Laurie Catherine Winkel

With the name of Earth's greatest threat finally revealed, the Earth Force prepares for its most critical mission yet. Before they can venture into the stars, they must first secure humanity’s survival at home. As they battle deadly monsters and eradicate the dreaded Broodmothers, their goal is clear: arm humanity with the tools to endure the chaos and ready themselves for the journey beyond the stars.

A collection of seven stories from seven different authors, all taking place on Ludus. Ludus is a dangerous fantasy world from the series Delvers LLC and Nora Hazard. Surviving Ludus can be enjoyed by fans of Delvers LLC, or any readers who enjoy sword and sorcery fantasy, dungeon exploration, survival, portal fantasy, magic-on-monster violence, or touching moments of love and honor. *** Blaise Corvin -- "Missing in Action" A story about redemption, family, and loyalty. This story will directly tie into the Delvers LLC storyline, and contains a major reveal for a Delvers LLC main character. Bastian Knight -- "Friends and Enemies" With a little bit of luck, could an ordinary guy survive on Ludus? What if he meets the wrong sort of people? Then again, what if he meets real friends? Raymond Johnson -- "A Guiding Hand" Everything Peacehatchet ever cared about has been ripped from him. Does an ork have a soul? Jon Svenson -- "Beyond the Village Borders" Poor villagers can become adventurers too. Some people on Ludus fall into this lifestyle, but some actively search for it. Cory Gaffner -- "Enemy Mine" When a World War II American soldier and a German soldier are transported to Ludus at the same time, will they be able to repay a debt, or kill each other first? Daylan Ethridge -- "Just Another Life on Ludus" During an attack on Mensk by demons and cultists, many will lose their lives, but some will step up to become heroes. Will an orphan girl defending younger children be a victim, or a shield for the helpless? Austin Eberle -- "Engineering Ludus" A wide variety of people have been transported to Ludus over the last thousand years. Will an engineering student have any advantage? Is it possible to thrive on Ludus through using brains, not brawn? ©2019 Adom Publishing (P)2020 Soundbooth Theater

His muscles elastic and his mind fragmented, Connor Durham awakens on an unknown beach. In the distance before him is a black tower whose peak rises to meet the clouds. In the water behind him are beings who used to be human, their bodies warping and twisting into horrific new configurations. With nowhere else to turn, Connor runs for the tower. In the Kadath deep-sea mining facility, Lucas Kane feels haunted. He dreams of lives he never lived and hears whispers from people who don't exist. During his days, four gray figures vibrate in and out of focus behind him, their words mostly unintelligible mutters. But there's something else that he sees while both awake and asleep: a sphere, massive, metallic, and beautiful, which awaits him outside Kadath's walls at the bottom of the ocean. Separated by dimensions, these two men – and their unfolding stories – are intrinsically linked. As they descend deeper into the dark terrors of the unknown, they will draw inextricably closer together until, at last, both men find themselves trapped in the very depths of otherworldly madness. Welcome to Shattered Seas. Featuring the ENTIRE Soundbooth Theater cast and original music by Aaron J. Morton, Deep Madness: Shattered Seas will allow fans of the popular tabletop game to follow their favorite characters in a new and exciting way. ©2020 Byron Leavitt (P)2020 Soundbooth Theater

In 1845, spirit medium Lina Fox fights for control of High Falls. She uses her “spirit powers” to put mill owner Oswald Potts in his place. She blackmails banker Edward Grimly with a dark secret from his past. She turns the tables on Reverend Beech in his own church. Then she meets rival spirit medium Oliver Hollo, and he’s unlike anything she’s ever seen. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

Captain Morham is in trouble. A strange alien species has disabled his starship and killed many of his crew. With no power, no weapons ,and no shields, the only thing that can save the JumpCorp team is a clear understanding of alien honor. ©2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Two years after a devastating alien invasion, the only thing that’s thriving is the black market. It’s a dangerous place filled with assassins, rogues, and dealers; but Kaylin Ramirez has managed to make a name for herself, specializing in stealing and selling alien artifacts. Kaylin’s the best thief around, but when a rival frames her for his latest heist, she finds herself trapped in prison and blamed for a missing alien artifact. And not just any artifact – the Virtue of War, an alien weapon of mass destruction with the power to destroy entire galaxies. With time ticking down until the weapon falls into the wrong hands, Kaylin faces execution if she can’t return it. But to get the Virtue of War back, she’ll have to pull off her greatest heist yet. Firefly meets Guardians of the Galaxy in this fast-paced sci-fi adventure. © 2019 L.O. Addison and Justin Sloan ℗ 2020 Soundbooth Theater

His muscles elastic and his mind fragmented, Connor Durham awakens on an unknown beach. In the distance before him is a black tower whose peak rises to meet the clouds. In the water behind him are beings who used to be human, their bodies warping and twisting into horrific new configurations. With nowhere else to turn, Connor runs for the tower. In the Kadath deep-sea mining facility, Lucas Kane feels haunted. He dreams of lives he never lived and hears whispers from people who don't exist. During his days, four gray figures vibrate in and out of focus behind him, their words mostly unintelligible mutters. But there's something else that he sees while both awake and asleep: a sphere, massive, metallic, and beautiful, which awaits him outside Kadath's walls at the bottom of the ocean. Separated by dimensions, these two men – and their unfolding stories – are intrinsically linked. As they descend deeper into the dark terrors of the unknown, they will draw inextricably closer together until, at last, both men find themselves trapped in the very depths of otherworldly madness. Welcome to Shattered Seas. Featuring the ENTIRE Soundbooth Theater cast and original music by Aaron J. Morton, Deep Madness: Shattered Seas will allow fans of the popular tabletop game to follow their favorite characters in a new and exciting way. ©2020 Byron Leavitt (P)2020 Soundbooth Theater

Daniel's guide to early retirement: Intercept illegal money transfer from mafia boss. Hide out in a super-exclusive full-immersion virtual reality game until the heat is off. Roll a bard. Max out charisma. Live it up. Profit. With all the pesky planning out of the way, Daniel set out to realize his ultimate dream: gaining enough money to buy a tropical island and spend his days playing the violin and RPGs. What could possibly go wrong? Disclaimer: There shall be no harems in this series. Overpowered, perfect protagonists will not be tolerated, and excessive cursing will result in donations to the swear jar.

Carl tries to save the cat. The world ends. The game begins. As it turns out, the apocalypse will be televised.

The morning after the Halloween party – and the fateful incident at the docks – Ruby Little is as confounded as she is exhausted. But before she can process the events of the previous night, the mysterious Stanley Wheeler himself contacts her with a startling request. Can she trust him? Moreover, does she have a choice? Meanwhile, with her whole world changing in front of her eyes, Ruby’s urge to retreat inward alienates Shane and further complicates her already turbulent relationship with her father. Somehow, Ruby must learn to balance her personal life with the wild journey ahead; if only she could just get some sleep first. Conceptualized by Annie Ellicott and written by Emily Labes, Space Buns is the very first Soundbooth Theater original series! Complete with original music by Annie Ellicott and performed by Annie along with Mark Southerland, Aaron J. Morton, and Jordan Hehl; vocals by Jeff Hays and production by Mark Kuykendall. Cover illustration by Jeremy Luther. © 2021 Annie Ellicott & Emily Labes ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Oliver Hollo sets up his spirit business in High Falls and instantly impresses the locals with inexplicable magic tricks. But his private seances are where his true talents shine. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

I was on the path to becoming an Olympic gymnast until a stupid accident cost me an arm. It also awakened my powers and bought the attention of Baron Steel. Apparenlty, he liked me, thought I had “balls.” Now, he’d decided to train me as a masked crimefighter. He’s fond of assigning monikers to his pupils, and has dubbed Shocknet. I’m not sure if I love the name, but it fits. Somehow, I can manipulate electricity, and with the help of my prosthetic arm, I can control it. With the drive and discipline of my gymnast days, I tackle my first real trial by fire: taking on a city full of enraged robots. Something tells me this is going to be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. This Super Serial is in partnership with Aethon Books. The next episode is coming to the SBT platform on the first Tuesday of next month! Plus, there’s even more from Jaime Castle and CJ Valin in the Raptors universe on Audible! © 2022 Aethon Books ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

This is the big one. The mother lode. An entire fleet of derelict ships, and they’re the first buzzards to the kill. But Captain Cherokee Meier has bigger problems at hand — and a crew set to break. Can they keep it together even as they tear the fleet apart? © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Kaylin did the impossible when she kept the Ascendency from ripping apart the galaxy. Stealing the deadly Virtue of War might have been the greatest heist of her thieving career, except that she was captured. Now a prisoner of the Ascendency, Kaylin finds herself whisked away from Earth and taken to the alien planet Skarlin, where the universe's top scientists are working to replicate the deadly technology used in the Virtues. If they're successful, the Ascendency will become unstoppable. That leaves Kaylin with only one option—break free from her captors and sabotage their labs, destroying the Virtues once and for all. It seems like an impossible task. But luckily, those are her specialty.

Daniel's (updated) guide to early retirement, version 2.0: Intercept illegal money transfer from mafia boss. (Complete success. Except for the part where I was discovered and almost caught.) Hide out in a super-exclusive full immersion virtual reality game until the heat is off. (Doing fine so far. They may have figured out that I’m in-game. Still, it’s a huge game, so no problem, right?) Roll a bard. Max out charisma. Live it up. (Two out of three ain’t bad. We’re just postponing the "live it up" part a bit.) Profit. (Still almost two years to go for that. Think happy thoughts!) He could have been way worse off. Sure, Daniel was stuck in-game as the local bard of a quaint village, but people were nice, the quests juicy, and the lore intriguing. Even so, with the mob on the lookout, Daniel would soon find himself sorely tested to avoid detection. Disclaimer: Still no harems in this series, even with a bard MC. Go figure. We’re going light on the cursing and less light on the puns. You were warned.

The team gets dirty. Carl and Donut save children from a drug war.

Planetside Ueshi don’t live long enough to train to be pilots—Congress doesn’t find it cost effective with their short lifespans.  Arius, who knows Ueshi are faster and have better reflexes than the rest of Congressional species, is determined to change that. He joined the Congressional Space Force and collected stellar marks all through basic training—only to be flatly told to pick something else as his specialty. What is a young, cockpit-obsessed Ueshi prodigy to do?  This is the story of how the first Ueshi pilot got his wings, setting the gold standard for all Space Corps flyboys who came after! Parting Gift The Huouyt weren’t the only sentient species that evolved on the Huouyt homeworld. While the Huouyt evolved in the oceans, the single massive continent was home to the Vanun, a species that spent untold millennia in constant struggle with their shape-shifting natural enemies. This is the story of the final days of the war between the Vanun and the Huouyt and how it was brought to an end forever.

A few weeks into her training with Wheeler and Mira, Ruby is frustrated by how little progress she has made towards becoming a hero. She still hasn’t figured out how to harness her abilities, let alone discover what exactly they are. While Wheeler is patient with her in that regard, he is far more demanding when it comes to her comic book work. Luckily for Ruby, she’s about to discover that a little progress and determination can go a long way -- in more than one area of her training. On the other hand, it seems no amount of tenacity can mend the gaps in Ruby’s personal life, as a night out with her drawing school friends and Shane reminds her. Both her reality and the world she’s created in her Space Buns comics are changing rapidly; will Ruby be able to keep up? Conceptualized by Annie Ellicott and written by Emily Labes, Space Buns is the very first Soundbooth Theater original series! Complete with original music by Annie Ellicott and performed by Annie along with Jordan Hehl; vocals also by Annie and production by Aaron J. Morton. Cover illustration by Jeremy Luther. © 2021 Annie Ellicott & Emily Labes ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

In an effort to control Hollo, Fox takes him under her wing. But at their first performance together, Hollo shows her up with an act no one can believe. The crowd goes wild. Livid, Lina Fox demands that Hollo show her his secrets. He obliges but with disastrous results – death and destruction. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

Rebecca Zander's job as a dimension hopper is anything but peaceful. Dealing with things from superheroes and giant robots to deadly dimensional breaches leading to all sorts of paradoxes, Rebecca is only sure of one thing in her life... She needs a damn cup of coffee. This Super Serial is in partnership with Aethon Books. The next episode is coming to the SBT platform on the first Tuesday of next month! Plus, there’s even more from Jaime Castle and CJ Valin in the Raptors universe on Audible! © 2022 Aethon Books ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

Julia Vern did everything she could to hide her identity, stay out of trouble, and avoid the alien invaders who had taken over her city. But there are few secrets Dr. Destruction cannot penetrate. The leader of Earth’s resistance found Julia and has offered her the one thing he knows will make her become the deadly Professor Purgatory once again. He’s found the v’sori who tortured the super villain -- and killed her beloved sidekick. When superheroes of the world are all but destroyed during a hostile alien invasion, it is up to criminals, thieves and murderers to try to save the day. Can the scum of the earth rise to the occasion to save it? © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Double, double, bard in trouble. Mob will catch him in a couple… Okay, the mobsters looking for Daniel still hadn't found him. That was the good news. The bad news? The net was tightening -- and Daniel was running out of places to hide inside the Dawnlight Forest in the World of Chains. His skills and achievements as a bard did not help him avoid attention -- quite the opposite, in fact. Maybe, it was time to leave the forest? Or, maybe… maybe it was time to take that Council quest and search for a more long-term solution to his predicament? © 2020 Lars Machmuller ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Conrad Von Helmand has been dispatched to the Black Forest. His great aunt has managed to get him stationed away from the front lines, in an idyllic village where it is said some have seen fairies. The aunt wants proof of these beings before she dies and promises great rewards if her young nephew can produce photographs. But it is not always wise to peer beyond the mortal veil. © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Frank learns how saferooms work. Carl and Donut hit the gym.

Hollo’s antics land him in jail. Lina Fox is tormented by visions and happenings she can’t control. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

Lina Fox discovers some new talents of her own. But when an old friend returns and tries to use her talents for nefarious purposes, only Oliver Hollo can help. So he and Lina team up. But Hollo demands a steep price. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2022 Soundbooth Theater

Princess Donut’s dreams of intergalactic stardom finally come true.

After deceiving Hollo and sending him away, Lina Fox sets about fulfilling an ancient prophecy. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2023 Soundbooth Theater

Lieutenant J.G. Sara Pike lost everything when her sister was killed in action on a JumpCorp mission. Now everything Sara thought was gone is coming back to haunt her, and certain secrets won’t stay buried. © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

There’s a mole in Red Jack’s Omega cell. Is it Acrobat, the fallen hero whose mentor died at Red Jack’s hands? The ghostly Horseman? The incomprehensible Golem? The goth necromancer Nepththys? Only one thing is certain: when the truth is revealed, someone will fall. Hard. © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group ℗ 2021 Soundbooth Theater

Carl and Donut briefly consider a business proposal. A bathroom break goes awry.

A local Reverend tries to burn Lina Fox as a witch. But at the last minute, Lina is rescued by unexpected allies, and the Reverend comes to a grisly end. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2023 Soundbooth Theater

An exploit is used to its full potential. Carl and Donut encounter an old friend.

High Falls is in chaos. Lina Fox sits enthroned in a strange and unnerving labyrinth where she devotes herself to fulfilling the ancient prophecy once and for all. © 2022 Mark Harris ℗ 2023 Soundbooth Theater

Donut gains a new ally. The second floor comes to an end.

When Janette pulls a mysterious key from a New York gutter after another hellish day, it seems to unlock the life of joy and riches she so justly deserves. However, with a dangerous stranger in hot pursuit, she soon finds herself paying the ultimate price ... © Sara King ℗ 2023 Soundbooth Theater

Lynet delves into the highlands on a desperate mission to find her former mentor and friend, the last Wisher. But when they reluctantly team up to defeat a mortal enemy, she finds that the power she seeks may come from the unlikeliest of sources.