American Short Fiction

Velcro & Zippers originally appeared in the literary journal Raven Chronicles. It is also available on Kindle and in print as part of the collection Easy Money & Other Stories. True love is sweet, but it's not always meant to last. "He looked at her beautiful face and breasts, her firm abdomen, all striped by bands of light and shadow, wondering what she was doing with him, why she had stayed as long as she had. He reached across the table and touched her cheek with his fingertips, then leaned forward and kissed her lips. He sat back. She smiled." A short read with a subtle impact.

In the title story of Souvankham Thammavongsa's debut collection, a young girl brings a book home from school and asks her father to help her pronounce a tricky word, a simple exchange with unforgettable consequences. Thammavongsa is a master at homing in on moments like this—moments of exposure, dislocation, and messy feeling that push us right up against the limits of language.

El 26 de octubre de 1949 el reportero Gabriel García Márquez fue enviado al antiguo convento de Santa Clara, que iba a ser demolido para edificar sobre él un hotel de cinco estrellas, a presenciar el vaciado de las criptas funerarias y a cubrir la noticia. Se exhumaron los restos de un virrey del Perú y su amante secreta, un obispo, varias abadesas, un bachiller de artes y una marquesa.

Latasha Lee has always been extraordinary. The proud byproduct of her genius Botanist Mother Lola Lee, and her father, Commander Joseph Lee. However, she craved freedom within her chin-up and the shoulders-back world she lived in. Her idea ... to do something she'd never seen done before. Latasha wanted to pick her afro in space. Follow her wild ride with her group of friends to see if she can turn her dream into a reality.

He’s everything I prayed for, but Brody’s too good to be true. Majesty Millions-Jones I came back to Logansport Rivers, to rebuild my Nana’s house and my life. Running with bands, singing in clubs, and bad relationships has finally taken a toll on me. All I want is a good country living, filled with memories and what my grandmother loved; Jesus, singing, cows, and corn. Yet, I’m getting more than I bargained for… Brody Lane. Brody Lane She’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I remember the summer I vowed to make her mine. She was fifteen; I was nineteen, and ...

As a 41-year-old man confronts his own mortality in this collection's title story, he recalls his Spokane Indian father's chilling death from alcoholism and diabetes. Another tale features an eccentric salesman pursuing a married woman from airport to airport. And then there's the film editor who sees nothing wrong with altering footage to fit preconceived views - until he becomes the target of media distortion.

John LeBrock is the greatest MMA fighter on Earth. He takes on all opponents and destroys them with ease. He is rich, good-looking, and oozes charisma. He wants for nothing, and life is good. John will soon find out that a seemingly perfect life can change in the blink of an eye. The MMA world champion will be given the opportunity to travel through a cosmic doorway that leads to the other side of the universe to a strange but beautiful world called Azura.

Containing over 47 stories and two novels, this book is big baby, bigger and more powerful than a freight train - a bullet couldn't pass through it. Here are the best stories and every major writer who ever appeared in celebrated Pulps like Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, and more. These are the classic tales that created the genre and gave birth to hard-hitting detectives who smoke criminals like packs of cigarettes.

Hot Water Music is a collection of short stories by Charles Bukowski, published in 1983. The collection deals largely with: drinking, women, gambling, and writing. It is an important collection that establishes Bukowski's minimalist style and his thematic oeuvre.

The visionary writer and director of Get Out, Us, and Nope, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation. Featuring an introduction by Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, Out There Screaming is a master class in horror, and—like his spine-chilling films—its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world . . . and redefine what it means to be afraid.

Beyond—The Door of No Return An emotional, dark, and gripping historical fiction novella 1501 AD, Senegal. The land awakens under a golden sunrise—lush, untamed, alive. The cries of exotic birds echo above the mighty baobabs, lions roar in longing, and hippos yawn beside watchful crocodiles. In a Serer village nestled north of the Gambia River, life flourishes in harmony with nature and spirit. Dembe, a revered hunter and spiritual leader, awakens with his family in their earthen hut, unaware that the final day of their world is beginning. As drums sound and rituals stir the village in ...

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 - ...

This collection is a short-story lover's dream. Included are 17 classic works, representing the finest American writers in the genre. Included are "Bartleby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, "The One Million Pound Bank Note" by Mark Twain, "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe, and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving.

About STRUGGLE She has always seen me for who I am… Not what I was trying to be. And it frightens me that despite the things I’ve gone through, she still seems to be waiting on me. My struggles caused me to run from her, but her love stayed solid. Even when I turned my back on her and left her holding to fend for herself, she never gave up on me. Most women would never want the challenge of being with a man who’s decided to do the total opposite of what the world feels is right. But she’s convinced… Her God told her that I was her husband and she doesn’t care what I’ve done, ...

In the collection's title story, a pack of girls raised by wolves are painstakingly reeducated by nuns. In "Haunting Olivia", two young boys make midnight trips to a boat graveyard in search of their dead sister, who set sail in the exoskeleton of a giant crab. In "Sleepaway Camp for Disordered Dreamers", a boy whose dreams foretell implacable tragedies is sent to a summer camp for troubled sleepers (Cabin 1, Narcoleptics; Cabin 2, Sleep Apneics; Cabin 3, Somnambulists . . . ).

Critics have compared her work to that of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, but J. California Cooper has a warm, witty style that’s definitely her own. Each of her short stories is a gem of downhome wisdom, polished with a bit of gossip, some heartbreak, and lots of humor.

Veteran authors Ashley and JaQuavis offer up their first solo efforts, and they're hotter than ever! Along with Ayana Ellis, they introduce listeners to some "real sistas" who know how to get what they want at all costs. For these women, if it's dangerous it just means the payout will be that much sweeter.

The Snow family continues to push through their issues, until Pastor Snow takes a special interest in a prostitute named Candy. His wife, Lady Snow is dying of cancer and that doesn't seem to make him cut ties with Candy, although his reputation is on the line. Will the family have another meltdown or will they persevere? A Christian Fiction Novella that offers healing, deliverance, and restoration.

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.