Short Fiction Collection

When Alison Strange receives a debt claim she can’t afford to pay from the Australian government’s unemployment office, she’s caught completely off-balance. As she wrestles with a slippery bureaucracy, her history-loving grandfather bolsters her resolve with the story of their ancestor John Strange, an English cobbler who was banished to Australia for his part in a political movement. Drawing inspiration from John’s life, Alison finds her own unique way to demand a future that’s fair for all.

“Without stories, we cannot live well,” shares guest editor Min Jin Lee, describing how storytelling affects and nurtures readers. The Best American Short Stories 2023 features twenty pieces of short fiction that reflect a world full of fractured relationships, but also wondrous hope. A lifelong friendship may become a casualty of the Russia-Ukraine war. Rejected by his lover, a man seeks to reconcile with his family. Twitter users miraculously muster enough empathy to help a lost cat find a forever home.

I was born a princess among criminals. An untouchable cartel daughter amongst thieves. Heiress to a throne others have killed for, and one I'd do anything to escape. I want to start a new life with my first love, Diego. But his ruthless brother, Cristiano, will do anything to claim me for himself...Because in the de la Rosa family, old grudges run deeper than loyalty, and betrayal is a three-letter word: war. But in this feud between brothers, I'm the prize.

Jesse Stone is rebuilding his life. He’s ditched his no-good ex, sworn off men, moved to a new town with his four best friends, and started the pottery business of his dreams. And then he slept with his hunky new neighbor. Oops. Finn Hart knows that pursuing Jesse will ignite old family tensions, but the construction foreman can’t stay away. Can love wash away 20 years of bad blood and bring a new dawn for Jesse, Finn, and all of Hart's Bay?

THE DARK ROUTES A young boy’s best friend disappears into a fast-food restaurant playland ball pit never to be seen again. Something is stolen from a secret government lab that will quite literally change everything. Donned in a trench coat, a disgruntled youth grabs a bulky duffle bag and drives into the fierce storm of his destiny with an unwanted passenger. Two cowboys are tasked with finding the rustlers responsible for missing cattle. What they find in the harsh Wyoming mountains is anything but a rustler. Two boys run into a dark evil on the back streets of a Jamaican tourist town. ...

The extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful. The texts are taken from his recent omnibus, The Early Stories, 1953-1975.

If you love faith-filled tales of the West, overcoming stories of resilient love, and characters that embody the pioneering spirit, you will be swept away with The Widows of Wellness Creek Complete Box Set.

The Midlife Shifters series brings you incredibly sexy shifters from wolves to big cats to dragons adjusting to the challenges of midlife helped along by new romantic obsessions. If you’re a fan of shifter romance, you’ll love this series. It offers very high heat sexiness along with plenty of depth and real heart. From explosive sex that will have your heart racing to sweet and poignant romance that will fill your heart with longing, you won’t want to miss this series!

Suvie has three marriage proposals - but none from the man she truly loves. No matter how lonely widower Aaron Beachy is, he seems determined to stay that way. Now, Suvie will do whatever it takes to change that.

The Definitive Sci-Fi Collection is a collection of 28 classic science fiction novels and stories, read by an esteemed cast of award-winning narrators. Included here are stories by some of the most iconic science fiction writers of all time, including H.G. Wells; Jules Verne; H.P. Lovecraft; Margaret Cavendish; Yevgeny Zamyatin; and more.

This bundle includes Basil of Baker Street, Basil and the Cave of Cats, Basil in Mexico, and Basil in the Wild West.

Some witches heal. Some witches curse. Some never die. Step into the shadowed corners of magic with Whispers of the Coven, a haunting collection of witch stories where the line between power and peril is razor-thin. Inside, you’ll discover: 🕯️ A hidden village where every woman is born with a secret spell—one that can only be used once. 🌙 A forgotten grimoire that writes new spells in human blood. 🔥 A witch trial where the accused is more dangerous than the executioners. 📖 A bookshop that appears only to those with unfinished business with the dead. 💀 A curse that keeps...

Birch River Brides: Books 1-5 is a charming collection of stories guaranteed to capture your heart and leave you wanting more! Will the men and women in these stories find a way to make it to the altar? Or will the challenges that lay in their path prove too much for them to overcome?

It’s business as usual on the set of another cheap sword-and-sandal production by Pharos Pictures—until the lead actress suddenly falls into a deep, mysterious sleep. Jordan Harper can talk down high-strung starlets and knock sense into stuntmen, but this…this is the kind of uncanny problem that he’d usually bring to Mrs. Hope. Unfortunately, the preternaturally capable secretary is on a business trip with the studio head. Harper must get to the bottom of the mystery on his own before another cast member succumbs—or worse, they blow the budget.

Long before Captain Jack Sparrow raised hell with the Pirates of the Caribbean, Tom Bristol sailed to hell and back Under the Black Ensign. That’s where the real adventure begins. Bristol’s had plenty of bad luck in his life. Press-ganged into serving aboard a British vessel, he’s served under the threat of the cruel captain’s lash on his back. Then, freed from his servitude by pirates, his good fortune immediately takes a bad turn...as the pirates accuse him of murder - and leave him to die on a deserted island.

Brought to life by Academy Award®-winning actor F. Murray Abraham and an ensemble cast of narrators, and featuring original music by Michael Bacon, this collection contains Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved fairy tales, as well as a selection of lesser-known favorites. Unlike the Brothers Grimm, who collected and retold folklore and fairy tales, Hans Christian Andersen adopted the most ancient literary forms and distilled them into a genre that was uniquely his own. His fairy tales are remarkable for their sense of fantasy, power of description, and vivid imagination.

Gui is a professional cleaner at A Fresh Start, scrubbing away the unpleasant layers of memory that build up on the personal objects of his customers. Memory-blind himself, he can’t feel those wounds. Clara can, and she prefers them irretrievable. Until her sister, Beatrice, ultrasensitive to memory, raises one that could change Clara’s mind. For Gui, the past is gone. For Clara and Beatrice, deciding what to remember reaches to the heart of their shared history.

Tiger, tiger, burning bright, in the forests of the night. In the town of Never-Again, Pennsylvania, this hand-game song contains a history - centuries of inexplicable tiger sightings. It also reveals a frightening prophecy, one that only a small circle of players envisions. After Never-Again becomes the scene of unimaginable violence, a researcher uncovers the truth about the game, right down to its final chilling verse.

What happens when women step out of line and take control of their own stories? Big fears, small frustrations, and the power of hope collide as seven award-winning authors explore the possibilities. From demanding equal pay to resisting a genetically engineered future, this collection offers up visions that are grimly funny, deeply touching, and chillingly conceivable.

Enter a world of saints & sinners with this collection of steamy audiobooks from bestselling author Maria Luis. From light-hearted contemporary to dark and dangerous romantic suspense, you'll be swept off your feet.