Modern Short Stories

These three short works show Austen experimenting with a variety of different literary styles, from melodrama to satire, and exploring a range of social classes and settings. The early epistolary novel Lady Susan depicts an unscrupulous coquette toying with the affections of several men. In contrast, The Watsons is a delightful fragment whose spirited heroine, Emma Watson, finds her marriage opportunities limited by poverty and pride....

Some truths hide in plain sight. Others whisper from locked doors, static-filled frequencies, and pages that were never printed. Things I Wasn’t Supposed to Know is a haunting anthology of modern supernatural horror—each story a first-person account of knowledge that should’ve stayed buried. From cursed livestreams to echoing tunnels, from unlisted hospital wings to languages that think back, this collection explores what happens when the veil of reality wears thin… and you peer through. They warned you not to look. You did anyway. And now it knows your name.

The Ultimate Modern Classics Collection: Volume One is the first instalment in our classics collection focusing on the most important and iconic novels, stories, and poems of the 20th century. Featuring 18 essential modern classics from Orwell, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Woolf, and many more, and read by a cast of incredible narrators including Iwan Rheon, Ben Allen, Karen Cass, Nathan Osgood, amongst others, this is an essential addition to your library.

A Slumber Party Like No Other. My world exploded with possibilities I'd never imagined as I juggled the affections of four incredible women. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them: Sophia's fierce intensity, Claire's knowing smirk, Jenny's shy lances and Lisa's playfull grin. But doubt gnawed at my gut--could they really be happy sharing me? Claire, being Claire, had the perfect solution. "A sleepover at my place," she'd suggested, her eyes gleaming with that look that meant trouble--the good kind. One night under her roof turned into a revelation, as boundaries melted away and desire took...

Mark is coming off a bad breakup, and he's just moved across the country. Dating is the last thing on his mind...at least, for a while. But it's lonely in a new city, and Mark starts thinking about finding someone. It's his lucky day, as he finds an auspicious flyer for a strange matchmaking service calling themselves Bird and Stone. Making his way through a grueling screening process, Mark finds himself set up on a date with two women, Emily and Sandra. A mistake, surely, he thinks. But no. Bird and Stone arranges harems, and Mark is about to jump into a world he's never even considered. ...

The Disappeared: Stories of Friends Lost to Shadows is a gripping collection of modern thriller and horror tales where the familiar vanishes in the blink of an eye. From high-tech VR worlds that trap souls, to art installations hiding sinister realities, to wilderness trails where entire people vanish behind illusions, each story explores the terrifying moment when a friend slips beyond reach—and may never return. G.J. Fene masterfully blends psychological suspense, technology, and supernatural fear, crafting haunting narratives that keep readers questioning what is real. Perfect for fans...

Do you enter Flash Fiction competitions? Would you like a peak at your competition? Then this collection of winning and longlisted flash fiction from the Farnham Flash Fiction competition is for you. Read and benchmark your work against your peers. Understand what makes a competition winning story. Be inspired and take your writing to the next level.This is a collection of short fiction from the Farnham Flash Fiction competition 2021. The Farnham Flash Festival was held from January 2021 to June 2021, and these 25 flash fiction stories were the very best of the 152 entries. With entries ...

When things go bump in the night, there's only one federal agency that stands between the supernatural and humankind...CERBERUS. C.E.R.B.E.R.U.S. stands for “Clandestine Enforcement and Reconnaissance Bureau, Extranormal Rampart Division of the United States”—the American law enforcement unit that was created to deal with all things magical and unexplained. Follow along as Deputy Marshal Tony Mendoza is inducted into the supernatural underworld by the shadowy agency and its enigmatic leader, Director Strickland.

It's finally time to ask Anna out. Lily and Jasmine couldn't be more encouraging—so why is Sam nervous? Even after their weeks of being together, Sam still isn't fully used to the idea of the harem. He's embraced it, but it's hard not to think like the typical monogamous man he's been for the majority of his life. But the paperwork is done, and he's no longer attorney Anna Halwell's client. There's nothing wrong about Sam asking her to dinner, to thank her for all she's done for him. Jasmine and Lily are quite confident that Anna wants more than friendship. Sam isn't so sure, but he's ...

Herbert George Wells was one of the most prolific and visionary British writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. H. G. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, although he wrote across many genres, including nonfiction. His fiction embraces history, science fiction, horror, satire, fantasy, and social commentary. Wells was also a futurist, foreseeing air travel, tanks (as in “The Land Ironclads” - part of this anthology) space travel, nuclear weapons, and even satellite television.

An exploited child worker in the silver mines of Bolivia finds an ally – but at what cost? A young woman's affair has terrifying repercussions when her lover's wife dies. A sailor's wife takes her communion with Nature a little too far…From a hungry young woman who is not what she seems, to a boy who has taken his mother's advice a little too seriously; from disfigured girls willing to pay any price to fit in, to an immigrant who cannot escape his tormentor; from a new home with a sinister secret, this collection plumbs the depths of the psyche and dredges up some very modern horrors.

With this, his first collection of stories, Raymond Carver breathed new life into the American short story and instantly became both the recognized master of the form and one of our best-loved fiction writers. Carver shows us the humor and tragedy that dwell in the hearts of ordinary people; his stories are the classics of our time.

★★★★★ “A great job of modernizing a difficult parable” Pastor’s Comment Ever wonder how one of Jesus's parables might be told today? Five compelling stories that illustrate how our faith is tested every day! Crossroads of Faith is five modern-day retellings of biblical parables. These stories illustrate and remind us of the wonderful lessons taught by the parables of Jesus and other Biblical events. We all reach times in our life when our faith is tested and our convictions are revealed by the decisions we make. Whether you call them crossroads or maybe forks in the road, ...

Clean Christian Romance - Wedding Ring Blues a Clean Contemporary Romance Family secrets threaten her life, love, and marriage! Maintaining family honor meant sacrificing any hope of happiness for sweet, young Lauren Valcour. Expected to marry her social equal, a man ten years older, whom she hates, feels like a death sentence. Wishing for a normal life Lauren befriends an ordinary working man, Danny Richardson, who just so happens to know the Valcour’s deepest, darkest secret. Will Lauren accept her fate and agree to the arranged marriage or be defiant for the first time in her life? Is ...

As the pace of modern life accelerates, the old ways wither and die. But to the Society for Magickal Heritage, that just isn’t good enough.

Sound Mind is a collection of poetry inspired by the struggles we face to embrace our true colours. The first half is a short novel written in rhyme and verse. The Second half is a collection of poems written by the author during the creative process. “Sound Mind”; Aura, a wolf born of many colours finds himself fighting to live his dreams as a singer/songwriter while maintaining the old traditions of his pack. This narrative poem stretches ninety-two pages and includes paintings created by the author. Excerpt from Sound Mind: The Valley As the pup’s tip toe, they notice the rituals ...

The happiest day of Beatrice Norton's life was when she answered an ad for a mail order bride and soon after married her husband, Niels Willmar. Everything was going along so perfectly...that is until he brought her to her new home...and she met the most disapproving mother-in-law a girl could ever imagine. Nothing she did was right, from her cooking or cleaning, to taking care of her new husband! Nothing she did would ever measure up to the standards of Mrs. Willmar! Thank heavens for her neighbor, Abigail. If she hadn't been able to cry on her shoulder, she was sure she would have gone ...

Fantasy fans rejoice! Seven years after writer and editor Robert Silverberg made publishing history with Legends, the acclaimed anthology of original short novels by some of the greatest writers in fantasy fiction, the long-awaited second volume is here.

As an author and lover of stories, I embarked on a unique creative journey this July. Each morning, I sat down with an AI chatbot as my writing companion, ready to craft a new tale. My goal was simple - to experience something novel, wild, and fun every day through the power of collaborative storytelling. Together, the AI and I explored a vast array of subjects. We ventured into outer space, witnessing humanity's first steps on Europa. We delved into the realms of fantasy, following a brave squirrel's daring pizza heist. We explored profound themes like memory loss and starting a family, ...

Tom Hallman Jr. has won every national feature writing award in the business, including the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. A master storyteller, he is an elegant writer with a deeply perceptive heart. Tom has the uncanny ability to see the profound in the everyday. He will make you see it, too, in ways that will remind you of what’s really important in life. This is the second collection of Hallman’s stories from The Oregonian. The first, Dispatches From 1320, was published in 2015