Showing results by author "Kate L. Mary" in All Categories

The world Megan James thought she knew has been slowly unraveling. Her father disappeared and was presumed dead, her mother's sanity started to slip away, and the safe world she'd always thought she was living in slowly began to reveal its very dark and twisted depths. With the discovery that both her father and long-lost uncle, Angus James, were alive, Meg thought she'd finally learned all the secrets New Atlanta and the CDC had to offer, but she soon discovers the surprises have barely begun.

Twenty years ago, Angus James woke to find himself in a sterile room. On the other side of the locked door, doctors worked to manipulate a virus, using him as their ultimate pin cushion. He was supposed to be dead - and there were moments over the next two decades when he wished he was.

Twenty years ago, a deadly virus swept the globe, ravaging the population. People died and came back as monsters, and through the tragedy that rocked the world, survivors were born. Megan James is the product of survivors. Her parents crossed hundreds of miles of dangerous countryside to reach Atlanta and the promise of a real future. Now, two decades later, Meg is facing a crisis of her own. Her father has vanished and is presumed dead, and her mom is teetering on the edge of insanity, but all Meg really wants is to return to the safe world she always thought she was living in.

Neglected by her mother, abused by her stepfather, and trapped in an oppressive cult, Willow Sands has lived the past three years with the shadow of her 15th birthday hanging over her. That was the day her mother handed her over to David, the son of their leader, promising her a future even more bleak than she’d ever imagined. Now, with her 18th birthday and the day of her wedding fast approaching, she’s almost come to accept her fate. Hope was the last thing Willow expected to feel this close to her wedding, but that’s exactly what she finds in Jared.

Broken Stories is a compilation of short stories and novelettes that accompanies the Broken World series. From California to Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Colorado, listeners will get a glimpse at what other people went through before, during, and after the zombie virus outbreak. Some of the characters featured in these stories have close ties to the main characters in the Broken World series, while others are brand-new.

For the past two years, Jules has floated through life. When the virus was released it changed everything about the world. Jules lost her mom and her home, forcing her to live with the father she barely knows. Now, even as society works to rebuild, Jules still feels like she doesn’t quite fit in. Then she meets Roman. Even before the zombies, he only had himself to depend on. Brooding and rebellious, Roman isn’t anyone Jules would have pictured herself with before the zombies came. But now she finds herself willing to give up everything to be with him.

With the population decimated and hellish creatures loose upon the world, Andra and her family retreat to Quinn’s farm where they hope to build a new life. But the monsters are still a mystery and their habits unpredictable, making it impossible to know what’s going to happen next. The more they learn, the more questions they have, and the more Andra worries for her daughter’s safety.

Stranded hours from home and empty-handed, with Kellan on the brink of death, Regan finds herself facing the most difficult challenge yet. Their enemies are still out there, lurking in the shadows and seeking revenge, and with nowhere else to turn, she must put all her faith in the hands of strangers if they have any chance of surviving.

Still reeling from loss and with the harsh Oklahoma elements seemingly working against them, Kellan and Regan set out to rescue Harper from Andrew and his men. Only now they aren’t just fighting to free a teenage girl, they’re fighting to keep a promise to the man who saved them, knowing if they fail, Harper won’t be the only one at risk. Joining forces with a new group means having help and making friends, but it also brings new conflict and the risk of losing everything they’ve worked to build over the last eight years.

When Regan was a young girl living in the small town of Altus, OK, Kellan was just her brother’s best friend. Then the virus came, turning the world’s population into zombies, and he became so much more. They were only kids, but he saved her. Watched over her. Kept her alive. And he’s been doing the same thing every day since.

Rowan, Devon, Kiaya, and Doug are happy. They’ve built lives for themselves, created families, and the future is looking good. But when a new group arrives in Elizabethtown, bringing news about what’s happening in other parts of the country, everything they thought about the world is turned upside down. Now they’re faced with a choice. Continue to brave the apocalypse alone, or join forces with a new government. The risks are high, the benefits extreme, and the threat of what might happen if they continue on their own terrifying.

Leaving everything she knew and loved behind wasn’t easy for Drea, but now that she’s out of the Society, she’s determined to make a life for herself. One she chooses. With Jerrick at her side, Drea throws herself into learning not just about herself and the world that used to exist but the Society as well. And the more she discovers, the more determined she becomes to help overthrow the controlling regime and save the people still trapped in the Society.

Drea Young has grown up living in the shadow of the wall. Not only does she know there’s nothing left beyond it, but she also knows that it’s there to protect the citizens of the United Society of the Reestablishment. That doesn’t stop her from feeling trapped, though. Why? Everything in her world is perfect. There’s no more struggle, no war or crime, no conflict. No choice. Drea has always thought she was alone in her blasphemous thoughts, but then she gets to know Jerrick Carter and realizes she couldn’t be more wrong.

My name is Ava Mendoza, and I’m not a species traitor. I’m a species savior. I never thought the Veilorians were the enemy, but I also never could have imagined I’d find myself in love with one. Meeting Finn changed my life, and I happily gave up everything not just for him, but for what I believed in as well.

They came hoping to find a new home after their own planet was destroyed, but Earth was dying as well, and most humans saw their arrival as an invasion. Now, two decades later, the Veilorians have been banished to the District, a fenced-in area on the outskirts of the last known livable land on Earth. Most people do their best to pretend they don’t exist, but not everyone. There are humans, like my cousin, who see them for what they are. Despite the threat of disownment, she married a Veilorian, and now she, too, lives in the District.

Four months before the world ended, Melanie met Logan, the guy of her dreams. Too bad her younger sister’s drama screwed things up – again. Now, with most of the population dead and the future uncertain, Melanie isn’t sure what to think when he pops up. She’s level-headed enough to know that romance can’t cure heartache or protect her from zombies, but that doesn’t mean it can’t help distract her from how horrible things are....

Landon and I parted ways five years ago, ending an eight-year relationship that I’d thought would last forever. Then the virus came and everything disappeared, along with my hope of ever being reunited with the man I never stopped loving. When he showed up at our settlement eight months after the world ended, I felt like I’d been handed a second chance. But my joy was short-lived when a simple decision I’d made months earlier came back to haunt me. Now everything I’ve worked to build was being threatened, including the life of the only man I’ve ever loved.

Chris Pressley is the perfect roommate — uptight and damaged and hung up on his ex. And hot. Bette doesn’t date, but she definitely likes looking. Chris just needs to get away from the happiest couple on campus: the sweet, shy girl he loves and his former best friend. Watching Bette rock her tattoos and her curves even as she builds her own business is an education. That’s probably why he can’t keep his mind off her....

Nearly a year after Asher Kimura swooped into Athens and saved Scarlett and her friends, the group has settled into a routine that almost feels like a real life. But when an altercation on the street turns deadly, they’re forced to head out west to lay low until things have settled down. After a lifetime in the polluted world the Luddites have created, Scarlett is looking forward to seeing the sun in all its splendor for the very first time. Too bad the heat, dust, and utter lawlessness of the west leave a lot to be desired.

Some people like a little chaos. Not Sarah. Growing up in a house of humiliating filth means she has three crystal-clear goals: Get through college, however she can. Keep her four-year-old sister away from her mom’s hoarding. Never, never let disorder take over her life. Of course, studying, working, and taking care of a toddler mean Sarah has no time for fun. Until she meets Zac. He’s sweet, he’s funny, they have compatible plans for the zombie apocalypse. But Sarah can’t let him in.