Showing results by narrator "Billie Brown" in All Categories

These 16 short tales delve into realms of existential investigation, from dark horror and science fiction futures to fantastical flights of scientific wonder. Each story is a self-contained world of its own, a moment in time that illuminates a thought, a person, an experience or a curiosity.

Growing up in a small town on the Cornish coast, Natalie and Fiona have always been besties. Then roommates. But now, with thirty looming on the horizon, it all seems to be falling apart. Fiona’s decided it’s finally time to move in with her long-term boyfriend, leaving Natalie wondering how on earth to pay the rent. Just as she’s on the brink of despair, Natalie somehow lands her dream job, and surviving solo suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. But Fiona had set her sights on that same role.

Six girls, six boys. Each in the two separate bays of a single spaceship. They have six minutes each week to seduce and to make their choices, under the unblinking eye of the onboard cameras. They are the contenders in the Genesis programme, the world's craziest speed-dating show ever, aimed at creating the first human colony on Mars.

Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig, she expects to hate it; after all, they are the world’s most tragic band. In fact, she feels a grudging respect - not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes into making them megastars. But the next morning she wakes up, rolls over, and discovers a million new mentions on social media. Overnight, a photo of her backstage has made her the subject of global speculation.

Out of Dublin, a survivor's captivating story of loss, abuse, and resilience, is a stunning short memoir told with startling honesty and vulnerability. Perhaps what's most arresting about this work, above its unique voice, above its call to end silence, is the depth of its author's capacity for compassion, love, and forgiveness.

Lana Crewe is a strong, fiercely driven 17-year-old living in a village ruled by fear. With their king and queen both dead, strife and division have taken hold. Ruthlessly attacked by an order called Talons, Lana's father is fatally stabbed. Before he dies, he imparts upon Lana a directive to save the statue of Saint Peter and tells her that the queen yet lives. Now it is up to Lana to unravel the mystery of Saint Peter and bring an end to all of the war by finding the queen.

Haruka and Takashi are devoted to shopping and going out in Tokyo. She loves her Louis Vuitton handbags, Hermès scarves, and Louboutin shoes. He enjoys eating out and looking through the department stores in Ginza and Shibuya. Together they make a cute couple, but love is never easy.

A memoir of coming of age behind the counter, exploring butchery as an art form and taking an incisive look at an industry on the brink. When sixteen-year-old Jessica Wragg applied for a job at her local farm shop in Derbyshire, England, she never expected to land a position behind the butchery...

Liv knows what kind of boy her grandson is. She knows Seb would never do anything to hurt his girlfriend, Izzy. But could the shadow cast by his father be influencing the boy she loves? Caitlyn, Izzy’s mother, is desperate to reach her daughter, but she only seems to push her further away. Can she help her daughter or are Caitlyn's own demons standing in the way? When an inappropriate photo of Izzy is shared online, no one is prepared for the ripples that threaten to tear their lives apart. Will the truth come out before it's too late? Or is the damage already done?

A woman trapped in a loveless engagement joins forces with a mysterious man bent on vengeance against her fiancé in The Proposition, a lively tale of intrigue, revenge, and romance. What would you propose? Clemency Fry has always been certain that marriage is a ludicrous arrangement—a...

When Amelia arrives at Nexum House she sparks the fire of revolution. Daughter of a gambler and a scientist, the 16-year-old wants revenge for her parents' murder. But not just against the killers. Amelia wants to start a catalyst that will change the world.

Adolf Hitler's secret mistress, an upstanding member of the British aristocracy, gives birth to a daughter. The child is whisked away at infancy and raised as an orphan. She is protected from the truth concerning her origins, but that doesn't prevent the remnants of Hitler's scattered empire from seeking her out as part of a plot to reignite their dream of conquering Europe. Enter into our drama the starchy, conservative Jean Hastie, an art historian and official for the Scottish National Trust.

Chess Raven is a hacker who has grown up with nothing and no one. Her parents died when she was three, and her foster care situation turned out badly - very badly. But on her 16th birthday, her life is turned upside down. Chess learns her mother was Queen of the Fae and her father was a brilliant physicist. The unique blend of her mother’s fairy blood and her father’s humanity gives Chess - and Chess alone - the ability to unlock a mysterious vessel that will unleash unimagined powers - with devastating consequences.

The respectable middle-class Twist family is settling in for their usual Sunday lunch. Husband and wife Roger and Becky are there, along with their daughter, Lucy, and her husband, Frank. But then they're joined by an uninvited guest. His name is John, and he knows everything about them—including their darkest secrets. After he manipulates his way into the house, John soon has them bound at their wrists and ankles. But what is the agenda of this twisted stranger?

Ten years ago, seventeen-year-olds Katie and Frida spent a heatwave summer together on a tidal island and they haven’t spoken since. Katie has tried hard to forget about what happened, all while watching Frida rise to fame as a spiritual influencer with millions of devoted followers. But then a photograph surfaces: a group of girls bathed in summer light, white t-shirts glowing against marsh water. One figure is the celebrated Frida Rae. One is Katie. The others are girls whose dead bodies recently washed up near the island.

Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer. But with her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly dating mother, and the nagging worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt. Then, as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens—both personally and professionally. Can she move on from past events and rebuild her future?

They said I was The One. They made me their Queen. The truth is, I was the last resort. But I’m not done yet. I may be alone, but I have learnt one thing: I am the one I’ve been waiting for. My destiny awaits me in Venice. But where, exactly? In the promises and charms of Prince Victor of House Grigio? In a deal struck with the sisterhood of mermaids who swim the canals? In the ice blue eyes of the one who cannot be mine? Or in the friend whose forgotten past changes everything? I am Chess Raven. I am the girl who chose.

A dream job on a tropical island. For the world's foremost entrepreneur. But employer and employee have secrets. Whose secrets are the darkest?

You know what's best for your child. Don't you? Riley Pieterson is an adventurous girl with lots of questions. There's plenty she doesn't know yet: What a human brain looks like. All the constellations in the night sky. Why others can't see her the way she sees herself. When Riley confides in her parents - Sally and Theo - that she feels uncomfortable in her own skin, a chain of events begins that changes their lives forever. Sally wants to support her daughter by helping her be who she dreams of being. Theo resists; he thinks Riley is a seven-year-old child pushing boundaries.

Mary Draper knows she is a normal, gap-toothed schoolgirl--until her sleep disorder is brought to light, she dreams her cat can talk like a toff, she learns how to use the camera obscura and wishing steps, and she rescues her Victorian friend, a suspected jewel thief. The reason: Mary Draper can time travel!