Showing results by narrator "Joe Hempel" in All Categories

Never fall in love with a sports star. That's what my stepfather always said. He told me athletes are complicated and moody - that the higher their paycheck, the lower their morals. As public relations for the New York Stingers, I know exactly what he means, but I can’t seem to say no to a friendship with one beautiful, damaged man. What started out as hate turned into something else. We tried to stay away, to keep our distance, but the pull was too strong.

The zombie apocalypse has driven humanity up into the Adirondacks. Enter Westlake, hardened career criminal on the path of "the Villa", a legendary mafia hideout where he can escape the devastation. When he's ambushed by the undead, an old FBI "friend" and his squad of survivors rescue him...and then force him to reveal his secrets. The jokey myth of the Villa suddenly becomes salvation for the settlements scattered around Saranac Lake. Reluctantly, Westlake is saddled with an oddball team to navigate mine fields, trip wires, and flesh-eating zombies to find their safe haven.

Grant Phillips has always been a team player. He lives his life for the Force and worked hard to land a coveted spot with Team Bravo. He follows the rules, keeps his head down, and never causes trouble. Grant does everything for everyone else and wants for very little. The mission always comes first, until she waltzes into his life.

It has been 20 years since the serial killer known as The Black Heart Killer terrorized the town of Newport in 1979. Life mostly returned to normal after the killer was captured. All the townspeople have to do is stay out of the woods where the bodies were abandoned.

Derrick Stockton is in his mid-twenties, approaching three years sober, and working a stable job in Ohio. After surviving the seemingly random horrors of his childhood at the hands of a sinister neighbor, he believes he's finally moved on. All that changes when a brutal murder occurs in his home state of West Virginia. His name is written in blood at the crime scene, and the only evidence is a blurry surveillance video offering a glimpse of the killer, one he knows to be long dead.

There's no place like home.... Kim and Julian Taylor are in the market for their first home, and a visit to the secluded Beacon estate finds them enamored. It's a peculiar home, rather large and in need of some renovations. The price is right, however, and after a tour, they snap the house up without hesitation. The man who sells them the house has one last detail to share before they sign on the dotted line. The previous owners of the home disappeared under mysterious circumstances nearly eight years ago and have recently been declared dead in absentia.

After a series of bizarre and increasingly horrific attacks from pulpy, red, seeded fruit, Mason Dixon finds himself leading a "crack" team of specialists to save the planet. But will they be quick enough to save everyone? To save you? You can't run! You can't swim!

Only 1 percent of the population is blessed with magic affinity at birth. Fewer still have high enough affinities to rule. Ian’s decemancy eclipses all, granting him ultimate control over Death. He conquers cities with a thought and turns them into ruins with a gesture. But overwhelming power isn’t enough to escape the time loop or reveal its purpose.

Professor Stephen Barlow is no longer a skeptic. Having faced the horrors of Chaythe Asylum, he turns his attention to the man responsible for the Third Ward Incident - the enigmatic Dr. Corvine - in the hopes of finding answers to his many questions. But some things, he soon learns, are better left lost to history. Traveling to a remote cabin in Michigan in search of the doctor and his research, Stephen finds himself descending deeper into a world of terror and madness.

Hudson Guffey, top quarterback at Archibald Reynolds College, is being scouted by the NFL. He's hoping to be a solid draft pick this year, but first he has to graduate college. As the pressure mounts, he struggles to keep up with his classes when his full focus is on the field. When coach hirers a new student with a photographic memory to help with plays and stats, he makes it perfectly clear that she's off limits to the team. 

A man content with his life has no idea what he's missing. Clay lives a quiet and steady life. He's a simple man with few needs. Or at least that's what he told himself. One out of town business trip. One sweet and tenacious cowgirl with a zest for life. One night they'll never forget. Meeting Winnie not only disrupts his careful routine but changes his life forever.

If it wasn't for Diggory Finch, the towns of Twin Falls would've been eaten alive by a incursion of monsters from the unthinkable beyond. Not that he's a hero, per se. It's more than he strung enough mistakes together in a row that something good happened, and wiped them off the face of the planet using the torrent of evil power that channels through him.

Austin is a tenacious flirt, a clown, and often, a complete screw up. But he's happy with his life. He loves spice and variety, so settling down with just one woman is not an option.

An abandoned orphanage. A buried secret. A dark truth. Jake and Nate Shepherd's world shattered when they were children. After a night of horror, the boys woke to find their home the site of an unspeakable tragedy. One that fundamentally cracked the boys' psyche and left them orphaned. Two...

At six years old Tyler Klein made a promise to his best friend Josie. "When I grow up and get my wolf, I'm gonna make you my mate." Back then he didn't know a lot about mating, but he thought he knew a thing or two about love. Josie's family changed allegiances to a new pack shortly after that and the memory faded long ago, that is until Josie shows up at the ARC to visit a friend.

Revenge is on the program at this year's Splatterfest convention! Horror authors, critics and fans from all over the world have gathered to share stories, enjoy each other's company, and to take part in the yearly Gross Out contest, a fan favorite. But some attendees have arrived with ulterior motives. Clay Kayden, whose story at the last in-person Gross Out contest got him "canceled," wants to tear down the convention from the inside. Moira Mead is desperate to impress her favorite horror director, who's promised to option a story based on the weekend's readings.

Jenna Lockhardt has always been the perfect daughter. Being a princess means making sacrifices. Her responsibilities are clear. Keep the Royal lineage pure. Her future is set. She must take a compatible black panther as a mate. But a moment of rebellion has her transferring across the country to attend Archibald Reynolds College. Chase Westin always knew he'd find his one true mate.... someday. He never expected that someday to be now. When he returns to college, it's the last thing on his mind but the arrival of an exotic beauty stuns him. She captivates him. She drives him insane.

Just outside of Tokyo lies Aokigahara, a vast forest and one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Japan...and also the most infamous spot to commit suicide in the world. Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods. When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning - and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.  

As the blizzard finally subsides, the town faces a new catastrophe: a devastating earthquake that splits the earth surrounding the town and brings with it a wave of nightmares and hallucinations. With tensions already at a boiling point, the town is on the brink of anarchy. The true terror, however, lies beyond their shattered streets. As the snow recedes, a hidden city emerges in the distance, an ominous specter signaling an inevitable conflict.

Bella: Meeting him was a fluke. Dating him was a mistake. Watching him become a drug addict put me through hell. Running was my only option. Jackson: I'm running from my demons and when I find out she's trying to escape her past, I know what I have to do. One broken cop. One woman fighting for her life. A fragile love. Sinister secrets that threaten to tear them apart. They've been to hell. The hard part will be finding their way back together.