Modern Short Stories

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

Hey, did you hear the one about the man who dropped a lit cigarette into the toilet with some gasoline-soaked rags? Of course you did, it happened to your gym teacher's cousin. Or was it your cousin's gym teacher?

Nikki is tired of being single, childless, and unhappy. At thirty-five, she ready to start a family, and offers her best friend a chance to be her baby daddy. Her plan goes according to plan, however, what she didn’t expect was to catch feelings for him… The Proposal is a steamy BWWM interracial romance. This short story is 4,400 words and is for mature readers only.

In the modern world, life lessons are not always as black and white as who wins a race between a tortoise and a hare. Modern Day Fables features eleven lessons for us adults, we who face challenges that present a palette of grays in which the morals are often more gritty, trampled on, hard fought, hard won, and not always glorious. In these eleven fables, travel the subterranean world of lessons not oft told because they are challenging to the status quo, and championing of the individual who stands alone amid the world around us. Decide what you think, who wins and who loses, who stands ...

Elaine Huang is perfectly happy. She lives in Los Angeles, CA, working as an illustrator for projects of her choice. She regularly meets up with her bestie, Martha, usually at Musashi's, their preferred venue. On one such visit, she answers a call from a persistent unknown number. The phone call changes her life, taking her halfway around the world to Sovereign Island where it brings her back into contact with some family secrets she has done her best to forget. Can Elaine figure out why those secrets have come back to haunt her, while having to adapt to an unfamiliar environment on a ski ...

Detective stories existed for centuries before the concept of the detective itself—amateur or professional— was fully formulated, and tales of mystery and intrigue have been thrilling readers since ancient times. The Lock and Key Library is the classic overview of the history of the mystery genre, at once a rousing listen for fans of the unsolved and unknown as well as an essential literary resource for those seeking to understand the roots of modern pulp fiction. This volume is sure to delight and enthrall armchair detectives and fans of classic mysteries alike.

Book Description: In the quiet town of Edenvale, a tragic crime shakes a family and a community to its core. The Trial of Cain is a masterful reimagining of the ancient biblical story of Cain and Abel, set against the dramatic backdrop of a modern courtroom. As farmer Cain Adams faces charges for the murder of his brother Abel, the trial unravels a century-old legacy of land disputes, sibling rivalry, and divine rejection. Through gripping legal battles, forensic discoveries, and profound questions of faith and justice, the story explores the depths of human emotion and the haunting power ...

Every morning in September, I woke with a spark of imagination - the seed of a new story waiting to be told. Armed with nothing but a brief prompt, I collaborated with an AI chatbot to bring each tale to life. Together, we crafted vibrant characters, thrilling action, nail-biting suspense, richly detailed settings, and satisfying endings. Over 30 days, this creative partnership produced a kaleidoscope of stories. We explored the tension of a mayoral race decided by a single vote from Antarctica. We soared with a daring all-female bomber crew on a perilous WWII mission. We witnessed the ...

Congratulations! You made it to the last and final installment of the keys! We maximized and planned our future with THE KEYS TO FUTURE SELF. I mentored you through my failures with KEYS TO YOUR CROWN. For those who want long lasting relationships and a family we did a thorough assessment and and internal break down with KEYS TO YOUR KINGDOM. Now what most men put first we will FINALLY cover last with the KEYS 2 SEX! Most men chase and women. You want to really become the best version of yourself and have and abundance of sex and women. Let me tell you a secret. Looks in side you, the ...

Previously published as "The Bloody Slipper" by Arla Jones. Get ready to shift gears into a magical world! When a mysterious sleeping curse hits Prince Charming's father's castle, the enchanted affliction spreads far beyond the medieval walls. Modern-day household items from coffee makers to cars lie in slumber, their engines dead, victims of the witch's dark magic. Prince Charming must navigate this strange new world, teaming up with a mystical beast, a fiercely loyal band of dwarfs, and a pinch of magical fairy dust. Together, they embark on a heart-pumping quest to outsmart the wicked ...

Every life is a theatrical play and has its own intriguing story. But there are some lives that don’t dovetail into plays or stories. Their lives exceeded the dimensions of one particular story or play, transforming into a chain of stories and plays. While I was constructing the story of their strange life, I found myself on stage in a play. Nobody told me to act in it. I’m a volunteer actor in this play. The theater is where this play, in which I’m an actor, opens its curtains while you’re snoozing away in your warm, comfy bed. Sometimes after a one-act play is played, it closes ...

This book contains two contemporary fiction short stories. Modern Art and the Critics examines the reliability of expert opinions as regards modern art which can often tell us a great deal more about the critics rather than the intrinsic value of the object of their critiques. Redemption, the second short story in this ebook, concerns the unexpected life-altering experience of a self-absorbed, highly successful young executive in a brief encounter with the paranormal at a friend's birthday party.

Eight brilliant short stories from the best female short story writer of her age. Katherine Mansfield's wit, pathos and descriptive genius combine in this collection to take the listener from a wry smile one minute to the verge of tears the next.

The "man of property", Soames Forsyte, has mellowed with the passing of the years until, in his old age, he is a patient and benign figure, guarding with especial tenderness the welfare of his daughter, Fleur. But all his watchfulness and devotion are powerless to avert tragedy when Fleur revives her old love affair with Jon Forsyte on Jon's return to England with his American wife.

A terrific addition to your Henty audiobook collection! This collection of short stories contains narratives that continue the Henty tradition of heroes both brave and modest. These stories are sometimes sentimental and melancholy, unlike many of Henty's other writings. Henty was primarily known for his full-length novels for young people, but he regularly contributed short stories such as these to weekly boys' magazines such as the Boys' Own Paper and the Union Jack.

Who knew a hotwife anklet could be so empowering? After months of my husband begging me to cuckold him, I finally found the courage to seduce a hot young buck on the dance floor of the hottest nightclub in town. We played together in the back seat of my car while my husband drove us around. Now I'm hooked. So, when I ran into the nightclub's hot bartender while having lunch the following Monday with my bestie, I made my move. Only this time, my husband will be playing with us. He doesn't know that yet. But he'll find out when I bring my bartender boyfriend home.

Love Inspired Clean Romance - Wedding Day Emergency a Contemporary Christian Romance Society's most resourceful wedding planner revives the sacred ceremony only to destroy her own perfect wedding day! Do you like clean and wholesome love stories? Then you'll love reading Roxanne's new clean romance book. The big day has finally arrived months of preparation assure this will be the wedding of the year, or will it? Amy Wilson is expected to work miracles using every trick in the book to rescue the hysterical bride from utter humiliation when her maid of honor fails to show up. But every good ...

Words of a Feather is a stunning collection of Short Stories, Poems and Sketches from author, Robert E. Kearns. There's something inside for every taste, and Words of a Feather comes packed with hours of reading pleasure. Replete with entertainment, there is sure to be laughs, tears, spills and thrills. Satisfying pleasures of the mind, Words of a Feather is a book you'll want to read again and again.

Today is the day I marry a complete stranger. I don’t know anything about him as he was matched with me by the producers of the dating TV show, Marrying a Stranger. As I walk down the aisle, I am shocked to find out he’s white. As a black woman, I never expected to marry a white man, however the more I get to know him, the more I fall for him. Our wedding day was beautiful, but our wedding night was even hotter. This steamy BWWM interracial romance is 3,500 words long and is for mature readers only.

On a trip to visit his parents and siblings, Joe discovers a stash of drugs hidden in his younger brother’s room. He is forced to make a hard decision and hope that he chose correctly.