Short Stories

The Montgomerys are coming to Colorado Springs, and they’re bringing their ink and angst with them. Three Montgomery sisters have watched their brother and eight of their cousins find their happy ever afters and want nothing to do with walking down the aisle and men who don’t understand what they want—in bed and out. Add in a brand-new tattoo shop, family secrets, and a tragedy that no one was prepared for, the Montgomerys are ready to set the world by storm…or at least find a relationship that won’t break their hearts.

For thousands of years, we have set out sailing for all kinds of reasons - for battle, for infinite wealth, for the excitement of exploring the unknown, and for escape from the mundane. We have always had a primal relationship with the sea - even those who have never been to sea remain fascinated by the seafaring life and tales of salty adventure. Now in a brand–new series collection, The Best Sailing Stories Ever Told brings together such diverse authors as Charles Dickens, Jack London, John Masefield, Stephen Crane, Herman Melville, and dozens more.

In this book, you will find stories to put your kids to sleep. And perhaps put you to sleep as well? Stories of joy, stories of splendor. Christmas is the time of year where everyone gathers together around a fire, singing songs and laughing. And after a long day of celebration, nothing puts someone to sleep like a good bedtime story.

I don’t agree with many of the words you’ve used, but I will give you this: They do have a way of looking at you sideways that can be unsettling. So begins a letter from Nathaniel, a PhD candidate who’s recently moved from the east coast to Orinda, California. Nathaniel knows that his brother, Brice, who still lives near their mother in Michigan, couldn’t possibly understand the nuances of his and Cate’s new life: their eclectic community, their work in academia, and the liberal, alternative thinking that shapes the way they’ve handled their fertility issues.

Gavin is about to find out that Harper really does exist-and she's going to knock his socks off! Find out for yourself in Bayside Romance! Harper's life is too unsettled for a relationship, but Gavin is determined to help her find her way, especially if it leads straight to his heart. Moonlight conversations lead to steamy kisses, and as romance blooms, it stirs a love too real to deny. But when Gavin's past collides with the life they're building, it has the power to ruin everything.

After a string of bad dates and no prospects, Sophia Othonos has finally hit the jackpot: an actual nice guy. When he suggests a romantic getaway, she’s sure they’re about to take the next step toward their future. A rustic cruise to the Galápagos Islands isn’t exactly her idea of a vacation, but Sophia is ready for anything…until her boyfriend has to cancel. Now she’s all alone on a trip that was meant for two. Sophia finds herself at a crossroads about who she is, what she wants, and whether her relationship is really everything she thought.

Was there any particular reason that, near the end of your lives, you suddenly stopped buying Bounty paper towels? So begins the first question from Bounty’s market research representative to Paul and Maggie. In this unique short story, a couple who died suddenly in their 50s recounts their use of Bounty paper towels and their sudden switch to a bargain brand near the end of their lives. What appears to be a run-of-the-mill spat between spouses at the Stop & Shop is revealed to be a defining moment of a marriage years in decline.

From the master of crime fiction comes an unexpectedly whimsical short story about this San Diego surfer whose life plan is working perfectly until he meets a wealthy woman at an art gallery opening (the hors d’oeuvres), falls in love, and then has to masquerade as an upstanding member of society.

Not all monsters are fantasy. Some are very real, and they walk among us. They're our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. They're the people we're supposed to trust...and they know it. Contained within this anthology are 35 never-before-published works by supremely talented authors and best-selling novelists. Brace yourself for the unexpected and unimaginable horror of...human monsters.

Published in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive "preferred text" for Smith's entire body of work. This second volume of the series brings together 20 of his fantasy stories.

Published in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive "preferred text" for Smith's entire body of work.

Here are all four novellas in Darcy Rose’s thrilling paranormal romance series: Eden, Mate, Bond, and Home.

Like a smaller and much scruffier Greta Garbo - finally - Markham speaks! It's Christmas and time for the first (and almost certainly last) St Mary's Annual Children's Christmas Party - attendance compulsory, by order of Dr Bairstow. Discovered practising his illegal reindeer dance and poo-dropping routine, our hero, along with fellow disaster magnets Peterson and Maxwell, is dispatched to Anglo-Saxon England to discover the truth about Alfred and the cakes.

A hero without peer or scruples, Sam Gunn has a nose for trouble, money, and women, though not necessarily in that order. A man with the ego (and stature) of a Napoleon, the business acumen of a P. T. Barnum, and the raging hormones of a teenage boy, Sam is the finest astronaut NASA ever trained and dumped. But more than money, more than women, Sam Gunn loves justice—and he really does love money and women.

This engaging collection of short, heartwarming stories helps children recognize big feelings, manage tantrums, and discover positive ways to express themselves—all while winding down for a good night’s sleep. Through fun tales of dragons, monkeys, and other characters, kids learn simple emotional regulation tools they can actually use. Each story is designed to model coping skills like deep breathing, staying calm under pressure, and choosing kind responses instead of explosive ones.

This is collection of 18 crime stories with a diverse range of characters and scenarios, from guilt-ridden fraudsters to lovesick murderers.

A Selection of Short Stories by Leo Tolstoy read by Bart Wolffe.

Capote's previously lost and unpublished tale "Yachts and Things" was recently discovered by Vanity Fair contributing editor Sam Kasher in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library. Written at the height of his career and socialite life, this short, thinly-veiled work of fiction tells the story of two friends about to take an "idyllic three-week cruise in the Mediterranean aboard a friend's chartered yacht".

The last in the Afrolit Now series, The Sins of The Fathers by Zukiswa Wanner is narrated by a man dealing with immense grief. When he’s unable to heal from the trauma of loss, Akani begins to question his and his father’s role as a parent and, in doing so, awakens to the patterns between them. In trying to avoid being like his father as a husband and as a parent, did he inadvertently become exactly the man he wished not to be? And what secrets lie untold? As he grieves, he wonders whether he was ill-advised to keep secrets that may unwittingly hurt his family.

After years of service in the Imperial Expeditionary Force, Jol Rivers has found a tentative home in Littlereach, where he makes a living as a blacksmith. One day, however, a beautiful mage arrives and tells him that he has a mysterious magical power hidden within the items he forges, one that could defeat the malignant forces threatening the Second Empire. She invites him to the Lyceum, an institute for mages where he can develop this power. Little does Jol know that he has his own knowledge to impart to the other students, the kind of forbidden talents that binds them to him…