Fantasy Short Stories

Welcome to Winterhaven ~ Almost Nothing Is What It Seems... But the Sex is Real and the Secrets are Many! Down and out on her luck, Verity answers an ad in in a small country newspaper. The job offer sounds almost too good to be true and the salary is much more than she made in the city. Even with her doubts, though, Verity visits Winterhaven and falls in love with the rural area... but behind the lush green beauty of the countryside lies ugly secrets! Winterhaven Manor holds many secrets, and all those associated with the grand old estate seem to have secrets of their own to protect. ...

It’s a story you may think you know - an aging baseball coach is challenged by the very boy he took in and raised. But in this near future world, "smart” houses talk and listen, and - privy as they are to the secret life of the household - family life gets interesting. Creepy and funny, unsettling and entertaining, this is a story that stands on its own even as it proves the perfect follow up to Gish Jen’s critically acclaimed novel The Resisters.

Jack lives with his girlfriend Mia in a big house near campus. Technically, it's in her mother's name, and she pays the lion's share of the rent so it's no surprise when she shows up to spend the weekend there, as Mia is going away on a mini vacation with her friends. Angela is recently divorced, and desperately in need of intimate touch. She also just so happens to have a thing for younger men, and struggles saying no because she's such a people pleaser. Jack's eyeballs fly out of his head when he sees her cleavage, and the starter pistol for the eye contact Olympics goes off while he ...

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

Demons have more than one face. Their true nature is hidden under the illusions they cast upon humans.But I was a cursed creature, a powerless demon dressed as a monk. Rugs got ripped out from under my feet fairly often lately. The meeting with the other demon, the only male demon I’ve encountered so far, pulled out of me such an amount of aggression that surprised me. The Tantric creatures were possessive and territorial and when it came to their loved ones, they transformed into beasts. My decision to change my fate and regain my powers was set in stone. I was planning to go back to the...

The Sheep Dragon is a collection of 14 short stories set before, during, and after the first four parts of The Unconventional Heroes series. Each story addresses questions of world-shaking importance like: Is it possible for a young dragon to watch over a flock of sheep without those sheep ending up in his stomach? What do necromancers actually do at necromancer conventions? And what is the best way to deal with a surprise demonic invasion?

A garrison on asteroid Y-3, a beautiful place actually. First published in 1953 by Philip K. Dick, this science fiction short story proposes that if you're overworked, become a plant, and that is just what the personnel on asteroid Y-3 are doing. The problem becomes how does Dr. Henry Harris who has been sent to resolve the problem avoided becoming one of them and taking root?

From the stars they came to study us. Instead, they discovered what it truly means to be human. When five advanced alien scientists crash-land on Earth, their mission of passive observation becomes a desperate year-long struggle to understand humanity's true nature. Disguised as humans and embedded in key positions across society—a political consultant, an environmental researcher, a university professor, a military contractor, and a hospital doctor—they discover that Earth's inhabitants are far more complex than their data suggested. Led by Captain Zara, the youngest commander in her ...

"All the Time in the World" was first published in the July 1951 issue of Startling Stories. 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.

She was a girl. He was a boy. Until the morning they weren't. Chloe Donovan is many things: a medal-winning gymnast, twin sister, pre-law major, and doing her best to work out the kinks in her sex life. After waking up in the bed and body of a near stranger, she's also now a man. Now she's got a few extra things, but, hey, she's flexible… or she was. Knox Benson has it easy: an active and uncomplicated love life, good grades, great friends, and a successful run as starting wide receiver on Saxon university's football team. When he finds himself in the bed and body of a strange woman he ...

A Love That Defies Time. A Light that Extinguishes the Dark. Milan, 1906. Eva Moretti is a determined woman fighting for workers’ rights. When she met Jed at the recent St Louis and Liege World Expos, her world shifted and expanded. Although she realizes he is a mysterious man with secrets beyond time, their adventures together have created a strong, loving connection. Jed has spent centuries battling an ancient enemy determined to sabotage human progress. Now, as danger rises and Milan’s World Expo faces destruction, Eva is pulled into a conflict that spans history itself. Even now, ...

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

In this dark and gritty collection - featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman - nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil.... Unfortunately, that's exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

SKIN - An anthology of dark fiction. A collection of stories from some of the best up-and-coming authors of horror.

"Who is Sylvia? What is she?" In this little novella by Philip K Dick, we meet Sylvia. But wait until Sylvia meets Sylvia.

Enter the Druidverse® and discover a world of magic, mythology, and urban fantasy! This set contains three short story collections and three novellas: Blood Scent (a prequel novella), Druid Blood (a prequel novella), Blood Circus (a short story collection), Blood Ties (a short story collection), Blood Bound (a short story collection), and Colin McCool Saves Christmas (a Christmas novella). The novellas primarily focus on everyone’s favorite down-on-his-luck druid, Colin McCool, while many of the short stories feature supporting characters.

The moment I encounter the beautiful tour guide, it’s clear I'll stop at nothing until she’s mine. She’s a spitfire. Doesn’t hold her tongue for anyone, especially not me. Women fall hard for me. Not Kara. She wants nothing to do with me. Well, at least that’s what she keeps telling herself. A few of the men in the small town of Talkeetna want to be with Kara. Won’t happen. I’ll show Kara I’m the man for her.

The stories in The Dying Earth introduce dozens of seekers of wisom and beauty, lovely lost women, wizards of every shade of eccentricity with their runic amulets and spells. We meet the melancholy deodands, who feed on human flesh and the twk-men, who ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: The evil are charming, the good are dangerous. All are at home.

Seductive stories for those with a wild imagination. Included in this volume: Centaur's Ride Basilisk's Seduction Troll's Price Early versions of these shorts were first published on Kindle Vella but have been enhanced for your reading pleasure. Three complete stories with happy for now endings. Look for the rest of the Monsterly Bites Series: Centaurs Ride, Merman's Lure, & Abominable's Mate.

Here for the first time the stories and short novels of the war with the Outs are collected into a novel-length chronicle. The Outs had mental powers they could use to make humans see illusions and convince them to change sides. Obviously, they were unbeatable - until some troublesome humans found their Achilles' heel.