Showing results by author "Riano D. McFarland" in All Categories

No one knew where they came from or how long they had existed. Their origins were as enigmatic as their purpose—silent sentinels in the wilderness, waiting. Yet one truth remained unshaken: no one gazed into their depths and walked away unchanged. Long-buried secrets surfaced. Forgotten transgressions clawed their way into the light, merciless in their clarity. The crater did not show what was wanted—it showed what was needed.

For nine years, Calvin Thorne was an elite agent for an international crime-fighting agency known as O.P.U.S. (Organization for the Pursuit of Untouchable Syndicates). After being betrayed by his superiors and tricked into assassinating an innocent man, he resigns and apparently vanishes from the face of the earth. Two years later, O.P.U.S. is attempting to erase the connections tying the agency to the illegally contracted murder, and the only agent who knows what really happened is Calvin Thorne.

The thing is…when your intention is to remain below the radar, an ever-expanding reputation is the last thing anyone needs, and soon, old problems and long-forgotten adversaries begin to resurface. Despite his reluctance to revisit the ghosts of his past, sometimes in order to move forward, you have to go back again. In doing so, Malcolm realizes that a few of the broken things requiring his attention…aren’t things at all.

With each new recipient, the artifact expands its knowledge while passing the sum of its experiences on to them. Although its mission is quite specific, its very existence is the closely guarded secret of a society sworn to recover it—a task which proves to be far more challenging than they could ever have suspected.

When an unusual chain of drownings occurs in Upper Mystic Lake, two families are pitted against one another as they attempt to lay the blame for the loss of their only begotten children, at the feet of the other family. The Shakespearian tragedy forces everyone to reassess their own culpability as well as their way forward, while attempting to find closure.

In 1955, the Soviet Union introduced the Moscow Water Dog in a canine show to great acclaim. However, in real world situations, they fell far short of the expectations Russian cynologists had set for them, and in 1979, the Moscow Water Dog project was shut down. Supposedly the last of the breed died out in 1990, but did they?

In a family that has everything, one tends to forget that some things are beyond even their control. After fate sends the family an unmistakable message, Christopher suddenly finds himself on the receiving end of a financial avalanche, yet fully incapable of managing or even understanding the full magnitude of it. In a world beset with vipers and jackals, he would be as helpless as a sheep led to slaughter in handling the family’s substantial financial assets.

Over 70 percent of Earth is covered in water, yet over 80 percent of that water remains unexplored. There are currently over 10 billion people on Earth, but terrestrial humans are only aware of those who live on land. The other three billion humans took a decidedly different evolutionary path, adapting to live in the largest combined area on the planet–the water.

When Terrance picks up a rideshare client at Logan International Airport in Boston, he has no idea how pivotal a moment in his life it will be. Within minutes of their introductions, the stranger offers Terrance the fulfillment of his dreams in less than one month. All he asks in return is that Terrance agrees to open and distribute the contents of one box per day, for 21 days. Although it would appear to be such a simple task, the dynamic quickly changes when he's faced with the decision of fulfilling his own dreams, or the dreams of otherwise total strangers.

Since the dawn of mankind, there have been extraterrestrial entities observing our development as a civilization from afar. They have watched as our knowledge and our numbers have grown, while still feeling the need to shield themselves, as our intolerance for those who are unlike us has kept us from evolving to a higher level of enlightenment. While entities of pure energy may possess the knowledge of the ages, having traveled the tides of time and space for millennia, even they are easily enthralled by the uniquely human temptation of touch.

Having bonded with his dragon, T'Aer Bolun Dakkar at the age of eleven, Jake has been immersed in the world of dragons and their connection to humanity for decades. With their ascension to the throne of the northwestern dragon kingdom, it has become their never-ending crusade to preserve the planet's ecosystem for both humans and dragons without compromising the veil of separation that keeps dragons safe, and humans from realizing they exist.

With the ascension of T’Aer Bolun Dakkar, a new king now rules the northwestern dragon kingdom. In the unseen world of dragons, even kings must prove themselves worthy, and the appearance of challengers is inevitable. As Jake and T’Aer Bolun Dakkar work tirelessly to address problems plaguing both dragon and human civilizations, dragoneers and eco-terrorists seek to derail their efforts at every turn.

Most of the successful private prospectors who’d struck it rich during the California and Nevada gold rushes during the mid- to late-1800s, had journeyed westward with a specific plan from which they never deviated. Upon achieving their pre-defined goals, they packed up and returned to their original homes in distant regions of the United States. There were also plenty of others, who’d been unable to pull the plug after striking it rich, believing their lucky streak to be a never-ending one.

Following seventy thousand years of undisturbed slumber, the vessel of a planetary empire that had followed its own predetermined path to destruction eons earlier had finally reawakened, bringing with her the potential to change everything. Embodying all that was benevolent and beautiful from innumerable long-forgotten cultures, this lifeform in suspended animation also possessed the power necessary to prevent her gifts from being corrupted by those who will eternally thirst for dominion over others.

Odin is a love story that chronicles the relationship between Katherine, a successful although self-centered executive, and the puppy she literally snatched from deaths icy grip. After being rescued by her in a dramatic fashion, Odin comes to see her safety and wellbeing as the central purpose of his existence. Although the line between the savior and the saved may become blurred at times, their unconditional love and affection for one another remain clear and unimpeachable, even in the face of certain death.

In the history of Dragon Kingdoms, there has never before been a period in time during which all four regions were represented by bonded riders. As the reign of the Northeastern Dragon Kingdom approaches its end, one successor will be chosen among many as the dragon king ascendant.

After enjoying decades of planetary peace and abundance, an urgent message finds its way into the hands of Jake and Danni. At first, they are unsure of either its intent or origin, but as both become clear, it is evident that some grudges are not easily forgotten or set aside. The survivors of the Drokarian rebellion nearly thirty years earlier are returning, and this time they are armed with a device capable of erasing entire cities from the planet.

When you’re 11 years old, it’s tough convincing people to take you seriously. When you’re an 11-year-old savant, It’s exponentially more difficult. Since Jake’s inability to connect with others had made him somewhat of an outcast for most of his life, he’d learned to divert his energy into his artistic talent, creating mesmerizing images capable of literally paralyzing anyone who should gaze upon them.

Long before even dragons roamed the planet, the spores of the borlamites were biding their time in the heat and darkness of deep Earth. They were waiting for the surface to cool and the seeds of life to take hold and turn a barren rock into a pearl among planets in our galaxy. As they prepared to emerge from beneath Earth’s tectonic plates and turn the bio-matter of the dead and dying, into food for the budding flora and fauna, their birth was interrupted by an asteroid strike. The planetary conditions suddenly changed, and the borlamites continued to sleep.

Following 10 years of service under four different presidents, the legend of Marshal Oliver Blackstone has grown far beyond his district headquarters in Santa Fe. Throughout the new US territories between Texas and California, law-abiding citizens respect him, while outlaws and wayward fugitives are wise to avoid coming face-to-face with him. After drawing the ire of a wealthy Russian immigrant, he discovers that a $100,000 bounty has been placed on his head, collectible by the first gunman able to take down the marshal and claim it.