Short Stories

Captain Quasar is out of time. Pursued by vengeful Goobalob toll collectors, savage Arachnoid bounty hunters, and formidable Amazonians, Captain Bartholomew Quasar must do whatever he can to keep the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude out of harm's way. All in a day's work - except time is not on his side. Torn from the present to relive his past, he vows to keep mistakes from occurring the second time around. But is he doomed to repeat history? Or can he erase his regrets?

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler is back with a new anthology that has gathered the intel on the world's greatest secret agents, declassified here for the first time.

Scarlett Grove presents books one, two, and three in the Last Alpha Queen series.

Gathering four stories from four best-selling author friends, Invitation is the first collection in the ongoing Harbingers series. In "The Call" by Bill Myers, four strangers are drawn together to help a student at the mysterious Institute for Advanced Psychic Studies. His gifts are supposedly being honed to assist world leaders...but there are some very disturbing strings attached.

"In The Falling World", Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court, has traveled with Chime and Balm to another Raksuran court. When she fails to return, her consort, Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult. "The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon was born.

En route to far-off stars, Toby’s consciousness has a crucial mission: inhabit his clone long enough to repair a spaceship, then zip back to Earth. He’s done it a million times, more or less. OK, twelve times. It should only take a few hours. Until he wakes up in jail. And he’s not alone. His fellow prisoners: a cadre of alien soldiers. His prison: an ethereal boundary that will imprison their spirits until their bodies die. His jailers can’t even see him. But their pet cat (er, iguana cat?) can—and it’s got a serious case of the zoomies.

Phoebe and Elliot are usually a very straight-laced couple, but they have had talks about maybe experimenting with a menage one day, but only if they can find just the right person to join them in the bedroom. To Phoebe's disappointment, her husband thinks that her best friend Cassandra is just the perfect choice. And the worst part is that Elliot is right. Cassandra is your typical buxom blonde. Beautiful, a body that turns heads, and a wild cat between the sheets. Cassandra is everything the nerdy, reserved Phoebe isn't. Is that why Elliot wants her best friend? Because Cassandra can give...

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed contains a dozen short works by John Irving, beginning with three memoirs, including an account of Mr. Irving’s dinner with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The longest of the memoirs, The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is the core of this collection.

"Rescue Party" was first published in the May 1946 issue of Astounding Science-Fiction.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most-influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Short Stories in Russian for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, a feeling of progress and most importantly - enjoyment! Mapped to A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, these eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when listening. From science fiction to fantasy, to crime and thrillers, Short Stories in Russian for Beginners will make learning Russian easy and enjoyable.

It has been six years since the Epoch event, and the parasite threatens to consume Joseph's perfect World. In this chilling collection of ten tales, Interview with the Devil: An Anthology of Horror invites you to explore the sinister edges of Joseph Banbury’s fractured world—and beyond. From the aftermath of the Epoch to standalone stories that carve their own path through terror, this anthology will leave you breathless, questioning the thin veil between light and darkness. "The Curious Case of Elias Tomlinson" delves into Elias' dark and haunting past. In "Rafael", Lilly Frost makes ...

A sweet Regency romance--setting: England, 1813... She failed at the one task Society allotted to her...But there is more to Sylvia Dillworth than meets the eye. After a disastrous presentation at Court, Lady Sylvia learns that her parents plan to marry her to a man three times her age. Desperate to avoid this fate, she recklessly borrows her brothers clothes and flees to Oxford to...to...to do what? She has been trained for exactly one task: marry a peer and produce more peers. As the youngest son of a noble family, Alan Maitland had three prospects open to him: the Church, the military, ...

In "Long Way Home", a young soldier returns from the Middle East and discovers that there is another - and much stranger - war to be fought in his hometown. In "Mister Pockets" a young paperboy discovers that a random act of kindness may have greater consequences - especially as night falls in Pine Deep.

"25 Real Patient Stories" reveals the untold experiences that unfold within the walls of hospitals and outpatient clinics, offering a touching glimpse into the humanity that binds patients and medical professionals together. Join a junior doctor working in psychiatry, family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, and many more medical specialties. Poisonous mushrooms, naked streakers and bodily waste on the walls - follow along 25 crazy, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking stories of real patients. Each story brings to life the raw emotions, tough decisions, and unexpected moments that shape ...

The first three fun, fast-paced Roy Ballard mysteries, now in a single box set. This audiobook includes: Gone the Next, Get Busy Dying, and If I Had a Nickel.

Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. In this second dip into his case files (see 1000 Yards for a further novella), Milton is sent to Italy to investigate the death of a colleague from Group 15.

Assistant literary agent Freya Harrison never thought her chance at a big break would look like this: at a swanky romance conference in New York, managing the agency’s most insufferable client. Sure, Jake Richards is a global best-selling author, adored by all his fans. But on meeting him, Freya finds him arrogant, condescending, and, worst of all, a complete phony. After being overheard calling romance ‘easy money’ and his readers ‘fools’, Jake’s reputation is tanking. And it’s Freya’s job to clean up the mess – and maybe, finally prove her worth to her boss.

Best-selling writer Orson Scott Card founded the online magazine Intergalactic Medicine Show in 2006. It has been a big success, drawing submissions from well-known science fiction and fantasy writers, as well as fostering some amazing new talents. This collection contains some of the best of those stories.

Meet Officer Wilkes: He knows the law and exactly what he likes in a woman. When college student Samantha Black enters the scene, will he uphold the law or negotiate a different kind of ticket? Every beautiful young woman in my neighborhood knows Officer Wilkes ... and how to get out of a ticket. The fall semester at Marine City College just started, and I met Samantha Black, a gorgeous younger woman, in my favorite coffee shop. I may be an older man, but I'm hot and well-hung. Guess who I'm pulling over for a traffic violation? Blackmail never felt so good. Let the negotiations begin.

Short Stories in French for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, a feeling of progress and most importantly - enjoyment! Mapped to A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, these eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when listening.