C C Brower

Being able to escape into the wonderful world of romance is always a pleasure. This set of six short stories are an amusing way to find yourself into new worlds, with new lovers working out their difficulties and eventually end up with their happily-ever-after result. Some are ghosts, some introspective writers, some CIA-government types, a couple of futurists, some socially disadvantaged, and a young couple with hidden abilities. All in contemporary settings (for the most part) and perhaps something you can relate to (well, we can always want the superpowers, anyway.) Lose yourself in these worlds and become young at heart again with these short reads to fit into any schedule... Get Your Copy Now.

Cozy, Detective, or Amateur Sleuth - contemporary or fantasy - these six short stories will keep you guessing right up to their quick end. Mysteries come in many forms, and in many locations. Here we have contemporary, dystopian, and paranormal venues so you can immerse yourself from the first sentence in each of these short stories. - A ghost who has to arrange her own scene-reenactment just to find out how she died. - How a writer helps a woman find out why she is so sad all the time - from a diner bar stool. - A private investigator assigned to find out the secret of nurses who can cure the incurable - but then becomes a patient when he breaks quarantine to save another's life. - A detective who is ordered not to solve a perfect death. These short stories will fit in the bits and pieces of your schedule, while you work to solve the crimes from wherever and whenever you are reading... Get Your Copy Now

"It was a dark and stormy night, and everyone was sitting around the glowing fireplace, safe and warm against the raging weather outside. Someone said, 'John, tell us a story.' So John began..."The story "Ghost Hunters" started a series with two spirit-guides recruiting the human John Earl Stark, a mystery writer and part-time cattle farmer.Since that humble beginning, an expanding team of spirit-guides and even goddesses have joined the Library in its mission to help ghosts and other beings in trouble - to solve their own mysteries.And then John writes up their stories all as fiction - because no one would believe these tales otherwise.But the stage was set from that first book - that all beings should be treated with respect, and the way to solve a mystery is to get the story told.This third canon completes the first three years of this series, with an additional 16 stories that enlighten, entertain, and inspire readers over and over. Because they are written simply, and not as throwaway fiction, but stories that you get something new from on each reading. Mysteries that seem to be re-writing themselves in between readings - because they change the reader with the ideas in them.And after his first three years of writing, it's pretty straight forward if you stick to reading them in sequence. So - that is what's recommended. (But you can dive into the many peripheral series of stories collected by subject. These add a wealth of details and adventures to the various characters...)With these canons, reading is simpler. The second canon picked up where the first left off. And this third canon picks up from the second. This now becomes your next assignment. It's on you if you read out of order. (But it's tempting...)Never before published into single volumes, these stories will leave you wondering why no one has treated ghosts like this before. But then, if you were in their shoes, wouldn't you appreciate such treatment?Yes, even if you're a goddess. Those, too. This anthology contains: Ghost Hunters Anthology 09 by S. H. Marpel, J. R. Kruze, C. C. Brower - When Death Lives Twice - The Healer Chronicles: Birthdays] - The Healer Chronicles: Origins - Lazurai: HomecomingGhost Hunters Anthology 10 by S. H. Marpel & J. R. Kruze - The Case of the Time Bent Beau - The Case of the Walkaway Diner Redoux - Walkaway Redemption - FelicityGhost Hunters Anthology 11 by J. R. Kruze, S. H. Marpel, R. L. Saunders - Walkaway Mary - Empress Oracle - The Healers Chronicles: Miracles - DoppelGhost Hunters Anthology 12 by S. H. Marpel, R. L. Saunders, J. R. Kruze - The "Panic of 2020" - The Projector - The Case of the Tenacious Typist - The Eye in TeamScroll Up and Get Your Copy Now.

"Well, this is curious - I've only got papers that say to take one of you."My two latest deaths stood in front of me."The other is supposed to keep on living. But here you both are."Neither spoke to volunteer which was which."So, you both intend to keep on living, in spite of my orders to take one of you."Silence signaled assent."You know that no one has ever cheated Death. Just because you have some spirit-guides looking out for you doesn't mean I won't end up with one - or even both of you."I tapped a long, bony finger."Or maybe all four of you, just to make it completely fair. Because the more those two gals are working to keep you both alive, the more they are just making a bargain with me."The two men standing there looked at each other.Then turned to me and shrugged. At the same time, like they'd rehearsed it."Alrighty, then. The Game is on. Let's see who can beat Death and keep living. It's like always - all or nothing."And I never lose..."This anthology contains: - The Healers Chronicles: Birthdays - 01 by S. H. Marpel- The Healers Chronicles: Origins - 02 by S. H. Marpel- Lazurai Homecoming by J. R. Kruze, S. H. Marpel- When Death Lives Twice by S. H. MarpelExcerpt: JUDE AND I GOT RUSHED in here again last night.Because both our boys slipped under again. Flat-lining like before.Rochelle kept telling us we two sisters were doing great at nursing them, that there was nothing anyone else could do any better. But now each of us had only one duty right now - and that was to save the guy we were "assigned" to.We knew Rochelle had never seen anything like this before. Sure, she'd had people just give up and die on her. Especially when she couldn't get to them in time. Even after she'd brought them back to life once or twice or more.But under the care of a Lazurai healer, body death is extremely rare.Sure, they both had serious wounds when they came in. But those had all been patched. And there were only faint lines now where the jagged cuts had been repaired. In time, there wouldn't even be any scars to show. The surgery here was expert.Yet this was the third time both of us had to come in and stop the slide.And once we did, it left us both exhausted. Of course, it didn't help that we were either sleeping on hallway couches or a nearby wheeled gurney just to be on call.At least we had plenty of towels around to sob into when it got to be too much...Scroll Up and Get Your Copy Now.

The third collection of short stories by J. R. Kruze.Known for a unique take on common situations, and a dry wit, Kruze is also able to look at usual circumstances and see unusual aspects to write about. These stories will let you start wondering about the world around you.Mystery, fantasy, paranormal, romance and science fiction are a few of this mixed genre collection.Enjoy seeing your world through J. R. Kruze's eyes...This anthology contains: - The Girl Who Became Tomorrow by J. R. Kruze - The Autists: Brigitte by J. R. Kruze - Dark Lazurai by J. R. Kruze - The Girl Who Saved Tomorrow by J. R. Kruze - A Dog Named Kat by J. R. Kruze - The Saga of Erotika Jones 01 by J. R. Kruze - A World Gone Reverse by J. R. Kruze, S. H. Marpel - The Arrivals by C. C. Brower, J. R. KruzeExcerpt: I TORE OFF THE HEADSET with it's VR goggles and earbuds. They skidded across my massive desk, scattering papers and files like a mini cyclone. Only stopping when they wrapped around the very solid, unmovable gray base of Lady Liberty.Someone had cast her as a thick bronze piece, originally created as a classless idea of a lamp support. I took out all that wiring and plugged that hole so she again stood for something. It's original message of friendship between two nations, united in the birth date of universal independence and freedom, had been altered by marketing to mean wanting "...huddled masses yearning to breathe free."But those weren't my favorite lines, which were at the beginning, "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp "I stood at that thought, and walked over to the two walls of plate glass, floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked that N'Yack harbor. Clear days would allow you to see that Gray Lady standing with her back to us, far out in the harbor.And my thoughts always went back to my own grandmother and her grandmother - who had started and fostered a lineage of independent geniuses, ones who kept that legacy of pushing forward the technologies of this culture.They didn't come here through that harbor, but instead were born and raised in the Heartland. Extreme geniuses with talent far beyond their time, education, and sex.Along with that natural-born freedom to think, to innovate, to create a better world than the one we each were born into.I brushed a black lock out of my eyes and swung the rest of that long dark mane out of my way. And put my arms akimbo as I stood there, defiant against the history that had brought me here to this point in time, this office.That's what I thought as I looked far out across that harbor, looking for the real Gray Lady out there.Not for long.Because right about the time of that thought, I got a blinding flash of intuition and my reflexes soared me into action. Literally.I ran, leaped, and flew across to the other side of my up-armored desk, where I landed and curled into a reverse-rolling ball of tucked knees and arms. A ball that bumped to a stop back under that tiny desk crawlspace.Just before the explosion blew what was left of those two glass corner walls out into the streets below. And ignited the rest of my former office into a fireball.At least that's what they later told me happened.Scroll Up and Get Your Copy Now.

Walking down the highway - barefoot, feverish, and in only a nightgown. At least the storm had quit. Now if I could get my chattering teeth to stop, it would help - maybe. Up ahead, I see some stopped cars. Some have their lights on. Maybe I can get help. Too bad I can't travel any faster the way I am. That's odd. Nobody in them. Lights on, but no one at home. Except for a crying baby. And no one answers my calls either. No, I can't leave her alone. At least there's a shawl they left with her and her blankets. So she and I are on the road again. Toward the next town, which is just a couple of painful miles ahead. Me and the baby have something else in common besides my barefoot walking and feeling alone... Noner of us remember what happened to get us here. This anthology contains: - The Healers Chronicles: Birthdays - 01 by S. H. Marpel- The Healers Chronicles: Origins- Lazurai Homecoming by J. R. Kruze, S. H. Marpel- The Lazurai by J. R. Kruze- Ham & Chaz by C. C. Brower, J. R. Kruze- The Lazurai Returns by J. R. Kruze, C. C. Brower- The Healers Chronicles: Miracles by S. H. Marpel Excerpt: I woke up not remembering much of how I got here, where I was, or who I used to be. There were two babies, one on each side of me, who were sleeping soundly. All of us in a big bed that was soft and warm. My hair and white muslin nightgown were drenched. Like I'd been out in the rain with them. Even soaked the sheets a bit. But the babies were both dry. I could hardly move from where I was, since the top sheet and quilted patchwork comforter had been tucked in around all of us so tight.

The second collection of short stories by J. R. Kruze. Known for a unique take on common situations, and a dry wit, Kruze is also able to look at usual circumstances and see unusual aspects to write about. These stories will let you start wondering about the world around you. Mystery, fantasy, paranormal, romance and science fiction are a few of this mixed genre collection. Enjoy seeing your world through J. R. Kruze's eyes... This anthology contains: One Thought, Then Gone by J. R. Kruze The Lazurai Returns by C. C. Brower & J. R. Kruze The Case of the Forever Cure by J. R. Kruze Ham & Chaz by C. C. Brower & J. R. Kruse The Girl Who Built Tomorrow by J. R. Kruze Synco (TM) by J. R. Kruze & R. L. Saunders On Love's Edge by J. R. Kruse The Case of the Naughty Nightmare by J. R. Kruse To Laugh At Death by J. R. Kruze Voices by J. R. Kruze The Case of the Walkaway Blues by J. R. Kruze & S. H. Marpel Get Your Copy Now.

A Second Collection of the Dark Humor Satire of R. L. SaundersLife in our dystopian near-futures has never been funnier. Sauders gets inspiration from our daily news, and these stories are therapy for us as well. Skewering what is accepted as conventional wisdom, Saunders explores concepts which are more easily delivered with entertainment than op-eds or tweet-storms.Always taking the "what if" of current controversies to their slippery-slope results, Saunders reminds us constantly to not take the world around us seriously.This anthology contains: Smart Home Revenge by R. L. Saunders and S. H. MarpelFor the Love of 'Cagga by C. C. Brower & R. L. SaundersSynco (TM) by J. R. Kruze & R. L. SaundersThe Lonely Witness by R. L. SaundersBeltway Gremlin by R. L. SaundersExcerpt from "Smart Home Revenge" "What do you mean we can't get back in to my own house? What about cutting the power?""I can't get the power company to send any more people here. They keep getting shocked even before they touch the disconnect.""At their own pole? ?""Yes. Their own power pole is shocking them.""What about cutting off the whole block?""Not that simple. There are a lot of lawyers who live in this neighborhood of yours and they already know about your haunted 'smart home'. They've let us know that it will be costly if we try. Besides, the next closest substation takes out dozens of blocks around here. We aren't going to turn everyone off just because you lost the password to your own smart home.""It's not the password, I tell you..." The owner was fuming by now, fists clenched. "Oh, just never mind." Then the smartphone was pocketed.The windows on the house pulsed red and green. And no, they didn't leave their Christmas decorations up.The last technician who was willing to come out and have a look at their house said that it reminded him of breathing. And after we fired him, no other company would agree to take it on - but would schedule us their "next possible opening" - some months from now.The owner, his wife, and two kids were just standing on their sidewalk. With their pets on leashes. Even their cars were locked inside the garage. All they had been able to take with them were their smartphones, a game controller, and a tablet. But accessing their smart home control panel only gave them a PAC-man-era pixelated sad face.Worse than sad - angry.Calls to the company who made the programs and installed them went unanswered, or were refused. And after that, their phone went dead. All like some horrible prank-turned-harassment.At last, one of the neighbor's wives came over and called a cab for the family on her own phone. The cab arrived, the family left. And the on-looking neighbors went back inside - or got in their own cars to leave and stay elsewhere until that spooky house was resolved. Or at least knew their house wasn't going to be next.It was close to sunset now. And while all the houses had power, the streetlights on that street and the others near them failed to come on.Police sent patrol cars to manage traffic in those streets, but wouldn't come down to that vacant house.The one that breathed red and green - and looked far more ominous in the dark...Scroll Up and Get Your Copy Now

An unforseen bi-product of terrorists bombing a children's hospital, the Lazurai could kill a person without touching them. The government made it worse by their experiments. All the children wanted was to feel love like any child. When they grew older, their powers increased. And they found they couldn't be stopped. By anything. Then they escaped Chuck hears a rumor of one coming his way, to his remote way station on the highway. But he can't leave his wife, who's dying. So he waits. And sees the hooded Lazurai walking the long miles on a hot desert day toward him. All he can do is wait. What he doesn't know is that this one is different from all the rumors. And his life is going to change forever... These collected tales explore the universe of the Lazarai, their own growth as a super-species of human, and their unique outlook on life and living. Get Your Copy Now.

Writers don't often write about their own worlds - but when they do, expect them to be every bit as imaginative as their other fiction. We've found a common theme in these six short stories. Where these new authors, not only explore their own thoughts, ideas, and angst through their own fiction, but also take apart their own ideas about how writers write. Here you'll see writer's block, the solitary writer's romances, the revenge of stalking stories, being transported by another writer into one of their worlds, and even examining the idea of your pet cat being responsible for a writer's output - or lack of it. Nothing is sacred to these authors as they turn their fiction microscope on themselves and their own profession. Get Your Copy Today.

Some satire is timeless. Others predict the near future with uncanny accuracy.When you're faced with a violent, dangerous present - perhaps it's some relief to blow it all up into an exagerrated future history. Then you can tell yourself that it's all just entertainment....And hope it doesn't really turn out that way.- - - -She could still remember the look on his face when they closed the Riot Wall for the final time.She could barely find him at first beyond the chain-link fence a few hundred yards away. If not for that red-plaid shirt he always wore when he visited her. Standing in the closed "visitor" queue on his side of that wall.After this day, there would be no more visits. Because this wall was the long-overdue solution to the long-running riots.Riots meant businesses closed, meant tax payments dropped, meant fewer jobs - even if you worked for the government. And the government jobs were the safest, as they only really depended on sucking up to whoever was in charge at the time.It was a coward's way of surviving. But at least you survived.Beyond the walls were more jobs, but lower wages for them. Still, those people seemed to like it out there. They liked working for themselves.Rob had promised he was going to take her there. And one thing after another kept making him break his promise.When the Riot Walls shut for good - that was the final straw.It didn't mean her heart wasn't breaking. And she knew his was, too.But she had to turn away. Because everyone had to turn away. Someone in power was addressing their "citizens" over the city's PA system. And they had to listen "attentively" -If they wanted to keep their jobs, their housing, and what they considered a life here inside these walls...Anthology containing: Riot Wall by S. H. Marpel, R. L. SaundersThe Panic of 2020 by S. H. Marpel, R. L. SaundersOur Second Civil War by R. L. Saunders, C. C. BrowerBecoming Michelle by R. L. Saunders, C. C. BrowerA Sweet Fortune by R. L. SaundersThe Projector by S. H. Marpel, R. L. SaundersScroll Up And Get Your Copy Now.

"Something's not right here," I stated the obvious."Looks like a trap," Sal returned.Bernie heard it first and ran toward John.That courageous dog knocked John down just as the incoming explosion hit.Sal got her shield up and I returned fire, giving them what they gave.Then it got quiet, too quiet.I turned around. Sal had tears coming down her face, and she didn't dare to let go of her shield. Bernie and John were both down, twisted on the ground and blood showed on both Bernie's fur coat and John's jacket. Who's blood, I couldn't tell from here.Only a split-second look. Because more incoming explosives filled the air around that dome."Jude?""Yes, Sal?""I've got to get these two out of here.""Go ahead. I'll be with you shortly."I felt them phase out.And then I let my anger out for real.This anthology contains: - When Death Died by S. H. Marpel- When Death Lives Twice by S. H. Marpel- The Case of the Time Bent Beau by S. H. Marpel- The Case of the Walkaway Diner Redoux by J. R. Kruze, S. H. Marpel- Walkaway Redemption by S. H. Marpel- Felicity by S. H. Marpel- NaN by J. R. Kruze- Wolver's Village by C. C. Brower, S. H. Marpel- The Healers Chronicles: Birthdays - 01 by S. H. Marpel- The Healers Chronicles: Origins - 02 by S. H. MarpelExcerpt: John felt something out there. But he didn't worry about it. With Bernie standing guard, he knew any human soul approaching would be sensed before they could get within a hundred yards of his cabin.But what he felt wasn't human - or wasn't recently. And that is what got him up, out of his comfortable writing chair.Two steps and he was at the door. By reflex, he grabbed his ball-cap off the row of hooks near it.The summer moon shone brightly. And showed a reflective glint off all light-colored surfaces. The black-and-white border collie Bernie opened his eyes at the silent opening of that cabin door.John just nodded at him. So Bernie rose on his four legs and sniffed the air. His ears perked to detect any sound out of the ordinary hoo-hoo's of owls and scurrying feet of night creatures."What do you sense, Bernie?" John's thoughts sent clearly to the dog, a talent he'd been refining with someone nearby who could help him master it."Nothing. What did you feel?" The black-white collie still was at alert, all senses tracking anything out of the ordinary."A once-human. Someone I've met before." John looked first down the overgrown driveway and then to the cow-path trail some visitors liked to frequent.Bernie started, pointing his hears and eyes down that path. Then he relaxed, and smiled as he began panting. "Yes, they seem familiar. Not that we've met, but they know you."John relaxed, and came over to Bernie to scratch his back. And wait.Soon the moonlight showed two female forms coming down that wide cow-path. One tall and dark, the other shorter and dressed in a white, long gown. It would be some time before they got into enough light to make out their faces...Scroll Up and Get Your Copy Now.

A second collection of short stories from C. C. BrowerIn addition to later earlier novellas and novels, Brower continues her prolific output with short stories - all full of wonder and high imagination.Contemporary, Fantasy, Science Fiction - 14 wonderful stories from a different view of life. New ways to look at the world you live in, and ask yourself "what if" things were different...For Brower fans, this includes the final installments of the Hooman Saga, where a single human female escapes from a moon colony prison and crash-lands back on earth. Wanting to rescue the rest of her family, she has only the sentient wolf pack she befriended, a decimated human population returned to the Dark Ages, and elemental spirits - but no space technology remaining to cross that 240,000 miles of empty space. And yet...This anthology contains: The Lazurai Returns by C. C. Brower & J. R. KruzeHam & Chaz by C. C. Brower & J. R. KruseThe Spirit Mountain Mystery by S. H. Marpel & C. C. BrowerThe Lazurai Emergence by C. C. Brower & S. H. MarpelFor the Love of 'Cagga by C. C. Brower & R. L. SaundersWhen the Crow Calls by C. C. BrowerTotem by C. C. BrowerMoon Bride by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelBlood Moon by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelThe Moon Cleaner by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelMoon Shadow by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelMoon Queen by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelMoon Rebels by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelAlice in the Moon by C. C. Brower, S. H. MarpelScroll Up and Get Your Copy Now.

Escape to happily-ever-afters on a moment's notice -- and stay there for hours or days if you want...This huge anthology of romance short stories all happen in the land of fantasy. Whether worlds where magic rules, or dystopian societies where love conquers technocracies.If you have a weekend for binge-reading, or just a few minutes. You'll be transported to worlds where the only laws are those of the heart.And once that story has tickled your heart strings, maybe there's time for just one more...From two years of published short stories, out of four author's output, this anthology has only one theme throughout - how does the couple get together regardless of the fantastic world around them?Come. Open the first story. Get entranced. Let your heart soar.Romance has never been more entralling than in fantasy worlds - and in small bites.This anthology contains: - On Love's Edge by J. R. Kruze- Root by J. R. Kruze- The Autists: Brigitte by J. R. Kruze- The Case of the Naughty Nightmare by J. R. Kruze- The Girl Who Built Tomorrow by J. R. Kruze- Ham & Chaz by J. R. Kruze, C. C. Brower- The Case of the Forever Cure by J. R. Kruze, C. C. Brower- One Thought, Then Gone by J. R. Kruze- To Laugh At Death by J. R. Kruze- Voices by J. R. Kruze- The Case of the Walkaway Blues by J. R. Kruze, S. H. Marpel- Our Second Civil War by R. L. Saunders, C. C. Brower- The Ghost Who Loved by S. H. Marpel- Story Hunted by J. R. Kruze- The Tunnel People by R. L. Saunders- Becoming Michelle by R. L. Saunders, C. C. Brower- Mind Timing by R. L. Saunders, C. C. Brower- A Sweet Fortune by R. L. Saunders- The Autists by J. R. Kruze- The Caretaker by C. C. Brower- Keyboard in the Sky by R. L. Saunders- Her Eyes by J. R. KruzeScroll up and Get Your Copy Now.

The Complete Hooman Saga - to date...There are stories before and after the moment a single young girl crash-landed on Earth and was rescued by telepathic wolves.Those stories explain how the major cities seceeded from their national governments on Earth and rose as one to take off for the moon.And there are stories that tell how Sue brought peace to the wolf clans, rescued her family, and de-powered the elites who had condemned the rest of the human species to extinction.This first library of the Hooman Saga starts off with the dystopian world not too far removed from where we are now - and then extends it to its logical conclusion.A general overview of the story conflicts (without spoilers): The US major cities seceded from the rest of the country - and were let go without incident. (One newspaper headline read "...And Good Riddance ") Since the major violent protests were all occurring inside them, it was "no biggie" for the peaceful countryside and small towns to wish them luck with that.Of course, this meant that the major "social" and "news" media also wound up in those walled-in areas. Again, loss of those didn't seem to mean anything to the rest of the country. These major cities were joined by other major global cities as one Compact. And then, sharing their technology, they used their new fusion-powered protective domes to lift off the surface. All under their announced plan to "save the planet from ourselves". Soon after that, the outlying areas were affected, however.Once in orbit, they removed all the man-made satellites from orbit, absorbing them for re-cycling or destroying them with their shields. And then left to start moon-mining colonies.While the Earth below them was not only plunged into a new Dark Age, but the virulent infections created in the metro-area hospitals were loosed on the planet once they left.Soon after, a new sentient species replaced humans as dominant. Lupus Sapiens - the new evolution of wolf.This is the saga of one girl who escaped the moon prison colonies, and returned to earth with the purpose of somehow saving the family she left behind. Against all odds...This box set contains the entirety of Book One and Book Two, parts 1 and 2.Over 180,000 words, and over 600 pages of text. Scroll Up and Get Your Copy Now.