But it’s a risk worth taking, and a future worth fighting for.

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Summary: 1899 years after the Catastrophe, Bridges is run by the Mob. As its steam-driven infrastructure fails, a new faction rises. Can she stop them? The Red Dog Conspiracy follows the story of 22-year-old small-time private eye Jacqueline Spadros beginning from her first major case: the missing little brother of her best friend, whose murder ten years before in front of her still haunts her nightmares. The only clue? A Red Dog stamp across the alley from where the boy was last seen. Dodging the man - seemingly mad - who has publicly threatened her life, placating her brutal, sadistic father-in-law, and dealing with her feelings about her ex-lover, while being married to one of the city's biggest drug lords: Jacqui is a busy woman. Her life is about to get much busier. From the very first page, Jacqui is dragged into a web of lies, secrets, and betrayals which both endangers her life and the lives of those she loves. Dark, gritty, violent steampunk crime fiction which keeps you guessing to the very end. If you like crime fiction, noir, Victorian/historical, gritty steampunk, psychological thrillers, hardboiled mystery, hard sf, dystopian, or mafia romance you will love this set. This digital box set comprises Act 1 of a 13 part serial novel. Included in this set: The Jacq of Spades: Part 1 of the Red Dog Conspiracy The Queen of Diamonds: Part 2 of the Red Dog Conspiracy The Ace of Clubs: Part 3 of the Red Dog Conspiracy If made into movies, this set would be rated R for bad language, graphic violence, smoking and alcohol use, child kidnapping, teenagers murdered (a serial killer is on the loose), and sexual content (Jacqui is married, after all). Welcome to the Family.