Books Tagged With who - occupation - artist

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Summary: The war isn't over... With the world clinging to a fragile peace forced on the Fae by humanity after the Faerie Wars, metalsmith Alex Blackwood is plunged into the world of the half-fae who traffick in illegal magical artifacts. Her best friend’s murder and his cryptic last message place her in the crosshairs of a scheme to reignite the decade-old war between humans and fae. Worse, violent attacks against her and the arrival of a fae knight on a mission force Alex to face a devastating revelation of who and what she is. To catch a killer, retrieve a dangerous artifact, and stop a war, Alex will have to accept that she’s an unregistered fae “halfer” with a unique magical talent—a talent that would change everything she believes about her past, her art, and her future. Her world is crumbling around her, and Alex will have to decide who to trust if she and the world are going to survive. Winner of the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban Fantasy Winner of the Erik Hoffer Book Award in Sci-fi/Fantasy Amazon #1 bestseller in Dark Fantasy, Vampire Suspense, Werewolf/Shifter Suspense

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Summary: When Denny isn’t working as a photographer, they spend their time at the local coffee shop mooning over one of the regulars, the mysterious and beautiful Peri. No one’s more surprised than Denny when she asks them out on a date. What happens that night throws the couple into a world where nothing is as it appears and everyone wants to get their hands on Peri and her powers to inspire artists – especially Joolie, the controlling and egotistical leader of Denny’s art collective. If that wasn’t enough, the powerful, capricious water elementals known as Nyxen have inexplicably taken an interest in Denny. They warn that Peri’s gifts bring nothing but trouble to those around her. It’s hard to argue with them when the magic starts to go wrong; paintings greedily come alive with grasping tentacles, an obsessed ex-lover returns to threaten the couple, and Denny begins to wonder if their grip on reality is beginning to slip…  

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Summary: Androids & Aliens is Scott's third short story collection - eight sci fi and sci-fantasy shorts that run the gamut from cyborgs to (comedic) alien invasions: Rise: The rise in sea levels caused by climate change swallowed Venice beneath the lagoon half a century ago. But what if we could bring it back? Ping: I was a real estate agent by day, and a museum curator in the evening at a sci-fi museum. What I saw one night changed everything. What the Rain Brings: Miriam struggles to make a living in post-climate-change Vancouver. But her friend Catalina has it even worse in the Arizona desert. So Miri hatches a plan. High Seven: Zan dreams of making full reals - immersive live virtual reality skins - but his low score may doom him to a life of cheap coding. Full Real: Dek's given up his life of spying for the city. But one more case awaits him. Will he regret it more if he takes it, or turns it down? Shit City: The Bay Area is being walloped by a hurricane, and seventeen-year-old Jason Vasquez has been relocated to a refugee city in the Nevada Desert. Will it be temporary shelter, or change his life? Firedrake: Kerry has always wondered about his deadly powers. But a mysterious bunch of violet roses starts him on the path to discovery - even if he's not sure he's going to like what he finds. The Last Human Heart: I'm one of the Remainers, the few cyborg humans still living on this busted planet. But if my still-human heart finally gives out, I may not live to find out the truth about who I am. This is the first time all of these stories have all been collected in one place, and the first publication of the Pacific Climate Tryptich - What the Rain Brings, High Seven, and Full Real - in any form.

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Summary: Willem’s father never approved of his artistic talents, his choices in life, or the fact that he’s gay. When the only thing Horst leaves to Willem is the family cat, he thinks it’s his father’s last insult from the grave. That is, until the cat starts talking to him. Though Willem’s lost his boyfriend, his home, and his job, Kasha, who claims to be a magic cat, reassures him that all will be well. All he needs is Willem’s trust and a good pair of boots. But giving boots to a talking cat has unexpected consequences when odd events ambush Willem at every turn, such as the appearance of a handsome stranger in his arms at night. While he begins to suspect Kasha’s plans might be dangerous for all involved, how can he distrust such a charming kitty in cowboy boots?

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Summary: When humans forsake the temples, the gods need to find other employment. Hades opens Brandywine Investigations after his divorce and his subsequent move to the modern world. If he was hoping for boring infidelity cases and lost dogs, he’s sorely mistaken as murder and mayhem find his agency and his extended family at an astonishing rate. Includes: Canines, Crosshairs & Corpses: Brandywine Investigations #1 No Enemy But Time: Brandywine Investigations #2 Dragons, Diamonds & Discord: Brandywine Investigations #3

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Summary: An Imperial prince can only hide for so long—but his solution of a hastily invented engagement could backfire spectacularly. Marsh Kensinger's work as the utility mechanic for Bremen Station keeps his life interesting - but never quite as interesting as finding a pilot still hidden inside a hibernation drawer in what should have been a salvage craft. He knows he shouldn't get involved, but the Altairian Imperial crest on the private craft and the semi-conscious pilot's odd questions pique his always-whirling curiosity. Still unattached at a concerning age for an imperial son, Prince Shiro Shinohara hadn't been running from the endless, mind-numbing rounds of omiai his mother, the Empress, had mandated. Not exactly. He'd just wanted a break from persistent suitors at the family retreat on Ceti Tau. The short respite becomes a panicked flight for his life when one of the suitors stalking him attacks the family compound. Worried for the soldiers he was forced to leave behind, afraid there's a conspiracy to kidnap him, Shiro confides in the handsome mechanic who found him and in a moment of panic, concocts the fiction of a serious relationship with Marsh. It's only until Shiro's people can reach him and he can press charges back home. Marsh is willing to play along and Shiro's just going to have to keep himself together and not, under any circumstances, fall for the wonderful, generous man who refuses to stop helping him.

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Summary: My kid, Romy, says I'm old and she's worried about me. What's to worry about... aside from Jordan, my ex? Really, she didn't have to come all the way home to check on me. It's all good—especially Nova, the girl at the drive-up coffee shop. I keep to my work and surfing the local breaks to keep her out of my head... But it doesn't work. Her perfect skin and brilliant hair crash through my mind and draw me to her—like a super-moon tide. There's something about her... Bodie Catalan knows second chances don't just happen after a hard life, wracked by mistakes. Every now and again, however, the universe throws down a wildcard. Drive-Up is a fabulist, sentimental, 21st century tale. It rides the beach breaks along the shores of several genres and connects the wildcard thrown to entangled, beach-bound lives and the inexorable tidal change that moves all that cross it. Dive into this tale and see what's been served at the Drive-Up.

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Summary: New world... New rules. Alex is screwed. She’s due at the fae Court of Enchantment in less than twenty-four hours, but she’s not even close to being ready. Her job is hanging by a fraying thread. There’s a new vampire master in town. And several of her werewolf friends have been captured by the Paranatural Task Force. She’s their best chance for release before the full moon reveals their secret, but the Lord of Enchantment is not someone you keep waiting—even when he happens to be your grandfather. All Alex can do is call in a favor, hope to hell she can survive the plots of the fae court, and hightail it home to salvage her life. One mistake at court could change everything . . . .   Winner of the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban Fantasy

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Summary: Free bird? Don't make me laugh. Mom tossed me out of the nest with five dollars and the clothes on my back. Why? I visited my snitch brother in Danvers Sanitarium. Pariah or not, I refuse to abandon my favorite sibling. Did I forget to mention mom made me homeless on the night before my first day of high school? The principal took pity, but she stuck me in the boarding house with a nosy roommate. I refuse to flunk out of high school like the rest of my family. Breaking the cycle is a tall order. Three of my classmates decide to grief me because of my shady family. The others are part of an exclusive and mysterious clique. My only friend is Ed, a scrawny medium I rescued from a gang of psychic bullies. At least he doesn’t mind my obsession with ghosts. How will I get through the first month at this rowdy school, let alone three whole years?

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Summary: Love defies time, crosses the infinite distance of space, and sparks formidable magics in the hearts of those it touches. And immortality? Yeah, it’s got that covered, too. In this powerful volume, Pop Seagull Publishing presents twelve science fiction and fantasy short stories on the theme of love and its role as a force of nature. Follow an ambitious 1930’s journalist and her high-society boyfriend as they defend the world from evil beings that hide in shadows. Can love prevail when science fails? Take a wild ride with Zephraim Cochrane as he searches for his long lost love through inter-dimensional travel. After all, the best inventions are always made to get dates. Embark on a whirlwind romance with a creature of the Fey in seven days, a beautiful story of friendship and finding self-love before all else. Descend into a very Torontonian sort of hell in search of lost love in Melanie in the underworld... just don’t forget to pet the corgi. You’ll find these adventures, and many more, inside.

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Summary: My name is Ben, and I died last year. Almost. I’d hoped I would wake up from my near-death experience as a medium just in time for high school. Turns out it just wrecked my legs. No medium talent, either. I’m something else. A summoner. Join Ben as he finds his feet at the Academy and learns what it takes to be a summoner in this complete 9-book series boxed set! --- I know next to nothing about my talent besides it involves portals and pledge bonds. It’s okay, they teach it at school. Sounds perfect, right? Wrong. Mateo, the other summoner in my class, hates me. The class clairvoyant thinks destiny has got it out for me, too. Makes sense. As if I don’t already feel like a square peg, getting around on crutches, my portals break stuff and go to the wrong realm. It’s a good thing I’ve got help from my family, friends, and a celestial called Arie. It takes constant rehab just to keep my busted body working. But how do I fix my broken talent?

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Summary: A single father fights to retain control as he shares his body and mind with an evolving AI. It’s been nine years since the government banned all technology. So, when Joel Lodowick, a young transgender father struggling to support his five-year-old daughter, has an old bionic upload itself into his head, he is faced with a decision: Go to the cops and risk prosecution? Or use the robot’s skills to turn his life around? Scared of losing his daughter, Joel chooses the latter. Heightened intelligence and physical enhancements quickly land him a better job and a brighter future. But things take a sinister turn when Joel realizes his uninvited companion has an agenda of its own, which may or may not include leaving him in control. Unable to approach the government who covered up the truth about AI sentience, Joel finds himself on the run. With his daughter’s life on the line and his own body turning against him, he must find a way to convince the bionic in his head to value his human life before he loses the chance forever. Find out what happens in My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan!

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Summary: Every story has a beginning…. Dragons. Angels fear them and demons follow them. Formidable beasts of incredible power, they fight each other to the death for dominance. But dwindling dragon numbers cause alarm among the angelic ranks. Surely when the dragons have finished killing each other, the victors will search elsewhere for conquest… maybe even the Upper Realm. Roland, an angelic artist of significant talent, doesn’t know what to believe. Part of him longs to see a dragon in person, and his peaceful life of contentment is wearing thin. He wants passion, desire, adventure, and love. He gets more than he bargained for when he and his sister are ambushed and captured by demons, and they bring him to a creature who surpasses Roland’s wildest imaginings. But the mighty dragon Asagoroth is not all that he seems. Something sparks between him and Roland. Something neither anticipated. Something that will shake the cosmos to its core. Note to readers: this is the second edition, fully revised and updated.

Word Count: Click here to reveal1250 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A broken heart leads to sensual dark magic. An erotic short.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: AURA’s offices have been quiet since the mage tower incident—as quiet as they can be for an agency dedicated to policing holes in reality—and the department heads have been free to turn their attention back to mundane matters. The return to quiet bureaucracy gives AURA’s Director of Research, Kai Hiltas, the time to turn his energy to a new issue—a young drow with unusual and dangerous powers named Ryld. Though his shadows always lurk at the edges of his vision, Ryld does his best to live peacefully and not let them hurt anyone. He has his work, his apartment and a succession of minders assigned by AURA who are, ostensibly, there to keep him safe in his new world and to prevent him from causing any scenes with his shadows. Most of the time, the arrangement works. But one disastrous incident causes Ryld’s minder to leave him unattended and lost—the precise thing he was hired to prevent. To replace the faithless minder, Kai suggests Hank, a half-goblin accountant recently in the middle of a string of terrible luck, while Kai works out how best to get Ryld the magical training he so desperately needs. For his part, Hank truly likes Ryld and insists he would be happier working as Ryld’s companion rather than as a controlling minder. As Hank and Ryld slowly come to terms with sharing space—and eventually more—Kai’s search for a teacher for Ryld takes them out west on the invitation of the Elvenhome’s aelfe queen and right into the lap of inter-elven feuds, ancient prejudice, conspiracies and trafficking rings. What should have been a pleasant visit soon turns into more than even forever-scheming Kai can handle.

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Summary: Deals and desperation are a dangerous combination... Alex will do anything to protect the man she loves from an eternity as the vampire council’s political puppet, but a favor from the fae Lord of Enchantment comes at a steep price. A decision must be made, and she’s running out of time. The peace summit that will determine the fate of all paranatural beings on Earth is just around the corner, and vampires coming out of the closet isn’t the only complication. Purists are ramping up production of Fantasia—a drug distilled from the bodies of abducted fae to grant magical abilities to mundane humans—and whispers indicate an attack on the summit. In order to save the summit and protect the people she loves, Alex must travel deep behind enemy lines with the last person she wants to trust as her only backup.

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Summary: Wyatt Calder is trapped -- in a rundown neighborhood, in a dead-end job, by the endless string of trouble his brother drags to their door -- and it seems he’s destined to slowly fade away within the aging walls of Picket House, longing for his best friend's cousin. That is until his upstairs neighbor Abel Walters dies on the staircase just outside Wyatt’s door. Saalik has spent most of his existence asleep and waiting for the next person to discover his bottle and claim their wishes. And the last four years playing prized possession to Abel Walters and spying on the downstairs neighbors. But he has a plan. And, like every plan worth planning, it has taken patience. But if life as a Jinn has taught Saalik nothing else, it’s taught him that. When a break-in sends Wyatt out his second-story bedroom window and into his dead upstairs neighbor’s apartment, he finds more than a place to hide. He discovers a magical solution to all his troubles. Or does he? Because really, when is life ever that simple?

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Summary: The mind of a befuddled muse... is full of odd nooks and crannies. This quirky, thoughtful, engrossing collection of short fiction contains twelve short stories and a novella across sci-fi and related genres including Time Travel, Alternate History, Hauntings, Circus Noir, Historical Fiction, Interspecies Communication, emails with the dead, and more... The Stories include: Curved Space: The crew of a sleeper ship awakes to find themselves lightyears from earth and in danger of starvation. They are shocked when a pizza deliveryman knocks at their airlock. The Daemon Muse A man tries to ignore his muse and finds out she is not a jealous lover, but she demands his creativity to express her inspirations. Times of Life and Death A field historian specializing in Tudor England becomes entranced by Lady Jane, England's nine-days queen. He convinces her to forgo her execution and come with him back to 2085 where, he says, she will be safe. Heart's Desire The newly elected president of the United States finds out that even when the devil loses his bet, he wins. A Sticky End A freak accident leaves an astronaut dying and stuck in the airlock with his robot. As he prepares for his end, he desperately tries to find humanity in his one remaining friend. The Singer of Starfish A young dolphin is convinced that she is the long-prophesied "Singer of Starfish" who can finally communicate with the strange animals keeping her and her pod captive. The Offering A sculptor weeps as he carves a memorial for his painter friend who had completely failed to understand the brutality of the French Occupation of Algeria. Both is French family and his secret Algerian family would pay the price of his naiveté. The Big Gumshoes A Clown PI must solve the murder of his friend and mentor in both his careers. Along the way, he breaks up a corrupt side-show, finds love, and returns a kidnapped dog to its owner. A Day in the Life of the Great Space Explorer A nursing home finds a unique way to entertain its staff and residents by celebrating the writing of their resident Sci-Fi author who can only remember the day he is living at the moment. Something That Will Not Let Go A woman returns to her childhood home to hide from the law. Once there, she finds out her imaginary friend, who helped her live through the abuse from her father, is not so imaginary after all. Together, they avenge the pain they suffered as children. Pea Soup A mild-mannered, puzzle-loving court reporter is duped by the beautiful, but corrupt prosecutor. The Severed World The Field Historian and Lady Jane from Times of Life and Death find out her decision to travel back to his time has dramatically changed history and that his promise that she would be safe in 2085 could not have been more wrong. A Thread Across The Veil An internet scammer discovers that he can converse by email with his recently deceased lover and that she wants to reform him from his evil ways.

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Summary: Paris 1880, the City of Electric Light Clockwork nobles of the Court promenade through the halls of Versailles, while Watcher spheres and cyborg police menace citizens of France in the streets. The Royal Scientist Doctor works frantically on an automaton designed to replace the failing sovereigns, but will it be ready in time to save the monarchy? In the cafes of Montmartre, Henri paints the common people chafing under the reign of the Augmented monarchs and dreams of a France free of machines. John yearns to capture the essence of beauty in his paintings with the luminous Marie-Ange his muse-and handmaid to the ancient Queen of France. With his brother Henri entangled in revolution, he must choose between the artificial beauty of Court and the movement to restore France. How much humanity can be lost before you are no longer human?