AustLit

'Harry loves to race around the streets of Dog Town. When he stumbles upon the lost city of cats, he finds himself in a race against Dog Town’s fastest canine, Grizzly. The winner of this race will have the power to save Cat World, or destroy it.

'Harry wants to win, but there is one small problem. The race is in the ocean, and Harry is terribly afraid of water.

'Can Harry overcome his fear of water in time to save Cat World?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Elijah Brooks is putting his soul into making this wild west show a success. Pity a demon already owns it. And now the demon's come to collect.

'Elijah Brooks has lost his job, his girlfriend, and he's about to lose his truck and home. Desperate to get his luck back on track, he thinks he's found the answer. His grandfather used to run a Wild West show and rake in the cash. Elijah's father still has the tents, saddles, banners, and guns.This is Elijah's last chance to pay his debts or face eviction and financial ruin.

'He's found the location. He's hired actors and horses. The posters are up. It's opening night and the whole town is eager to see the show. But three show hands have disappeared and a strange beast made of dirt is responsible. Worse, Elijah has somehow unleashed this beast. Can he stop the danger in the dirt or will the show go on, even if it's cursed?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'They survived the game. They survived the cyber sickness and loss of friends. Now they will face the hardest journey yet: choosing sides.

'From the very beginning, Kelly, Jack, and Reis have had one goal: to get home. But the event that caused the virtual game to malfunction has plunged the world into icy darkness. Technology is gone, food is scarce and while many survivors have settled into evacuation centers, many more have not. Along the way these three friends will have choices to make, secrets to expose or keep, sides to choose, and some will forge their own path.

'But all will face a harsh reality. Their lives are changed forever and home is where they least expect to find it. And then there is a group of people who hold the secret to humanity’s survival - the Nexis. Will they choose to fight them or join them?'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'A secret society. Locked away to prevent war on occupied Earth. Today, one of them escaped.

'The year is 2355. Earth has been under alien occupation for 300 years, after a bio-weapon got out of control and almost wiped out mankind. We tried to get off the planet, but aliens arrived and placed Earth under quarantine to stop the virus from getting into space. They gave us the cure, and in exchange we were forced to comply with tough control measures designed to save our dying planet and species. Population was controlled. Resources were rationed. Governments were unified. Occupation brought world peace. Mankind recovered, but our planet never did. The need to get into space was stronger than ever.

'The aliens agreed to help us, but we're still on this dying planet and they're still avoiding the issue. Which means, the aliens are lying to us.

'What they don't know is we're lying to them. 200 years ago, we locked thousands of people away in hidden cities, away from the prying eyes of the Criterion ships that patrol the skies. We had our reasons. Good reasons.

'Today, someone from a hidden city escaped.

'World peace came with rules. We've just broken them. Earth's salvation is now in the hands of a high-profile celebrity, a woman who shouldn't be alive, a politician with deadly secrets, and an inquisitive alien.

'If you like sci-fi thrillers that turn conventional ideas about space exploration on their head, stories with twists and turns, and thought-provoking reads, then you'll enjoy D L Richardson's first book in the Earth Quarantined series.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Could you betray your sister to bring peace to the dead?

'After a fifteen-year absence, Jenny returns to her summer holiday destination. She’s excited to find her summer crush is still living in town, and he offers to show her around. Soon, ghostly images appear in her photos and nightmares plague her sleep. When her sister arrives in town, past jealousies are dredged up. And so is a terrible secret that will have Jenny wondering what really happened over those summer holidays.

'It’s too late to escape this nightmare because her presence has already begun to unlock the secrets. The ghosts are coming back for their revenge. Can Jenny betray her sister to bring peace to the dead? Or will they come for her instead?

'If you like creepy stories with lots of twists and ah-hah moments, then you’ll like The Shivers Novellas. Buy your copy today, but read with the lights on…'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Kelly Lawrence, Jack Minnow, and Reis Anderson survived the failed virtual reality game only to discover they’ve been transported to a facility hundreds of miles away. It is here they learn the reason for the malfunction. Now they must journey home.

'Their experience inside the game should have given them skills to survive any disaster situation, but not the one they’re facing: they weren’t the only ones playing the game. Those who played before have become the new face of humanity. And this group sits between these friends and their homes.

'When one of them is seriously injured, the only way to survive is to go back to the CyberNexis facility where it all began and go back inside The Apocalypse Games.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'“Players, welcome to the apocalypse…”

'Kelly Lawrence is a grieving widow. Jack Minnow is a website designer. Reis Anderson is the son of a senator. Each of these players has their own reasons for signing up to The Apocalypse Games, a state of the art virtual game designed to entertain doomsday preppers, gamers, and cosplayers.

'Altogether, over 100 people enter NASA designed simulation pods and hook up to the mainframe computer with one goal: survive 24 hours of an apocalypse. Instead of game over at the end, they’re plugged straight into a new game. Then another. It’s clear the computer has malfunctioned. What’s not clear is why.

'With no communication to or from the outside operators, they can only fight endless battles and hope they’re rescued before it’s too late. While they can’t die inside the game, they can die if the pods break down while they’re still hooked up.

'This game of survival just got real.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'People might make you crazy, but never like this.

'Karen Malcolm escapes with her life after a week of being held hostage in her own home by a mad man named Cain. He gets life behind bars and she gets a second chance as the future wife of Doctor Tyler Carlisle and mother of his young daughter Jess. But Karen can't escape the nightmare that follows when Cain contacts her from prison to beg forgiveness. Instead she is plunged into a world where there are things in the dark that even the bad guys are afraid of, including Cain.

'When Karen is caught up in Cain's web of madness it places the life of her new daughter at risk because when Cain returns, he's not alone and he's not after her this time, but after Jess. Once more Karen will face her attacker. Yet the madness he brings with him is left behind is like poison in her veins.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A bitter sweet, foolhardy mission it is to want to know how much the boy you love loves you back. Ruby Parker, a seventeen year old singer in an all girl band, dies in a car crash after an argument with her boyfriend and finds herself on such a foolhardy mission. Yet once she starts down that path there’s no backing down, no matter how crazy this mission drives you. Or no matter what crazy plane of otherworld existence this mission spirals you into. Or no matter that the answer you get is different to the question you asked. With the aid of bad advice from a ghost who is trapped by a curse, a little bit of magic courtesy of her unsuspecting half-sister, and a televised music talent show coming to town to hold auditions, Ruby makes more of a mess in death than she ever did in life. Bad choices. Right choices. Whatever. She’ll do anything to find out how much Leo Culver loved her because everything she lived and died for depends on the answer.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Seventeen year old Ethan James can’t stand the boring life he’s living while waiting for a kidney transplant. When a donor is finally found he’s on track to getting old life back as an ice hockey champion. However, two weeks after the operation, he’s kidnapped by a man who believes in Feedback – the theory that organs retain the memories of the donor host.

'At least he isn’t alone. Abducted with him are sixteen-year-old Florida Bowman and fifteen-year-old Jake Inala, who also received the spy’s organs. The kidnapper tells them that their donor was a CIA agent. And now this terrorist wants to know where the dead spy hid the deadly bacteria bombs so he can carry on with his plans to destroy the world. The teen’s lives are in danger because they don’t believe Feedback is real.

'During interrogation they begin to hear voices, telling them information they can’t possibly know: the location of the bombs, the deactivation codes; the time the bombs are set to explode. Now they’re faced with something more terrifying than organ transplants. They must trust that the voice in their head is real and save the planet. Or accept that hallucinations are causing the voices and that their bodies are rejecting the organs.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Guardian angel Rachael finds herself trapped in Purgatory with Ben Taylor, a young soldier with a secret that's driving him insane. Desperate to see him ascend into Heaven she breaks the rules about becoming involved and keeping her identity a secret. Her decision to stay in Purgatory to help Ben seems a good plan. Except they've been stuck for ten years already and Ben is no closer to ascending. The unexpected appearance of a feisty teenager, Jet Jones, throws Rachael's wings into a tailspin. The instant attraction between Jet and Ben means the angel's work is getting ignored. And without her help, Ben's soul will be trapped and she will have failed in her mission.

'But Jet's appearance also brings a chilling revelation. Maybe Ben's soul isn't the only one that needs saving.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.