September Superb
from MineTime
Crashed Glass
If time runs out on Byron and Nia and their dreams, it's over for everyone. Everyone. Limited series.
Nia's new breathwork client, Prue, goes into a version of Romeo and Juliet and shocks her with news that she is Juliet. Prue has a meeting with prison guard, Byron, and tells him a similar tale. His lack of reaction prompts Prue to tell him that a world with no Romeo and Juliet dies. After a night of searing dreams, Byron takes leave from his job and plans to travel out of the country. Prue intercepts him on the plane during the flight.
Prue describes the dilemma to Byron during the extended flight to Asia. This time, she explains more about the two ancient families, their weakening influence over the world, and how their influence ties directly to the state of life for all people. Byron, still doubtful, questions falling in love with some "rando." Prue corrects him, saying they aren't meant to fall in love. In her part of the world, Nia suffers painful dreams and gushing nosebleeds.
Just as Prue's driver chauffeurs her away from the airport, she takes a call from Nia. Anxious to understand her dreams and sudden pain, Nia agrees to meet at a museum that evening. Prue's knowledge of her family history spooks her but she determines to do as Prue instructs. Prue admits to ignorance concerning the future, she only knows the past. Nia visits her aging mother, who watches over her while she sleeps.
While asleep in her mother's home, Nia dreams of an unfamiliar man. She tries to escape his presence but finds that she can't. Her mother tries to comfort her while she fails without ever waking. The man, Byron, nearly catches up to Nia when she wakes, frightened and sweating. At the same time, Byron wakes in a panic in a small hotel room. He immediately grabs a sketchbook from his bag and begins to draw Nia's face.
Character Cap!
Teens identify real people they connect with characters from their school required reading lists. Limited series.
Character Cap, Episode 1: Withering Plights, preview summary
Rebecca, Li, and Shay discuss Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, a gothic novel about two families and their difficulties with adoptee, Heathcliff.
Li: You guys, I'm going to go straight for it. There are a lot of characters in Wuthering Heights but I only care about Heathcliff and Catherine. Well, Heathcliff is Justin Bieber. Catherine is Hailey. What do you guys think?
Rebecca: I like that a lot actually. Didn't come up with that one, though. I decided to go Brad Pitt, Heathcliff--
Shay: Wait, wait! Angelina--Catherine--or Jennifer Aniston?
Rebecca: That is a toss up, but under the circumstances, I have to go with Angelina. You?
Character Cap, Episode 2: Grate Expectations, preview summary
Wini, Carla, and Zoe discuss Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, a have-and-have-nots novel about an orphaned boy.
Zoe: Alright, I don't like to be too wordy. Tom Holland is Pip. Zendaya is Estella. Tony Stark is Magwitch. Miss Havisham is Dame Judi.
Wini: (Giggling) Is Tony Stark a real person?
Carla: Yeah. And who is Dame Judi? Is that another Marvel character? Well ... I like yours better than mine. I'm going to go with that but not Tony Stark. Maybe Magwitch is somebody old like Tom Cruise or something like that.
Wini: (Giggling) Oh, can we just cheat? I want to do the same list, except I want Denzel Washinton as Magwitch and I think my grandmother is Miss Havisham. She is really mean.
Character Cap, Episode 3: The Out-sighters, preview summary
Mel, Brandi, and Sydney discuss The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, a coming-of-age tale about young men from the wrong side of the tracks.
Mel: There are so many characters in this story! How many did you guys select? Um, I just went with Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry, because she's the only girl pretty much!
Brandi: (Nodding) I picture--this will be weird. I know a real people that are so much like these characters. I just think of them. I know that you all don't know these people but Ponyboy is a lot like my best friend's brother, Denny. Johnny seems mousy, like the guy down the street, Lucas. I don't know, I think I make a good Cherry.
Sydney: (Shaking her head) I will keep this super simple. Ponyboy, Christopher Briney. Johnny, Gavin Casalegno. Cherry, Lola Tung. Have I been watching a lot of The Summer I Turned Pretty? Definitely. Did I complete this task? I think so.
Mel: That's cool. Cool. Um, Ponyboy seemed thoughtful to me. I don't know, he made me think of Stephen Hawking. You know him? Johnny seemed fragile, maybe like an artist. He seemed like Picasso. I didn't think about Cherry. Maybe Marilyn Monroe?
(Crickets)
Character Cap, Episode 4: Horde of the Flies, preview summary
Ari, Brooke, and Amy discuss Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a dark coming-of-age tale about castaway boys trying to manage themselves.
Ari: Girls, I hate this story. I really do. These characters remind me of everyone that I hate. Ralph, Jack, and Piggie. I wanted to like the ones who were trying to be good, or whatever, but I couldn't. Ralph is like my older brother. Piggie is like my younger brother. Jack is like my ex. Period.
Brooke: It will sound like I am making this up, but I seriously am not. I thought the same thing. The only difference is that I don't have a younger brother. Piggie is the guy I sit next to in Biology class.
Amy: I hate this story. I can't think of anyone for any of these characters. I do not want to think about these characters. The only thing I want to know is if that TV show about the female sports team has anything to do with this story because this is all guys and that one is girls.
Character Cap, Episode 5: Celsius 451, finale preview summary
Taylor, Nicole, and Travis discuss Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a story about a dark future where books have been outlawed and firemen burn any they find.
Taylor: I gave this a lot of thought and I think my list is great. The characters I remember are Guy, and his wife, Mildred. There was Clarisse, the neighbor, and Captain Beatty. He was the captain of the firemen, right? I totally pictured Sabrina Carpenter as Clarisse. For Guy, I like Chris Hemsworth. For Mildred, Ariana Grande. Captain Beatty was tough. Jack Black.
Travis: Okay. Okay. A little tweaked, but okay. I'm going Guy, Clarisse, Mildred, Beatty. Patrick Mahomes, Sydney Sweeney, Caitlin Clark, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. That's my list.
Nicole: This wasn't easy. Where is a nice haunted romance when I need one? Here's my best in the same order as Travis. Mr. Green, the hot Geometry teacher. Miss Warren, the dance teacher. She's okay. Mrs. Bore-More Cringey-Crust Davis, the English teacher. Mr. Harris, the Anatomy teacer/Basketball coach.
Travis: Wait, those are all teachers from your school?
Nicole: (shrugs) That's my best.
Unearthed
Friends preparing to depart on their individual college or career paths stumble onto buried stash containing a quandary that threatens their future. Limited series for teens.
After Nate leaves their cookout in the woods, the remaining six open a buried case dug up by Joe. Shocked to find birth records for Nate and two others in the group, Ken and Larain, they connect the documents to their foster home past. The whole group, including Ava and Denise, agree to hide the case and contents and to re-bury the potential scandal and alternate identities.
Ken and Larain end their budding relationship, uncertain about possible blood ties. Later Larain inquires about meeting with Nate to talk but Ava, acting as a gate-keeper, insisted that he leave for college without ever knowing anything. Denise intercepts outsiders seeking information about records tracing three missing children to their town decades earlier.
Denise gets Ava to help defuse the nosy outsiders, who turn out to be making a documentary. Ken and Larain share notes as they carefully probe their adoptive parents for information. Learning that the outsiders have been digging out in the woods for evidence, the group create a commotion to stop their progress. Joe confides in Larain that he buried the case somewhere else before she rebuffs his advances toward her.
Larain, worried that she can't trust Joe, tries to figure out where he buried the case but doesn't. Ava gets Denise to help her to lure the main outsider away one night. Ken speaks briefly to Nate on the phone, only to realize that he knows nothing about the case. A younger guy in the outsiders group takes an interest in Denise, which she returns. The main outsider does not show up for days after his night with Ava.
Some of the outsiders and a few people in town accuse Ava of harming the missing leader of the outsider group, and claim that the town is hiding a terrible secret about missing children. Larain, Ken, and Denise defend Ava, along with the younger outsider guy, Wesley, who convinces them that they are wrong. Later, Joe turns up with the missing outsider, proving Ava innocent. The whole group suddenly leaves town, to the relief of the youths. Only Larain worries that Joe might have given them the buried case. Larain gets Joe alone and asks him. He swears to her that he didn't and kisses her. Fearing that Joe will blackmail her, she leaves in tears without realizing that Ken witnessed the kiss from afar.
OOP Retrospective
An in-depth exploration of story, characters, and themes of an OOP favorite. Limited series.
Fic Fash
Fiction and fashion combine when readers of all ages come together to pull style off of the page. Limited series.
Fiction-Reader's Roundtable
Readers discuss the book blurbs of newly published fiction to decide what they should read next. Limited series.
Pam: (reading from a printed card) Welcome readers! Please go one by one and begin with your name, title of book and author, and your pitch for your novel.
Okay, I'll start then. Hello everyone. My name is Pam and I'm pitching Kakigori Summer by Emily Itami. The blurb I received was super short and I don't know much except that it involves a pop star, I think, having problems and her mother and sister come to her rescue. It sounds sweet and like something any of us could relate to as far as the family part.
Jasmine: (nodding) That sounds like a great one. Alright, I'm Jasmine and I want to tell you both about One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune. This one also gets into family. The story tells about a young woman and her grandma, who has health problems, and they both go to a quiet kind of place for recovery, I guess, and a man that the woman met many years earlier comes around. It sounds like romance, healing, mother-daughter love, even though it's the grandmother, aging, all of that.
Monique: (smiles) Wow, those are both compelling. Okay, I'm Monique. I received the blurb for Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore. This story revolves around three characters who are all wrapped up in things they want to accomplish and, of course, challenges that get into their way. One of those challenges might be a murder. This novel sounds juicy, you know, and I think a great guilty-pleasure-type of read.
Pam: Alright. Now we get to argue, if necessary, for which one we should choose. We have to come to consensus. So, who wants to start?
Laura: (reading from a printed card) Welcome readers! Please go one by one and begin with your name, title of book and author, and your pitch for your novel. Who wants to start?
Candace: I don't mind starting. I'll warn you all that this is pretty short. My book is written by Lynn Cahoon. It's called An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder. All I know is the story surrounds this inexperienced woman solving crimes and writing about it at the same time. We should really read this one because we want to find out how is she going about writing this thing? Is she taking real life info and sticking it into her books? We should find out about this one.
Megin: (thinking) Okay, okay. Mine is Etiquette for Lovers and Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy. Who remembers Nancy Drew? This one is like a Nancy Drew novel, set in the '60s. The main character is a young woman, she wants excitement or something lively in her life. Well, uh-oh, she gets it! I'm curious about what mystery she finds. I think we'll like this.
Pam: (chuckles) Those were so short. I have a novel to condense, practically. Let me tell you about An Ethical Guide to Murder. The author is Jenny Morris. Thea, this woman called Thea, carries a lot of weight on her shoulders because she has some control over life and death. She can tell how much time a person has left and she can also give and take life from people. She tries to set up rules for herself, she has to learn and understand beyond her own biases, I guess. This one is a very interesting concept. I could see this as a movie, maybe. We should read it!
That's my pitch. Does anyone want to fight for their book?
Natalie: (reading from a printed card) Welcome readers! Please go one by one and begin with your name, title of book and author, and your pitch for your novel. If it's alright, I'll start with mine since there's not much too it. That's okay?
I have very little about The Original by Nell Stevens. The protagonist is a fantastic artist and she uses her skills to make forgeries. She's also stuck on her uncle's estate and she's trying to get away. Before she can do that, some guy shows up and claims to be a relative. This sounds like a historical time period, sounds like a gal in a situation who will do whatever it takes to get out of it. That's all.
Jennifer: Okay, I got a novel, practically, just for the blurb! The Art of Vanishing by Morgan Pager tells about Jean. Okay, I'm not totally clear, but it sounds like this young man is stuck in a painting, or he always was in the painting. I'm not sure, honestly. But he falls in love with a worker in the museum where he literally hangs on the wall, and she learns that she can go into the painting with him, and the both of them can go into other paintings. This sounds like the movie Night At the Museum. Maybe a little more high brow.
I must say that the thought of romance in paintings... I don't know. The premise just sounds lovely to me.
Jessica: (grinning) I could totally use one of those myself! I also have a very long one called An Inside Job by Daniel Silva. I'll just cut through the details and tell you all this. The main character, Gabriel, is supposed to restore a da Vinci in Venice, I think, and the painting is hidden underneath another painting. Despite that, some people steal it, and a drowned woman puts Gabriel on the trail, I think, and there is some kind of threat to Pope Somebody. This is more of an epic story. This gives me Da Vinci Code, even though the stories are probably very different.
I know that we are supposed to try to come to consensus about which book we should read. I think this one sounds so interesting and intelligent, actually. If I'm picking an end-of-summer read though, I'd prefer love in a museum to a drowned woman in Venice. So...
Tina: (reading from a printed card) Welcome readers! Please go one by one and begin with your name, title of book and author, and your pitch for your novel.
I am a runner, so this one caught me right away. Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch--name in all caps, interestingly enough. Well, main character, Adrienne, does these ultra-marathon runs, and she's going for a brutal one after not running for a while because of a bunch of scandals and her son has an injury situation. It sounds dangerous an many levels and someone is out to get her. I think this one will be great fun to read, at least for runners.
Marie: I must admit, I am not a runner at all. That does sound intriguing, even to me! But I'm stumping for Mrs Spy, written by author Mandy Robotham. Kind of like yours, there are layers to this one. Maggie Flynn, Mrs. Spy, also a mother, also caught up in some danger because ... she's in the intelligence community. There's a Russian agent. I think he is on her side, maybe. I really like the Mr. and Mrs Smith type of secret spy thing.
Lois: Both great. We should read all of them. Do either of you remember Married to the Mob, that movie from a while back? If you liked that, and you can tell us this truth, you did, you want to read Mob Queen by Erin Bledsoe. She doesn't actually marry the mob, it sounds like, but after a bad marriage, she ends up in a situation. She tries to rescue a friend and she has to go toe-to-toe with the Chicago underbelly. I'm not giving it justice. It sounds good.
I would say we should agree to read this one first because it sounds like it might have a faster pace. It's been a busy summer. I don't want a slow burn right now. Maybe around the holidays. Shall we vote?
Lyla: (reading from a printed card) Welcome readers! Please go one by one and begin with your name, title of book and author, and your pitch for your novel.
Kelly: (Laughing) Does anyone ever begin with names? It's okay. We already did names! I've got to get to the novel that I read about. It's called Too Old for This by Samantha Downing. I'm guessing there is a murder theme with these because this one is about an elderly, pretty much, serial killer who tried to hang it up. She really went into retirement. But things happen, as we know, and she's going to have to do a little cleaning up, so to speak.
Honestly, I'm not that comfortable reading about a serial killer who is the hero of the story. I don't know about that but it sounds interesting.
Erica: I think you are right. Definitely a killer pattern going. I read about What About the Bodies by Ken Jaworowski. I wish I could keep up with what all was going on. I may have forgotten exactly, but there are four or so characters that intersect around death or the threat of death. One person, they're trying to bury, one person needs to pay debts. There's a lot going on.
I will tell you all right now, this felt a little busy to me. I also agree that I don't want to root for a serial killer, so I'm really hoping to vote for something else.
Kelly: Okay, well, I hope that this one appeals a little more. Honestly, though, I might want to vote for the elderly serial killer. I really wonder if she'll get it in the end, you know, get some kind of justice after all.
The book I got was The Gossip Columnist's Daughter by Peter Orner. Someone gets killed but there's more mystery about it. A writer named Jed watches his life melt down and he ends up trying to find out about a past murder that may have led to a falling out with Jed's grandparents and the rich family of the murdered girl. It seems like the problems in Jed's life connect back to this history and he tries to figure these things out.
Well? Do you both prefer this one?
Request full read Fiction-Reader's Roundtable
Interior MO
MO has an eye for decorating homes and a head for solving crimes. She'll have to use all of her tools and talents when her latest client and case go sideways. Limited series.
Dear Author
If you like advice columns, you'll enjoy this text-based series featuring the questions of advice seekers and answers from advisor-expert, Author.
Dear Author, Episode 1, preview summary
Dear Author, Episode 2, preview summary
Dear Author, Episode 3, preview summary
Dear Author, Episode 4, preview summary
Dear Author, Episode 5, preview summary, finale
More Rolling Reads
Stay the Course
Carmen receives the invite of her life, to join an adventure in her own backyard. This text-based limited series reveals the ever-present excitement in every day life.
OOP vs The News
This text-based limited series, highlights overlap between recent news and stories from the out-of-print vault of FDP Reads (now defunct).
Reading Roundtable
In this text-based limited series, actors discuss stories that have made their way into books and onto film.
Host -- Rea D., master reader
A dinosaur, a monstrosity, and a robot show up for the party
Arm yourself with your choice of visor, bow and arrows, or video camera and press play!
Is it a work of magic, nothing more than manipulation, or more like psychopathy?
We love their work but do they also inspire fear?
It happened through a board, through a book, or through a person
Out-of-Print and Pastry
A story and sugary snack interlude, with stories from the OOP vault of FDP Reads (now defunct). Two friends will play a game, one has read the story while the other has not. The one unfamiliar with the story will ask ten questions to try to determine the story concept. After each correct guess, each will get a bite of dessert. Ten correct guesses will win both parties a prize!
Read full Out-of-Print and Pastry
Tough As Nails
This text-based limited series police drama finds two complex women on the force racing against the clock to thwart the twisted games and nail designs of a mysterious criminal.
Belle of the Halls
Text-based limited series chronicles one teen's quest to match up classmates looking for connections.
Blind Date Tales
This text-based series features unsuspecting daters meeting their blind dates, characters from well-known stories. Will each man and woman successfully identify the character name and story title?
Defining With the Stars
The text-based podcast that defines terrific vocabulary words with not-quite-celebrities.
Host -- Merriam W., word-phile and not-quite-celebrity-interviewer
Episode 1: The C Word
Episode 2: The Big Con
Episode 3: At the End of the Day
Episode 4: Oh, Oh, Oh
Episode 5: Dog Eat Doggy, finale
Get Set 1 of Defining With the Stars
Reads Excerpts
Cash Out, preview
"You've got it, Lela. Roll 'em."
June said those words, and blew on the dice in Lela's hands. For Lela, time seemed to stop.
They'd both had their contracts come up but neither of them had earned the necessary numbers to win their freedom. They'd been dragged to wherever they'd been dragged. They thought they were going to meet their end. Well, Lela thought that. June seemed incapable of understanding what was at stake.
Even that, at the very moment, June seemed not to realize what was happening.
Big Dough, the one calling the shots, upon seeing them seemed to grow a heart. No, not really. He just like to play with people. He liked to pretend to give a chance when he knew they had no chance. Instead of handling it quickly, he gave them a chance to play for their lives.
But Lela had to roll for the both of them. Only one of them would go free. "Free." Whatever that would actually mean.
June said, "I don't know if blowing like that helps but I've seen people do that before in the movies."
Despite the noise, the jitters, the threat of death that caused her to want to pee, time seemed to stop.
Lela could barely see past June, the dealer, and the crowed around the table.
They had no way out.
Swallowing a glob of nervous spit and blinking her eyes, Lela made a decision.
Read Cash Out, a MineTime Discovery
Dinner Or Death, preview
Kwan artfully slid the bills to the other man. Smiling and nodding, he started to speak but was cut off.
"Just remember, if anything happens, I don't know you, never seen you."
Sighing, Kwan felt a brief moment on uncertainty. He couldn't do that. He almost put a grin on his face but went serious instead.
"I've got this, cousin. Always had it."
Kwan's cousin thumbed the money. When he was satisfied, he headed for the kitchen door. "Good luck."
Scoping the dining area, Kwan wondered at how he'd so soon gone from "No doubt" to "I hope so." But he kept moving. He saw the table and he saw his target. Then he moved, trying to be swift but without a care, not wanting to attract any attention.
"Helio," he said, dropping a hand on the man's shoulder.
Helio's shoulder felt stiff as stone. His head turned with the precision of a machine, at a painstakingly slow speed, and his eyes fell on Kwan with the fear of God.
"Helio," Kwan repeat, slightly shaken, "Kwan, P-Pause, haven't seen you in a while, man. I thought I'd come over..."
Helio's tension released instantly and he glanced toward every entrance.
"Right, P-Pause," said Helio. "Well, look, I'm expecting someone."
Read Dinner Or Death, a MineTime Discovery
Let's Play, preview
Arily felt sweat run down into her eyes. She flicked it away. The sauna had just become less confortable and the other two ladies had already exited, leaving her there alone.
She breathed deeply, wondering what her test results might reveal. Something unexplainable had taken over her body. She needed answers.
The sauna door opened. Arily paid no mind until she caught a male figure in her peripheral vision and saw the towel drop. Arily sighed.
"Feels great in here."
Arily recognized the voice of Doctor Robinson, Le Med's medical director. She kept her eyes on her feet. The doctor was handsome and helpful--he'd agreed to run tests for her privately. But if this was the payment he expected... She was in no mood.
"Yes. I think I'll leave soon before I over-heat."
"Before you do that, I got the results of the test. Everything looks fine. Care to tell me what you expected to find?"
Arily did not care to tell him.
"Maybe once I've showered and dressed. Thank you again."
Arily allowed herself to look over the naked doctor's body where he laid out on the platform. She shrugged, impressed. Then she stood.
"That's an excellent idea. Dinner this evening?"
Read Let's Play, a MineTime Discovery
Delwyn In Wonderground, preview
In a dark place, somewhere few people could ever identify, or find, or escape, a man's motionless body lays out like the dead. Until his arm strikes out without warning to reach for something that he does not find. Then he freezes. Then he jumps up and flies into a rage.
"Let me out!" he shouts.
"Mr. Delwyn," responds a voice immediately, "let's calm down, shall we? Anger won't get you out of here. Why don't we just discuss what will?"
Delwyn looks feverishly around himself. Where is the exit? Where is person attached to the voice? Where is the--
"Mr. Delwyn please. Can we just get down to business? You've been resourceful and creative and you've escaped all of this for many years but you are here now. You won't be released until we get what we need."
Delwyn takes a deep breath. He sits back down on the cot he sprang up from. He sees his prison, a low-lit, sparse room with a large, dark window in one wall and little else.
He says, "And what do you need?"
"The pole shift is here," says the voice. "Certain geographic locations require protection."
Delwyn's head falls to his chest. He closes his eyes. He feels the rage welling up before he slows his breathing. Delwyn lifts his head.
"Okay."
Read Delwyn In Wonderground, a MineTime Discovery
Plain Twain, preview
Because May dropped the phone, she did not hear the ranting woman on the phone and her frantic words.
"May," the voice distantly squeaked, "I want you to come in for an evaluation. You don't sound well. Your thoughts are scattered, you are drawing wild connections, and frankly I don't know what to say. You think that you may have been cloned without your knowledge and that this identical twin of yours has been out to get you? I don't want to scare you but this kind of talk can be very dangerous if clients get wind of any of this."
"Why don't I get that for you."
The woman who only recently entered the room, reached down and picked up the phone. Without a word, she disconnected the call with a smile.
She said, "Hello, May."
Shocked into silence, May stared at the very one the caller had referred to, the clone, the identical twin, the one out to get May. The same one she'd felt stalking her.
"Who are you?" May asked.
The other woman frowned. "You mean to tell me that you don't know?"
Read Plain Twain, a MineTime Discovery
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