At a gas station in the middle of nowhere, late at night, his wife Jenny appears… no car… no coat and looking older than when he saw her last. That’s because this is not the woman he received a good-bye kiss from this morning. This woman has been a widow for over four years and has made an impossible journey back in time to try to stop her husband’s murder.

Will they be able to escape the killers or does fate only have one plan… one possible outcome… ONE WAY?

Chicken Pi: Twisted tales intended for a mature audience. Horror, sci-fi, sci-fi/horror, and WTF. Be sure to subscribe to Chicken Pi; more twisted tales will be added.

Did you sell our personal information, or did someone hack into your database?

Our answer: probably the latter. We say probably because of the reports, though we have no direct evidence in our logs of any unauthorized intrusion. But then again, we don’t have robust intrusion detection systems set up to catch this sort of activity. We store your user name and you password, and maybe your name if that was entered into the system.

That’s it. No credit cards, physical addresses or any other information. It’s simply get-in info, which we didn’t see as all that valuable. Sure, we have basic level of security on the database. It’s not like it’s open for the taking. But was it high-grade security? Well… no.

We’ve since changed the passwords and access, but there’s no way to undo the past. So your email may be in the hands of (another) spammer. I’m sorry about that.

But I promise you that we did not and will not sell your email address. I (Evo Terra) wrote the legal stuff on our site on my own, so I know exactly what it says. I’m not selling your personal info. Ever. Heck, I won’t even give authors your email address when they want to talk to you. I respect your privacy. So does everyone at Podiobooks.com.

So again, I’m sorry. We’re looking into higher levels of security for our database or other options to make it less vulnerable to future intrusions.

The Sphere of Transition (TSOT3)

At last the wait is over, as Steve Simons brings you the final part of the TSOT series, for FREE.

John and crew return home. John and Debbie set off to fetch the Police, as they know they have to report the problems that they encountered on their mission and the disappearance of a crew member. As the office does not have a phone, they decide to go to John’s house. Debbie sets off for the local shops to get some food, whilst John finds that there are lights on in the house and someone is looking out of the front room window. Just what is going on? Has someone moved into John’s house?

As you can expect, there is more to this Science Fiction book, than just the opening mystery. Those who bought this edition loved it, it is now your turn to complete the story.

This story rated as PG (Parental Guidance) it is family safe but there are some romantic references.

Music:
‘Parallel Universes’ (c) Dan Warren
‘The Circlemaker’ (c) Rubber Band Banjo
‘Gatesphere’ (c) R M Y Sealey
All available from MusicAlley.com

Underwood and Flinch by Mike Bennett

All David Flinch ever wanted was a normal life.

But when you’re a member of the Flinch family, normal has never been easy.

For hundreds of years, the eldest male Flinch has been servant and guardian to the Lord Underwood. While the Flinches have changed through the generations, Underwood, a vampire, has been eternal. David had hoped to be spared the horror of serving his family’s lord and master, but when he is summoned to the Flinch home in Spain by his dying older brother, he knows his luck has run out. Underwood must be resurrected from the grave in a ritual of human sacrifice, and David must be the man to do it. Because if he doesn’t, an even greater evil than Underwood will rise: the evil that is David’s sister.

Underwood and Flinch is an epic horror-thriller that spans the centuries. From the teeming slums of 17th Century London to an ex-pat community in modern-day Spain, this is the new novel from Mike Bennett, author of ‘One Among the Sleepless’ and ‘Hall of Mirrors’.

- One of the best podcasts ever – Walt Kolenda, Examiner.com

My wife, Eva and I, Vic Zarley, are songwriters. We each had written many songs before we met each other and continued to write songs once we were married. After our marriage, we found that often God would use each of us to write a song together. I would be working with the guitar on some interesting chord progression while humming, thinking, “Where did this come from?” and Eva would stop me and say, “I’ve got lyrics. Play what you were doing again.” Often the lyrics are practically dictated to her by the Holy Spirit, coming faster than she can write.

And then, to God’s glory, a song would be birthed. Truly a gift from the Holy Spirit.

This Podiobook is a bit different from any of the others I’ve produced as it incorporates three of our songs into each episode. You will hear how each song got its life, what each song means to us, and, when applicable, the life lessons present in the lyrics.

These songs were written by myself (Vic Zarley) and/or Eva Zarley. Most of these songs have been uploaded to Jamendo.com and you can get to our material that way as well by searching for Vic and Eva Zarley. Every song is available through Creative Commons licensing and can be downloaded and enjoyed at no charge.

We pray that you are blessed as you journey through these 12 episodes exploring 36 of our songs, as we share their stories and related inspirations then the actual songs themselves.

The theme song is by Vic Zarley. The coverart is by my brother, Karlan Zarley, with much appreciation!

Produced and narrated by Vic Zarley.

Why did a shy farm boy from North Dakota and an obstreperous 17 year old from South Dakota meet in Colorado?

How did they forge a relationship that has lasted more than six decades?

Lois Hjelmstad, author of Fine Black Lines and The Last Violet, now shares her poignant story of a marriage that has thrived against the odds. Richly detailed, with a deep understanding of life.

Produced by DarkFire Productions and narrated by Starla Huchton.

This is a gentle story exploring the intricacies of a father-son relationship in a remote village in southern India. The play reveals the strength of their bonding as they work through the most unexpected of events.

The story unfolds as the Son returns to his native village after a long time away. He is a stranger in his own village. He begins to reestablish the bond with his native place through the little snippets of memories that gets revealed to him through his father’s eyes. He begins making plans for establishing a co-operative society in the village, when an unexpected turn of events makes him confront the question of “what is truly important?”.

This play is intended to be a soothing cultural audio experience. It is designed to be a rich binaural 3D audio experience.

Please visit www.mind-theatre.com to listen to the high quality version.

On the planet of the mile-high Yumi trees, only a few lucky boys and girls may fly bats to the treetops to harvest the fruit. Matthew John would like to join them, but to make his dream come true he must enter the cave of Oomba the lion.

‘It was awesome. My 6-year old Liesel loved it.’ — K. W. in New York

‘Farah and Sophie, aged 8 and 9, were sitting up in bed wondering what was going to happen next.’ — C. H. B. in Singapore

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads.

But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.

Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin, is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down.

Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead.

Produced by DarkFire Productions and narrated by Starla Huchton.

Danny Johnson is a Bourbon Street character you don’t want to meet. He has an easy smile and a boyish face and uses it to separate you from your cash.

Life with his girlfriend Lily and best friend Teddy seems alright, until he sees Teddy’s mob connections and gets some ideas.

Crazy ideas that lead him down paths he never wanted to go that lead to surprising revelations about underworld life and his very soul.

Step back into New Testament times–to Ancient Jerusalem at the time of Christ and of the historical Roman Empire, and ask: What could a cynical, non-conformist dry-goods salesman, a disgruntled blacksmith, and a musing mendicant all have in common? The answer: Down deep, they all seek something better. But will they find true fulfillment they are seeking?

The non-conformist, Manaheem, Herod’s foster brother, is hired by Herod to foment an insurrection against Pontius Pilate, whom he distrusts. Manaheem recruits the blacksmith, Barabbas, to be the insurrection leader, to the dismay of Barabbas’ Godly but fearful wife (when he finally tells her).

The mendicant, an unfortunate but pensive young man named Timotheus, joins with an older beggar completely unsympathetic to his musings.

Pontius Pilate sees himself as a weak ruler, but his wife pushes him to be stronger and to even take over Herod’s territory.

After another visit to Barabbas, Manaheem re-unites with his former wife, Claressa. In need of more money, he tries to blackmail Herod over his illicit affair With Herodius, his brother’s wife, but is foiled when Herod decides to marry Herodius and send his present wife, Samantha back to her father in Arabia.

Meanwhile, in an effort to take over Herod’s territory, Pilate and his wife plan to send letters critical of Herod to Caesar.

Barabbas is successful in forming a group of insurrectionists to go against Pilate and they rehearse for the big day.

John the Baptist decides to go and preach on Herod’s palace lawn. Herod has him arrested. Herodius’ daughter, Salome dances at Herod’s birthday party and is rewarded with John’s head on a sliver platter, after which the palace is attacked by Samantha’s father. Herod suspects Pilate had something to do with the attack and sends for Manaheem to continue with the mission of readying the insurrection leader.

Barabbas’ men plan the insurrection carefully, but it still fails and they escape into the woods.

Barabbas, having failed at insurrection and still hiding out, decides to try robbery but his men desert him, so he enlists the aid of the two beggars. Timotheus, the younger beggar is hesitant. The intended robbery victim is Benjamin, the rich shopkeeper, who is just making plans to expand his business so he can send his son to the academy..

Meanwhile, Manaheem, in need of money, decides to blackmail Herod over his part in the insurrection attempt. This upsets Claressa and they break up.

———————–
WRITING STYLE: The writing style is a unique eclectic style, combining poetry, straight dialogue and 1st person stream-of-consciousness narrative with the 3rd person narration.

The Horde, a mysterious force that brings nightmares to life, devours everything in its path.

Bridan, a lone traveler, seeks the key to the Horde’s destruction at the expense of all else- bystanders, worlds, and broken lives be damned.

Cyrack, the Horde’s inhuman master, follows Bridan across the Worldcycle seeking Bridan’s heart- literally.

Terry is caught between them, dreaming their battles across the blasted wastes of Farrakan from the safety of his dull nine to five life and the arms of his loving girlfriend.

None of this is true.

Terry glimpsed the hideous intelligence hiding behind the struggle and it has driven him mad.

Something watches, hungers, and manipulates events keeping the Horde moving ever closer to the center of creation, leaving only empty husks in its wake.

Planet by planet, town by town, life by life, friend by friend, Bridan makes his way forward.

And as the Horde follows without rest, Terry knows that their next destination is Earth.

The Horde is a genre bending novel incorporating elements of Science Fiction, Epics, Dark Urban Fantasy, Horror, and Surrealism performed in the style of acoustic deathfolk and released weekly as short albums. You’ve never heard anything quite like it.

G. K. Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

Extreme Christianity, subtitled Christianity without Compromise, provides motivation to follow Jesus’ teachings while residing in the world. It is written, narrated and produced by Vic Zarley.

Chapter titles follow:
1. Memo from God
2. Christ’s Party Platform
3. Can Christ Ascend in Us?
4. Why We Should Trust Each Other Completely
5. Suffering in Compliance or Suffering in Defiance
6. Stop It! Stop It Now!
7. Who’s Pulling Our Strings?
8. Anchors Away
9. Oh, No, Defiled Again
10. The Good Samaritan
11. It’s a Log Meet Log World
12. Relinquishing Disputes to Christ
13. Reluctance
14. Where Is Our Treasure?
15. If Your Eye Is Sound
16. The Pill
17. Spit Out the Fruit
18. The Skeptical Intellectual
19. Resting on Our Laurels
20. God Is God
21. A Plea for the End of All Towers of Babel
22. And Who Do We Have the Pleasure of Seeing Today?
23. Rebellion and Witchcraft
24. Following God’s Plans
25. Confessions

May you be blessed!

Produced and narrated by Vic Zarley.

Theme song “Run for Life” by JewelBeat. Book cover image courtesy of Flickr.

Podioracket Presents – Glimpses is a collection of fiction to accompany already established novels from Podiobooks.com authors.

These all new short stories by Podiobooks.com authors are written in their own universes and offer a great way to sample these writers, get a taste of their full-length novels, or for you to enjoy short stories from authors you already love.

Josh Corwood has spent his life admiring the superheroes that protect Siegel City. He’s wanted to join them, wanted to be like them… but eventually, had to settle for reporting on them from the sidelines. When an undiscovered talent reignites his hope to join the world’s protectors, he suddenly discovers that their world isn’t everything he’d been led to believe. Surrounded by false idols, Josh decides to turn the tables on them and reveal the greatest con game in history… and hopefully, in the process, find the real heroes that have long been gone.

The ‘Kindred Spirit’ are a group of seven friends who met in their freshman year at Briarwood College. The girls have all sorts of difficulties during their sophomore year. Allison won’t be able to come back to school because she has no money. A new girl comes to college and doesn’t fit in. The girls have other troubles and triumphs. This is a charming young adult story written in the 1930s about college women of the day.