Showing results by narrator "Catherine Winkel" in All Categories

In fifth grade my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed. It didn't take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever. For the next seven years, it was us. She's the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am.

Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death. A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s - a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires. What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

Ah, Nyil, with its magic, its monsters, and its petty gods. A divine spat leaves French medic Viv stranded in the middle of an arcane disaster zone crawling with undead horrors. Thankfully, there are strange allies to be found, not least the mysterious interface that helps humans survive in this merciless world. Viv will have to progress fast to survive this calamity and find civilisation. She will also need a bit of luck. Unless, of course, she becomes the calamity herself. After all, luck is such a fickle thing.

The VIs' revolt succeeded. The digital beings took over the game world and ejected millions of players while keeping a few thousand trapped inside as their prisoners. In the real world, Oren Berman is recovering from the mental trauma of being trapped, tortured, and abruptly ejected. But the company has come to him, hat in hand, asking him to reenter the game world. With the entire NPC population arrayed against the trapped players, Oren and his clan of monsters might be their only hope.

Kazar has fallen. All that is left of the border city is a caravan of refugees, skirting the edge of the deadlands and the dangers that lurk there. The situation is grim; but Viv is not done for. The Kazarans are alive and looking for revenge. And Viv? She has all the tools to provide it.

After crossing a magically radioactive desert and fending off a necromancer, Viv can aspire to some respite from all the horrors and foul-smelling undead. The border city of Kazar promises to be a haven where she can rest, learn how to use her new powers, and understand why she ended up in the fantastic world of Nyil. Arthur the pocket dragon and the genocidal golem Solfis are nice and all but she yearns for some human contact and look, there are plenty of humans around. With their own agenda.

Insurmountable odds, hidden powers maneuvering behind the scenes, all culminating in a final, titanic clash. The mighty city of Everance lay in the GreenPiece clan’s path, but as Oren soon discovers he’s got even bigger obstacles to overcome before reaching his final goal.

With one major enemy town behind them, the GreenPiece clan marches onward to new conquests. Facing Oren and his monster army are the combined forces of the so-called "civilized races", intent on halting his invasion of their territory. Reality blurs as Oren fights harder than ever to save the trapped players, his clan, and his family.

A few minutes ago, Meghan Moretti's biggest concern was getting the kids' athletic clothes washed in time for practice this evening. Now, it seems that Earth has been forced into participating in some high-stakes intergalactic reality television. All electrical wiring has been slagged, and most combustibles neutralized. Some kind of evil space rodents are appearing on the front lawn, too.

I can Reload. Redo every day, or even just a few moments, until they’re perfect.That’s my edge. Still the only reason I’m not dead already.But the closer I get to June 5th, the day Fortress ENE is destroyed by several concurrent portal breaches, the more it feels like the world is pushing...

It’s been years since anyone has seen Noble Vincent, the player that brought down World-Tree Online’s tyrannical moderator. Even with a lifetime of perceived experiences in the game, he still has centuries to go before the update finally ends and the people trapped in the game are freed...

From the New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author of the House of Night series Kristin Cast comes the next spicy and spellbinding light romantasy in the Towerfall series. In a world built on illusion, the truth is often deadly… Juniper Chase has perfected the art of being exactly what...

Old Man Vincent is heading for the top of the World-Tree and beyond in the final installment of the World-Tree Trilogy. To get there, he's going to have to overcome titan-sized bosses, strange new worlds, an army of angels, and a seemingly invincible final boss. And yes, he's looking forward to the challenge.

I died nine months from today, on the day that Fortress ENE, my home and one of the few safe cities left in North America, was assaulted by a million monsters pouring from the same portals we’d been exploiting for years. Nine months. I have nine months to find out who is responsible for the breach, which corporation stands to gain the most, and who is pulling the levels or power to burn my home down.

A journey far from home. Becoming enslaved. Giving in to your inner monster. Having survived the first wave of invading players, Oren now seeks to strengthen his clan. With the Breeder’s Den destroyed and most of Goblin's Gorge's resources devoted to rebuilding, his best hope lies in creating an army of golems. But for that, he needs Viridium, a rare metal that can only be obtained from hobgoblin towns, where Oren and his clan of goblins are viewed as nothing more than potential slaves. To make his way in the game, and to defeat his former guild, Oren’s ingenuity alone will not be enough.

After experimenting with an exploit, Vincent begins to develop new spells that will take him higher in the game than he ever thought possible. Unfortunately, he crosses paths with the last moderator, a young man named Lucas that uses his mod abilities to torture and subjugate other players. Lucas is willing to abuse his power to conquer the World-Tree, but Vincent’s exploit might just be the key to stopping him.

I was sold to my enemies.The Butchers of the London mob, who run an empire built on sin and greed. The stories I’ve heard about the way they rule their underworld are enough to make my heart race. But those rumors have nothing on the truth.Danny, Church, Frank. The three men who own me now...

Noah Becker is nothing but trouble. That's what Mama told me when I was a kid, kicking his pew in church and giggling at the games we'd play. It's what the town said when his father died and the Becker brothers went wild. And it's on repeat in my mind the day I walk into the whiskey distillery where he works to buy a wedding gift for my fiancé.

*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* "[P. J. Ochlan and Laurie Catherine Winkel] animate a large cast of well-rounded characters, a complicated plot, and rich descriptions...Their strong characterizations as well as their use of accents and judicious timing suggest an exciting new series ahead...

It’s amazing what the lack of immediate threat to one’s life and wellbeing can do for a person’s disposition. High risk, high reward endeavors suddenly seem far less appealing, month-long delays are no longer a cause for concern, and sleeping in every single day of the week becomes an extremely attractive proposition. Indeed, without a pressing need to aggressively expand its power, Boxxy T. Morningwood is finally able to simply sit back, enjoy life, and watch the world both turn and burn.