Whether they are spirits of the departed or figments of an overactive imagination, ghosts are a staple in fiction. Storytellers have portrayed ghosts as scary, friendly, or annoying across many genres. Now, eight authors offer their own interpretations of ghosts through a collection of short stories that will appeal to fans of horror, fantasy, or young adult fiction.Whether they are spirits of the departed or figments of an overactive imagination, ghosts are a staple in fiction. Storytellers have portrayed ghosts as scary, friendly, or annoying across many genres. Now, eight authors offer their own interpretations of ghosts through a collection of short stories that will appeal to fans of horror, fantasy, or young adult fiction.“Deathwatch” by Katie French - Teenage sisters Charlotte and Georgie stumble into a robbery, and their normal life gets flipped upside down. Worse, when the clerk kills one of the robbers, his face is covered in a supernatural swarm of bugs. Charlotte must be hallucinating. It's the only explanation for the terrible things she's seen. Everyone calls the clerk a hometown hero, but Charlotte's not so sure. Then a dead girl appears in her mirror with clues to the truth, and Charlotte learns there's more horror to this world than she ever expected.“Tides” by Sarah Dalton - Andrea wakes with sand on her feet. She is sleepwalking down to the sea every night, but remembers little more than a vague recollection of a boy who lives on the beach. With an absent father and a mother who would rather walk along the coast than look after her daughter, Andrea struggles to get by. She’s haunted, but from a memory, or a spirit?“Shadowspirit” by M.A. George - On a good day, Henta Mourngard is stalked by dreadspirits and netherphantoms, a living magnet for creatures of the afterlife. On a bad day, she finds herself communing with a demon of the underworld—worse yet, interrogating one—in a desperate attempt to track down the shadowspirit who has been her guide since infancy. Demons don’t take kindly to interrogation. And the search for a missing shadowspirit leads to places the living daren’t tread (lest they no longer qualify as living). ‘Tis unfortunate for Henta that today is not a “good day”. “The Little Girl” by Jamie Campbell - Sixteen-year-old Penny is moving house… again. Starting out in a small town, she is hopeful this time will be the last. As long as the little girl doesn’t follow her, she will be rid of her past hauntings. The only problem is, the little girl won’t let her go and now she is about to grow stronger than ever before.“The Ghost Below” by Ariele Sieling - White Rabbit gets sent to run cables in the bowels of the spaceship as a punishment. While working, she discovers that the ship's ghost might be more than he seems.“Slave Runner” by H.S. Stone - Malika and her sister are captured by slave traders but receive an unexpected gift of freedom when their captors encounter a deadly gathering of ghosts. The sisters escape to a nearby village, where they learn that the new sanctuary isn’t as safe as they thought it would be, and ghosts aren’t what they most need to fear.“Farewell Ohana (A Ghostly Mini-Wave)” by Sutton Shields - Maile Lahela is under attack by someone in the Kauai Camp for the Curiously Creepy. When she awakens one morning unable to see, her peculiar, yet loyal friends decide it’s time to escape the institution—something that’s never been done. But before they can leave, Maile has a mission of her own…one that could cost them their lives. Farewell Ohana is a short, fun-filled, emotional prequel to the events occurring in Overfalls, Wave Two of The Merworld Water Wars series by Sutton Shields.“Ghost Girl” by Susan Fodor - Zoey Saunders has her future mapped out, but an accident brings her life to an untimely end. In her new state of being, Zoey feels compelled to seek justice for her death and bring healing to her family who have become a shadow of their former selves. But what constitutes justice and will getting even ever be enough to replace the life she lost? Views: 681
Gavin tells Delilah he’s hers—completely—but whatever lives inside that house with him disagrees.
After seven years tucked away at an East coast boarding school, Delilah Blue returns to her small Kansas hometown to find that not much has changed. Her parents are still uptight and disinterested, her bedroom is exactly the way she left it, and the outcast Gavin Timothy still looks like he’s crawled out of one of her dark, twisted drawings.
Delilah is instantly smitten.
Gavin has always lived in the strange house: an odd building isolated in a stand of trees where the town gives in to mild wilderness. The house is an irresistible lure for Delilah, but the tall fence surrounding it exists for good reason, and Gavin urges Delilah to be careful. Whatever lives with him there isn’t human, and isn’t afraid of hurting her to keep her away. Views: 681
During the yearly ritual for the Cireara, protectors of the standing stones, Sila’s big sister will make an extraordinary sacrifice. When during the ritual the yellow haired men attack, the future of Sila’s people and of the standing stones is seriously jeopardized. The story is inspired by the Avebury stone circle and the West Kennet Long Barrow burial mound.For the first time Sila will attend the yearly ritual in honour of the Cireara, protectors of the standing stones. During this ritual her big sister Ava is about to make an extraordinary sacrifice. When the yellow haired men attack, the ritual and the future of Sila’s people is seriously jeopardized. Will they manage to protect the standing stones and the Cireara?This story is inspired by the Avebury stone circle and the West Kennet Long Barrow burial mound. Views: 681
"Moving to Hollywood after graduation was supposed to be my first step into the adult world, a chance for me to live life on my terms. It'd worked for my older sister. I just hadn't realized how much until she shared her darkest secret with me."
When twenty-one year-old Hanna Breckenridge moves across the country to take a job as her sister's business manager, she has no idea the culture shock she's in for. When billionaire Cross Phillips approaches her, she's flattered, only to find out that he'd been interested for reasons far different than anything Hanna would've imagined. When things take a dangerous turn, she's forced to decide just how much she can trust this gorgeous man. Views: 681
“But these are vital aspects of marriage. If one cannot discuss them, what's the use in meeting at all? It's like trying to decide what you'll have for dinner without mentioning food.”Wisteria Vasilver does wish to marry. Truly. But though she lives in Paradise, arranging a match is full of traps and pitfalls for the unwary ... or perhaps just for her.Nikola Striker, Lord of Fireholt, expects he'll wed ... someday. But not now, and never to a rich icicle of a woman like Miss Vasilver. No matter how much his parents might want the match, or his house might need her dowry. Besides, he has his own problems — most of them people who need his help as a mind-healer.Lord Justin Comfrey, Viscount of Comfrey, would be more than happy to help Striker with his financial troubles, and not just to ensure that Miss Vasilver's dowry doesn't tempt Striker into marriage. If only he could find some way to make his proud,... Views: 681
1886. Two young boys disappear in the Sounds. Their mother grieves, all the music cut out of her heart; their father wanders the coast for a year, wanting and not wanting to find any part of them left behind. And their brother Ern, faced with a problem to which no solution can be found, returns to his laboratory – and to the smell of salt, soft voices in his ear, wet footprints welling seawater in the darkness.Octavia Cade weaves together time and memory, physics and mystery, in this story inspired by Ernest Rutherford's life and research. Views: 681
Winner of two INDIEFAB prizes: Gold for Literary Fiction and Bronze for Historical Fiction Readers' Favorite Gold medal for Literary fiction Spanning a century and three continents, Even in Darkness tells the story of Kläre Kohler, whose early years as a beloved daughter of a prosperous German-Jewish family hardly anticipate the harrowing life she faces as an adult- a saga of family, lovers, two world wars, a concentration camp, and sacrifice. Based on a true story, Even in Darkness highlights Klare's reinvention as she faces the destruction of life as she knew it, and traces her path to survival, wisdom, and unexpected love. Views: 681
The second in the Royce Madison mystery series
concerns the intrigue of a small Colorado murder. As if finding out who really
killed tabloid gossip monger Sandra Holt weren't challenging enough, Timber
County's acting sheriff Royce Madison also has to deal with a drifter stalking
her girlfriend and an election opponent who's ready to fight dirty.
With the Family Morals Coalition pumping big
bucks into her opponent's campaign and everybody in town anxious for her to
make an arrest, Royce has to dig deep. As for the columnist's death: everybody
has a motive, and (almost) everybody had an alibi. Only another murder could
make the case more complex. Views: 680
Sailing with Impunity covers a 14-month, 13,000-mile adventure with Mary and Bruce Trimble from Seattle to legendary South Pacific Islands and home again. From magical sights and scents of their first tropical island landfall to the bustling, colorful Tahitian markets. From sudden midnight squalls and weathering a cyclone in Samoa to pristine anchorages in the Kingdom of Tonga. The memoir frankly discusses the hardships and joys of offshore cruising with only two people aboard their 40-foot sailboat, Impunity. Views: 680
When hyper-intelligent mathematician David is forced to confront his own mortality, his coveted manuscript on the ‘Proof of absence paradox’ threatens to die with him. Desperate to salvage his life’s work, he realizes that his exceptional mentee and protégé, Naila, could hold the key to the salvation of his manuscript and theorem—but their strained relationship may not allow for that.When hyper-intelligent mathematician David is forced to confront his own mortality, his coveted manuscript on the ‘Proof of absence paradox’ threatens to die with him. Desperate to salvage his life’s work, he realizes that his exceptional mentee and protégé, Naila, could hold the key to the salvation of his manuscript and theorem—but their strained relationship may not allow for that.Consumed by doubt and plunged into a bewildering darkness, David is offered a glimpse into a vast interconnectedness, the likes of which outstretch his human comprehension and challenge his theorem. As nature, faith and science intertwine, David gains insights which transport him far beyond his original manuscript. Views: 680
Selena & Alex: Fifteen year old Selena Harris knew from the first moment she met Alex Kelly that she loved her but is Selena hiding a secret that will tear them apart?Apprehensive: Fifteen year old Carson Lucas prepares to take her first step into growing up.Selena & Alex: Fifteen year old Selena Harris knew from the first moment she met Alex Kelly that she loved her but is Selena hiding a secret that will tear them apart?Apprehensive: Fifteen year old Carson Lucas prepares to take her first step into growing up.First Sight: Harmony Hansen had an ordinary life until the last term of year twelve when she met Katarina Wolf. Before long her life is changing in every way but will it ever return to normal.Secret Crush: Tyronne Hastings has been in love with his best friend Penelope Gilbert for three years. Is he destined to be her friend forever or will he find a way to tell her how he feels?The Choice: Piper Jackson thought her relationship with Marcus Jones was rock solid until she met Katie George. Katie stirs up feelings Piper had never felt before and suddenly she’s faced with a choice. Will she make the right one?Confusion: Aster Little has always known she was different to the rest of her classmates but it wasn’t until now she knew just how different she was.Lucy Wilson: Turned into a vampire a year earlier when she and her best friend, Cassandra Riley were jumped, Lucy Wilson has barely begun to get used to her new vampire status when Conor Simpson, a powerful vampire, tracks her down.First Love: Natasha Waterson and Quinn Michele have been together for four years when tragedy strikes. Will Quinn be able to forget her first love or will she haunt her forever? Views: 680
Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home. When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate. Views: 680
