Short Fiction Collection

In her introduction to this year’s The Best American Essays, guest editor Vivian Gornick states that her selections “contribute materially to the long and honorable history of the personal essay by way of the value they place on lived experience.” Provocative, daring, and honest at a time when many writers are deliberately silencing themselves in the face of authoritarian and populist censorship movements, the twenty-one essays collected here reflect their authors’ unapologetic observations of the world around them.

Natalia Adams lived the dream of a promising future. Her life at Inferno was everything to her...until she was thrust into a living nightmare. Now a detective trying to help victims like herself, she hides behind more than one mask to keep herself veiled from the world. When a murder case takes a dark turn, will she be able to rely on her animal instincts to keep her alive?

Sherlock Holmes was created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. Holmes first appeared in print in 1887's A Study in Scarlet, the character's popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891.

Distant Realms collects 13 works of speculative fiction by Chris Lester, creator of the award-winning Metamor City story universe. These stories cross worlds as diverse and broad as imagination itself, from the far future to ancient woods where forbidden gods still hold sway. Here are tales of science fiction, fantasy, and cosmic horror, of heroism and rebellion, of loves lost and found…but above all, tales of humanity and hope.

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 13 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Gervase Fen novella by Edmund Crispin that has never previously been published. With the Golden Age of detective fiction shining ever more brightly thanks to the recent reappearance of many forgotten crime novels, Bodies from the Library offers a rare opportunity to read lost stories from the first half of the twentieth century by some of the genre’s most accomplished writers.

Too much terror to contain.... Shadows reach out with darkened claws. The floorboards creek as your greatest fears stalk the halls. And no matter how much you tell yourself it is just a dream, you know the truth. Evil hides in the darkness. And now, it has finally been unleashed.... Scare Street gathers volumes one to three of Terror in the Shadows in a single edition. Over 30 tales stalk this macabre collection. And just when you think you’ve experienced the most chilling horror of all, a new story unfolds within this massive tome of fear.

No law but pleasure. No limit but acquiescence. No rule but secrecy. Welcome to the world of Far Hope, where wicked deeds rule the night and dangerous lovers wait in the shadows.

In a city where glamour meets grit, these ex-military alpha bad boys must protect the lives of the only women who can open up their shielded hearts. This dual-narrated Platinum Security Series Collection includes four full length romantic suspense novels, each featuring an Extended Epilogue written exclusively for this boxed set!

Slow but steady Turtle exhibits wisdom, perseverance, and cunning in these world folktales. Full of adventure that's sure to captivate young listeners, these tales hold meaning for all ages. Turtle is alive with possibilities. Living on land and in the water and breathing air, Turtle joins these three elements of creation, becoming symbolic of the earth itself. Always clever, always wise, and ever patient, Turtle never fails to find humor in any situation.

Award-winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk brings his talents to six traditional stories. A mixture of classics and lesser-known folktales, these are all performance-tested audience favorites, capturing Norfolk's trademark energy and humor. Whether the story is from the American South, Japan, or the Caribbean, Norfolk pinpoints the message of the story and invites his listeners to celebrate the best in all of us.

World Tales of Wisdom and Wonder is a collection of folktales told in a weave of poetry, prose, original melody, and guitar. Drawn from cultures around the globe, these colorful tales offer a leap into fantasy and some homespun wisdom passed down through the oral tradition.

I've been in love with Hunter Saint my entire life. He was my first love and the one I could never forget. Then, fate intervened and we became enemies. Now, I must go to Hunter on my hands and knees to beg him to save my brother's life. I'll pay any price to save him. I'll do anything Hunter wants. Anything...

“The People Could Fly,” the title story in Virginia Hamilton’s prize-winning American Black folktale collection, is a fantasy tale of the slaves who possessed the ancient magic words that enabled them to literally fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to “fly” away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.

Sam has retreated to her late father’s rental house, a safe place to commune with the animals in the greenbelt out back, tend to her garden, and keep her secrets. Her sense of security slowly returns - until an aggressive neighbor from the other side of the ravine fells a tree on her property. How little he regards nature. Or understands its darkness. How little he knows Sam.

Author, poet, screenwriter, and outstanding member of the legendary Algonquin Round Table, Dorothy Parker was known for her quick wit, keen observations, and remarkable insight into the human condition. Regarded as brilliant, but known to be an alcoholic and often depressed, Parker’s work pushes all buttons at once: humor, anger, love, pity, and everything in between...she pulled no punches, writing with pure, unadulterated passion; her work is timeless and as pertinent to today’s society as it was to that of the time she wrote.

Push past the curtains of your rational, safe world and explore the unnameable horrors living in the darkest corners of our conscience. This is the realm of monsters and shifting shadows, where a single wrong step can plunge you into a terrifying fight for your life

The sinking of the Brig Minerva results in many deaths, while for others, the future is suddenly brighter. But it’s not always easy to leave the past behind. Nell Caldicott awaits the return of her violent sailor husband with trepidation, but for once her fears are not realized. When Caroline Milburn and her younger sisters' previously unknown grandfather drowns and bequeaths them a cottage in the country, their lives seem set to improve. A man turned away by Annie Dresden's father years ago for lack of fortune is unexpectedly wealthy after his brother's drowning.

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and series editor Heidi Pitlor.

Mail-order brides find true love, entitled sisters meet heroes who bring out their best, orphans find forever homes, and so much more. The people of Cutter's Creek, Montana, struggle through hard times but thrive in spite of it. A little mystery, faith, hope, and so much love is packed into these stories! You'll come to love this quirky little Western town along with the people who built it up.

It’s 1943 in London. Paige Miller, an ordinary shopgirl at the fabled department store Selfridges, falls for Danny, an American GI who comes by the books counter at the same time every day. As she slowly lets him into her heart, Paige realizes that Danny is keeping a secret. One that could change the course of the war—and both their lives.