Urban Short Stories

Set in the enchanting land of Sang, a Blud series urban fantasy short story by the winner of Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Steampunk, Delilah S. Dawson, from the thrilling Carniepunk anthology. The question isn’t whether Charlie Dregs has met Lydia, a Sang riff on Lydia the...

A Charlie Madigan short story—from the series praised for “intricate world-building and richly complex characters” (Publishers Weekly)—as it first appeared in the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology...

A superb collection of fifteen stories by an American master, E. L. Doctorow—the author of Ragtime, The March, The Book of Daniel, and Billy Bathgate He has been called “a national treasure” by George Saunders. Doctorow’s great topic, said Don DeLillo, is “the reach of American...

Fortune hunter Billy Newman is not a man of great strength or physical courage. Like a young Johnny Depp, he gets by on his wit, wiles and good looks. And he’s had quite a good run—striking gold in the Philippines and buying his very own island in the South Seas. . . . But there’s trouble in paradise, and Billy’s in the thick of it. The island’s crops are failing. The island’s people are dying. And the island’s owner—Billy—is taking the heat. Why? Because he’s angered the 75-foot-tall big-boss god of the island.

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antiques and curios shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them and along with her business partners Teag, who has Weaver magic, and Sorren, a 600-year-old vampire, they get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.

Welcome to the horrific and poetic world of Sam Stone, where angels are stalking the undead and a vampire becomes obsessed with a centuries-old werewolf. Terror and lust go hand in hand in the disturbing world of the Toymaker, and the haunting Siren's call draws the hapless further into a waking nightmare. Here are 14 chilling short stories from the Queen of Vampire fiction. This collection includes a bonus story, "Walking the Dead", which does not appear in the printed edition.

A mother and her daughter come to the remote Orkneys to grieve and find themselves instead dealing with a ghostly Viking legend. A Dark Ages king doesn’t realise his wife carries another man’s child and she is desperate for him not to find out. A young woman, who has spent her whole life hiding her supernatural strength, discovers on the eve of her wedding that she is Odin’s daughter. Sir Percival’s sister finds herself trapped in a castle of bloodletting sorcerers with only her sexuality as a weapon.

Orion struggles to provide a memorable Solstice celebration while keeping his pack safe from an influx of outsiders. Will surrendering to the old magic of the desert solve his problems or lead his entire pack astray?

As a half demon, Cole Masters has been living a life with two sides. With every use of his Hellfire gift, he's brought closer to the monstrous Halfling within. He's spent years working with guns and killing for money, all to avoid the addictive corruption of his power and sedate the creature's need to destroy everything it touches. It's always been a temporary fix, but what he needs is a way to get this demon off his back for good....

In the heart of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, famine grips the land, forcing desperate animals to make a harrowing choice—kill their own mothers for sustenance. However, a wise and clever dog named Odibo devises a plan to save his mother and bring hope to the animals. In "The Dog Who Took His Mother to Heaven," witness Odibo's unwavering love and determination as he embarks on a perilous journey to connect the mortal world with the realm of the gods, defying fate and forging a bond that transcends life and death.

Eine Apokosmos LitRPG Kurzgeschichte mit Louie dem Corgi und Tony dem Vampir.

In Book One, four witchy friends find their way back to each other to defeat an enemy, the Shadow who hunted their parents, with the help of the Gargoyle that has protected their family for centuries. Now, in this bonus short-story, Morgan is faced with using her new power as a witch and discovers she has a special affinity for one particular wand. Now, she just need to face her fear of magick.... But can she learn in time to save them all?

Logan Braxton faces impossible odds as he attempts a coup against the powerful Alpha of the Texas Pack - his brother, Richard. Ruled by terror and violence, the pack is crumbling and none are powerful enough to challenge the alpha. Logan will risk his life, his honor, and his place in Lycan society to save those dearest to him.

"Dancers in the Dark" is set in the Sookieverse and features Sean and Layla. Dancer Layla Rue Le May's childhood prepared her to handle just about anything, including her aloof partner, Sean McClendon, a 300-year-old, redheaded vampire. Even so, when she somehow acquires a stalker, Layla Rue is surprised to find that Sean is the only one she can trust.

By the light of day, the world seems pleasant and safe. We tell ourselves we are the top of the life chain, the ultimate evolved species. When the sun sets and menacing eyes open, the lie is over. Our laughable dominance over the earth fades behind the veil of night. Beneath quiet and gloomy skies, rotten fingers claw upward from the cold ground. Coffin lids squeal. The lunatics in dank cells cackle the hymns of hell. Torturous nightmares rage in innocent minds devouring hope and sanity.

On a hot summer’s day in Boston, US Marine turned Homicide Detective Reid Halsey finds himself in the middle of a deadly shootout with a murder suspect. When Lucas Soul, a seemingly innocent victim, rises from the dead moments after a fatal gunshot wound to the head, Reid comes to the shocking realization that the world he believes in may very well be a carefully fabricated lie masking an unearthly reality.

The Order of the Three Spears. Founded at the turn of the ninth century by the Lotus-Born Second Buddha and inspired by the most powerful immortal warrior who ever lived, this secret Buddhist society has kept the existence of immortals hidden from ordinary humans and maintained peace between the races for twelve hundred years.

When hunted half-breed immortal Lucas Soul hears tales of legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto during his travels in the Far East, he sails to Japan to meet the great man and convince him to take him on as an apprentice.

A short story written and narrated by a master of horror, multi-award-winning writer, Ken Stark. The Branchards are a perfectly ordinary family living a perfectly ordinary rural life. Things aren't always easy, but they get by. Young Andy Branchard wishes his older brother and sister wouldn't pick on him so much, but he does his best to ignore them. He has his forest friends, and he has his creek where he can watch the fish swim up and down all day, so he's happy enough. Really, the only part about growing up in the Branchard house he hates are Friday nights.

Ivy Granger, psychic detective and unlikely protector of Harborsmouth, must uncover the source of her beloved demon child's illness before it's too late. Devil in the Details is a delightful new urban fantasy short story set in the award-winning Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective series by E.J. Stevens.