Matthew S. Cox

Natalie Rausch said she'd die for a chance to meet DJ Crazy Todd, but she didn't mean to be literal. A bitter divorce shattered her family and turned her into a thirteen-year-old weapon in the hands of two people who want nothing more than to destroy each other. Once an accelerated student looking at early college, Natalie let anger at her parents lead her down a desperate path of self-destruction. No amount of rebellion gets her mom or dad's attention-or...

Twelve year old Piper Bailey wouldn't trade her friends for any amount of money―unfortunately, when her dad inherits a fortune, she doesn't have a choice. She's happy with her little house in Syracuse and hand-me-down clothes twenty years out of style. The unexpected windfall is a blessing for her family, but it comes with a giant house hours away in the woods. Heartbroken at being so far from her tiny social circle, she tries to talk her parents...

A druid's work is never done… even if she's ten years old. With the Silk Thieves no longer a threat to Widowswood, Emma enjoys the solace of home and the peaceful routine of her chores. She is happy to be with her family, but still hasn't quite forgiven herself for making them worry about her. One afternoon, Neema, the Faerie she freed from the wizard's lantern, returns seeking her help. Her people are dying, and she's convinced Emma can save...

Fantasy roleplayers often get deep into their games, but thirteen-year-old Keith Croft is about to take it to a new level. He's been invisible for seven years, smart but not working hard, athletic enough, but too lazy to excel. His parents are sorta cool, but only two weeks into his eighth-grade year, his friends are all busy with sports or projects and can't hang out. On the way home one day, he stops at a neighbor's yard sale and discovers a book...

Emma planned to have a nice fun day playing with her sister and friend... not going halfway across the world. For most of her ten years, Emma always felt apart from other children in the village, always trying to be responsible, helpful, and mature. When Ambril Starling, the closest person she has to a real friend, invites her over to play, Emma is excited at the chance to simply have fun for a while. Alas, Ambril's family is incredibly wealthy, leading...

Emma tries to balance her newfound abilities as a druid with only being ten years old. Chores and having to go inside before dark leaves only a few hours a day to save the forest―or at least her home town. Strange magic plagues the people of Widowswood Village. None of the adults take it seriously, as the effects are short-lived and whimsical. Emma suspects something darker is going on, having listened to Nan's tales of night pixies who aren't...

Death isn't a big deal in the virtual world of online gaming, but after poking her nose where it doesn't belong, Dakota Marx finds herself running for her life—and reality doesn't come with a respawn. At twenty-two, she's still slinging coffee at an Amazon Cafe despite having a degree in programming. It's not because she's unlucky, unmotivated, or even that she fancies herself an underground activist crusading against evil corporations... hunting...

In the realm of imagination, characters live out a thousand different lifetimes in hundreds of worlds, offering an escape from the mundane.This book contains a selection of twenty-seven chapter ones from my standalone novels and first-in-series books.Spend a while with agent Kirsten Wren chasing ghosts across the cyberpunk future or Althea as she searches the Badlands for a place to belong. Follow Risa Black into the deepest tunnels of Mars, then...

Nine-year-old Maya dreads living in the Habitation District with her new family. It's not the lack of video games or her shabby clothes, or even wondering if she'll eat from day to day-it's the giant target on her back. Her ex-mother's offer of a truce scares her more than any threat the woman could have made. Both her new parents are former Special Operations soldiers, but even that provides little sense of safety. Barely a week goes by without...

Saving the world isn't easy. It's even harder when you're only nine. Kelly Donovan used to be a nobody. Well, a smart nobody. Skipping ahead a year in school made her the smallest kid in fifth grade and a target for bullies in search of an easy mark. She tried to follow her father's advice and ignore them, but it didn't do any good. Escaping into her favorite comic books at least helped her through the day. Who needs friends anyway? Sometimes, dreams...