Urban Short Stories

Ancient folklore and modern myth come together in these stories by author Craig Laurance Gidney. Here are found the struggles of a medieval Japanese monk seduced by a mischievous fairy, and a young slave who finds mystery deep within the briar patch of an antebellum plantation. Gidney offers a gay teen obsessed with his patron saint, Lena Horne, and, in the title story, an ailing tourist seeks escape at a distant shore but never reckons on encountering an African sea god. Rich, poetic, dark and disturbing, these are distinctive tales not soon forgotten.

Test Tube Frankenstein, a short horror story by Wayne Robbins appeared in the May 1940 issue of Terror Tales. It is interesting to draw connections between this pulp story and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Both stories involve a mad genius creating a creature that deceives and kills those around them. However, in this short story, the creature takes on the form and demeanor of its creator, Chester Vermis, which differentiates it from Frankenstein.

"Nine Lives" by Kiki Swinson: Wild-card Aiden. Dead-shot Ava. Killing nine targets in 10 days will be this brother-sister hit team's biggest score yet. But as Ava sets up their final target, she falls hard for him and a chance at a normal life. "The Crushed Ice Clique" by Noire: At first all ghetto princesses Honore and Cucci want is quick cash-flow. But after sexing jewelry distributor Slimy Sam and learning his illegal tricks of the trade, they assemble a crack team of thieves for one dazzling scam.

Imagine… Ghosts, gods, and devils - heavens and hells - cities in the sky and cities beneath the sea. Time machines, spaceships - certainly you can imagine Martians, but what about interplanetary vampires? Or a mouse that isn't a mouse? Honeymoon in Hell proves that Fredric Brown has a special vision, a sight beyond our wildest nightmares, a perception of things we couldn't even begin to imagine.

Nights of the Creaking Bed is full of colorful characters involved in affecting dramas.

Lirium plays the part of the grim reaper well, with his dark trenchcoat, jackboots, and the black marks on his soul that every debt collector carries. He's just in it for his cut, the ten percent of the life energy he collects before he transfers it on to the high potentials, the people who will make the world a better place with their brains, their work, and their lives. That hit of life energy, a bottle of vodka, and a visit from one of Madam Anastazja's sex workers keep him alive, stable, and mostly sane...until he collects again.

Episodes 4-6 of the Debt Collector serial. A chilling premise about a future world where, when your debts exceed your future potential earnings, a debt collector is called in to collect your life energy and transfer it to someone who can put it to better use. Lirium is the debt collector, and this story is about his struggle with who he is and the world he lives in - finding a way out of the near - madness of being someone who is the personification of the Grim Reaper.

In the empire, rebellion is stirring, threatening everything the people have ever known. In a forgotten castle, a woman watches the world as the centuries pass, leaving her unchanged. In a forest temple, a young priestess finds the courage to choose her own path. On a high mountaintop, a dreamer teaches his apprentice the true art of dreaming. And on the dark streets of a coastal city, a young woman seeks revenge for the past. Enter worlds where things are not always what they seem, and the price of power could be your very life.

Desa Rae Jenkins and her 20-something-year-old playmate are back with drama only the two of them can bring. Roc has been released from prison, and he's trying to show Desa Rae that his past life is well behind him, but his baby mama and his playa-hating uncle want Desa Rae out of the picture. Chyanne Johnson has tried to steer clear of drama since she was old enough to be out on her own. She's content with her mundane position at Atlanta's top marketing firm, but all of that changes when sexy CEO Aric McHale promotes her to be his executive assistant.

Tia, Ton'ya, and Tammi are not only making moves in the game, but they're doing it in the bedroom too - and anywhere they need to get what they want. Tia is quick with her razor-sharp mouth, and she carries an equally sharp razor to slice a throat if need be. Ton'ya is loyal to a fault but will fight back if threatened. Tammi is the brains of the operation. They have collected more bodies than a Manhattan hooker working the lower East Side. What happens when the heart gets in the way of making money?

Urban Books' popular Around the Way Girls series is back, bringing readers more dramatic tales about the lives of some tough, resourceful women who can hold their own when things get rough on the streets. Growing up poor and biracial, Shannon never quite fit in. Not truly accepted by either side of her family, the confused teenager turns to the one thing that loves her back unconditionally - the streets. With a bottle of liquor at her side and a worthless mentality in tow, Shannon allows the local strip club and the pole to become her new family.

Following in the footsteps of its successful predecessors, Around the Way Girls Seven showcases three popular Urban Books authors and their versions of some very tough, street-smart girls. Nina and Mouse are a couple just trying to survive the hater nation. Only problem is Nina's a little paranoid when it comes to other women, and Mouse is usually guilty as charged. Fed up with Mouse's cheating, Nina begins to creep a little herself, but will her revenge blow up in her face?

What if you were raised to be a hooker and, worst of all, your father was your pimp? In "Keepin' It in the Family", this isn't just a nightmare for the Collins daughters, this is reality. Raised without the guidance of their mother, Diamond, Essence, and Chanel were forced onto the streets at a very young age. They were expected to make that money by any means necessary or face the wrath of their daddy, Dallas Collins. Can the girls band together to free themselves from Dallas?

There's a sayin' that if you come from my part of town, that you're from around the way. Around the Way Girls 4 is a look at the life of some street-smart women who think they have the world in the palm of their hands but are about to find out that things aren't always what they seem.

"Black Is Blue" by Victor L. Martin delves into the life of a corporate woman who falls in love with a thug and finds out just how easy it is to stray from the straight and narrow.

Eighteen and hungry, Wiz's only addiction to drugs is the money it makes. But Crystal changes all of that and shows him just how powerful a woman can be, in "The P is Free" by LaShonda Sidberry-Teague.

Following in the successful footsteps of its predecessors, Around the Way Girls 6 features three popular authors presenting their versions of the tough, street-smart girls that everyone loves.

This collection contains all of Ervin's published short stories to date. It includes tales of science fiction, horror, mystery, suspense, and inspiration. "The Scene of My Second Murder" relays the tale of a wretched man seeking forgiveness while confronting revenge from beyond the grave. "Tethered in Purgatory" tells of a trapped soul's struggle to escape its cryogenically frozen body and reach heaven. In "Drug Dogs" a falsely accused student learns you can't always trust those who should be trusted.

Celebrate with three short Halloween stories that each have a different twist. Each of these Halloween tales is self contained, is professionally narrated, and lasts for about one hour.

An observant fighter-in-training and his aged master. A paladin on a journey to light the world's darkest hour. Two bickering siblings who debate the worth of a travelling companion. An engineering prodigy pursuing his life's greatest work. A resistance leader out to stop the looming shadow of an otherworldly evil. A serial killer haunted by nightmares of his mad deeds of revenge. These stories and others intertwine in a great struggle against an all-consuming empire and its floating citadel.

An anthology set in the 80s, featuring "The Treasure Keeper" by James Agee Jr., "Cassidy and Lesley’s Dating Adventure" by Katie Johns, "Carter Kane" by Oliver Roe, and "Unholy Addiction" by Chris Manning.