American Short

A special Christmas Collection of delightful old West romance stories all in one binge-worthy collection. A Tin Star for Christmas - A temporarily blinded sheriff! A woman secretly in love! Both set to marry someone else. Can this Christmas get any worse? Candy Cane Christmas - A grieving sibling, a man without hope and two orphans that bring them together. Viola - Angel Creek Christmas Brides - A Southern Belle looking for peace after the war - An outlaw turned rancher, determined to start over - Can two people from opposite worlds find happiness together in Angel Creek this Christmas? ...

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.

In Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture.

When Cohn Holland sets his sights on Eliza Allen, he’s captivated and is drawn to her dark beauty. The new divorcée is hurting from her ex-husband’s betrayal and trying to build a new life of independence; finding love again is the last thing on Eliza’s mind. Sensing Eliza’s pain and mistrust, Cohn tries to prove that he can be all the man she will ever need— in and out of the boardroom, even if he is younger. Cohn doesn’t give up easily and will annihilate Eliza’s doubts and fears one by one until he makes her his for good. This is an older woman and younger man romance with...

Two adventurous souls, Nadia and Keith, embark on a journey of sensual exploration as they discover their mutual desire for each other. From passionate encounters in the park to steamy roleplaying sessions at home, their love knows no bounds. They push the limits of their boundaries, indulging in various erotic acts that heighten their pleasure and deepen their connection. Their intense physical connections is complemented by an emotional bond that grows stronger with every shared moment of intimacy. As their relationship evolves, they continue to explore new ways to satisfy each other's ...

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 ...

“Food and travel are natural companions,” writes guest editor Padma Lakshmi. From this pairing comes “the possibility of seeing anew, of examining how we make and assign meaning.” The essays in this year’s Best American Food and Travel Writing circle the world—from Dakar in Senegal, to Michoacán in south-central Mexico, to the Camino de Santiago in Spain—and deepen our understanding of our place in it.

From former Green Beret and USA Today best-selling author Jason Kasper comes a gripping set of thrillers.

Rulfo comenta los relatos que sigue escribiendo en cartas a su novia Clara Aparicio. En 1951 se publica el séptimo, "Diles que no me maten", en la revista América. Gracias a la primera beca que Rulfo recibe del Centro Mexicano de Escritores puede terminar los ocho que aparecerán con los previos en 1953, en el libro titulado El Llano en llamas, dedicado a Clara. Dos relatos más, aparecidos en revistas en 1955, serán incluidos en la edición de 1970.

“Short stories have to accomplish a nearly impossible magic trick: to introduce a world often much stranger than our own and make you care about it in a matter of pages,” writes R. F. Kuang in her introduction. “The most important part of this magic trick is just a willingness to get weird.” The stories in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 are brimming with bizarre and otherworldly premises.

Here are 10 unabridged stories by the greatest American authors. These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries were selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities.

For more than fifty years, Wendell Berry has been telling us stories about Port William, a mythical town on the banks of the Kentucky River, populated over the years by a cast of unforgettable characters living in a single place over a long time. In A Place in Time, the stories dates range from 1864, when Rebecca Dawe finds herself in her own reflection at the end of the Civil War, to one from 1991 when Grover Gibbs's widow, Beulah, attends the auction as her home place is offered for sale.

An American cult figure, Paul Bowles has fascinated such disparate talents as Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Truman Capote, William S. Burroughs, Gore Vidal, and Tobias Wolff. From “The Delicate Prey” to “Too Far from Home,” this definitive collection celebrates the Bowles’s masterful artistry in short fiction.

This addition to Oxford's Very Short Introductions series traces how Americans have addressed the issues and events of their time and place, whether it is the Civil War, the Great Depression, or the culture wars of today.

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.

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 ...

Charles thought he had it all - until a devastating betrayal and the shattering loss of his family drove him to living on the streets. Beatrice is the first person who's truly cared about him in a long time. Little by little, he's finding reasons to care about rebuilding his life. Drawn to Charles and the temptation of a second chance, Beatrice is faced with the hardest of decisions. But his insight, secrets - and the reminder of a profound past encounter - will give her unexpected inspiration, gratitude, and the strength she needs to find her way - perhaps in time for Christmas.

Jules has messed up. He is a drug dealer with many money costing habits that his girl doesn't know about. He's lost money and now he can't leave the game like he has promised his fiancee and their newborn son. He makes a fateful decision that has consequences for them both. Lark is now a single mother trying to make ends meet. She's struggling since her fiancee decided to ignore all the warning signs and dive headfirst into trouble with the wrong people. For months, all she has been concerned about is keeping a roof over her infant son's head. She can't afford to think about jumping into ...

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, ...

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.