Urban Short Stories

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.

I thought moving into a new apartment would be easy. Even in this world of magic and monsters, moving out shouldn’t be too hard, right? With help from the ghost in my head, I hunt monsters to pay the bills and pay my way through university. Now it’s time I finally get my own place. Through lopping off zombie and giant rat heads, I should have enough money, right? But if there’s anything consistent about living in Hope City, things are seldom easy.

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?

Weeds by Stephen King: When a meteorite lands on his property, Jordy Verrill envisions an easy payday. Unfortunately for Jordy, this is no ordinary rock - and the uncompromising force inside has found its first target.

Trixie is a feline of a unique sort. She's hustled the streets of the Big Easy many times but never quite like this. Trixie finds that when in New Orleans, hoodoo is much more than a tourist shop full of souvenirs. Reality has never been stranger and the stakes are much higher than ever before. See how this sexy feline takes on every challenge thrown at her and in the process discovers that there's more to life than meets the eye. This is a short story in a new series by Karli Rush.

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?

This collection contains three short stories: "The Vampire Hunter", "The Undead", and "The Gatekeeper".

The night brings more than darkness after the Fall. With her fangs bared, Tilla attacks a camp of savages until a mysterious young girl emerges from the wrecked, post-apocalyptic landscape. “The Hunt” was originally published as Retrograde and won first prize in the 2009 Boutique du Vampyre Short Story Contest.

What happens when a man starts life as a corpse? Two hundred years ago, Frank Victorsson awoke as a semi-dead, monstrous abomination reanimated by his hubris-ridden father, Victor Frankenstein. But Frank refused to become the infernal hate his father spewed at the world. He walked away from his origins - and into a small, Minnesota town overflowing with magic.

Book 10, The Unlikely Heroes: It’s a race to find the Mortal Seven—mortals who had always been able to see magic—before they're murdered. Meanwhile, there’s another crime that needs Liv’s attention. Book 11, The Creative Strategist: The guardian of the underworld has been awoken, and he’s coming after someone very important—but not if Liv can do something about it. Book 12, The Born Leader: The most important magical creature has gone missing, and it’s up to Warrior Liv Beaufont to find him. Liv will die before she allows the God Magician to ruin the world she loves so much.

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.

Guardians don't celebrate Christmas, but this year Quintus doesn't have a choice. When Olivia gives him a very special assignment for the holiday, he will have to reconnect with what Christmas means to him or fail the one person he is destined to save.

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.

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.

Gula chats with a girl who's obsessed with her body image. It's about a guy, and being too hard on herself.

What ancient evils live beneath the waters of the great Lakes of North America? During a massive snow storm in a small diner, we get a glimpse of the terror below.

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.

Victor McCain is used to fighting demons, satanists, and even fallen angels. But when God's bounty hunter travels to the Windy City to take on one of Chicago's most notorious mob bosses, he is confronted by an assassin the likes the world has never seen. Literally.