Showing results by narrator "Billie Fulford-Brown" in All Categories

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.

For The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries, writer and anthologist Michael Sims did not summon the usual suspects. He sought the unfamiliar, the unjustly forgotten, and little-known gems by writers from outside the genre. This historical tour of one of our most popular literary categories includes stories never before reprinted, features rebellious early “lady detectives," and spotlights former stars of the crime field—Austrian novelist Auguste Groner and prolific American Geraldine Bonner among them.

Oxford student Jillian Leigh works day and night to keep up with her studies—so to leave at the beginning of the term is next to impossible. But after her uncle Toby, a renowned ghost hunter, is killed in a fall off a cliff, she must drive to the seaside village of Rothewell to pack up his belongings. Almost immediately, unsettling incidents—a book left in a cold stove, a gate swinging open on its own—escalate into terrifying events that convince Jillian an angry spirit is trying to enter the house.

Peyne Erlich’s mission from the king is to learn everything he can about the rival kingdom’s magical ink mage warriors. What he finds is Zayda Yond. Ever since Zayda was sold into servitude by her financially destitute father, her masters have taught her a punishing lesson: erase the past. Collared with an unmovable band of exotic metal, she faces a future of slavery. She’s also become an ink mage, marked with a tattoo that enables her to experience the world as no one else can - a powerful honor, yet one out of her control. Now, Zayda dreams only of escape.

London 1814... Drake, Duke of Manchester is searching the Marriage Mart for a perfect bride. He wants a woman who is poised, sophisticated, and worthy of the title Duchess. But most of all, he wants a woman who does not want the useless emotion of love. Socially awkward Miss Penelope Clayton isn't meant for marriage. A serious botanist, she has no desire to wed, so being forced by her guardian to participate in the Season to find a husband is torture.

Freya couldn't have known she would destroy the entire faerie court by beating the Goblin King. All she wanted was her sister back, not to imprison the king. But with her sister refusing to return home, Freya is left trapped in her own mess. She has to fix what she broke or the faerie realm will get infinitely more dangerous. Bring the Goblin King back. Save the people she harmed. And do her best to avoid the temptation of falling into the Goblin King's arms.

Nineteen-year-old Nell Hallam, an exceptionally talented pianist, aspires to attend the Royal Academy; but with tuition beyond her means, Nell sets out to earn the money herself - by playing piano in a popular Soho music hall. She will have to disguise herself as a man and slip out at night to do it. Spending evenings at the Octavian is like entering an alternate world - one of dark secrets. And when Nell stumbles upon the operations of an infamous crime ring working in the shadows of the music hall, she is drawn into a conspiracy that stretches the length of London.

Tessa will never again see her mate. Even in her dreams, she cannot find him. Trapped in a vow with the God of Death, she's cursed to live the rest of her days in captivity. Until the gods offer her a deal. If Tessa undergoes a series of trials designed to strip her of her humanity, Andromeda will release her from the vow. If she refuses, pestilence and famine will consume Dubnos until no one is left alive. Tessa is forced to play their wicked game. She'll do whatever it takes to reunite with Kalen, even if it means embracing the darkness inside her.

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.

Emily Crane is the toast of the ton - and she couldn't find it more tedious. Until she encounters the darkly sensual stranger whose life she once saved and the London Season becomes infinitely more exciting. Recently returned from the wilds of South America, Lord Richard Sheldon has only contempt for tiresome London chits, but he finds himself stunningly intrigued by the dauntless Emily Crane.

Meet Rachel, the beautiful bride with big plans for the perfect day! The venue is a castle and the dress is designer. It’s just a shame her husband is a rat. Maddie and Sally have only one thing in common - they both love the same man! Beth is a newly single mum with a mystery baby daddy. Surely the father isn’t someone the girls all know? And then there’s Jane, the glue holding them all together, but being dumped doesn’t make her the happiest bridesmaid...especially with gorgeous flatmate Freddie complicating things.

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.

The Victorian era is remembered for many things, but one of the fondest is the wide and varied array of short ghostly, suspenseful tales...often enjoyed around the fireside at Christmastime. In this new anthology, Billie Fulford-Brown performs four of the very best, all written by incredibly talented but oft-times overlooked or forgotten female authors.

The world is on the brink of war when Elizabeth Mowbray breaks her engagement with a tea planter in India and returns home to the English countryside. Desperate to escape a stifling life under her parents’ roof, she moves to London seeking adventure and excitement.

For Londoner Fern King, Annwn is her second home—the dream mirror of London, the city she loves. An astonishing world, a world where Dreamers walk in their slumber, their dreams playing out all around them. And Fern, along with her twin brother Ollie, is now a Knight, a trusted guardian and protector of those Dreamers—and every night is spent in Annwn, fulfilling that previously only-imagined destiny to guard those who sleep.

The building was once home to families, friends, children, couples, love, life. Now almost every flat is empty, the inhabitants forced out by developers. Only a few of the inhabitants have fought back. And they have been joined by passionate student protestor and would-be journalist Ella, who is leading a high-profile media campaign to protect those who refuse to leave. But Ella is in trouble. Because now there are more than six people in the building, but one of them is lying in a lift shaft with a broken neck....

Freddy Carlton knows she should be focusing on her lines for The Austen Playbook, a live-action TV event where viewers choose the outcome of each scene, but her concentration’s been blown. The palatial estate housing the endeavor is now run by the rude (brilliant) critic who’s consistently slammed her performances of late. James “Griff” Ford-Griffin has a penchant for sarcasm, a majestic nose, and all the sensitivity of a sledgehammer. She can’t take her eyes off him.

Night has fully fallen on Aesir. A comet streaks through the sky, heralding the return of the monstrous winged gods. Separated from everyone she knows and loves, Tessa must find a way to brave the coming storm. Within her, a dangerous power grows. It might be the one thing that can save them all—if only she can find the strength to control it. And as long as Kalen is not forced to kill her first.

Betrayed by those she trusted, penniless and alone, Darcie Finch is forced to accept a position no one else dares as assistant to dangerously attractive Dr. Damien Cole. Ignoring the whispered warnings and rumors he's a man to fear, she takes her position at his eerie estate, where she quickly discovers nothing is at it seems, least of all her handsome and brooding employer. As Darcie struggles with her fierce attraction to Damien, she must also deal with the blood, the disappearances...and the murders.

Alia has made a deal with the Sea Witch to give up her life as a mermaid in exchange for a human soul. Now she has only 12 hours left on land to win the prince she loves, or perish. But Alia’s sister, Runa, knows that the prince isn’t capable of true love, so she makes her own bargain with the Sea Witch - and prepares to bring Alia back to the ocean, whether she likes it or not. Below the waves, the Sea Witch has a plan to challenge the order of the sea. It’s going to take power - power she doesn’t yet have.