Urban Short Stories

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.

Will Donovan has big plans on his last free weekend before he joins the FBI. With romance on his mind, he tells his girlfriend, Emma, she can pick anywhere she wants to go. To his dismay, his mystery-loving girlfriend chooses the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast. Not quite the romantic backdrop he had envisioned, but for Emma, he would go anywhere. Especially if it meant securing their future together before he leaves. At the Inn, things are not what they seem. Late in the night, curious meowing wakens the guests. Perhaps Max, the resident cat, desires a midnight adventure?

A small eastern community becomes over-run by a growing army of scarecrows.

In this irreverent take on the holidays, Ian gets a new quest in a virtual reality video game: kill a monstrous villain named Sinter Klaws. (And no, he is NOT a jolly old elf.) Join Ian, his succubus Alaria, and his imp Stig as they journey through a winter wonderland full of killer reindeer, lecherous elves, and the worst mall Santa in the history of the world.

With the pandemic looming, a listless social media editor accepts a job working for her former college friend Seraphina. A popular Instagram influencer, the subject of obsessive message-board surveillance, and a newly minted Karen of the Day, Seraphina is living out 2020 in the luxury of her “ultimate self-quarantine.” As the year escalates into upheaval and chaos, both women try, in increasingly secretive and complicated ways, to maintain the upper hand.

In this psychic magical-fantasy short story tale, Amanda, Jeff, and Lukas travel to South America for their vacation. Later on, after an unfortunate incident leaves the trio stranded on a remote and vast stretch of land, they’re forced to find their own way back home. Yet as the group encounters an unknown tribe in the thick wildness of jungle, they’d come to find all of their initial suspicions about the place to be wrong...Where the heck were they? How were they still alive?

The time is 1921. The place, Aaronsville, Indiana. When Carrie McFarland is accused of putting a voodoo hex on the keynote speaker at the Negro Voters League Banquet, it's clear that someone has it in for her. Is it ward boss William C. Tisdale, a major bootlegger and the town's only Negro lawyer? Is it Herman Scott, the ambitious politician angling to take Boss Tisdale's place? To get to the bottom of things, Carrie will need the help of her mentor, 80-year-old Hoodoo Queen Sister Marie Brown. The women will need to use their psychic gifts and street smarts to clear Carrie's name.

From murderous crowd-sourcing apps to nefarious faeries, Reflections is a collection of short stories posing a single question: Where does goodness end, and evil begin? Ten soaring stories, each exploring original and thought-provoking perspectives of love, secrecy, loyalty, and destruction. Tangling future and fantasy, Reflections is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the frailties, foibles, and dreams of humanity.

Every time Rueben Peet dies, he "returns" to his body with the memories of what's to come. He gets to "repeat" his mistakes again and again and hope he can do something different to prevent the future. It's Groundhog Day meets the worst super-spy, ever. When New York City comes under threat of nuclear destruction, Rueben is the only one who can save the city. But even an infinite number of re-dos is not enough, for lurking in the background is a nefarious force threatening, not only NYC, but also the world.

Six books and more than 30 hours of shifters, vampires, witches, and slayers fill this complete LGBT-friendly urban-fantasy omnibus collection.

From best-selling author W.J. May - each shade is a different genre of the fantasy, paranormal and romance - all from different series!

Jessica Grant knows vampires only too well as she runs the York Council tracker programme. To Jess, vampires are arrogant and far too sexy for their own good, particularly her ex-colleague Sil. But when a demon turns up and threatens the whole world order, the stakes are high. They are also very, very pointy and Jess isn't afraid to use them, even on the vampire that she's afraid she’s falling in love with....

On the seventh day of Christmas, I and my buddy David Eckstrom finally got around to holding that shindig we've been talking about for so long. Only, we weren't the only bodies looking for a good time on New Year's Eve. There were monsters afoot on the lake, and the remedy for 'em was something I didn't expect at all.

One morning can change everything. Five mornings can change a life. Friends. Lovers. Enemies. Allies. Alex McCann and Teodora "Ted" Vasquez never had a simple relationship. But you couldn't call it a boring one, either. Five mornings in their past shape who they will become to each other. To their families. And to the mysterious town they call home.

This short story combines the multiverse concept of changing one’s fate with a new-adult level of mystery. Animator-style printing and colorful illustrations give this quick audiobook a real adult-swim, comic book store feel. When Eva studies quantum physics in a seedy bar, she finds some unwelcome attention, and Killian...the best transdimensional research subject she could ask for. Eva is fascinated, and invites him for a drink. In return, he explains how he can trek through different dimensions to find other versions of his life.

When a client claims her house is being haunted, Ivy tries to keep her mind open and her weapons handy. If her psychic gifts and recent cases have taught her anything, it's that you're better off arming yourself for the unexpected.