Showing results by narrator "Curtis Michael Holland" in All Categories

I'm a hybrid from an unknown planet and a pleasure female up for auction. He's a Lemoran clan chief, among the wealthiest in all the quadrants. With horns that shoot to the ceiling, the male shaped like a mountain is not one of the bidders supposed to purchase me. But he's here and he doesn't seem to want to leave.

The potential impact of runaway climate-change has long been grossly underestimated. The world is rapidly approaching an existential crisis—the Anthropogenic Extinction—the sixth annihilation of Earth-bound species since life first appeared 3.5 billion years ago. Assisted by teammates Eric Evans and Bella Moreno, and Thay Tuan, the team’s consigliere, Luc Ponti, now an astrophysicist at MIT, succeeds in creating a stabilized micro-wormhole, which is launched by NASA into high-Earth orbit and used as a means to contact intelligent life on exoplanets well within the “Goldilocks” zone.

Years of rivalry and quiet resentment finally come to boiling and one of us isn’t leaving this hotel room alive. Until big words are said. And crazy actions taken. And we’re no longer fighting, even if it sort of looks like a wrestling match. Turns out, I’ve got no problem with Caden kissing guys when I’m the guy he kisses. But… I’m straight, right?

There are a few things my Tri-God did not prepare me for. The first? Niahhorru pirates. They want the coordinates to an unprotected human satellite, and I have them. The confusing? The human Council's secrets that I've uncovered and that may get me killed. The most sinful? The pressure in my stomach...well, lower than my stomach...that draws me to the male who hates me most in this universe.

Seventeen-year-old Mariana Villalobos's mystic gift creates a sensation in northern Mexico as hundreds of people undergo a personal religious epiphany. Even gangsters reject crime. Seeing revenues tumble in the drug trade, the Liones cartel issues a hit order on the girl.

I thought he liked me. He's been my only source of company for the past rotation that I've been held captive. But when he rejects me in front of everyone, I get the shrov out, determined to find humans on another satellite far far away from this mess that is my life. Except I don't exactly receive the warm homecoming I expect. Instead this homecoming is more of the dangerous stabby stabby variety . . . and to get out of the new mess I've found myself in, I might just need a space pirate's help. But what will I have to trade him for it?

Rob has hit rock bottom. After losing his son five years ago, he's lost everything else too—his wife, his job, and his home. His days are now filled with nothing but the bottom of an alcohol bottle and self-loathing. But when he's offered a chance to see his son again, he'll do anything to take it. The catch? He has to damn an innocent life to eternity in hell.

Joey Crow and Caleb Hollings first see each other across the rural Oregon country road that separates the farms they live on. Joey, an orphaned Native American boy, has come to live with his grandparents on their farm after the mysterious disappearance of his parents from the local reservation. Caleb is the only son of devoutly Christian parents. The Crow Flies Free follows the two young men in the summer of their 18th birthdays as they begin to recognize their loving friendship has grown into a deeper kind of love.

Sex. Drugs. Lust. Courage. Loyalty. Betrayal. Drag divas. Hustlers. Porn. Gogo boys. Anything is possible at the gay club scene. Even love. Joey, fresh from the suburbs, gets involved in the gay club scene in Philadelphia during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He shares the stories of a diverse cast of characters, including his own special love story. Everyone at the club has a story, and every story deserves to be told.

Dash made bad decisions in the past, ones that he paid for behind bars. He left his old life behind, but the memories linger. He finds a passion for food and sells his smoked meats and sausages at the Heartcraft Market. Evan loves his job as a sonographer, but sometimes, the weight of his work wears on him. He surrounds himself with flowers and pretty things that remind him of the beauty in life. Done with dating apps, Evan hopes to find someone in real life. When the intriguing tattooed man at the market catches his eye, could this be the "meat" cute the vegetarian was hoping for?

The House on Harlan is a thrilling masterpiece in horror that takes some truly unexpected and subgenre-hopping turns and develops an entirely new layer of Salt's growing literary universe. A family-centered story with tons of heart, even more blood, and a shocking new take on some of our favorite folklores, this is one you won't want to miss.

Jason loves his life as a stay-at-home dad, but being a divorced single father wasn't part of the plan. Besides his kids, pies are his passion. He makes and sells his creations at the Heartcraft Market, but it's not enough to live off of. After his father's recent health scare, Nico is determined to help revive their family diner. Then he meets Jason, whose pies are as sweet as he is, and an idea begins to form. Jason's kids are everything to him, but his bed feels empty at night. Nico has always wanted a family, but he has yet to find a man that he could build a life with.

Dispatches from the AIDS Pandemic is a unique firsthand account from three public health leaders of CDC's early response to AIDS. Drawing in part on interviews from the CDC's AIDS oral history project, the authors trace the evolution of AIDS from newly recognized disease to pandemic.

Jacob Crestmore has given up on the idea of a brighter future, but when a mysterious woman reveals the wrongs of his past, he sets out on a journey to recover an artefact that can unlock a power he never knew existed. With an evil empire trying to stop him, and the threat of war looming, will he find the artefact in time?

Clubbed Two is historical fiction, set in Philadelphia from 1982 to 1992. Club Sanctuary can be seen as a metaphor for the greater LGBTQ community, but it is written as a real place, with characters who are fabulous, funny, and flawed. The author combines historical characters and events with fictional ones, creating a story that's entertaining, informative, and emotional. The love story between the two main characters, Joey and Henry, serves as a vehicle for connecting the stories of diverse Queer characters.

Rio and Caden met under harsh circumstances when they were both teenagers trying to survive on their own. Together, they’ve made a family for themselves, and now they have a chance to add one more—a child of their own. When Caden’s sister offers to be their surrogate, they’re overjoyed. Now, if they can navigate nine months of pregnancy hormones, morning sickness, and mood swings, everything will be easy—until one little newborn arrives and keeps them busier than they ever imagined possible. Nine months seemed tough, but the first 12 will be even more challenging.

Summer, 1989. It is a time for splashing in the lake and exploring the wilderness, for nine teenagers to bond together and create friendships that could last the rest of their lives. But among this group there is a young man with a secret—a secret that, in this time and place, is unthinkable to his peers. When the others discover the truth, it will change each of them forever. They will all have blood on their hands. Odd Man Out is a heart-wrenching tale of bullies and bigotry, a story that explores what happens when good people don't stand up for what's right.

Gay bars have been closing by the hundreds. The story goes that increasing mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, plus dating apps, have rendered these spaces obsolete. Beyond that, rampant gentrification in big cities has pushed gay bars out of the neighborhoods they helped make hip. Who Needs Gay Bars? considers these narratives, accepting that the answer for some might be: maybe nobody. Greggor Mattson embarks on a journey across the country to paint a much more complex picture of the cultural significance of these spaces, inside "big four" gay cities, but also beyond them.

Jacks Williams is Ritchie Ford’s one great love. Their life as the rhythm section of the band Vertical Smile is perfect—only upstaged by the one they share as lovers. Until one night Jacks locks himself in the bathroom and slices his arms open, shattering everything Ritchie knows. Ten years earlier, Jackson Williams, III appeared to lead a charmed life. In reality, it was hell. Trapped in an abusive home, Jacks acted out small rebellions and dreamed of freedom. Until Ritchie Ford rescued him like a puppy, and everything changed. He would be perfect for Ritchie—it was the least he could do.

Years of political violence and protests against injustice have revived interest in teaching civics in schools. The problem? Civic education—as it currently exists—privileges systems, not students. It promotes incremental change within a broken democracy rather than responding to the youth-led movements that call for the abolition of inequitable social structures. What will it take to prepare young people for the just future they are fighting for?