Stories by @penguininja

The Camel Club

Existing at the fringes of Washington D.C., the Club consists of four eccentric members. Led by a mysterious man know as "Oliver Stone," they study conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government to discover the "truth" behind the country's actions. Their efforts bear little fruit --- until the group witnesses a shocking murder ... and become embroiled in an astounding, far reaching conspiracy. Now the Club must join forces with a Secret Service agent to confront one of the most chilling spectacles ever to take place on American soil --- an event that may trigger the ultimate war between two different worlds. And all that stands in the way of this apocalypse is five unexpected heroes.

Daemon's Angel

THE SAINT Cast to the mortal realm by an evil sorceress, Arina had more than her share of problems. She was trapped in a temptress;s body, tormented by untested passions, and doomed to lose any man she desired. Yet even as Arina yearned for the safety of the pearly gates, she found paradise in the arms of a Norman mercenary. THE SINNER The villagers said Daemon was the devil's son, but he was only a man plagued by strange dreams—visions of a tantalizing beauty who enchanted him like no other. Then the enticing stranger appeared in the flesh, and he vowed nothing between heaven and earth would keep them aprat. But to savor the joys of her very own angel, Daemon would have to battle demons—within and without—and risk his very soul for love.

One Sweet Moment

Edinburgh, 1822: In the glittering New Town, the Scottish capital is fast transforming itself into the Athens of the North. Catriona Dunbar lives in the dank underground vaults of the Old Town, where she and her young brother Andrew are slaves in all but name to their grasping aunt and pitiless, lecherous uncle. Proud and determined, Kate dreams of escape for Andrew and herself, a dream that may come true when handsome medical student Richard Hope walks into her life. Their love meets horrified opposition from Richard’s wealth family, while Kate’s aunt and uncle see an opportunity for easy money.

Fairest

In the kingdom of Ayortha, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Aza. She is thoroughly convinced that she is ugly. What she may lack in looks, though, she makes up for with a kind heart, and with something no one else has-a magical voice. Her vocal talents captivate all who hear them, and in Ontio Castle they attract the attention of a handsome prince - and a dangerous new queen. In this masterful novel filled with humour, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is.

Malicious Intent

A gripping and powerful new thriller -- the debut of a stunning new voice in suspense fiction -- and the first appearance of a tough and remarkable investigator, pathologist, and forensic physician, Dr. Anya Crichton. The only female freelancer in the male-dominated field, pathologist Dr. Anya Crichton will take any work she can find to pay child support and her mortgage, get her new business off the ground, and battle her ex-husband for custody of their three-year-old son. Things turn around rapidly, however, when her expert forensic evidence is instrumental in winning a high-profile case -- and new work offers start pouring in. But Anya's investigation into the drug overdose of a young Lebanese girl is raising troubling questions. Startling coincidences between this sad and tragic death and a series of seemingly unrelated suicides that Anya is also examining at the urging of her friend and colleague, detective sergeant Kate Farrer, suggest that there's a monumental evil at work in the shadows. With each scalpel cut, Anya Crichton's forensic prowess and deductive brilliance are pulling her relentlessly toward a sinister plot and a devastating truth -- and once she enters the lethal darkness, she may never again see the light of day.

Death on the Strip

Thirty-two-year old, Rosalie Bennett, lives in Las Vegas and writes a column for Women Living Well magazine on What's Hip in Vegas. To make extra money she uses her psychic ability and tarot cards to predict the future for her clients. But when the death card shows up and murders follow, she must use her talents in a whole new way and becomes embroiled in cases to either save people or solve murders. After the death of her fianc�, she vows to find his killer and make him pay the price. She goes undercover at the Purple Passion Lounge. Things aren't as simple as they appear causing Rosie to take things into her own hands to save the day. Her silky dog, Sweet Pea, is her sidekick, and her grandmother's spirit still pops into her life with advice or simple expressions of love --- sometimes at the most ill-times moments.

Scent of Roses

Elizabeth doesn't believe in ghosts. But this time she has no choice. Family counselor Elizabeth Conner isn't sure what to think when Maria Santiago comes to her for help. Pregnant and terrified, Maria claims to be visited each night by the ghost of a little girl, warning her to flee. Her husband, Miguel, a migrant worker at Harcourt Farms in the San Joaquin Valley, dismisses her fears as hormonal changes. Sympathetic to the young woman, Elizabeth agrees to help by contacting Miguel's employers, who own the cottage where the young couple lives. Elizabeth immediately picks up on the deep enmity between the two Harcourt brothers: Carson, the handsome scion running the estate for his incapacitated father, and Zack, the rebellious black sheep. While Carson is more interested in Elizabeth than in her concerns, Zack grudgingly agrees to help her look into the history of the house. But even as unexpected desire draws them together, Elizabeth and Zack feel something dark and disturbing at the house. And when the cloying scent and lingering chill of pure evil surround her, Elizabeth knows something terrible has happened here before, something that has its roots in murder....

Always on my Mind

After a tragic loss three years ago, Grayson Tyler left his life in New York City behind and started over in the rolling hills of the California coast. He's convinced himself that all he'll ever need again is the blue sky, a thousand acres of pasture, and the crashing waves of the ocean. Until one day, Lori Sullivan barges into his life and promptly blows his emotionless and solitary world to shreds, driving him crazy as only a woman nicknamed “Naughty” can. But will Lori be able to convince him that it's safe to love her...and that forever isn't actually out of reach?

The Way You Look Tonight

As a very successful private investigator who has caught many a cheater, Rafe Sullivan believes true, lasting love only happens once in a blue moon. But when he returns to the family lake house, the sweet girl next door is all grown up…and she may be just the one to change his mind. While Brooke Jansen is happy with her quiet, small-town life, she secretly longs to experience something wild. So when her favorite "Wild Sullivan" moves back after more than a decade away, she can't stop wondering if being bad is really as good as it always seemed…and just how long it will be before she can find out. It's not long before a summer fling spirals into something much deeper. Can Rafe put his faith in love for once, or will he end up losing the best thing that's ever happened to him?

Sapphire Skies

A love bigger than a war. A beautiful woman lost. A mystery unsolved … until now. 2000: The wreckage of a downed WWII fighter plane is discovered in the forests near Russia’s Ukrainian border. The aircraft belonged to Natalya Azarova, ace pilot and pin-up girl for Soviet propaganda, but the question of her fate remains unanswered. Was she a German spy who faked her own death, as the Kremlin claims? Her lover, Valentin Orlov, now a highly-decorated general, refuses to believe it. Lily, a young Australian woman, has moved to Moscow to escape from tragedy. She becomes fascinated by the story of Natalya, and when she meets an elderly woman who claims to know the truth behind the rumours, Lily is drawn deeper into the mystery.

The Haunting of Braidwood Manor

A one-shot mystery story following a woman who attempts to uncover the secrets of a seemingly abandoned estate in order to resolve herself of her brother's suicide

Primrose: Because I Can't Live Without You

Falling in love is supposed to be wonderful and magical, but for Lux and Gray, it’s also a nightmare filled with strict parents, steep punishments, and no hope of “happily ever after” in sight. That is, until she becomes pregnant, and marriage is the only solution to rectify their sins. But their happiness is short-lived when Gray is drafted into the army. He must leave behind his new wife and unborn child with the possibility of never returning. Some years later, the war ends and Lux has accepted that her husband won’t be coming home. Soon, a mysterious stranger with no memory of who he is and who looks oddly like her dead husband enters her life. Blinded by denial and acceptance of Gray’s death, Lux struggles to see the truth behind the reality they are living in

Discern

Nicole Williams is an Arete—a fourth child with magical abilities—yet no matter how hard she tries, she can’t Channel her power. In fact, she seems to be the only student at Katon University who fails at magic. That doesn’t stop magic from finding her. It starts with possessed books and cursed spiders before moving quickly to freaky shadows and magical currents. Nicole turns to her best friend for help, along with fellow student Austin Young, who is considered by all a magical rarity. He also happens to be the hottest guy on campus and just might be interested in her. Nicole soon finds herself competing to be included on a university-led expedition to Arches National Park. She is determined to show everyone, but mostly herself, that she does belong. Yet, to qualify for the trip, she must produce at least a speck of Wind magic, and that appears to be impossible. As the competition progresses, Nicole wonders if she’s making the right choice—especially when she learns that the strange fossils they’ll be studying in Arches might not be as dead as everyone thinks.

Dating An Alien Pop Star

Daisy Kirkwood has only just escaped her small-town life and run away to New York City, the land of last-minute secret gigs at famous musical venues, when she's kidnapped by aliens. Unfortunately, no one ever writes about how to handle alien abduction in those fancy NYC guidebooks. Griffin and Dev are supermassively sexy aliens from a politically and environmentally troubled planet who arrive on Earth with very little knowledge about human ways other than what they learned from a wayward E! News signal. Their mission is to pretend to be the most influential people on the planet—English pop stars, of course!—and gain the help of a powerful secret society. Upon arriving, they abduct Daisy Kirkwood, a nerdy young woman who loves music but could seriously use a bit of help in the love-life department. Though Griffin and Daisy initially squabble, neither can deny the intergalactic sparks whenever they're too close to each other. Together, they must face murderous aliens, cultural misunderstandings, bad backup musicians, and the dark side of fame and the media, all set against a tight deadline… Part High Fidelity, part Bridget Jones' Diary, part Doctor Who, Dating an Alien Pop Star is a sexy romantic comedy.

Damage Control

An actress practically since birth, Grace Durand has finally made it in Hollywood. When a photo of her in a seeming compromising situation with another woman is plastered all over the tabloids, she fears for her career as a lead in romantic movies. Desperate for a publicist who’ll convince America that she’s straight, Grace hires Lauren Pearce, one of Hollywood’s leading PR agents, not knowing that she’s a lesbian. Lauren has dealt with PR nightmares for years, so doing damage control for one more rich, spoiled client shouldn’t be a problem—or so she thinks. But the more time she spends with Grace, the more she realizes how different she is from her television persona. Getting involved with her client is not in her game plan, especially since it would confirm the rumors and ruin Grace’s career, but the attraction between them is growing as they run the gauntlet of the paparazzi together.

Crave the Rose

They both know what it means to be broken. Bram, an Irish charmer, hides dark secrets behind his wolfish smile. Since dropping out of Oxford, he struggles with epilepsy, fighting to remain whole. Cassia hides behind her tattoos and bad girl attitude, hurt one too many times to believe in a happy ending. Together, they work on Wolfenwold Hall, a crumbling manor house tangled in a garden run wild, while the attraction between them blazes out of control. Can they find a second chance before it's too late to save each other

Chasing Bullets

Tara Hunter works as an extreme sports guide in the idyllic town of Byron Bay. She’s content with her day-to-day, easy existence, until one night David Cooper appears at her table in the local pub and her life is turned upside down as their chequered past comes back to haunt her. Two years ago, Cooper, her undercover partner, took a bullet meant for her and the ramifications of that act caused her to leave Sydney. Partners can never be lovers, a truism she knows only too well from her own family saga. Jaded by his work as an undercover police officer, Cooper requests a secondment to the anti-terrorist unit, joining a team hunting an extremist cell near Byron Bay. Physically he’s recovered from the bullet wound he received two years ago, but mentally he’s still scarred, never having gained an answer as to why Tara fled without a word. Cooper persuades Tara that her team of extreme sports guides are the perfect tool needed to help find the terrorists hiding in the jungle hinterland. Tara is forced to work closely with Coop and his anti-terrorism unit, and she soon finds the illicit desire they shared two years ago remains stronger than ever. When Cooper is hurt in an abseiling accident, Tara finally admits to herself she might be falling in love with him all over again. However, before she can tell Coop, he’s taken hostage and tortured by the extremists. Desperate, Tara joins the team sent in to rescue him. She finally comes to realise what it means to have the courage to love someone so much you’ll lay your life down to protect them, when she dives in front of a terrorist’s speeding bullet to save Cooper

Underneath the Surface

Dylan, now seventeen-years-old, has attended Albanrouke Academy since her parents dropped her off as a scared little six-year-old girl. Although reluctant to leave her twin brothers and the only life she knew, she always obeyed the academy's hierarchy and their rigid rules. Dylan was taught to dutifully obey authority and to absorb all information taught to her without questioning it. But one day she forgets to take her mandatory medication, and she sees the safe routine of life inside the academy unravel. Everything around her begins to appear unnatural. Classmates, teachers, and friends are all exhibiting strange behaviours that she can't explain. It scares her. Suddenly, a small number of people approach Dylan in order to recruit her into their group. They offer promises of safety, finding out the secrets of the school and ultimately revealing the truth of the world. But Dylan rejects them. Still in denial and free of the mysterious medication that dulled her natural curiosity and independence, she needs to see proof of their claims for herself - to explore the world herself before trusting these strangers. Now in control of herself, Dylan struggles to overcome time and fate in order to save her younger brothers and herself before it's too late. But she discovers that some things are better left alone.

Breathe

Jack is used to danger. His asthma has nearly killed him more than once. But his new home has a danger he’s never known before - the spirits of the dead. They can’t breathe, but in Jack’s house they chase, hide, scream. Only Jack can see them. Only he can hear them. And only he can learn their secrets in time to save himself... and his mother...

Blood Codex

An ancient order. A deadly conspiracy. A race against time. When Jake Crowley rescues Rose Black from assailants on the streets of London, the two find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could cost them their lives. People are dying, and all the victims have one thing in common with Rose: a birthmark in the shape of an eagle. From beneath the streets of London, to castle dungeons, to the heart of Christendom and beyond, Jake and Rose must race to stay alive as they seek to unlock the secrets of the Blood Codex.