Diabetes in Fiction

Dad always said if things get desperate, it’s okay to drink the water in the toilet. I never thought it would come to that. I thought I’d sooner die than let one drop of toilet water touch my lips. Yet here I am, kneeling before a porcelain throne, holding a tin mug for scooping in one hand, and my half-gallon canteen in the other. The Lockwood brothers are supposed to be able to survive anything. Their dad, a hardcore survivalist, has stockpiled enough food and water on their isolated Nevada ranch to last for months. But when they are robbed at gunpoint during a massive blackout while their dad is out of town, John and Stew must walk 96 miles in the stark desert sun to get help—and they have only 3 days before their time runs out….

Kidnap negotiator Thea Paris has spent her entire life with survivor’s guilt, following an unspeakable childhood tragedy. At eight years old, she watched, frozen in fear, as her twelve-year-old brother, Nikos, was abducted from their home in Kanzi, Africa. Although he was recovered nine months later, he was never the same after that; worse, Thea discovers that she was supposed to have been the target. This defining experience drives Thea to become one of the top operatives in the field of kidnap-and-ransom consultancy. Nicknamed “Liberata” because she once secured the release of a captive from the Sicilian mob without her client paying a cent, she travels the globe trying to bring hostages home–mostly through negotiation, but occasionally through more forceful means. She is very good at her job. Twenty years after her brother’s abduction, Thea’s worst nightmare is revisited when her father, oil magnate Christos Paris, is taken on his sixtieth birthday. He disappears from his yacht while it is moored at Santorini, the ship’s whole crew slaughtered mercilessly. Thea immediately calls in her team at Quantum Security International, premier K&R specialists. Following protocol, they break down Christos’ life, looking for leads, but the list of enemies and business competitors is endless. Not surprisingly, Christos Paris has imprinted his designer shoe on innumerable backs during his journey to the top of the oil business. And he was abducted only a few days before the biggest deal of his career. From there, the case only gets stranger. Unlike most abductions, there are no ransom demands, no political appeals, no prisoner release requests. Instead, the kidnapper sends foreboding quotes in Latin by text from burner phones. What does the kidnapper want? And most importantly for Thea, will she be able to prevent a second kidnapping from destroying her family for good?

Dacre Vinson has spent the majority of his life in quite the predicament—even the surf and his books can’t erase his Type 1 diabetes. But when Dacre’s family moves to a new Mexican town, an eccentric girl obsessed with trees offers him a job on the spot, leading to what could be the perfect distraction from his problems. Salbatora Tames has one true love—her avocado farm. Her family constantly nudges her to be more social, but Sal much prefers the dirt, the sun, and the solitude. Besides, trees listen better than people do. For Sal and Dacre, their job won’t stay easy breezy for long, not when an avocado delivery to Palenque, Mexico pops up on their radar. Together, they embark on a road trip across the jungle, where they form a tighter bond. However, as obstacles arise, their new-found troubles may lead to more woes than bliss.

Best friends Matt and Cole grapple with their changing relationships during the summer after high school in this impactful, evocative story about growing up and moving on from a traumatic past. Surviving was just the beginning. Eleven years after a shooting rocked the small town of East Ridge, New Jersey and left eighteen first graders in their classroom dead, survivors and recent high school graduates Matt Simpson and Cole Hewitt are still navigating their guilt and trying to move beyond the shadow of their town’s grief. Will Cole and Matt ever be able to truly leave the ghosts of East Ridge behind? Do they even want to? As they grapple with changing relationships, falling in love, and growing apart, these two friends must face the question of how to move on—and truly begin living.

Walter Toland has the heart and soul of a hero – but his physical body is confined to a wheelchair. He lost both his legs and his job in the line of duty as a policeman. Baal Curran is a high school senior, full of the promise and heartbreak of her first love, and her first loss. The needle scarring from her diabetes drove away the only boy ever to care for her. Now she has retreated inside herself, determined never to be hurt again. Both of them have discovered Killobyte, an exciting new fantasy adventure game that promises to be the most realistic experience they can imagine. Once again Walter can have the strong legs of a hero, charging through a castle to rescue a captive princess, battling a ferocious dragon, matching wits with a sorcerer. With her face hidden behind a fictional character, Baal can forget her shyness and her fear that others will shrink away from her because of her lifetime of illness. She can laugh and have adventures, and dare to care about someone else again. But Killobyte is more real than even its creators can have dreamed. Within its programming lurks a flaw that has allowed one demented player a kind of power its creators never intended – a power that can trap and “kill” Walter and Baal time after time in the game scenarios. Of course, as long as this game of cat and mouse is kept within the world of computer-generated adventures, it’s only a frustration. Walter and Baal seem never to win. But as the games continue, they begin to wonder whether the power of this mystery player can extend outside the framework of the game…. The mystery player is out for power – and the power he has in mind is far more than just racking up points against fictional opponents. He’s coming after Walter and Baal in the real world, and his threat is death.

One minute Jack’s in math class. The next, he’s on a dark, cobblestoned, empty street. Empty, that is, except for a skinny girl wrapped in a threadbare shawl. “Matches, mister?” she asks, and just like that, Jack’s life collides with one of Hans Christian Andersen’s grimmest tales. And just when he has almost convinced himself it was just a weird dream, it happens again. Suddenly, Jack’s ideas about what is “real” or “possible” no longer apply. While he and his new girlfriend, Lucy, struggle to understand who or what the Match Girl is, they come to realize they must also find a way to keep Jack away from her. The Match Girl is not just a sad, lonely soul; she’s dangerous. And each time Jack is drawn into her gray, solitary world, she becomes stronger, more alive…and more attached to Jack. She wants to keep Jack for her very own, even if that means he will die.

Can a heroic vampire protect his clan from danger — and save himself from burning desire? As Prime of his vampire Family, Mathias Bridger is sworn to protect his own kind at any cost — but years of acting as a fierce guardian of his people have left him yearning for more out of life. His chance comes in the form of Phillipa Elliot, the beautiful police officer whose allure hasn’t dimmed in the two years since they had a brief, torrid affair. And though she’s involved with someone else now, Phillipa can’t deny the feeling that Matt is her destiny. When the Family comes under attack from fanatical vampire hunters, Matt uncovers treachery that shatters his world. So how can he possibly invite Phillipa into it? Fighting to protect his kin, he tries to push Phillipa away to the safety of her mortal life — but he aches for her, and his will is no match for the flames of their all-consuming passion. . . .

When a soldier with a troubled past and a struggling songwriter agree to a marriage of convenience for the military benefits, neither expects much after saying “I do.” Then tragedy strikes, and the line between what’s real and what’s pretend begins to blur in this smart and surprising romance perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jojo Moyes. Cassie Salazar and Luke Morrow couldn’t be more different. Sharp-witted Cassie works nights at a bar in Austin, Texas to make ends meet while pursuing her dream of becoming a singer/songwriter. Luke is an Army trainee, about to ship out for duty, who finds comfort in the unswerving discipline of service. But a chance encounter at Cassie’s bar changes the course of both their lives Cassie is drowning in medical bills after being diagnosed with diabetes. When she runs into her old friend Frankie, now enlisted in the Army, she proposes a deal: she’ll marry him in exchange for better medical insurance and they can split the increased paycheck that comes with having a “family.” When Frankie declines, his attractive but frustratingly intense friend Luke volunteers to marry Cassie instead. What she doesn’t know is that he has desperate reasons of his own to get married. In this unforgettable love story, Cassie and Luke must set aside their differences to make it look like a real marriage…unless, somewhere along the way, it becomes one…

Getting married at eighteen wasn’t the smartest idea but … I’d been in love. Bryce, with his perfect words, his money, and all-American good looks. He had pulled me in, and when he spit me out, I’d barely been left alive. Now at twenty two and divorced, I just wanted to build a life for myself on my own terms. Free of fear. First job. First crappy apartment. First taste of freedom. Enter Ethan King. The guy from high school I never had a chance with. As the leader of the local motorcycle gang, he’s not exactly an outstanding citizen, but he’s the one bright spot in my life. He’s exactly what I need right now. Until Bryce, who never could accept losing, decides he’s not ready to let me go. And if there is one thing I know about that monster, it’s that he has no problem destroying everything in my world. Only this time I have Ethan King. And no one messes with a King.

When a USO boat goes down in flames, test pilot Jimmy Gage pulls a scantily clad Chloe Nelson out of the shark-filled Mediterranean . Although she is grateful, and he’s as hot as the fire that took the boat down, the last thing Chloe needs is a jet-jock to be her bodyguard—until she inadvertently finds herself closer to Gage than she ever expected, and side by side in a dangerous mission… Gage is desperate to find a fellow airman, missing and reportedly held captive. A pub in Istanbul , controlled by a notorious and sadistic female adversary, may hold the key. Now, moving in toward untold dangers, Gage can’t afford to let his growing attraction to Chloe distract him for a second—or it may cost the lives of his crew, the prisoner they must rescue, and the woman he’s unable to resist.

Living after the apocalypse really isn’t that hard for most of the survivors. The virus killed all but 1 in 10,000. The few remaining people are left in a world of virtually unlimited resources. Grocery stores overflowing with food and drink. Thousands of empty houses to pick from. But one survivor, a nineteen-year-old girl, requires more than simple food, water and shelter. As a type 1 diabetic her body desperately needs insulin to stay alive. With civilization gone, no one manufactures it anymore. She hoards all the insulin she can find, but every day marches toward the end of her stash of vials. She has a choice. Accept her fate and death, or tackle the almost insurmountable task of extracting and refining the insulin herself. Brilliant scientists struggled to make the first insulin. What hope does a high school dropout have?

Thanks to a few lucky set-ups, Avery Martin’s classmates know her as a matchmaker extraordinaire, and she’s happy to let them believe she knows the secret to lasting love. But after her type one diabetes diagnosis, everyone is treating her like she’ll drop dead if she eats a bite of waffles. It’s hardly the kind of attention that will make senior year her best yet. When the school’s most eligible senior, Wes Campbell, announces he’s raising funds for diabetes awareness by running a half-marathon, Avery’s initially annoyed at the renewed attention to her diagnosis—but then sees an opportunity to make a difference and reclaim her reputation. The student body may be uninterested in cross country, but she has a different race in mind: one for Wes’s heart. Avery will produce a Bachelor-style dating contest to find the perfect match for stubbornly single Wes, and they’ll stream the whole journey online for donations. The only challenge is Wes’s less-than-enthusiastic participation. Yet the more Avery peels back the layers behind his mystery man façade, the less she can deny the disastrous truth: the producer might be falling for the lead. Can Avery keep things strictly professional, or will everything she and Wes are building come crashing down around them?