Magical Realism Short Stories

After slipping on Chelsea - a magical wig that comes with a gregarious personality - Janet is making strides at work and has a new friend and a confident strut. Life is fab. Isn’t it? Honestly, there’s something missing. Where’s the adventure? The purpose? What she needs is to tap into her inner daredevil. But her mystical wigmaker has a word of caution: should Janet lose control, it might not be so easy to get it back.

This short story unfolds in the enchanting library, a mystical sanctuary that opens its doors only at midnight, allowing visitors to relive their past choices through magical books. Emma, the library’s devoted guardian, discovers a hidden section within its infinite shelves where lost romantic opportunities come to life. Entangled in the enchantments, she revisits the "what might have been" of her own life. Alongside Michael, a visitor with his tangled past, Emma embarks on a journey through their intertwined stories, uncovering deeper truths about love, choices, and the human condition. ...

During an upturn in the economy, faced with a downturn in the soul buying business, The Devil resorts to telemarketing.

The Staggered Births of the Triplet Witches Reuniting after years apart, three sisters find their latent powers springing to life, evolving into potent shields against looming darkness. Despite sharing a birthright, they've grown up unaware of their shared lineage, thanks to being brought up by a secretive grandmother and an enigmatic great aunt. As the shadows of an unsolved serial murder case resurface, troubling signs emerge— their young cousin bears unexplained bruises, and the townsfolk are growing increasingly sinister. Can the sisters, bound by blood but unaware of their profound ...

For former pushover Janet, her Sophie curls appear to be a balanced and beautiful new addition to her magical, life-changing wig collection. She’s positively beaming, has smoothed out the wrinkles in her personal life, and is embarking on a philanthropic new business venture. Everything is ideal until the unthinkable happens and she has to stand on her own - with a final push from Lady Miss Jacqueline, of course!

An ailing farmer in rural Iran unearths an extraordinary find: two parsnips, grown together and looking for all the world like entwined lovers. For now, the sublime treasure is his secret. Wrapping it in a silk handkerchief, he nestles it away in a dresser drawer. Day after day, he gazes at their unmistakable rapture, reminded of the long-gone youthful passions he once shared with his wife. So, too, he mourns the inevitable - the eventual decay of the parsnips in love. When he decides to share his discovery with the world, his life and the lives of those around him connect and change.

Immerse yourself in a world of love, vengeance, compassion, and irony with the evocative stories of Eva Luna. Author Isabel Allende introduced this well-loved character to audiences in her earlier novel, Eva Luna. Listen to Allende talk about the role of writing in her life in Giving Birth, Finding Form. This program also features Alice Walker and Jean Shinoda Bolen.

A 20-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend and casually appropriates the image for an insurance company's advertisement. What he doesn't realise is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan.

The collected fantasy stories of World Fantasy Award winner S.P. Somtow — a half century of his acclaimed work brought together in a single volume. From rural America to exotic Bangkok, from ancient history to contemporary times — and sometimes both within the same story — Somtow's world betray a limitless imagination and the finely honed writing that has brought him numerous awards during his half-century writing career. Beginning with his first fantasy story from the 1970s, Fire from the Wine-dark Sea to his most recent tales, this collection is a a treasure chest.

A Fantasy Short Story Amidst a world where only the powerful leaders hold the ability to grant wishes, Rachel, a curious young woman, stumbles upon a crystal that gives her the power to fulfill her deepest desires. With her newfound ability, Rachel must grapple with the immense responsibility and potential consequences that come with her actions. Will she risk everything to fulfill her own wishes, or will she find a greater purpose in using her powers for the betterment of others? “The Forbidden Wish" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys fantasy short stories of adventure, self-discovery,...

Ten short stories, different tastes, various shades are what make Ghost Runner & Others. Ghosts, lesbians, rapists, optimists, myths, achievers, mothers, lovers all are part of the short stories in Ghost Runner & Others. It travels through serene forests and mountains, obscure towns and burgeoning cities, even through imaginary landscape, imaginary time frames, yet it remains rooted in reality. It speaks of humans thriving through odds of politics, corruption and natural disasters. It connects history and mythology to the present and the future. In nutshell, Ghost Runner & Others narrates ...

A collection of short fiction portraying the awkward attempts of three different men to reconnect with nature and spirit. In "Coltsfoot," a suburban police officer stakes out the new subdivision to solve a rash of vandalism and discovers an unexpected connection to his past. "Totem" tells the story of a discontent husband and father who seeks his spirit animal in a backyard vision quest with unforeseen consequences. "Serves Me Right" follows a Buddhist blues musician in Salt Lake City who finds Enlightenment in the place he least expects it. Ranging from absurd to sublime, these stories ...

Lady Miss Jacqueline swears that hair makes a difference. And it does! Now Janet is taking charge on the job and making moves on a local barista she’s always shied away from. But when her brash new Lady Miss drawl gets all the wrong attention, Janet realizes that she needs to change her style - and her wig. It’s all a matter of finding the perfect fit.

Step into a universe where the impossible becomes reality, and every story leads you to uncharted realms. From forgotten worlds awakening after centuries of silence to mythical creatures guarding legendary treasures, "Worlds Unseen" is a collection of short stories that explores the boundaries of imagination. Each tale unveils a different facet of the extraordinary—whether through time-manipulating invaders, magical libraries with worlds within pages, or the complex emotions of sentient machines and hidden realms. Journey across dimensions, through mystical landscapes and futuristic ...

Already compared to Hemingway and Murakami, Shuang Xuetao is one of the most highly celebrated young Chinese writers—his English-language debut collects three dazzling novellas of Northeast China, mixing realism, mysticism, and noir. An enterprising inventor dreams of escaping his drab surroundings in a flying machine. A criminal, trapped beneath a frozen lake, transforms into a giant fish. A strange girl pledges to ignite a field of sorghum stalks.

Nounous is a fourteen-year-old Maltese dog who loves people but loves his mother most. As he takes his last steps, he reminisces on life and worries about leaving his Mommy alone. His mother, Susanne Leist, is a paranormal suspense author and former financial analyst. When she isn’t writing her books, Susanne spends precious time with Nounous, her best friend and muse.

"He had been created to replace a lost son. His face was made of porcelain and burnt clay formed his spine. The lips were painted on and showed a never-changing smile, while twisted copper wire held his body together. When the artificial boy looked down he could see through the gaps between the coils. There, deep down inside him, was a living thing - a fleeting flutter, visible for only one moment at a time. His creator called him Felix." In three interconnected short stories, Felix searches for the truth about how he came to be alive. He meets a strange butterfly catcher, a terrifying ...

What does it mean to be other? What does it mean to love in a world determined to keep us apart? These questions murmur in the heart of each of Brenda Peynado’s strange and singular stories. Threaded with magic, transcending time and place, these stories explore what it means to cross borders and break down walls, personally and politically.

At the border with another world, a line of people wait for the gates to open; on the floor of a lonely room, a Born Winner runs through his life’s achievements and losses; in a suburban garden, a man witnesses a murder that pushes him out into the community. Struggling to realise the human ideals of love and freedom, the characters of Dark Neighbourhood roam instead the depths of alienation, loss and shame.

The stories in Animal Husbandry all deal in some way with mythology, from animal fables to imaginary friends to the myths people tell themselves. In some cases, the myths are fantastical: a farmer finds his cow has given birth to a surprising offspring; a guitarist tries to improve his skills with a visit to the crossroads; or a young girl meets with a visitor in the woods to plot against her neighbors. Others concern everyday mythology: a small-town ballplayer struggles to earn a nickname; or a man's clean bill of health arrives at the worst possible time.