American Short Fiction

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.

The "Detroit Life After 15 Years" series is a gripping and raw portrayal of life in the hood. The series follows a group of friends who grew up together in the heart of Detroit and are now navigating the challenges and opportunities that come along with being young and ambitious in the city. Each book delves into the lives of these characters, showcasing their struggles and triumphs as they try to make a name for themselves in the streets. The series captures the gritty reality of life in the hood, filled with drugs, violence, and betrayal, while also exploring themes of friendship, loyalty...

Book 6 of the "Detroit Life After 15 Years" series, we revisit the life of Uncle Nice, who continues to navigate the streets of Detroit as a free man. While Nice has managed to stay out of prison so far, his past choices and actions continue to shape his life and the lives of those around him. As the city of Detroit evolves and changes, so do the dynamics of the relationships between Nice and his family and friends. Themes of loyalty, love, and redemption remain at the heart of the story, as characters confront their pasts and work towards brighter futures. Detroit Life After 15 Years - ...

“The People Could Fly,” the title story in Virginia Hamilton’s prize-winning American Black folktale collection, is a fantasy tale of the slaves who possessed the ancient magic words that enabled them to literally fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to “fly” away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.

"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.

In 1885 Idaho Territory, widow Victoria Hayes would rather face down claim jumpers with her derringer than lose her late husband's star garnet mine. But when a mysterious prospector with a fighter's grace arrives offering help, she must decide if protecting her claim is worth risking her heart. James "Hawk" Davidson has his own reasons for helping the determined widow—as an undercover agent investigating a string of suspicious mining accidents, he believes her husband's death was no accident. Yet the more time he spends with Victoria, the more he admires her courage and faith in the face ...

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 ...

Established by the leaders of the country's only successful slave revolt in the mid-19th century, Cross River still evokes the fierce rhythms of its founding. In lyrical prose and singular dialect, a saga beats forward that echoes the fables carried down for generations - like the screecher birds who swoop down for their periodic sacrifice, and the water women who lure men to wet deaths.

A young Black girl watches as her aunt’s multiple suitors disrupt her family’s privacy. The same girl, now on the cusp of adulthood, shares her family’s growing fears that her father has disappeared. Acclaimed author Ann Petry penned these and the other unforgettable narratives in Miss Muriel and Other Stories more than 70 years ago, yet in them, contemporary listeners recognize characters who exist today and dilemmas that recur again and again.

Navy Wife: Lindy Kyle flees to Seattle to weather a broken heart, but is unprepared for a roommate like Rush Callaghan. Strong, sensitive, and sexy, the temporarily dry-docked naval officer is everything she’s ever dreamed of in a man...and in a husband. Though they are swept away on a tide of passion, Rush holds duty to his country above all else. Navy Blues: Despite her ex-husband’s stubbornness, Carol knows Lieutenant Commander Steve Kyle would be the perfect man to father the child she so desperately wants.

On Ash Wednesday in 1908, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter arrives at his children’s school, where he is the lone custodian. But soon after lessons start, a fast-moving fire breaks out—its cause is unknown, but its effects are horrifying. Although Fritz is soon cleared of any responsibility for the catastrophe, the community continues to suspect him, supremely testing Fritz and his family.

My Confession: I love my husband, but my therapist touches parts of me that he can't. My husband is a gentleman, but he can't give me what my body needs. After we argued over his performance, he suggested we see a therapist. When we visited our new intimacy therapist named Dr. Lord, he did a demonstration and placed his masculine hand against my dark mocha skin, and at that moment, I knew he had the touch my body craved. I know my husband's therapist should be off limits, but it has always been my dream to be pleased by multiple tall, sexy men that can give my body the ecstasy it deserves. ...

Melanie has been living the good life. She met a handsome man with a vicious dick game. They have hit it off instantly and have been inseparable ever since. They are going on dates and planning a life together. And did I mention the sex is phenomenal! Everything seems so perfect. Melanie Hyde has got herself a man! Xavier has met the perfect woman for him. She's smart and beautiful with a body that he adores. Not to mention she wants nothing from him but love. He can't let her go. But can he let go of the demons from his past? Just as life starts to heat up for the two of them life shakes ...

Best friends since second grade, Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts. Fiona was always destined to leave, her effortless beauty burnished by fierce ambition—qualities that Jane admired and feared in equal measure. When Fiona moves to New York and cares for a sick friend through a breakup with an opportunistic boyfriend, Jane remains in California.

Johnny, a seasoned player in the Detroit underworld, confronted his son, Detroit Black, over stolen goods, suspecting betrayal. Meanwhile, Sandy secretly manipulated Bobby, Shaylean’s love interest serving in Vietnam, to sway his loyalties away from Shaylean and toward herself. Through carefully planted doubts about Shaylean’s connections and hints of her own interest in him, Sandy cast herself as Bobby's ideal choice, intensifying the tension between loyalty, manipulation, and ambition in this complex family saga. Author: True Story.

Detroit Life After 15 Years: Volume 7 In the gripping seventh installment of the Detroit Life After 15 Years series, tensions reach a fever pitch as old grudges ignite and new alliances form in the unforgiving streets of Detroit. As the city’s underworld continues to evolve, characters grapple with shifting loyalties and the harsh consequences of their actions. From explosive confrontations to heart-wrenching betrayals, this volume dives deep into the complexities of survival in a world where trust is scarce and danger lurks around every corner. Secrets long buried are unearthed, and ...

"In a world where loyalty and survival clash, Shaylean finds herself caught between family drama and the enticing lifestyle of Detroit Black and his father, the notorious 'Johnny the Party Maker.' Struggling to escape her sister Sandy's anger and desperate for a fresh start, she gets swept up in a whirlwind of cash, secrets, and unexpected alliances. As she navigates this new path, Bobby, a soldier stationed in Vietnam, holds onto thoughts of her, hoping to return to a life that seems further out of reach. In the backdrop of money, power, and past lives, each character must find their place...

To Chinese American teenager Chuntao, New Lake is a beautiful haven where she can hunt for treasures once swallowed up by a big flood. But when she’s caught scavenging by her biology teacher, a woman whose own past has been swept away, Chuntao is faced with an imponderable question: Which world was better - the ideal one she never knew or the destroyed one that now belongs to her?

The stories in this collection are drawn mainly from those tribes which lived in the northern and central areas of North America. These represent the linguistic groups gerneally referred to as Algonquian, Iroquois, and Sioux. A final chapter covers the tales of the northwest Pacific Coast.

Welcome back to Mill Ridge for a special holiday treat! A woman hiding her beauty - An ex-ranger hiding his flaws - Can these two misfits find the spirit of Christmas this holiday or will they run in the opposite direction? Erin Steel knows the people of Mill Ridge can't stand her and she's not complaining. As the former representative from the Teachers Association, she knows moving to Mill Ridge will enable her to live her life in solitude. Hiding her beauty is one thing, but when a man with an eye patch draws her out of her shell, she is determined to avoid him at all costs. Former Texas ...