Showing results by narrator "Amy Tallmadge" in All Categories

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.

Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski. Two girls from very different backgrounds become best friends in the turbulent '60s, but their circumstances and choices - and their mistakes - take them in opposite directions. Lesley stays in their hometown. She marries young, living a life defined by the demands of small children, never enough money, and an unfaithful husband. Jill lives those years on a college campus shaken by the Vietnam War, and then as an idealistic young lawyer in New York City. But they always remain friends.

There are two social functions in Savannah guaranteed to get people talking: weddings and funerals. And just as consignment shop owner Reagan Summerside agrees to marry the hunky Walker Boone, her neighbors, sisters Annie Fritz and Elsie Abbot, step up their business as professional mourners. They are so successful that the Sleepy Pines Retirement Center has hired them as a part of their retirement package. But then the residents at Pines suddenly begin dying at an alarming rate. And the sisters are the first suspects.

As Cheryl takes inventory of the Swiss Miss gift shop stock and acclimates herself to her new surroundings amid petting zoos and corn mazes, she notices something peculiar happening. Some of the items that customers want to purchase from her store are not listed in her inventory. Where are these quality products coming from? Is it, as Cheryl’s new friend Naomi Miller believes, that someone is sending her an anonymous blessing? If so, what is she to make of the menacing notes that keep surfacing, which warn her to “take care”.

Amanda lives alone in the house where her mother, now dead of cancer, once grew up. A Facebook friend request puts her back in touch with a cousin, John. After months of seeing his life flicker across her screen, she learns he has moved to a community led by a mysterious Jason Wilson. John refers to him as "one of the greatest thinkers of our time", but his friends are worried that Wilson may in fact be a cult leader.

The plan is simple: kidnap the daughter of Senate candidate Richard McClaine, take the money and run. Nobody gets hurt, the kid goes home alive. Twenty-two-year-old car thief Kelsey Money thinks it's the worst idea Matt and his drug-fueled brother have ever come up with. But Matt's the planner. He's the one Kelsey has always depended on. Then she discovers she only knew half the plan. By the time she finds out the rest, she's been framed for murder, and six-year-old Holly McClaine won't be found alive.

With each passing season in their first year of married life, Cheryl and Levi Miller find a fresh set of challenges and adjustments to be made as the Englisher and her Amish farmer husband learn to live together. But by observing their friends and loved ones in the Sugarcreek community, the newlyweds see, firsthand, how God uses each new phase of life to reveal inspiring insights, spiritual truths, and future surprises - all while they harvest a whole new crop of mysteries, as well!

As Thanksgiving approaches, Cheryl stumbles across a startling discovery: Someone is sleeping in Naomi and Seth Millers’ winter buggy and helping himself to food from their farmhouse cellar. Could it be the same person who is stealing from businesses up and down Sugarcreek’s Main Street? Despite Naomi’s insistence on extending the hand of hospitality to their unknown guest, when items are stolen from the Swiss Miss gift shop, Cheryl intends to get to the bottom of these mysteries 

The Amish of Sugarcreek are experiencing a baby boom, and Cheryl enjoys delivering small gifts to the families. Then, while she is paying a call on the Swartzentrubers, the family discovers that one of their newborn twins is missing. Who on earth could do such a thing? A surprising discovery forces Cheryl to take matters into her own hands.

"He's first. You're next." That's the message someone scribbled on a photo of Stacy May Charms' six-year-old son, two days before her release from prison. Stacy knows why. She doesn't know who. And she's not waiting around to find out. Her plan is to grab her child and run. Elizabeth McClaine has no idea why Stacy ran, but she intends to find out. Contracted to oversee the governor’s early release program for young incarcerated mothers, she is responsible for the program’s first successful applicant.

When 22-year-old Susan Stachler was diagnosed with cancer, her mother, Laura, was struck by déjà vu. The same illness that took her sister's life was threatening to take her daughter's too. Heartbroken but steadfast, Laura pledged to help Susan through the worst of her treatments. When they discovered that Laura's homemade ginger cookies soothed the side effects of Susan's chemotherapy, the mother - daughter duo soon found themselves opening the business "Susansnaps" and sharing their gourmet gingersnaps with the world.

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore weaves a dreamy, suspenseful tale: a clever child's recollection of a summer's day turned frightening. Francesca, Kelly, and Kelly's teenage sister Amanda are only meant to spend several hours at the pool together, while their professor parents finish up an afternoon of work at their lush, Oregon college. The younger girls are caught up in hair braiding and Marco Polo, but Amanda is poised on the cusp of an adult realm bursting with cruel secrets.

Mark and Philippa find themselves the subjects of hit breakup songs in different decades and different countries, suffering years of romantic disappointments as a result. Their lives take very different paths, but when their paths cross in adulthood, they may find their biggest humiliation leading to their deepest connection.

Surreal and strange, Katherine Vaz's Swan Sister follows a young girl who imagines away her baby sister's illness and death until the memory haunts her adult life, when she is a mother herself.

From the number-one best-selling author of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and Sundays at Tiffany's, two heartwarming tales about the power of a good story to open our eyes to life's possibilities.

When PI Judd Brody agreed to safeguard socialite London Breck, he expected a fluff gig filled with parties and paparazzi. But the bombshell blonde was nothing like the wild princess he'd seen in the media...and his undeniable attraction to her was as real as the threats to her life.

The quicker Special Agent Christina Sandoval brings a serial killer to justice, the sooner she can get back to her daughter. Reason enough for the FBI to send her a partner - who also happens to be her ex-fiancé, Eric Brody. While Eric's own kidnapping as a child has left him with a sense of justice that never fails, his relationship with Christina did. Now the deeper they dig into the current case, the more personal things get.

Krista Doyle grew up in a small town in Louisiana where everyone was a gossip and a devout church goer. She attended church every Sunday where she listened to her grandfather preach from the stage, where she sang hymns from the audience as her mother led the choir, and where she was strictly taught that everything was black and white, right and wrong. So - how was Krista to cope with being a lesbian?

True crime writer Kacie Manning vowed to expose the serial killer suspected of murdering her mother. And she was going to use the killer's son to do it. But Ryan Brody wasn't at all what she expected.... The sexy police chief hoped Kacie could clear his father's name, never expecting the beautiful journalist to have other motives. Then her life was threatened, and Ryan's protective instincts kicked into overdrive.

Under the Golden Gate, Elise Duran refused to be a serial killer's next victim. She was the first of the abducted to survive. And Detective Sean Brody was there to make sure a second chance wouldn't be necessary. As the elusive murderer sends them messages, both personal and gruesome, the point becomes clear: no one can escape death. But Sean's presence can't be any stronger as he shadows Elise while on the job - and off it - proving she couldn't have asked for a better protector.