Short Stories

Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A single mother at that. Sure, she fits in with her starched dresses, string of pearls, and floral aprons. Then there are the hushed and mystical consultations with neighborhood women in distress. The unsavory, mysterious plants in the flower beds. The divined warning to steer clear of a boyfriend whose fate is certainly doomed.

Tar City chews people up and spits them out. Sometimes, it swallows. But Jax? He owns it. The bar. The streets. The magic he swore he’d never use again. Until tonight. Because tonight, Sisk isn’t playing fair. She walks into his bar—later than promised—and he’s more than furious. He’s hungry. And when she dares him… he remembers why she’s the reason he stays.

Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about the much-loved men from her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series. Follow them through awkward marriage proposals, birthdays, a fraught babysitting job, and a very drunken Eurovision Song Contest party.

Joachim Neugroschel’s brilliant new translation lets you enjoy the work of Nobel-Laureate Thomas Mann as never before. By using creative, contemporary language, Neugroschel reinterprets Mann for modern English-speaking audiences. The author’s superb literary craftsmanship, his psychological insight, and the deeply erotic content of his work shine forth in this definitive English-language version of some of his most celebrated short works. This collection features the world masterpiece

Death in Venice....

'Tis the Season is a collection of stories inspired by the beloved characters of Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice.

Yarima Lalo believes he has been murdered twice before. The cause? Love. To make sense of these vivid memories he cannot shake, he travels from Abuja to Kano with his new friend and love interest Aziza to meet an old woman who he might have known in a past life. She is skeptical at first - and hesitant to revisit painful memories of her own - but together, they dig deeper and deeper into the past, piecing together a shared history with ripple effects that could shape Lalo’s future.

China thought it would be a quick war, an easy war. But now, years later, as the insurgency on the streets of Los Angeles escalates but the propaganda never changes, a Chinese officer can’t keep silent any longer. Torn between loyalty to his country and loyalty to his troops, he writes a brutally honest—and possibly suicidal—letter home to unmask the truth. Brooks combines his signature meticulous research with unforgettable characters in this landmark work of speculative fiction.

Nandini seems to have it all–a loving husband, a beautiful home and a fulfilling job. But a child is missing from their lives. One day, her friend tells her about a development–one that will make her life complete. Soon, Nandini and Gaurav receive their gift. But life works in surprising ways. In this dark unsettling tale, Preeti Shenoy leaves us with a story that haunts you long after you finish.

Short Stories in Italian for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, a feeling of progress and, most importantly, enjoyment! Mapped to A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, these eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress as you listen. From science fiction to fantasy, to crime and thrillers, Short Stories in Italian for Beginners will make learning Italian easy and enjoyable.

Penny Wilson has a successful business, more friends than a girl could ask for, and a boyfriend she’s madly and passionately in love with. Scott Beckley is honest, loyal, hands down the best lover on the planet, and absolutely gaga over his nieces and nephews. Scott’s a keeper...as long as Penny doesn’t ever want to hear those three magical words that would take their relationship to the next level.

A robopsychologist must outwit a machine determined to stay hidden in "Little Lost Robot"; a woman’s talent for "Light Verse" overshadows her true accomplishments with her robot servants; "The Last Question" presented to computer after computer over a hundred billion years may remain forever unanswered … and seventeen more future visions from the grand master of science fiction.

Not one to let being banged up in Sick Bay stop her, Max has had a brilliant idea. But she needs Markham to execute it on her behalf. The subject of this cunning plan is Peterson, struggling with another bereavement and not doing very well. What’s needed to get him through it is sympathy, sensitivity, tact and understanding. Step forward Mr Markham, for whom sympathy, sensitivity, etc., are things that happen to other people.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap…and what happens is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester’s treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive.

With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan, Murata is particularly admired for her short stories, which are sometimes sweet, sometimes shocking, and always imbued with an otherworldly imagination and uncanniness.

In 1904 the Scottish town of Selkirk held a three-day event to raise funds to replace a wooden bridge destroyed in a flood two years earlier. As part of the event, the organizers sold a story collection called The Book o' the Brig. Most of the stories were written by locals - but one stood out because it starred Holmes and Watson.

2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it. The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed.

Four generations of settler women on a distant world have different perspectives on the return to a natural life after decades in sealed domes. With a final image inspired by the author’s real-life (on Earth!) family history, this short, multi-generational tale explores the tension between the ties to the past and the promises of adventure inherited by each new generation.

Years ago, a fight for supremacy took place between the two most powerful families in New Orleans. The battle was set in the metaphoric octagon, with the spotlight blazing. The city sat in paralyzed fear, awaiting word of a victor. Abraham Rames versus Isaiah Boudreau. One man would emerge victorious and rule the city of sin. Neither understood that the devil was in the details. Neither lived to see the rising sun. I’m Everett Rames, son of Abraham, and I am the devil. I took my rightful place as king of New Orleans.

It’s Christmas Eve and Stella Hansen is broke. She is so broke that despite working two jobs, she can’t even afford a present for her husband on their first Christmas as man and wife. But then a mysterious storekeeper at a pawn shop offers Stella an intriguing trade. Stella wants more than anything to buy her husband the Christmas gift of his dreams. But will it come at a terrible price?

Five Carly Classics from the bestselling Simply Series in one hot bundle! This set includes Simply Sinful, Simply Scandalous, Simply Sensual, Body Heat, and Simply Sexy.