American Short Fiction

Take a ride down Route 66 in a '55 Crown Vic. Shield your nose and eyes from the dust as Okies leave for California. Drink strong coffee in an all-night diner. Hear a haunting train whistle in Gallup, New Mexico. Investigate a death on old 66. Take a last ride on a faithful Apaloosa and watch the sunset over a majestic saquero cactus. Feel Andy Payne's pain as he pounds the road to New York. Lost on Route 66 is an anthology of essays and short stories about the fabled highway that is filled with mystery, suspense, adventure and humor. Don't miss it.

Kandy Kane will experience PAIN; she could’ve never imagined. Between her marriage, pregnancy, her father Wayne, and Q’ being her brother, she’s drowning in total misery, and many regrets. Knowing her parents are probably right about her needing therapy, she’s willing to put an end to her nympho lifestyle. ONCE AND FOR ALL!All Kandy wants is a fresh start to happiness, but on the other hand, she soon realizes there’s no escaping her past doings. As she prepares for motherhood, unforeseen secrets will be revealed. Life-shattering events will take place. How much more pain can Kandy...

Leo Carrington and Anthony Black have been enemies since their friendship ended when Leo came out to Anthony. Throughout high school, Anthony and his friends made Leo’s life miserable due to his sexual orientation, and their harassment persisted into his adulthood. Leo had noticed Anthony’s attractiveness over the years and hated that he was drawn to his former best friend. During his summer break from college, Anthony made Leo a proposition he couldn’t refuse. But would their deal hurt Leo’s feelings instead of benefiting him?

In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.

In folktales, the trickster can be the wise one or the fool, the one who fools or the one who is fooled. That is why children of all ages enjoy hearing these tales. The psychology of childhood is pretty much the same everywhere, giving these enjoyable stories universal appeal.

My Shot is a BWWM Friends to Lovers Hockey Romance Brie: I was the assistant. The friend in the background. The girl who made sure Joshua Winters had everything he needed—except the one thing I never had the courage to give him: my heart. He was a star. And I was invisible. But the night he kissed me, everything I’d kept buried deep inside started to come to the surface. Joshua: I’d slept with more puck bunnies than I could count, but not one of them ever stayed in my head the way she did. Brie saw me—the real me—long before the fame, the noise, the walls I built to protect myself...

A notorious drug dealer known by the name Blu Blaze to those in the street, but at home she's Aubury. Everything was going good and everyone was happy, well at least it seemed that way until she got shot three times by someone that she thought would never cross her. The one thing about having enemies in the street was that they never pretended to like you, they let their hatred for you be known The streets mourned the death of Blu Blaze, while others in secret celebrated it. Sometimes God has other plans for us and it seemed like he had other plans for Aubury, she lost her memory after ...

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...

#1 New York Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anthony Doerr brings his“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) to selecting The Best American Short Stories 2019. Doerr and the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, winnow down twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.

Knight Miller and Exotic Wright aren’t strangers to one another. After being in LA for ten years Exotic decides to come home just in time for Christmas. What she didn’t expect was to run into the one and only, Knight Miller. He had grown into a sexy man who had her thinking of explicit Christmas Pleasures. ​When Knight lays eyes on Exotic after ten long years the night before Christmas at a crowded downtown bar, he knows he has to have her. After a few drinks and small talk the two embark on a world of pleasure that will leave them both yearning for more. Secrets and drama swarm ...

Hot Mr. Scrooge is my neighbor. Hope The man loathes Christmas. What person doesn’t warm up to the best holiday of the year? The cabin I purchased mentioned it needed light work, not a gut renovation. Looks nothing like the picture. The brooding beast next door said he’d help spruce up the place if it will get me to leave him alone. Deal. Because who wants to be around the Grinch longer than they have to? Even if he’s tall. Has a gorgeous face you can stare at all day. And a body you’d love to mount on your sleigh repeatedly. Then I wondered could I help Mr. Non-Christmas ...

What would Christmas be without a little Seduction? Two complete strangers enter a whirlwind of mind-blowing sex leading up to Christmas. Hot, steamy, and all so sensual is what you will get as these two strangers ignite a burning flame within. What happens when a gift neither of them expects arise? Will they make the best of the situation or will one of them run scared from what could be the best Christmas gift ever?

It doesn't matter how good a person try to be... Dante Savage and Gary Mercier are two men who are in love with one woman. One had her, and another is set on making her his for life. But with one man out to take back his wife, what choice will Kohara Mercier make? In the midst of love, war of the heart, and betrayal, lessons are learned, hearts are broken, but in the end, a lifelong love will be found. Come along and journey on this tale of heartbreak, betrayal, and the cost of one's actions, in Stolen By A Savage 3 Books Collection.

When it comes to betrayal, no one understands the word better than Chrissy Shanice King. After learning her sister Lexi, carried on a two year affair with her husband; she knows her marriage is officially OVER! Discovering, Lexi even set her up to be rape and impregnated as a teenager; helped Chrissy see her sister for what she really is, and that's a scandalous h*e! Finally, setting Maceo free, and disowning Lexi, Chrissy is now focusing on herself. The only thing her heart desires is locating her twins, and building her fashion empire. Even though Chrissy tries her best to escape drama, ...

What happens when two people meet by accident? Cashlynn Myers and Quadir Jackson meet in an odd way. Upon their unusual meeting, they thought they would never see each other again, until they meet again by coincidence. The fiery attraction leads them to an erotic place of no return. One snowy night alone, the two burn up the sheets with fierce and unadulterated sex like never before. Will lust and erotic pleasures be all they have, or will it all turn into a blazing love affair like no other?

“Call me Miss B*tch. Yes, I screw married men, so what? I love my life. I worked damn hard to get to where I am. I’m a lawyer in a huge law firm and I pay my own bills, besides the ones they pay. Yes, I enjoy what I do and who I do.” Tracy is single and living her best life in California. Coming from a small town in South Carolina, it’s a welcomed change of scenery. It’s also an escape from her past. She is no longer the small town girl with a broken heart; she’s the corporate attorney with several players on her team. Rich, successful players at that. Though her life is ...

Though the lives of Mexico's characters are effected by the corrupt and dangerous subculture of their country, these are much more than simple "crime stories". They are complicated and deeply moving tales that tap into universal and enduringly powerful themes: love and loss, religion, family relationships, government abuse, sexual identity, professional ambition, cancer; they introduce us to characters that feel fully realized in their humanity.

Ever wonder what goes on in the world of your favorite author? Come follow the life of Best Selling Urban author and publisher, ZION. A world where lines get crossed and things happen as people follow their hearts, lust and greed on their way to the top. Zion and his business partner are down for whatever it takes to sign new and proven talent to their highly successful publishing house, 'Rich Gang Publishing'. With the literary industry at his feet and six figures coming in monthly, nothing and no one is out of his reach and Zion plans to partake in it all. But what happens when art ...

A short dirty story about a young, beautiful, and curvaceous cheerleader being seduced by her best friend's mother... Yancy Simpson has been lusting after her daughter's best friend Christina for months. She knows she shouldn't but she can't help it. Every-time Yancy sees her in that form-fitting cheerleading top and skirt that shamelessly shows off all her curves, she feels as if she'll lose her mind. She knows Yancy is too young for her, but the temptation of seeing her flawless body spread open beneath her is too much to resist. Will she risk it all for just one taste? Will Christina be ...

Queen Amira has suffered her husband's neglect and disdain since she came to be his wife. His attitude only softening the slightest bit with the birth of the two princes and heirs. With that, she has retained some of her power and love at court. But, she is still lonely and dreams of a true love of her own. Though she dare not dream it will ever come. King Deron loves women. His wife that was sent for him was barren for years. He thought he made a mistake in marrying her. He even took her lady as his mistress and had a child with her. A child that he flaunted under the queen's nose as he ...