Short Game

It takes a lot of effort for Jimmy Crocker to become Piccadilly Jim – nights on the town roistering, headlines in the gossip columns, a string of broken hearts and breaches of promise. Eventually he becomes rather good at it and manages to go to pieces with his eyes open. But no sooner has Jimmy cut a wild swathe through fashionable London than his terrifying Aunt Nesta decides he must mend his ways. He then falls in love with the girl he has hurt most of all, and after that things get complicated. In a dizzying plot, impersonations pile on impersonations....

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most iconic and lasting figures in literature. In this new edition of Baker Street Irregulars, authors present the iconic detective in over a dozen wildly entertaining new ways. In Keith DeCandido's "Six Red Dragons", Sherlock is a young girl in modern New York City. In Sarah Stegall's "Papyrus", Sherlock is a female librarian in ancient Egypt. In Daniel M. Kimmel's mesmerizing "A Scandal in Chelm", Sherlock is a rabbi. Derek Beebe sends Sherlock to the moon, while Mike Strauss, in "The Adventure of the Double Sized Final Issue", casts him as a comic book character.

Roll the dice, pick a card, tell a lie, hide the truth. Whatever the move, it's all just part of the game. Follow the lives of four very different characters who are all trapped in an insidious game. Each story delves into the intricate web of misaligned motives and obscured half-truths. Stories include "In This Business", "The Joker", "Dolly", and "Escaping Avila Chase".

Step into a world where passion knows no limits, boundaries are meant to be broken, and desire is unapologetically unleashed. The Best of the Best Erotic Short Sex Stories Anthology is a one-of-a-kind collection that takes you on a sensual journey through the most tantalizing themes of intimacy and exploration. This is not just a book; it’s an invitation to experience the deepest, most electrifying fantasies, brought to life in stories that are as daring as they are unforgettable.

Games are everywhere: Drivers maneuvering in heavy traffic are playing a driving game. Bargain hunters bidding on eBay are playing an auctioning game. The supermarket's price for corn flakes is decided by playing an economic game. This Very Short Introduction offers a succinct tour of the fascinating world of game theory, a groundbreaking field that analyzes how to play games in a rational way.

These women all want to hook up an alien, and what better way to find one than on a TV show? Too bad the show isn't all that it seems. These high-heat short stories include women who are just looking to hook up with aliens and didn't plan to become fated to one. The Bolan men are dominant in the bedroom and know exactly how to thrill their human mates. Contains all four stories in the Mated to the Bolan series, as well as Halloween Mating, which is a related story. Alien Love Games: The Arena Ava's tired of her life and is obsessed with aliens. When she's handed the opportunity to go on the...

Legendary Maine woodsman and bush pilot Charley Stevens tries to convince young Mike Bowditch of the dangers awaiting rookie game wardens.

Can a space pirate be a good guy? Captain Gore: The outerworld shipping lanes are slim picking lately for pirate Captain Gore. He takes an Operator assignment that puts his broken-down ship, The Black Pearl, and hid degenerate crew in the path of the Mechanurge drones and quite possibly a hideous death on their Harvester ship. Operator Throd: Despite being betrayed by Gore, Throd-an infamous Operator who is half cybernetics-sets up a scenario using the pirates to help him get his assignment completed with the goal of leveling up. But this assignment could mean a gruesome death for the lot ...

The nine stories and one poem in this volume formed the basis for the astonishingly original film Short Cuts, directed by Robert Altman. Collected altogether in this volume, these stories form a searing and indelible portrait of American innocence and loss. With deadpan humor and enormous tenderness, this is the work of "one of the true contemporary masters" ( The New York Review of Books).

This is the audiobook for Sly Flourish's Fantastic Adventure, a book of 10 short adventures for the fifth edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game. This audiobook helps the listener bring these adventures into their head and is intended to be used along with the print copy of the book for use at the actual gaming table. Listening to these adventures helps prime your DM mind with the material you need to run the game at the table.

Stephen Crane's fascinating story "The Blue Hotel" is seen by many as a study of fear. Crane used the stereotypical 1890's American West as his setting, and the story uses a card game to show how fear feeds upon itself. There are both inner fears and fears existing in reality, and the ways that they interact with each other make for a fascinating tale.

From tales of chilling horror, to heart-stopping stories of suspense, Warped is best-selling author Jeff Menapace's ultimate collection of short fiction. Warped contains currently published tales of the macabre like "Princess" and "The Straw Man and a Murder", the currently out of print and award-winning "Sugar Daddy" and its sequel, "Sugar Daddy 2", and the author's preferred version of his controversial "Torment".

Richard just wanted a girlfriend - not the apocalypse. Richard Peak's senior year is looking painfully ordinary - fighting for position on the soccer team, his parents' constant arguing, a glaring lack of a girlfriend. He can't wait to graduate and join a soccer team overseas, preferably as far from home as possible. Then the president is assassinated and his life changes forever. As an alarming chain of nationwide terrorist attacks trigger a civil war, Richard finds himself on a dangerous journey for survival.

Her filthiest desire is to sleep with an alien, and she’s determined to make it happen. Cherise When my best friend runs off to marry an alien, I’m desperate for a sexy adventure too and I’m not above using a famous relative as my ticket onto an alien love game show. The best part is that three alien men are going to try to win my affections through a competition of my choosing. I want my new Bolan hubby to be able to feed me well, so I decide to make them cook for me. The way to this woman’s heart is through her stomach… preferably with a hot-blooded dominant alien doing the ...

Michael Maloney reads this original adventure by Dan Abnett, featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory. For centuries the Maintainers have worked. With no help from other worlds, they subsist on the food they can grow and that’s little enough. But their purpose, their whole life, is to maintain the machines that will one day make their world as habitable as old Earth. Life used to be hard. Now as crops fail, livestock sicken, and the temperature drops, it’s becoming impossible.

She’s not even a contestant on the Alien Love Game show, so how did she become fated to one of the alien men? Lyra I was finally taking a break from my grueling tour schedule on Earth between album releases. I was trying to do a good deed and helped my sister get on an alien love reality show. Somehow it got all messed up. The man my sister chose is now claiming I’m his one and only. How do I get out of this mess so I can go back to Earth and continue living my dream. Dhavoi When I saw Lyra, it was like I was hit over the head with a sledgehammer. She’s the only one for me, and now I ...

Miss Lucy Lancester has loved her brother's best friend, Roman Alexander, for as long as she can remember. So devotedly, she's vowed never to marry anyone else. But her beloved libertine is hardly aware of her existence, and not the least deserving of her affection. Deciding her cause is lost, she makes plans to open a girls' school in Bath. There's just one thing she needs to do before she confirms her spinsterhood forever: spend one blissful night in Roman's arms.

In the digital realm of Virtual Nightmares, three young friends find themselves trapped within a malevolent video game. Guided by their unwavering friendship, they navigate treacherous landscapes, battle formidable foes, and confront their deepest fears. As the line between the game and reality blurs, they discover the true power of their bond and the resilience of the human spirit. Together, they defy the game's malevolent grasp, emerging as heroes who inspire others with their triumph over Virtual Nightmares. Their extraordinary journey becomes a testament to the strength of friendship ...

In the shadowy underbelly of 1940s Hollywood, a studio fixer finds himself protecting men he'd rather see behind bars. As he navigates through a world where desperate starlets trade their souls for a shot at fame and ruthless power brokers pull the strings, our hero struggles to preserve what remains of his moral compass. Each case chips away at his already fragile sense of justice, but this one – this case might be the one that finally breaks him. Step into a noir world where dreams turn to darkness and even the angels have fallen from grace. Will this be the investigation that pushes ...

Ellie is the nicest animal in the jungle, but she is very sad. Her friends Lyle the lion, Fatima the flamingo, Rex the rhino, and Micky the monkey want to find out why! Each story is easy to comprehend and exciting. Join in on a great listening experience with friends and family, whether you're traveling, in a waiting room, or closing in on bedtime.