Online Fiction

Winner of multiple literary prizes, Laura Castoro pens novels in genres as diverse as contemporary fiction, Westerns, and period romance. Love on the Line stars unforgettable mother and daughter Thea and Jesse Morgan. Recently widowed, Thea has become a successful business woman and is now rekindling a love affair with a former star athlete-turned pastor. Meanwhile, Jesse struggles with her mixed race heritage as she tries to fit in at college.

Nun war es also so weit. Jetzt stand ich hier, am vereinbarten Treffpunkt und wartete. Ich hasse warten, aber ich bin ja auch viel zu früh hier. Wie mochte sie wohl aussehen, ich hatte überhaupt keine Vorstellung. Ich wusste nur ihren Namen: Karin. Aber trotzdem wusste ich schon so viel über sie. Sie teilte meine Vorliebe für erotische Geschichten und genauso hatten wir uns kennengelernt: In einer Newsgroup im Internet.

Noah Carver is still playing Sevenfold Sword Online, trying to find proof of the game's dangerous secret. Namely, that the game was built using dangerous technology taken from humanity's greatest enemy, technology that might give the enemy a way to return. But Carver hasn't found proof that will get the authorities to act. So when an old friend from the military offers help, Carver has no choice but to accept.

Edwin Morris has been playing Sakarn Online almost his whole life. In fact, most people have. While he considers himself a skilled player, he never could really find the time to take his game to the next level and pay the bills. After he is finally pushed over the edge with his job at Burger Planet, Edwin stumbles upon a man representing a game company called Stratus Labs.

Coral joined the immersive virtual reality video game Travail Online because her waitressing job, like so many other jobs, was automated by a growing robot workforce. She starts as a Seamstress, hoping to craft useful clothing in-game to sell for real life cash. The game, however, has other ideas. She soon discovers a knack for peeling the skins off creatures she never thought she'd lay hands on and crafting grotesque wearables from them instead.

Almost as exciting as the chance to have archeologist Brian Harris' dig sites modeled in an interactive virtual reality is the chance to alpha-test the newest Terramyr Online game for the company providing the tech. The arrangement is simple, test the game, play the main storyline, and report any glitches. In return, the game's main designer will render fully virtual models of the dig sites that will not only ensure Brian's successful graduation but set him up for life as he uncovers the secrets hidden within a trio of ancient Chilean volcanoes.

Murph lives on an ocean liner which has been set down in the corn fields of Kansas. He works as a security op and plays dangerous games in a virtual reality called Way Out. But Murph is lonely and wants to meet his online lover, Cat, in person. But who is Cat, exactly, and what secret is she keeping from Murph?

The year is 2043. God and Satan are dining at a cute little Italian trattoria in Purgatory, when Satan challenges God to a wager: At stake is whether Good or Evil will prevail in the world. Both antagonists will choose someone on earth to compete in a winner-take-all athletic competition. If God’s choice wins, Good will prevail forever. If Satan’s choice wins…. They select tennis as the ideal crucible in which to have this ultimate mano-a-mano sporting test of physical skills and inner strength.

Überall auf der Welt boomen die Online-Rollenspiele. Für den sechzehnjährigen Wei-Dong in L. A. sind sie die einzige Ablenkung vom nervigen Schulalltag...

Endlich steht der Advent an, und die Online-Omi freut sich auf eine gemütliche Zeit mit Gänsebraten, "Sissi" und allem, was dazugehört. Aber wie immer kommt es anders. Kaum brennt die erste Kerze auf dem Kranz, geht alles drunter und drüber. Stromausfall, kein fließendes Wasser – und dann versucht Tochter Kirsten auch noch, mit der Deutschen Bahn anzureisen! Nie hätte Renate gedacht, dass am Ende die ganze Hausgemeinschaft in ihrer Wohnstube sitzen und zusammen Weihnachten feiern würde.

The game is no longer about adventures in a new world or exploring fantasy lands. Grant’s digital wife faces deletion, along with everyone else he cares for. He and those who know this is more than a game event search for clues to salvation left behind by the game's creators. Even if he finds them all, the Voices have one last task for their messenger. A sacrifice.

Having found the tragic truth that an art degree is worth less than the paper it is printed on, Jacquelyn Jones is frustrated with her dead end work as a graphic designer for a marketing firm....But then she heard about City of Champions Online. For the first time, a developer partnered with a tabletop RPG maker to use their system to create a VRMMORPG, and it was one of the systems designed to be used with superhero games! Now, she just has to find a way to become the heroine she's always wanted to be.

Make friends,” the A.I. said. Gemini Fowler did. Now, the stakes have been raised, and Gemini is irate. Stripped of his gear and returned to the village where it all started, he must follow a long road filled with peril and quests to level up and recover the companion he lost. Soon, he’ll see Enora is much more than a dark forest, and his adventure has hardly begun. Can he reach Roshan before the mysterious governor’s men arrive at the tyrant’s stronghold and she is lost to him forever?

In the bleak, not-too-distant future, most people who could fled to the virtual reality OVR World Online. Zachary "Zee" Jones will never be able to afford to become a player of the game. After committing a crime in order to save his mother's life, he was arrested and included in the Inmate Player Program. Even without perception filters to limit his pain, it was better than the alternative. He has the opportunity to earn more money in a five-year sentence then he could have in his entire life as a hospital janitor.

Entriss Online was Ian's life: by day, as one of their lead developers; by night, gaming as the accomplished Mandorf the Wizard. Now, they are shutting down the game, and Ian has no way to stop them. After years of leveling up, both professionally and personally, everything he has worked for is going to end. His goggles-and-gloves virtual reality MMORPG is being replaced with Everyworld Online, a next-gen game that provided full immersion so players can experience a world that looks and feels real.

Imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit, Kaiden's only hope of early release is in serving as a Warden in the game-world of Nova Online. Playing as a unique class while surrounded by aliens, pirates and warring guilds, he and his squad are tasked with protecting new players and enforcing the rule of law. But Kaiden has other ideas; he is intent on proving his innocence. The keys to his freedom lie hidden in the game's seedy underbelly. And as he'll soon discover, the bloody trail that led to his arrest is more twisted than he could have ever imagined.

Congratulations! You’ve been selected to be a contestant in the upcoming Eros Online: Race to the Climax competition beginning tomorrow. You and several million other talented individuals are now entered in what is likely to be the greatest race in human history. All contestants will begin as newbie characters in the exciting world of Eros Online. All contestants are required to maintain a live-stream channel of their character whenever in game. The winner is the player who has the most followers, likes, and fans at the end of the two-month contest period.

Cassidy Delgado needs the newest MMO launch from Lush Games to be fantastic. It isn’t just the future of the company and a lot of money on the line, it’s her career as a product manager. The hype is enormous. Someone has hacked the project code already, but the R&D heads have assured Cassidy they’ve fixed the error.

Actions have consequences. Grant’s prior adventures tie together and he finds himself back in Continue Online, as Hermes - in jail. He's forced to experience life as a digital convict and earn redemption points to gain his freedom. Each in-game death pushes his goal of helping his friends out of reach. The AIs Grant’s grown to love, trust - and sometimes fear - are facing extinction, and he holds the key to their survival.

Laid-off teacher Olivia Crawford feels lost without the everyday, personal interactions with her students. Attracted by the salary and the potential for a career change, she considers an offer to become a beta player for a new Jane Austen virtual world within the VR universe of Allworld Online. Swallowing her fear, she accepts the position…and the invasive neural implant that will give her access to the virtual realm.