Short Family

From the author of My Documents and Chilean Poet, a wise, humorous, and captivating literary exploration of the delights and absurdities of childhood, fatherhood, and family life.

Are generations of Snee-Kinsman women actually cursed, or is it just bad luck? A paranormal family saga beginning in 1860 following one family’s journey of tragedy, resiliency and triumph. Their stories are told in three short read books. Book 1 – Curse of the Emerald Ring – 1860 - 1940 *Two spiteful and competitive witches place a curse on each other’s female children. * To punish his wayward daughter, an angry father casts the family curse in stone – an emerald stone. * The ring with the emerald stone is to be worn by the women of the Snee-Kinsman family and passed down from ...

The Perry family's new house is perfect - except for the weird behavior of the neighbors, and that odd smell coming from a dark corner in the basement. Pity no one warned the family about the house. Now it's too late. Because the darkness at the bottom of the basement stairs is rising.

She left to chase her future. Now she's back, faced with old heartbreak and the man she never forgot... After three years in the English world, Anna Detweiler returns to Hickory Valley to care for her ailing mother. Her homecoming brings more than memories. It stirs regret, questions of belonging, and a second chance she never expected. Daniel Wagler remembers the girl who left without a word. Anna remembers writing letters that went unanswered. Now a carpenter with a steady life, his battered heart is still haunted by the woman who returns. And when they work together on the storm-damaged ...

Beloved New Yorker writer Lore Segal, at ninety-five years old, is a national treasure. Working at the height of her powers, in this story collection she turns her gimlet eye and compassionate humor on aging and life in the slow lane. From the master of the short short comes a collection of sixteen new stories featuring old friends who have loved and lunched together for over forty years. These erudite, sharp-minded nonagenarians offer startling insights into friendship, family and aging.

I want something from the man of the house, and tonight he is going to give it to me. He doesn't know it yet, but soon he will give it to me HARD and WITHOUT PROTECTION so our little family can grow bigger in my belly. Warning: This is a very naughty taboo story. All characters are over the age of 18 and not related by blood. Adult readers only.

In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged for a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims’ families, but its impact travels even further: into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes. Highway Thirteen, Fiona McFarlane’s newest collection, takes murder as its starting point, but it unfolds to encompass much more.

I’m Stephen Lund, confirmed bachelor…and son of a successful billionaire whose sins I can’t forget - or forgive. Though he insisted I get over his transgressions, I can’t. So I put space between us with a temporary getaway to Maui. My rental’s sexy caretaker, Skye Ingram, is a beautiful distraction. Yeah, it’s a terrible time to start a fling, but I can’t help wanting to give her every bit of pleasure she’s willing to take. When Skye needs a date to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding, I’m game to play her pretend fiancé.

After many happy years of marriage and raising a family, Brian and Kathleen suddenly find themselves a bit lost in life. Midwesterners who've never traveled, Kathleen decides that what she and Brian need is a vacation, and she plans a trip to Ireland in search of her roots. In beautiful, quaint Lisdoonvarna, to the couple's surprise, they find themselves in the midst of a joyous yearly gathering, and they rediscover something much more important than evidence of long-dead ancestors: their love for each other and for life itself.

Timing is everything – isn’t it? When labor begins, the goal for most new parents is to get to the hospital quickly… but what if Mother Nature has other plans? What do you do? * * * This is a short story set in the Healing Hearts Sweet Romance series and does not stand alone. It should be read after Remember Peace and is a little bit of emotional tenderness dealing with relationships, childbirth, and that precious time that follows for the Tarrant family.

Eugeena Patterson is marrying her neighbor and companion Amos Jones. Her family and friends are happy to finally see the couple walk down the aisle. But there’s something missing. Since his wife’s death, Amos has been estranged from his two daughters. Eugeena encourages Amos to reach out to his daughters by inviting them to spend Christmas with him.

In An Amish Family, beloved author of Amish romance Kathleen Fuller invites listeners into the lives of four Amish families. Building Trust: Grace Miller and Joel King are in love. They’ve dated secretly for the past year, and when he proposes marriage, Grace eagerly agrees. But when she tells her parents about the wedding, she’s shocked when her father tells her she can’t marry Joel. Can Grace get to the bottom of her father’s animosity toward Joel so they can have the happily ever after she’s always dreamed of?

A Grammy-winning lyricist and accomplished poet, Joe Henry turns his immense talent to the novel form in this moving debut. Spencer Davis and his wife Elizabeth have carved out a rewarding existence on the fierce plains of Wyoming, where they raise three sons alongside herds of cattle. But as their oldest son Luke comes of age and begins testing the boundaries of his independence, Spencer fears that their simple way of life may not be enough for Luke.

When grandmother Maureen Phelan is surprised in her home by a stranger, she clubs the intruder with a Holy Stone. The consequences of this unplanned murder connect four misfits struggling against their meager circumstances. Ryan is a fifteen-year-old drug dealer desperate not to turn out like his alcoholic father, Tony, whose feud with his next-door neighbor threatens to ruin his family. Georgie is a sex worker who half-heartedly joins a born-again movement to escape her profession and drug habit.

Assembled here are stories new and old, spanning from 1960 to today. Meet the death-defying motorcycle trick riders in the carnival's Devil's Tub, a man who keeps an alligator in his bathtub, a Chinese launder in Coney Island in search of love, a frontiersman who saves himself from a mauling grizzly bear by hiding in a beaver dam, three men from a circus looking for trouble at a rodeo, a washed out boxer trying to hang onto his career, and dozens of others rich characters.

They protect the streets, but when it comes to the women they want, all bets are off. Five fierce cops. Five curvy women who never saw them coming. From forbidden crushes to runaway brides, single moms to sweet shop owners, these men don’t just uphold the law - they rewrite it for love. Officer Julian – He’s her best friend’s older brother… and the man she’s always wanted. When Savannah tempts him past the point of no return, he makes her one promise—she’ll never be anyone else’s. Officer Anders – Elaina’s just trying to raise her daughter and run her business. But ...

A steamy paranormal romance novella featuring small-town charm, supernatural secrets, and a deliciously satisfying HEA! When sophisticated city journalist Liv Harper is assigned to cover Pumpkin Hollow's annual Spicy Pumpkin Festival, she expects nothing more than a fluff piece and a quick return to Manhattan. Silas Wolfe, the irresistibly charming owner of The Pumpkin Spice Werewolf Cafe, has no interest in nosy reporters disrupting his town's traditions. But when Liv walks into his cafe desperate for caffeine, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to the sharp-tongued city girl. After one ...

As a graduation present for her daughter, Tammy, Samantha Moon and the gang head down to South America for the vacation of all vacations. Final stop: The Amazon On a helicopter ride over the Amazon River, Samantha Moon thinks she sees a demon outside the window. A small demon, granted, but a demon nonetheless. And when the rotor blades stop working, and the chopper full of tourists starts to fall into the dense vegetation below, she’s pretty sure the demon had something to do with it. As the helicopter plummets, it takes all her supernatural skills to keep everyone alive. Somehow, she ...

The stunning novella that concludes John Updike's acclaimed Rabbit series is now available on audio. Set 10 years after Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom's death, Rabbit Remembered returns listeners to the small Pennsylvania town where Harry's widow, Janice, and his son, Nelson, still reside. They are faced with a surprise when Annabelle, Harry's 39-year-old illegitimate daughter, arrives on the scene, bringing with her ghosts from the past.

It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and 15-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women, presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church - a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter, until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever.