Short Stories

A seventeen-year-old boy, bullied and heartbroken, hangs himself. And although he felt terribly alone, his suicide changes everyone around him. His parents are devastated.

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.

In "The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon", Mike Bastian has been raised by outlaw chief Ben Curry and trained in frontier skills by Curry's most trusted associates. Curry now wants to retire from leadership of the gang he has headed for years. But he is frustrated in this ambition by various factions within his gang who want to seize leadership and by Mike himself, who is not sure that he wants to lead the life of an outlaw.

From Brad Thor, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Code of Conduct, comes a lightning-paced short story, pitting Scot Harvath against a threat unlike any he’s faced before… A deadly betrayal is at the center of The Athens Solution. When a game-changing weapon falls into the wrong...

After 25 years serving as the human Monitor of the Interstellar Ark, Hermes, Orion is scheduled to be placed back into hibernation with the other crewmembers. Knowing he'll die there and be replaced before the ship's voyage is over, he decides that he won’t — can’t — accept that fate. Whatever it takes, Orion will escape Hermes and see what's beyond, even if it means defying the regulations of his only friend — the ship-wide artificial intelligence known as Dan.

Siege the castle? Not my style. Save the world? Never gonna happen. Create a bestiary business with a group of beautiful yet contrasting women? Now that’s more like it! One minute I’m in a tree, pointing my camera at a tiger, the next I’m on my back in a medieval fantasy world, while a skittish blonde hovers over me, hoping I’m not dead.

Find out what sort of game the Senior Girls Bayonet Drill Team play. Discover haunted toilets, strange beasts, the hungry dead, weird off-trail shops that sell unique hats and twisted dreams. Spend time with a courageous barber, meet a mythological being that may be part of all our myths, and is well-versed in the various games of shooting marbles. Ghostly cars, ghostly hotels, a shrinking world, gorillas in the yard, a brave and industrious mouse and a less than noble elephant are also here.

This drive through the dark streets of the Motor City “is one of the best in Akashic Books’ noir series. You cannot go wrong with this anthology.”—Reviewing the Evidence From cri….

Finding helpful and engaging material you can actually understand! That's exactly what inspired us to bundle Volume 1, 2, and 3 of our French short stories. How's a student supposed to learn when language instructors love providing challenging materials that are tough expert-level literature with tons of grammar and rules? That approach for new language learners can be overwhelming, and lead you to flip back and forth between a dictionary and your book constantly!

A Chronicles of St Mary's short story that is sure to entertain. If you love Jasper Fforde or Ben Aaronovitch, you won't be able to resist Jodi Taylor. Ever wondered how it all began? It's two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr...

Gabriel has spent the last decade trying to forget his best friend, the first boy he ever loved: Jacob. Ripped away from each other in the midst of a family tragedy, Gabriel grieved for Jacob alone, surviving in their small religious town before finally breaking free to attend college, where they found new friends and relationships to pursue. To Gabriel, Jacob became a distant memory. Until one fateful Halloween night, when the two are reunited.

Three charming small-town cozy mysteries set in the heart of Derbyshire — perfect for fans of Richard Osman, M.C. Beaton, and classic British whodunits. Welcome to The Bookworm Bookshop & Café, where the coffee is warm, the friendships are strong, and murder is never far from the next chapter. Join Gemma, Mavis, and the rest of Belper’s quirky residents as they turn amateur sleuths. This collection includes the first three complete novels in The Bookshop Mysteries — over 21 hours of murder, secrets, and small-town intrigue.

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

Step into the visionary imagination of Ray Bradbury with this powerful collection of classic science fiction and speculative tales that helped define the Golden Age of the genre. The Selected Works of Ray Bradbury brings together seven unforgettable short stories that explore humanity’s hopes, fears, and moral crossroads against the vast backdrop of space, time, and the unknown.

My family has run Sugarville’s one and only B&B for years. Sure, it's a little rundown and the gardens are overgrown, but it’s still got what I like to call rustic charm. If things go my way, it’ll become a cozy shelter for Hellhounds, Alicorns, Kobolds, and more! Yup – I’ve just become the manager of a government-run home for monster girls. Not only will I need to patch the roof, fix the barn, and master my burgeoning magic, but I’ll also need to help our guests adapt to living on Earth! However, unscrupulous forces are prowling about, trying to exploit monster girls for their arcane power.

Damien was a simple man, cruising on the highway of life. A goddess of temptation lures him into a deal he scoffs at. To him, superstition is for the foolish. Small problem: she's real, her ritual works, and Damien is magically teleported into a strange new realm. He awakens in Nordan, a land of myth and magic. A realm where humans battle legendary creatures for the amusement of the gods. In a war between man and myth. Damien's powers set him above the rest, a lord of life and death - enemy of all. Stranded, but not alone, will he perish, or conquer his way home?

"Christmas Delays": A doctor, called up for duty in the army, spends one more Christmas with his wife in an unexpected way after God's Christmas delays strand them in a small house with another family. "Peter's Christmas": Very mild weather might not feel like Christmas, but young, orphaned Peter and his older sister find the peace and love of the season with the Hampton family in spite of the sadness of war.

Vitus Adamson has a second chance at life now that he's no longer a zombie. But after killing his brother, Jamie, Vitus lands in prison on murder charges. Jamie's death exposes secret government projects so deep in the black they cannot be seen - without Vitus, that is. Sprung from jail, the government hires Vitus to clean up Jamie's messes, but tracking down his brother's homemade monsters gone rogue is easier said than done. The first of them is a convicted killer assumed to be safely behind bars.

An EMP strike shatters the nation. Keith flees biker gangs, his daughter is trapped in mall rubble, and his wife fights through burning streets. Their only hope is Eddie’s off-grid mountain homestead. Survival, family, and chaos collide in this explosive thriller.

Step into a world where passion knows no limits, boundaries are meant to be broken, and desire is unapologetically unleashed. The Best of the Best Erotic Short Sex Stories Anthology is a one-of-a-kind collection that takes you on a sensual journey through the most tantalizing themes of intimacy and exploration. This is not just a book; it’s an invitation to experience the deepest, most electrifying fantasies, brought to life in stories that are as daring as they are unforgettable.