Modern Fiction

Beauty expert and influencer Jia Ahmed has her eye on the prize: conquering the internet today, the entire makeup industry tomorrow, and finally, finally proving herself to her big, opinionated family. She has little time for love, and even less time for the men in her private messages — until the day a certain international superstar slides into her DMs, and she falls hard and fast.

31 June, 1943. An RAF crew prepare for their next bombing raid on Germany. It is a night that many will never forget. Len Deighton's devastating novel is a gripping minute-by-minute account of what happens over the next 24 hours. Told through the eyes of ordinary people in the air and on the ground - from a young pilot to the inhabitants of a small town in the Ruhr - Bomber is an unforgettable portrayal of individuals caught up in the wreckage of war.

If “Knives Out” did dinner parties….. Take six bestselling Crime novelists, a dinner party of deadly delights, one retired Detective Inspector, one weird gardener, a brooding brother, and a mysterious Japanese blossom. Mix well at a dinner party, add a dash of sex and a pinch of intrigue and gently heat. When suitably simmering mix in a gruesome death and stir. Welcome to Burnham Manor, the Cotswold retreat of bestselling crime writer and television chef Max Wilde. Once a year Max hosts a lavish dinner party for the great and good of the crime writing world and this year is to be no ...

When Rip Van Winkle disappeared in that old colonial tale, was his over-worked wife suspected of murder? What about Cinderella—did she get on in the castle like everyone said, or was that fairy tale just fiction? These questions and more in the mystery of faulty expectations and quirky twists. Stories include: EVER AFTER: When the fairy tale ended long before intended, Cinderella wasn’t the only one without a happily-ever-after. ALL THE LUCK: Things went from good to perfect when she won a honeymoon trip with a raffle ticket . . . except for what happened next—is she suspect, or ...

Short stories by Kalin Ringkvist that are (mostly) not science fiction, each with an introduction by the author. In the Name of Justice - A 14 year old who tries methamphetamine for the first time and witnesses a suicide for which he is soon blamed. Canned Air - A rebellious and foul-mouthed fourth grader and his inhalant addicted mother try to decide if they want to ditch his grandfather's funeral for some mother-son bonding. Foreman at a Racism Factory - It's not easy developing the implants that will orchestrate the next race war. Both Sides of the Story - Two children watch their ...

When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the '90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting they encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars, and something called Love Potion Number Nine. For the first time, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize one another, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons.

What if the conspiracy theories are true? In The Shadow Protocols: Five Tales of Conspiracy and High Strangeness, award-winning journalist Chet Dembeck presents five chilling stories that blur the line between fiction and reality. From secret government projects that breach the barriers between dimensions, to cyber warfare that threatens the fabric of society itself, these tales explore the dark corners where truth and imagination collide. The Niverna Project reveals a classified experiment gone terrifyingly wrong. Between Dimensions asks what happens when reality tears and something comes ...

The discreet advertisement in The Times, addressed 'To Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine', offers a small medieval castle for rent, above a bay on the Italian Riviera. Four very different women - the dishevelled and downtrodden Mrs Wilkins, the sad, sweet-faced Mrs Arbuthnot, the formidable widow Mrs Fisher and the ravishing socialite Lady Caroline Dester - are drawn to the shores of the Mediterranean that April. As each, in turn, blossoms in the warmth of the Italian spring and finds their spirits stirring, quite unexpected changes occur.

Lolly Willowes, so gentle and accommodating, has depths no one suspects. When she suddenly announces that she is leaving London and moving, alone, to the depths of the countryside, her overbearing relatives are horrified. But Lolly has a greater, far darker calling than family: witchcraft.

Their lives weren’t meant to collide… She is known as the Sehgal Princess—beautiful, cold and unattainable. After a scandal took over her life, Sheena Sehgal has kept up a perfect façade in front of the world for years. Only those closest to her, knew her, the real her. With no real purpose and sense of direction, her life is dull, boring and meaningless, but all that changes once she meets Rajiv Mehra. He irks her like no other. She doesn’t like him. Yet, she ends up falling for him. But one chance meeting changed everything... Rajiv Mehra, ruthless shipping magnate, and playboy, ...

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

Royalty...it was more than just a word to her. It was her life. But not for long. Marlie loved her family dearly, even when she didn’t like them very much. But their life wasn’t the life she wanted for herself. Maggie had always fulfilled her responsibilities, she’d always done exactly as she was expected to...she knew no other way. Until now...until after reading a letter from her father suggesting she visit her niece and learn how to do as she pleased every once in a while, including the joy of eating pizza at her slightest whim. The last thing Maggie expected when she showed up at ...

Who knew sleeping with the enemy could be this much fun? In my defense, I had just moved back into my grandparent’s house. I’d lost my dream job, and a guy on Tinder had stood me up. It was like life had suddenly stamped ‘LOSER’ on my forehead. So, when the guy behind the bar started giving me the look....you know, the one....You don’t bother to figure out what your six degrees of separation are. You jump on that horse, and ride it! By the time I’d figured out who the bartender was, I was already falling for him.

From Martin Cruz Smith, "a master of the international thriller," comes an audacious novel of exotic locales, intimate intrigues, and the mysteries of the human heart. "A superb thriller and a remarkable evocation of a place," raves Booklist in a starred review. "A moving, believable love story in which individual lives are invested with great dignity, even in the face of national ideals."

The revolutionary writings of Audre Lorde gave voice to those 'outside the circle of this society's definition of acceptable women'. Uncompromising, angry and yet full of hope, this collection of her essential prose - essays, speeches, letters, interviews - explores race, sexuality, poetry, friendship, the erotic and the need for female solidarity and includes her landmark piece 'The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House'.

Something sinister lurks in the shadows of Austin, Texas—and it hungers for blood. Agent Mendoza’s superiors say it’s a vamp, and to let the local coven handle their own messes. Despite their orders, Tony Mendoza can’t leave well enough alone. That’s because he’s seen things—dark, deadly creatures, the kind that make you want to keep the lights on at night. He knows what it’s like to be hunted, and he can’t simply stand by when innocent lives are at stake.

Published nine years after her 1933 novelization of the trial and death of Socrates, Rogue’s Legacy is Babette Deutsch imagining François Villon, the notorious French poet known as much for his verse as for his criminality. As Herbert Gorman wrote in the New York Times: “The extant documentation concerning Villon in Rogue’s Legacy is brought to such a sharp and living fictional focus that the result for the reader is very much like draining a huge beaker of ruddy Beaune that the poet loved so well. . . . She has created a character who lives and who might very well be the François ...

A road trip that redefines passion. I thought I had it all—the open road, beautiful company, and endless exploration. Then Ava swept in, a free-spirited artist who turned our road trip into a journey of self-discovery. In her gallery our desires transformed into vivid art. Through a sensual art session we grew closer, returning as a family bound by passion and spontaneity. Ava's bohemian energy contrasted with Claire and Sophia's elegance, creating an exhilarating dynamic. My education in desire had never been so vibrant, and the canvas of our lives was just beginning to take shape.

At 17, Anna K is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather a sexting scandal.

Mad scientists have never had it so tough. In super-hero comics, graphic novels, films, TV series, video games, and even works of what may be fiction, they are besieged by those who stand against them, devoid of sympathy for their irrational, megalomaniacal impulses to rule, destroy, or otherwise dominate the world as we know it. It’s just not fair. So those of us who are so twisted and sick that we love mad scientists have created this guide.