Short Family

"Dizzy & Gillespie" unfolds as an emotionally rich mystery, intertwining the lives of a devoted daughter and her aging mother. Within their once-grand, now-fading New York City apartment, they face the relentless challenges of poverty, the encroaching tides of gentrification, and the relentless passage of time. Their bond, tested by life's struggles and their community's transformation, finds a glimmer of hope with the arrival of two rescue kittens, Dizzy and Gillespie. However, the actions of a new neighbor soon set off a chain of events that will alter their lives forever. This story ...

Jason Mckinney never expected to find a zombie on the downstairs toilet, but apparently, everything eventually runs out of toilet paper at the worst possible time. Enter the *Federated Alliance of Rare Things, specifically created for those embarrassing bathroom moments, and the McKinney family, recruited as the latest Saviour of the Bog Roll. The paycheque is out of this world. Jason has kids, a house that needs some desperate upkeep, and a chupacabra falling in love with him. Life as a saviour is interesting, sometimes terrifying, and frequently lavender scented.

The Blood Test – A Psychological Thriller That Will Keep You Guessing When Olivia takes her son Henry for a routine checkup, the last thing she expects is a blood test result that doesn’t make sense. She and her husband, Noah, conceived Henry through IVF—but the numbers don’t add up. With a nagging suspicion that won’t let her go, Olivia digs deeper, uncovering a series of unsettling coincidences. Then she meets Margo, another mother at Henry’s preschool, whose daughter looks eerily like him. The two women bond over their shared experience with the same fertility doctor—Dr. ...

On January 15, 1921, five members of the infamous Bigham family of Pamplico, South Carolina, were gunned down in cold blood during a one-hour killing spree, resulting in the prosecution – across six years, three trials and many appeals – of Edmund Dalrimple Bigham for their murders. This was the culmination of a nearly one-hundred-year reign of terror by successive members of the Bigham family, including many other murders, as well as serial extortion, fraud and systematic embezzlement that the authorities were mostly powerless to stop. Current interest in another five deaths, between ...

A stolen Desert Eagle, a weapon designed to protect warriors defending their nations, the official sidearm of the Israeli military, continues its fall from grace in LA misadventures.

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.

Can this mail-order bride convince her husband he needs a ready-made family? With the help of the Westward Home and Hearts Matrimonial Agency, Piper Paulson finds herself on a train to meet and marry her future husband, a kind-hearted teacher in Montgomery, Colorado. Together, they make the perfect pair until, suddenly, Piper finds herself at odds with her husband. She doesn’t know how to get what she wants and save their marriage at the same time. August Harrison falls in love with his mail-order bride right from the start. He believes he and the quiet woman who grew up in an orphanage ...

She’s out of second chances. He’s losing hope. Will love lead them home? Emma Smucker thought Paradise Township would be her fresh start. But when her new teaching methods spark suspicion, she risks losing another home—and the children who depend on her. Matthew Blank was once the town’s finest carpenter. Now blind, he struggles to keep his family’s workshop alive. Helping Emma craft learning tools gives him new purpose and draws them closer than either expected. As gossip spreads and fear grows, Emma and Matthew must stand together. Will they find the courage to build a future on...

On Ash Wednesday in 1908, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter arrives at his children’s school, where he is the lone custodian. But soon after lessons start, a fast-moving fire breaks out—its cause is unknown, but its effects are horrifying. Although Fritz is soon cleared of any responsibility for the catastrophe, the community continues to suspect him, supremely testing Fritz and his family.

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 ...

About HEALED She’s hurting and I feel her. Filled with tears, fears, and broken pieces of promises… I’ve decided to participate in her victory. It doesn’t take me long to discover she doesn’t feel worthy of love. She doesn’t understand why this route was chosen as a piece of her journey, but all I know is if she gives me the opportunity, I’m going to love her like she needs to be love. She’s afraid. Afraid of moving forward. Afraid of failing. Afraid of hidden secrets being revealed. And afraid of repeating past mistakes. But how will she ever understand that love was meant ...

Family is complicated...but that's okay... Resolute is the second novella in the ongoing Andersen Family Saga. Noah Andersen had built his successful company from the ground up. He isn’t thrilled that several of his conference rooms have become a home-away-from-home for a team of government auditors trying to ferret out evidence to back up the anonymous tip received pointing in his direction. Noah knows where the tip came from. And now that he’s got his sister safely ensconced with their aunt he’s ready to take on the person responsible, her husband. But if he turns his brother-in-law...

Perhaps no Christmas novel is more beloved than Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and no holiday poem more well-known than Clement Clarke Moore’s “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Together, these classic literary masterpieces warm our hearts and remind us of the joy and love to be discovered anew each Christmas morning. A Classic Christmas features both of these traditional works, as well as other vintage poems and stories that celebrate the timeless truths of the holiday season.

Jackson Evans, the billionaire owner of Ivy Ridge Ranch, hires the private investigator who, seven years ago, uncovered the truth of his wife’s betrayal. Jackson fell hard for Valerie Meyers back then, but he was too embroiled in the chaos of a bitter divorce to be able to even think about such things. Valerie feels similarly about Jackson but doesn’t think he’ll ever reciprocate her feelings. Nevertheless, she’s happy to be back in Copper Canyon, among old friends. But what Valerie discovers in her investigation is far more sinister than anybody could have imagined. As dark secrets...

Two classic stories of finding love where you least expect it! Marriage Wanted: As far as Nash Davenport's concerned, marriage isn't shelter from the storm - it is the storm. He's a divorce attorney, himself divorced, who believes no married couple can live up to their wedding vows. My Hero: Would-be romance writer Bailey York has already failed twice at love. She thinks men are wonderful to read and write about, but that's it. Which is probably why she has such difficulty creating a hero for her novel. What she needs is a real-life example.

The son of Maya Angelou, Guy Johnson is a critically acclaimed author and poet in his own right. Echoes of a Distant Summer is the story of Jackson St. Clair Tremain, a San Francisco civil servant who thought he had left his old life far behind. In 1982, Jackson is summoned to Mexico to confer with his dying grandfather, the brutal hustler King Tremain. When King dies, Jackson inherits $50 million - and the unwanted attentions of a malevolent bayou crime lord named Pug DuMont.

NOAH went for a celebratory night out and ended up a victim of blackmail. DEAN thought he’d found his future but someone else had other ideas. SIMON's world came crashing down but that still wasn’t the end of it. GARETH found love in a foreign country but couldn’t have seen the danger. ALEX finds love after years of abuse but is his abuser going to let him go? And BRUNO finds out that you really don’t know what goes on, or doesn’t go on, behind closed doors. We always wonder why bad things happen to good people and in this collection of short stories, our heroes find that despite ...

This British funny fiction is the prequel in the Comical Vacations series that takes place the year of Kitty’s divorce and before the first Finch Family Holiday kicks off. We find Kitty Finch trying to get to grips with life without Mason after seeking a friend on-line to share her time and troubles with but he turns out to be more trouble than he is worth. When things get weird she tries to end their friendship, only he is not having it so she persuades her sister-in-law that she needs a short break. As Darcie suggests, Kitty accompanies the couple on their three-day trip. However, it ...

In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children's publishing and popularity as New York Times best sellers.

Walking through life, I have experienced the high of highs and the low of lows. I have fallen in love and I have been heartbroken, I have experienced life and grief has knocked at my door. I am happy but there are days I am sad. I love life but there are days I just don’t. Negative thoughts are monsters I slay each day. We all go through the same emotions as humans. I took to writing just to cope and I hope as you read, these words will help you cope too. I am learning to live each day as it comes. These are just my thoughts into words.