Books with author J.S. McDermott

Violette is 24 years old and in a class full of 18 year olds, but basically her life is going well. She has family, friends, and a career path that is opening up for her. This is before a car skids out on the ice and throws her through a plate glass window. What follows is an adventure: Part Through the Looking Glass, part Avengers, part something completely different as Violette reconciles her old world with this one, and her old self with her now self. Heroes and Villains are now living archetypes of good and evil, but the lines are not clear and she is torn between established society and the promise of something better. Meanwhile the destruction of the world has not been stopped, but simply delayed, and the looming cataclysm has widened the split as trust is no longer on the table and everyone is being asked to take sides in a coming war, that no matter who wins can only end badly.

Walnut and Twigbud are brother squirrels. Their mother dies. Walnut decides to follow the mythic stories of Old Willow and climb the Mountain to face the Great Spirit and learn why squirrels are hunted and killed and live alone in fear. He seeks to beg the Great Spirit for a new life. Along the way, the robots that have taken over the city - this was Atlanta, Georgia, once - hunt down what is left of humans with no knowledge of consequences or why.Walnut and Twigbud and Maple and Sunflower will climb the mountain, and seek to know a new way.

America, what will we become? Winner of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Award for best Science Fiction Novel and a Readers' Favorite Book Award recipient. "History doesn't repeat itself. It outdoes itself." - Acton Granger, 54th President of the United States Nearly five decades from now, America is finding its legs again after years of bitter conflict. Civ-2, as the Second Civil War came to be known, turned the nation's cities into battlefields and took millions of lives. Early in the 2060 campaign, Reformation League candidate Acton Granger made an unprecedented concession – he would forego a running mate and offer the vice presidency to his chief rival, whomever that may become. It was a gesture of unity that rocketed Granger to victory. Still stinging from defeat, the Conservative League’s Elijah Schroeder chose to swallow his pride and accept Granger’s offer, alienating his own supporters and political allies in the process.Now two years into their fragile partnership, the 2064 campaign looms, and Elijah learns his selection was more complicated than the call for healing he and the country were led to believe. He must decide whether to continue toiling as a false symbol of harmony, or turn against the man who is now his boss and leader of the free world.Meanwhile, other national figures emerge with their own designs on the election, from the Freedom League’s rebellious darling Shelby Monroe to the Progressive League's technology mogul Ben Allen, who could become the country’s first gay president.As each contender charts their strategies and the barnstorming begins, a terrorist attack – orchestrated by a new, horrifying weapon – rocks the nation and turns all of their campaigns upside-down. That is, all of them but one.This is the first volume in the Election 2064 series.

Likable characters—brave deeds—intriguing alien worldsThe Galactic Alliance built an empire on the back of its Surfboard® FTL technology. But the G.A.'s reliance on a rare catalyst to achieve light speed has left them vulnerable. For years, their enemies have sought to gain an advantage by stirring up dissent on Alliance planets located on the galactic rim. When an alien is seen performing miracles on Prosperine, the G.A.'s hierarchy sense something pivotal is about to take place. They send in the Alien Corps' Hickory Lace to check it out.Prosperine is an epic story spanning the galaxy with the survival of the Earth at stake. Intriguing alien worlds, a sword with uncanny powers, an alien who could be the second Messiah, and a warrior race seeking to turn Earth into a colonial food factory echo the classic scifi stories of Asimov, Herbert, Heinlein, and Anderson.Download Prosperine today to begin a new adventure.Prosperine comprises:Book 1: The Alien CorpsBook 2: Rise of the ErlachiBook 3: The ScarfBook 4: Fractured Prophecy

Finalist - 2016 Georgia Author of the Year Award.Your whole world can change in a day.Twenty-four hours after the end of his first year in college, Jack McDermott awakened on his 19th birthday to rapidly deteriorating vision. After two eye exams and an MRI, a neurosurgeon told him and his parents the unthinkable late that night: “You have a brain tumor.”In shock, Jack signed consent forms for emergency surgery to save his eyesight, and his journey with brain cancer began. For the next six months, he fought the battle of his life. Told from his mom’s point of view, this inspiring true story chronicles her emotional struggle when cancer forced Jack to stare death in the face as his family did all they could to help him survive.

A sword and planet adventure with likable characters, heroic deeds, and exotic alien worlds!On her last mission, the Alien Corps' Hickory Lace defeated the leader of the Pharlaxian rebels, and entrusted the telepathic Riv-Amok to hide the sword of Connat-sèra-Haagar in a remote area of Prosperine known as the Scarf. When a Bikashi jet is spotted in the area, alarm bells clamor and Hickory and her team are dispatched to the Scarf to investigate.In the third episode of the series, Hickory faces her greatest fear, discovers the secrets to Prosperine's past, and unravels the mystery of the Teacher.If you enjoy the classic "sword and planet" stories of Asimov, Herbert, Heinlein, and Anderson, you'll love The Prosperine Series.Author's note: You can certainly enjoy The Scarf as a stand-alone adventure, but to get the most from the series, it would be best to start with volume 1, The Alien Corps.The Prosperine Series comprises:Book 1: The Alien Corps (available in print, eBook, and audiobook)Book 2: Rise of the Erlachi (available in print, eBook, and audiobook)Book 3: The Scarf (available in print and eBook)Book 4: Fractured Prophecy (available in print and eBook)

One lie, a moment of weakness, and a life balances on a knife-edge.It began simply enough. Picking up the ten-pound note was a no-brainer. Spending it at the fairground seemed a good idea at the time. Lying about it to Archie? Not so clever.Seventeen-year-old Stephen is struggling to come to terms with his place in life. He only wants three things—a girlfriend, a better life for him and his family, and to stay off Archie’s hate list. So far, he’s batting zero.Following a vicious set to, Archie manipulates Stephen along a path of lies, betrayal, and petty crime. Stephen is in way over his head. His dreams are turning into nightmares. He must escape Archie’s net, but can he find the way out before it’s too late?>Set in Scotland during the nineteen-sixties, Small Fish Big Fish is a coming-of-age novel where love, courage, and friendship are tested to the limit. The tension, suspense, and twists and turns will keep you guessing until the last page. If you enjoy true to life settings filled with real characters, suspenseful mystery and a touch of young romance, then you will love PJ McDermott’s twist on the traditional coming of age tale.What Readers Say'I found myself unable to put it down after the first twenty pages.''Every young person wants to know they're not alone. We are all Stephen at some stage in our lives, lost, confused, trying to fit in, struggling to come to grips with our lives and who we are. This book does this flawlessly.''This really is a wonderful story that all young people can relate to. It takes an age-old battle and puts it splendidly into words that many will appreciate. I could not believe the climax.''Your book reminds me of Frank McCourt's biography of his life growing up in Ireland.'Scroll up and download your copy of this inspiring story today. Paperback and hardcover versions are also available.

America, what will we become? "History doesn't repeat itself. It outdoes itself." - Acton Granger, 54th President of the United States. Nearly five decades from now, America is finding its legs again after years of bitter conflict. Civ-2, as the Second Civil War came to be known, turned many of the nation's cities into battlefields and took millions of lives. Early in the 2060 campaign, Reformation League candidate Acton Granger made an unprecedented concession – he would forego a running mate and offer the vice presidency to his chief rival, whomever that may become. It was a gesture of unity that rocketed Granger to victory. Still stinging from defeat, the Conservative League’s Elijah Schroeder chose to swallow his pride and accept Granger’s offer, alienating his own supporters and political allies in the process. Now two years into their fragile partnership, the 2064 campaign looms, and Elijah learns his selection was more complicated than the call for healing he and the country were led to believe. He must decide whether to continue toiling as a false symbol of harmony, or turn against the man who is now his boss and leader of the free world. Meanwhile, other national figures emerge with their own designs on the election, from the Freedom League’s rebellious darling Shelby Monroe to the Progressive League's technology mogul Ben Allen, who could become the country’s first gay president. As each contender charts their strategies and the barnstorming begins, a terrorist attack – orchestrated by a new, horrifying weapon – rocks the nation and turns all of their campaigns upside-down. That is, all of them but one.

A romantic adventure featuring unique magic, interplanetary travel, angry gods and star-crossed lovers.Asher, daughter of the sun god, is the first magician born in three hundred years with the Gift of Engineering: the ability to control the portals that bind together a thousand magical worlds into a single network. A great destiny seems inevitable…until she meets her soulmate, Rex. Soulmates, crafted at birth by the Fates, share a single lifeline, a joint destiny. From the moment Asher’s eyes lock with Rex’s across the school courtyard, they are bound together, for better or worse. But as Asher researches this newfound magical connection, she discovers a horrifying truth: That soulmates are the gods’ way of stifling those magicians they deem too powerful. That soulmates are always equal and Rex has no magical Gift at all. And that Engineering and ‘mating magic are incompatible. The faster Asher comes to love her soulmate, the faster the Great Gift will leave her. When Lee, a non-binary musician from Earth, is stranded far from home and right on Asher’s doorstep, Asher barely thinks twice before helping them get home. But when this angers the gods even further, Asher is faced with a choice that will define her life forever: Does she want to be an Engineer, or a soulmate?

The women and monsters of Greek mythology rarely get to speak for themselves. This collection of stories embraces the surreal and hallucinatory to tell the stories that are always absent from the official books of history. There are as many versions of the myth as there are grandmothers in Greece. There are always more myths, more variations on the song. Sing muse, for yourself.