Death Defied Audiobook Release!
Death Defied, Valerie’s Elite Book Two Audiobook
By Justin Sloan, PT Hylton, & Michael Anderle
An evil intelligence bent on galactic domination is about to meet the Justice Enforcer.
When a mysterious AI demands the release of a criminal, it gets something else instead: the wrath of Valerie’s Elites.
Now the team must travel to a remote space station to uncover the secret their enemies want to keep hidden.
Valerie and her team will join with resistance fighters on a secret moonbase to take on mechs, giant robots, and an artificial intelligence that can infest any advanced technology it encounters.
No one said bringing Justice to the stars was going to be easy. But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be fun.
Liberation Release!
Liberation, Book Four The Bad Company
By Craig Martelle & Michael Anderle
BUY ON AMAZON I FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED
Humanity’s greatest export—Justice. Space is a dangerous place even for the wary, and especially for the unprepared. The aliens have no idea. Here comes the Bad Company.
When humanity is wronged by the alien AI, the Bad Company leaps to action, but only after the warriors have scattered to the four corners of the galaxy. Nothing like liberty to keep the Bad Company happy and the credits flowing, just like cheap beer.
A side trip to Earth. Vacation on Yol. Meeting a lawyer on Onyx Station. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility as the Bad Company takes much-needed time off.
When the warriors return, they find their ranks bolstered, their weapons upgraded, and their fleet has grown. What they don’t find is the enemy.
The search is on! Between the Bad Company and their target stands too many innocent lives. Join Terry and Char as they confront Ten, a galactic evil…
Join the Bad Company as they fight an enemy from their worst nightmares.
Liberation – Snippet 3
Liberation, The Bad Company Book Four
By Craig Martelle & Michael Anderle
Unedited
Snippet #3
“My name is Rivka Anoa, and I’ll be working with you on your franchise contract for All Guns Blazing. Do you have any questions before we start?”
“We’d like to see the All Guns Blazing before anything else. Are you old enough to go in there? You look pretty young,” Terry said.
“So do you,” Rivka deftly replied. She was shorter than Char by half a head, with blond hair and hazel eyes offset by swarthy skin. “I’m twenty-five, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m not twenty-five, and I’d like to see what I’m going to spend Nathan’s money on,” Char said.
“What are you, thirty-five? That’s not that big of a difference.”
“I think I’ll be…” Terry stopped and started counting, ticking off his fingers as he went. “Round it up to one ninety. You know what that means! Somebody is going to hit the big two oh oh this year.”
“Why?” Char rolled her eyes and groaned. “Why did you have to bring that up?”
“Because I need to throw you a surprise party,” Terry said nonchalantly.
Char turned to Rivka. “Which way to the bar? I could use a drink.”
“Follow me, please.” She winked at Char before shielding her mouth from Terry Henry. “I can get a wheelchair for the old guy, if you’d like. I know you’re not a year over twenty-nine. You look magnificent! I love your eyes.”
Char loved the infectious exuberance of youth. “Lead on, Queen’s Barrister. Wherever you go, we shall follow, as long as you’re going to All Guns Blazing. If you’re not, we’ll find our own way.”
They took an elevator to the promenade level where Rivka held the doors for them to exit.
“This looks the same,” Char said.
“All Guns Blazing is a brand new addition to Onyx Station. One of the signature elements is the seven by twenty meter window looking into space. It is made using proprietary technology that will be part of the contract. The beer vats and brewing system must be purchased through The Bad Company. There is no proprietary technology there, it’s just beer, but the style of vats is unique and trademarked by AGB Enterprises.”
“Stop right there, barrister.” Terry crossed his arms, puffed up his chest, and pushed out his biceps. “It’s never just beer. There’s an AGB Enterprises?”
“Of course. That’s who owns the franchise rights and who you’ll have the honor of paying a straight twenty percent of your revenue, not profit, and who you’ll also have the pleasure of buying your stock materials from. It’s all in the contract.”
Terry deflated. “Is there any room for negotiation?”
“None, but I will remain your representative for as long as the contract remains in force.”
“What if you kill somebody and can’t be a lawyer anymore?”
“That is a most bizarre question. Although barristers are often able to mete out justice under the Yollin Accord, we don’t kill people. Should I be unable to continue my duties, for whatever reason, you will be provided comparable counsel from the firm. It’s in the contract.”
“We mete out some justice, too,” Terry started, “but I expect it’s a little different from what you do.”
“I’ve heard about what you do. I’m not sure I’d be bragging about it.”
“So what do you think we do?”
“Assassins. You remove people the Federation perceives as a threat to their power. You come in the dark of night. I’ll tell you what, buddy, my door is locked and I can defend myself!” She pointed a finger at the two.
Terry and Char both stepped back and looked at each other in confusion. “That’s not what we do. We’ve had exactly three missions so far. We ended a civil war on Poddern; we broke a blockade at Alchon Prime; and we closed an interdimensional rift and eliminated the Skrima, a race of demon-like aliens who had come through it.
“Oh. Okay!” she replied happily.
“Aren’t lawyers supposed to take their clients without judging them, but more importantly, aren’t lawyers supposed to research stuff, you know, get to the truth?”
“I am still new at this, but there are rumors about you and your Direct Action Branch. They’re not pretty.”
“What the hell?” Terry turned to Char. She shrugged and turned her head. “Is Nathan fu… messing with us?”
“I hope not,” Char declared before her expression softened. “You look like you could use a beer.”
Terry’s ears perked up. “Could I ever. A nice and dark one. Cold. Big, and then another one that looks just like it.”
“I think you’re going to like All Guns Blazing. It’s the most popular place on Onyx Station.” They turned a corner and Rivka waved her hands as if making the bar magically appear.
There was a fight ongoing at the entrance. Rivka held her hand up, signaling for them to stop.
“Wait a minute,” Char said. She and Terry pushed past the barrister and ran for the entrance. Half the Bad Company warriors who had arrived with Terry and Char were inside the bar, playing a drinking game. The other half were already drunk and trying to get in. The bouncers were having none of it.
“We’ve been here thirty minutes. How can they be drunk already? How can they be in a fight? How does crap like this happen?”
Terry grabbed the closest warrior and hauled him backward. The man tried to throw a haymaker as he swung around. TH dodged it and slammed the man on his face. Char rabbit-punched the next man. Terry kicked the third in the back of the knee. When the man started to stumble, Terry punched him in the top of his head.
The fight ended quickly after that. The bouncers were unscathed, standing with their arms crossed, watching Terry and Char with wary eyes.
“Form up, you knotheads,” Terry growled at them. Six men and three women. All drunk and bruised. “You lasted a grand total of thirty minutes. That’s not a record, so, while you’re confined to the War Axe, be comfortable in your knowledge that there are people in this universe who are stupider than you. How in the hell did you get drunk in thirty minutes?”
“A killer drink in one of the sub-level bars. The Supernova Hellspawn something or other,” one of them mumbled.
“Get back to the War Axe. I will have Smedley track you and if any of you geniuses get lost, you won’t be confined to the ship, you’ll be in the brig, don’t pass go, don’t collect two hundred dollars, and don’t ever enjoy one minute of liberty for the rest of your natural born days.”
The group looked contrite until one of the women started puking. She remained at attention throughout the affair, leaving a splatter on the deck before her and a trail down the front of her shirt. The others started to giggle.
“You had best get back to the ship, Right. Now.” Terry waved at them angrily. They turned and started to run, but they had turned in different directions. Two fell down, while all avoided the spew. They helped each other up, decided on a way to go and dashed away.
“Isn’t the hangar deck the other way?” Char asked.
“Yup.”
Rivka stood to the side, covering her face with her hand to avoid the smell. Terry grinned at her. “Not our finest moment, counselor. If you wondered about any night sneaking by steely-eyed ghosts, what you saw here today should put those rumors to rest. And you’re probably thinking that we can’t fight our way out of a wet paper bag. To the untrained eye, it may seem that way, but these people have been in combat for a long time. They’re blowing off steam. That’s all.”
Continuing to cover her face while turning her body so she didn’t have to look at the mess by Terry and Char, Rivka asked, “Maybe you can teach me a move or two? That was pretty good how you disarmed three of them in three seconds.”
“But they weren’t armed,” Terry countered.
“You know what I mean,” she huffed. She nodded to the bouncers who waved them in. “After you.”
Terry opted for seats at the bar, with his back to the window. He would look at space later. He needed to see the bar and understand the potential.
Rivka waited patiently as he inspected everything he could see, methodically looking from one point of the bar to the next.
“He’s memorizing all of it.”
“I’ll transmit a complete portfolio of pictures. They come with the franchisee license.”
“Sure, but he already has the whole bar committed to his eidetic memory. After one hundred and ninety years, you’d think his brain would be full, but it’s not. Maybe when he gets to be my age…”
“I heard that,” Terry said. “Nothing you can say will get a rise out of me, not while I’m here with this in hand.”
The bartender handed over a perfectly-pulled pint, so dark, no light passed through the glass. Terry looked at it as if he were in love. He closed his eyes as he sipped it, keeping the glass close while he licked his lips and took another long, slow drink.
“I many never swear again,” Terry suggested after he finished the beer and called for a second.
“Bullshit!” Char declared. “Once the bar is up and running, you’ll be your old self. If you’re going to drink the profits, I’ll cut you off!”
“What?”
“Our bar. It’s our bar. Not Terry Henry Walton’s private watering hole.”
Liberation – Snippet 2
Liberation, The Bad Company Book Four
By Craig Martelle & Michael Anderle
Unedited
Snippet #2
Keeg Station
“It’s something we would do no matter what. Dad thinks he coerced us to join, but Marcie and me? We had two kids, a family, but we were denying who we wanted to be and that was defenders of the oppressed. The one thing that has made the most sense in our lives is Dad’s commitment to helping others. He always says that if you have the ability to act, you have the responsibility. We believe that. Few people are built for war. Humanity’s basic instinct is to live more sedate lives. Travel for excitement, but return home at the end of a long day to a happy family, a good meal, and a warm bed. My parents have been killing themselves for as long as they’ve been alive to give others that life. The FDG is our chance to do that on a planetary scale. If we can help bring peace by crushing an enemy’s army, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“I’d say you fuckers were raised wrong, but my parents and their friends raised me to believe that, too. I get angry and in my,” Christina looked around to make sure no one was close by, “Pricolici form, I want to shred them like cabbage.”
“Step back from that and don’t change form. As Terry’s deputy, he’ll need you to help him oversee the battle, but when the rubber meets the road and you’re forced into close combat, the gloves come off and you crush your enemies,” Marcie explained. Her lip twitched as the adrenaline surged. She clenched her fists.
Christina punched her in the chest. “I’m in. Let’s go buy some new shoes to celebrate.” Marcie smiled, not in humor, but in the way warriors did as they prepared to engage the enemy.
It was the confidence of someone who was more at home in war than in peace.
Christina smiled the same way.
Kae watched expressionlessly. He felt sorry for the clerk in the shoe store. I think I’ll wait outside, he thought. Until Marcie and Christina each grabbed an arm and propelled him between them toward a store called Camper, a store brand taken from the fashion scene of old Earth’s London. Kae groaned and frowned as the women sought a future addition to their wardrobes. Kaeden looked at their feet. They were both wearing shoes. What the hell do you need another pair for?
He didn’t dare say it aloud.
Liberation – Snippet 1
Liberation, The Bad Company, Book Four
By Craig Martelle & Michael Anderle
Undedited
Snippet #1
Keeg Station
“A change of scenery will probably help.”
“Among other things, my friends,” Aaron replied cryptically. “We will help her, with all that we are, because she deserves that and more.”
Yanmei reached upward and bent at the waist until she touched her toes. She slowly stretched downward until her palms were on the floor. Cory mirrored her.
Aaron excused himself and joined them, adjusting Cory slightly before assuming his stance. His long arms touched the floor before he finished bending. After a solid thirty seconds they rose. Three iterations later, they lunged forward into the warrior pose. Cory slowly assumed the position. Yanmei reached over to straighten one of Cory’s arms, rotating until her arm was under Cory’s supporting it. Aaron moved to support her back arm. They remained in that position until Cory’s legs began to shake. They stood up and shook out before moving into a new pose.
In between poses, they didn’t give her time to think. It was the first step on a long road, not to forget, but to live a life as it had become. Move forward, one second at a time, one step at a time.
Char stood and stretched the tightness from her legs. She had overdone it, just like her husband. Terry rotated his shoulder, flexing, twisting, and wincing. After all the years and the treatments in the Pod-doc, it still gave him problems, especially when he worked out like a madman. He folded his hands in front and watched his daughter do something other than cry.
It had been tearing at his heart, because her grief was so profound, and there was nothing he could do about it. Terry felt the burden of life weighing him down, not able to shake the crushing mass. Char carried her own angst, every bit as great. No parent could watch their child go through what Cory was going through without having it grate on their very souls.
It gave them hope seeing their friends intervene and slowly lead Cory onto the road to recovery.
Terry breathed slowly and deeply, licking his lips and picking up his towel. “What do you say we find Ted and ask how things are going?”
“We have dinner with them tonight. He might get suspicious if we talk with him twice in the same day.”
“True,” Terry agreed. “Then let’s get changed and walk around. See if there’s any color we can add back into this station.”
“I know what you mean,” Char said softly. “It’s like everything is shades of gray.”
“Fifty?” Terry injected light-heartedly.
“Don’t you start with that.” Char pushed Terry playfully, her purple eyes sparkled for a moment.
Normalcy. Maybe it wasn’t such a distant thing.
After one last look at the weretigers working with their daughter, they walked away, feeling much better than when the day started.
REBORN AUDIOBOOK RELEASE!
Reborn: The Age of Magic Book 8
By CM Raymond, LE Barbant, & Michael Anderle
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Lilith is dying.
The Laughing Queen is coming.
A series of mysterious disappearances are plaguing New Romanov.
Good thing Team Triple B is on the case.
In order to save the people that she loves, Hannah must push her magical abilities to the limit. But what if she pushes herself too far?
Reborn is the epic conclusion to the second arc of The Rise of Magic. It’s a race against the clock adventure that will change the very fabric of Irth and open doors Hannah never even knew existed.
Gateway to the Universe: In Bad Company Audiobook!
Gateway to the Universe: In Bad Company
By Michael Anderle, Craig Martelle, & Justin Sloan
They say that behind every great man is a great woman…but what if that woman is a Werewolf?
What happens when Terry and Char meet Bethany Anne?
They get to do the Empress’ bidding, but not on Earth. With the infamous Valerie of New York, to space they go, to become the Direct Action Branch of Nathan Lowell’s Bad Company.
Before they reach Nathan on the other side of the galaxy, they find that space is a dangerous place, even for the wary, especially for the unprepared. Are you ready to join them on their epic journey?
Alpha Class: Discovery – Snippet 3
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Alpha Class Dormitory
There were mixed feelings in the Alpha class dorm.
The kids surrounded Nestor, who would be leaving them for the semester, and Yana. Their separate assignments had come as a shock to the Wechselbalg cousins, Maxim especially. He and Nestor were closer than brothers, and had expected to get into the fighter group together. None of the kids wanted to be separated from the rest of their team.
Maxim was grumbling as he packed his belongings.
As always, Yana took charge. “Cheer up,” she said stoically. “It is only for six weeks. You get to stay with the Guardians, and John Grimes will be your mentor, Maxim. John Grimes!” She sighed wistfully at the thought of the Queen’s Right Hand.
Maxim blushed. “It is good, da. I will be learning from the best. It is honor to me—and to my father—to be chosen. But I will miss my brother from another mother.” He squeezed Nestor’s shoulder.
“I agree with Yana. Six weeks is not long to be apart,” Nestor declared. “I am almost a little jealous you get to take advanced combat with him, but I will become an ace pilot. So like you say, is good.”
Tina giggled and pretended to gag. “All right, give it a rest. It’s weird seeing you people swoon over my Uncle John. Who did you get, Yana?”
Yana’s regal face brightened when she tapped her tablet to reveal her own assignment. “I have been placed with your mother to learn leadership and management skills. How wonderful! What about you? You too, Ron…who did you get?”
“Jean Dukes,” they said at the same time. It was their turn to blush. The whole team erupted into fits of giggles.
“Oooh, our lovebirds get to stay together!” Yana trilled.
Ron spluttered, his face turned beet-red, and he made a big deal of looking at his tablet screen. Tina laughed Yana’s teasing off. It was an open secret that she and Ron had become close—especially since the meeting of their minds now turned into a meeting of their lips whenever the adults weren’t looking.
Ron looked up from his tablet, embarrassment forgotten. “Jean’s class is going to be awesome. Look here—planning and application of resources, bootstrapping, the practical applications of engineering. Wait, that can’t be right… There’s no PT anywhere on my schedule this semester. I love this school!”
“What?” Yana held her hand out for Ron’s tablet. “No way!” She checked her own after confirming it was true. “I have regular training scheduled. I’m going to miss being with you all so much. I haven’t made many friends outside our team.”
“You could always request to come with us,” Tina said.
Yana shook her head. “No. Who would take care of Bai Hu if I went to the other side of the station? You know he’ll only let me or Guardian Commander Silvers near him. He needs me. Besides, I’m looking forward to a quiet semester. It was scary being shot at by the Mongolian and Chinese armies, and it was worse not being able to fight back. I need time to train.”
“I’ll come train with you, even though I get a pass this semester too,” Tina offered. “If I have time, that is. It’s weird that we get a pass when the administrators have just put all the new fitness requirements in place. How are we going to meet them if we don’t train?”
“What if it’s because Ms. Dukes will have us doing hard labor all semester?” Ron piped up from across the room, where he was pulling his shoes out of his locker. “You know that her R&D department is in charge of transforming all the stuff BMW comes up with into reality.
Yana interjected, “We’d better get going, or we’ll be late for breakfast.”
They all agreed on that, grabbing their tablets and exiting the dorm in a noisy rush.
Alpha Class: Discovery – Snippet 2
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Earth Orbit
Diane and Dorene poured over the schedules for the umpteenth time. Dorene stamped her foot in frustration. “They start in two days, and we still haven’t gotten the assignments pinned down! Whose idea was it to mess with the class schedules?”
Diane looked up. “That would have been you, DJ. It’s going to be worth the hassle. The competition for a spot in one of the two fighter groups this semester was one of your best ideas yet! The kids took their skills to the next level to try and win a place.” She took a second to smooth her braid, catching a loose strand and tucking it in while she stared at the roster on the desk. “Look at Todd Grimes’ scores. He’s going to be one our best pilots when he grows up. We knew it would cause problems this term, so we just have to suck it up.”
Dorene cheered up at that. “You’re right, dear. I was speaking to one of the fighter boys last week. Thomas, his name was—nice young man with such a cute…”
Diane arched an eyebrow.
Dorene hid her laugh with a cough. “He told me that the students’ training tactics are being added to the playbook as fast as the kids come up with them.” She took a sip of the cooling coffee on her desk and set it down again with a grimace. “Ugh. Aleksi from Delta is applying his skills in statistics to the planning of the gaming events now. He’s got the whole thing running as smooth as silk.”
Diane agreed, “It’s getting competitive! The top ten deserve to get specialist training, and increasing their knowledge base can only help them improve on what they’re already achieving. But it is going to be a total nightmare for the scheduled core classes. Our faculty are extending themselves to fit the classes into their schedules as it is. They don’t have the time to repeat the class when the fighter groups are done. Those students will have missed out. We can’t have that, DJ.”
Diane’s brow furrowed in thought. “It’s a good idea, we’re just not thinking big enough.” She began tapping on her tablet and muttered, “I have the solution. There’s already one group specializing this semester, so why not go the whole hog and send each student to the place they’re likely to end up when they graduate? We have their aptitude scores from the entrance exams, and we can use those to build a list of skillsets and assign a mentor to each.”
Dorene stared open-mouthed at her twin for a moment as the idea sank in. “That’s…genius. We split all the classes, sharpening the individual students and strengthening the teams overall in the process. Then no student misses out on the core skills.”
She began making a new list.
Diane dropped her tablet on the desk with a flourish. “I’ve just sent a memo to all department heads, telling them their future replacements are coming to spend the semester learning from them.”
The two just looked at each other for a moment, imagining what the teachers would do when they got that email, then burst into laughter.
Diane wiped a tear from her eye. “Let’s arrange it all before the conscripted mentors descend on us. If we’re going to create chaos, let it be organized chaos!”
Alpha Class: Discovery – Snippet 1
United Kingdom, North Wales, Undisclosed Location
The door of the sterile room opened. The woman twisted her wrists, attempting to relieve the pinch of the cable ties holding them to a metal loop embedded into the tabletop. She looked up, meeting the expectant stares of the sharply dressed men as they took the chairs in front of her, one at a time.
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you scumbags know who I work for? You’re going to be in a world of hurt when my bosses find out you’ve taken me!” She worked her wrists one more time for good measure.
And got nowhere.
The man to her left gave a brief, brittle smile. “Don’t worry, Dr. Llewellyn. You are only scheduled for a short visit. It is your position at TQB Enterprises that drew our attention to you.”
The second man took a sheaf of papers from his briefcase and passed it to the first, who shuffled them, looking for something. “Ah, there we are. Doctor Laura Llewellyn. Early graduation from university, straight into a research position. Stayed there until your radical thesis on isostatic pressing interested TQB enough that they bought you a castle.” He looked up at her. “Is all of that correct?”
She pulled against the ties on her wrists again, to no avail. “Do you know my underwear size as well? Creepy little man—that’s what you are. Let. Me. Go! I’ll report you to the authorities, I will! You won’t get away with this!”
“We are the authorities, Doctor Llewellyn.” The man smiled blandly. He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his wallet to show her his identification. There was an MI5 watermark in the background.
He leaned forward just a touch. “You see, we are working on behalf of Her Majesty’s government. You are in the position to assist us in a matter of vital national importance. This will all go away in an instant if you get us the specs for TQB’s armor and guns.”
The man—Agent Broadbent—put his wallet away and straightened up. “What will it be, Doctor? Will you do the right thing?”
“That’s not the right thing, and no, I won’t do it. TQB has been good to this nation—especially here in North Wales—and I won’t betray them!” Her eyes narrowed in defiance and her mouth pursed in an angry grimace. “You can go to Hell, the lot of you!”
Broadbent tutted and shook his head. His face was sad as he took a smartphone out of his immaculate suit jacket. He sent a message, then pulled up a video with a couple of swipes and held it out for her to see. She gasped when she saw her husband and two children being shoved roughly into a scruffy Ford Transit van by more suited agents.
“Doctor Llewellyn, you have put me in a difficult position. I was hoping we could avoid such nastiness, but your lack of cooperation has given me no choice.” He put the phone away. “Look, I don’t want to have to do this. Using innocent citizens as leverage is beyond the pale, but my bosses want those specs. These are frightening times, Laura. May I call you Laura? You must know what is happening in the wider world. War is everywhere, and it will reach our shores soon enough. We need those weapons.” He leaned in, placing a hand atop hers. “England needs you.”
Laura pulled her hand away quickly, ignoring the bite of the ties when she jerked them tight. “I don’t give a damn about what England needs. England sure as hell doesn’t give a crap about Wales! What have you done to my family? Where have you taken them?” She strained against her restraints, spitting mad.
Broadbent sat rigidly in his chair, his face stony. “Histrionics will get you nowhere, Doctor Llewellyn. Why not just do as I ask? Then your family goes free and we forget about all this unpleasantness.” He waved at her. “The nation will be indebted to you for your service. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
She shook her head resolutely. “No, it doesn’t. It sounds like the biggest pile of horse crap I’ve ever heard.” She sighed heavily. “Even if I wanted to help you, I can’t do it. It’s not my department!” she finished, her voice just a touch less strident.
“Dr. Llewellyn, if you do not comply, I assure you that the consequences for your family will not be pleasant. See?” Broadbent took out his phone and displayed the video stream again. Laura repressed a sob at the sight of her children crying in their father’s arms. They were huddled together in the back of the dirty van, shell-shocked and afraid. “Just do as we ask. Then they go free.”
Laura’s head dropped in defeat. “If I get caught I’m sending them straight to you! My family…” she asked, jerking her chin at the phone. “Where are you taking them? You’d better not hurt them!”
The other man spoke. “They are safe—for now. But you understand what’s at stake here, Doctor Llewellyn: if you do not do as we ask, I will be delivering much sadder news. Her Majesty must have those specifications.”