American Short Fiction

Short Stories in Irish for Beginners has been written especially for students from high-beginner to low-intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, a feeling of progress and most importantly—enjoyment! Mapped to A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, these eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when reading.

Nathaniel is a well-intentioned, if naive, British cleric feeling blessed to educate a West African village about the benevolent power of God. But as slavers encroach, Nathaniel’s endeavor is daunted by the realities unfolding on the beautiful homeland of his congregation. It seems the Devil has power too. What follows for Nathaniel is a profound spiritual upheaval as he questions his purpose and even his humanity.

Black Girl Magic. It is a term that is used a lot these days. It’s probably politically incorrect when I use it. But the truth is the truth. I have been attracted to black women since I was a teenager. Several circumstances have gotten in the way of me acting out my attraction: societal standards. Racist relatives. Fear. My wife. The list goes on. But now, I’m not willing to circumvent those attractions anymore. I am a deacon at a prominent church in the South. It’s a new day and age but interracial relationships are still pretty taboo, particularly when it comes to sex. I have ...

Terry Pratchett has earned a place in the hearts of listeners the world over with his best-selling Discworld series - but in recent years he has become equally well-known and respected as an outspoken campaigner for causes including Alzheimer's research and animal rights. A Slip of the Keyboard brings together for the first time the finest examples of Pratchett's nonfiction writing, both serious and surreal: from musings on mushrooms to what it means to be a writer (and why banana daiquiris are so important).

The ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan gets more than greasy corn dogs and flat soda when he visits a carnival in Kansas to which his apprentice, Granuaile, drags him. He runs across a barker with a strange power over the crowd: attractive women leave their men and disappear into an unmarked tent, never to be seen again, and the men wander away, forgetting that they ever had girlfriends or wives. When Granuaile falls under the barker’s influence and enters the tent, Atticus isn’t about to forget it and move on.

From "one of the funniest writers in America" comes a collection of stories culled from the front lines of the millennial culture wars. Rife with failing rock bands, student loans, and participation trophies,

Spoiled Brats is about a generation of narcissists - and the well-meaning boomers who made them that way.

Synopsis Twenty - three-year-old Mocha Matthews is just trying to get through her life’s struggles. With school, and having to take care of her sick grandmother, Love seems to be far from a reality. Besides, with the type of men she keeps encountering, who needs a man anyway. Twenty eight-year-old Majesty Billion has a life filled with darkness. It doesn’t help that his profession brings out many enemies and snakes that are too close for his comfort. The only light shining in Majesty’s life is his four-year-old daughter Royal. Can a chance encounter with the beautiful bombshell Mocha ...

Afice is the last of nine generations of women who have survived enslavement, sickness, and hunger. Alone at age seventeen, she sets out through the Louisiana swamps to follow the trail of her ancestors and hear their songs anew. On this journey, Afice must decide how to honor her ancestors while embracing her own future.

It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and 15-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women, presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church - a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter, until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever.

In these buoyant and inventive stories, Karen Tei Yamashita transfers classic tales across boundaries and questions what an inheritance - familial, cultural, emotional, artistic - really means. In a California of the '60s and '70s, characters examine the contents of deceased relatives' freezers, tape-record high school locker-room chatter, or collect a community's gossip while cleaning the teeth of its inhabitants.

Minister Terrell Crutchfield of Tabernacle Baptist Church deals with life consequences when his past and present romances collide. In this African American / Black contemporary church suspense romance story, Megan Hightower, and Madeline Webster, two brazen church harlots will bring on the drama. Marital infidelity and adultery take center stage in this delightfully entertaining church tale. Sometimes in life when it rains unfortunately it pours out deceit and deception. Mixing Madeline Webster into the equation literally adds fuel to the fire. Megan Hightower and Minister's Crutchfield's ...

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.

What happens when everything around you seems perfect - your family, your health, your social status, your overall life - but all of a sudden something threatens to tear it all apart and rob you of what you've always known? This type of thing happens to many people, every day, from all walks of life. Some are able to get over it and go on with their lives. But others are not so fortunate. They find themselves stuck in their own meltdown of loss, hurt, and pain. Such is the situation in Marita L. Kinney's latest novel.

Imagine coming home to find a farewell note, an empty refrigerator, a disconnect notice from the electric company, and an eviction letter giving you 30 days to vacate the premises - all without a job to fall back on. Well, that's what happened to Africa Evans, a shy, insecure woman without a backup plan. From one bad choice to another, Africa leans on love as an escape from her dilemma. But for this girl from da hood, tough love may prove detrimental to her well-being.

A finalist for the National Book Award, Lost in the City features 15 poignant short stories, each set in Washington, D.C. Far removed from marble monuments and the offices of rich politicians, the nation's capital that Jones captures is inhabited by self-willed African-Americans struggling to live their lives as best they can.

An ordinary man wakes one morning to discover he’s a famous reggaetón star. An aging abuela slowly morphs into a marionette puppet. A struggling academic discovers the horrifying cost of becoming a Self-Made Man. In There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven, Ruben Reyes Jr. conjures strange dreamlike worlds to explore what we would do if we woke up one morning and our lives were unrecognizable. Boundaries between the past, present, and future are blurred. Menacing technology and unchecked bureaucracy cut through everyday life with uncanny dread.

In the city of Houston - a sprawling, diverse microcosm of America - the son of a black mother and a Latino father is coming of age. He's working at his family's restaurant, weathering his brother's blows, resenting his older sister's absence - and discovering he likes boys.

This magical realist short tale was inspired by the Latin American myth of El Sombrerón, the nighttime guardian of peace and justice. El Sombrerón arrives in a sleepy town to find that a young girl has stolen a golden necklace. El Sombrerón must convince the girl to return the necklace so she can avoid El Sombrerón’s justice…and before the sun rises.

Absolution was written by USA Today Bestselling Author Reana Malori... Julian Saving lives is his calling, or so he thought. When doing what he loves turns into his greatest fear, the lines between black and white turn gray. A little boy who needs to be saved, and a beautiful mother he can’t stay away from, bring him back from the darkness. Life and death are a part of his daily life, but Julian must find his own road to Absolution before he loses the one person he never realized he needed. Kori Raising her son was her only focus. When their lives are shattered by a devastating event, she...

Havana, 1939: It’s opening night at the famed Tropicana nightclub. Cuban American college student Natalie Trainer, on vacation from Miami, is watching from the sidelines—as usual. Then comes an invitation to dance from a handsome stranger named Antonio. Normally cautious and reserved, Natalie somehow finds herself saying yes. A tiny thrill of rebellion, of taking a chance, and Natalie’s in heaven. Will her first step into this unfamiliar realm set a new course for her life, or only tonight?