Showing results by narrator "Emily Ellet" in All Categories

SHORT STORY: A cute technician keeps breaking things in her too-shiny lab, then calling a fixer in for repairs. Zita's a certified member of the International Guild of Repair Workers, Local 772, and she's certain this hot girl is breaking her toys on purpose. But why? Something very sexy but very weird is going on...

Glenna’s heart sinks just as her boots sink in the mud, when she sees how horrid planet Raghild is. But there is no turning back now. She must forge onward to meet the despised charlatans, aka, mages—the only ones able to help her get rid of the corruption that’s killing her. The sooner she finds the mages, the sooner she can rid herself of the deadly corruption, and of the pesky mage who somehow sneaked his way into her heart.

The thing the machines consume is us. Ready to lease out your mind? Or pay for your next meal with involuntary ads? The Closet Full of Time collection contains five short stories that speak to that sinking feeling that we're serving the machines instead of the other way around. That our inventions are taking things we can’t afford to lose.

Lilla thought she knew the stakes of the Era War, but on the remote jungle world, she faces a new and unexpected challenge. When a skirmish goes wrong, Lilla discovers the existence of a society that has the power to tip the balance of the war.

Residents of the posh Upstate New York neighborhood of Deer Crossing enjoy all the amenities wealth provides. From drive-up dog-grooming to monthly botox parties, these lucky suburbanites have everything they could ever want. And one thing they don’t. Stalker Caroline Case, who wheels her infant along their streets each night with just one goal … to spy on anyone too careless or too foolish to close their window blinds.

Grieving her mother’s death, Mari Lennox travels to Kyoto, Japan to take photographs of Yanagi Inn for a client. As she explores the inn and its grounds, her camera captures striking images, uncovering layers of mystery shrouding the old resort—including an overgrown, secret garden on a forbidden island. But then eerie weeping no one else in the inn seems to hear starts keeping her awake at night.

Most believers support the idea that the Almighty sends mankind messages through angelic thoughts, actions, and interventions. Many believers also admit that the workers of iniquity throw obstacles in the pathway of spiritual seekers. Though the angelic hierarchical structure put forth in The Daystar Letters: Unmasking Screwtape’s Trade Secrets is fantasy, it lends itself to some useful insights about the workings of these two opposing powers, one real and the other supposititious.

What they can’t see can hurt you. In Myra’s world, some people can flicker—become invisible—at will. The ability to flicker is a burden, not a gift. Flickerkin are viewed with suspicion by the ruling Plats: an invisible person might be a spy, a traitor, an assassin. Flickerkin discovered in New Heart City, the Plat capital, can be put to death. Myra, who is part Flickerkin, has never dared to use her inherited power.

There’s nothing unusual about a young bride entrusting Mandy Dyer with her wedding dress. Mandy runs a dry cleaners—her customers bring in gowns all the time. But when Mandy realizes the bride-to-be is marrying her womanizing ex-husband, she sees red—especially when she discovers the bride stabbed to death in her bridal suite. With Larry as the prime suspect, Mandy is up to her neck in her ex’s dirty laundry once more. Only this time, the stink of it is even worse.

Mandy Dyer is more than ready to give up her second career as an amateur sleuth. After all, she has an in-demand dry cleaners to run! But when her cousin Laura comes in and asks for Mandy’s help locating a coat she lost in a restaurant, Mandy can’t say no. Besides, it seems like a fairly harmless investigation—until a hit-and-run driver nearly takes Laura out. And when Mandy heads to Laura’s apartment to cheer her up while she heals from a broken leg, Mandy is suddenly attacked by an unknown assailant.

Learning her dear friend and valued customer Thelma Chadwick is dead is one thing, but when Denver dry cleaner Mandy Dyer discovers the sweet old woman left her a cryptic message and a bag of clothes that Mandy has never seen—nor cleaned—she is awash in suspicion. Thelma knew Mandy had a hand in solving mysteries in town—Was she asking Mandy to use her sleuthing skills to find her killer? And if so, were the unusual buttons that covered the dresses Thelma left in her care some kind of clue?

Mandy Dyer is happy to see her straitlaced customer Ardith Brewster suddenly bringing a fresh, fun new wardrobe into Mandy’s Denver dry cleaners. When Ardith confides she’s got a new man in her life—someone she met at Mandy’s open house, no less—Mandy is delighted for her . . . until Ardith turns up dead. Mandy is sifting through her customers, trying to find someone who matches Ardith’s mystery beau’s well-heeled description, when suddenly another customer is killed.

Moving to Hawthorne was something Tess and her mom never anticipated, but after Tess's mom loses her job, it's their only option. Tess's grandparents welcome them into their home, on the condition that Tess and her mom attend church, something Mom isn't too pleased about. But Tess enjoys the church community, finding a place in youth group and the church choir. Faith fills a void Tess didn't know she had. After a very personal decision goes public, Tess faces daily harassment and rejection by her former friends, and singing in the church choir is no longer an option.

When Det. Stan Foster shows up at Mandy Dyer’s dry cleaning shop, Mandy hopes her one-time boyfriend has come back to win her heart. Instead, he soothes her ego by asking for her help with his homicide investigation. But if Stan thinks she’ll walk away from the case after answering his inquiry, he’s dead wrong. Because these days, Mandy is as famous for her amateur sleuthing skills as she is for her freshly pressed clothes. Mandy’s investigation puts her in touch with a colorful cast of characters, from Betty the Bag Lady to Harpo the Mime.

Dry cleaning entrepreneur Mandy Dyer has a spotless reputation as a business owner—and as a part-time amateur sleuth. Yet when the body of her sleazy business rival is discovered hanging from a conveyor belt in her cleaning plant, Mandy is the lead suspect. So much for making a good impression on sexy homicide detective Stan Foster. But Mandy isn’t the kind to turn away from a tough spot. Instead, she begins searching for the real culprit, starting with the colorful cast of characters she calls her employees.

Mandy Dyer is feeling the heat—and not just because she’s the owner of Dyer’s Dry Cleaners. When she discovers that her dear friend Kate Bosworth has been strangled by a vintage scarf, Mandy has a real mess on her hands. Days earlier, Kate had brought an antique gown into Dyer’s for a cleaning. The dress was a 1920s Fortuny that Kate claimed was worth thousands, but she’d gotten for a steal—and it may have cost Kate her life.