Fiction Literature Short Stories

A top-secret experiment at a restricted virtual-reality compound pulls attorney Tommy Diaz back into the orbit of Irene Adler, an old friend with an eidetic memory, a love of true-crime podcasts, and a knack for solving the unsolvable. But this? At a remote warehouse, a VR trial goes awry when a willing test subject, alone in the observation room, drops dead of anaphylaxis—from the sting of a virtual bee.

Dyana Graceford never asked for her engagement to the mysterious Prince Rydan, who has been locked away in a tower for most of his life due to an unknown but terrible affliction. She had no way of knowing, however, that this unwanted engagement would lead her into the woods of the infamous witch who burdened the prince with his curse. Can she convince the witch to lift it? Or will Prince Rydan be doomed to spend the rest of his life as a monster?

Guilt. The heaviest burden. An old man has for many years borne a weight that runs deeper than survivor’s guilt. He is a survivor, of humanity’s darkest hour, but wouldn’t have lived through it if not for the actions of another. Now he has the opportunity for which he has long yearned: to meet his saviour’s daughter and tell her about her father’s supreme act of selflessness. And maybe, in the telling, one of them will find release.

In Beyond the Bayou, La Folle, an ex-slave, lives on an island cut off from the her old home and is afraid to venture back onto the bayou. When a small drought dries up the shallow waters between her home and the bayou, she spends some time with the son of her former master. When the son, whom she calls “Cheri” accidentally shoots himself in the leg, La Folle must overcome her fear of the unknown and go back to the bayou to alert his parents.

Kate Chopin’s A Reflection is a reflection on the fortunes of life. It is a meditation on how some people succeed by harnessing their energy effectively while others get left behind.

The devil wants to tell his side of the story of what happened when he and his fallen angels were kicked out of heaven.

On a dark desert highway, hidden from sight, there is a place that exists just beyond the shadows. A place that calls to the broken, the lost, and the tormented who wander the desolate roads of night. Temptation to leave the world behind presents itself as a beautiful seductress offering a variety of exquisite pleasures, luring you further into the dream. But elegant parties and pretty faces quickly dissolve into the stuff of nightmares as the door closes and the feast begins.

Jimmy is a young man trying to find himself while his friends and his heart pull him in two different directions. And on one fateful night at a hole-in-the-wall bar in Kentucky, Jimmy will make a choice as to where he wants to go and who he wants to be....

Penelope was a plain, unassuming woman that nobody noticed. Her job was going nowhere. Enter Debbie, her new co-worker at the insurance company where Penelope had gone unnoticed for nearly three years. Debbie's going places in the company, and fast. Why? Because she saved her money and got breast implants. Once Penelope saw what those implants did for Debbie, she decided to have the operation herself. One way or another, she would get noticed. Be careful what you wish for, Penelope. Attention may not be all that it's cracked up to be.

Lillian opens the door and a man is standing there with a gun. He forces his way into her home and tells her he plans to kill her husband when he gets home. Why? What'd he ever do to this punk? Uh-oh, here comes her husband. Now what?

Timeless themes of courage and danger, leadership and honor, along with the bare-knuckle struggle between right and wrong are the hallmark of L. Ron Hubbard’s military and war adventures. Experience the action in these tales set against historical backgrounds as the characters face relentless adversaries and overwhelming odds.

There's no one like Etgar Keret. His stories take place at the crossroads of the fantastical, searing, and hilarious. His characters grapple with parenthood and family, war and games, marijuana and cake, memory and love. These stories never go to the expected place, but always surprise, entertain, and move.... In "Arctic Lizard", a young boy narrates a post-apocalyptic version of the world where a youth army wages an unending war, rewarded by collecting prizes. A father tries to shield his son from the inevitable in "Fly Already".

A young prince, heir to the Tiego throne is approached by a sorcerer. The odd fellow presents the prince with a solution to his dilemma but for what seems like a measly price. Has anyone ever known life to be so convenient? Is Prince Majes truly willing to relinquish his title for love?

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden is the long-awaited new story collection from Denis Johnson. Written in the luminous prose that made him one of the most beloved and important writers of his generation, this collection finds Johnson in new territory, contemplating the ghosts of the past and the elusive and unexpected ways the mysteries of the universe assert themselves.

Leave your preconceived notions at home as you embark on a mind-bending journey with six of today’s most visionary authors. Brimming with humor and heartache, this collection of short stories maps the roads we took to get here and the paths that lie ahead. The present may be a gift, but the future and the past both come with a price.

From her many well-loved novels, Hilma Wolitzer - now 91 years old and at the top of her game - has gained a reputation as one of our best fiction writers. These collected short stories - most of them originally published in magazines including Esquire and the Saturday Evening Post in the 1960s and 1970s, along with a new story that brings her early characters into the present - are evocative of an era that still resonates deeply today.

Dr. Margaret Richter has it all. She’s rich, thanks to her best-selling self-help books. She has a beautiful home in Cape Cod overlooking the beach. And she has a monthly book club that everyone is dying to get invited to. Literally. Because behind the crystal wine glasses, the fine linens and the catered hors d'oeuvres lies a tangled web of secrets, of deceit, of murder. No member of the book club is innocent—and many are guilty. And the person with the most to hide is Margaret Richter herself.

A story about a man grappling with his thoughts while hunting. This story explores complex themes of hope and personal growth after coping with loss.

Unsightly and awkward, Aoife Finnegan has never been successful in love, only in attracting the indifference or hostility of every man she’s ever met. After partaking in an experiment, she finds her luck has drastically changed - but while on an exotic cruise for singles, she may find her stark reversal in fortune is actually the rudest curse of all.

What if life was a punishment? The Persistence of Reality is a short story that examines the individual's relationship with the persisting collective reality.